Omen

In the depths of winter, heavy snow fluttered down.

Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate had turned into a world of white.

Inside the Cloud Sword Palace Main Hall, numerous elders were discussing matters.

"Something has been very wrong lately. Within the territories of the five imperial dynasties under Cloud Sword Palace, Li Hen Pavilion has become unprecedentedly active. They have been harvesting yin and killing people everywhere. Aside from ordinary people, even many Sect Members and Disciples with accomplished cultivation have had their Essence drained dry and been turned into withered corpses."

"Besides that, Divine Doctor Sect's poison doctors have been seizing people everywhere to test medicine on them. Mad Blood Gang members have been killing people for sport. Nether Palace and Wuji Alliance have also been extremely high-profile—one captures virgin boys and girls everywhere to refine medicine, while the other violates other men's wives and daughters."

"They have cast aside their usual ways as rats in the gutter and become utterly lawless. Even after so many of their people have been killed, they show no intention of keeping a low profile."

Law Enforcement Elder Li Yan flipped through the intelligence reports gathered from various places, which recorded all manner of vile incidents that had occurred over the past half month.

Those five gutter rats seemed to have made an agreement, stirring up trouble throughout Cloud Sword Palace's territory. They had no objective and no pattern, firing one shot before changing locations, leaving the dispatched disciples guarding the various regions running themselves ragged.

Although they had dealt with quite a few rats, wiping out all of them was no easy task.

To eradicate these Demonic Heretics once and for all, the Cloud Sword Palace disciples stationed across the land and the officials of the various nations had no choice but to send people for aid, asking Cloud Sword Palace experts of first-rate standing and above to eliminate evil and uphold justice.

"Why are they acting this way? Have we found the reason?"

Xiao Rang asked.

"The people from the five Demonic Heretic factions whom we captured were all expendable pawns. They had merely received orders from their superiors: as long as they preserved their own lives, they could indulge themselves to their hearts' content and act according to their sects' doctrines."

"You know as well, Sect Master, that the cultivation techniques these Demonic Heretics practice already affect their minds. Now that their superiors have rarely stopped restraining them and allowed them to indulge their desires freely, they have naturally begun acting without law or restraint."

Law Enforcement Elder Li Yan answered.

"It is not only internal disturbances. The situation outside is not optimistic either. Our businesses throughout Lan Continent, along with the merchant caravans traveling everywhere, have begun suffering targeted attacks. We have lost no small amount of personnel and property."

"Those attacking our businesses and caravans have concealed their identities and left us with no evidence to seize upon. However, judging from the traces left at the scenes, the attackers were all experts from the Mid to Late Xiantian stages or even the Grandmaster Realm. They should be Local Tyrants acting under the guise of bandits."

"I truly do not know why they dare act like this. Could they all have lost their minds together?"

At that moment, Finance Elder Wei Xuan also took out several letters of correspondence and spoke.

These elders usually cultivated quietly within the Mountain Gate. Though each was responsible for one aspect of the Sect's affairs, most matters were handled by their subordinates.

Only matters that truly could not be resolved would be gathered and brought before these upper echelons.

Clearly, a major power daring to launch organized attacks against Cloud Sword Palace was not something those below could handle.

"This is easily resolved. I will write to Heavenly Star Valley and the Ice Frost City Sect Master, asking them to dispatch intelligence disciples to assist our experts in investigating. Once we capture these Local Tyrants, we will naturally learn why they dared launch these attacks."

Xiao Rang spoke calmly.

The three great Righteous Path Martial Arts Holy Lands were allied. Every year, many merchant caravans traveled between their territories to exchange goods and trade supplies. Whenever someone blocked the roads for robbery, this was how they dealt with it.

The owner of the territory would provide intelligence, while the injured party would provide Combat Power to deal with those causing trouble. In this way, they could swiftly eliminate the culprits and safeguard the interests of all three sides.

A few years ago, Xiao Rang had even helped Ice Frost City resolve an incident in which one of their merchant caravans had been robbed within the East Sea Dynasty by a prince who was not quite right in the head. This time, it was their turn to help Cloud Sword Palace resolve its problem.

"This is far too strange. The intent to target Cloud Sword Palace is far too obvious. I feel that things are not as simple as they appear on the surface. Perhaps a Mastermind Behind the Scenes is plotting something in secret."

"We cannot allow ourselves to be led around by the nose."

Spirit Plant Elder Zhang Ya spoke, voicing her opinion.

She loved planting and animal husbandry, spending all year in the company of flowers, grasses, bamboo, and trees, close to nature.

Though she rarely handled worldly affairs, she possessed an astonishing Spiritual Sense and had sensed something unusual from the matters everyone was discussing.

The moment Zhang Ya said this, everyone immediately took it seriously.

In the past, whenever Cloud Sword Palace had faced crises, Zhang Ya had often been the first to discover faint traces of warning signs, allowing them to nip the danger in the bud and turn peril into safety.

At that moment, every elder in the hall began pondering what conspiracy lay behind all this.

"They want to draw our Cloud Sword Palace experts out of the Mountain Gate."

After repeatedly reviewing the intelligence reports, the elders finally discovered the common thread behind these incidents.

Killing the Demonic Heretics causing trouble within the territories of the Five Vassal States required many experts. Going to the forces under Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City to resolve the attacks on their businesses and merchant caravans would likewise require many experts.

Once all those experts had been sent out, Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate would be left hollow.

"But even if we follow the Mastermind Behind the Scenes's wishes and send many experts out to resolve these problems, there are still plenty of experts remaining to guard our Mountain Gate."

Embroidery Elder Yu Rong said in confusion.

Outsiders did not know, but she knew very clearly that there were roughly four thousand seven hundred experts stationed within Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate.

Of those four thousand seven hundred guarding experts, three thousand six hundred were in the Xiantian Realm. The remaining one thousand one hundred were all Grandmasters.

Even excluding Lin Heng, there were still a full twelve Great Grandmasters.

Among the elders currently gathered for this meeting, three were Great Grandmasters. As for the remaining elders who had not yet reached the Great Grandmaster Realm, their masters or blood-related elders were Great Grandmasters as well.

They simply no longer involved themselves in affairs, remaining within the Sect to cultivate quietly and enjoy their remaining years.

That Li Hen Pavilion Great Grandmaster who had sneaked into Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate during Lin Heng's Master Acknowledgment Ceremony years ago—if she had not fled decisively and had someone to receive her, the slightest hesitation would have left her dead within Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate.

"Indeed. To resolve the current turmoil, sending out two hundred Grandmasters to lead two thousand Xiantian experts would already be sufficient. I truly cannot understand why they would send so many expendable pawns to do such things."

"Surely they have not all grown tired of living?"

Law Enforcement Elder Li Yan voiced his agreement.

"Perhaps they are targeting Heng'er."

"Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City may also be playing some dishonorable roles in this."

Hearing this, Xiao Rang voiced his speculation.

Anyone who dared attack the Mountain Gate of a Martial Arts Holy Land was either out of their mind or possessed immense confidence. Xiao Rang felt that his opponents were not out of their minds.