"There's something else here!"
Bi Xiao's sobbing stopped. Pointing at two bodies on the other side, she cried out in shock.
Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao hurried over.
In another pile of rubble lay the corpses of two Daoists. One was young, the other somewhat older, and both had died horribly.
The younger one had a bloody hole between his brows. His soul had been instantly destroyed, and the utmost terror still lingered on his face.
The older one had been pierced through the chest by an overwhelmingly domineering force. His heart and soul had both been reduced to dust.
"It's them! Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao!"
Qiong Xiao recognized them at a glance. She had met them at a Myriad Immortals gathering once.
"They... they're dead too?" Bi Xiao stared at the two bodies, stunned.
Things were growing more and more baffling.
Yun Xiao crouched down and carefully examined the two corpses.
"One fatal blow apiece, delivered cleanly and decisively. Whoever did this is far more powerful than they were." Yun Xiao furrowed her brow even deeper. "The blow that killed Xiao Sheng was concentrated, like some kind of finger technique or sword energy. As for the blow that killed Cao Bao..."
She studied the horrifying wound in Cao Bao's chest, and a flicker of recognition passed through her eyes.
"This power... it feels so familiar... almost like..."
"The Sky-Turning Seal!" Qiong Xiao declared with certainty from beside her.
"The Sky-Turning Seal?" Bi Xiao exclaimed. "Isn't that Guangchengzi's magic treasure? How could it..."
"No." Yun Xiao stood up and shook her head. "This power shares the same origin as the Sky-Turning Seal, but it's purer and more domineering. This isn't Guangchengzi's Sky-Turning Seal. It's... the Measure of Heaven Ruler, the imitation Houtian Spiritual Treasure wielded by Daoist Randeng, the deputy leader of the Sect of Explanation, according to legend!"
"Daoist Randeng?!"
At the name, Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao both drew in sharp breaths.
If the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation were hypocrites, then Daoist Randeng was notorious throughout the Primordial Era as a sinister old schemer—despicable, shameless, greedy, and cunning. Even his fellow disciples in the Sect of Explanation looked down on him.
"Him? Why would he kill Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao?" Bi Xiao asked, puzzled.
Yun Xiao didn't answer. Her mind raced as she tried to connect the scattered clues.
The Western Teachings' Saint Zhunti.
The aura of Daoist Randeng from the Sect of Explanation.
The corpses of the Mount Wuyi recluses Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao, and their Treasure Dropping Golden Coin.
Her elder brother's death.
What was the connection between it all?
"I understand..."
After a long while, Yun Xiao raised her head. A cold glint flashed in her eyes, along with overwhelming fury.
"Well, well, Randeng! Well, well, Sect of Explanation! What a vicious scheme—to use someone else to do the killing and frame the Western Teachings!"
"Eldest Sister, what do you understand?" Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao asked urgently.
Yun Xiao took a deep breath and slowly explained her deductions.
"This is probably what happened."
"Elder Brother was meditating here when Saint Zhunti came after him, coveting his treasures. Elder Brother was no match for him. His treasures were taken, and he was gravely wounded."
"Just then, Daoist Randeng, who had been lurking in the shadows, incited Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao to use the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin to knock away the treasure Zhunti was about to claim. Then, amid the chaos, Randeng himself struck and snatched Elder Brother's Sea Calming Divine Beads and Qiankun Ruler!"
"Enraged, Saint Zhunti couldn't spare a thought for Elder Brother, who was gravely wounded, or for Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao. He chased after Randeng, who had taken the treasures, with all his might!"
"And Randeng, that despicable, shameless villain, secretly doubled back after making his escape!"
"To silence the witnesses and keep the treasures for himself—and to pin all the blame on the Western Teachings—he killed the only ones who knew the truth: Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao!"
"As for my elder brother..." Yun Xiao's voice choked with boundless grief. "He was already gravely wounded, at the end of his strength. I fear... I fear that wretch Randeng finished him off!"
Though Yun Xiao's deductions differed from the truth in some details—such as Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao having killed someone of their own accord—they tied all the clues together perfectly and pointed to one ultimate culprit: Daoist Randeng!
And this was precisely the "truth" Shen Zhaochi had carefully concocted for them from behind the scenes!
"Randeng!!!"
After hearing Yun Xiao's analysis, Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao glared with murderous fury. Their killing intent surged so fiercely that it seemed ready to rip apart the heavens!
"That despicable old villain! I'll grind his bones to dust!"
"The Sect of Explanation! It's the Sect of Explanation again!"
At last, they had found an outlet for their hatred over their elder brother's death!
"Let's go!" Yun Xiao picked up the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin from the ground, her eyes filled with nothing but cold killing intent. "We're going to Xiqi! Randeng is the deputy leader of the Sect of Explanation. He must be there!"
"This time, I want to see how his Sect of Explanation will answer for my elder brother!"
Before you continue