Outside influences?
Chen Xuan thought of the violet smoke pouring down from Kunlun Mountain, and the uninvited guests in modern clothing inside the sect.
Although he had just taken in a great deal of information, he knew this was still no time to rest.
"I saw a lot of remains in the sect's Artifact Refining Room. They... didn't look like residents of the Six Nations. There's also erosion taking place inside Nine Sons Peak. Did you know about that?"
"If by erosion you mean Mount Sumeru Distortion," the figure replied, "then yes, that is another outside factor.
"About a hundred years ago, some people entered the cave heaven through a rift caused by Mount Sumeru Distortion. But they weren't any trouble. On the contrary, they behaved themselves here and even worshipped that temple as a holy site."
"Huh?" Chen Xuan had not expected to hear that from her. "Did they ever mention where they came from?"
"Of course. They called themselves the Gospel Society."
The Gospel Society!
Hearing that name again, Chen Xuan realized he was not all that surprised.
He had already suspected as much. Why had the dead aboard the Mechanism Airship shown signs of fighting before the crash? Who besides the Gospel Society would have dared to stop the organization's plan back then?
Another question now had an answer, too.
He had suspected that the barrier between the two worlds had been breached before Liu Shuyue slew the dragon. That had allowed a Shadow Demon, which should never have appeared in the other world, to possess Su Xingwan.
His suspicions had proved correct.
This erosion point had accidentally connected the two worlds.
And members of the Gospel Society had been the first to discover it.
"Then why did they make the Jade Tokens?"
"I'm not really sure