[Investigation by Huanglong Temple]

At the moment Wu Dao crushed the Huanglong Mark.

Somewhere in Guangqing Prefecture.

A vast sea of clouds surged, with a thousand peaks and ten thousand cliffs reaching toward the heavens.

At the highest point of the towering mountain range.

Fuguang Mountain!

Seven-colored radiance swirled like ribbons.

The booming morning bell was thought-provoking.

White cranes danced in the air, spiritual beasts roamed the ground, and the sound of chanting drifted ethereally.

Huanglong Temple, which enjoyed a great reputation for immortality within Guangqing Prefecture, was situated at the peak of this blessed land.

During the morning lessons.

Deep within the temple.

A Daoist with a youthful face and white hair, slender in build and dressed in a golden Huanglong Daoist robe, sat in the lotus position.

At a certain moment.

The Daoist seemed to sense something; he jolted awake from his meditation, opened his eyes, his face filled with both sorrow and rage:

"You wretch! How dare you deceive my Huanglong Temple!"

Not long after the voice fell.

The bell at the mountain peak rang out violently, echoing through the sea of clouds.

After five consecutive tolls.

The personal disciples, second-generation disciples, and elite third-generation disciples who were reading in the morning all gathered within the Patriarch Hall.

"Mao Ba has martyred himself. The Dao Candle in the Hall of Immortals has been extinguished. The place of his death is in Canyun Mountain in the Black Stone Desert, but the murderer is extremely cunning and left no traces behind."

On the high seat of the Patriarch Hall.

Huanglong Daoist sat on a prayer mat, speaking concisely. Before the disciples could erupt in shock and anger, he continued: "Guangfa, Guangshen, Guangli, you three shall descend the mountain immediately, go to Canyun Mountain, and investigate exactly which wicked creature is responsible for this!

I have not entered the world for many years.

Do they truly think my Huanglong Temple has fallen into decline?"

"Rest assured, Master. We watched Mao Ba grow up; we will surely avenge him!"

On the prayer mats on the second tier of steps.

Three middle-aged Daoists with extraordinary appearances and refined temperaments, dressed in yellow Daoist robes, stood up and bowed to accept the order.

Grey robes for the third generation, yellow robes for the second, and silver robes for personal disciples.

Different Daoist robes represented different levels of cultivation.

The second-generation yellow-robed disciples.

Were Immortal Cultivators of the Dao Fire Realm.

They had shed their mortal frames and ignited the spiritual Dao fire within their Purple Mansion!

Those who have ignited the Dao fire once.

Have transformed their mortal bodies into a Spirit Body, undergone a spiritual metamorphosis, gained the ability of Object Manipulation and Talisman Control, could perceive yin and yang, observe the macro and micro of heaven and earth, and utilize the Innate Spiritual Qi of the Purple Mansion to create simple Yellow-Grade Talismans.

The "Object Manipulation and Talisman Control" technique, which Mao Ba could only achieve at a heavy cost, was effortless for those at this level.

Those who have ignited the Dao fire twice.

Like the three who stepped forward: Guangshen, Guangfa, and Guangli.

The Purple Mansion Dao Fire flowed, illuminating their entire bodies, inside and out. They could briefly commune with the complex spiritual qi of heaven and earth to craft Silver-Grade Talismans, Treasure Tools, refine pills, and set formations...

Although their physical bodies were weaker than those of the Martial Dao.

In terms of sensing and utilizing the energy of heaven and earth, they were far faster than the Martial Dao, and their methods were numerous and unpredictable.

In a true life-and-death struggle, it was indeed difficult for a Martial Dao practitioner of the same level, relying only on the brute force of blood and qi, to contend with them.

In the path of the Martial Dao.

Only after completing the Third Rebirth.

Could the spirit and soul become strong enough to communicate with heaven and earth.

They could build a bridge between the external world and the Qi Sea Dantian, absorb Origin Qi, store it in the Dantian, break free from the shackles of blood and qi, and command the power of heaven and earth to attack.

One can imagine.

Just how high the value of those who have ignited the Dao fire twice is within the territory of Guangqing Prefecture; even Martial Dao experts at the Transformative Force level who have undergone the Third Rebirth must treat them with respect.

Not to mention.

Guangshen and the other two were outstanding figures even among the second-generation disciples.

Yet, such "powerful" individuals...

Walking down the mountain was solely for the sake of Mao Ba.

The level of protectiveness shown by Huanglong Temple was evident.

It was easy to imagine.

If Wu Dao had been negligent and failed to deal with the Huanglong Mark in time, or if he had been soft-hearted and left behind a Root of Disaster.

Then he truly would have poked a hornet's nest, one that even had a tracking beacon on him; for the foreseeable future, he would have been subjected to endless open attacks and secret plots, impossible to guard against.

Fortunately.

Wu Dao was sufficiently cautious and sufficiently ruthless.

He killed and burned, destroying the body and erasing all traces!

Regardless of how furious Guangshen and the others were, all that awaited them would be a patch of scorched earth.

Even if the methods of an Immortal Cultivator were unfathomable.

Even if there were other unknown means to track down a murderer, Wu Dao estimated it would be impossible to achieve in the short term.

Because that single stomp he delivered.

Did more than just crush Mao Ba's head!

After achieving Subtle Mastery.

His perception could observe the yin and yang.

His control over his Mental Armor had also reached a higher level.

Through direct contact.

The enemy's mental consciousness, or what is known as the soul, could be completely obliterated!

He truly did not believe.

That some mere Immortal Cultivator from Guangqing Prefecture would have the ability to extract information from a person who had been "body destroyed and soul extinguished" to the point of absolute death!

In fact.

Wu Dao's guess was correct.

Half a day after he left Canyun Mountain.

Guangfa and his two companions arrived at Canyun Mountain, filled with seething rage.

Upon seeing the barren, scorched earth on the mountainside, their expressions immediately turned as ugly as if they had eaten excrement!

Especially when.

The three of them tried to communicate with Mao Ba's soul through the Life Lamp he had left at Huanglong Temple, only to discover that Mao Ba didn't even have a soul left!

The mental soul of an Immortal Cultivator.

Compared to cultivators of other paths, is exceptionally tenacious.

In the absence of someone destroying it, after death, it can linger in the world for a short time without dissipating; within the Immortal path, there are methods to gather souls and view the murderer.

But Mao Ba had been directly burned to ashes, his body slaughtered and his soul extinguished!

What kind of deep hatred was this!

They could not understand at all.

Mao Ba had only been off the mountain for half a month; how could he have provoked such a ruthless enemy to end up in such a miserable state?

"The murderer should be a Martial Dao practitioner. Judging from the traces left behind, he is an expert who has achieved at least the Second Rebirth, and his Hard Qigong power is astonishing, at least having stepped into the first gate of Hard Qigong: the Blood Qi Furnace."

Guangshen, the most meticulous of the three, quickly confirmed the murderer's strength from the charred crater that looked as if it had been ravaged by a tyrannosaurus or struck by a meteorite.

Finally.

He raised his unusually long white eyebrows and said:

"However, although a martial artist at the Second Rebirth stage possesses 'Mental Armor', it is merely for body protection. Unless it is a pure soul-type entity like a ghost, it is impossible to directly attack an enemy's soul."

"Subtle Mastery!"

Guangfa, who looked somewhat plump and wealthy, narrowed his eyes and said: "If a martial art reaches Subtle Mastery, one can manipulate their Martial Dao Will to destroy an enemy's soul through direct contact before even advancing to the Third Rebirth!"

"Second Rebirth, the first gate of Hard Qigong, Subtle Mastery!"

Guangyuan, who had the air of a scholar, chewed on this information and let out a cold snort: "Such a person cannot be a nobody within Guangqing Prefecture!"

A wise man may think a thousand times and still make one mistake!

Although this person was extremely ruthless and cautious, his own characteristics could never be hidden; this was his greatest flaw!

It must be said.

Never think only of yourself as clever while treating everyone else as a fool.

That statement was absolutely correct.

Although Wu Dao had been sufficiently cautious, destroying the body and erasing all evidence.

However, Guangshen and the other two...

It didn't take long to confirm the general appearance of the murderer, Wu Dao, through a few clues, and it was likely very close to the truth.

However.

All of this was within Wu Dao's expectations.

He did not worry too much.

Relying solely on a vague image.

Although there were few people in the vast Guangqing Prefecture who fit this description, they were certainly not the only ones, and it would be impossible to find him, Wu Dao, in such a short time.

Not to mention.

Wu Dao now followed the Stealing Heaven's Secret System; he didn't even have a dantian, so strictly speaking, he was a 'Body Cultivator' and couldn't even be considered a martial artist.

The one who killed was the martial artist Wu Dao.

What does that have to do with me, the Heaven Stealer Wu Dao?

Most importantly.

The unique nature of the Stealing Heavenly Secrets Breathing Technique and the Attribute Panel gave him a means to rapidly increase his strength.

By the time Guangshen and the others actually found Wu Dao, his strength would surely have improved again, and at that point, it would be up for debate as to who would destroy whom.