The jungle behind Heavenly Spirit Peak.
Wang Sen walked on, step by step, until an unfamiliar voice came from behind him. "Stop. Don't turn around."
Wang Sen froze, forcing down the urge to look back. "Should I thank you for the warning, or should I take you down right now? If I'm not mistaken, you're the one who started the fire, aren't you?"
A soft laugh came from behind him. "You're a clever one."
Wang Sen said, "No one else would have saved me, and most importantly, no one else could have known such a closely guarded secret. Only you would think of using me to trip up the Inspection Hall. But what a pity. The Inspection Hall operates in secrecy. At most, this will make them lose face; it won't be enough to bring them down."
"A closely guarded secret?" The voice behind him gave a cold laugh. "The Inspection Hall has always been arrogant. Do you really think they'd disguise themselves when framing you? Besides, it was daytime, and plenty of people were coming and going. Would they risk being spotted in disguise and causing a misunderstanding?"
Wang Sen stared. "You mean...the Grand Hall Master covered for them?"
"Why else would they have crushed the Image Recording Stone? The Immortal Sect's reputation matters. If word got out that the Inspection Hall framed an innocent fellow disciple, it would become a laughingstock."
"That's true." Wang Sen quickly caught on. "But what does that have to do with me? It's over now. If they want to frame someone else, they can go after someone else. I can focus on my cultivation. I don't want to get involved in your affairs."
The voice behind him said, "If you really wanted to focus on your cultivation, you should have reported me to the Inspection Hall as soon as I told you to meet me, instead of coming alone."
"I only wanted to thank you."
"But you haven't shown the slightest gratitude. And you guessed from the start that I was behind it. Why pass up such a good chance to earn merit?"
Wang Sen faltered. "Because I'm grateful to you. I didn't want to betray you."
"Do you expect me to swallow that crap?" The voice behind him scoffed. "It's because you really were sent here by the Wood Puppet Sect, isn't it?"
Wang Sen was shocked. "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Don't panic. I'm not talking nonsense. You've done a good job covering your tracks, but do you think Luo Qiuzhen is an idiot? Do you think he just picked some random person to use as a scapegoat? No. He already suspected you; he just had no evidence. So he might as well frame you. And it turns out you really are a Wood Puppet Sect spy."
Wang Sen snapped, "What proof do you have?"
"Plenty! For instance, why did you go to Huaiyin Mountain alone? Because you had a trump card of your own, but didn't want to reveal it. And even with my warning, how could an ordinary person have calmly faced the Grand Hall Master? I only told you they would frame you. The Image Recording Stone was your own plan. Why did you have one? Your plan looks simple, but the simpler a plan is, the harder it is to carry out. You have to consider so many more things! And yesterday, when I brought you a message, you sensed me before I'd even entered the courtyard. That kind of vigilance isn't something an ordinary low-level cultivator can manage. Finally, you came to meet me alone. That's the biggest proof of all!"
Wang Sen froze again. The other man's words left him momentarily speechless. He could only sneer, "None of that is proof. It's just speculation."
The person behind him gave a cold, eerie laugh, chilling to the bone. "I'm not trying to arrest you, so I don't need proof. Don't worry. Since I helped you, I won't harm you. I just want to work with you."
"Work together?" Wang Sen sneered. "I don't even know who you are. How can we work together?"
"Your enemy isn't me, and my enemy isn't you. That's a basis for cooperation. Besides, I helped you."
"And if I refuse?"
"I forgot to tell you: I have an Image Recording Stone too. Everything we just said has been recorded."
"Damn it!" Wang Sen flicked his fingers, sending an object flying. It was a pitch-black Wood Cicada, its needle-like feelers waving in the air as it flitted away. It circled once, but found no target.
Only then did Wang Sen turn around. Behind him was nothing but empty space—not a soul in sight. The Wood Cicada landed on his shoulder and disappeared into his body, but this was clearly not a method of the Black and White Divine Palace.
He looked down at the ground and saw a sheet of white paper.
Wang Sen picked it up. Four large characters were written on it: "Cooperation benefits both."
For a moment, his heart was filled with confusion.
Seven days later, the Inspection Hall announced that they had caught the real culprit.
Without a doubt, this was another scapegoat.
This time, however, the Inspection Hall had been far more cautious. They had investigated the suspect before framing him. More importantly, he really was a spy sent by another sect, and the Inspection Hall had known about him for a long time. Bringing him out now to serve as a scapegoat also helped preserve the Black and White Divine Palace's reputation.
Ning Ye didn't know whether Yue Xinchans knew about this. He probably couldn't have missed it, but had chosen to turn a blind eye.
Both Yue Xinchans and Fu Dongliu were devoted to cultivation. As far as they were concerned, the fewer troubles, the better.
But that didn't mean the matter was over. In secret, Luo Qiuzhen continued investigating. Unfortunately, Ning Ye knew all his methods, and his name wasn't even on the suspect list. Naturally, none of it had any effect.
The unfortunate part was that Ning Ye still hadn't found the Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment. The Inspection Hall operated at too low a level, and, most importantly, they hadn't even considered the Heavenly Mechanism Sect.
Ning Ye couldn't exactly remind them himself, so the matter could only drag on.
During this time, Ning Ye contacted Wang Sen once. Wang Sen had clearly thought it over and agreed to work with him. After they exchanged ways to stay in touch, they went their separate ways.
Time flew by. Before long, another two months had passed.
Ning Ye's Killing Heart Blade had reached mastery ahead of schedule, but Zhang Liekuang hadn't come to ask about it, so Ning Ye couldn't be bothered to remind him.
The fourth layer of the Basic Mental Method, on the other hand, was still some distance away.
His aptitude was limited, after all, and Ning Ye didn't want to burn through resources to force his way forward. But with his experience to rely on, he estimated he could reach the fourth layer before the one-year assessment period ended.
That day, Ning Ye was still working on making talismans. He had begun trying to produce Seventh-Grade Talismans.
If his rapid progress so far had relied on the foundation he'd built during his cultivation period in the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, then when it came to the Talisman Dao, Ning Ye was truly standing at a new starting point.
Ning Ye worked carefully, guiding the talisman brush steadily across the paper. Spiritual energy surged as he wrote stroke after stroke of the profound mysteries of heaven and earth. When the intricate lines of the special characters were complete, a mysterious radiance appeared.
"It finally worked." Looking at the talisman in his hand, Ning Ye smiled with satisfaction.
It was a Seventh-Grade Talisman. Being able to complete it meant that Ning Ye's Talisman Dao had finally reached a new height.
Unfortunately, the path of cultivation only grew harder the further one advanced. Breaking through again anytime soon would be difficult.
Just as he was celebrating, the Ground Rat Puppet suddenly emerged from the earth and hopped onto the table. It opened its mouth and spat out a letter.
Ning Ye opened it. The letter said, "Midnight tonight. Same place."
There was no signature.
It was from Wang Sen. Since they'd established a way to contact each other, Ning Ye hadn't reached out to him again. Wang Sen had instead taken the initiative to contact him.
"Looks like this kid has something on his mind." Ning Ye smiled, then burned the letter to ashes. "Oh well. Let's see what he's planning."
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