At a sentry post southeast of the Fangtai Sect encampment, more than twenty cultivators had gathered inside and out, carefully inspecting the area under the lead of a capable-looking cultivator.
Just then, someone said, "The Profound Rectifier has arrived."
Everyone looked up to see several streaks of escaping light racing in from the horizon. Within a few breaths, they reached the vicinity and descended. Zhang Yu stepped out, with Wan Ming and Shi Yue following behind him.
The capable cultivator hurried forward and respectfully saluted. "Profound Rectifier."
Zhang Yu glanced at the sentry post and said, "I already know what happened. What is the situation now?"
The cultivator replied, "Reporting to the Profound Rectifier, we have not yet found the six disciples. There are no traces in the vicinity either. It is as if they vanished into thin air." He hesitated. "Or perhaps they left of their own accord."
Shi Yue spoke up then. "Profound Rectifier, Fellow Daoist Wen Liang and I both participated in the sentry post's arrangement. No two people would face the same direction, and one person was solely responsible for guarding the Glazed Jade. Even if someone in the wilderness used an illusion technique, it would have been impossible to catch them all at once. Someone would have been alerted."
"Let us go inside and take a look," Zhang Yu said. He immediately stepped into the sentry post, and the others hurriedly followed.
Once inside, he surveyed the surroundings.
To allow room for maneuvering and defense, these outposts in the wilderness were relatively spacious, roughly seven or eight zhang long and wide, and about six zhang high. They had three levels in all, with one-third underground. A spiraling stone staircase hugged the thick walls, open from top to bottom, leaving everything within visible at a glance.