If these vanished sects had encountered some unspeakable taboo, why were there now traces of their desperate resistance?
This meant that the enemy responsible for their disappearance was not invincible.
But if they could contend with that enemy, why had their entire sects vanished without a trace, people and possessions alike?
It defied all reason!
"Eerie. Far too eerie!"
That word, "eerie," made everyone's expressions grow even graver.
At that moment, everyone, including the core disciples aboard the distant warship, felt as though a dark cloud hung over their hearts. They felt fear, worry, and the bleak sorrow of the fox mourning the rabbit's death.
Even Mu Qinglan, who had always believed that "if one spear strike doesn't solve it, strike again," knitted her willow-leaf brows tightly.
Initially, she had thought some sacred land was responsible, or that these sects had violated some taboo and brought heavenly punishment upon themselves.
But their investigations along the way had revealed that things were not as she had imagined.
This was neither vengeance nor divine punishment.
There was not the slightest trace of heavenly punishment left here.
And yet these sects had mysteriously vanished, one after another.
Not a single useful clue remained, as though someone had erased them from this world completely.
However, after carefully considering all the clues together, she noticed some details they had previously overlooked.
Mu Qinglan immediately brought them up.
"Everyone, have you noticed? The nineteen sects we've investigated along the way, together with the Cold Abyss Sect before us, make exactly twenty."
"Moreover, all twenty were the leading sects in their respective provinces."
As she spoke, she suddenly took a map from her Storage Ring and spread it open in midair, examining the sect locations she had marked on it earlier.
The sect masters, including Alliance Leader