Boom!
Wen Daoyuan's words were like a thunderbolt, striking the top of everyone's head in the courtyard.
Wen Buqi was struck dumb, his aged face filled with disbelief.
"Sect Master... what did you say?"
" The Jade Firmament Sect... has been wiped out?!"
Wen Jiao gasped in shock, her slender hands covering her alluring red lips, her beautiful eyes filled with horror and disbelief.
That's one of the seven major sects of the Eastern Continent.
This major sect of alchemy, with a history spanning thousands of years, boasts over a dozen elders at the Divine Sea Realm, and even Dao Mysterious Realm patriarch residing in the back mountain.
How could the entire clan be wiped out overnight?!
The courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
Wen Daoyuan's face was as solemn as iron, and he spoke in a deep voice.
"Absolutely true."
"The sect's protective formation shattered; all 32,000 disciples, deacons, and elders of the sect..."
"Including Sect Master Danyuanzi, and that Dao Mysterious Realm Supreme Elder who has been in seclusion for many years..."
"Not a single one survived."
Chu Yunfei's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes sharp as knives. "I wonder... who did this?"
Wen Daoyuan slowly shook his head.
Nobody knows.
"This was discovered this morning by several inner sect deacons who had gone out to gather herbs. The ground was littered with corpses, and blood flowed like a river."
"Upon receiving the news, I immediately dispatched experts from surrounding branch sects to investigate, and indeed, not a single person from the entire sect was left alive."
"The news is currently being held back by the top leaders of various leading forces and has not yet fully spread to the general public. Major sects have already secretly dispatched experts to investigate the scene."
Wen Buqi swayed and slumped onto the stone chair, his back covered in a layer of cold sweat.
If he hadn't gone back to the capital with Chu Yunfei and Wen Jiao two days ago, but instead chose to stay in the sect, he would probably be a cold corpse by now.
" The Jade Firmament Sect has always focused solely on alchemy and rarely participates in the conflicts and battles of the Eastern Continent. Who would be so ruthless as to commit such a devastating act?"
Wen Buqi muttered to himself, his face ashen.
Wen Jiao frowned and tentatively spoke.
"Could it be the Blood Baleful Intent Tower?"
Wen Daoyuan did not answer his daughter immediately, but pondered for a moment before slowly shifting his gaze to Chu Yunfei.
"Without concrete evidence, it's too early for anyone to draw any conclusions."
"But there is one thing that is extremely strange."
"Although the person who secretly acted slaughtered the entire Jade Firmament Sect, they turned a blind eye to the countless spirit stones and medicinal herbs in the sect's treasury. The only thing taken was the seventh-grade Nine-Aperture Life-Restoring Pill in the ancestral pavilion's forbidden area."
Wen Daoyuan leaned forward slightly, his tone becoming more serious.
"Young friend Chu, previously in the main hall of the Jade Firmament Sect, my second uncle, on behalf of the Pill Pavilion, proposed exchanging 30% of the profits from the past century for that Nine-Aperture Life-Restoring Pill."
Chu Yunfei's eyes flickered slightly.
"Does the Pavilion Master mean that this mudslinging might end up backfiring on the Pill Pavilion?"
Wen Daoyuan gave a wry smile.
"It's not a matter of possibility, but rather that the two surviving elders of the Jade Firmament Sect stationed in the imperial city have indeed developed great suspicion towards the Pill Pavilion."
"After the sect was destroyed, its entire foundation remained intact, except for that seventh-grade pill, which disappeared without a trace."
"My Pill Pavilion had just been refused medicine when Young Friend Chu publicly beheaded the Holy Son Zhou Heng in the back mountain, and then the massacre of his entire family occurred."
"These coincidences, to outsiders, would naturally be the perfect excuse and pretext."
Fortunately, they don't have any solid evidence, and given their fear of the strength of my Pill Pavilion, they dare not directly come to our door to demand an explanation.
Wen Jiao gave a cold laugh, her face radiating coldness.
" The Jade Firmament Sect incident happened last night, when we were still halfway there on our flying boat. Besides, killing Dao Mysterious Realm expert? Have those two elders in the Imperial City lost their minds, thinking that we few have such abilities?"
Wen Daoyuan sighed.
That's why they didn't immediately come knocking on our door.
Chu Yunfei picked up the now-cold tea in front of him, took a sip, and remained calm.
"The primary target of those who destroyed the sect was simply that seventh-grade elixir."
"As for using this opportunity to shift suspicion towards the Pill Pavilion or me, it's just a disgusting tactic done conveniently."
Wen Daoyuan raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Why are you so certain, young friend Chu?"
Chu Yunfei placed the teacup on the stone table, making a crisp sound.
"If the other party's purpose was purely to frame someone, there was no need to wipe out the entire Jade Firmament Sect so thoroughly."
"Wouldn't it be far better to leave one or two survivors, secretly manipulated, to identify the Pill Pavilion on the spot when all parties arrive, rather than leaving them with no way to prove anything now?"
"Therefore, the core motivation of the person who took action was, from beginning to end, their urgent need for the Nine-Aperture Life-Restoring Pill to save their life."
Wen Jiao nodded thoughtfully, a hint of doubt appearing in her beautiful eyes.
"But looking across the entire Eastern Continent, which powerful figure has suffered such a severe injury that they absolutely need a seventh-grade divine pill?"
Wen Daoyuan pondered for a long time, then shook his head and said, "Among the top experts in the Eastern Continent, I have not heard of anyone suffering from a life-threatening injury."
Chu Yunfei's gaze suddenly sharpened, and a cold, pale face, imposing yet ferocious, flashed through his mind.
Wen Daoyuan noticed the change in his aura and pressed, "Whom are you thinking of, young friend?"
Meeting the gazes of the three, Chu Yunfei slowly uttered three words.
Ling Zhantian.
"What?!"
Wen Jiao was so shocked that she covered her mouth, while Wen Buqi's eyelids twitched wildly.
Wen Daoyuan frowned and said in a deep voice, "Young friend, what makes you say this?"
"A few days ago in the desolate mountains outside the city, I used my absolute trump card and nearly killed him on the spot."
Chu Yunfei's expression was cold as he said in a chilling voice, "That sword pierced through his protective dragon aura, severely injuring his internal organs and soul. He hastily activated a teleportation talisman to escape, so his injuries must have been extremely severe."
"If we were to say who in the entire Eastern Continent most urgently needs a seventh-grade divine pill to save their life, Ling Zhantian would definitely be the prime suspect."
Chu Yunfei paused, then shook his head.
However, this is only a suspicion.
" The Blood Baleful Intent Tower is full of cunning schemes; it cannot be ruled out that they have other plans in secret."
"Moreover, as far as I know, Ling Zhantian is only at the Divine Sea Realm Ninth Level, while the Jade Firmament Sect Dao Mysterious Realm Profound Realm in charge. Divine Sea Realm cultivator can reverse the Dao Profound Dao Profound... even if the Dao Profound is seriously injured, it's as if there's an insurmountable chasm between them."
Chu Yunfei was well aware of the vast gap between different levels of understanding.
The Divine Sea Realm is merely the transformation of spiritual energy into a sea, while the Dao Mysterious Realm involves completely solidifying and condensing the vast spiritual sea, nurturing a profound Dao Profound core within the dantian.
The Xuan Dan rotates ceaselessly, not only mobilizing spiritual energy imbued with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, but also constantly and automatically absorbing and refining the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, its recovery speed and endurance being tireless.
This qualitative transformation cannot be smoothed over simply by increasing spiritual energy.
Even with his current strength, he believes that when he is at the Divine Sea Realm Ninth Level, he would find it difficult to cross this chasm of law when facing a true Dao Mysterious Realm, unless he uses the Great Heaven-Burning Art full power, in which case there is still a chance.
Can Ling Zhantian do it?
However, Chu Yunfei had barely finished speaking.
Wen Daoyuan, who had been silent, slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with unprecedented solemnity.
"No, young friend Chu."
"If you think Ling Zhantian can't kill someone at the Dao Mysterious Realm, then you've truly underestimated the Lord of the Great Qian Dynasty."
Chu Yunfei's eyelids twitched slightly.
"Does Premier Wen know anything about this?"
Wen Daoyuan nodded heavily.
" The Great Qian Imperial Family family has a history spanning ten thousand years, and its foundation is far deeper than what the outside world perceives."
"I have been in charge of the Pill Pavilion for many years, and I once secretly received information that Ling Zhantian possesses an extremely domineering royal forbidden technique. Once used, it can forcefully propel one into the Dao Mysterious Realm Third Layer in a short period of time."
"If he truly harbors murderous intent and launches a surprise attack on the Jade Firmament Sect, that Supreme Elder of the Pill Dao, who is not skilled in warfare and is only at the Dao Mysterious Second Layer, simply cannot stop him."
Chu Yunfei's heart trembled slightly.
No wonder Ling Changkong spoke with such confidence and composure when he mentioned Ling Zhantian 'Ling Zhantian awakening in the Poison Hall of the Imperial Palace.
It turns out that the dog emperor still possessed such a trump card that could transcend vast realms.
However, the secret techniques for forcibly raising one's cultivation level are often accompanied by unimaginable loss of lifespan or hidden injuries to the physical body, and some secret techniques even have various limitations.
I wonder which kind of secret technique that dog emperor possesses?
Chu Yunfei exhaled a breath of stale air and collected his thoughts.
Since there is no concrete evidence, there's no point in speculating at this point.
"But I wonder, given the sudden upheaval at the Jade Firmament Sect, have any intention of canceling the Seven Sects Grand Seven Sects Grand Competition scheduled for seven days later?"
Wen Daoyuan rubbed his temples, a wry smile on his face.
"That's the most unusual part."
"The news of the massacre of the entire Jade Firmament Sect has already spread among the high-ranking members of various sects. However, instead of postponing the event, they are urging their own holy sons and daughters to speed up their preparations and attend the meeting on schedule."
"It's as if the loss of the Jade Firmament Sect is utterly insignificant to them."
A chilling glint flashed in Chu Yunfei's eyes.
The loss of a major sect has not only failed to cause panic, but has actually made them even more impatient. It seems that the conspiracy being secretly orchestrated by the Blood Baleful Intent Tower is incredibly ambitious.
Wen Daoyuan scrutinized Chu Yunfei for a moment, then, as if suddenly remembering something, his expression became somewhat meaningful.
He glanced at Wen Jiao, who was listening quietly beside him, then broke the heavy atmosphere with a smile.
"By the way, young friend Chu, during the time you were away from the capital, two stunningly beautiful women visited my Pill Pavilion several times to inquire about your whereabouts."
Chu Yunfei was slightly taken aback. "Which two?"
Wen Daoyuan smiled slightly and spoke slowly.
"One of them is Si Yunshu, the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Edict Sect."
"And the other one..."
He paused slightly, and his expression became strange.
"The woman identified herself as Lin Wanyin. She arrived with red-rimmed eyes and looked extremely haggard. She grabbed my Pill Pavilion manager and urgently asked... if there was any news of you."