Chapter 254: Deduction
"Lang Yun’s—Lang Yun’s plate is cracked!"
"Red Tiger’s is shattered too!"
"And Shi Yangyan’s."
...
Within the Supreme Mysterious Sect, someone’s expression turned grim as they watched the Life Stone Plates, inscribed with the disciples’ names, shatter.
Though all three were considered ordinary Inner Sect Disciples of the Supreme Mysterious Sect—the kind who only received standardized training—they held the title of Inner Sect Disciple nonetheless.
And they had been brought into the Sect by a well-known Steward.
This was especially true for Lang Yun.
She was the daughter of a Steward in the Supreme Mysterious Sect.
Though her talent was ordinary, she had been raised in the Supreme Mysterious Sect since she was a child, accepted as a Registered Disciple by an elder, and carried many protective treasures.
With Red Tiger and the others following her, how could they have met with a mishap so easily?
Sweating profusely, a disciple immediately rushed off to inform those in charge.
One death, now and then, could be considered an accident.
But three at once was definitely not.
As long as the three of them invoked the name of the Supreme Mysterious Sect, the average Sect Disciple wouldn’t have dared to lay a hand on them.
Besides, Lang Yun and the other two weren’t stupid; they would never provoke someone they shouldn’t. So who did they manage to offend?
They were last active in the Dragon Frost Swamp.
As for the Dragon Frost Swamp... anyone foraging for materials or mining there was definitely not a disciple from a Major Sect, or at least not one who was highly regarded.
Who else was there for them to even offend?
"Quick, find out where they were last seen!"
Footsteps rushed away.
Meanwhile, Lang Yun’s father, a Steward in the Supreme Mysterious Sect’s Internal Affairs Hall, practically crawled and scrambled on his way to find a certain elder.
Even before reaching the building, he threw himself to the ground and kowtowed toward the empty structure. "I beg you, Elder, to avenge my daughter!"
His voice was thick with sobs.
From the moment he learned of his daughter’s death, a tooth-grinding hatred had taken root in him.
He had to know who killed his daughter!
Soon, word spread throughout the Supreme Mysterious Sect: a Steward’s daughter and two Inner Sect Disciples were dead.
Some speculated they had offended a senior with a high cultivation level.
Others were completely indifferent.
And some even rejoiced in secret.
This was especially true for the Outer Disciples.
The Supreme Mysterious Sect was a rather peculiar place.
The fact that it could produce the likes of Lü Rufeng and Yi Tianhe proved that the sect’s character was fundamentally flawed.
From top to bottom, everyone subscribed to the belief that the ends justified the means.
Inner Sect Disciples bullying Outer Disciples was a common occurrence.
Quite a few Outer Disciples had been tormented by Red Tiger and his two companions, so many were thrilled to hear of their deaths.
Perhaps only a single Steward was truly and sincerely grieving for his daughter.
After Manager Lang’s pleas, a long while passed before a thin wisp of smoke curled up from the empty building.
A figure gradually formed within the smoke, and a hoarse female voice emerged. "I tried to divine Lang Yun’s location, but... I couldn’t find her."
Not only is she gone, but the tracking mark she carried was also obliterated.
Disciples struggling out in the world always have some means of sending information back to the Sect.
But this time, they were simply gone before anything could be sent.
Manager Lang trembled. He raised his head, revealing a handsome face that was now twisting in anguish. "Lang Yun... Lang Yun was my only daughter..."
"Yes, I know," the female voice replied coolly. "She was my daughter, too. I will avenge her. I will ask the Sect Master to lend me the Divine Mirror and expose the culprit’s location."
Manager Lang’s body shuddered, and after a long moment, he managed a single word: "Yes."
Suddenly, the woman spoke again in a low voice, "Qiwen, have you gotten old?"
With that, the smoke thinned, and the voice vanished completely.
Those callous words sent a chill through Manager Lang’s heart.
It was also a stark reminder.
’My daughter is dead. My only support is gone.’
’The bond between me and that woman is gone, too.’
’I only had one daughter, Lang Yun, but that woman... she has many sons, many daughters!’
’What will I do in the Supreme Mysterious Sect now?’
’How long can I hold on to my position as Steward?’
’The person who killed my daughter... I’ll have them torn to shreds!’
’But what if... what if my daughter really did offend someone she couldn’t afford to?’
’What would I do then?’
—
"Lang Yun, Red Tiger, and the others are dead?"
Lü Rufeng and Yi Tianhe, who were in the Dragon Frost Swamp, quickly received the news via a thousand-li voice transmission.
For the Supreme Mysterious Sect, it was a notable incident, but hardly a major crisis.
In fact, the purpose of the voice transmission was simply to warn the two of them to be more careful and avoid provoking anyone.
After all, the Dragon Frost Swamp was crawling with High-level Cultivators.
It was perfectly normal for people like them to get killed after provoking the wrong person.
Lü Rufeng wasn’t particularly concerned, but Yi Tianhe frowned. "How could that be? I just saw them two days ago. They were in the Dragon Frost Swamp, too!"
Lü Rufeng shrugged. "Perhaps they offended someone they shouldn’t have."
"Lang Yun knew her place. How could she have provoked someone she shouldn’t have?"
Yi Tianhe was genuinely puzzled. Lü Rufeng shot her a look. "You were close with Lang Yun? Junior Sister, it’s not my place to criticize, but she was just the daughter of a Steward. She wasn’t even accepted as a formal disciple by an elder, only a Registered Disciple. You should spend less time with people like her."
Yi Tianhe paused, then shook her head. "No, that’s not it. I just find it strange. Lang Yun and her group wouldn’t have provoked someone they couldn’t afford to. They weren’t idiots."
"But they’re dead, aren’t they? Are you suggesting some Foundation Establishment Stage disciple killed all three of them at once? Impossible. Who could..."
Before he could finish, Lü Rufeng’s thoughts unexpectedly drifted to Song Abao.
He knew the two matters couldn’t be conflated, but he couldn’t help but recall how Song Abao, then at the mere Qi Refining Middle Stage, had used astonishing methods in the Secret Realm to continuously pop pills while delivering a savage beating to the two of them, both at the Late-stage Qi Refining.
That had been a deeply humiliating affair.
Yet the faint possibility did exist.
But Lü Rufeng quickly shook his head.
’Impossible.’
’Is everyone a Song Abao?’
’Wouldn’t that just prove I’m a good-for-nothing that anyone can beat?!’
The matter was just a brief topic of conversation between them before it was dropped.
Back at the Supreme Mysterious Sect, when the elder requested to borrow the Divine Mirror, the Sect Master considered it for a moment. Given that the deceased was, after all, her daughter, he agreed.
The Divine Mirror could be used to divine the identity of Lang Yun’s killer, requiring only a small price.
—But that was only if the target wasn’t problematic.
Only the Sect Master himself could operate the Divine Mirror. The Sect Master of this Major Sect was already at the Late-stage Nascent Soul. Although not the strongest in the Sect, as the very strongest was in seclusion, he was a hair’s breadth away from the next realm. A breakthrough for him would herald a new era.
Yet, when a man of his cultivation began to divine the identity of Lang Yun’s killer, he had only just begun activating the Secret Technique when his heart suddenly started to pound violently.
"Something’s wrong!"
Horrified, he aborted the divination. The moment he stopped, the back of his neck was slick with a clammy sweat he hadn’t felt in ages.
A flicker of terror crossed his eyes. He abruptly withdrew the Divine Mirror. This was a man who had lived for a thousand years and weathered countless storms, yet at this moment, it felt as if the sky itself was collapsing.
’How is this possible?!’
The only other time the Divine Mirror had malfunctioned was when he had tried to divine Song Abao’s location.
Last time, when scrying for the Black Demon Seal and Song Abao’s whereabouts, things had only gone wrong halfway through the process, and he had hesitated and chosen not to proceed.
How could it be that this time, the process of scrying for Lang Yun’s killer was even more terrifying?!