Night fell. Silence engulfed the world.

The long-bearded inspector was reviewing the latest intelligence reports from the Watchtower and the Night Patrol Division when he suddenly heard footsteps echoing from the corridor outside his window.

But ever since Ji Qiubai's death, the main peak had been placed under strict lockdown by his orders—no one, except the three inspectors, was permitted to enter without authorization.

Yet now, someone was walking outside his window.

The footsteps were light.

But steady.

Moreover, when he extended his spiritual sense outward, he couldn't detect anyone in the corridor at all.

The long-bearded elder's expression changed drastically. He swiftly formed a hand seal and activated a talisman, his voice cold and firm. "Friend, since you've come, why not show yourself?"

"A friend? What makes you think I am one?" A deep, steady, and eerily familiar voice responded from the corridor outside.

The elder's face tensed. Panic flashed across his eyes as he hurriedly retracted his talisman, stood up, and opened the door with a respectful bow.

"Welcome, Elder Ye!"

Standing in the corridor was an elder dressed in black, his crimson hair flowing behind him. Hands clasped behind his back, his emotionless gaze swept across Fei Xian Peak. Yet, if one looked closely, they would see the chilling aura of death and killing intent hidden deep within his eyes.

This man was none other than Ye Chen—the emotionless, iron-faced elder of the Watchtower, a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator from Dead Man's Peak.

Ye Chen did not turn to look at him. His voice remained as cold as ever. "Have you found out who killed that unfortunate disciple of mine?"

"Preliminary findings suggest it was Bai Changxin, the current leader of the Bloodclad Tower. However, given that Bai Changxin has only just reached the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, his strength should not have been sufficient to kill Peak Master Ji," the long-bearded elder replied respectfully, his heart pounding.

The title "Emotionless Iron Face" was not an empty one. As a member of the Watchtower, he knew all too well the cruelty and ruthlessness hidden beneath Ye Chen's calm exterior—he had lost count of the number of heretical cultivators, demonic practitioners, and rogue cultivators Ye Chen had slain.

Ye Chen still did not turn around. "What about the investigation on the people of Fei Xian Peak?"

"We've checked almost everyone, Elder. So far, nothing unusual has been found." The long-bearded elder answered truthfully.

Ye Chen then asked, "I've heard that the Night Patrol Elder of Fei Xian Peak, Gong Chi, is a man of integrity. Have you investigated him thoroughly?"

"Elder Gong has indeed shown himself to be responsible and impartial. He is known for his fair and just nature and does not get along with most of the other elders on Fei Xian Peak. Since Peak Master Ji's death, he has remained in seclusion to recover from his injuries… Not only has he refrained from seizing power, but he even dispatched his trusted subordinates to assist our Watchtower in finding the true culprit."

As he spoke, admiration could be heard in the long-bearded elder's tone. People like Gong Chi were rare nowadays.

Extremely rare.

Take the recent disciple entrance trials, for example. Gong Chi had been the only elder who did not attempt to manipulate the system to secure spots for his own people.

His integrity was evident.

But upon hearing this, Ye Chen's expression darkened. He finally turned around, his icy gaze sending a chill down the long-bearded elder's spine. "Feng Xuan, is this how you conduct investigations? Allowing your personal biases to cloud your judgment?"

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Judging people based on personal preference.

A grave mistake.

"I was wrong, Elder!"

Feng Xuan immediately dropped to one knee.

He dared not lift his head.

Ye Chen remained silent, staring at him coldly for several long breaths. To Feng Xuan, every second felt like an eternity.

Only when Ye Chen finally spoke again did he feel a sliver of relief.

"Send someone to investigate the situation at the Bloodfiend Abyss in secret. Lately, the Bloodclad Tower has been making quite a stir there… As for you, stay on Fei Xian Peak and continue your investigation—focus on Gong Chi. I refuse to believe that someone like him truly exists in this world."

"Understood!" Feng Xuan nodded hastily. Then, as if by reflex, he asked, "Elder, what do you plan to do next?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake.

Sure enough—

As soon as he lifted his head, he was met with Ye Chen's icy gaze.

Feng Xuan immediately shut his mouth, not daring to utter another word.

...

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

As the date of the entrance examination drew closer, Fei Xian Peak gradually recovered from the shock of Ji Qiubai's death.

The entire sect was abuzz with discussions about the upcoming trials. Some had even set up gambling pools, betting on which twenty disciples would qualify to train at the Main Peak.

Wen Jiu, out of curiosity, glanced at the odds for himself.

One to one.

The only other people with the same betting odds as him were Du Feng and the acting Peak Master's granddaughter, who was also the granddaughter of the Elder from the Spirit Farming Division.

The former had a superior-grade single-attribute spiritual root.

The latter, though only possessing a mid-grade spiritual root, had already reached the second level of Qi Refinement.

There were indeed some apprentice disciples or official disciples capable of competing with these three, but among the newcomers, there were none.

Of course, Li Ye's disappearance had drawn quite a bit of attention.

Si Kongbai had even ordered people to search for Li Ye's whereabouts, but they found nothing.

As Wen Jiu had expected, Li Ye hadn't told anyone except Mu Ye about his actions that day.

Even the disciple who had called him to the Night Patrol Division only knew that Mu Ye had taken Wen Jiu to Lianwu Mountain to hunt for Yin souls as part of a test against Wen Jiu. There had been no other apparent motive.

No one had linked Li Ye's disappearance to Wen Jiu—not even Wang Nian from next door.

After all, Wen Jiu was publicly known to be only at the second level of Qi Refinement.

But Li Ye was a seasoned third-level Qi Refinement cultivator.

Even thinking with one's feet, it was impossible to associate Li Ye's disappearance with Wen Jiu.

Regarding this, Wen Jiu was quite satisfied with his previous decision—

Not breaking through to the third level of Qi Refinement immediately.

"Once the Grand Elder of the Main Peak appears, that will be the perfect time to break through." At that point, it wouldn't matter even if Gong Chi became suspicious or started paying attention to him.

After all, he was about to head to the Main Peak.

And Gong Chi's influence didn't reach that far.

…

A few more days passed.

Wen Jiu continued his cultivation as usual—nurturing corpses, nourishing souls, guiding spirits—while also tagging along with his sister, Wen Ya, to eat at Wang Nian's house.

Once he left for the Main Peak, his sister would have to stay behind on Feixian Peak. The closer she was to Wang Nian's family, the better. Plus, with his status as a disciple of the Main Peak, Wen Ya would be able to live peacefully on Feixian Peak.

As for bringing his sister to the Main Peak, Wen Jiu had never considered it—

And he didn't dare to.

Cultivation wasn't child's play, and his current strength didn't allow him to bring family along.

Then, on that day, a figure crashed down at the foot of Feixian Peak while flying on a sword, causing an uproar across the entire mountain.

That person was Liu Xiao.

When Wen Jiu heard the news, he immediately rushed to the Spirit Farming Division.

Because the Spirit Farming Division didn't only have spirit farmers—it also had healers.

However, when he arrived, the news he received was that Liu Xiao was in critical condition.

His left arm had been torn apart, his dantian shattered, and his chest suffered severe wounds. It was already a miracle that he had managed to survive long enough to return to Feixian Peak.

Who had inflicted such grievous injuries? How had it happened? Wen Jiu couldn't find out, as the infirmary had already been sealed off by the Disciplinary Hall.

But the first thing the Disciplinary Officer did after emerging was ring the bell.

Again.

This time, it was to summon all cultivators at the third level of Qi Refinement or higher while activating Feixian Peak's protective formation.

After the people from the Disciplinary Hall and the elders hurriedly left the sect, Wen Jiu remained outside the infirmary, waiting for Liu Xiao to regain consciousness.

After all, he owed Liu Xiao a favor.

If it weren't for the Corpse Eye technique, he wouldn't have been able to obtain so much fresh blood at the Chen Family's estate.

Before long, Liu Xiao's family arrived in a hurry.

His wife and two children stood outside with Wen Jiu, eyes filled with tears.

Wen Jiu noticed that Liu Xiao's youngest daughter was still an infant, just learning to call for her father.

The oldest was only thirteen or fourteen.

Watching this scene, Wen Jiu felt a mix of emotions swell within him.