Just as Ye Luo left the desolate battlefield of mangled corpses, the next moment, Feixian Peak was sealed off by the Disciplinary Hall.

Massive flying boats hovered over Feixian Peak, one in each direction—east, west, south, and north. In addition, a hundred stewards, deacons, and elders from nearby peaks were urgently summoned, each piloting their own flying boats to guard the outer perimeter of the peak.

Even a single bird attempting to leave would be under surveillance.

Wen Jiu stood in the courtyard of his home, gazing up at the scene with countless thoughts running through his mind. But what occupied him the most was the corpse of Xue Mo Sanqian and Gong Chi. He was pondering how to retrieve the body.

Or rather, how to steal it.

Perhaps, his only chance would be when the Bloodclad Tower and that group of organized heretical cultivators came to snatch it.

Fortunately, he had the Three Rivers Ghost Concealment technique and the Blood Corpse Escape method.

That was precisely why Wen Jiu dared to play this hidden card.

At that moment, his sister, Wen Ya, arrived at his residence, and shortly after, Wang Nian returned from Feixian Peak.

"I heard something big happened?"

Wen Ya had clearly gathered some information from the Xu family, but they, too, were unaware of the details.

Which made sense.

Deacon Xu had yet to return.

Such confidential matters wouldn't be known by the Xu family.

Even if they did know, they certainly wouldn't be able to talk about it—there was no way he could use a silence spell on his own sister.

"Don't worry, Sis. Just stay here with me... If things really go south, we run."

Wen Ya nodded immediately. "Mhm, mhm, if something happens, I'll run."

In her eyes, no matter what was unfolding on Feixian Peak, it had nothing to do with the two of them.

Her little brother was only at the second level of Qi Refinement.

Getting involved would be a death sentence.

It was better to run.

Honestly, she was only worried that her brother might feel too loyal to the sect and rush in if something happened.

"Sis, get some rest at home first. I'm going to see Brother Wang." Wen Jiu left those words behind and turned toward the Wang family's residence.

The moment Wang Nian saw Wen Jiu enter, he struggled to his feet despite his exhaustion and pulled him into a tight hug. "Little brother, I barely made it back this time. That damn Elder of the Spiritual Farming Division—turns out that bastard was a traitor!"

"Brother Wang, are you alright?"

Wen Jiu's heart skipped a beat.

So he was the other traitor?

The Elder of the Spiritual Farming Division—formerly the acting peak master and a trusted confidant of Ji Qiubai. He was the other traitor.

Now everything made sense.

No wonder Ji Qiubai had been poisoned at the Chen family's estate, despite his formidable strength. Someone who had reached the sixth level of Qi Refinement should have had countless battle experiences, yet he still fell for it. It was because the betrayal came from his closest aide.

Wait a minute.

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If that was the case, then Ji Qiubai's entire plan back on the main peak—the staged corpse, the bait for the Bloodclad Tower—was actually orchestrated right under someone else's nose.

Something was off.

If that were true, why had the Bloodclad Tower fallen for it?

The reactions of the Chen family weren't fake. Neither were those of the Bloodclad Tower's people. If Ji Qiubai had merely been using them against each other, he wouldn't have lured the Feixian Peak forces to the Chen family estate, nor would he have led them into the land where blood essence was stored.

Unless...

A sudden thought struck Wen Jiu—that token engraved with the words 'Tian Zuo'.

Could it be that the Bloodclad Tower and the Elder of the Spiritual Farming Division weren't actually on the same side? That the Bloodclad Tower was merely a pawn in a larger scheme?

With that realization, everything suddenly clicked.

The incident at the Blood Fiend Abyss—that had been orchestrated by the faction behind the Elder of the Spiritual Farming Division, while the Bloodclad Tower was just another piece in their game.

"Good thing I played my trump card." Wen Jiu felt a surge of satisfaction. His desire to head to the main peak grew exponentially.

The Elder of the Spiritual Farming Division and his group wouldn't dare to openly challenge the main peak. Otherwise, they wouldn't have resorted to such underhanded tactics. That meant the main peak was a safe zone. As long as he stayed within the sect, it didn't matter what happened outside.

Shaking off his thoughts, Wen Jiu turned his gaze toward Wang Nian, who was lifting his robe to show his injuries. Quickly, Wen Jiu handed him two bottles of healing pills.

Wang Nian's injuries weren't severe—just surface-level wounds.

His main problem was mana depletion and sheer exhaustion, making him look like he had just barely survived a calamity.

"Wait… Brother Wang, if I remember correctly, the Elder of the Spiritual Farming Division's granddaughter is one of the top candidates in this year's assessment, right?"

That thought flashed through Wen Jiu's mind.

Wang Nian nodded. "Of course. She has a mid-grade spiritual root and reached the second level of Qi Refinement before turning twenty… But after this, forget the assessment—she'll be lucky to keep her life."

"This…"

Wen Jiu didn't find that rule unreasonable.

If you don't remove the weeds at the root, they'll grow back with the spring breeze.

But if her family was truly innocent, then… still, there were "heretical cultivators" even among Qi Refinement disciples.

An entire family.

All just pieces in a game of deception.

Right now, the elder's wife and child were probably drowning in despair.

Wang Nian sighed as well. "If I were that old bastard's son, I think I'd go insane."

Wen Jiu nodded.

He had no reason to doubt Wang Nian's words.

Then, shifting the topic, Wen Jiu asked about the Blood Fiend Abyss, and the first thing Wang Nian said immediately confirmed Wen Jiu's suspicions.

"Those bastards from the Bloodclad Tower—we were already killing them off, chasing them down. Even the Infernal Flame Mountain had been stabilized with formations. But then, out of nowhere, an even stronger group of heretical cultivators appeared. They pulled out three top-tier first-grade talismans—not only did they break the formation, but they also reignited the Infernal Flame Mountain."

When this was brought up, Wang Nian couldn't help but feel enraged. With the demons of the Blood Fiend Abyss now roaming free, the days ahead would be anything but peaceful. And who knew how many lives would be lost? Killing a single demon could earn him a considerable amount of spirit stones, but he'd rather not take that risk—after all, there was a high chance he'd end up dead before ever spending them. Even the weakest of these demons were comparable to a second-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, and those with slightly higher strength were already at his level. Not to mention the ones even stronger than that. He had even glimpsed a certain demon whose aura rivaled that of Ji Qiubai, the Peak Lord. If he were to encounter such a creature, death would be his only fate.

"It seems that there really is such a group, and 'Tian Zuo' might be part of their organization's name," Wen Jiu said slowly, taking out the token engraved with the characters "Tian Zuo" and carefully examining it.

Wang Nian immediately leaned in for a closer look. "Where did you get this?"

"I picked it up at the Chen family estate."

The token had actually come from Chen Feng's storage pouch, but if he told the truth, it would expose the fact that he had killed Chen Feng. Though it wasn't a huge matter, and even if it were revealed, it wouldn't be a big deal, Wen Jiu still preferred to keep it hidden.

Wang Nian took the token, his expression shifting as he fell into deep thought. Moments later, his eyes lit up with surprise. "I remember now! I once overheard those heretical cultivators mentioning the words 'Tian Zuo Alliance.'"

"Tian Zuo Alliance!"

Wen Jiu's expression turned serious as he committed the name to memory.

"Keep it," Wang Nian said, handing the token back to Wen Jiu. "The people at the main peak surely know about the existence of the Tian Zuo Alliance. Handing in this token won't earn you any merit, so you might as well keep it—who knows, it might come in handy someday."

Wen Jiu said nothing and put the token away. Then, all of a sudden, he felt like he had forgotten something. Slapping his forehead, he finally remembered—he had completely forgotten to ask about Mu Canglong.

"What's wrong?" Wang Nian asked, puzzled.

Wen Jiu quickly inquired, "How is Steward Mu doing?"

Wang Nian chuckled. "I thought it was something serious. Don't worry, he's fine. Steward Mu is one of Elder Gong Chi's most trusted aides and has cultivated the Night Patrol Division's secret arts—he's not just some ordinary expert. Although he did face a life-threatening situation, the people from the Supervision Hall arrived in time to help him escape."

"Brother Wang, then you get some rest. I'm going to check on Steward Mu." Wen Jiu nodded in response.