The twelve members disappeared through the thick jungle. The dusk had fallen painting everything in the shade of grey and black. The outskirts of the Bareback mountains especially became eerie. The dense jungle with towering trees and man-height shrubs was already intimidating as it were. Even in the midday, the forest was quite frightening and now in the night with the sound made by unknown animals and insects, no normal people would dare to cross it. But for the cultivators, those in foundation building realm, it wasn’t much of an idea to cross this.
There were rumors of ghosts appearing but it was only rumors created by qi sensing cultivators. Since the dangerous beasts were hunted there were only small beasts appearing now and then. Even so, it was only dangerous for mortals, even an initial cultivator of qi sensing realm could transverse this path easily. The only dangerous areas in the outer region were some unexplored areas that were missed or were left intentionally due to the lack of resources.
Those with precious resources were guarded easily and only professionals were allowed to enter so that the natural state would be preserved. Sometimes leaving a few areas untouched will create unexpected benefits in later years. Since the foundation building cultivators have divine sense, they always know everything about their surroundings without even trying. Even small insects hidden in the shrubs could be found without effort. It becomes an instinct after some time. After they had received the instruction, they ran through the jungle at once.
Their speed was faster than a race car even with the obstacles on the path. Every member used concealment techniques to hide their aura and tracks. They ran through the forest silently until they reached the city gate. The city gate was patrolled by the city lord manor officials but every big clan had their own way of entering through the walls when they had to enter secretly. The twelve members of the Battle hall still in a concealed state reached the wall far from the main gate.
Then one of the members sent a message from the jade slip and took out a rustic token. He then tapped the token three times on the wall. Suddenly ripple flashed out and from the wall, a space similar to the door was opened. The twelve members entered the space and when they arrived at the other side, there was a member of the Rijal clan covered in hood waiting for them. He too had what looked like a rustic token in his hand. The tokens were clearly a pair. To make sure there were no complications within the array and to prevent the clan members from misusing the token, the ancestors made two tokens, one to be used from outside and another inside.
The person who opened the door from inside didn’t know the identity of twelve Battle hall members and the twelve didn’t know his. This was to increase privacy. The hooded man touched the wall with the token, without creating any sound, the door closed. Then he nodded at them and went away. The twelve members looked at each other and went to their designated shops and restaurants. They had already discussed where to meet and when. After separating, they went to the trashed places and started searching for traces. Most of the managers of these places were cultivators albeit in a low realm, they could remember the perpetrator's face clearly.
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They had already itched the face into their memory and jade slips. It isn’t every day someone dares to trash the Rijal clan’s shops inside the city. After the twelve reached their destination and got their clues they began to search. In the beginning, the traces showed towards the direction of the two clans but after some time they were surprised because the traces changed to other clans and it stopped pointing towards the two big clans completely. After half an hour of searching, they finally found a strong trace. It led to other minor clans.
After following the traces and verifying the clues, they became sure a member of that minor clan was one of the responsible persons. This was happening to the other Battle hall members. They were in a dilemma. They couldn’t just barge into the clan and demand for an answer. The already delicate situation will suddenly become deadly for the Rijal clan. The major clans could also put traces in the minor clans to cause chaos and conflict. They messaged each other and met. After meeting and presenting their findings they only found clues about seven of the perpetrators. So they could only find the seven first.
Further discussing they chose to act covertly and interrogate them. Since they were all in the foundation building realm and had basic stealth they were confident to get closer without anyone noticing. And the reality was the same. They found seven people who trashed the shops and used an isolation array to interrogate them. After giving them the beating they chose to open their mouth. The four other people had left the city in fear of the Rijal clan pursuing them because those four were the main ones to instigate this.
These seven people were just pawns and trashed the shop because they were coerced, rewarded heftily, and assured protection if any of the Rijal clan members attacked them inside the city. Although they were pawns, it doesn’t mean that just anyone acting against the Rijal clan could be spared. If they were let go without any consequences and this news spread to the city, the face of the Rijal clan would be dragged through the mud. So they could not be left scot-free.
The seven people were crippled and the Battle hall members went outside to search for the four main perpetrators. After erasing their traces and leaving through another way they came from, they went towards the Bareback mountains. Even the secret door was different for entering and leaving. This was to ensure maximum secrecy. It had become night and the forest was almost black all over. There was no sign of the previous grey.
It looked eerie and the cold winds blowing towards and howling in the distance was not helping. After taking a deep breath the twelve members following the traces went into the dark. Even though it was hard to see anything with their eyes, they used divine sense to navigate. If you are lost here there is no way you will be able to get out till dawn. The trees covered the sky so following the moons and stars was a pipe dream. If you are trapped here, then you have successfully reached the first realm of the abyss.