105: Chapter 64 Zhang Family

Three days later.

Qingling Immortal City, North City Inn.

Chen Xuan sat in his guest room, a newly delivered communication talisman placed before him.

There was only one sentence in the talisman.

"Soul searching is complete. The employer did not leave their real name, but they confessed to a location for the Spirit Stone handover, in an abandoned mine outside the North City."

Chen Xuan burned the communication talisman, stood up, and pushed the door open to leave.

He did not call for Liu Lili.

Success depends on secrecy.

An hour later, Chen Xuan dug out a secret compartment deep within the mine.

Inside the compartment was only a Storage Pouch, containing one thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and a Zhang Clan Family badge.

The badge was engraved with the character "Zhang".

Chen Xuan flipped the badge over.

On the back was engraved a line of small text: "After the deed is done, the remaining balance will be settled here."

He recognized this handwriting.

During the Sect Grand Competition, he had seen the challenge letter written by Zhang Fan.

The exact same stroke habits, the exact same long horizontal and short slanted strokes.

Chen Xuan put away the badge and the Spirit Stones.

He stood up and brushed the dust off his robes.

Zhang Fan.

Your tail has been exposed.

But this evidence was not enough.

He needed to wait until Zhang Fan returned to the Sect before delivering a fatal blow.

The next day.

Chen Xuan and Liu Lili stepped onto the flying boat returning to the Liuyang Sword Sect.

The flying boat pierced through the clouds, leaving Qingling Immortal City far behind.

Liu Lili leaned against the ship's railing, watching the gradually shrinking outline of the city, and suddenly spoke.

"Junior Brother, did you secretly do something a few days ago?"

Chen Xuan turned his head to look at her.

"Why does Senior Sister say that?"

Liu Lili snorted.

"Although I am not as smart as you, I am not blind."

"Two of Zhang Fan's attendants are missing."

"The Law Enforcement Hall of Qingling Immortal City also issued a notice saying they had cracked a case involving the interception and killing of Disciples from the The Three Sects."

She stared into Chen Xuan's eyes.

"The accused is Zhang Fan, right? That guy is being disgusting again."

"Why didn't you tell me, Junior Brother?"

Chen Xuan did not deny it, only shook his head.

"Things without evidence cannot be spoken of carelessly."

"This is your Sect, not your Chamber of Commerce; speaking recklessly will give others leverage."

Liu Lili pursed her lips and stopped asking.

She pulled down on Chen Xuan's lapel and kissed him directly on the cheek, leaving behind a faint scent.

"Don't hide things from me next time."

Chen Xuan touched his face and shook his head helplessly.

The flying boat continued northward.

Beneath the clouds, the surface of the Long Sea shimmered.

Chen Xuan suddenly remembered something.

"Senior Sister, is the Fourth Senior Sister currently in the Sect?"

Liu Lili turned her head to look at him: "Yes, it is said she is preparing something and has received two Flying Sword messages."

Chen Xuan grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze falling back onto the sea surface.

Senior Sister Wen Yao.

That icy, coldly beautiful woman he first met, whose smile was dazzlingly bright.

She returned to the Sect recently?

That is perfect.

Chen Xuan calculated his plan in his heart.

He needed to report the matter of the Zhang Clan framing a fellow Disciple.

Liu Lili was not suitable to know too much.

But Senior Sister Wen Yao could.

She was one of the highly regarded Golden Core seeds.

She was also one of the peers he trusted most in the entire Liuyang Sword Sect.

The shadow of the flying boat swept across the sea, startling a flock of seabirds.

The seabirds flapped their wings and scattered, disappearing deep into the clouds.

Chen Xuan's gaze sank as he recalled the experience of being attacked in Wanjian Immortal City.

The shadow of Maitreya had not yet dispersed.

And now, someone like Zhang Fan had appeared within the Sect.

The White Lotus Sect was still lurking in the shadows of the Southern Region.

Mere Zhang Fan, I ignored you, yet you still insist on being disgusting.

Do you really think my sword is not sharp?

Southern Sky Zhang Clan.

Damn Golden Core major clan.

Just you wait.

...

Liuyang Sword Sect.

Qingming Peak.

Inside Chen Xuan's Immortal Cave, a burner of soul-calming incense was lit.

White smoke curled, slowly swirling in the quiet room.

He sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, with three items placed before him.

The Zhang Clan Family badge.

A recording jade talisman.

And a communication talisman brought back from the Qingcang Sect.

All three items pointed to the same person.

Chen Xuan picked up the Family badge and flipped it to the back.

That line of small text was clearly visible under the candlelight: "After the deed is done, the remaining balance will be settled here."

He had seen this handwriting three times.

The challenge letter Zhang Fan handed over during the Sect Grand Competition, the visiting card Zhang Fan left behind when they met by chance in Wanjian Immortal City, and the task receipt Zhang Fan signed in the Sect Affairs Hall last month.

The three sets of handwriting were exactly the same.

Long horizontal and short slanted strokes, sharp vertical hooks, like they were carved by a knife and axe.

Chen Xuan put down the Family badge and picked up the recording jade talisman.

He probed it with his Divine Sense.

The voice of the snake demon half-breed came from the jade talisman, cold and clear.

"Someone paid to buy your life."

"Five thousand Spirit Stones."

"He said you have a protective Spiritual Artifact on you that is worth this price."

Chen Xuan withdrew his Divine Sense.

That was enough.

This evidence was sufficient to stir up a storm within the Sect.

A direct descendant of a Golden Core Family framing a fellow Disciple, and a Golden Core direct Disciple at that.

If this reached Revered Master, Zhang Fan would lose a layer of skin even if he didn't die.

But he was not in a rush to report it.

Because there was one thing he could not figure out.

Why did Zhang Fan want to kill him?

For Liu Lili?

Not entirely.

Chen Xuan had seen too many fools driven by love to hatred; those people had clumsy methods that could be seen through at a glance.

Zhang Fan was different.

Although his interception plan had failed, his thinking was clear.

Choosing to act in the territory of the Qingcang Sect, using the hands of Loose Cultivators to shift the blame onto the chaotic environment where humans and demons lived together.

If not for the heavenly book golden decree warning him in advance, he might not have escaped unscathed.

A person who loses their rationality over a woman could not set up such a scheme.

Zhang Fan had other motives.

Chen Xuan stood up and paced in the quiet room.

He recalled the meeting at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Qingling Immortal City.

When Zhang Fan mentioned the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce, his tone was as certain as if he were speaking of an established fact.

He seemed very convinced that Chen Xuan could mobilize the resources of the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce.

This was not right.

The identities of the three chairmen of the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce had always been a secret in the Southern Region.

Many knew Chen Xuan was a Golden Core Disciple of the Liuyang Sword Sect, but those who knew he was Chairman Yun Qi could be counted on one hand.

How did Zhang Fan know?

Unless someone was feeding him information.

Chen Xuan stopped.

The night on Qingming Peak was very deep.

A lamp was still lit in the direction of the Conquest Hall.

Senior Sister Wen Yao's Immortal Cave.

Earlier, Liu Lili mentioned that the Fourth Senior Sister had returned to the Sect and was preparing something.

Chen Xuan decided to go find her.

He needed someone to help him investigate one thing.

How exactly the information about the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce was leaked.

And this person had to be trustworthy.

Senior Sister Wen Yao had entered the Sect three years before him and was the most stern and serious Disciple under Revered Master.

But Chen Xuan knew she was just not good with words.

When he first entered the Sect, the Tier 2 secret technique she gave him was still in Chen Xuan's Storage Pouch.

That was a life-saving item.

She had always treated fellow Disciples with genuine kindness.

No fluff.

Chen Xuan straightened his robes and pushed the door open to leave.

The moonlight was like frost, paving the stone steps of Qingming Peak.

He walked a hundred steps and stopped in front of Senior Sister Wen Yao's Immortal Cave.

The Danhong Crane in the spirit cage was bowing its head to peck at spirit fruits; seeing him, it chirped softly.

The door of the Immortal Cave opened.

Senior Sister Wen Yao stood inside, wearing a moon-white Daoist robe, her long hair held up casually with a wooden hairpin.

The three red lotus petal cinnabar marks between her brows were particularly striking in the moonlight.

"Junior Brother, it is so late."

"Why have you come to find Senior Sister?"

Those cold eyes revealed confusion.