174: System malfunction and "insider" suspicion

"Qingyuan Network," after much stumbling, finally achieved initial coverage of several core areas of the Qingxuan Sect.

Elder Black Fiend was full of smug satisfaction, preparing to launch the first "deep scan" across the entire Sect, swearing to root out all hidden "unstable factors."

That day, the Sect issued a notice requiring all Disciples to remain in their respective residences or designated Cultivation areas during the specified hours to cooperate with the operation of the "spirit net purification" Formation.

The atmosphere was unprecedentedly tense.

Many Disciples, while not knowing the specifics, felt the impending pressure and obediently stayed put.

Some Disciples with guilty consciences (such as those who practiced unorthodox Cultivation Techniques or had private secrets) were particularly anxious.

Wen Youyi, Zhao Iron Pillar, and the others sat calmly in the small courtyard of the Ding Zi Courtyard, even brewing a pot of spirit tea exchanged from Senior Sister Mu at the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, looking like they were ready to watch a good show.

"Boss, do you think that tampered Formation Base will really work?" Zhao Iron Pillar was still a bit uncertain.

"Theoretically, it's fine." Wen Youyi sipped his tea and said leisurely, "It's like throwing a handful of strange-tasting beans into a pot of soup; you can't tell during normal times, but once the fire is lit, the taste will come out."

When the time arrived, Elder Xuan Shi, sitting in the secret chamber of the Discipline Hall, personally activated the main control Formation Plate.

In an instant, an invisible yet majestic wave, with the Martial Arts Stage as the core, swept across the entire Qingxuan Sect like mercury spilling onto the ground!

Every Disciple felt a gentle yet irresistible force brush over their body, as if trying to probe them inside and out.

Wen Youyi could clearly perceive that the scanning wave seemed to pause slightly when it touched them, and then... it slid past as if nothing had happened, as if they were just the most ordinary Disciples, without any "abnormalities."

"The whitelist is effective!" Wen Youyi felt relieved.

However, the subsequent development exceeded everyone's expectations, including Wen Youyi himself.

In the secret chamber where the main control Formation Plate was located.

Elder Xuan Shi and Elder Black Fiend stared intently at the huge light screen emerging from the Formation Plate.

On the light screen, there should have been a clear map of the Sect and all marked "abnormal points."

At first, the light screen displayed normally, with a few faint light spots appearing sporadically.

These were Disciples who practiced relatively special Cultivation Techniques or carried special Magical Artifacts, which fell within the normal range.

Elder Black Fiend showed a look of satisfaction on his face.

But soon, the light screen started to act up.

First, a few flickering, crimson light spots representing "high abnormality" suddenly appeared in several insignificant areas on the edge of the map!

"Hmm? Why is there an abnormality there?" Elder Xuan Shi frowned.

Before they could investigate, the light screen seemed to go haywire, and more and more crimson light spots popped up!

And the locations were extremely tricky and... absurd!

Some light spots appeared deep in the Discipline Hall's dungeon, marking several old Devil Heads who had been imprisoned for hundreds of years (the kind who had long since lost their cultivation and were waiting to die)!

Some light spots appeared in the Sect's Forbidden Ground, marking the Immortal Cave where a certain Ancestral Master who had passed away many years ago had once been in seclusion!

Even more ridiculously, several abnormal light spots appeared in Elder Black Fiend's own Immortal Cave and the residential area of the Core Disciples of the Five Elements Courtyard!

"Nonsense! How is this possible!" Elder Black Fiend's face turned livid instantly, and he slammed the Formation Plate, "The Formation has failed!"

He tried to adjust the Formation Plate to perform a second scan for confirmation.

As a result, the information fed back from the second scan was even more chaotic!

The previous abnormal points were still there, and a new batch had been added.

Even the quiet room where Elder Xuan Shi was in seclusion was marked with a faint red dot!

The entire light screen was glowing red, as if the entire Qingxuan Sect was full of "viruses" and "abnormalities" that needed to be cleared!

"Absurd! Simply absurd!" Elder Xuan Shi couldn't sit still either, his face livid.

He was marked? What a joke!

Outside the secret chamber, the Disciples of the Discipline Hall who received the scanning results were also dumbfounded.

Aren't there too many "abnormalities"?

And many places couldn't possibly be problematic!

How are they supposed to arrest people? Are they going to dig up the Ancestral Master's grave? Or raid Elder Black Fiend's Immortal Cave?

The entire Discipline Hall was in chaos.

The news couldn't be kept secret.

Soon, various outrageous rumors spread among the Disciples.

"Did you hear? The Qingyuan Formation scan results are out, saying our Sect is full of spies!"

"More than just spies! Even Elder Xuan Shi and Elder Black Fiend of the Discipline Hall were marked as 'abnormal'!"

"Pfft—really? Is this Formation a fool?"

"I think someone is deliberately making trouble! Maybe Elder Black Fiend offended the Upper Sect, and the Upper Sect is using this method to warn him!"

The rumors became more and more outrageous, and the originally serious and tense "purification" operation turned into a farce.

The Disciples discussed it heatedly, and their gazes toward the Disciples of Elder Black Fiend's faction were filled with strangeness and mockery.

Elder Black Fiend was furious, but helpless.

He personally checked several marked "abnormal points," but found absolutely nothing!

He strongly suspected that there was a problem with the Formation Base, or that the main control Formation Plate had been interfered with, but after checking, there was nothing wrong with the hardware!

"It must be that little bastard Wen Youyi who caused this!" Elder Black Fiend blamed everything on Wen Youyi, but he had no evidence!

And now the Formation showed that even he himself had problems, so if he went to target Wen Youyi, wouldn't he look even more guilty?

Elder Xuan Shi was also frowning; he felt things weren't that simple.

This chaotic scanning result looked more like a... precise mockery and disruption.

Inside the Ding Zi Courtyard, Wen Youyi listened to the various chaotic reports brought by Wang Wu, and he himself was somewhat stunned.

"Old Zhang, your 'virus code'... is the effect a bit too intense?" He asked via the "Star Network."

Senior Brother Zhang on the other side was also a bit embarrassed: "Ahem, perhaps when calculating, the simulation parameters for the 'core Cultivation Technique fluctuations of Elder Black Fiend's faction' were set too sensitively, leading to false positives and chain reactions during the scan... But the result is good, isn't it?"

Wen Youyi couldn't laugh or cry.

It was indeed good, too good!

It directly caused the opponent's "antivirus System" to go completely chaotic, starting indiscriminate attacks, even marking the System administrator himself!

Now, Elder Black Fiend was in a situation where he couldn't clear his name; even if it wasn't his fault, it looked like it was.

The "Qingyuan Network" he painstakingly promoted became a huge joke, and his reputation was ruined.

"However, this is also good." Wen Youyi calmed down quickly, "After this commotion, they probably won't dare to easily launch large-scale scans again in the short term.

Furthermore, internal suspicion has increased, and Black Fiend has become a target of public criticism."

His eyes flickered, knowing this was only a temporary respite.

"The opponent has suffered such a big loss, they will definitely not let it go.

Next time, I'm afraid it won't be this kind of 'software' level attack..."

He felt a faint throbbing coming from the Star Core in his arms, as if it were echoing the greater storm that was coming in the dark.