453: Chapter 453 Southern Anomaly

Su Ning opened a temporary teleportation array in the valley, first sending the injured low-level Cultivators back to their respective Sects, and then evacuating the survivors from the three villages to a safe area. The vines of the sealing Spirit Plant swayed gently at the rift, with silvery-white patterns flickering on its leaves. Chu Lan crouched beside the Spirit Plant, poured some more time spirit spring, and patted its leaves. "Grow well, I'll come back to see you later."

The Wood Spirit floated up from her shoulder and tapped gently on the leaves of the sealing Spirit Plant. A vibrant green light seeped from its fingertip into the leaves, and the vines of the sealing Spirit Plant grew a circle thicker. It had inscribed the Wood Spirit's blessing into the power of its growth.

The nine of them stepped into the teleportation array. Silvery-white light swallowed their figures. The valley fell silent, with only the vines of the sealing Spirit Plant swaying gently in the wind.

Meteor War God Realm.

After returning to her Immortal Cave, Tianxin dove straight into the Talisman Hall, repeatedly analyzing the residual aura of the Tracking Talisman. Deep within the Immortal Cave, Su Ning deduced the saboteur's escape route. The five-colored light in the Spiritual Vein pool was still flowing slowly, and the dark purple light of the Void Realm core intertwined with the Five Elements array patterns.

Chu Lan crouched in the Spirit Plant Garden, talking to the fruit vine. She said that seeing the villages destroyed by the shadows today made her feel heavy-hearted. However, the Spirit Plant had sealed the rift, and the villagers had been evacuated. People were injured, but no one had died. They had arrived at the right time. The Wood Spirit sat on her shoulder, its leaf wings flapping gently.

The fruit vine's leaves trembled. A tiny new sprout grew from the roots, its tender green color strikingly visible in the twilight. Chu Lan looked at the new sprout, tears falling silently. She wept and said thank you. The Wood Spirit used its small hands to gently wipe the tears from her face.

The night wind rustled the grass and leaves in the Spirit Plant Garden. Silver Shadow materialized from Gao Feng's wrist, crouched beside the fruit vine, and tilted its head to look at the new sprout. The leaves of the fruit vine drooped down and gently brushed against its ears.

At the peak of Lingxiao Peak, Master Xuanyang stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the southern sky. That destroyed Seal, those villages swallowed by the shadows, that saboteur fleeing to the north. Cang Song had already been crippled, but his remnants remained. They hid in the dark, waiting for an opportunity like vipers. He did not fear them causing destruction; what he feared was them hiding in the shadows forever, impossible to find.

Dharma Transmission Elder Zhao Yuanbai walked out of the hall and stood beside Master Xuanyang. "Sect Master, Cang Song's affair has been thoroughly investigated many times, and all his accomplices were rooted out at the time. This saboteur... might be one who slipped through the net, or perhaps someone bought off later."

"Whoever it is, they must be rooted out." Master Xuanyang's voice was very soft, but his tone was heavy.

Zhao Yuanbai sighed and turned back into the hall. Under the moonlight, Master Xuanyang's shadow was stretched long. No expression could be seen on that aged face, but his gaze remained fixed, searching the southern sky for something, as if looking for something long lost.

Tianxin walked out of the Talisman Hall, holding a newly drawn Tracking Talisman in her hand. The Spirit Fox followed at her heels, its silver patterns glowing faintly in the moonlight. Su Ning also walked out of the Immortal Cave, a Spatial Crystal rotating in her palm, projecting the deduced route bit by bit onto the star map.

In a mountain in the north, a black shadow was moving rapidly through the forest. His robes were torn in many places by thorns, and his face was covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes. He ran while looking back, slowing his pace only after confirming no one was chasing him. He did not know if the aura he had left for the Tracking Talisman would be locked on, he only knew that the task Junior Martial Uncle Cang Song had entrusted to him had not yet been completed. The Seal had only been damaged, not completely destroyed. Those people had arrived too quickly. He had to go back to report.

Zhou Ping. A Disciple of Elder Lingyuan, assigned three years ago to the Spirit Source Cave to assist Elder Lingyuan in monitoring the Spiritual Veins. Cang Song had taken a liking to him because he was honest, silent, and inconspicuous. Such a person was best suited to be a hidden mole.

He disappeared into the night in the depths of the mountain forest. No one knew where he was going, but he would not run far. He still had to come back. Junior Martial Uncle Cang Song had said that as long as he was alive, he could complete the task any day. He could afford to wait.

Morning light pierced through the mist of the mountain ridge, shining on the forest where Zhou Ping had fled. The villages eroded by the shadows slowly awakened in the morning light. The vines of the sealing Spirit Plant swayed gently at the rift, with silvery-white patterns shimmering in the sunlight.

The Wood Spirit sat on the fruit vine watching the sunrise. Its leaf wings flapped slightly in the morning light, and there was light in the Wood Spirit's eyes. That was a new day, a new hope.

It did not know if those shadows from yesterday would come again, but it knew that Chu Lan would plant new Spirit Plants, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters would stand in front, the rifts would always heal, and the scars would always fade.

On the third day that the cyan smoke trails of the Tracking Talisman floated towards the north, Su Ning finally locked onto that light point on the star map.

"He is still running." Su Ning pointed to a slowly moving red dot on the star map, "It's not a straight line, he is taking a detour. From the southern mountains heading north, he first detoured three hundred miles to the east, then turned west, and is now moving towards Sunset Canyon in the northwest. He is very cautious, changing direction every segment he travels; ordinary tracking methods would have lost him long ago. But spatial positioning does not lie; his spiritual power fluctuations have been locked by me, he cannot escape."

Tianxin walked out of the Talisman Hall, holding a newly drawn Tracking Talisman in her hand, the patterns on the talisman paper perfectly synchronized with the red dot on Su Ning's star map.

"Zhou Ping. A Disciple of Elder Lingyuan, assigned three years ago to the Spirit Source Cave to assist in monitoring the Spiritual Veins. Before Cang Song fell, he secretly recruited a group of inconspicuous Disciples as pawns for future revenge. Zhou Ping is one of them. Elder Lingyuan is completely unaware."

Gao Feng stood up, and Silver Shadow jumped onto his shoulder from his feet. "Let's go. Sunset Canyon."

Su Ning's teleportation array landed precisely at the entrance of Sunset Canyon.

The stone walls on both sides of the canyon were steep, with only a narrow path leading into the depths. Zhou Ping's aura was in the canyon, his spiritual power fluctuations already chaotic—his physical strength exhausted, spiritual power over-consumed, he could no longer run.

Gao Feng led the team into the canyon. Tianxin's Tracking Talisman floated in front, guiding the way. Silver Shadow jumped down from Gao Feng's shoulder, sniffed the ground, and ran towards the depths of the canyon.

Zhou Ping curled up behind a boulder, his back against the stone wall, gasping for air. His robes were torn in many places by thorns, and the black cloth covering his face had been torn off, revealing his pale face.

He was a Disciple of Elder Lingyuan, with a cultivation level of Golden Core Stage 1, and had always appeared honest and dutiful in the Sect. When Cang Song fell, he had been investigated, but due to a lack of direct evidence, he had not been implicated. Those remnants of Cang Song had been rooted out during the first major purge, but he had been too inconspicuous and had escaped that investigation.

"Zhou Ping." Gao Feng's voice was not loud, but it pierced his eardrums like a sharp sword. Zhou Ping raised his head abruptly, his eyes full of terror. He staggered up from behind the boulder, subconsciously wanting to escape, but he had nowhere to run.

Tianxin stood behind him, her fingers holding an Immobilization Talisman. Su Ning's Spatial Imprisonment locked down the entire area. Lin Yue's Rock Demon Phantom blocked the canyon exit, and Chu Lan's Iron Thorn seeds had already taken root, sealing off all his retreat paths.

Zhou Ping's face was as white as paper. "How... did you find me?"

"You shouldn't have left your own aura on the Seal." Tianxin's voice was very soft.

Zhou Ping suddenly erupted, striking a palm towards Chu Lan, who was closest to him. It was a full-force blow from a Golden Core Stage 1 Cultivator, the palm wind sharp. Chu Lan subconsciously retreated, but Gao Feng's fist was already blocking in front of her. The gap between Golden Core Stage 6 and Golden Core Stage 1 was fully exposed by this punch.

Gao Feng's fist collided with Zhou Ping's palm wind, and Zhou Ping flew backward, crashing heavily against the stone wall, spewing blood from his mouth. His right arm hung limply, his palm bones shattered, and spiritual power leaked wildly from the wound. Silver Shadow jumped down from Gao Feng's shoulder, crouched in front of Zhou Ping, and stared at him coldly with its silver-grey eyes. Zhou Ping was shivering all over as he watched that silver beast pattern glowing faintly on Gao Feng's wrist.

"Junior Martial Uncle Cang Song... no, Cang Song made me do it. He told me to destroy the southern Seal and let the shadows pour out. He said that as long as the Sect fell into chaos, he would have a chance to overturn his case. His remnants are not just me, there are also..." Zhou Ping was shivering, his voice intermittent, "Junior Brother Liu from the Law Enforcement Hall, Senior Sister Sun from the Medicinal Pill Hall, Senior Brother Zhang from the Scripture Pavilion... they are all Cang Song's people. Cang Song promised them that when he regained power, he would promote them to Elders."

Tianxin wrote down those names one by one.

Su Ning's space channel lit up in the canyon. Gao Feng lifted Zhou Ping from the ground and pushed him into the channel. Nine figures disappeared into the silvery-white light.

In Lingxiao Hall, Master Xuanyang read those names out in public. Junior Brother Liu from the Law Enforcement Hall collapsed on the ground, Senior Sister Sun from the Medicinal Pill Hall burst into tears, and Senior Brother Zhang from the Scripture Pavilion said nothing, just lowered his head.

They had once thought that Cang Song would not fall, and had thought that following him would lead to prosperity. Cang Song had fallen, but they were still alive—not because they were innocent, but because they were not important enough to be listed as key targets for investigation.

Cang Song couldn't even remember all their names; they were just idle pawns placed casually. Now, these idle pawns had finally reached their end.

Master Xuanyang announced publicly: "Liu Xing of the Law Enforcement Hall, Sun Min of the Medicinal Pill Hall, and Zhang Yizhi of the Scripture Pavilion have colluded with the traitor Cang Song, destroyed the Seals, and harmed the people; their crimes are unforgivable. Effective immediately, their cultivation shall be crippled, and they shall be expelled from the Sect. Elder Lingyuan, for lax discipline and failure to properly vet subordinates, is punished with one year of wall-facing meditation to reflect on his mistakes."

Elder Lingyuan knelt in the hall, tears streaming down his face. He truly did not know that Zhou Ping was Cang Song's man.

"Gao Feng, you have once again performed a great service for the Sect." Master Xuanyang's tone softened. Gao Feng cupped his hands: "Disciple only did what should be done."

Inside Lingxiao Hall, it was decorated with lanterns and festoons.

Hundreds of spirit light lamps floated beneath the dome of the great hall, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daytime. Elders from various halls, representatives of Inner Sect Disciples, and Outer Sect Disciples gathered together, clinking glasses and chatting boisterously.

Gao Feng was arranged at the guest of honor seat, with Tianxin on his right, Luo Li on his left, and Master Xuanyang opposite him.

Chu Lan was eating Spirit Fruit in large mouthfuls, and the Wood Spirit sat on her shoulder, hugging a Spirit Fruit larger than its own head, gnawing on it until its mouth was full of juice.