401: The investigation yielded no results.

In the royal capital, after Li Zhong had conducted preliminary questioning of Mysterious Clarity Master and the others, he predictably took action.

He immediately dispatched several squads of the Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry, each led by a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator under his command, leading a group of elite followers to various parts of Nanjiang.

Their purpose for this trip was clear: to conduct an on-site investigation of the surroundings of the Nether Crow Cave Mansion, visit local tribal groups, and verify the truth of the statements previously made by the Withered Bone Ascetic and others one by one, without overlooking any suspicious details.

Meanwhile, Li Zhong himself did not stay in the royal capital to wait for news. Instead, he personally selected two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators with profound Cultivation to accompany him, took some of his trusted followers, boarded a sky patrol warship, and left the Tianqi Royal Capital directly.

On this trip, he intended to visit the involved Nanjiang Sects one by one to understand the specific circumstances when the Nether Crow Cave Mansion opened. The Xihua Sect and the Poison Scorpion Cult were the first two stops of his journey—these two Sects were relatively close to the Tianqi Royal Capital and were excellent starting points for the investigation.

The sky patrol warship cut through the clouds at extreme speed, with the first stop being the Poison Scorpion Cult in the northeast of the Tianqi territory.

The second stop was the Xihua Sect within the borders of Great Zhou.

These two Sects shared a commonality: both were anchored by top-tier powerhouses who surpassed the Nascent Soul Stage. Their strength was substantial, and they did not have a strict hierarchical subordinate relationship with the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty; usually, they each guarded their own territory without interfering with one another.

Li Zhong hadn't expected to find any key clues from these two Sects in the first place; the visits were merely a formality to re-Seal the Cultivation of Widow Ya and Luo Yu. Simultaneously, he would inquire about the specific circumstances when the Nether Crow Cave Mansion opened and take the opportunity to visit the Sect Masters of both Sects to maintain surface-level etiquette.

The Sect Masters of the two Sects also knew Li Zhong's intent. Their words were full of pleasantries, and what they said largely matched the accounts of Mysterious Clarity Master and the others. The trip went smoothly without a single ripple.

A few days later, the sky patrol warship passed through layers of dark clouds and arrived at the territory of the Xuan Yin Sect in the Great Qin Kingdom.

The Xuan Yin Sect was situated in a place of yin baleful energy that never saw the sun. The surroundings were shrouded in mist, and a faint chilly aura lingered in the air. The buildings within the Sect were all constructed from pitch-black giant stones, with sharp edges and corners, exuding a grim and solemn air of slaughter.

Wu Gang, the Sect Master of the Xuan Yin Sect, had already led the Sect's Core Disciples to wait outside the mountain gate. Dressed in a black Daoist robe with a calm expression, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet them with a smile as the sky patrol warship landed, as if they were old friends who hadn't met in years.

Li Zhong was also polite, stepping forward to exchange pleasantries with Wu Gang. Their words were all formal talk. Afterward, under Wu Gang's guidance, they entered the main hall of the Xuan Yin Sect together.

After they were seated, attendants served tea and then quietly withdrew, leaving only Li Zhong, Wu Gang, and a group of core Cultivators in the hall.

Li Zhong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then set it down. With a gentle smile on his face, he got straight to the point and asked:

"Sect Master Wu, I presume you already know the reason for my visit. I wonder if your noble Sect has any useful clues to share with me?"

Wu Gang was well-prepared. Hearing this, he chuckled and said:

"Commander Li is too polite. With the opening of the Nether Crow Cave Mansion this time, our Sect suffered heavy losses, losing a Nascent Soul Stage Elder. To this day, we are still investigating the specific cause of his death, so we truly dare not make any rash assertions or provide random clues that might mislead the Commander."

He paused, his gaze darkening, and continued slowly:

"According to the reports from the Disciples who luckily escaped back that day, the Restriction in the core area of the Immortal Cave suddenly erupted, and the space instantly fell into chaos. Our Sect's Elder Yin Gu and that Village Elder Gongsun fought fiercely on the spot to snatch a treasure suspected to be Daoist Ming Ya's core Legacy. Both of them released their own Seals and fought with all their might, which triggered the subsequent catastrophe. Elder Yin Gu also perished within the Immortal Cave because of this. The breaking of his life soul slip kept in the Sect is also enough to confirm that he has indeed died. As for other details... the Disciples who escaped back had low Cultivation and couldn't get close to the core area at all. They only know that not long after the fight, the Immortal Cave began to collapse, and everyone could only flee outward with all their strength. There really are no other special clues."

Having said that, Wu Gang raised his hand and took out a broken Jade Slip, handing it to Li Zhong, and said in a heavy voice:

"This is Elder Yin Gu's life soul slip. Commander Li may examine it personally."

The Jade Slip was completely shattered, its fragments scattered. The spiritual light that had originally flowed on its surface had long since dissipated, leaving only a dead silence. It was clearly destroyed entirely, without a single trace of remaining information.

Li Zhong took the fragments and examined them closely. His brow furrowed slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes as he looked up at Wu Gang:

"A normal Cultivator's life soul slip, even if the owner dies, will more or less retain some aura and information from before their death. Even just a few words could provide some clues. But this Jade Slip is so thoroughly shattered that not even a trace of spiritual energy fluctuation remains. Could it be that when Elder Yin Gu died, the danger came so abruptly that he didn't even have a chance to react?"

Wu Gang was startled upon hearing this, his expression becoming slightly strange.

He had previously only thought about using the shattered soul slip to confirm Elder Yin Gu's death and hadn't thought deeply about this point. Now that Li Zhong mentioned it, he also felt something was fishy.

Elder Yin Gu was a Nascent Soul Cultivator. Even if he encountered a Restriction that wiped him out, there should have been a moment to react. How could the life soul slip be so thoroughly shattered?

But on second thought, the intensity of the Nether Crow Cave Mansion's Restriction eruption and the strangeness of the spatial disorder that day were indeed beyond common logic. Perhaps Elder Yin Gu truly had no time to transmit any information before he perished.

He hesitated for a moment and spoke his conjecture truthfully, his tone carrying a bit of uncertainty. As Li Zhong listened, the doubt in his eyes did not dissipate; instead, it deepened.

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries. Li Zhong never got to meet the legendary Old Ancestor of the Xuan Yin Sect. Although he felt some regret, he knew that continuing the conversation would yield little gain, so he stood up to take his leave.

Wu Gang still respectfully led the crowd to the mountain gate. Watching the sky patrol warship take off and turn into a streak of light disappearing into the horizon, the smile on his face gradually faded, and a dark, indistinct light flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Inside the sky patrol warship, Li Zhong sat in the main seat. The gentle smile from before had long since vanished, replaced by an expression as dark as water. His fingertips tightly gripped the fragment of the shattered soul slip, his eyes filled with contemplation.

Without a word along the way, the sky patrol warship traveled day and night, heading back toward the Tianqi Royal Capital.

By the time they arrived above the Tianqi Royal Capital, a very faint touch of fish-belly white had appeared on the horizon. The dim light of dawn pierced through the clouds, spilling onto the towering palaces and plating the ink-colored halls with a thin golden edge.

The warship landed steadily on a field within the royal palace of the capital.

Stepping over the morning dew, Li Zhong walked off the warship. Without a moment's rest, he headed straight for a side hall in the palace specifically for nobles to rest. The continuous travel left a hint of fatigue in his eyes, yet the majesty surrounding him remained undiminished.

At this time, the morning court session in the Hall of Discussion was halfway through. King Li Xuan sat on the dragon throne, his brow full of impatience. Listening to the trivial political affairs reported by the court officials, he only felt irritable.

Upon learning of Li Zhong's return, he immediately interrupted the court session. Ignoring the gazes of everyone in the hall, he hurriedly rushed toward the side hall, his heart filled with both expectation and a bit of secret trepidation.