Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 166 It's All Lies
In the southern wilderness, there is a forbidden place called Green Coffin Mountain.

The Green Coffin Mountain stretches for eight hundred miles, towering into the clouds. If you were to fly into the clouds and look down, you would find that the Green Coffin Mountain truly lives up to its name, resembling a coffin spanning eight hundred miles.

The mountain as a whole presents a deep bluish-black color, not the lush green of abundant vegetation, but rather a color between ancient bronze and cold bluestone. The undulating ridgeline resembles the intricate carvings on the edge of a coffin lid, and upon closer inspection, one can vaguely discern the shapes of countless runes and trigrams.

Despite the passage of thousands of years, these patterns remain as good as new, showing no signs of wear or fading.

This is all because beneath Green Coffin Mountain lies the incorruptible corpse of a demon lord, preserved for a thousand years.

A thousand years ago, the Demon Lord Wujiu was renowned for his power and was said to be immortal. It was rumored that even if he had only a drop of blood left, he could be reborn and sweep across the world once again.

However, the exact circumstances surrounding the fall of the Demon Lord Wujiu remain unresolved to this day.

Only the five righteous sects publicly claimed that the Demon Lord Wujiu died in an internal strife within the demonic sect. His soul had been shattered and dissipated, but his physical body had remained intact for thousands of years and was suppressed here, bound by the power of the mountains and rivers.

However, this also caused the body of the Demon Lord Wujiu to completely merge with the Green Coffin Mountain, becoming indistinguishable from the earth's veins.

For thousands of years, Qingguan Mountain has been shrouded in mist all year round, with countless hunched figures appearing and disappearing in the mist like ghosts.

These ghostly figures are filled with deep resentment, as if they were the remnants of the Demon Lord Wujiu, and they instinctively attack all living people.

In the Incense Burning Sect, one of the daily tasks of the disciples is to traverse the rugged mountain paths of Green Coffin Mountain and drive away the endless ghosts. These ghosts have no intelligence and their methods are mediocre; in the eyes of the Incense Burning Sect disciples, they are nothing more than targets for practicing their spells.

However, in recent years, these ghostly figures seem to have increased in number, and there are occasional reports of disciples of the Incense Burning Sect being injured while exorcising them. Although the injuries are mostly minor, they have made people more cautious.

However, such a trivial matter was not worth mentioning and was never taken seriously by the Incense Burning Sect.

The Incense Burning Sect is currently focused entirely on the precious Soul Cleansing Flower on Green Coffin Mountain. How many flowers will bloom this year, and how many Transcendent Realm cultivators in the sect will successfully break through their shackles and step into the Nascent Soul Realm, also known as the Lesser Longevity Realm?

Sect Leader Lu Xingzhou also seemed to be detached from the matter, spending his days in seclusion. It was unclear whether he was studying profound and unfathomable techniques or comprehending the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

In this way, the internal affairs of the Incense Burning Sect were handed over to the Three Mountains and Five Halls for joint discussion and handling.

It was called a negotiation, but in reality, each side was acting in its own self-interest, with clear distinctions between them.

Especially after Wei Changsheng's death, the conflict between Changsheng Hall and Qixing Hall deepened.

It's strange, really. It was clearly Wei Changsheng who personally killed the chief of Changsheng Hall, causing Qixing Hall to be unfairly blamed for years and slandered by many within the sect. Now that the truth is out, logically, Changsheng Hall should apologize to Qixing Hall to ease tensions between the two.

Unexpectedly, Changsheng Hall only remembered that Wei Changsheng was dead. Not only did they not apologize, but their relationship with Qixing Hall became even more strained.

Rumors were rampant within the Incense Burning Sect. Some said that Mo Suixin, the chief of the Seven Star Hall, had secretly colluded with outsiders, not only murdering Wei Changsheng but also plotting to frame him.

Some also claim that the next chief position of Changsheng Hall should have been Wei Changsheng's, and that Qixing Hall is repeating its old tricks, once again resorting to despicable means to suppress Changsheng Hall.

The root of the problem lies in the centuries-long feud between the two hall masters, which is simply impossible to resolve.

Inside the Seven Star Hall, Mo Suixin was meditating in the quiet room.

After returning from Baihai Valley, Mo Suixin has been in seclusion cultivating, as it is not easy to advance from Gangsha Realm to Tongxuan Realm.

The Qi Refining Body only increases lifespan; to reach the Profound Realm, one needs comprehension.

To comprehend the principles of heaven and earth and to attain one's own supernatural powers is essentially to discover one's own path through cultivation and to understand which direction one should strive towards.

For most cultivators, this is easier said than done.

But things don't always go as planned.

She was born with supernatural powers, and from the moment she comprehended them, she was destined to become a diviner.

So, although it's called seclusion, Mo Suixin is actually just spending time increasing the spiritual energy within his body. Once his Qi Sea expands large enough, he will naturally reach the Profound Realm.

While the Incense Burning Sect may not have other advantages, it has an extremely rich reserve of elixirs.

Mo Suixin's daily life consisted of refining elixirs, taking medicine, meditating, and cultivating qi. This monotonous and tedious life was no different from that of those who had just begun their cultivation.

Yet, in this seemingly mundane daily practice, the spiritual energy within her body grew steadily, like a trickle of water converging into a mighty river, increasing many times over compared to before.

However, Mo Suixin knew in her heart that this was far from enough.

Divination requires an enormous amount of spiritual energy. Even though she consumes far less spiritual energy than ordinary people due to her innate abilities, her current reserves are still insufficient to meet the needs of divination in the future.

For many monks, sitting in meditation for long periods every day is undoubtedly an unbearable physical and mental torment.

But Mo Suixin was content with it, only hoping that things would remain peaceful forever.

That three-year promise should ideally never come to pass. However, things in this world often don't go as planned.

A paper crane emitting a faint glow flew in from outside and landed steadily in front of Mo Suixin.

Mo Suixin opened her eyes, unfolded the paper crane, and saw that there were a few lines of small characters written on it.

Mo Suixin sighed and said to the outside of the quiet room, "Please invite that Fellow Daoist Pang in."

As soon as he finished speaking, the stone door of the meditation room slowly opened, and the young boy led a slightly reserved-looking cultivator into the room.

After the boy finished his report, he bowed and withdrew, leaving the cultivator sitting awkwardly cross-legged in front of Mo Suixin.

Pang Wen's voice trembled slightly as he respectfully said, "Pang Wen of the Burning Lamp Sect greets Chief Mo."

Mo Suixin carefully examined the person in front of him, and then asked, "I already know why Fellow Daoist Pang has come. Please recount the events of that day."

Pang Wen was slightly nervous; the person in front of him was not so easily fooled.

The chief of the Seven Star Hall can be considered the second most powerful diviner in the world today.

Whether I can help my lord deceive everyone depends entirely on my performance today.

Pang Wen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and began to slowly describe the scene that day: "I first met Chen Ye in front of the gate of the Holy City of the Northern Frontier. At that time, he rode down from the sky on a completely black raven spirit beast, with a woman from the Northern Frontier by his side..."

Mo Suixin frowned slightly and interrupted, "A woman from the Northern Frontier?"

Pang Wen was startled, thinking to himself that he hadn't even gotten to the part about making things up yet, and there was already a problem?
Pang Wen repeated it, and then said, "They are probably servants that Chen Ye recruited in the Northern Frontier. There are many serfs in the Northern Frontier, and those in power distinguish their status by the number of slaves they have."

Mo Suixin said noncommittally, "Please continue, fellow Daoist."

Pang Wen breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued, "I went up to talk to Chen Ye, but he was cold and aloof, as if he had been wary of me all along. Seeing that it was hopeless to get information directly, I changed my strategy and decided to sabotage his plan to establish his authority in the northern frontier..."

Mo Suixin listened attentively without saying another word.

It wasn't until Pang Wen mentioned that he had been captured by Chen Ye and then forced Chen Ye to make concessions through coercion and enticement that the truth came to light.

“I told him that the Incense Burning Sect is one of the five major sects, and they wouldn't make things difficult for a mere rogue cultivator like him. But if he remained obstinate, even if he killed me, it would only bring him more trouble. He understood this, so he told me the secret. He said he found an underground palace at the Nirvana Sect's blood sacrifice site, where there was a piece of writhing flesh that had become one with the ground, and on this flesh grew the Soul Cleansing Flower…”

Upon hearing this, Mo Suixin's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile, but she quickly suppressed it and continued to maintain a calm demeanor.

After Pang Wen explained the whole story in detail, Mo Suixin simply let him leave the quiet room without saying another word. Pang Wen was filled with unease, completely unsure if he had deceived her. But he had rehearsed this carefully crafted story many times and was confident that there wouldn't be any mistakes.

"The Lord said that, according to his words, even a diviner could not find any flaws."

Pang Wen gave himself a pep talk, then left the Seven Star Hall with his head held high, looking completely at ease, and waiting for the Incense Burning Sect's reward. He would focus on his cultivation.

After seeing Pang Wen off, Mo Suixin slowly got up and left the quiet room.

After walking around the winding corridor several times, Mo Suixin arrived at the inner hall of the Seven Star Hall, which was where her master usually practiced.

No need to announce your presence; do not simply push open the door and enter.

The inner hall was empty except for a woman reclining leisurely on a bench.

The woman wore a plain gray robe, the loose fabric of which partially concealed her slightly slender figure. Her long, black, silk-like hair cascaded freely over her shoulders, making her skin appear even more fair and smooth.

Her eyes were lowered, and she was staring intently at the bamboo slip in her hand, her expression focused, as if everything in the outside world was irrelevant to her.

It wasn't until Mo Suixin softly called out "Master" that the woman slowly raised her head, revealing her beautiful and charming face.

If Mo Suixin is the second most powerful diviner in the world, then Pang Duoduo, the head of the Seven Star Hall, is the number one.

Not only does her name sound childish, but judging from her appearance alone, she seems to be a few years younger than Mo Suixin, like a young girl who hasn't quite grown up yet.

Pang Duoduo put down the bamboo scroll in her hand and smiled at Mo Suixin, saying, "Have you already met that junior from the Burning Lamp Sect?"

Mo Suixin walked up to Pang Duoduo and said, "I've already met her. Listen carefully to her tell the whole story."

Pang Duoduo asked, "What did you figure out?"

Mo Suixin shook her head and said, "There's no need for divination at all; he's probably lying."

(End of this chapter)