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Chapter 120 Leave...or Die!

The imperial historian stepped forward and displayed the investigation document bearing the official seal.

The other person's expression changed slightly. "So you are all from the Immortal Alliance. My name is Zhang Zhi. Please forgive me for not greeting you properly."

Chen Xuan was too lazy to waste words with him. "Where is your sect leader? I have something to ask him."

"Sect Leader Zhang is not here. Two days ago, he led all his disciples down the mountain to visit the upcoming sect competition."

"Then who else is there? Is Qingge Sect only left with you?"

"Yes, I am a disciple guarding the mountain, responsible for watching over the sect during this period."

"This..." Hongli looked troubled and asked Chen Xuan in a low voice, "How could I have forgotten this? Even if they didn't apply to participate, they could still go and watch. What do we do now?"

Mo Shuyun, feigning nonchalance, spoke up, "However, we've traveled a long way through the mountains to get here. As the disciple guarding the mountain, it would be a bit unreasonable not to invite us in for a cup of tea."

“Uh…” Zhang Zhi immediately showed a resistant expression, “There are no seniors in the sect, and the woodshed is unattended…”

"How do we know that you are the only one in the sect?" Mo Shuyun suddenly shouted angrily. "This is an investigation by the Immortal Alliance, not a visit from guests. How can we allow a gatekeeper like you to stop us!"

Chen Xuan glanced at him with some surprise.

In fact, when he first arrived at the stone bridge, he had already scanned the area with the Heavenly Cloud Technique and found that Qingge Sect indeed only had one Qi Sensing Reaction. This person was not lying about the number of people.

However, it would be best to be able to enter the sect and take a look. If Master Ajiu was really brought here, then at least the witch's spirit dog could sniff out the scent.

Zhang Zhi was stunned by the rebuke. After a moment, he stiffly said, "Then... then please follow me, everyone."

Mo Shuyun proudly waved her fan at everyone.

Chen Xuan silently rolled his eyes. Could it be that this guy wasn't thinking of causing trouble for him, but rather about shining brightly in the investigation so as to outshine him?
The problem is, this isn't a fighting arena. Who are you showing your best to? The Grand Historian Hongli?

He's someone who ascends to the Immortal Platform; he would never go out and boast about the prestige of the Tianyan Tower cultivators.

They crossed the splashing stone bridge and followed Zhang Zhi into the rather shady tower—each floor of this building was about a hundred square meters, which must have been quite remarkable for a house built on a mountain. The structure of each floor was also very simple, similar to the Moon Gazing Tower, with a high-ceilinged hall in the middle and various rooms distributed around it. The only difference was that it did not have an elevator, but instead relied on a circular staircase to connect the upper and lower floors.

It certainly didn't look like anyone was stationed there; all the candles on the lampstands were black, and the only light came from the high window facing the waterfall. Apart from the rushing water and the echo of their footsteps on the stone floor, they could hear nothing else.

"You see, I wasn't lying, there really isn't anyone in the sect..." Zhang Zhi said with a forced smile.

"Where's the tea?" Mo Shuyun interrupted abruptly.

The latter hesitated for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Please wait here, everyone. I'll go to the woodshed to boil water."

After Zhang Zhi left, Mo Shuyun shrugged at Chen Xuan, "He's in, but he doesn't seem to be lying. Now we really have no choice but to finish our tea and return to Chang'an."

Chen Xuan countered, "Don't you think this place is too old?"

"Old-fashioned? What do you mean?" the other person asked, puzzled.

He didn't answer, but walked to a candlestick and touched its bronze base. Then he faced the white light shining down from above, blew on his fingertips, and instantly, a large amount of dust appeared in the light.

Others might not be able to see clearly, but the Divine Eye Technique has the effect of low-light vision. Even in such a dim environment, Chen Xuan can see the details in the room... For example, there is so much dust that it doesn't seem like a place where people often come and go.

If this were a warehouse or storage room, that would be one thing.

It happens to be the main hall connected to the main entrance.

The disciples of Qingge Sect have only been gone for two days; there's no way they should be covered in so much dust.

"Ash?" Mo Shuyun asked in surprise. "They don't even clean the main hall properly? In Tianyan Tower, even the laziest servants would be skinned alive." "It's not just the candlesticks." Chen Xuan shook his head. He could see the tiny cobwebs along the edge of the high window, the moss creeping into the room with the water droplets, and the cracks appearing on the wooden table. This unusual phenomenon made him alert. "You all spread out and look around, see if there's anything strange about the area."

He then said to Malena, "Have the hound walk around the stairs and see if it can find anything."

"Leave it to me." The witch walked silently into the shadows and summoned her hound to begin the search.

Most of the doors were locked. Only two doors on the first floor could be opened: one led to the woodshed in the side courtyard, and the other connected to the meditation room.

Starting from the second floor, it's basically the disciples' bedrooms.

Everyone searched separately, but apart from a lot of dust, they didn't find anything unusual. Moreover, the dust was most severe near the doorway, while the rooms were actually in better condition, as if someone regularly cleaned them.

The hound growled softly at a wall next to the meditation room.

“There’s something wrong here,” Malena said decisively. “It thinks the smell is off.”

The smell is off? Chen Xuan sniffed, but couldn't detect anything unusual. Then he moved closer to the wall and took a closer look, noticing that the color of the stone bricks here was slightly different from the surrounding area.

"Come and take a look, is this wall newly built?" he called to the crowd.

Mo Shuyun was the first to approach. He looked at the semi-transparent spirit dog on the ground with some surprise and asked, "Where did this dog come from?"

"Never mind where it came from, I think there's something wrong with this wall." Chen Xuan ignored his curiosity.

Summoning spirits or creating puppets is considered a unique skill within the Immortal Alliance. Although such a lifelike dog is extremely rare, Mo Shuyun didn't pursue the matter further out of respect for Tianjiao. "Alright, I can indeed feel the wind, very faintly, like it's blowing from inside the wall."

"So, there used to be a door here, but it was sealed off with stones by the Qingge Sect for some reason?"

"Perhaps, this kind of renovation is not uncommon in sects." Mo Shuyun said noncommittally, "Besides, I think these bricks are quite old, so the person you're looking for is definitely not behind the wall."

"What are you doing?!" A scream suddenly came from behind, so loud it echoed through the tower. "Get out of there!"

Chen Xuan turned around and saw that the other person was Zhang Zhi, who had returned from brewing tea. He was holding a teapot in both hands, staring at the two of them with a ferocious expression, his lips trembling slightly, as if he was screaming and muttering something incessantly.

“…Let me correct my mistake. There’s definitely something wrong with it now.” Mo Shuyun sighed first, then looked at his hand strangely. “Hey…don’t you feel it’s hot?”

It was a pot of freshly brewed tea, with steam still rising from the spout and top, but Zhang Zhi held the pot tightly with both hands, as if he didn't care about its temperature at all.

Chen Xuan had already realized something was wrong. This person had been acting very stiffly before, and had been standing at the gate long before the investigation team even arrived at the sect, as if ready to greet any arriving guests. The problem was that Qingge Sect was a small sect, with only a handful of cultivators visiting each year. Why would they need someone constantly guarding the mountain gate?

With the sect leader and the other disciples not at home, a normal person would definitely choose to slack off.

"Get out of there, now! This is the final warning!" Zhang Zhi said through gritted teeth, his previous servility completely gone. "Otherwise... you will all..."

"Otherwise what?" Mo Shuyun laughed in anger. "A mere novice cultivator dares to give orders to the Immortal Alliance representative? Sect Master Chen, even if you don't punish him, I will still discipline him for his disrespectful behavior..."

After saying that, he put away his fan, preparing to teach the man a lesson.

Chen Xuan stopped him, saying, "Go to the side and protect the Grand Historian. Marlena, step back and be careful."

At this moment, under the perception of the Heavenly Cloud Technique, he discovered that the aura on the other party's body had changed. The originally dim light spots were becoming bright and dazzling, and at the same time, they were splitting in two...

This scene seems familiar.

"Sect Leader Chen, this person has only just entered the sect, there's no need to—" Mo Shuyun suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence because he saw Zhang Zhi bend over, his spine bulging up, and then he stretched out two hands and a new body!

(End of this chapter)