From Five Animal Exercises to being hailed as a saint and ancestor

Baiwei City, City Lord's Mansion.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the outside world, this mansion, which symbolizes the highest power in the city, exudes a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

Dark, somber walls, and tightly closed vermilion doors.

And the two lifelike stone lions at the entrance, exuding a faint sense of awe.

All of this demonstrates the majesty of this place.

Vice Dean Shangguan Hong did not announce his arrival but went straight to the gate of the mansion.

The city lord's guards at the gate clearly recognized him.

Or rather, recognizing his undisguised, unfathomable, and powerful aura.

Not a single person dared to step forward to stop them; instead, they respectfully made way for them.

Let him step in.

Inside the reception room, a middle-aged man dressed in black casual clothes, with a refined appearance but sharp eyes like a hawk, was already waiting.

He was none other than Zhang Xinghan, the city lord of Baiwei City.

He saw Shangguan Hong stride in with a sullen face.

He immediately stood up, a perfectly appropriate warm smile plastered on his face.

"Brother Shangguan! What brings you to my humble town?"

"This is truly an honor to have you here!"

"Please have a seat. I have already ordered the finest 'Cloud Mist Spirit Tea' to be prepared..."

"No need for tea."

Shangguan Hong interrupted him directly.

His voice was icy, devoid of any hint of pleasantries.

His gaze was like two solid icicles, piercing straight at Zhang Xinghan.

"Lord Zhang, I have ninety-seven disciples from Qinglu Academy."

"I am only passing through your esteemed place today and will stay for about two hours."

"Now, there are twenty-three disciples."

"In your Baiwei City, which boasts 'excellent public security' and 'no one picks up lost items,' you've vanished without a trace!"

"Shouldn't you give me and Qinglu Academy an explanation?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible, terrifying pressure spread out like a tide, centered on Shangguan Hong.

The air in the hall instantly became thick and heavy.

The maids and guards standing in the corner turned pale instantly and had difficulty breathing.

I almost collapsed.

Zhang Xinghan's smile froze.

A barely concealed sense of apprehension and anger flashed deep in his eyes.

He himself is also one of the best in the Divine Bridge Realm, otherwise he would not be able to be in charge of such an important city as Baiwei City.

But in front of Shangguan Hong, a powerful expert of the Purple Mansion realm and the vice dean of Qinglu Academy.

He clearly felt that there was a huge gap in strength between the two sides.

The opponent's aura was as solid as the earth, yet also carried a hint of sharpness.

This caused the circulation of spiritual energy within his body to become slightly sluggish.

He suppressed his discomfort.

A calm and steady aura, like that of a mountain, rose up around him.

Although it could not completely offset Shangguan Hong's oppressive aura.

However, they managed to hold out a space and protect their men.

This is Baiwei City, his headquarters!

The city lord's mansion is surrounded by powerful formations. If they are activated at any cost, even if Shangguan Hong is strong, he is confident that he can deal with them and even force them to retreat!

But the price was one he was absolutely unwilling to pay.

"Brother Shangguan, please calm down!"

Zhang Xing's tone became serious, and he abandoned his polite manners.

"Zhang only just learned of this matter and is already conducting a full-scale investigation throughout the city!"

"Such a blunder is indeed a fault of the defenses of my Baiwei City, and I, Zhang, will not shirk my responsibility!"

He changed the subject, his face showing a mixture of helplessness and solemnity.

"To be honest, Brother Shangguan, in recent months, Baiwei City and the surrounding areas..."

"There is indeed a mysterious force at play, acting in secrecy and employing superb methods. Several cases of young talents disappearing have already occurred."

"We have investigated extensively, but the clues are extremely scarce, and... the few existing clues vaguely point to a... important figure outside the city."

Zhang Xinghan's voice was even lower, carrying an indescribable heaviness.

"This person's cultivation level is unfathomable."

"Moreover... it has some connection with the 'Heavenly Dao Sect'."

"Without conclusive evidence, it is really inconvenient for Zhang to take any rash actions."

"But rest assured, Brother Shangguan, I have recently ordered the city guards to strengthen their defenses, especially to strictly investigate those entering and leaving Baiwei City."

"Your missing disciple is definitely still in the city."

"Tiandao Sect?"

A cold light flashed in Shangguan Hong's eyes, and his aura intensified.

"Even the Heavenly Dao Sect would have to think twice before messing with my Qinglu Academy disciples in this corner of the Eastern Region."

He stared at Zhang Xinghan, his tone resolute.

"I don't care about his background or his cultivation level!"

"Anyone who dares to harm a disciple of my Qinglu Academy must pay the price!"

"Lord Zhang, I don't blame you for having so many concerns."

"But now that I, Shangguan Hong, am here, you can go ahead and investigate without any worries!"

"If the evidence points directly to that old scoundrel, you won't need to lift a finger; I'll go and deal with him myself!"

"If even my 'Earth-Splitting Divine Power' cannot subdue him, Dean Ouyang will take action himself!"

Sensing the undisguised killing intent and powerful confidence in Shangguan Hong's words, Zhang Xinghan felt calmer.

He was indeed powerless to confront that person alone, and he was afraid to act rashly for fear of harming the innocent.

But if Shangguan Hong really can persuade Ouyang Shuo.

Then there is great potential!

"With Brother Shangguan's words, I am relieved!"

Zhang Xinghan's spirits lifted.

"I will immediately dispatch additional personnel and activate some of the city's surveillance arrays to review video feeds. We must find the whereabouts of your disciple as quickly as possible!"

Meanwhile, Qin Feng led the remaining seventy-four disciples to search for a place to stay in the city.

I asked several guesthouses that were quite large, but they all said they couldn't accommodate all the guests at once because they were too big.

Qin Feng's handsome face furrowed his brows more and more tightly.

It wasn't that I was impatient, but rather that I felt a pang of regret.

"Innkeeper, how much for all the remaining rooms in your inn?"

At the front desk of a luxury inn called "Guests Come in Like Clouds," Qin Feng tried his best to keep his tone calm.

The shopkeeper, sporting two small mustaches, was busy calculating with his abacus, his face beaming with joy.

"Sir, with your number of guests, you will need at least forty superior rooms. Our inn is honest and fair; a superior room costs ten low-grade spirit stones per day."

"If you book the whole place, I'll give you a 10% discount, so it'll be 360 ​​low-grade spirit stones a day! How about that..."

Three hundred and sixty low-grade spirit stones a day!

Even Qin Feng, as an elder of the academy, couldn't help but twitch his eye at this moment.

The prices in Baiwei City are really... He could almost see his already meager savings shrinking rapidly.

But the current situation is special, and the disciples must be centrally located for easier management, so there's no time to worry about anything else.

"Okay, stay here first."

Qin Feng took out the spirit stone expressionlessly, but his heart was bleeding.

He took the room cards from the innkeeper and distributed them to his disciples, arranging for two people to stay in each room.

As he distributed room cards and his gaze swept across the luxuriously decorated, bustling lobby of the inn, a faint sense of unease inexplicably flashed through his mind.

It's not a clear danger, but more like a... disharmony.

It's as if beneath this hustle and bustle lies some inexplicable sense of unease.

A glint flashed in his eyes, but he didn't make a sound; he simply kept this intuition in mind.

Subtle anomalies

Yao Mengkang and Li Han were assigned to the same room.

As Yao Mengkang stepped into the inn and walked towards his room, his powerful spiritual sense once again detected a few strange sensations similar to those he had sensed on the street during the day.

This feeling was even fainter and more elusive, as if it had blended into the noisy background noise of the inn itself, making it elusive.

It seems the opponent is not very strong.

They simply possess special talents or have special treasures protecting them.

Li Han's steps also paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, his instinct focused on danger.

It sent a chill down his spine, as if he were being watched by a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, but when he focused his attention to sense it, the feeling vanished without a trace.

On the other side, Mu Qingqing and Zhou Tiancan also sensed something similar.

Mu Qingqing gently tugged at Zhou Tiancan's sleeve.

Zhou Tiancan immediately understood, and his massive body shifted slightly to the side, subtly protecting Mu Qingqing behind him.

His large, bell-like eyes scanned every corner of the corridor warily.

The group was filled with doubts and were just about to find an opportunity to report to Elder Qin Feng when they saw Qin Feng's gaze sweep over them.

Qin Feng's gaze was calm, but in the instant he met their eyes, he subtly shook his head.

It conveys a clear message.

Don't panic, and don't make a fuss.

Yao Mengkang and the others immediately understood.

Suppressing his doubts, he took the room number and found his room like any other disciple, settling in for the time being.

As night deepened, the bustling Baiwei City gradually quieted down after a day of noise.

Most of the lights in the inn's corridor were also turned off, leaving only a few lamps burning with a dim yellow glow.

Yao Mengkang did not fall asleep, but sat cross-legged on the bed to continue consolidating his cultivation at the thirteenth level of the Meridian Opening Realm.

Li Han, like a true shadow, disappeared into the darkest corner of the room, his breathing almost stopped, blending into the environment.

Suddenly, the door was silently pushed open a crack, and a green shadow flashed in like a ghost, without making a sound.

Yao Mengkang and Li Han were both alert at the same time, but relaxed after seeing who it was.

The person who arrived was Qin Feng.

He gently closed the door behind him, and with a flick of his fingertips, a few barely perceptible rays of light appeared, creating a simple soundproof barrier.

The nonchalant expression on his face had vanished, replaced by an unusual solemnity.

Qin Feng got straight to the point, his voice extremely low, his gaze sweeping across Yao Mengkang and Li Han's faces.

"Tell me, what did you feel during the day in the city, and what did you feel when you checked in?"

His arrival undoubtedly confirmed that Yao Mengkang and others' perceptions were not a misperception.

This seemingly peaceful inn is probably already rife with undercurrents.

The whereabouts of the twenty-three missing disciples may be inextricably linked to this hidden anomaly.

The night grew deeper.