The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

Leading the group was Lingxiao's deputy commander-in-chief, a middle-aged soldier with a resolute face, steady eyes, and three general stars on his shoulder insignia, named Qin Zhenshan.

Sitting next to him was Dr. Wang Mingyuan, a white-haired, refined gentleman, and next to him were the old Taoist Cang and Ye Li, who had just returned from Taiqing Temple.

Lin Xiaoman did not participate in this meeting because of her young age and because the information involved was not highly confidential.

"Taiqing Temple... actually agreed so readily?"

"They even proactively increased their investment and bore all the additional losses?"

Looking at the report, Qin Zhenshan's resolute face revealed a clear hint of surprise and joy. "This has solved a major problem for us!"

"The pressure in the southern border region has been increasing lately, and we are worried that there is no sect with sufficient weight and suitable strength to take over."

"Protector Cang, Captain Ye Li, you have done a great service this time!"

He looked at the old man and Ye Li with approval in his eyes.

I thought it would be a difficult negotiation, and might even require the use of some of the alliance's coercive powers, but the result was unexpectedly smooth, far exceeding my expectations.

The old man's face showed little joy; instead, his brows furrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Commander Qin, Dr. Wang, this matter... is probably not that simple."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Qin Zhenshan suppressed his smile and looked at him.

"Fellow Daoist Taiqingzi's attitude... has changed too quickly and too thoroughly."

The old Taoist recalled the scene at the time, his tone filled with confusion, "Before we arrived, based on past contacts and intelligence analysis, Taiqing Temple should have had reservations about this matter, or at least tried to bargain with us."

"But when we brought this up, Fellow Daoist Taiqingzi agreed almost without hesitation, and the terms were so generous... it was as if he was afraid we wouldn't agree."

Ye Li's cool voice added from the side: "Most importantly, the point at which his attitude changed was very abrupt."

"The moment Xiaoman inadvertently mentioned her close relationship with Lu Yao, Senior Taiqingzi's expression and tone completely changed."

"Lu Yao?"

Qin Zhenshan looked at Wang Mingyuan, "Dr. Wang, this name..."

Wang Mingyuan adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and quickly swiped his fingers across the tablet in front of him, pulling up a file: "Lu Yao, female, eighteen years old, Chen Xuan's junior sister."

"Recently... um?"

"The latest monitoring data shows that she successfully established her foundation a few days ago. Her energy fluctuations are pure and unique, suggesting that she skipped the conventional Qi refining stage and went directly to foundation establishment."

"This news has been classified as a Level C concern."

"Direct foundation building?"

A strange light flashed in Qin Zhenshan's eyes. "This is quite unusual. It seems this Lu Yao is somewhat special. But what does this have to do with Taiqingzi's change in attitude?"

"Could it be that Taiqing Temple is trying to poach this disciple?"

He quickly dismissed his own opinion, "No, even if he were a genius Foundation Establishment disciple, it wouldn't be enough for Taiqing Temple to pay such a price to curry favor."

The old man shook his head: "It doesn't seem like poaching. Fellow Daoist Taiqingzi's enthusiasm at the time was more like a fawning attitude, especially towards Xiaoman."

"He seems to care a lot about Xiaoman's relationship with that Lu Yao."

"To please?"

Qin Zhenshan was even more puzzled.

Taiqing Temple is an ancient Taoist sect with a long history, and Taiqingzi himself is a late-stage Golden Core ancestor with a prestigious status. Why would he need to curry favor with a young girl in the Qi Refining stage?

Just because she's friends with a female disciple from a Taoist temple? That doesn't make sense.

A brief silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the low hum of the equipment.

Dr. Wang Mingyuan remained silent, his brows furrowed, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, as if he were rapidly contemplating something.

Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Qin Zhenshan: "Commander Qin, I would like to use the recent retrospective access of the 'Map of Mountains and Rivers' to check the area around Taiqing Temple, especially the recent activity trajectory of Taiqingzi himself."

"The Map of Mountains and Rivers?"

Qin Zhenshan's expression turned solemn.

"You suspect that Taiqingzi's unusual behavior is related to his recent whereabouts?"

Qin Zhenshan asked.

"good."

Wang Mingyuan nodded, "Something unusual must be going on."

"The transformation of Taiqing Temple is very likely related to something that Taiqingzi himself experienced recently."

"And the timing was shortly before he agreed to the matter of the southern border."

"We need to know where he went and who he met."

Qin Zhenshan pondered for a moment, then nodded decisively: "Okay."

"I will request permission now. Target: the area within a radius of 500 li around the Taiqing Temple gate; time: the past seven days. Focus on tracing back the trajectory of Taiqingzi's personal Qi."

The order was issued quickly.

Inside the analysis room, the main screen switches.

The original holographic sand table dimmed, and was replaced by a slightly hazy, dynamic map image that looked like it had been rendered in ink wash.

The map centers on Sichuan, with mountains, rivers, towns, villages, and spiritual energy nodes represented by simplified symbols.

This is a projection of the replica of the "Landscape of Mountains and Rivers".

With the massive influx of energy and the activation of complex rune algorithms, the images on the map began to rapidly rewind, like a video being played in reverse.

The golden dot representing the gate of Taiqing Temple extends into an extremely faint, pale golden energy trajectory line that is imperceptible to ordinary people.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on that trajectory line.

The pale golden trajectory line had left the Taiqing Temple gate a few days ago and was winding its way in a certain direction.

"This direction is..." Ye Li's pupils contracted slightly..

The trajectory line traversed mountains and rivers, eventually stopping near Xianyun Temple on the map, where it briefly overlapped with the temple!

"Mount Qingcheng! Xianyun Temple!"

The old man uttered a low cry.

Qin Zhenshan suddenly looked at Wang Mingyuan: "Taiqingzi went to Xianyun Temple? Just recently?"

Wang Mingyuan stared intently at the overlapping points of light, his eyes behind his glasses flashing with a sharp light: "The timing is perfectly aligned!"

"Shortly after he returned to Taiqing Temple from Qingcheng Mountain, his attitude changed drastically, and he readily agreed to the matter of the Southern Frontier!"

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze.

All eyes were focused on the green dot that represented "Xianyun Temple".

Qingcheng Mountain, Xianyun Temple, Lu Yao.....

And that mysterious and unpredictable one, whose whereabouts even Lingxiao couldn't uncover much despite using a lot of resources, yet who was repeatedly and subtly connected to major events—Chen Xuan!

"Could it be...?"

Ye Li's voice carried a hint of uncertain chill, "Tai Qingzi's attitude has changed drastically, and he's willing to pay such a price to cooperate with us. Is it because of Chen Xuan?"

This speculation is too bold, yet it seems to be the only explanation that can connect all the clues!

"What exactly did Chen Xuan do? Or rather, who is he?"

Qin Zhenshan's voice was deep and heavy, carrying an unprecedented solemnity.

Their assessment of Chen Xuan had been revised repeatedly, from "suspected reincarnated genius" to "suspected ancient great power" and then to "suspected Empress Saint Teacher," each time accompanied by shock and a higher level of vigilance.

But now it seems they may have underestimated it!

The fact that the patriarch of Taiqing Temple could be so "obedient" shows an astonishing level of influence!

Wang Mingyuan took a deep breath and slowly said, "We have no way of knowing the specifics."

"The 'Map of Mountains and Rivers' can only trace the general trend and the rough outline; it cannot reveal the specifics of what happened."

"We have no idea what agreement Taiqingzi reached with Chen Xuan (or Lu Yao), or what Chen Xuan demonstrated."

He paused, then looked at everyone: "But one thing is certain—"

"The importance and danger posed by Xianyun Temple on Mount Qingcheng, especially Chen Xuan, must be reassessed at a higher level!"

"It is recommended to adjust the previous 'Level A Key Observation, Cautious Contact' to 'Highest Level Monitoring, Absolutely No Unnecessary Contact, Avoid Any Possible Provocation or Conflict'!"

Qin Zhenshan was silent for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "Agreed."

Immediately update the access permissions of Chen Xuan and the Xianyun Temple files, classifying them as "Top Secret, Level 1".

All relevant information is only available to those present and the highest decision-making level at headquarters.

Daily surveillance of Xianyun Temple will be reduced to minimal, long-distance passive recording; any form of probing or disturbance is strictly prohibited!

He looked at the old Taoist priest and Ye Li: "Since the Taiqing Temple is willing to cooperate with the matter in the Southern Frontier, let's proceed according to plan."

........

"Top Secret - Heaven-Level?"

"My goodness, the last place to be rated at this level was that forbidden zone deep in the Kunlun Mountains, where ancient immortals were suspected to be slumbering, right?"

"Qingcheng Mountain Xianyun Temple... Chen Xuan... the access permissions for this data have been upgraded way too fast! Just a few months ago, I was only at Level B!"

"Shh, keep your voice down! We've given strict orders: no talking, no prying! Just do your job!"

"I heard that Captain Ye Li and her team returned from Taiqing Temple with exceptionally good conditions. Is it because of this Chen Xuan?"

"Stop guessing! Get to work!"

Inside Lingxiao, discussions about Chen Xuan and Xianyun Temple were quickly suppressed, but the curiosity and awe were planted like seeds in the hearts of many who knew the truth.

Lin Xiaoman, one of the "eyes of the storm," remains completely unaware of this.

She was happily sorting through the various "local specialties" she brought back from Taiqing Temple, preparing to share them with "Sister Yao" on her next trip up the mountain.