CHAPTER 1011: CHAPTER 1010: CLUES EVERYWHERE

Master Xu’s expression was bitter; he had spent half his life as a secret spy, and could be considered a patriarch in this field. Yet, just before the Sword Sect’s rise, such a thing happened. Though he felt he was partly to blame, now was not the time for self-pity; priorities had to be set.

"To find the small world of the Sword Tomb, there are only two methods: either seal off Dushan and conduct a thorough search, or the person responsible attempts to open the small world of the Sword Tomb. However, I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to open it so soon..."

Master Zong, the former Mansion Master of Sikong Mansion, equally experienced, said, "The perpetrator’s aims are clear. They surely knew our Sword Sect planned to bestow swords upon the disciples during the grand ceremony, a secret well-known within the Sword Sect, even among the Foundation Establishment disciples, so it’s natural this information would leak out.

This was intended to embarrass the Sword Sect and indirectly cut off the path for its rise. It’s imaginable that many who originally wanted to join the alliance are now hesitating or reconsidering, which achieves their goal."

Master Shi was furious: "There must be a traitor! Among the hundred ice halls of the Ice and Snow Sword Pavilion, the Jiazi Hall is inconspicuous. This was the best time in merely two hours, and it didn’t occur by chance; it was meticulously calculated."

Master Wu, unfamiliar with this aspect, remarked, "The Lian Sect’s Heartless Dao has a history in this regard. They have experience, and have always been dissatisfied with our Sword Sect, considering us a disgrace to the Demon Sect. Their style is to act without regard for consequences, without scruples!"

Master Yang, responsible for the array of the Jiazi Hall, felt guilty. "There are no signs of intrusion in the formation. Although my formations aren’t outstanding on the continent, some principles based on sword logic aren’t easily broken by outsiders without leaving traces. I lean toward believing it’s a method from the Upper Realm, but even so, taking out a Grotto Heaven is difficult. I have a micro sword formation that’s highly sensitive to such Grotto Heavens like the small world of Sword Tomb..."

The Masters each had their views and freely expressed them. They needed to quickly come up with a plan, as time was pressing.

All eyes turned to Hou Niao. Though young and having come to power through usurping, everyone regarded him as a junior. Yet, over a century of events showed his capabilities, compelling even the skeptical to admire him. It wasn’t a single incident but countless events that shaped this psychological impression.

Hou Niao raised his head; he had to make an immediate decision. "It won’t be the Heartless Dao. I was at Wu Sect at the time, and the techniques are different, qualitatively distinct. In truth, there’s no need to speculate on which Daoist faction is behind this; guessing along any line of clues will lead us into an intentional trap!

Of course, there’s a traitor, and not of a low level, likely among the Golden Core cultivators. But, when we last entered the small world of Sword Tomb, almost all Golden Cores of the Sword Sect went in, too wide a coverage to be an urgent matter now. It’s something to gradually uncover in the future."

Noticing the anxious and guilty expressions on everyone’s faces, he smiled and said, "If we must assign responsibility, it’s primarily mine! After the small world of the Sword Tomb formed, relocating and assigning special protections should have been in order. However, everyone knows my habitual evasion of responsibility, refusing to acknowledge mistakes. So, let’s each bear the collective burden, nobody hide, and nobody take all the blame!

Laws don’t punish the collective. We high-ranking aren’t Immortals; who hasn’t erred? Lighten up; the sky hasn’t fallen yet."

His words were timely. Losing the fundamental cause of prosperity in Daoism is unbearable for anyone. His evasive smoothing over was characteristic of a seasoned official’s tactics.

Hou Niao’s voice gradually cooled. "Master Zong is right; their move was to embarrass us. Sealing off Dushan for individual inspections isn’t feasible, regardless of cooperation or results. Just sealing and searching would isolate the Sword Sect from the continent. Forget the alliance; we’d become the continent’s laughingstock, an enemy! Such foolishness cannot be enacted!"

All agreed.

"Our only course now is to put on a bold front! Then, in the act of bluffing, we see who among them laughs at us for being fat?

Masters Xu, Zong, and Yang, accompany me in the investigation; the others continue preparing for the grand ceremony. Pay particular attention to anyone spreading rumors about the Sword Sect losing its treasured items in private.

Whoever seeks to ruin my ascending ceremony, I’ll sooner or later ruin their future!"

The Masters exchanged wry smiles, realizing this was the only approach now. A grand search was the worst approach; the perpetrator could be anywhere by now. A real search would only play into the thief’s hands; without publicity, the Sword Sect would become a continental joke.

They imagined if the Sword Sect demanded a search, the Daoist Sect would surely support them, setting examples and helping against disrespectful cultivators. But this would estrange all medium and small Daoist factions from the Sword Sect, causing irreparable rifts.

However, if they couldn’t recover it, what about the disciple sword bestowal in a few days? Every detail was clearly documented, with a copy for each sect; announcing a cancellation? What about the future? How would they explain to the disciples? Say the ancestors carelessly lost the long-awaited flying swords?

This was the Sword Sect’s fatal weakness, where the enemy struck spot-on.

...Hou Niao, with the three Masters, returned to the Jiazi Hall site. He needed Master Yang to explain the formation layout precisely, as the issues in the cultivation world must ultimately be resolved using cultivation methods.

He had neglected these formations before, which now pointed to his careless leadership.

"The Jiazi Hall’s formation isn’t perfunctory. Housing three Grotto Heavens, it’s the most secure place in all Dushan, bar none." Master Yang meticulously explained to the group.

"The formation comprises seven layers. The first four are standard formations, encompassing breath recognition, identity recognition, living recognition, and anomaly recognition. Any mismatch instantly triggers an alert."

During the explanation, as the formations were sequentially engaged, alerts were indeed triggered, indicating extraordinary sensitivity.

"The last three layers are unique to our Sword Sect, including Micro Sword Recognition, Sword Spirit Verification, and Purple Mansion Sword Reflection. These prohibitions essentially prevent anyone non-Sword Cultivator from entering, and if it’s our Sword Sect member, they would certainly leave their distinct marks here."

Master Yang continued demonstrating, "I can accept the first four layers being breached. After all, the cultivation world is full of talented individuals, and there are formation geniuses we know nothing about. But if the last three layers can also be perfectly bypassed within two hours, that I don’t understand."

Hou Niao pondered momentarily, "There’s nothing incomprehensible. I could do it too!"