CHAPTER 1012: CHAPTER 1011: LAYERS OF MIST

Under the surprised gaze of the three, Hou Niao led them out of the array, instructed Master Yang to fully activate the formation, and then with a flip of his hand, a sword scabbard appeared in his palm.

This was the Xiao Mountain Sword Scabbard, which he carried with him at all times. What existed in the mountain gate was merely a copied imitation.

"Watch closely."

He tossed the sword scabbard towards the Jiazi Hall, and only saw the sword scabbard smoothly penetrate through seven arrays, entering the secret chamber without triggering any alarms.

Master Yang was stunned, "So the biggest flaw in my array is actually a sword?"

Hou Niao bitterly smiled, "We all have this misconception, as if only Sword Cultivators use swords, but actually all cultivators use swords, albeit in different ways; of course, I’m not saying what comes in is definitely a sword, it could be something else related to a sword?"

Master Xu pondered, "A sword scabbard comes in, encases the Cave Heaven Broken Sword, and then leaves, is that it?"

Hou Niao shook his head, "It may not be possible to achieve this step, the Sword Tomb Small World comes from Qingkong, and the sword scabbard also comes from Qingkong. They recognize each other because they share the same origin, no problem there, but whether other artifacts can achieve this is hard to say..."

Master Zong had been thinking about this matter. His spy experience over hundreds of years made his thoughts extremely meticulous, "The Sword Tomb Small World is a highly specialized Grotto Heaven; it’s fundamentally important to our Sword Sect but worthless to other Daoist systems unless they change to study the Sword Vein Daoist, but doing so would only draw the Sword Sect’s relentless retaliation, which could only be quenched by complete annihilation.

In other words, their primary aim is to disgrace the Sword Sect or delay the Sword Sect’s development."

Seeing everyone nod, he continued, "In that case, there isn’t much practical significance in hastily taking the Grotto Heaven away, because during the escape from Dushan, unforeseen changes could occur, possibly revealing their behavior. For those in this line of work, the key to ensuring successful action is to do as few meaningless things as possible!

We ourselves know that Dushan’s defense system is insignificant, unable to track every departing cultivator, but they don’t know that..."

Master Xu carried on the deduction, "Thus, the best way is actually to stay in Dushan, as we can’t sense any aura of the Grotto Heaven; if we think further, placing it in any farsighted Daoist system, none would make a grand search for guests because of it, so leaving it openly is actually the most reasonable choice?

And there’s no need to carry it personally; just bury it nearby in a concealed place, and have a mole take it out later?"

The analysis of the two masters makes a lot of sense, it’s the accumulation of years of experience, providing Hou Niao with a different perspective; they are all sharp individuals. When experience and wisdom combine, the truth becomes evident, although there still isn’t a concrete method to find it.

He had an even more extreme thought, "If it were done by Jinxiu Cultivators, it might end here, but if it’s visitors from the Upper Realm, given their knowledge and methods, their proud nature, they would certainly do it more legendary. Believe me, they plan thoroughly and may even consider how to write this scene into history in the future, so it could very likely be a very bold, unimaginable method, nothing less than legendary!"

Seeing the puzzled expressions of several masters, apparently not understanding what kind of bold and novel method he was talking about,

Hou Niao scratched his head, "What I’m proposing is just a hypothesis, trying to consider the problem from their perspective. So, is it possible that the Grotto Heaven wasn’t stolen at all, but was just hidden from sight?"

The three masters were shocked, saying in unison, "A space artifact?"

The Space Great Dao is one of the most wondrous Great Daos in this universe, if the Five Elements Yin Yang is the foundation, then time and space are the aliases for the high-end, unchanged throughout any epoch.

However, the Jinxiu Cultivation Realm on the Jinxiu Continent has achieved little in these areas. Its scant two thousand years of history are not enough for them to comprehend such lofty great daos, but their inability does not mean those visitors from the Upper Realm cannot.

If it truly is such a thing, then everything becomes simple, related to sword space artifacts, it doesn’t require a master to infiltrate, just manipulate the artifact to mix in, like the Qingkong Sword Scabbard, then envelop the Sword Tomb Small World to the otherworldly space and vanish into thin air.

This aligns with the principles of covert action; no matter how you look with conventional methods, you’ll only trouble yourself without finding anything, the instigator just needs to stand by and watch the fun, perfectly safe.

"It’s possible, but we can’t be sure. I also don’t know who among the Nascent Soul masters in the Jinxiu Cultivation Realm has such abilities or is willing to help us?" Master Xu was somewhat troubled.

Hou Niao was also troubled; he could ask some people for help, for example, Fairy Hong Xiu, Fairy Fei Bai, Cui Huizuo, and if he swallowed his pride, he could even ask Tianfeng Daoist. These were the only people he could somewhat awkwardly approach, but doing so would incur a big favor debt.

"Wait here, I’ll find someone."

Ignoring the surprise of the three masters, he strode out and returned a moment later with a tender young girl.

"Aunt Nineteen, it’s right here, see if there’s anything you can do?"

The young peacock strutted over proudly, "Little Hou, I can’t guarantee to help you, no matter if I can help or not, you still owe me a favor!"

Hou Niao grinned, "One favor isn’t enough, I can even owe two, three, or ten if needed."

The little peacock walked around east and west with great seriousness before she said, "You all step out first, I need to perform a ritual."

Hou Niao pulled the few masters out of the Jiazi Hall, and Master Xu was very curious, "Sect Hierarch, this fairy is..."

Hou Niao knew he couldn’t hide it, fortunately, not many people were present, "Well, I call her Aunt Nineteen, but she’s not my blood relative, it’s only connected through cultivation technique inheritance; do you remember the Ancient Langzhong Sect at the border? She’s the preacher from the Upper Realm for the Ancient Langzhong Sect, and her true identity is actually the Holy Beast Peacock..."

Seeing the masters’ jaws drop in astonishment, "This matter is not to be spread, just for you to know, it’s not about distrusting others, but there’s no need to say such things, presumably based on the innate ability of the Holy Beast Peacock lineage, they should surpass us in the space path, right?"

The three masters nodded repeatedly, "Understood, understood, we’ll act as if we know nothing..."

The opening of the heavens on Jinxiu Continent is imminent, seems like all sorts of demons, monsters, flies, mosquitoes, even butterflies are flooding in...

Hou Niao sighed, he knew what the little peacock was doing, surely transforming into her true form to maximize her abilities; he was also worried, despite being a descendant of an ancient holy beast, after all, she was still in her juvenile stage, it’s really uncertain what she could achieve.