Professor Huang had not yet realized that Academician Noske had received the same test report. Noske was looking over the numbers, the corners of his mouth lifting. He felt he had gained something.
The next second he began muttering curses under his breath. The base's guard unit was useless. They had failed to keep Madam Han Lian. If they had, his research would already have new progress.
"Achoo." Aboard the flying boat, Han Lian sneezed, startling Yun Chen, who was calculating directional coordinates beside her.
"Amitabha. Has something happened?"
Han Lian rubbed her nose lightly. "Nothing. Someone is thinking about me. These research people are truly fanatical. Ran Xi was right. We should keep our distance from them."
Yunxi had just finished a full cycle of cultivation using spirit stones. Hearing her name, she opened her eyes and smiled. "What is it? People from that research base still will not give up and came looking for you?"
"Nothing, someone is targeting me. They are studying my test report. That was my carelessness. I actually let them detect something with my saliva." Han Lian sounded unconcerned.
Yunxi could not help laughing. "Han Lian, I did not expect you to be careless too."
"Who knew saliva could be tested? At that base I only drank a single cup of tea and was caught. That Professor Huang looks honest on the surface, but he has a crafty mind."
"This place is not the cultivation world. We should be more cautious."
"You are right. It took me time to understand this world too. I wonder what the situation is now in Weiyu Realm."
——
Weiyu Realm, Haoran Sect's Hive
Yu Ling had been staying in the Hive lately. The cultivators sent to the Polar Extreme Wind Zone of the Northern Region had returned one after another, bringing back a jumble of reports that he needed to sort.
From what he had, it was clear the four around Ran Xi had not suffered a loss. Their disappearance was simply abrupt.
Yu Ling reasonably suspected the hand of evil cultivators. He was certain their plan to monopolize the Misty Snow Domain had failed.
Having stumbled repeatedly against the "variable" named Ran Xi, the evil cultivators had sent her to another small world. Now, aside from checking his disciple's soul lamp at intervals, Yu Ling could only wait.
Fortunately, the arrangements Ran Xi made before leaving were all bearing fruit. After lying low for a time, Xiao He advanced to Nascent Soul and seemed to have gained the evil cultivators' trust, with more chances to access important information. Not long ago he contacted a "worker bee" from the Hive and sent back useful intel.
The evil cultivators were scheming again. Learning from earlier failures, they secretly established a small sect to hide in plain sight. Publicly, it was a third-rate sect recruiting four and five spiritual roots, looking like it had just started.
In truth they taught evil-cultivation methods that let poor-aptitude cultivators advance in a short time, even rivaling the speed of dual-root cultivators. The rush of rapid breakthroughs is something few cultivators could refuse.
This sect had quietly taken root in the Western Region. Upon receiving word, Haoran Sect coordinated with Mingjian Gate. After Mingjian Gate investigated, they wiped out the fledgling sect in a single sweep on a moonless night glittering with stars.
Some captured cultivators had been kept in the dark, thinking they had joined a third-rate cultivation sect for a bit of shelter. Learning it had been founded by evil cultivators, they cried injustice and insisted they had been deceived.
Yu Ling read Mingjian Gate's report and judged these were shields used to muddy the waters. Other disciples, however, understood everything and still chose to join. Mingjian Gate severed these people's path to immortality, erased their memories, and sent them back to the mortal realm.
Such handling suited Mingjian Gate's style. Later, Ming Jia Zūnzhě visited Ancestor Hao Yi. No one knew what the two giants discussed, but afterward the entire Western Region fell into an eerie calm. The evil cultivators had been dealt a heavy blow and vanished without a trace.
At that moment, a transmission talisman flew to Yu Ling. He caught it, glanced over it, and flashed away from the Hive.
By the time he reached the back mountain, Ancestor Hao Yi had already gathered Hao Yan Zūnzhě, Hao Hui Zūnzhě, and Hao Qing Zūnzhě. The air in the hall was grim.
Yu Ling bowed to the four and took the last seat. He looked to Hao Yi. "Ancestor, you summoned me in haste. Do you have orders?"
Ancestor Hao Yi sighed. "Huaxian Gate's Shanhe Scroll has been stolen."
Surprise flickered through Yu Ling's cool eyes. His voice turned cold. "Stolen? When?"
Hao Yan's phoenix eyes narrowed. "They do not even know when. They do not know how long it has been gone. I do not know what Huaxian Gate's people are good for if they cannot guard their sect's heirloom."
Yu Ling's mind moved swiftly. His gaze sharpened. "It should be the work of evil cultivators. What they want is the evil artifact Long Ya."
Ancestor Hao Yi nodded. "You are correct. But now no one knows where the Shanhe Scroll is. Long Ya is sealed inside it. Even if stolen, the seal should not be broken for a while.
Huaxian Gate has sent word to Ancestors of the major sects seeking help to recover the Shanhe Scroll in private."
Ancestor Hao Yi was speechless about it too. Huaxian Gate must have been forced to inform the top sects across the regions.
If Long Ya broke the seal and reappeared, Huaxian Gate would be responsible. Remember, to seal Long Ya and prevent the evil soul bound within the Shanhe Scroll from throwing Weiyu Realm into chaos, the Five Regions lost a cohort of elite disciples. At least the last thirty who endured all reached Divine Transformation, which barely offset the loss.
In such a situation, if word spread that the Shanhe Scroll was missing, the entire Weiyu Realm would fall into turmoil and evil cultivators would pounce.
Yu Ling frowned. "Is there any lead?"
Ancestor Hao Yi shook his head. "Very few. Huaxian Gate says the disappearance was abrupt. The place where the Shanhe Scroll was kept had a dedicated guardian and a sealing formation. When they discovered it missing, the guarding Divine Transformation Ancestor had sensed nothing, and the sealing formation had not been triggered."
Something flashed across Yu Ling's face, a glint of killing intent. "If that is the case, someone from the Spirit Realm likely made a move, like that giant palm that descended from the heavens when Ran Xi gravely wounded Long Ya.
To steal the Shanhe Scroll without alerting a Huaxian Gate Ancestor and without leaving a trace, I can think of no one but someone from the upper realm. Huaxian Gate is the foremost sect of the Central Region. Their Divine Transformation Ancestors are no decorations."
Ancestor Hao Yi nodded. "Your analysis makes sense. The problem is we cannot confirm whether the Shanhe Scroll has fallen into evil-cultivator hands. If it has, retrieving it will be difficult.
But if it was someone from the upper realm, they should not be able to take the Shanhe Scroll too far. Coming down to the lower realm brings suppression. If they use power beyond Weiyu Realm's limits, there will be backlash. Their stay cannot be long."