Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

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However, just when everyone thought the matter was over and they were preparing to leave, the courtyard gate was gently knocked on again.

This time, the voice was extremely soft, with a certain rhythm, three long and two short, repeated twice.

Zhao Ming, who was about to close the courtyard gate, paused for a moment and looked at Shen Mo.

Shen Mo's expression shifted slightly. This knocking sound... was the emergency contact signal that Chen Hao had agreed upon! He immediately signaled Zhao Ming to open the door, while he quickly walked to the inside of the courtyard gate.

The door opened a crack, and a middle-aged man dressed in the most common gray short-sleeved clothes in Tianyuan, with an ordinary appearance and a cultivation level of only late Qi Refining, quickly stuffed an inconspicuous gray pebble into Zhao Ming's hand and whispered, "Wanbaolou, Manager Jin, the 'account list' for Sect Leader Shen."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhao Ming to react, she turned around and blended into the sparse crowd on the street, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Ming closed the door and handed the pebble to Shen Mo. The pebble was cold and rough to the touch, no different from ordinary pebbles.

But with a slight exertion of Shen Mo's fingertips, the surface of the pebble peeled off like an eggshell, revealing a tiny jade slip the size of a soybean, shimmering with a faint silver light.

Probing with his divine sense, he found only a few short sentences in the jade slip, written in Chen Hao's familiar, slightly slick handwriting:

"Brother Shen, it's been a long time since I last greeted you. We've made some progress on the 'Mr. Li' you were looking for, but the waters run deep, so be careful. The last reliable trace of him was forty years ago, when he appeared near the 'Ancient Sword Tomb' in Zhongzhou."

"At that time, there was unusual activity at the Ancient Sword Tomb, which seemed to indicate that an ancient sword had been born, attracting several Nascent Soul and even Deity Transformation level monsters to compete for it, but the outcome is unknown. Afterwards, someone caught a glimpse of a green-robed sword figure fleeing from afar, with a carefree aura, which was suspected to be Li."

"Assessing his cultivation level, forty years ago he was at least in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and possibly even higher. His past activities closely coincide with the unusual opening times of three ancient secret realms ('Falling Star Sea', 'Valley of No Return', and 'Netherworld Ravine') within the last hundred years, suggesting he is searching for something."

"The background is a mystery, suspected to be related to some ancient Taoist traditions that have long since disappeared, or possibly to... matters of the 'Netherworld'."

"Brother, this is all I can find out. Going any deeper might alert the enemy. This person is extremely dangerous, and his motives are unclear. You must be extremely cautious! Destroy after reading. Chen Hao."

The information was limited, but every single piece was alarming.

Forty years ago, those at the mid-Nascent Soul stage or even higher, the Ancient Sword Tomb, the Ancient Secret Realm, the Vanished Dao Lineage, the Netherworld...

Shen Mo's brows furrowed deeply. Li Xiaoyao's image grew increasingly mysterious, and also increasingly...dangerous, in his mind.

This person's cultivation level far exceeded his previous expectations. His movements were mysterious, and he seemed to be searching for something. Moreover, he was connected to the ancient secret realm and might even be related to the "Netherworld Path".

He suddenly remembered that when he was ambushed by the "Netherworld Path" in the Netherworld Realm, the other party had said, "By order of the Lord, we are here to welcome back the vessel of the Holy Soul."

Li Xiaoyao repeatedly warned, "Be careful of the Netherworld, and also be careful of yourself," and even gave him a jade talisman containing the sword intent of "severing cause and effect"...

All of this seems to be subtly connected, yet it is shrouded in an even deeper fog.

Li Xiaoyao, who exactly are you? What do you want? You've appeared beside me several times—is it a coincidence, a scheme, or... something else?

Shen Mo remained silent for a long time, his fingertips releasing true essence. The small silver jade slip, along with its outer stone shell, instantly turned into dust, drifting away in the wind without leaving a trace.

"Sect Leader?" Zhao Qingyan and Su Xiao noticed something amiss in his aura and asked in low voices.

"It's nothing." Shen Mo waved his hand, his expression returning to calm, but his eyes were even more profound than usual. "Su Xiao, send a message to our informants outside: all investigations regarding 'Mr. Li' are to be suspended. All traces must be wiped clean. Without my orders, no further investigative actions are permitted."

"Yes!" Su Xiao replied immediately, though she didn't understand why.

"Furthermore," Shen Mo looked at Zhao Qingyan, "from today onwards, the security at Yunqi Garden will be raised to the highest level. Inform all disciples that no one is allowed to leave the area within thirty feet of the courtyard without my personal guidance. Tell them... with the tournament approaching, we need to prepare with all our might and avoid any disruptions."

Zhao Qingyan's heart skipped a beat, knowing that something big must be happening. She nodded solemnly, "Disciple understands, I will do it immediately."

Shen Mo said no more, turned around and walked back to his quiet room. He closed the door, shutting himself out of the outside world.

In the quiet room, he sat cross-legged, but did not immediately enter a meditative state. In his mind, the words from Chen Hao's secret report, along with Li Xiaoyao's several appearances, words of advice, and warnings, flashed repeatedly and intertwined.

Ancient Sword Tomb... Fallen Star Sea... Netherworld...

"It seems this pool of water is deeper and more murky than I imagined," Shen Mo muttered to himself, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls of the quiet room, looking towards the eternally tranquil sky of Tianyuan, which seemed to conceal endless secrets.

"Li Xiaoyao... No matter what your intentions are, no matter what kind of karmic entanglements exist between me, Qingyunzi, the 'Netherworld,' and this world..."

He slowly closed his eyes, and the "Source Sea Dao Scripture" quietly circulated within his body, his nascent soul radiating a warm yet firm light.

"I, Shen Mo, will walk my own path. The future of Qingyun Sect will be earned by ourselves. Anyone who tries to arrange, manipulate, or destroy all of this..."

"They all have to ask the sword in my hand first, and the group of disciples behind me... who are willing to call me 'Sect Leader'."

In the quiet room, the atmosphere was as still and deep as an ancient well, with only the Daoist rhyme flowing silently, like an undercurrent beneath the deep sea, accumulating power enough to tear apart all fog and obstacles.

Time slipped by quietly in the constant, gentle, yet ever-flowing light of the sky above Tianyuan.

After the small gathering in the Southern Region and receiving Chen Hao's secret report, Shen Mo ordered the security at Yunqi Garden to be raised to the highest level.

The courtyard gates are rarely opened anymore. Apart from necessary cultivation and sparring, the disciples are required to stay in their respective quiet rooms or designated areas and minimize going out to avoid any unforeseen complications.

The entire Qingyun Sect team, like a bowstring slowly drawn taut, silently gathered its strength, awaiting the command.

Shen Mo himself spent most of his time in the quiet room. He did not blindly cultivate to improve his cultivation level. Once you reach the Nascent Soul realm, every bit of progress requires painstaking effort and cannot be achieved through short-term seclusion.

He spent more time repeatedly pondering the essence of the "Source Sea Dao Scripture," deducing the changes of the Yin-Yang Array, consolidating his understanding of "Source" and "Dao," and at the same time, he repeatedly reviewed the detailed information that Su Xiao had collected about potential opponents from various factions, simulated various possible situations, and devised countermeasures.

That afternoon, he was in a quiet room with his eyes closed, concentrating on the interaction between his nascent soul and the spiritual energy around him using the unique introspection method of the "Yuanhai Daojing". His mind sank into a state of chaotic and vast enlightenment.

The nascent soul radiated a warm glow within the dantian, merging with the pure spiritual energy continuously flowing in from the outside world. Each breath seemed to subtly harmonize with some grand rhythm of this sky city.

However, just when his mind was at its most tranquil and his senses most acute—

An indescribable, irresistible, and seemingly divine thought that came from the heavens above or from the distant past, without warning, like an invisible tide, instantly covered the entire Yunqi Garden and even a wider area!

That wasn't a divine sense scan; it was more like a "view from above," a kind of "inspection."

Like a high and mighty god, he glanced indifferently and without any emotion at the ant nest in his palm.

The sheer power, the condensation, and the unfathomable depth of that divine thought far exceeded Shen Mo's comprehension.

Compared to that, his own Nascent Soul stage divine sense was like a firefly compared to the bright moon, a stream compared to the vast ocean—insignificant and trivial. He didn't even have time to have the thought of resisting or probing before he was overwhelmed by that supreme majesty, and his mind went completely blank in an instant.