The opening scene reveals the story of Yao Lao, alarming the Soul Emperor.

At daybreak, Hunyu instructed the two low-ranking disciples guarding outside the courtyard to do something.

The ashes of the two assassins were placed in a white porcelain dish, carried to the main entrance of the Tiangang Hall, and placed on the ground.

It wasn't just placed there randomly.

The white porcelain dish was positioned precisely on the path that the Three Venerables took every morning on their way to the council hall.

There was a note next to the plate with only six words written on it.

"I slept well last night."

The news spread even faster than Hunyu had anticipated.

As soon as he entered the front hall of the Heavenly Gang Hall, there were already more than a dozen people standing there, whispering among themselves in small groups. When they saw him come in, their voices all lowered.

Hunyu ignored them.

He walked through the front hall and onto the corridor leading to the council chamber. His white robes shone with a cold white luster in the morning light. The fan in his hand was half-open, and the golden feathers on the fan surface had no luster at all, making it no different from an ordinary goose feather fan.

The doors to the council chamber were open, and people were already seated inside.

Hun Yue sat in the first chair on the right, arms crossed, his face ashen.

The three venerable ones in gray robes sat in the second chair on the left, their fingers resting on the armrests, tapping them one by one.

The two seats in the back row are empty. The Four Heavenly Venerables are still in Zhongzhou, and the Two Heavenly Venerables are in seclusion.

Hunyuan stood in the very center, not sitting, with his back to the door, as if looking at a map of the Tiangang Palace's territory hanging on the wall.

When Hun Yu walked through the door, the Three Venerables stopped pointing.

Hun Yue's gaze shot down from above his crossed arms, like two dull, unsharpened knives.

"What do you mean by scattering that dish of ashes on my third senior brother's path?"

Hunyu walked to the center of the hall, stood still, unfolded his fan, and covered most of his face.

"Five Heavenly Venerables have misunderstood, I didn't say anything."

"The plate was right there, you're saying you didn't spill it?"

"The plate was there, but no ash spilled out. The white porcelain plate was perfectly straight, and the ash inside was completely clean, not a speck of ash was spilled."

The sound of Hun Yue's teeth clenching could be heard even ten steps away.

"Are you trying to play word games with me?"

"It's not a trick, it's the truth."

Hun Yu put away his fan and walked to the front of the gray-robed Three Heavenly Venerable's chair, less than five steps away.

"Three Venerable Ones, after midnight last night, two people broke into my villa."

The Three Venerables' fingers returned to the armrest, and the tapping rhythm resumed.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"These two men are carrying Heart-Eating Needles, and their target is my heart."

"The Heart-Eating Needle can simulate the recurrence of old injuries. If I die, it will be because I died of illness, and the murderer will not be found."

"Very professional."

The Three Venerables stopped striking again.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Hunyu took out a fist-sized piece of gray gravel from his sleeve and placed it on the small table in front of the Three Heavenly Venerables.

The surface of the gravel showed signs of burning, was black in color, and had irregular edges, as if it had broken off from a larger object.

"These are the remains of the two assassins who were killed by the formation last night."

"I put the ashes in a dish and placed it by the door, but I kept this piece of remains."

"Would the Three Venerables like to take a look at the remaining battle qi on it?"

The Three Venerables' gaze fell on the piece of broken stone.

He didn't reach out to take it.

"Just because you tell me to look, does that mean I have to?"

"You can skip watching the Three Venerable Ones."

Soul Feather's fan tip touched the surface of the gravel.

"But everyone present could see that the battle aura on this piece of wreckage was of the lightning element."

The air in the council chamber was cleaved open by those five words.

Hun Yue lowered his arm.

Although no one was sitting in the back row, two three-star Dou Zun were standing guard at the entrance to the passage leading to the back row, and their expressions became quite interesting.

The Three Venerables stood up from their chairs.

His movements were not fast, even slow, but the moment he stood up straight, a fine crack appeared on the floor tiles of the entire council chamber.

"Are you saying I sent someone to kill you?"

"I didn't say that."

"What I meant was that the assassin still had traces of lightning-type battle aura on him."

"I'm not the only one in the Heavenly Gang Hall who cultivates lightning-based techniques."

"Yes, you're not the only one, but the number of people who have cultivated to the point of being able to attach a stable lightning-type mark to the Heart-Eating Needle can be counted on two hands."

Hun Yu took a step back, retreating to the very center of the council hall, a position that was exactly between the Three Heavenly Venerables and Hun Yue, out of reach of either side.

"And I didn't say it was someone sent by the Three Heavenly Venerables."

"It's possible that someone stole your fighting spirit, or it's possible that someone deliberately framed you."

The Three Venerables' breathing became heavy.

This statement is more difficult to deal with than a direct accusation.

If Hunyu directly accuses him, he can fly into a rage, deny it, or even take action on the spot, with ample justification.

But Hunyu gave him two options: one was to "steal your battle qi," and the other was to "frame him."

Both of these escape routes acknowledge the existence of lightning-type battle aura, but at the same time, they do not definitively place him in the position of the murderer.

If he denies the fact that he possesses lightning-type fighting spirit, it would be tantamount to lying in front of everyone.

If he admits it, it would be tantamount to admitting that he is connected to the assassin, regardless of whether he was framed.

"You're putting me on the hot seat."

The voice of the Three Venerables was squeezed out from between their teeth.

"The Three Venerable Ones are being overly suspicious."

Hunyu unfolded his fan again, obscuring the faint curve of his lips.

"I just put the plate on the road, brought the gravel into the hall, and laid the facts on the table."

"As for who these facts point to, that's not for me to decide."

"you!"

A ball of purple-blue lightning condensed in the palm of the Three Venerables, crackling and popping, causing all the soul lamps lighting the entire council hall to flicker.

His murderous intent was written all over his face; he made no attempt to hide it.

A useless member of a collateral branch, devoid of any fighting spirit, trying to play these sarcastic tricks in front of him—he would have slapped him to pieces yesterday.

But not today.

The black tag was tucked into the chest of the white-clad man opposite him, its dark red patterns faintly seeping through the fabric.

Killing him would be tantamount to slapping the temple master in the face.

"Three Heavenly Venerables, please calm your anger."

A voice came from the very center.

Hunyuan turned around.

He glanced at the lightning in the palm of the Three Heavenly Venerables, then at the faintly flowing dark red patterns on Hunyu's chest, and the wrinkles between his brows deepened.

"Soul Feather, what exactly are you trying to do by leaving Third Junior Brother's ashes on his road this morning?"

"Great Celestial Venerable, what I want to do is not important."

Hunyu put away his fan.

"The important thing is, someone tried to kill me last night."

"The important thing is that the clues left on the assassin point to lightning-based martial arts techniques."

"More importantly..."

His voice dropped by half a octave.

"If the Three Venerables were really framed, then the person who framed them is the one who most wants me dead within three days."

"Because I'm dead, the three-day deadline is over, the investigation of the mole will be cut off, and all the clues will be wiped out."

"And what would the Palace Master think if a dead chess piece bore the traces of a Three Venerable's battle aura?"

The lightning in the palm of the Three Venerable Ones extinguished.

He didn't kill it on his own initiative; it was after hearing those words that his strength gave way.

Hunyu explained it very clearly.

Someone is using his death to frame the Three Venerable Ones.

If he really died last night, the ashes in the dish and the lightning-type battle aura on the rubble would be irrefutable evidence, leaving the Three Venerables speechless.

The Palace Master will not investigate further, because the chain of evidence has been closed: lightning-type battle qi, the Heart-Eating Needle, and the disguise of a relapse of an old injury—each link points to the Three Heavenly Venerables.

An insider uses another to do the dirty work, killing two birds with one stone.

The Three Venerables remained silent for a long time.

Anger, fear, belated relief, and then anger again.

"You mean, someone is plotting against me?"

"The Three Venerable Ones are wise."

"Who?"

"The Three Venerables shouldn't be asking me this question."

Hunyu pointed to each of the four corners of the council hall with his fan.

"The Three Venerables should ask themselves: who in the Heavenly Gang Hall could obtain your residual lightning-type battle qi? Who knows which path you took this morning? Who most wants the investigation into the mole to stop?"

The Three Venerables suddenly swept their gaze across the others in the council hall.

Hun Yue frowned.

Hunyuan's expression remained unchanged.

The two three-star Dou Zun on duty shrank their necks, wishing they could disappear into the wall.

Just then, a man walked into the council chamber.

The footsteps were heavy, carrying a sense of decisiveness that had been suppressed for a long time and was finally being released.

Soul Mountain.

wrong.

Hun Yue remained seated in his chair without moving.

The one who walked in was Hun Yue, who came in from outside.

No.

The person who walked in was wearing the same style of inner armor as Hunyue, but the emblem on his shoulder had an extra dark gold border.

He is the deputy general of Hunyue.

wrong.

It is Hun Yue himself.

He stood up from the chair.

Everyone looked towards the doorway.

The person who walked in walked with a steady gait, and the expression on their face was different from anyone else present.

It is the Five Heavenly Venerable Soul Mountain.

He had been sitting silently in his chair, but now he got up and walked to the spot between Hunyu and the Three Heavenly Venerables.

He did not look at the Three Venerable Ones.

He was looking at Soul Feather.

"A collateral branch's son."

Hun Yue's voice was lower than ever before in the main hall, so low that it carried no extra emotion.

"I believe that someone tried to kill you last night."

The expressions on everyone's faces in the council chamber changed.

The Three Venerables turned to look at him, their surprise barely concealed.

Hunyuan turned most of his body around.

Hun Yue's gaze lingered on Hun Yu's face for a couple of moments before shifting to the Three Heavenly Venerables.

"I also believe that my third senior brother's lightning-type battle qi was stolen."

"Because last night, my guard at the villa reported that someone had tampered with the room outside Third Senior Brother's cultivation room."

The breathing of the Three Venerables could be heard.

Hun Yue slammed a jade slip in his hand onto the table next to him.

"This is a record that was just delivered by the guard this morning. There are three traces on the outer wall of Third Senior Brother's cultivation room where someone used a secret method to extract the remaining battle qi. The method was very skillful. If the guard hadn't been sharp-eyed, they wouldn't have noticed it at all."

His gaze swept across the entire council hall, finally settling on the back of Hunyuan.

"Someone was raising ghosts in the Heavenly Gang Hall. Once the ghosts grew up, they started eating people."

Hunyu stood still, the white feather fan in his hand hanging at his side.

He glanced at Hunyue.

Hun Yue did not look back at him.

But the amount of information conveyed in that single glance was enough for Hunyu to add a new stroke to the Bagua pattern in his mind.

The Five Heavenly Venerables were the ones who scolded him the most fiercely in the main hall.

This person was also the first among all the Celestial Venerables to stand up and speak for him.

Soul Feather twirled the fan halfway between his fingertips, the golden feathers on the fan surface reflecting a faint light.

He didn't speak.

But the curve of his lips was precisely blocked by the fan.

Footsteps faded quickly into the distance in the corridor outside the council chamber.

Someone is running.

They ran towards the communication room of the Heavenly Gang Hall.