At night, the palace at the summit of Tianqing Peak was still brightly lit. Elder Tianqing was sitting straight on a big chair located at the end of the palace hall. Below, several trusted subordinates and elite disciples including Son of Heaven Jin Hong was standing.
Other than Heavenly Yao Peak where Heavenly Empress resided, in the entire Heavenly Yao Sect, this Tianqing Peak was the highest peak. This tall peak was also very steep, even a flying bird couldn't look over it. The three sides of this peak were precipitous cliffs that were hard to climb. Looking from the distance, this peak resembled a towering sharp sword. Its momentum was threatening and the worldly spiritual qi on this peak was especially dense. It was a treasured land for cultivation within Heavenly Yao Sect. Originally, this peak was not called Tianqing Peak, after Tianqing became Elder Tianqing and had the authority over the entire sect, the name was changed.
Hasty footsteps resounded and a guard leader rushed in, "Report…, Great Elder, doves…, doves…"
"What happened? Speak clearly!"
Elder Tianqing who was sitting straight in the hall shouted, showing his prestige.
"Great…, Great Elder, something bad happened."
The guard leader knelt on the ground and breathed heavily for a while, gasping for breath. Only after a pause, he said, "Some disciples sent an urgent report, all the doves of Dove Peak have disappeared."
"What? Someone went to Dove Peak to steal doves? Which mental case has done this? Which sect's disciple has eaten too much and feeling uncomfortable or tired of living?" Elder Tianqing was surprised and impatient. He cursed loudly. Soon after that, his complexion sunk and said, "Let me make sure, are you saying that all the doves of Dove Peak have disappeared?"
"Yes!"
The guard leader replied, and upon seeing Elder Tianqing was furious, he involuntarily began to tremble.
"Not a single dove is left? Over a million doves all disappeared in a night?" Elder Tianqing questioned closely. His sharp eyes were already filled with dense killing intent.
"Yes, all doves have disappeared, but…, but not in a span of one night, rather an instant…, they all disappeared in an instant."
The guard leader was terrified in his heart. He feared that Elder Tianqing would vent his anger on him. But, under the glare of the latter, he had to toughen his scalp and report. "According to the disciples who had made a secret appointment to meet at the foot of the Dove Peak, roughly two hours after the dusk, the doves suddenly flew out from their caves and circled around in the sky above Dove Peak for an unknown reason. This kind of affair had never happened before, the disciples thought that it was a miracle at that time. In addition, believing the senior experts had manifested for this grand sacrifice ceremony, they lowered their heads to make a wish. After that, when they lifted their head after they made their wish, the doves in the sky had already disappeared without a trace."
"Trash, what miracle and manifestation, each and everyone is an idiot!"
Elder Tianqing flew into a rage. He realized that this matter was not simple. He cursed furiously, "Tonight is a full moon night, many people must have sneaked into the Dove Peak. In addition, there are so many guards and hidden lookouts in the vicinity, did no one see anything unusual?"
"No, this subordinate has already sent someone to investigate carefully, but all those disciples said that they hadn't seen any stranger. In addition, no suspicious traces and clues were found in the vicinity."
The guard leader kneeling on the ground was getting more and more terrified. His teeth were already chattering.
The defense of the Dove Peak was not under his responsibility, but as the leader of the nearby region's patrol party, he was responsible for a strict investigation. After the event of Small Yao Lake, Elder Tianqing has given the order to guard strictly. Now, something happened in Dove Peak, would Elder Tianqing easily let the matter drop?
"The entire Dove Peak is wiped out, but you all don't know anything at all, what is the use of you, a guard leader?"
Elder Tianqing suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed the void. Then, the kneeling guard leader was pulled towards him. Now, his five fingers were pressed on the latter's forehead. As long as, he used a bit of strength, five holes would appear on the head of this guard leader.
"This subordinate is guilty, Great Elder, spare this one's life, Great Elder, spare this one's life…"
The guard leader begged loudly. Under the restriction of Elder Tianqing, he was powerless to struggle and also didn't dare to struggle, he could only beg for mercy. At the crucial moment, he suddenly thought of something and shouted loudly, "There is a clue, Great Elder, this subordinate found a clue. Tonight, someone saw a person wearing a black robe and big bamboo hat in the vicinity of the Guest Receiving Peak, he just happened to be returning from the direction of Dove Peak…"
"Who's that? Was he captured?" Elder Tianqing inquired with his fingers pressed on the forehead of this guard leader.
"No, but, according to the guards in the vicinity, this black-robed person disappeared in the Guest Receiving Peak. It is very likely that he is a guest of a certain sect. Looking at the time of his appearance, it is very likely that he has something to do with the matter of Dove Peak!" The guard leader hastily replied.
According to the guards' report, there indeed was someone who had seen a mysterious black-robed person in the vicinity of the Guest Receiving Peak who disappeared instantly afterward. This black-robed person was somewhat suspicious, but since he disappeared too quickly, it made people doubt whether they were hallucinating. Linking him to the Dove Peak was somewhat far-fetched, thus, the guard leader didn't want to tell this because of the lack of basis, but in this critical juncture of life and death, in order to live, he spoke out.
"A black robe and a big bamboo hat? Does he look thin and tall?" Elder Tianqing asked closely, thinking of a person who had forcibly broken into Small Yao Lake.
"Yes, that's right." The guard leader nodded. In fact, he had just heard the guards talking about such matters, he had not personally witnessed him, he didn't know whether he was tall or short, but in order to save his life, he s.h.i.+fted the attention of Elder Tianqing.
"Humph, scram, immediately go to check it out, even if you have to dig three meters deep, I want that person in front of me!"
Elder Tianqing pushed that guard leader away. And the latter fell onto the ground. Only at this moment, the guard leader finally sighed in relief. Afterward, he crawled up and escaped from the hall as if his life depended on it. Behind, the complexion of Elder Tianqing sunk further and with a crack, the armguard of his big chair was crushed.
Although someone had noticed a mysterious black-robed person in the vicinity of Guest Welcoming Peak, was it easy to find that person?
In this Grand Sacrifice Compet.i.tion, 173 sects had come from afar to partic.i.p.ate. There were more than 8,000 people. This was the largest number of people that came to partic.i.p.ate in the last several hundred years. Some had received an invitation and had come with a grand congratulatory gift, but some had come from afar without invitation, and even the people of Overseas World had come. According to Heavenly Yao Sect's usual practice, they refused n.o.body. Such a large scale compet.i.tion let Elder Tianqing make a big profit, but troubles also followed at the same time.
Even if it was determined that the uninvited guest was mixed in the midst of sect's guests, how could they determine him among over 8,000 people? In any case, they can't go around and interrogate every guest sect. If they did that, then they would become a big joke.
"Great Elder, I know a person, he might be the person you are looking for." Jin Hong, who had been silently watching at one side, quickly understood the anger and frustration of Elder Tianqing.
Elder Tianqing was somewhat surprised. He looked at Son of Heaven, Jin Hong, who had just exited his seclusion and asked, "Oh, who?"
"A disciple of Bellowing Waves Sect." Son of Heaven Jin Hong replied.
"That extremely arrogant Nan Batian who had cut off Ouyang Huo's leg?"
Elder Tianqing asked. And without waiting for the answer of Jin Hong, he shook his head, "No, impossible, that Nan Batian fellow is tall and st.u.r.dy, and although his cultivation is extraordinary, he still doesn't have the ability to break into Small Yao lake, in addition, he also has no means to instantly take away over a million doves. Besides, how make doves could he steal at a time?"
"It's not Nan Batian, rather his Big Senior Apprentice Brother, the Big Disciple of Bellowing Waves Sect. Great Elder, I suspect that it is very likely that brat's doing. His cultivation is unfathomable and his build just happened to be tall and thin. Of course, whether he had the ability to steal over a million doves or what his objective is, I don't know. After we capture and interrogate him, we will know!" Son of Heaven Jin Hong replied. He looked calm, but his eyes were sharp. He was more and more suspicious of Ye Chuan.
Today, when he went to Guest Receiving Peak to look for Nan Batian, the sudden appearance of Ye Chuan had shocked him greatly. On the surface, he looked ordinary, but his cultivation was unfathomable.
Nan Batian was already so powerful, but he was able to make him so respectful, what kind of abilities did he have?
Son of Heaven Jin Hong was perturbed in his heart. When he thought of Ye Chuan, he felt like he was no the match of Ye Chuan. This, however, was the first time he was feeling like this. The disciples of other sects had never made him have this kind of feeling. Ye Chuan was the only one. They similarly were Big Disciples, and he was the Big Disciple of the grand Heavenly Yao Sect, but he actually was unable to see through an unknown sect's Big Disciple. This made him reluctant to not think, but upon thinking carefully, he felt that Ye Chuan was unfathomable.
