Back to the sect, the sect leader interrogated, and the storm unfolded

Before long, the Inner Sect Disciple who had fled earlier returned, bringing back all the surviving individuals.

Upon arrival, nearly a hundred people had created a mighty Aura, but upon their return, only thirty remained, barely clinging to life.

The disheveled Elder sternly instructed everyone, "No one is allowed to leave without permission! The consequences of this matter are too severe; we must immediately report to the Sect Master!"

With that, he led the group into the Inner Sect Grand Hall.

This was Shen Fan's first time here.

The Grand Hall was magnificent and grand, towering over ten meters high, with natural jade pillars upon which Auspicious Beasts symbolizing harmony were coiled, exuding an extraordinary Aura.

Tianxuan Sect Sect Master Xue Qiutian was already seated on the main seat.

They seemed to have received news in advance and were waiting here.

Upon seeing the disheveled group return, Gao Changhe slowly lifted his eyelids, and the moment his gaze swept over them, everyone present felt as if they were enveloped by an invisible pressure, a feeling of being on pins and needles, making Shen Fan feel as if he had become transparent, with nowhere to hide before the other party.

"Qi Refinement Stage Fifth Layer, Blood Refinement Realm Third Layer!"

Shen Fan secretly activated the treasure gathering cosmos bowl, desperately concealing his cultivation.

"Mu Xingtian interrogated for so long, yet he didn't detect Leng Ningshuang's true intentions?"

The Deputy Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, who had luckily returned, now buried his head deeply on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"What exactly happened? Tell me everything, from beginning to end!"

Xue Qiutian's voice carried an elusive coldness.

"Yes! Sect Master!"

The Deputy Elder hurriedly recounted the events: "Everything was going smoothly; the Ice Fire Sect had already handed over the spirit contracts for the three spirit mines to Elder Mu, but just then, an Inner Sect Disciple suddenly ran over, saying that you had sent a message, stating that Leng Ningshuang had a Secret Realm map hidden on her.

Elder Mu immediately went back on his word and went to seize her..."

"Stop!"

Xue Qiutian abruptly interrupted, "You said, I sent the message?"

"Yes... yes!"

The Deputy Elder nodded tremblingly, "That Disciple... did he come back?"

"It seems... it seems he's dead!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Fan finally realized.

That undercover agent suddenly rushed out to inform Mu Xingtian, his purpose being to provoke conflict between the Tianxuan Sect and the Ice Fire Sect, making them start fighting first, and then the Blood Refinement Sect and the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect would take advantage of the chaos.

And indeed, that was what happened.

After Mu Xingtian received the news, he immediately launched an attack on the Ice Fire Sect members, and the scene almost without warning plunged into chaos.

Immediately after, the people from the Blood Refinement Sect and the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect suddenly appeared, accurately targeting Leng Tianlei, clearly to prevent the Ice Fire Sect and the Tianxuan Sect from joining forces.

Their plan was undoubtedly successful.

"It seems..."

Xue Qiutian sighed lightly, turning his head slightly to look at the Inner Sect Grand Elder beside him, "That Disciple must also be an undercover agent."

He saw through the trick at a glance, then continued to ask, "By whom was Mu Xingtian killed?"

"The scene was too chaotic at the time; he was entangled with the two Elders of the Ice Fire Sect, and after the people from the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect arrived, a large number of Corpse Kings rushed towards us, and then they self-destructed around Elder Mu, and finally... finally, he was killed by a female Disciple of the Ice Fire Sect amidst the chaos."

The Deputy Elder quickly replied.

"Sect Master! The Ice Fire Sect massacred our Sect's Elder; if this grudge is not avenged, what face does our Tianxuan Sect have to stand in the Great Li Kingdom!"

Mu Jiaxing, the Elder of the Inner Sect Law Enforcement Hall, shouted sternly.

"The Sect will give you an explanation for your brother's death, but what's most important now is to find out what that Secret Realm truly is."

Xue Qiutian's tone was calm, as if Mu Xingtian's death was a trivial matter.

One must know, the reason Mu Xingtian could run rampant in the Outer Sect was precisely because his brother, Mu Jiaxing, was an Elder of the Inner Sect Law Enforcement Hall.

The two brothers, in charge of the Sect's punishments, were a terrifying presence throughout the entire Tianxuan Sect.

"Your brother is gone, and Outer Sect affairs are complex, so you should work harder and take on the burden of the Sect's punishments; do not disappoint me."

Xue Qiutian instructed.

"Yes! Sect Master!"

Mu Jiaxing gritted his teeth and responded, then turned around and sternly questioned, "What about my brother's remains? Did you not bring them back?"

"I'm sorry, Elder Mu! The situation was truly critical at the time; after the Ice Fire Sect people fled, the Blood Refinement Sect and the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect pursued relentlessly, and if we had been a step slower, none of us would have survived!"

The Deputy Elder of the Outer Sect Law Enforcement explained in fear.

"Useless! Useless! Useless!"

Mu Jiaxing was furious, stepping forward and unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks.

Facing this scene, the Sect Master and the other Elders watched quietly, no one stepping forward to stop him.

Only when the Deputy Elder was beaten half to death did Xue Qiutian speak to stop him: "Enough! Do not dishearten the other Disciples; this was purely an accident, and they are not to blame."

Only then did Mu Jiaxing stop.

"The few of you, go back first; the Sect will not withhold the rewards for this mission; to have luckily survived is a blessing in misfortune; you have shed blood for the Sect, and the Sect will never treat you unfairly."

Xue Qiutian said indifferently.

"Thank you, Sect Master!"

Everyone bowed in unison to express their gratitude.

...

Leaving the Inner Sect Grand Hall, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had just walked through the gates of hell.

After the Disciples departed, Xue Qiutian's gaze instantly turned cold; looking around, the other Elders dared not meet his eyes.

"Do you know what this land beneath our feet used to be?"

Xue Qiutian's voice was not loud, yet it seemed to penetrate the Divine Soul, "This place was once the territory of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect! Every inch of soil beneath our feet was once soaked with the blood of our compatriots!

It has been three hundred years! We have guarded the Corpse King here for three hundred years, almost digging this place three feet deep, yet why are there still things happening that we don't know about?

Huh?"

A sharp shout made all the Elders shiver uncontrollably.

Xue Qiutian's deterrent power in everyone's hearts was imaginable.

"Grand Elder, from today onwards, you will lead people to strengthen the Sect's patrols, focusing on searching for traces left by the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect, and you must find out where Leng Ningshuang found the Devouring Spirit Secret Realm!"

"Yes!"

An old man with disheveled hair and a beard immediately stood up and bowed in response.

This person was precisely Liu Qingfeng, the Grand Elder of the Inner Sect, whose strength and status were second only to Xue Qiutian.

"Second Elder, the Blood Refinement Sect's undercover agent falsely reported intelligence and deliberately caused trouble, which shows that there are still many undercover agents within the Sect.

The Blood Refinement Sect and the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect rose in this place, which was originally their old lair; it is likely that there are more than just these few undercover agents among our Tianxuan Sect Disciples.

Immediately, form an investigation team to screen all Inner Sect and Outer Sect Disciples one by one!"

"Yes!"

A middle-aged beautiful woman, about forty years old, bowed in response.

No one had ever expected that the Second Elder of the Tianxuan Sect's Inner Sect would be a woman.

The Tianxuan Sect was originally formed by the integration of three Sects, and this Second Elder's predecessor was none other than Elder Mo Yu of the Ice Fire Sect.

This person was truly strange and ruthless; after Leng Ningshuang was captured, she remained indifferent, showing no intention of pleading for her, completely disregarding their past relationship.

A storm sweeping through the Tianxuan Sect's inner and outer circles thus began.