Chapter 2616: Retracing the Leak Investigation

Was it his poor management? Was it his lack of attention? Was it his limited ability?

The Heavenly Gods' doubts would ultimately turn into Lu Yongyan's worries, urging him to muster his full spirit and investigate even more seriously.

"Lingyun Palace has already relocated to a new site; the process went very smoothly, and the location remains confidential." Lu Yongyan said in a low voice, "Unrelated informed parties total forty-five thousand seven hundred and twelve people, and they have all been dealt with."

The so-called unrelated informed parties included the craftsmen who built the new experimental grounds for Lingyun Palace, the transport fleets, the local officials in charge, and so on.

Given the characteristics of the Hidden God Monarch's fragments, Lingyun Palace's relocation was a massive, complex, and meticulous project; anyone who could watch it through from start to finish would have to exclaim "peerless."

Even within the Heavenly Palace, it was believed that the difficulty of this major project far exceeded that of any operation the Heavenly Palace had undertaken in the past hundred years.

The Saintly Venerable Lingxu obviously also knew the difficulty of this matter; his voice softened: "You handled it well; I indeed did not misjudge you."

Lu Yongyan had just taken over the position of Chief Envoy and could manage such a massive project, proving that the candidate He personally selected was indeed capable.

"Thank you, Saintly Venerable, for your high praise!" Lu Yongyan immediately saluted in gratitude, then continued, "Additionally, Lingyun Palace also reported that before leaving Yanxia Bay, they used discarded samples stored within the palace to activate seven hundred thousand civilians in Baishong City, a process that took about three months in total."

If anyone understood the meaning of the word "activate," they would surely tremble with fear.

The Saintly Venerable Lingxu had always been concerned with the experimental progress and was well aware of what Lingyun Palace was doing:

"Results?"

"Among them, there are seventy-two cases, all from the thirtieth and thirty-third generations of this large-scale experiment; their blood sample compositions are relatively close to that of the Jindu Divine Son! The Jindu Divine Son's blood has stronger neutralization and catalytic effects, and the Divine Bodies produced are more stable." Lu Yongyan said solemnly, "According to Xiao Ping's accurate report, the Hidden God Monarch's body fragments can be further divided into even smaller individuals; then the divine blood used to catalyze new embryos can be continuously supplied using the blood of these seventy-two people, without needing to frequently trouble the Jindu Divine Son."

"Indeed good news. This experiment should have been done long ago."

"Yes." Lu Yongyan added, "Previously, the one in charge of the experimental direction was Duan He Yun; he had always opposed this experiment."

"Is there any news of him?"

"Searched from all sides, but no trace whatsoever. The Nine Nether Great Emperor hid him very deep, or perhaps has already executed him."

The Saintly Venerable Lingxu said: "No. Duan He Yun holds the latest secrets of Divine Body research; before the Nine Nether extracts all of them, he will not kill him."

Duan He Yun's knowledge is not something Cang Yan can empty out in a short time.

"Yes, I will increase efforts and search for every clue and trace."

Lu Yongyan was extremely sincere, but in his heart he knew Duan He Yun probably would not be found from now on either, no matter how much effort the Heavenly Palace expended. Not to mention other things, the Earth Mother under the Nine Nether's command acts with extreme secrecy, and the Secret Realm on its back can shield against the vast majority of divine abilities. If the Nine Nether throws Duan He Yun onto its back, even gods and immortals couldn't find him.

The world is so big; where couldn't the Nine Nether stuff Duan He Yun into some corner?

"Saintly Venerable, there is one more matter to report." Lu Yongyan rarely hesitated a moment before continuing his report, "Regarding the leak of Lingyun Palace's location, the Heavenly Palace interrogated over seven thousand people. A portion had once transported supplies to Yanxia Bay; from the current interrogation results, they did not know what was inside Yanxia Bay, let alone have heard of names like Lingyun Palace, Divine Descent Body, etc."

"Another portion are those who went to support the Million Mountains. After entering the Million Mountains, they never left again." He said softly, "He Lu Tianzun's Cloud Terrace controls a small world, which can isolate internal and external communication. We do not believe anyone else possesses the Nine Nether Great Emperor's ability to penetrate a small world."

Originally, very few idle people worked at Lingyun Palace, but after the failure to seize the "Yangguan Path," Lingyun Palace had no choice but to change its approach, using the most clumsy method to dissect the Hidden God Monarch's body to prevent its newborn consciousness from rioting. This massive project required a vast amount of manpower, so the Heavenly Palace had no choice but to send several tens of thousands of laborers to Yanxia Bay.

This was also unavoidable.

Both the Heavenly Gods and Lu Yongyan suspected that most likely it was because there were too many people and loose lips, leaking Lingyun Palace's originally secret location, that they attracted this evil star, the Nine Nether.

Regarding this, the Saintly Venerable Lingxu's requirement was only two words:

"Re-interrogate."

Lingyun Palace's work must continue; managing those sea pans and carts still requires massive manpower. If the management loopholes of Lingyun Palace are not found, if the hidden danger of the Hidden God Monarch's location leaking cannot be eliminated, the Divine Descent Body plan will inevitably suffer even more blows.

After all, there is only the logic of a thousand days as a thief; where is the logic of a thousand days guarding against a thief?

Lu Yongyan's hands hung at his sides; he lowered his head and said:

"There is one more matter: after the former Chief Envoy returned to the Divine Realm's embrace, his personal maid Zeng Guzi accompanied him. The former Chief Envoy left a dying wish that the successor Chief Envoy send Zeng Guzi's remains back to her hometown, so the Heavenly Palace assigned the funeral arrangements to Tong Yiyi, the most capable maid under her command. But during the handover with the former Chief Envoy, one of my close attendants had an eye mite planted in his eye, proving external forces coveted 【the secret】; I conveniently used this funeral procession as bait, letting Ye Zhao lead men to follow. Sure enough, two days after the procession went down the mountain, they were ambushed and killed by Mou Ren Xin Song; Ye Zhao struck, and Xin Song and two others fled."

The Saintly Venerable Lingxu was silent for a few breaths, as if recalling this matter:

"I remember you reported that afterward, Tong Yiyi could not be found."

Zeng Guzi was silenced because she heard Lingyun Palace's secrets. The Mou Kingdom captives also confessed that Xin Song ambushed the funeral procession to extract more secrets.

The existence of Lingyun Palace is the Heavenly Palace's top-secret; normally it is memorized by the Chief Envoy Du Yun in his heart, leaving no written record. Only during the once-in-a-millennium handover between the old and new Chief Envoys Du Yun does this information have the slightest possibility of leaking out.

The Heavenly Palace has already exhausted its defensive capabilities, yet still could not prevent the leak of secrets.

"Yes, she used an earth escape technique to flee; since then, there has been no news."

This is the suspicious point: where did Tong Yiyi go? Did she flee on her own, or did she fall into the Mou people's hands again?

Although there was no one else in the Divine Hall, Lu Yongyan still subconsciously lowered his voice, "I just received reliable news: in Tuo County, only fifteen li from where the funeral procession was ambushed, an inn was cleared out that night; all guests were turned away except for one female guest. The inn's Shopkeeper was subjected to a divine ability; the newcomers numbered over thirty, and the leader patted his shoulder, and he then obeyed everything they said, doing whatever they told him to do, unable to muster the slightest thought of resistance."

"This group left only the next morning, and that female guest staying at the inn disappeared along with them."

(End of Chapter)