Chapter 371: Chains of Clues

Yu Sheng finally understood—Master Bo Yuanche truly deserved the title of Exploration Master; he could always pull out strange objects from all sorts of bizarre places, and in a way, this was no different from a Dora-Xian.

"Looking back now, that outpost must have been an anomalous spatial node—not an alien realm, since no 'depth differential' formed between it and the real world," Master Yuanhao said, holding the strange mask as he recalled, "The black-clothed cultivator was likely searching for something inside the outpost, but got trapped and killed by its endlessly looping anomalous space…"

Yu Sheng listened, stunned, his gaze following the odd mask in the other's hand; only when the man finished speaking did he instinctively ask: "Where was that outpost? Can we still find it?"

"That asteroid belt isn't hard to locate, but the outpost is gone," Master Yuanhao shook his head, a look of regret on his face. "I returned the next year and found nothing but emptiness—likely fully consumed by the anomalous space. Such anomalies can't last long; a year is enough for them to collapse and vanish. But how it formed remains unclear—perhaps a device malfunction, or some natural phenomenon? Impossible to say."

Silence fell over the hall as everyone pondered, until Master Yuanling broke it after a moment: "What else? Brother, did you investigate the black-clothed cultivator's person? Did you trace his origins?"

"Couldn't find anything," Master Yuanhao sighed. "His body was pristine—no identifying items at all, as if he'd appeared out of nowhere. Clearly prepared, determined to die rather than reveal secrets. Plus, his body showed thorough body-refining traces, making lineage identification impossible. But… though his origins eluded me, I did notice something else."

Yu Sheng and Master Yuanling spoke in unison: "Something else?"

"He was holding a fragment of jade in his mouth—likely placed there at the final moment, when he realized survival was impossible."

Yu Sheng blinked, turned, and saw Master Yuanling's thoughtful expression—he couldn't help asking: "What does that mean?"

"He was likely a descendant of frontier settlers from Han Ding or Shu Ji," Master Yuanling explained to Yu Sheng. "In their final moments, many frontier-dwelling clans hold a stone in their mouths—a custom born from the harsh conditions of early colonization. Many pioneers couldn't even preserve their corpses, or became lost in void anomalies and could never return home. So the tradition arose: dying with a stone from home in the mouth, to guide the soul back. Over generations, even after the colonies stabilized, it became local custom."

"Meanwhile, because each colonized planet was so distant and had different resources, the practice varied slightly. Some held purple gold or stone crystals, others white stone or long rock—but only descendants of Han Ding or Shu Ji settlers held jade in their mouths."

Yu Sheng listened, amazed by this "folk knowledge" known only to those from the Feiyu-13b region, then quickly realized: "So this matches our earlier judgment—the black-clothed cultivators really are from the frontier, from colonized planets…"

"Exactly," Master Yuanling nodded solemnly. "Moreover, if those black-clothed cultivators truly came from 'Shu Ji,' this also connects to another clue."

"What clue?"

"The elder Yun Qingzi," Master Yuanling's expression turned grave. "A thousand years ago, witnesses observed him fighting an unknown powerful enemy and vanishing—on a barren planet near 'Shu Ji'!"

At these words, Yu Sheng's eyes flew open. A flash lit his mind—countless scattered clues suddenly found a common path, snapping together into one coherent thread—

A thousand years ago, the immortal sect's ancestor Yun Qingzi fought an unknown powerful enemy near the frontier planet 'Shu Ji,' was presumed dead, leaving only shattered limbs, then vanished for a millennium. A thousand years later, a strange anomalous realm appeared near Tai Xu Ling Shu; a group of black-clothed cultivators, seemingly from 'Shu Ji,' suddenly emerged, seeking the so-called 'Imperial Lord's Legacy.' At the same time, Yun Qingzi, missing for a thousand years, suddenly appeared in a 'dream vision,' also seeking the 'Imperial Lord's Legacy.'

Additionally, Yun Qingzi seemed to have undergone a drastic personality shift—from a gentle, refined immortal elder in the records, to a nervous, erratic figure…

Master Yuanhao, unaware of his brother's meaning, blinked in confusion. "Yun Qingzi? That 'Exiled Immortal of the Border Wastes' who vanished a thousand years ago? Why bring up this elder now?"

"This matter may be connected to the vanished elder," Master Yuanling carefully chose his words. "Yu Sheng saw a figure claiming to be 'Yun Qingzi' in a dream vision—and he, too, was seeking the 'Imperial Lord's Legacy.'"

He then recounted everything about "Yun Qingzi," with Yu Sheng adding many details. When they finished, both Master Yuanhao and Master Yuanhe stared, dumbfounded.

After a long silence, the tall, slender Master Yuanhe suddenly blurted: "Maybe I should go check on my Rare Beast Pavilion—been gone so long, I wonder if the disciples even finished their assignments…"

"Don't rush off," Master Yuanling immediately stopped him. "If you return now and see your disciples' tri-terrain cockroaches and mosquitoes with ten-year lifespans, you'll have an even bigger headache. If this truly involves an ancient powerhouse and drags up relics from the 'Old World,' none of us will get any peace."

Master Yuanhe sighed: "Ah, I just wanted to quietly pursue scholarship—why is it so hard?"

At this moment, Ailin, perched on Yu Sheng's shoulder, suddenly had a flash of insight: "So… the black-clothed cultivators might all be sent by this 'Yun Qingzi'? He sent them to find the 'Imperial Lord's Legacy'?"

"That possibility can't be ruled out," Yu Sheng said seriously, then looked up at Master Yuanling and Xuanche. "What's the current state of the black-clothed cultivator we captured? Can we interrogate him yet?"

Master Yuanling paused, then nodded slightly: "Technically, another one or two days of 'processing' would be safer. But since we now have 'Yun Qingzi' and 'Shu Ji' as breakthroughs, we might as well try questioning him."

"Then let's interrogate him now," Yu Sheng said immediately. "See if the bastard can give us something useful."

Moments later, under the guidance of Master Yuanling and Xuanche, Yu Sheng's group arrived at a secluded location some distance from the Queyun Palace's main hall.

High stone walls rose around it, surrounded by dark woods, with a persistent, chilling aura lingering between the trees and walls—as if countless alert eyes watched from within the cold. Inside the gray-white walls stood only a plain, unremarkable pavilion.

As soon as Yu Sheng stepped into the courtyard, a sudden, inexplicable heaviness welled up in his chest, as if countless voices whispered in his ears.

On his shoulder, Ailin instinctively sat up and lazily, irritably waved her hand to the side: "What's all this chattering?"

The next second, Yu Sheng heard a sharp "szzz" sound—a flicker of black light at Ailin's fingertip, and the entire courtyard fell utterly silent…

"Piaji!" A black shadow suddenly splattered onto the outer wall of the plain pavilion, twitched, then slid down into the form of a black-clothed woman wearing a veil.

The scene froze. Yu Sheng jumped back: "…Who is this?"

"…A guard disciple of the Wenxin Pavilion," Master Yuanling looked slightly embarrassed. "She was habitually using the 'Wenxin Spell' to check if anyone entering the wall harbored ill intent—this girl is rigid. Ever since taking this duty, she's interrogated even me every time I come. My apologies for disturbing you two guests."

"Oh no," Yu Sheng felt even more embarrassed than Master Yuanling. He immediately poked Ailin on his shoulder. "Apologize right away—you didn't hold back at all…"

Meanwhile, Xuanche had already rushed forward and helped the veiled woman up. She looked dazed around her, then finally focused on Master Yuanling, bowing half a beat late: "Master, I was just attacked…"

Before she finished, Yu Sheng stepped forward holding Ailin, who bowed her head in midair: "Uh, sorry—I thought someone was whispering in my ear, so I reacted instinctively."

The black-clothed woman: "…?"

She clearly still had no idea how she'd ended up stuck to the wall.

Yu Sheng felt another wave of awe—he usually saw Ailin getting slapped against walls. This was the first time he'd seen her slap someone else onto one. Truly, expertise has its domain—in spiritual attacks, this 66.6cm-tall squat little thing had never backed down!

"Miss Ailin's ability to calm souls and seize spirits is truly extraordinary," Master Yuanhao instinctively sized up the doll, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his eyes filled with doubt. "But as I understand… Alice dolls aren't specialized in this school of cultivation, are they? You're primarily known for spellcraft."

Ailin blinked, surprised: "Is… that right?"

But she only paused for a moment, then waved her hand carelessly: "Eh, close enough—I'm just really strong!"

Then she turned to the black-robed female guard and sincerely apologized again: "Sorry—are you okay?"

Only now did the woman realize what had happened. Looking at her master and uncles, she became flustered: "I—I'm fine, just now…"

"We'll discuss that later," Master Yuanling interrupted. "We're here to interrogate the heretic cultivator. How is he?"

"He's still dazed. I feared he might wake up and commit suicide, so I just gave him some Shen Lock Heart and Soul-Stabilizing Wisdom Pills…"

(End of Chapter)