Chapter 241: The Tree Would Be Still, But the Wind Refuses to Cease

Chen Mu was certain.

This Yan Song is almost certainly a mole planted by Prince Jing'an within the Black Water Sect!

His "impulsive" killing yesterday was deliberate, meant to ignite a deadly feud between the Xu family and the Black Water Sect.

And last night's massacre of the Black Water Sect? He likely played no small part in it!

"The Black Water Sect's treasure vault—everything inside is gone, isn't it?"

Chen Mu did not mention Yan Song again.

"Yes."

Yu Shoujiang answered, "Apart from a few massive stones, every valuable item was taken. This was definitely done by someone inside the Black Water Sect—several secret chambers had dragon-stone barriers; without knowing the mechanism, they're nearly impossible to open."

"A pity," Chen Mu shook his head.

With the Black Water Sect wiped out and its vault emptied, the Xu family's treasures naturally vanished once more.

Yu Shoujiang opened his mouth but chose silence.

Whatever Chen Mu regretted, he had no intention of getting involved—just doing his duty was enough.

Huang Kaiyuan was now a ruined man, imprisoned in the Town Martial Office's dungeon.

He would most likely be executed.

He didn't want that!

…

He circled the inside and outside of the Black Water Sect.

After collecting the cards from each corpse, Chen Mu returned to Huicheng.

While overseeing the main hall, he examined the cards he'd acquired.

One True Qi card, containing one year and eight months of True Qi!

Five Qi cards, each holding between five months and one year of Qi.

Thirty-seven Neili cards, eleven Strong cards, fifteen Skill cards, twelve Cultivation cards, nine Equipment cards, three Memory cards.

The rest were either Stamina cards or Energy cards.

Chen Mu used the Strong cards, each one slightly enhancing his physique.

Then he put away the other cards, kept the Memory cards, and used them one by one to "browse" the dead's memories.

As expected, Chen Mu "saw" Yan Song through the memories.

This elder of the Black Water Sect ambushed Xie Baichuan, then coordinated with a Land Altar Realm expert dispatched by Prince Jing'an to silence Xie Baichuan.

Notably, Yan Song was not the only mole within the Black Water Sect who had defected to Prince Jing'an—there were three others.

The Black Water Sect's annihilation in a single night was primarily the work of these four.

One poisoned, another ambushed.

But about Prince Jing'an's secrets, the memory images revealed nothing.

Chen Mu was not disappointed.

After finishing the memory viewing, he took out the Heart Bamboo tablet and transmitted information about Yan Song and the Black Water Sect to Zhao Fuzhou.

Soon, the bamboo tablet shimmered with light—Zhao Fuzhou replied.

【Received】

…

…

The news that the Black Water Sect had been slaughtered to the last person in a single night swept across Zhenzhou like a sudden hurricane, stirring uproar among every major and minor faction.

Shock, wariness, vigilance, lament, sighs, head-shaking—emotions wove across the faces of leaders from every faction.

"The Black Water Sect… just gone?"

"Xie Baichuan was a Land Altar Realm master with Three Flowers Converging—how could he be dead?"

"Who did this? Such ruthless, decisive brutality!"

"The sky over Zhenzhou… may be changing…"

Amid the clamor and disbelief, nearly every eye turned instinctively toward the Xu family within the state capital!

No other reason—just hours before the massacre, the Xu family had erupted in violent conflict with the Black Water Sect, killing many; now the Black Water Sect was wiped out. In motive and timing, the Xu family's guilt was the most obvious.

When the news reached the Xu family, their own halls erupted in chaos.

"What? The Black Water Sect was wiped out?"

One fiery-tempered elder leapt to his feet, face pale, "We're finished! No matter how deep we dive into the Tianmen River, we can't wash this off!"

Another, calmer elder cried urgently, "Head of the family! We must immediately issue a public denial—this massacre's blame must not fall on us! Otherwise, we'll become the target of all!"

"Who? Who's framing the Xu family?"

More clan members felt anger and helplessness.

"Are the people outside all fools? Do you think the Black Water Sect is that easy to wipe out?"

"They don't care—they've already decided it was us!"

"Damn! A pack of bastards!"

…

Amid the noise and panic, Xu Ziluo slammed his fist on the main seat's table and roared.

"Enough! All of you, shut up!"

The voice silenced all clamor; everyone turned to Xu Ziluo, face dark as iron yet unnervingly calm.

Unlike others' panic and rage, Xu Ziluo, after his initial shock, quickly regained composure and sensed something was off.

The Black Water Sect's annihilation seemed to point squarely at the Xu family—but the method was too brutal, too final, too deliberate.

If this were truly the Xu family's revenge, they would never choose such a sensitive moment or use such an extreme method.

More importantly, in overall strength, the Xu family is no stronger than the Black Water Gate; if Xie Baichuan were to fight to the death, Xu Ziluo alone would be utterly insufficient.

Yet the killer wiped out all the Black Water Gate members—including Xie Baichuan—in a single night.

How could an ordinary person accomplish this?

"This matter… is probably not as simple as we thought."

Thoughts whirled through his mind; Xu Ziluo's voice grew low, heavy with exhaustion and Solemn, "Our Xu family—barring unforeseen circumstances—has been manipulated! From the theft of the treasure, to the conflict with the Black Water Gate, to now the complete annihilation of the Black Water Gate… behind this chain of events, there must be a hidden hand pulling the strings!"

Speaking these words, Xu Ziluo's gaze swept over everyone present, and he gave a decisive order.

"Transmit my command! All members of the Xu family, seal your lips—do not argue or defend yourselves to anyone outside!"

"At this moment, the more you defend yourselves, the more you appear guilty."

"All younger generations of the clan, from today onward, are forbidden to step outside the family compound without permission!"

"Those who defy this order will be punished by clan law!"

Xu Ziluo sought to respond to this storm with silence and withdrawal, hoping that time and the Xu family's low profile would gradually wash away suspicion.

Yet, the tree wishes for stillness, but the wind will not cease.

The very next morning, as the Xu family chose silence—even temporarily abandoning the search for the stolen treasure—in an attempt to downplay the incident, a far more explosive rumor spread like plague throughout Zhenzhoucheng and beyond!

The rumor was that the ancestral treasure lost by the Xu family was, in truth, named—

Yunshen Jade!

The powers of this "Yunshen Jade" were spoken of as miraculous.

It could stabilize the soul, nourish the spirit, and even greatly increase a cultivator's chance of breaking through from the Innate Realm to the Earth Altar Realm!

Upon this news breaking, the entire city was stunned, followed by countless burning, greedy gazes.

Stabilize the soul!

Aid breakthrough to the Earth Altar Realm!

For those trapped at the peak of the Innate Realm, desperately seeking breakthrough, this was undeniably a deadly allure.

Know this: the mortality rate for forcibly breaking through from Innate Realm peak to Earth Altar Realm reaches ninety percent!