A Calculated Gambit and Unveiled Secrets

Mo Tingbei’s probing was a mixture of truth and fabrication.

The Three-Unity Sword Sect did indeed hold several inspectors captive.

As for the origins of these inspectors… they were, of course, those Foundation Establishment peak cultivators from the previous ship, who had provoked his Junior Sister on their journey back to the sect from the mortal realm.

However, the accusation of “trespassing in a forbidden area” was purely an impromptu fabrication, casually uttered to trick that old scoundrel.

Yet, Yujizi’s reaction was far from the bewilderment or anger one would expect upon hearing such baseless claims.

Instead, it reeked strongly of a guilty conscience.

Mo Tingbei naturally noticed this, and a faint calculation began to form in his mind.

‘Could it be that he truly dispatched a hidden inspection team to my Three-Unity Sect, and they have gone missing?’

Yujizi, however, regained his composure with remarkable speed, his expression settling back into placidness in the mere flicker of an eyelid.

Had Mo Tingbei not undergone such profound sublimation, already stepping halfway into the profound and mystical realm beyond the ordinary limits, he might have almost believed his eyes had deceived him.

Furthermore, under his scrutiny, the two individuals accompanying Yujizi also displayed subtle hints of suspicion.

He noticed that Elder Xiong’s brows furrowed further, his perpetually closed eyes even parting to reveal a thin slit through which a glint of shrewdness flashed.

Scholar Liu’s thumb ring, which had been idly spinning, came to a complete halt, his peripheral gaze drifting towards Elder Xiong.

In that instant, the two seemed to exchange opinions through a silent glance.

Their subtle reactions certainly did not suggest prior knowledge of the situation.

Instead, they appeared startled by Yujizi’s utterly discreet operation, even developing a degree of wariness.

After all, while the Heavenly Mirror Pavilion wielded immense power, bypassing normal procedures to secretly dispatch personnel into the core territory of a sect was undoubtedly a grave taboo for those within the various sects.

Moreover, if he could send people to probe the Three-Unity Sword Sect’s core forbidden area, who was to say he wouldn’t try to probe their own sects someday?

Mo Tingbei hadn’t considered the possibility of the three deliberately putting on a show for him.

Under the deliberate pressure he exerted, the three individuals before him, unless they were Golden Core old monsters whose cultivation had reached the state of returning to simplicity, yet morbidly chose to pretend to be ordinary Purple Mansion cultivators, had absolutely no chance of concealing their true emotions from him.

This matter also stirred up doubts that Mo Tingbei had buried within his heart some time ago.

Come to think of it, the people on that flying boat back then had an alarming number of suspicious points.

Judging by the attire of the person leading them, this group was most likely a team led by an inspector whose rank was only half a grade lower than the various pavilion masters of the Immortal Alliance.

This was a status that should have allowed them direct contact with Golden Core Grand Monarchs, yet not a single one among them could accurately discern the aura of a modern Golden Core.

Although only a select few close to him knew that long-lost ancient evil techniques had appeared in the mortal realm, they arrived with unusual swiftness.

They even, from the very beginning, targeted his disciple, a new face who had never set foot in the cultivation world, as their sole clue and objective.

The leader, despite being merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator, possessed a method capable of blocking a full strike from a Golden Core Dao Lord’s natal magic treasure.

Even if his Junior Sister had not injected Golden Core level magical power into the magic treasure at the time, Changming had already been imbued with some of the Golden Core realm’s might.

Even he, a peak Purple Mansion cultivator, before undergoing his own sublimation to cut off his path forward, would not dare claim he could absolutely withstand Changming’s full-power strike protecting its master.

Moreover, this group had been missing for such a long time.

If they were truly high-ranking figures of inspector caliber, given the current conduct of those within the Immortal Alliance, they would have long since mobilized forces to search mountains and scour seas.

Mo Tingbei lightly tapped the teacup with his fingertips, the white jade base meeting the cloud-patterned stone table with a clear, lingering chime.

His gaze was lowered, as if his entire attention rested upon the emerald leaves floating in the cup.

In reality, Yujizi’s momentary shift in expression, Elder Xiong’s subtle respiratory disturbance, and the sudden cessation of Scholar Liu’s thumb ring’s spin were all laid bare within his perception.

Though Yujizi’s face remained composed, a tempestuous storm raged within his heart.

‘The covert team I dispatched acted with extreme caution; how could they have been exposed?’

‘And trespassed in a forbidden area?’

‘They wouldn’t even step near the Three-Unity Sword Sect’s protective formation!’

‘Could it be that they truly discovered some earth-shattering secret that forced them to venture deep into forbidden territory?’

Yujizi was, after all, a seasoned schemer.

The flicker of guilt in his eyes, stemming from his secret being exposed, was like lightning across the sky, instantly suppressed by deeper surprise, suspicion, and calculation.

He stroked his beard, chuckling softly, adopting the guise of a calm, benevolent elder.

“Daoist Mo jests,” he said.

“The inspectors under the Heavenly Mirror Pavilion all abide by the law and follow proper procedures.”

“How could they trespass in your esteemed sect’s forbidden area without cause?”

“Perhaps your disciples were nervous and mistakenly reported it.”

His pace of speech was steady, as he attempted to gloss over the matter.

However, his deliberate evasiveness and the specific phrasing emphasizing that they would not trespass in the sect’s forbidden area were, in themselves, telling flaws.

Even the two accompanying him sensed a profound underlying meaning.

Mo Tingbei set down his teacup, his gaze, like a cool stream, slowly sweeping over the three men, each with their varied expressions, before finally settling on Yujizi’s face.

His tone unexpectedly carried a hint of amusement.

“Oh?” he drawled.

“Daoist Zhao suggests my sect’s disciples made a false report?”

“Yet, those individuals were clad in Immortal Alliance attire, piloting standard star-skiffs, and repeatedly claimed to be acting under the Heavenly Mirror Pavilion’s decree, intending to enter my back mountain to ‘investigate anomalies.'”

“Though my sect may be humble, we would never dare to slight an Immortal Alliance envoy.”

“However, the back mountain is where our venerated ancestors rest, guarded by numerous restrictions.”

“Our disciples, fearing any inadvertent offense, merely ‘invited’ them to pause their advance pending further clarification.”

“Since Daoist Zhao has explicitly stated that those audacious individuals are not members of the Immortal Alliance, then my sect has no need to keep them.”

He paused deliberately after speaking, yet failed to discern the desired shift in Yujizi’s expression.

‘This old scoundrel truly possesses remarkable composure; he is indeed a cunning hero worthy of sitting as a Pavilion Master of the Immortal Alliance.’

A faint, almost imperceptible curve touched Mo Tingbei’s lips, a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

“Then they are imposters, audacious villains whose crime is compounded.”

“In my opinion, my sect can handle the task on your behalf, cleansing the gates and setting things right.”

“How does that sound?”

The moment his words fell, the surrounding air abruptly solidified.

An invisible sword intent permeated the space, not overtly sharp or oppressive, yet heavy as a mountain bearing down, vast as an inverted ocean, silently engulfing every inch of space around Yujizi.

The two beside him, however, seemed utterly oblivious.

It took a moment for Elder Xiong and Scholar Liu to perceive Yujizi’s discomfort.

They looked at each other in unison, both seeing profound shock reflected in the other’s eyes.

‘This level of exquisite control…’

‘Absolutely insurmountable.’

Both arrived at the same conclusion.

Yujizi’s fingers trembled slightly within his sleeves.

His Daoist robe billowed without a breeze, as if enduring unimaginable pressure.

Were it not for centuries of cultivating inner calm, he would likely have been trembling with fear, sweat pouring from him like rain.

‘How could this youth’s progress be so terrifying?’

‘He killed the last remaining fallen true dragon offspring in all the heavens and earth, yet emerged unscathed?’

‘His sword intent is even stronger than the strike he had remotely sensed, the one that slew the monstrous beast, subtly touching upon that ineffable realm!’

‘Such a monster, yet those two sects failed to nip him in the bud back then?’

‘What foolish soft-heartedness!’

If those two were privy to his thoughts, they would surely protest their innocence.

‘Did our two sects not wish to eradicate them back then?’

‘If not for Yujizi’s concern for appearances, our two sects would have long since secretly moved to sever the Three-Unity Sect’s lineage!’

The Three-Unity Sword Sect, after all, had faced the brink of annihilation by suppressing a ferocious, evil beast—one of the few in the cultivation world that Golden Core cultivators found inconvenient to directly engage with.

At least in its public narrative, the Immortal Alliance had always upheld the Three-Unity Sword Sect as an exemplar.

Moreover, the Three-Unity Sword Sect was one of the few sects whose legacy stretched back to before the fractured era.

If one were to truly trace their connections, they could still claim ties to several powerful figures.

Even if Yujizi had the merit of supporting two top-tier B-grade sects, allowing him to strike the Three-Unity Sword Sect’s name from the golden roster that divided the world’s resources, he would still not be permitted to sever the sect’s lineage entirely.

However, if he truly disregarded his reputation to commit such an act, while it wouldn’t necessarily lead to his death, the position of Pavilion Master, which he sought to secure, would surely slip from his grasp.

And for this very position, Yujizi had specifically chosen the Three-Unity Sword Sect—a sect with a long heritage, yet one that had long since declined to merely struggling at the bottom of the B-grade.

He had meticulously plotted for nearly half a century to transform its brother sect into his own influence, then waited a full decade for the opportunity to instigate the monstrous beast’s rampage.

How could he possibly abandon all this for some insignificant future possibility?

Naturally, he would not move against the Three-Unity disciples after that, and would even prevent others from doing so, to avoid implicating himself.

This, of course, was also one of the reasons he arrogantly demanded a bribe from Mo Tingbei on a whim when they met.

He truly saw himself as the Three-Unity Sect’s benefactor.

Yet, under Mo Tingbei’s oppressive sword intent, the usual smooth rhetoric he was accustomed to found itself utterly trapped, unable to be uttered.

“Everything shall be as Young Friend decides.”

“If I have caused any offense just now, I hope Young Friend will be magnanimous.”

“I have just remembered that a batch of pills in my alchemy chamber is about to be completed, so we shall take our leave.”