His spiritual energy completely drained, Li Tan returned to his cultivation room. He slept for a full day and night, exhausted, before recovering. When he finally opened the door and stepped out, it was a bright and clear morning, and he felt very comfortable basking in the sunlight.
Li Tan stretched lazily and began to stroll leisurely, but soon encountered Zhang Chenghuan, who looked somewhat anxious.
“What’s wrong?”
Li Tan stopped and asked.
Zhang Chenghuan caught his breath and replied, “Father needs to see you urgently.”
“Is it urgent?”
“Not entirely clear, but it seems important. Father has been very serious, and I rarely see him like this.”
“Then why didn’t he send for me earlier?”
“Father said not to disturb Senior Brother Li’s cultivation.”
“Then thank the Sect Leader for his consideration. Where is he now? I’ll go see him.”
“He’s in the study. Oh, Grandfather seems to be there too. I have something else to attend to, so I won’t accompany you, Senior Brother Li.”
“Alright, you go ahead.”
After parting with Zhang Chenghuan, Li Tan went directly to the study to find Zhang Zhi. Zhang Zhen Shan was indeed there.
“Master, you summoned me?”
Li Tan asked.
Upon seeing Li Tan, Zhang Zhi stood up and hesitated briefly before answering, “Actually, Zheng Kaishan has gone missing.”
“Master suspects his disappearance has something to do with me?”
Li Tan probed cautiously.
Zhang Zhen Shan answered instead, “Of course not. How could we suspect a young friend like you? We just wanted to ask if you happened to see him the night before last.”
“It seems they already know I went out that night,” Li Tan thought.
Since they already knew, Li Tan didn’t deliberately hide it anymore. He half-admitted, “That night, I had a breakthrough in my cultivation, so I went out overnight to hunt a few fierce beasts. I did see Zheng Kaishan.”
“Oh? Can you tell us more details?”
“Certainly, though it might not help much. At the time, I was resting on the treetop. Zheng Kaishan seemed to be in a hurry and ran past below. Not long after, I heard a loud noise that lasted for several minutes. I don’t know what happened afterward.”
“Is that really the case?” Zhang Zhi’s expression was grave.
Li Tan feigned curiosity and asked, “May I ask if Master has any findings?”
Zhang Zhi nodded, “I heard the noise that night too. I rushed to the location soon after. There were signs of a fight, and the surroundings were severely damaged. At the time, I didn’t understand the cause, but now it seems Zheng Kaishan must have had a conflict with someone.”
Zhang Zhen Shan added, “If there’s no accident, that person must be the traitor. It seems he was silenced that night. But why would he target you specifically?”
Li Tan couldn’t answer due to the connection with the Black Robe Organization, so he pretended not to know.
“Yes, before joining the Tianlang Sect, I had no contact with him at all.”
“And why would he betray us?”
Zhang Zhi clenched his fist, visibly angry.
“This is indeed strange. There’s absolutely no reason. The Tianlang Sect has always treated him well.”
Zhang Zhen Shan sighed.
Li Tan said lightly, “There is a reason.”
Zhang Zhi expressed confusion, “Please elaborate.”
Li Tan seemed to recall something bitter and explained, “Everyone has their own selfish desires. As long as you grasp this point, anyone can be turned.”
“That’s too absolute.”
Zhang Zhi replied.
Li Tan said, “Just stating the facts.”
Zhang Zhi asked again, “Then why don’t you tell us what conditions could turn me?”
“Simple, there are many ways.”
Li Tan said slowly, “For example, promising to help you break through to the Grandmaster level.”
Zhang Zhi was stunned and shook his head firmly, “If it were that, I might be tempted, but I would definitely refuse!”
“Then the second method: threatening you with Chenghuan’s life.”
“This…” “Haha, I’m just joking. Master, don’t take it too seriously. Of course, anyone capable of doing those things wouldn’t have any reason to target you.”
The news of Zheng Kaishan’s disappearance was deliberately suppressed and did not cause much commotion within the Tianlang Sect. This was especially true with the explosive news that arrived in the evening, which made it even less noticed.
In an oasis in the desert north of Fan City, a mercenary went into the water to cool off. Suddenly, no one knew what happened, the ground shook violently, and a huge stone rose from the water’s surface. On it was a tightly closed door. The elders of the Alliance of Solitary Cultivators and the Dan Pavilion confirmed after personally inspecting the site that it was an ancient sage’s tomb! Such tombs often contained many rare treasures, and most importantly, they would definitely leave behind inheritances! Once this news spread, the entire Fan City was in an uproar. The news spread rapidly, and it was estimated that all nearby sects had already heard and successively dispatched experts to go there, determined to cooperate in breaking the seal on the ancient sage’s tomb.
The Tianlang Sect learned of the news relatively late, and the messenger who brought the information had the specific purpose of inviting the Tianlang Sect to join the team breaking the seal.
“The breaking of the seal is inevitable. Does your sect have any interest in assisting?”
The messenger politely asked in the reception hall.
If they answered that they had no interest, then once the seal was broken, the Tianlang Sect wouldn’t have the qualifications to enter the tomb. Therefore, Zhang Zhi replied without hesitation, “I will certainly do my best to assist.”
The messenger wasn’t surprised and smiled, asking, “Master Zhang, are you planning to go in person?”
Zhang Zhi looked reluctant, “Breaking seals is not my specialty. Going would only be a burden.”
The messenger suggested, “In my humble opinion, your sect’s Mechanism Department Elder Dongfang Zheng is suitable for this task.”
“Elder Dongfang is indeed suitable, but…” Zhang Zhi looked hesitant.
The messenger asked in confusion, “Is there a problem?”
Zhang Zhi sighed and replied, “He might not be willing to go.” “Why is that?”
“Elder Dongfang is only interested in mechanisms and formation techniques. He’s very stubborn. Unless we tell him there are valuable formation blueprints in the tomb, I can’t convince him to come.”
“If he likes formations so much, wouldn’t he be interested in the seal outside the tomb?”
“Although that sealing formation is indeed powerful, after countless years, it has long lost its essence. Elder Dongfang is simply not interested. And besides Elder Dongfang, there are no other experts in my sect who are proficient in formations.”
Zhang Zhi said somewhat embarrassedly, while the messenger looked somewhat unhappy.
According to this logic, the Tianlang Sect was preparing to reap the rewards without effort.
At this moment, someone knocked on the door. Zhang Zhi was about to scold the person away when the person outside shouted, “It’s me.” Surprised, Zhang Zhi apologized to the messenger and changed his mind, allowing the person outside to enter.
“It’s this humble servant, Li Tan, greeting the two seniors.”
Li Tan bowed respectfully.
Zhang Zhi introduced Li Tan to the messenger, only stating that Li Tan was a talented disciple within the Tianlang Sect, without mentioning the matter of Zuo Qingchun. After exchanging a few polite words, Zhang Zhi asked Li Tan why he had come. Li Tan had eavesdropped on their entire conversation using his spiritual sense, so he slightly circled around before saying, “This junior has a way to persuade Elder Dongfang, but I have a rude request.”
Zhang Zhi said, “Go ahead and ask.” He was well aware in his heart that Li Tan wouldn’t ask for too much.
Li Tan’s request was indeed very simple—he wanted to go to the ancient sage’s tomb together with Dongfang Zheng.
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