Yuan Ming immediately stood up, found some paper and a writing brush from the room, and swiftly wrote down the names of the mountains where the formation erupted at the last moment during his previous attempt.

Evergreen Peak, Heavenly Dawn Peak, Enlightenment Peak, Qinglan Peak.

Including Shen Lingyun's Lingxing Peak, there were at least five peaks known to have betrayed among the twenty-one peaks of Chaotian Sect.

Yuan Ming stared at the words on the paper with furrowed brows, finding it hard to understand why there were so many traitors within the thriving Chaotian Sect.

Especially Tianxia and Enlightenment Peaks, according to the introduction left by Shura Master, the masters of these two peaks were both in the late stages of Core Formation, holding positions in the sect second only to two, above tens of thousands. The sect's cultivation resources were also biased towards these two peaks, so there was no reason for them to betray the sect.

Moreover, the goal of their rebellion wasn't even to seize power but to destroy the sect. For them, the path of betrayal was thoroughly thankless and only served to leave them a legacy of curses.

While Yuan Ming was still unable to fathom the situation, Shen Peng's voice sounded from outside the room once more.

Yuan Ming sighed, opened the door with a sense of helplessness, exchanged a few courteous words with him, and asked about the arrival time of the Five Thunder Sect's observation team before excusing himself, feigning illness, and returning to his room.

After composing himself, he took another piece of Xuan paper and began to deduce a method to break the situation.

Based on what he'd heard and seen during his last attempt, there were three primary reasons for the downfall of Chaotian Sect: traitors, external help, and Nascent Souls.

The solutions for the second and third issues were the same. Yuan Ming had to race against time, hoping to resolve the traitor issue before the arrival of Five Thunder Sect and Beiming Alliance. By forcefully compelling the grey-clothed old man to reveal himself, the Nascent Soul Ancestors of Chaotian Sect could then, two against one, slay him, and all problems would be solved.

Shen Peng had just informed Yuan Ming that the Five Thunder Sect's observation team would arrive in four days. However, considering that they might have laid ambushes secretly, this timeframe might even need to be brought forward by a day.

As both Five Thunder Sect and Chaotian Sect belonged to Zhao Country's sects and frequently had friction, despite their proximity, the Five Thunder Sect's observation team always arrived the day before the grand ceremony went ahead, to uphold their own sect's dignity.

Now, Yuan Ming had to deal with a jump from one Core Formation traitor to five, possibly along with even more Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples. It was no longer possible to expect Chang Chun Temple to help him; the only solution was to win the trust of the sect.

Upon this realization, Yuan Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Previously, just with Shen Lingyun alone, he had risked his own safety just to expose the traitor. Now, there were four more high-ranking Core Formation stage peak masters.

With his current status within the sect, even if he produced ample evidence, it would likely be easily suppressed by them.

Yuan Ming recalled the plan he had set up against Shen Lingyun and suddenly, a spark of spirit light flashed in his mind. He realized he had been trapped in a wrong assumption all along and remembered a clue he had previously overlooked.

Soon, at the peak of the Cave Mansion, Yuan Ming paid another visit to his traitorous master, but this time, he didn't mention anything about nightmares.

"Master, with the ceremony imminent, our Lingxing Peak still hasn't prepared any special entertainments. The Deacon Hall has sent someone to urge me several times. What do you think we should do about this…" Yuan Ming carefully inquired.

Although Shen Lingyun was a Soul Cultivator, he wouldn't use his soul cultivation abilities regularly to avoid exposure. Besides, Yuan Ming's Divine Soul was no weaker than his, and though unable to display techniques, he could still sense if someone was probing him beforehand.

Therefore, he wasn't worried that his lies would be detected by Shen Lingyun using soul cultivation methods.

As expected, upon hearing Yuan Ming's suggestion, Shen Lingyun sensed nothing amiss and casually replied, "Just tell them since our peak is newly established and short on manpower, we will not partake in this ceremony. Let's talk about it next time."

"That's exactly what I told them, but they still insisted on asking for your opinion. Do you think you could give me something to prove that this is indeed your wish?" Yuan Ming asked.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Lingyun nodded, raised his right hand, and a token flew into Yuan Ming's hand.

"Take this with you. Also, before the ceremony starts, I need to enter closed-door cultivation for a while. Unless other peak masters look for me, handle all mundane affairs on my behalf as if you were me," Shen Lingyun instructed.

Yuan Ming took the token, bowed respectfully, and then slowly exited the Cave Mansion.

He then rushed to the Deacon Hall without delay, seeking out the mundane disciple assigned as the storeroom guard.

"Senior Brother, do you still remember the appearance of the disciple who entered the intelligence storeroom with this token last time?" Yuan Ming took out the token and shook it.

"I remember... his eyes were very narrow..."

As the storeroom guard recalled the detailed features of that person, Yuan Ming took out a Jade Scroll and with his Divine Thought, sketched the person's portrait.

"Is this him?" Yuan Ming handed the Jade Scroll with the drawn portrait to the guard.

"That's right, it's this man. Tsk tsk, Senior Brother, your drawing skills are truly exquisite! To think you could draw him so precisely just based on my description." The guard was full of praise when he saw the portrait.

Yuan Ming smiled, put away the Jade Scroll, and immediately contacted Shen Peng without delay.

"Senior Brother Shen, I'd like you to help me find someone..."

...

Half a day later, Xiu Jie Peak.

After a long day's work, the mundane disciple Tao Wenlong didn't take the main road back to his residence but chose a scenic path through the mountains, leisurely appreciating the beautiful landscape on either side.

Xiu Jie Peak ranked towards the bottom among the twenty-one peaks of the Chaotian Sect. Initially, Tao Wenlong had complained, feeling that despite his capabilities, he had been dispatched to this godforsaken place, where he couldn't achieve anything noteworthy.

But having lived here for a while, he had grown fond of the scenery.

Not long ago, his superiors had even contacted him to dispose of some critical intelligence that the Chaotian Sect had accidentally obtained. He had expected it to be a major task, but the Sect wasn't aware of the intelligence's significance and had casually stored it away. With the token prepared by his superiors, he effortlessly completed the task, adding a merit to his record.

It was then that he realized, as an undercover agent, one should pick inconspicuous places. If he had been hiding in one of the more prestigious peaks, although there might have been a chance to achieve great things, he would have likely spent each day in constant fear of being exposed and never would have received such an easy assignment.

Tao Wenlong looked at the scenery surrounding him, gazing at the towering, cloud-piercing ancient trees, and suddenly felt a wave of emotion.

This landscape, steeped in a thousand years of history, would soon be consumed by the flames of war. After the battle, who knew how many ancient trees and flowers would remain, how many could stand unyielding?

Tao Wenlong shook his head and sighed deeply, then slowly exited the small road to reach his residence. Just as he was about to push the door open, he heard a stern shout from behind.

"Tao Wenlong, you've been exposed. Come with us."

Tao Wenlong's body tensed, cold sweat dripped from his forehead in an instant, and his mind raced frantically. After a moment, he suppressed his shock and fear, turned around with a forced smile, and cupped his hands in greeting,

"There must be some misunderstanding, surely you've got the wrong person? I've always been law-abiding and haven't done anything wrong, have I?"

Behind him stood several Foundation Establishment cultivators shoulder to shoulder. The one leading them was a handsome young man. Because of the token given by his superiors, Tao Wenlong recognized him and knew he was Lingxing Peak's only direct disciple, Zhen Luo, and his heart sank.

On the other side, Yuan Ming glanced at the Jade Scroll in his hand, confirming this was the man described by the storeroom guard, and let out a cold laugh, "Heh, there's no mistake, we're looking for you. As for what you've done, I think you know very well. Tell me, who instructed you to do this, and which faction do you belong to? Five Thunder Sect, or Beiming Alliance?"

Upon hearing this, the people beside Yuan Ming seemed a bit puzzled, but hearing the words "Beiming Alliance" from Yuan Ming's mouth, Tao Wenlong trembled slightly, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, completely oblivious to the others' reactions.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Zhen, what are you talking about? Somehow, I don't quite understand..."

As Tao Wenlong spoke, he took a few tentative steps backward and then suddenly raised his hand. In an instant, he threw out a talisman that exploded into an extremely bright white light in front of everyone.

However, Yuan Ming had come prepared. Almost at the moment Tao Wenlong released the talisman, he flipped his right hand and an Array Plate fell into his palm. As he performed the spell, in sync with the burst of white light, eight azure light ropes sprang out from the ground.

The white light faded quickly, and when the other Foundation Establishment cultivators reopened their eyes and gained a clear view of the surroundings, they saw Tao Wenlong tightly bound by the eight light ropes, roaring in frustration.

"What are you doing? I'm innocent. You're framing me!"

"No wonder you, Junior Brother Zhen, asked us to wait here specifically; you had prepared the Formation in advance?" The Foundation Establishment cultivator standing to the right of Yuan Ming, a tall man dressed in dark blue armor, exclaimed with surprise.

"Heh, it's just my habit to be prepared. I didn't expect to actually use it, but now it seems that Tao Wenlong's secret is even deeper than I expected, and the crimes he's committed are probably not limited to forging the Peak Master's token," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

After confirming Tao Wenlong's identity, Yuan Ming immediately sought out the members of the Punishment Hall, showing them the token from Shen Lingyun, claiming to be acting under orders, and informed them of Tao Wenlong's transgressions. That's how he brought several Foundation Establishment deacons from the Punishment Hall here with him.

The one who had just spoken was a Punishment Hall deacon named "Gu Zhiping."

"Indeed, but Junior Brother Zhen, why did you ask him if he belonged to the Five Thunder Sect or the Beiming Alliance earlier? It felt like you already knew," Yuan Ming's comrade to his left, Shen Peng, asked curiously.

"I just felt that the deeds he committed didn't quite match what a disciple of our Sect would do. That's why I tried to deceive him, to see if he was an undercover agent sent by other forces. I didn't expect to actually catch one," Yuan Ming quickly gave the reason he had rehearsed many times before.

These words, of course, were not only for Shen Peng's ears but also for Gu Zhiping and the other Punishment Hall disciples; otherwise, his behavior would indeed seem abrupt. And if suspicions turned to him and he gave his reasons later, they wouldn't be as convincing as the seemingly offhand remarks he was making now.

Shen Peng nodded again and again, looking at Yuan Ming with added admiration, and naturally, he didn't pursue the matter further.

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