When Daoist Chu heard Gongsun Min's words, he couldn't help but feel shocked. He immediately looked in the direction Gongsun Min was pointing at. He didn't see anything there, but he felt a presence that was moving far away. This presence was extremely fleeting. If Gongsun Min hadn't pointed it out, he wouldn't have sensed it at all.
The other party was clearly a cultivator. At this moment, aside from the true cultivators from the Mystical Spirit Realm like them, the only ones left in the Independent State were those Xuanxiu.
His expression also darkened when he thought about how he might've been watched by someone recently.
At this moment, he looked at Gongsun Min again. He wasn't sure if Gongsun Min had already discovered him and simply didn't point it out on purpose.
Gongsun Min saw him looking at him and said with a smile, "I'm sure Fellow Daoist can also guess who those people are. Since this person is watching you, he must've been suspicious of you for a long time. Now that he's seen us discussing things here, he probably has other guesses."
Daoist Chu calmly said, "So what? When I met with Fellow Daoist, I used my magic to transmit my voice. He couldn't hear anything. He can't blame me for communicating with outsiders, can he? "
Gongsun Min smiled and said, "But what would Fellow Daoist's fellow disciples think if they knew about this?"
Daoist Chu frowned. This was a problem. Disregarding Xuanxiu, his fellow disciples were well aware of his background. If they knew he was communicating with outsiders, they would definitely be suspicious of him and connect it to other matters.
However, suspicions were only suspicions. Without concrete evidence, Xuanxiu couldn't casually reveal this matter. Instead, if he became Gongsun Min's knife, then he would forever be tied to him. This wasn't something he wanted to see.
Therefore, he said indifferently, "Fellow Daoist doesn't need to worry about this. I have a solution."
Gongsun Min looked deeply at him and smiled. He cupped his hands and said, "That's good. Since there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first." With that, he suddenly turned into a cloud of mist and floated into the distance.
Daoist Chu watched him leave and felt a sense of unease in his heart. After a while, he suddenly thought of a possibility. He raised his head and thought, "Not good!"
With a flicker of his Nascent Divinity, he turned into a streak of light and chased after Gongsun Min.
In a desolate area to the north of Duzhou City, Cao Fangding was sitting in an underground cave that he'd opened up before leaving.
After he received Zhang Yu's order, he had been following Daoist Chu for the past few days. He didn't see anything strange before, but just now, he saw Daoist Chu's Primordial Spirit flying out for no reason. He also sent Fu Yu to follow it and saw Daoist Chu meet another person.
However, he never expected that the other person would be abnormally vigilant and notice his existence. In order to not completely expose himself, he could only call back the visualization diagram.
However, he did not panic. The Fuyu Visualization Diagram was formless. The two of them would not be able to touch each other. Even if they were destroyed, he would not be harmed.
However, at that moment, he felt a sense of danger. He immediately escaped from the underground cavern. However, as soon as he left, a bright light exploded where he had been sitting. Then, a huge force attacked him.
The light on his body immediately propped up, repelling this force. However, the sudden impact caused his own Qi to become chaotic.
At that moment, a hand formed from grey smoke descended from the sky, grabbing towards where he was.
When he noticed this, he wanted to dodge immediately. However, he was still a beat too slow. The hand of grey smoke closed around him, instantly trapping him. He couldn't break free for a while.
Gongsun Min stepped out from the void with a horsetail whisk in his hand. He looked at Cao Fangding trapped in the grey smoke and couldn't help but smile. However, he didn't take any further action and only waited there.
After a while, another streak of light descended. Daoist Chu walked out. He looked at the grey smoke and asked, "Fellow Daoist Gongsun, what are you doing?"
Gongsun Min placed his horsetail whisk in the crook of his arm and smiled. "This doesn't seem to have anything to do with you, does it?"
Daoist Chu looked at him and said, "How can it have nothing to do with me? This person must've been ordered by Zhang Xuanzheng to keep an eye on me. Perhaps he's already reported our previous contact. If you kill him, how can I explain myself? "
Gongsun Min nodded and said in a very casual tone, "If that's the case, I'll let him go for your sake."
Daoist Chu's expression changed slightly. He suddenly realized that if he let this Xuanxiu go, he would definitely report the matter of him being attacked by Gongsun Min. Originally, Zhang Yu was only suspicious at most. Even if the news spread to his fellow disciples, he could still refute it. However, now, he really couldn't explain himself.
Gongsun Min said leisurely, "Fellow Daoist, what's your choice now?"
Daoist Chu was silent for a long time before he said, "I can't kill him. Do you have a way to cover up what happened today?"
Gongsun Min smiled and said, "That's easy. I have a way to make this person forget what he just saw. However, I can only help you once. I can't help you again and again." Gongsun Min said with a deep meaning.
Daoist Chu understood the meaning behind his words. He sighed and said, "Alright, I'll agree to your previous request. However, I'll only help you retrieve the blood essence at most. However, if Zhang Xuanzheng has someone protecting him, I won't make a move unless I have the chance."
Gongsun Min smiled and nodded. "Of course. I won't force you to do something that you can't do."
He waved his horsetail whisk and his magic power descended. Everything around him was restored to its original state. Then, he moved Cao Fangding to the cave from before and removed the grey fog.
Gongsun Min swept his horsetail whisk across Cao Fangding's face again before pulling it back. He said to Daoist Chu, "Fellow Daoist Chu, if nothing unexpected happens, this person won't remember what happened between us. Don't worry, I'll come find you when I'm done planning. Please wait patiently."
After saying that, he smiled again and bowed before leaping into the air and leaving.
Daoist Chu stood there for a while before he sighed heavily and also turned to leave.
After the two of them left, Cao Fangding's eyelids twitched a few times, and he suddenly woke up.
He looked around and frowned. He remembered that he was meditating just now, but he felt like something wasn't quite right. However, he couldn't put his finger on it.
After some thought, he sank his consciousness into the Visualization Diagram and tried to monitor Daoist Chu again.
After Zhang Yu captured all the master craftsmen in one fell swoop, he immediately sent people back to the tunnel and had Commandant Zhan come pick them up. After returning to the Production Institution, he tried to do a headcount and discovered that most of the craftsmen from the Independent State's Production Institution were here, but Master Craftsman Chen wasn't among them.
However, only Master Craftsman Chen was the key. Due to his seniority, he presided over all matters in the Production Institution and was also responsible for communicating with the higher-ups. The others didn't have any leeway to interfere.
However, everyone unanimously said that Master Craftsman Chen committed suicide by ingesting poison.
However, the more this was the case, the more suspicious it was.
However, if Master Craftsman Chen had been using a substitute to replace himself, then his real body might not be in the production department at all. If that was the case, it would be more troublesome to find him, but it wasn't completely impossible.
If that body was indeed Master Craftsman Chen's substitute and had been used for a period of time, then there should still be a portion of his physical body's memories remaining in his mind.
Moreover, he remembered that among the crude cultivators who came with him today, there was a crude cultivator named Wu Chengan who had the Secluded Pursuit ability. Perhaps he could find some clues from this corpse.
Hence, after he returned to the temporary encampment, he immediately ordered a disciple, "Go invite Fellow Daoist Wu here."
The disciple obeyed and left.
A long time later, a Daoist with long hair and robes draped over his shoulders walked in. His appearance was unique — he had a silver beard, long eyebrows, and double pupils. He cupped his hands at Zhang Yu and said, "Greetings, Zhang Yu."
Zhang Yu: "Fellow Daoist Wu, I recall that you can peer into the past of various living beings in their remains?"
Wu Chengan didn't evade the question and said bluntly, "That's right. My Visualization Diagram, Secluded Guardian, has the ability to investigate the Netherworld and track souls. May I ask how I can be of service to Xuan Zheng?"
Zhang Yu: "There is a master craftsman in the institute who knows a lot of secrets. He is suspected to have committed suicide by taking poison, leaving only his body behind. However, I suspect that his spirit has gone somewhere else. I would like to trouble you to check and see if you can find his whereabouts."
Wu Chengan said, "That's easy. As long as his head and body are mostly intact, I have a way to track him down. May I know where his corpse is?"
Zhang Yu said to Shi Yue, "Fellow Daoist Shi, take my order and take Fellow Daoist Wu to Field Officer Zhan."
Shi Yue nodded and said to Wu Chengan, "Fellow Daoist Wu, please follow me."
Wu Chengan cupped his hands and left.
After they left, Zhang Yu returned to his hut and sat down. Then, he took the Sword of Cicada Cry in his hand. Just by thinking about it, he felt that it was glowing with a fierce momentum, as if it could cut through all things.
Because the birth of spirit on the sword was the implementation of one's own will, it needed to be firm. Therefore, the moment he came up with the idea of "cutting all things", he understood that he could only focus on strength and speed in the future, and could only give up on other changes.
In other words, as long as he still used the Sword of Cicada Cry in the future, there would be no other supernatural powers on the sword.
However, he did not feel that this was a loss. Instead, he felt that it was a good thing. He was a Xuanxiu, not a real cultivator. He was also not a person who put all his heart and soul on the sword. Those supernatural powers could be displayed through visualization diagrams.
Moreover, there were many sword cultivators who used two swords. If there was a need, he could just find another sword. With his current strength, as long as he had the materials to build the sword, he could even build it himself.
After feeling it for a while, he put the Sword of Cicada Cry back into its scabbard and then adjusted his breath.
After about a summer's time, the disciple outside said, "Xuan Zheng, Xuanxiu Wu is back."
Zhang Yu opened his eyes and said, "Invite him in."
The curtain of the hut was lifted. Wu Chengan turned back and bowed to him. Then, he said, "Xuan Zheng, I've already checked. This person only has three years of memories. Before that, it was blank. There's no doubt that he used a substitute. As for the whereabouts of this person's spirit, I've also found it."
Zhang Yu looked at him and said, "Where is the spirit?"
Wu Chengan said, "This person's spirit is now in the body of another person. This person is an old man …" As he said that, he described this person's appearance.
After Zhang Yu finished listening to him, a person's figure overlapped with the image he described. His eyes flashed slightly, then he stood up and said, "I know where this person is. Fellow Daoist Wu, please come with me."
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