Chapter 0: Discovering the Number One Spy
Qin Gou, an old man, and Yan Cang Zhou, a young man, traveled together.
Ren Ci, using her own spirit blood, had locked onto Qin Gou’s location and was rushing over without delay.
Along the way, Qin Gou had subtly inquired why the Third Elder was showing him such special attention. Yan Cang Zhou had only replied that it was all to repay the favor of Madam Cui Jiang, Yan Qihao’s mother, who had recognized his talent.
However, the look in Yan Cang Zhou’s eyes as he spoke revealed a deep admiration and unfulfilled desire. He also said that since Yan Qihao was a descendant of Cui Jiang, he should not be as lazy in pursuing the Great Dao as he was now, content to stop here. It was as if anything related to that woman was imbued with a sacred aura in his eyes.
Although Qin Gou had interacted with Yan Cang Zhou several times, he still didn’t know him particularly well. He only knew that he was the Third Elder of the Bi Fang Clan and was very fond of planting Divine Soul Split Souls within many juniors. When they encountered a great crisis, his Divine Soul Split Soul would suddenly appear to help them save face and show off.
Of course… if they encountered a truly formidable opponent, it would purely be like delivering food to them, yet he still enjoyed it tirelessly.
But regardless, if this person was truly committing grave sins, considering his genuine heart of repaying kindness, Qin Gou decided that even if he ended up as his enemy, he would at least let him know the cause and effect, rather than making a move in Yan Qihao’s appearance.
“This is?”
Suddenly, the corpse of a Bi Fang cultivator not far away caught the attention of Qin Gou and Yan Cang Zhou.
The two immediately went forward. Yan Cang Zhou bent down to investigate, while Qin Gou carefully examined the appearance of this person.
This was also someone to whom Qin Gou had secretly planted a false Calamity Heavenly Feather yesterday. However, when the system later indicated the collection of Merit points, his name had never been mentioned. This meant that even in the system’s eyes, he was by no means a wicked or evil person.
To be honest, the system’s standards for judging the goodness or evil of a living being were quite stringent. Qin Gou always felt that even he himself might not pass the test under the old pal’s strict judgment.
Therefore, if Qin Gou had encountered him here, regardless of how the Godplunder Altar commanded, he would absolutely not have killed this person without distinction. After all, the Godplunder Altar was not a true old pal who had shared hardships with him for many years. Who should he trust the most? Did he even need to think about it?
At this moment, this cultivator was not only inexplicably dead, but the extreme despair remaining in his eyes sent shivers through anyone who saw it.
“Elder, can you tell who did this?” Qin Gou asked in a deep tone.
“This old man…”
While carefully examining the clean and decisive fatal wound, Yan Cang Zhou’s expression suddenly startled. A trace of unbelievable shock flashed across his pupils. After a moment of silence, he said, “This old man just feels that this spiritual power aura is truly very familiar, yet I cannot jump to conclusions.”
“At least one thing is certain, this child is definitely not one of the Mian Tian Ye Huang who broke into the Holy Pavilion and is impersonating. He is truly of my Fire Crow Bi Fang bloodline! But why would he do this? He…”
Seeing Yan Cang Zhou babbling incoherently as if he had just suffered a severe blow, Qin Gou couldn’t help but be full of suspicion. “Elder, what’s wrong?”
“This old man… wait a moment!”
Suddenly, Yan Cang Zhou’s expression changed again. “This old man senses that one of my Divine Soul Split Souls is being activated and is revealing itself! Qihao, you immediately guard me.” After speaking, Yan Cang Zhou sat cross-legged without hesitation, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
An incense stick later, when his consciousness returned and he sharply opened his eyes, Yan Cang Zhou looked panicked and his eyes were filled with astonishment. He immediately stood up and said to Qin Gou, “Qihao, you quickly leave this place with this old man!”
Qin Gou was bewildered. “Elder, what exactly…”
“Let’s go first!”
For a moment, Yan Cang Zhou urged Qin Gou to flee with him at full speed without explanation. After the two had put a significant distance between themselves and their previous location, Yan Cang Zhou finally spoke slowly in a deep voice:
“Qihao, remember, everything this old man is saying now is absolutely true… whether it’s the corpse of Yan Xu we just encountered, or the young Yuan boy this old man intended to save with his Divine Soul Split Soul… both were killed by the Clan Leader!”
Qin Gou’s eyes widened in shock, and countless speculations flooded his mind.
Yan Cang Zhou gritted his teeth. “This old man knows this might be hard for you to believe, but it is absolutely what this old man personally saw with his Divine Soul Split Soul just now. The reason this old man remained silent for so long in front of Yan Xu’s corpse was because the spiritual power aura at his fatal wound was too similar to the Clan Leader’s methods!”
“But, Clan Leader, why would he attack his own clansmen?” Qin Gou immediately asked.
Yan Cang Zhou shook his head with a complex expression. “This old man thinks that perhaps another piece of news will surprise you even more. That is, this old man’s Divine Soul Split Soul actually communicated with the Clan Leader just now. He directly told me…
You, Yan Qihao, are the Mi Tian Ye Huang who infiltrated our Holy Pavilion!”
“What?!”
Qin Gou was instantly greatly shocked. How did the Bi Fang’s Lord come to this conclusion? He had been traveling with Yan Cang Zhou the entire time and had never appeared before the Bi Fang’s Lord. And Xiao Ci would certainly not go mad and suddenly reveal his identity to the Bi Fang’s Lord.
“So, Qihao, do you now know what this means?”
For a moment, Yan Cang Zhou clenched his fists, his eyes ferocious, and hostility emanating from his entire being.
Seeing all this, Qin Gou shook his head and said with a bitter smile, “It means that the Elder’s method of identifying true bodies using spirit blood at first was clearly very necessary?” When they met, Yan Cang Zhou had not distinguished their bloodlines because he had trusted him too much, right?
“Precisely!”
Yan Cang Zhou shouted loudly, hitting the ground. “That’s because this old man was always worried that the enemy would deliberately disguise themselves and mix among our clan to sow discord. Now that the truth is out, the so-called Clan Leader this old man met is absolutely one of the top spies!”
“Ah?” Qin Gou’s breath hitched.
“Qihao, don’t you believe it! Even if his spirit arts and techniques are lifelike, but if not, why would he repeatedly kill our own Fire Crow Bi Fang clansmen?! What a cunning scoundrel this beast is! I don’t know if he disguised himself recently, or if the person who entered the Holy Pavilion with you and me from the beginning was not the true Clan Leader…”
Yan Cang Zhou couldn’t help but gasp, a trace of lingering fear flashing in his eyes. “If it’s the latter, it’s truly astonishing… It’s laughable that this old man has been interacting with a spy for so long!”
