CHAPTER 1010: CHAPTER 1009: THE NIGHT BEFORE THE UPHEAVAL

No one could understand the meaning behind Sect Hierarch Hou’s words, and the only person in the know, Master Yuantong, was also playing dumb.

The Masters chatted idly to the side. With a slight distance between them, Fairy Fei Bai looked at this person and felt quite displeased,

"Why so many words? Are we that close? We just had a chance encounter on Hell Star, don’t keep bringing up the past."

Hou Niao grinned mischievously, "Why does the Fairy need to keep others at arm’s length? Now that you’re on Jinxiu Continent, this is my turf. Maybe I can even help with something you need?"

Fairy Fei Bai glanced at him again, feeling an indescribable sensation, "Don’t even think about it! I know you’re eyeing my rare medicine, but let me tell you, it’s absolutely impossible!"

Hou Niao chuckled. Some things, once past, are best left unsaid, otherwise, such relationships are difficult to sustain. Noticing Master Xu glancing at him repeatedly, he knew it was improper to talk too much, lest it seemed the Sword Sect Hierarch couldn’t walk past a woman.

"Mind your influence! Control the conversation time; don’t let people think you’re showing favoritism."

Facing Master Xu’s insinuations, it didn’t bother him; soon enough, the joy brought by Fairy Fei Bai vanished because he encountered an annoying person.

Lao Du eyed him with undisguised disdain, "In the Universe Cultivation Realm, occupying a high position without the corresponding ability is a path to death. Quanzhen is labeled Demon Sect but doesn’t have a trace of a demonic presence. It’s nothing but a false sect pretending to be a real Dao."

Hou Niao was somewhat confused, not knowing where this guy’s huge grudge came from. He seemed to have no interactions with him, right?

"Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"I just want to tell you what truly defines a Demon Sect in the Universe Cultivation Realm. Jinxiu Sword Vein isn’t, nor is Xiao Mountain Sword Lineage."

Hou Niao turned and left, too lazy to converse with someone like this; perhaps his brain was fried.

... This night banquet lasted for a full two hours before it dispersed. The only gain for him was a basic impression of these major figures at the top of the continent, yet it was not accurate, so he could only watch as events unfolded.

They left, but the entire Sword Sect was still busy. Tomorrow was the primary day for the grand ceremony, and countless preparations were still needed.

As he strolled around Heavenly Sword Platform, a Divine Sense approached him; it was Master Xu.

"Come quickly to the Ice and Snow Sword Pavilion’s Jiazi Hall, something major has happened."

Hou Niao’s heart sank. The Ice and Snow Sword Pavilion is actually a general term for a group of buildings, including Heavenly Sword Platform where tomorrow’s ceremony was held and the main hall where they had their night feast. There were also many auxiliary halls, among them, an important one known as Jiazi Hall because it housed three Pocket Worlds.

In a flash, he had arrived at Jiazi Hall, where twelve Masters were gathered, each with a grim expression. Seeing him, Master Xu hurriedly said:

"Sect Hierarch, the Sword Tomb Pocket World is missing!"

Hou Niao’s heart was shocked; what he feared had come to pass. The Sword Tomb Pocket World was vital to the Jinxiu Sword Vein, arguably its most precious treasure. Following the others underground to the secret chamber, the three ice platforms still held scrolls and chalkstones, yet that broken sword was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?"

Master Xu frowned tightly, "During our night banquet, there were too many guests to receive, so all the Masters went to the main hall, leaving only six Golden Core disciples to guard here; they didn’t detect anything unusual, nor did the protective formation activate. If we hadn’t required a visual check for the Pocket World’s safety every two hours, they might not have even noticed by now."

"So it happened within two hours? In that case, do we have any records of the foreign cultivators entering or leaving the Ice and Snow Sword Pavilion during this time? Forget it, just consider I haven’t asked anything..."

Seeing the apologetic looks on a few Masters, especially the Masters from the Hai family who were pulled out for the night banquet, he was frustrated but unable to vent.

The construction of the mountain gate in Dushan was in full swing, but haste makes waste. Focusing too much on construction meant defense couldn’t be thoroughly attended to. Along with the Sword Sect’s usual doctrine that attack is the best defense—

Fundamentally, it was impossible to build a flawless mountain gate in such a short time; either the buildings were lacking, or the formation was incomplete. People were limited, and everyone’s energy was devoted to making Dushan stand out in the dull ceremony, with no one discussing safety.

It’s not one person’s fault; it was everyone at the top’s fault. The accumulation of various events resulted in an inevitable consequence that someone was able to exploit.

"We have no records of the defensive formation of the entire Ice and Snow Sword Pavilion building complex, only confirmation that during the night banquet, these Nascent Soul Masters and Upper Realm guests did not leave. But were all the visiting masters present, or was there a mix of other Upper Realm guests? These details we don’t know. As for who came and went from Dushan during that time, even with a thorough investigation, we could only find some. If someone deliberately hid their traces, it would be easy to quietly leave Dushan..."

Master Zong had a melancholic face; he was one of the few high-uppers who advocated simultaneous execution of building and formation. Still, his suggestion was ignored, and he didn’t insist, as indeed, such opinions were seen as inappropriate at the time.

Even the most crucial Ice and Snow Sword Pavilion of the mountain gate couldn’t be fully covered by formations, let alone the entire Dushan. In the whole of Jinxiu Continent, no sect had a comprehensive formation covering everything, something that takes more than decades, especially with larger mountain gates.

If there was such an individual, who sneaked into Jiazi Hall and stole the Sword Tomb Pocket World, he would have plenty of time to blend in with the guests and leisurely leave the Ice and Snow Sword Pavilion, or hand it over to someone else to leave Dushan. With speed, they could have already exited Shan Country.

To think he had experienced the theft of a Pocket World for the second time, even Hou Niao was somewhat astonished.

"A very important question is, why does the Sword Tomb Pocket World not leak even a trace of aura? Last time, the Heartless Dao people stole Wu Sect’s Grotto Heaven, and that was when a Master personally fled with the Grotto. But now, at our place, has the theft technology evolved to be silent and invisible?"

Master Hai voiced everyone’s concerns, "The aura of a Grotto Heaven can’t be hidden; this is the case for the Jinxiu Cultivation Realm. But I heard that in the Upper Realms, True Monarchs can perfectly conceal the aura of a Grotto Heaven. Even if you brush past them, others can’t detect a thing. There aren’t any True Monarchs here, but there’s no guarantee no Upper Realm guest isn’t carrying some special artifact crafted by a True Monarch, able to wrap and conceal the aura..."

Everyone was speechless. It meant even less hope of uncovering anything; the perpetrator might not even need to flee, just openly attending the ceremony without fear of discovery.