Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

"Let's go." Shen Mo flicked his sleeve, and a gentle cloud lifted everyone up, transforming them into a streak of azure light that silently swept out of the mountain gate, heading towards the Green Moss Market. Foundation Establishment cultivators can already fly short distances using Qi, their speed far surpassing that of Qi Refining cultivators.

Qingtai Market is about fifty miles away from Qingyun Mountain. With Shen Mo's speed, he arrived there in no time.

Looking into the distance, one can see a small town surrounded by low stone walls, nestled in a moss-covered mountain valley. It has expanded considerably compared to a few years ago, and the old fences and railings have been replaced by brick and stone walls. In just a few years, the former moss-covered market town has developed into a prosperous market town.

But at this moment, an invisible oppressive atmosphere shrouded the market. The number of guards at the entrance had doubled, and each of them looked tense, carefully checking the cultivators entering and leaving.

Upon seeing Shen Mo and his group's disappearing light, and especially sensing Shen Mo's unfathomable aura, the guard leader's expression changed. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Is it Sect Leader Shen of the Qingyun Sect here? The council has been waiting for a long time, please come in!"

Shen Mo nodded slightly, put away his escape light, and led the group inside on foot. The streets of the market were much quieter than usual. Pedestrians hurried by, their faces filled with worry, and whispers could be heard everywhere, all related to the bloody incident.

"Have you heard? He died a horrible death! His whole body was dried up, like all the blood had been drained from him!"

"Has some kind of demon infiltrated our area?"

"Who knows? Ugh, I can't take this anymore! I'd better sell everything and get out of this mess!"

Led by the guards, the group arrived at the Deacon Hall in the center of the town. Inside the hall, three groups of people were already present.

To the left were members of the Zhao family from Black Mountain City, led by their old acquaintance, City Lord Zhao Yuanming, followed by two Zhao family disciples at the late Qi Refining stage. Upon seeing Shen Mo, Zhao Yuanming immediately stood up, his face beaming with smiles, and quickly greeted him: "Sect Leader Shen! You've finally arrived! With you here, we can finally rest assured!"

Their attitude was more enthusiastic than ever before, even bordering on respect. The presence of a Foundation Establishment Ancestor naturally carried a different weight.

To the right was a group of men dressed in yellow tight-fitting clothes and carrying large golden ringed swords at their waists. Each of them exuded a fierce aura. The leader was a middle-aged strong man with a rugged face and bulging temples. His cultivation level was at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. He was none other than the leader of the Golden Sword Sect, Golden Big Sword.

He sized up Shen Mo a few times, a hint of surprise and apprehension flashing in his eyes, and clasped his hands in greeting: "Golden Saber of the Golden Saber Sect greets Sect Leader Shen."

The tone was neither warm nor cold.

On the other side was a group of cultivators dressed in rather disheveled clothes, but each of them had a willow leaf emblem embroidered on their cuffs. There were more than twenty of them. The leader was a tall, thin man with a sallow complexion and gleaming eyes. He was also at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and was the leader of the Willow Leaf Gang, Liu Sandao.

He gave a forced smile and cupped his hands in greeting: "Liu Sandao of the Willow Leaf Gang, Sect Leader Shen, I've heard so much about you."

In the main hall sat three elderly men, representatives of the market council. The one with the highest cultivation level was only at the eighth level of Qi Refining. They all looked worried and distressed. When they saw Shen Mo and the others arrive, they were overjoyed and immediately stood up to greet them.

"Sect Leader Shen, City Lord Zhao, Sect Leader Jin, and Gang Leader Liu, your presence is an honor to us. On behalf of the Deacon and the thousands of cultivators in the market, I express my gratitude!" The white-haired elder at the head of the group bowed repeatedly.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and introductions, everyone took their seats. The elder from the council recounted the details of the case again, which was largely consistent with the information in the jade slip, but with the addition of more details: the deceased were five familiar rogue cultivators who rented a small courtyard together and made a living by hunting low-level demonic beasts and collecting medicinal herbs. They were not well-known in the market.

The courtyard had simple soundproofing and protective barriers, but they were forcibly broken by a more powerful force last night. There were no signs of a fierce fight at the scene, and it seemed that the attackers were subdued and killed instantly.

Besides having their essence, blood, and soul drained, the corpse also retained a cold, corrosive, and eerie energy.

"Gentlemen," the elder of the council said with a bitter face, "we have sealed off the scene, but we really can't find many clues. That evil cultivator is highly skilled, appearing and disappearing without a trace. If this continues, the people of the market will lose heart! I implore the four of you to use your supernatural powers to find out the real culprit and restore peace to the market!"

Jin Dadao sneered, "Hmph! Daring to run wild near my Golden Saber Sect's territory, you're tired of living! I'd like to see what kind of monster you are!"

His tone was arrogant, but his eyes kept glancing at Shen Mo.

Liu Sandao said in a sinister tone, "Sect Leader Jin, please calm down. Evil cultivators are cunning; we need to plan carefully. Sect Leader Shen's cultivation is extraordinary; surely he already has some brilliant ideas?"

These words, seemingly a compliment, actually passed the buck to Shen Mo.

Zhao Yuanming looked at Shen Mo, clearly following his lead.

Shen Mo remained calm, put down his teacup, and said indifferently, "I wouldn't call it insightful. Since we're here, we should at least go and see for ourselves. Steward, lead the way."

The group moved to the alley where the crime occurred. The alley was heavily guarded by members of the Deacon Council, and the air was filled with a faint stench of blood and an indescribable smell of decay. Inside the courtyard, the scene was even more horrifying. Although the body had been removed, the dark brown bloodstains splattered on the walls and ground, as well as the lingering, intense, and sinister energy, still sent chills down their spines.

Jin Dadao and Liu Sandao's men began to pretend to search around, look for clues, and exchange whispers, but they obviously had no clue.

Shen Mo stood in the courtyard, his eyes slightly closed. His powerful Foundation Establishment stage divine sense flowed like mercury, carefully perceiving every inch of space. Su Xiao, Shi Tie, and the others also used their respective methods to investigate.

Suddenly, Shen Mo opened his eyes, his gaze falling on an inconspicuous corner of the wall. There, the lingering eerie aura seemed exceptionally strong, and... it carried a faint, almost imperceptible trace of spatial fluctuations?

At the same time, a notification sound from the system quietly rang in his mind:

[Abnormal energy residue detected: Yin Sha attribute, containing faint 'Blood Soul' Daoist rhyme, with a 67.3% similarity to the residual fluctuations after activation of a low-level 'Blood Shadow Escape' talisman recorded in the database. Micro-space disturbance traces detected, suspected to be residues of a low-level teleportation array or special escape talisman.]

Comprehensive Analysis: The perpetrator's cultivation level is estimated to be between the ninth level of Qi Refining and the early stage of Foundation Establishment. They possess bloodline evil arts and have the ability to teleport short distances or escape at high speed. Danger Level: Medium.

A cold glint flashed in Shen Mo's eyes. Blood Dao evil arts? Spatial fluctuations? Things seemed more complicated than he had imagined.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was heavy. The people from the Golden Knife Sect and the Willow Leaf Gang pretended to investigate for a long time, but apart from feeling uneasy from the sinister aura, they found nothing.

Jin Dadao kicked a broken brick in the corner impatiently, cursing, "Damn it! All this secrecy, not a single decent clue! If I catch him, I'll skin him alive!"

Liu Sandao squinted and said sinisterly to the elder of the deacon council, "Old Zhou, could it be that your deacon has offended someone and is being targeted for revenge, implicating these unlucky fellows? Don't use us all as pawns."

Elder Zhou of the Deacon Council trembled with rage: "Chief Liu! You can't just say things like that! Our Deacon Council has always been benevolent; how could we have such a vicious enemy?"

Zhao Yuanming frowned, looked at Shen Mo who had remained silent, and cautiously asked, "Sect Leader Shen, do you see... anything here?"

All eyes were on Shen Mo. This newly promoted Foundation Establishment Ancestor was the person with the highest cultivation and the broadest knowledge present. If even he couldn't see anything, then this case would probably really become an unsolved mystery.