Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

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"A rabble?" The shadow under Jian Wuying's hood seemed to twitch, as if mocking, "Brother Huoyun, don't underestimate this 'rabble.' Pills, weapons, formations, talismans, and even that contribution system have already bound his forces together into one."

"And those Daoist academies are undermining our foundations! In the Southern Region today, people's hearts are restless, and many small sects and independent cultivators have already regarded the Qingyun Sect as their hope. If we fight head-on, even if we win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory, only allowing others to benefit."

"Then what's your opinion?" Fire Cloud Taoist stared at him.

"Shen Mo relies on nothing more than 'power' and 'profit.' He uses the alliance's momentum and offers incentives to win people's hearts," Jian Wuying said slowly. "To break his power, we must disrupt his internal affairs; to harm his profits, we must cut off his source."

His pale finger lightly touched the blood-red bone talisman on the stone table: "The 'Sand Demons' of the Northern Desert, the 'Witchcraft' of the Southern Wilderness, and even... certain beings in the Yinming Sea, will not like to see a united and powerful Southern Region Alliance."

"As for profits... what Baibaoge can offer, we can offer too, even... more. That fat guy Chen Hao is a smart man. A smart man knows to put his eggs in different baskets."

Flames flickered in Huoyun Daoist's eyes: "You mean, to invite external threats, disrupt internal affairs, and undermine our foundation?"

"And those few opportunists," Jian Wuying's voice grew even colder, "since they're so indecisive, why not... let them play one last role? After it's done, their territory and resources can be divided between our two families at our leisure."

Will-o'-the-wisps flickered inside the cave, casting the two figures' shadows onto the mottled cave walls, twisted and elongated, like ferocious beasts ready to devour their prey. The blood-red bone talisman shimmered eerily.

......

Just as the contribution point exchange system was gaining popularity, and disciples from various factions could easily exchange resources and issue tasks with small jade coins, and the alliance's economic network was beginning to function smoothly, a sudden blow struck this fragile chain of trust.

The accident occurred on a vital supply transport line operated by Baibaoge, connecting the main peak of Qingyun Mountain with the eastern "Luoxia Market".

Luoxia Market is one of the Alliance's largest resource distribution centers in the east. Every day, a large number of pills, magical artifacts, talismans, and spiritual materials circulate through this route between Qingyun Sect and its members, supporting the huge demand for contribution points exchange.

On this day, a medium-sized transport team, composed of guards from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and law enforcement disciples dispatched from the Qingyun Sect, was escorting ten "mountain-mountain beast carts" fully loaded with spiritual materials and elixirs when they were attacked while passing through the treacherous section of "Black Crow Ridge".

The attackers were few in number, about twenty or so, dressed in black and masked, and their cultivation was not weak; at least three of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

They had clearly planned this in advance, using the terrain to set up an ambush. They first used talisman arrays to confuse the spirit beasts, and then launched a fierce attack. Their objective was clear: not to plunder all the goods, but to concentrate their forces and destroy the three specially made trucks carrying "contribution jade coins" and "contribution voucher exchange lists"!

The battle broke out suddenly and ended just as quickly. The guards fought desperately, but the enemy was well-trained and coordinated, striking successfully in one fell swoop before swiftly retreating.

Five guards and two Qingyun disciples were killed in action, more than ten people were injured, and a large portion of the spiritual materials and pills were destroyed.

Most critically, the three wagons carrying the jade coins and lists were burned to the ground, and the jade coins and jade slips inside were reduced to ashes in the fire and explosion.

The residual spiritual energy fluctuations at the scene were chaotic, carrying a chilling aura, clearly a deliberate attempt to mislead.

The news sent shockwaves through the entire alliance.

Inside the Flowing Cloud Hall, the atmosphere was heavy. Chen Hao, the manager of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, whose chubby face was always smiling, was now as pale as paper, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. His fingers trembled slightly.

Han Lin frowned and paced back and forth.

Shi Tie's beard and hair bristled, his large, copper-bell-shaped eyes blazed with fury, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Damn it! Which son of a bitch dared to touch our goods! And even killed my Qingyun disciples! If I find out, I'll skin him alive!" Shi Tie's voice shook the palace tiles.

With a mournful face, Chen Hao repeatedly bowed to Shen Mo, saying, "Alliance Leader Shen... I am guilty! My failure to protect the alliance has caused it to suffer enormous losses!"

"The jade coins themselves are fine; they can be reissued. But those jade slips containing the exchange lists... they record the recent inventory and exchange details of each branch, and... they also contain the core verification codes of some of the anti-counterfeiting arrays... If this is leaked, or if it's tampered with or forged... the consequences would be unimaginable!"

The jade slip containing the exchange list is not only an account book, but also a key to maintaining the credibility of the contribution system and preventing forgery.

Once the core verification ciphertext is leaked, it means that someone can forge convincing contribution jade coins and even tamper with exchange records, which will shake the foundation of the entire system!

Shen Mo sat upright in the main seat, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, only a coldness as deep as an icy pool in his eyes. He ignored Chen Hao's self-reproach and Shi Tie's rage, turning his gaze to Su Xiao, who had been standing silently in the shadows beside the hall.

"Junior Sister Xiao, what have you found during the on-site investigation?"

"Firstly, the timing of the attack was precise. The departure time, route, and escort strength of the transport team were highly confidential, known only to the senior members of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, the dispatch hall of our Qingyun Sect, and the core members of the escort team."

"The fact that the attackers were able to set up an ambush in advance and accurately identify the key vehicle carrying the jade coins and the inventory list suggests that they had an inside accomplice."

"Secondly, the attackers' spiritual power was mixed, but the spiritual power of several of them faintly carried traces of 'Corroding Bone Yin Sha'. Although this technique was concealed, it could not escape the detection of the 'Mirror of Truth'. This technique is 70% similar to the 'Corroding Heart Hall' of the Xuan Yin Sect."

"Thirdly, and most importantly," Su Xiao paused, then took out a charred jade fragment, no bigger than a fingernail, from her storage bag. It had faint dark red patterns on it.

"This was found deep within the wreckage of the jade coin wagon, which was the most thoroughly burned. It was trapped under the axle and not completely burned. A very faint, almost fading trace remains on it."

"The marking technique... is a variant of the 'Hidden Bee Talisman' that my Qingyun Sect's Shadow Guard discarded three years ago. It's almost impossible for outsiders to come into contact with this old-style marking technique and to improve upon it."

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Shi Tie's eyes widened, Chen Hao's mouth gaped open, and Han Lin also stopped in his tracks.

A mole! And most likely a high-ranking one! Colluding with external enemies, plundering alliance resources, and attempting to undermine the very foundation of the contribution system!

Shen Mo's gaze fell on the charred fragment of jade. After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice calm yet carrying a chilling undertone: "The Hidden Bee Talisman variant... how many Shadow Guards have access to it and the ability to improve it?"

Su Xiao lowered his eyes: "Reporting to the Sect Leader, three years ago, the Shadow Guard's 'Squad B3' was responsible for managing and researching these tracking talismans. The squad had seven members in total. In the battle to wipe out 'Bloody Hand Butcher' three years ago, four died in battle, one was seriously wounded and retired, and two are still alive. One is the current deputy captain of Squad B3, Zhao Ying. The other one..."

She looked up at Shen Mo and said, "He is Zhou Tong, who was transferred from the Shadow Guard two years ago due to injury and joined the Logistics Department. He is currently the manager of the third contribution point exchange point in Luoxia Market."

"Zhou Tong..." Han Lin frowned, recalling, "I remember him. He was a man of few words. Due to damage to his meridians, his cultivation was stagnant at the early Foundation Establishment stage. He was quite reliable in his work, which is why he was transferred to manage the market. How dare he..."

"Investigate," Shen Mo said, uttering only one word.

"Yes!" Su Xiao's figure flickered and disappeared from the hall.