"Let's hope so!" Xu Ping sighed slightly.

"However, the price of this Concentration Incense is exorbitantly high, and drawing a third-tier talisman is daunting..." As he spoke, Xu Ping showed a troubled expression.

"I'm aware of that, which is why I tried my utmost to persuade Hua Yan to take a bit of a loss and give you an extra stick of Concentration Incense, Fellow Daoist Xu." He Chen said with a smile.

"But I still find the price somewhat unbearable." Xu Ping said with a rather helpless expression, shaking his head gently.

"Still expensive?"

He Chen's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and just as he was about to respond, he suddenly sensed a Super Long-distance Sound Transmission Talisman within his Storage Ring trembling violently.

"Please excuse me for a moment." He Chen said, his brow furrowed as he rose and walked toward a fake mountain not far away.

After reaching the fake mountain, He Chen quickly raised his hand and placed a layer of soundproof Restriction.

After completing all this, he took the Super Long-distance Sound Transmission Talisman from his Storage Ring.

He slowly infused a wisp of Mana into the Sound Transmission Talisman.

Instantly, an urgent voice emerged from the Talisman: "Elder He, all the cultivators inside Earth Soul Mountain, including Hua Yan, seem to be dead."

"What!"

He Chen's face transformed drastically, his originally calm eyes suddenly flashing with shock.

A month ago when he left, everything was fine; how did it suddenly become an annihilation?

Could it be...

Thoughts spun rapidly in He Chen's mind. He turned abruptly, his eyes like a hawk's, fixated fiercely on Xu Ping.

However, just moments later, he slowly shook his head.

It should... not be him!

It's essential to know that Thousand Leaves Mountain is quite far from Earth Soul Mountain.

A month's return trip between Thousand Leaves Mountain and Earth Soul Mountain is challenging even for him using his Escape Technique, let alone wiping out all of Earth Soul Mountain.

Xu Ping is merely a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator; how could he possess an Escape Technique far superior to his?

Moreover, Earth Soul Mountain is guarded by Hua Yan, who possesses the Fake Pill cultivation, along with powerful Arrays set up in the mountains for protection. Even for a Golden Core cultivator, breaking through swiftly is no easy task.

Though Xu Ping is a third-tier Talisman Master, attempting to break it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Whew!"

He Chen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the tumultuous emotions within him, and asked in a deep voice to the Sound Transmission Talisman: "Do you know who did it?"

"I don't know, the only thing certain is that Earth Soul Mountain appears to have been breached from the inside." The voice from the Talisman carried a hint of helplessness.

'Breached from the inside?'

'Could it be Hua Yan's enemy?' He Chen furrowed his brow again, his mind swirling with thoughts.

Hua Yan was ruthless in his actions, using Divine Sense Secret Techniques to harm many, having numerous enemies.

If an adversary used some Magical Artifact to conceal their identity or deployed a mysterious Secret Technique to infiltrate Earth Soul Mountain.

And then caught Hua Yan off guard, indeed it was possible to slaughter all cultivators of Earth Soul Mountain.

For now, this seems to be the only reasonable explanation.

This further reduces the probability of Xu Ping's involvement.

After all, Hua Yan's Divine Sense far exceeds that of a typical Fake Pill cultivator, extremely sensitive, perfectly concealing one's aura before him; even for a Fake Pill cultivator, it would prove exceedingly challenging.

Could it be a Golden Core cultivator?

...

After asking several more questions, He Chen still obtained no useful clues.

His face darkened like water as he made his way back to the pavilion, his steps noticeably heavy.

"Elder He, has something happened?" Xu Ping noticed He Chen's unusual expression and asked in confusion.

He Chen remained silent for a while, staring directly at Xu Ping, and said each word with extraordinary gravity: "All the cultivators of Earth Soul Mountain, including Hua Yan, are dead."

"What!"

Upon hearing the news, Xu Ping's face momentarily displayed a fitting shock and disbelief, his eyes wide open as if he couldn't trust his ears.

"How could this happen? Who did it?" he inquired urgently.

Seeing Xu Ping's genuine reaction, He Chen's last trace of doubt completely dissipated.

After pondering for a moment, he said slowly: "I don't know either, but from the situation on site, Earth Soul Mountain should have been breached from the inside."

"Breached from the inside?"

Xu Ping furrowed his brow, speculating, "Could it be the work of Elder Hua's enemies?"

"At the moment, that's the most likely possibility."

He Chen nodded, continued, "The opponent likely concealed their identity, secretly infiltrated Earth Soul Mountain, and then caught the opportune moment to attack Hua Yan."

"But Elder Hua's Divine Sense far exceeds that of typical Fake Pill cultivators; could the infiltrator be a Golden Core cultivator?" Xu Ping put forth his guess.

"A Golden Core cultivator, huh?" He Chen repeated silently, inwardly suspecting a Golden Core cultivator's involvement.

"Whoever did it, Luoyun Sect will certainly not let them go!" A faint trace of fierceness flashed through He Chen's eyes.

Although Hua Yan wasn't a formal disciple of the Luoyun Sect, he secretly pledged allegiance to them years ago, using his means to handle many shady and tricky affairs for Luoyun Sect.

He was considered half a member; now, having suffered such a tragic demise, if Luoyun Sect stands by idly, the dependents of Luoyun Sect would surely be concerned, and their work wouldn't be as dedicated as before.

"With the Upper Sect's intervention, the culprit will surely be brought to justice." Xu Ping nodded affirmatively.

"Earth Soul Mountain has been annihilated, I must immediately return to the sect to handle the situation and won't stay any longer." He Chen hastily uttered a farewell and prepared to leave.

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