Gu Chun did not go to Acheng. After guiding He Kao to learn the Earth-Traveling Skill, he rode a cloud to the Yimei Deep Mountains within the Eastern Country and indeed found the secret camp set up by Zeng Hongye.

The camp was set inside a cave, with a sturdy wooden shed built at the entrance, intentionally covered with a layer of snow for disguise. Even with advanced instruments searching via drones, it would be difficult to find.

External communications here could be made with a satellite phone. According to what Zeng Hongye had instructed, Gu Chun sent a signal to Yu Pingzhou, the mastermind behind the scenes, indicating the mission was accomplished.

However, after waiting in the mountains for three consecutive days without seeing anyone approaching the area, Gu Chun knew the other party wouldn't come.

Because Xiao Guangnian had already led a group to control both sides of the conflict in Acheng, the incident had been over for so long that Yu Pingzhou probably sensed something was amiss and wouldn't come to throw himself into the net.

Thus, after notifying Li Xiuyuan, Gu Chun directly headed to Taihua Mountain. It didn't matter if Yu Pingzhou wouldn't come because he had already been captured by Jiang Daozhen and Mei Guyu, who had arrived earlier.

Whether Yu Pingzhou had entertained thoughts of escaping is unknown, but even if he did, he wouldn't have gotten away.

This affair involved the Alchemy Sect's Supreme Elder Qi Nansheng, who had been inactive for over three years, and even Mei Guyu was alarmed, emerging from the Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven.

In Acheng, Elder Li Xiuyuan had already questioned little figures like Fu Xiaoci, so there was no need to send anyone else. However, Elder Kang from the Micro Realm Sect still felt it necessary to come to Acheng.

Since this matter involved a group of Xingshen Sect disciples deliberately setting a trap for another group of Micro Realm Sect disciples, Elder Li Xiuyuan from the Xingshen Sect went to Acheng, and Elder Kangrulin from the Micro Realm Sect also felt it necessary to make an appearance.

The investigation in Acheng was already completed, with Wu Yanjun testifying; Fu Xiaoci couldn't lie or deny it in front of Elder Li. When it was all calculated, only Wu Yanjun and Ye Yuxuan were wronged, especially since Wu Yanjun almost lost his life.

Elder Kang called Ye Hui in for a private reprimand, telling him that he shouldn't hide such matters and should immediately inform the Ancestral Hall.

Ye Hui acted out of selfishness because if Wu Yanjun really violated the Joint Punishment Order, and since this involved his precious daughter, he thought of settling privately with the other party, hoping to keep it low-key and perhaps save Xiaowu's life.

Instead, he was manipulated by the other party, and Xiaowu almost lost his life.

Elder Kang not only scolded Ye Hui but also guided Ye Hui's cultivation.

Ye Hui considered himself to have deep cultivation and a successful career, living too comfortably, with even his disciples displaying similar temperaments.

Ye Hui, merely a Tier Three Appraiser of the Micro Realm Sect, was considered to have profound cultivation? It was actually quite good, depending on comparison.

Many Magic Sect disciples never break through to Tier Three in their lifetime, which is a challenging barrier to overcome, let alone advancing further to Tier Four to become a high-tier sorcerer.

Ye Hui already had Tier Three cultivation and a successful career, so why shouldn't he live comfortably?

The disciples of Chuanyue Manor, under Ye Hui, all had similar temperaments. Only Wu Yanjun diligently worked hard... hmm, a good habit formed in detention.

Ye Hui had his woes too. He was the direct branch master of this line of disciples, with no living master and no direct branch uncles or elders around to guide him daily.

After reprimanding him, Kang Rulin also pointed out several issues in his technique cultivation and encouraged him to break through to high-tier cultivation soon.

After talking with Ye Hui, Kang Rulin called Wu Yanjun in and gave guidance on his cultivation. If replaced with He Kao, Kang Elder's way of guidance would feel like the Divine Thought in a painting.

But Elder Kang's guidance was specifically targeted at Wu Yanjun, more clear and specific than that painting's Divine Thought, allowing Xiaowu to experience a higher realm of cultivation, yet not too high, precisely what he needed to verify next.

Kang Rulin seemingly retrieved a piece of stone, which was actually a refined treasure of heaven and earth, and with a single divine thought, he let Wu Yanjun experience the process of refining divine sense from the perspective of that stone.

After experiencing it, the stone had become a magical treasure embryo, which Kang Rulin casually bestowed upon Wu Yanjun. When Wu Yanjun breaks through to Tier Four in the future and accepts the Secondary Inheritance, he can refine this into a personal magical artifact.

Poor Qian Guran had spent a fortune purchasing that pair of paperweights from He Kao and had commissioned someone to forge an initial magical artifact embryo, yet Elder Kang casually gave Xiaowu such an item.

Kang Rulin's action was both a gesture of the sect's consolation to Wu Yanjun and an expression of the sect's honorary members' concern.

Poor Xiaowu, like a boar tasting refined grains for the first time. If replaced with Senior Uncle Ye Hui, how could he receive such guidance?

After accepting Elder Kang's Divine Thought, Xiaowu was in a state of bewilderment for a long time. Now, as if awakening from a dream, he quickly took the stone with both hands, performing a grand ceremony of thanks in a flurry.

After he got up, Kang Rulin said again, "You have good aptitude, but unfortunately your master didn't have time to teach you much. I'll leave you a contact method, so if you have any questions in your cultivation, you can reach out to me.

I'm not frequently online, so just leave a message. If I see it and have time, I will reply, and if necessary, I'll proactively contact you..."

Wu Yanjun, moved to tears, was about to perform a grand ceremony of bows again, but this time was sent back to his seat with a wave by Elder Kang.

Elder Kang continued kindly, "This time, I'm looking for you to discuss two matters."

Wu Yanjun: "Elder, what is there to discuss? Just say what you need! If I furrow my brow even a bit, I'm no hero!"

Kang Rulin was amused by him and shook his head, saying, "Don't talk about heroes or not; as a Magic Sect disciple, you're not a bandit king..."

He explained the investigation results from the Ancestral Hall. It's now clear that Zeng Hongye was instructed by Alchemy Sect's Tier Five Sorcerer Yu Pingzhou to orchestrate the incident against Wu Yanjun.

The events in Yimei and Acheng will be publicly announced by the Ancestral Hall, to warn others and restore justice for Wu Yanjun.

However, the announcement to all Magic Sect disciples will only mention Zeng Hongye and won't involve Yu Pingzhou.

Yu Pingzhou will undoubtedly face death, as he's already been captured. But the Ancestral Hall has decided not to disclose the investigation or the incident's details, only informing members above Steward level.

Given this, Kang Rulin asked Wu Yanjun if he felt aggrieved.

After blinking for a long time, Wu Yanjun replied that as long as the Ancestral Hall finds the truth and punishes the mastermind, he has no grievances. If Elder Kang hadn't mentioned it, Wu Yanjun wouldn't even know who Yu Pingzhou was!

After discussing the first matter, Kang Rulin informed Wu Yanjun that Yu Pingzhou did all this to find the genuine "Tan Xian's Walking Stick Painting."

The "Tan Xian's Walking Stick Painting" taken by Alchemy Sect from Zhang Yanfei was identified by Magic Sect veterans as a replica, meaning Zhang Yanfei not only saw the real one but kept it.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yanjun couldn't help but secretly praise He Kao; the truth coincidentally matched his analysis perfectly! However, Xiaowu wasn't aware that He Kao had received a scolding from Elder Gu for this.

Kang Rulin did not hide his purpose. As an elder of the Ancestral Hall, he also wished to retrieve the sect founder's relic for Magic Sect.

But Xiaowu didn't know where the genuine piece was. Three years ago, it was lost during an exhibition. Whether what was exhibited was genuine, or who took it, Xiaowu was unclear.

At that time, he hadn't yet entered the watchtower to meet Master Zhang Yanfei, so it had nothing to do with him!

Elder Kang didn't ask anything else, except for Xiaowu to recall what Zhang Yanfei said or did, and to recount as much detail as possible.

During this recollection, the two talked the entire night, leaving Wu Yanjun feeling exhausted.

Talking in the small hall on the second floor, even Ye Hui guarding downstairs was getting a bit worried about why Elder Kang was looking for Xiaowu for so long. Elder Li reassured him to just relax.

Wu Yanjun was initially concerned, fearing Elder Kang would ask about his escape. He had promised He Kao and Elder Li not to mention encountering He Kao, only that Elder Li rescued him.

However, lying to deceive someone as good as Elder Kang left him feeling deeply guilty.

Fortunately, Elder Kang didn't ask about those; he only inquired about matters regarding his master. Xiaowu shared everything he knew with Elder Kang and also voiced his suspicion about his master's questionable death.

Kang Rulin expressed that, since he had begun inquiries, he would investigate further. This deeply moved Xiaowu.

Far away in Qi Yuan, He Kao had been keeping a low profile these days, just as Elder Jiang advised, working mundane hours and often staying late—an exemplary employee.

Besides work, He Kao devoted himself to cultivation, practicing the Earth Formation Skill in the deep mountains, alongside Medicine Identification and Artifact Identification Skills, combined with his sect's Stealth Skill and Communication Skill.

During this time, he focused on honing his Divine Sense.

Upon reaching Tier Three, both senses and body surpassed ordinary human limits.

The finer control of Divine Sense equates to sharper senses for ordinary people; stronger Divine Sense corresponds to a more robust physique, yet it's another realm of body and mind altogether.

He temporarily left the painting untouched; previous insights were enough to process for a long time, more profound mysteries beyond his comprehension until surpassing Tier Four.

He Kao was also waiting for news from the Ancestral Hall; he knew the inside story of Wu Yanjun's case and awaited the Ancestral Hall's decisions and announcements.

Just after proclaiming the Joint Punishment Order, someone used it to frame others, suggesting the necessity to develop specific judgment and execution criteria, including explanations and standards for violations of the order.

No one should be subject to the world's joint punishment simply because Zhang San accused Li Si of violating the order.

He Kao hadn't yet seen the Ancestral Hall's announcement on "Zeng Hongye's framing of Wu Yanjun," but instead, they issued a Jianghu Order to all Magic Sect disciples, seeking a person named Ren Zhongqing.

The reason for pursuing this person was his violation of the Joint Punishment Order.

**

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