Inside the box were not the records of the Supre Mysterious Sect, but a catalog of records.
The Supre Mysterious Sect was ranked among the top three Forr Sui Sects, keen on collecting various bamboo slips, oracle bones, Bronze Artifacts, and Steles, and capturing demons and Mutated Objects.
Many disasters and mutations in the Forr Sui, including attacks between sects, assassination of political figures, and wars between states, all had the shadow of the Supre Mysterious Sect behind them.
The relationship between the Academic Palace during the Pre-Sui Period and the Supre Mysterious Sect was also very subtle.
On one hand, the Supre Mysterious Sect indeed helped the Academic Palace many tis. The two had collaborated often in resolving large-scale mutations.
On the other hand, there was ample evidence within the Academic Palace proving that the Supre Mysterious Sect acted without regard for the concept of good and evil, sotis even contradicting its own logic.
For example, they frad generals of the Zhou Kingdom, leading to instability among the frontier troops. Simultaneously, they disrupted the Sui Country’s Cao Transport operations, rendering it incapable of mounting a southern expedition.
So Academic Palace Doctors described them as "turning the world into a chessboard, all living beings into chess pieces, playing chess against themselves."
So Academic Palace Doctors believed that all their actions were preparations for a huge conspiracy, such as overthrowing Taihao Mountain.
Others among the Academic Palace Doctors thought they coveted immortality, a realm no cultivator had ever reached throughout the ages.
And they might have realized it in so sense—the destruction of the Supre Mysterious Sect was too abrupt and short, without a trace, as if they had vanished collectively overnight. For such a massive secret sect, this was unimaginable.
Li Ang flipped through the catalog of records; the more he read, the bigger his headache beca. During the Pre-Sui Period, the Academic Palace had gathered too many witnessed incidents involving the Supre Mysterious Sect, along with a large number of dubious cases and incidents of uncertain origin, possibly manipulated by the sect.
Finding anything related to the Black Stone was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Li Ang attempted to consult the Ten Thousand Spirit Book, but the price it demanded was unbearably high.
To find out the na of the Supre Mysterious Sect’s cultivator who took the Black Stone would cost fifty years of lifespan.
To determine the exact location of half of the Black Stone would cost seventy years of lifespan, plus the loss of an eye, a hand, and an ear.
So, he could only start searching slowly.
「————」
Sumr arrived quietly, and the Academic Palace had a long holiday. Once again, the inns outside Chang’an City filled up with students traveling for exams.
anwhile, thousands of miles away in Xingzhou, a Spiritual Energy Locomotive slowly entered the station, stopping amid swirling smoke.
Li Ang stepped out of the carriage, inhaling the air filled with the scent of food, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Would you like a coach ride, sir? We charge by distance and guarantee no detours."
"Would you like to rent a horse, sir?"
"Young master, would you like to stay at an inn? Yuelai Inn is clean and tidy, with a pri location..."
Coachn, rental service clerks, and tavern boys, seeing the passengers coming out of the station, crowded around to solicit custors.
Listening to the surrounding cacophony, Li Ang felt as if he had montarily stepped into a train station from the mories of his childhood in the Otherworld.
His purpose in coming to Xingzhou was to complete the practical curriculum transitioning from the third to the fourth academic year of the Academic Palace. This involved assisting the local State Mansion with various matters under the guidance of their instructor.
His fellow travelers included Li Leqing, Qiu Feng, and other classmates. The instructor leading them was Sui Yi.
"Excuse , please."
Sui Yi led the group out of the station, where several coaches had already arrived in advance, waiting outside. The coachn were silent, with thick calluses on the inside of their finger joints, clearly retired Fierce Soldiers.
These were the coaches of the garrison. Li Ang, Li Wei, Yang Yu, and Yong Hongzhong boarded the front carriage.
Li Wei rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I wonder what tasks the Xingzhou Town Commandery has prepared for us."
Yong Hongzhong said, "Probably to cooperate with the garrison in hunting demons. It shouldn’t be too difficult, right? After all, this is our first ti venturing out for practical training."
Moreover, his gaze shifted towards the curtain outside, pausing slightly. In the carriage behind them are Sui Yi, Li Leqing, Qiu Feng, Ji Linglang, He Fanshuang, and Zhang Yuyan—six people in total. Given the nature of the Emperor and Empress, they would never allow their most beloved Princess Guanghua to venture out without arranging for Imperial Palace Tributors to secretly guard her. There might even be Candle Cloud Cultivators following discreetly behind the carriage to ensure nothing goes wrong. Including Instructor Sui Yi, who has already reached High-level Cloud Patrol, this trip to Xingzhou is probably not much different from a vacation.
Yong Hongzhong and Yang Yu exchanged glances. The forr had a hint of regret in his eyes, while the latter stretched lazily, clearly pleased. He was hoping that Candle Cloud Cultivators would secretly protect them, making the trip smooth so he could slack off with Zhang Yuyan and enjoy the scenic beauty of the mountains and waters around Xingzhou.
Only Li Wei had yet to grasp the situation, still rubbing his hands excitedly, contemplating how to hunt Demons.
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of the Xingzhou Town Commandery.
Everyone disembarked and walked towards the courtyard. As soon as they entered, a foul stench hit their faces.
Following the stench, they entered a cold room where three bodies, laid on stretchers and covered with white cloths, rested on a wooden table.
Several forensic doctors, wearing masks and gloves, were carefully examining the bodies and recording information.
"Are you all students from the Academic Palace?" A middle-aged man in sergeant armor, his face bearing a scar, stepped forward and nodded at them. "I am Garrison Commander Xing Pengyue of the Xingzhou Town Commandery."
Captain Xing probably received a notice from his superiors, aware that among the visiting group of Academic Palace Disciples were so nobles. He squeezed out a semblance of an "amicable" smile.
But the scar on his face twisted like a centipede, making his expression even more ferocious.
As the team leader, Instructor Sui Yi exchanged a few polite words and then pointed towards the bodies on the ground. "These are..."
"The recent casualties found in the city," Xing Pengyue explained. "The first victim was a local thug nad Huang Yusan. He died of suffocation, with a broken dog’s tail stuffed in his mouth, and was found in a filthy ditch in East Xingzhou City. The second victim, a landlord from South City nad Gao Fuyun, died from a burst stomach due to overeating. His servants found him dead in his bedroom. The third victim, the newlywed wife of a rich man in the city, died from a broken neck; the cause is unknown."
Sui Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise. These three individuals seed unrelated, and the causes and locations of their deaths were also completely different.
However, murder cases are rampant in Yu Country every year. Since the Xingzhou Town Commandery called for support from the Academic Palace, it’s clear they hold specific evidence indicating these three incidents were not ordinary murders.
"These three seem unrelated, but upon examination by the forensic doctors, sothing was found imprinted inside their intestines," said Xing Pengyue.
He lifted the white cloth covering the thug Huang Yusan’s body and used a small wooden stick to lift a section of the dissected intestines.
Those who had never seen such a bizarre sight before, like Yang Yu, Zhang Yuyan, and Ji Linglang, looked distressed and instinctively leaned back, while Li Ang, Qiu Feng, Instructor Sui Yi, and Li Wei stepped forward to take a closer look.
The inside of the intestines had been cleaned, showing many folds. Within the ridges of these folds, lines of Buddha Sutra were inscribed in gold ink.
The Diamond Sutra.
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