Chenping Continent, the northwest region.
A young cultivator dressed in plain-colored daoist robes slowly made his way up the stone steps.
From the foot of the mountain to the summit, there were exactly ten thousand and one steps in total.
When the young cultivator in plain daoist robes finally stood at the mountain peak, gazing up at the three elegantly carved characters—“Kongshan Sect”—etched into the stone before him, he halted in his tracks.
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist.”
Just as he settled on the mountaintop, two young disciples in light-white daoist robes spoke up from his direction.
“May we ask what business brings you to Wenyuan Mountain of the Kongshan Sect?”
“I’m looking for someone,” the young cultivator replied.
“Who might you be looking for, Fellow Daoist?” one of the two young disciples inquired again.
“Find the person you know with the highest cultivation level,” the young cultivator in plain daoist robes said slowly.
Hearing this, the two disciples guarding the sect’s mountain gate exchanged a glance.
Both of these young men in light-white daoist robes were merely outer sect disciples of the Kongshan Sect, each at the Qi Circulation Realm initial stage.
In the entire Kongshan Sect, the highest cultivator they knew personally was none other than the Enforcement Hall’s supervisor at the Martial Spring Realm late stage, Supervisor Wang Rui.
But no one was a fool.
After all, they couldn’t just let some random person climb up the mountain, claim he wanted to meet the highest cultivator they knew, and then actually go fetch that person for him.
If something went wrong, they’d definitely be in for a thorough scolding.
Still, looking at this young cultivator who had just climbed ten thousand and one steps to stand atop Wenyuan Mountain without even breathing heavily, the two outer sect disciples couldn’t help but feel a hint of doubt.
If he were just some reckless ruffian, these two outer sect disciples wouldn’t have paid him much attention—they’d simply report the matter to the manager disciples above and then send him on his way.
The problem was, this young cultivator in plain daoist robes wore a token at his waist.
That token faced outward with its back side, so the two outer sect disciples couldn’t clearly see what characters were inscribed on it. But they recognized the token’s style—it belonged to the Mirage Palace.
This put the two outer sect disciples guarding the mountain gate in a tough spot.
After all, neither of them had much experience dealing with such situations.
If it were a more seasoned veteran, they would naturally know that when disciples from the other four great sects, or any of Chenping Continent’s top-tier sects or first- and second-rate cultivation sects came to visit the Kongshan Sect, they would always carry a personally written letter from an elder of their sect with a cultivation level above the Spirit Connection Realm.
For someone like this, with no credentials at all—even if he were carrying the Mirage Palace’s Grand Elder token—there was simply no reason to let him in.
“…Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist,” one of the outer sect disciples in light-white daoist robes finally said, before turning around and heading toward the Kongshan Sect’s outer court behind him.
…
Kongshan Sect, outer court.
Enforcement Hall.
A faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air of the hall, with a bronze incense burner placed on the central table, its curling smoke rising steadily.
The table was cluttered with piles of case files stacked high like a small mountain, with brushes and inkstones casually tossed aside.
It was easy to see that the current supervisor of the outer court’s Enforcement Hall was swamped with work.
“Regarding the previous herbal medicine smuggling case, we’ve already uncovered some leads,” said a cultivator standing slightly hunched to the side, wearing the Kongshan Sect’s outer court daoist robes. He appeared to be around thirty years old, at the Martial Spring Realm.
This person was none other than the Kongshan Sect’s outer court Enforcement Hall supervisor, Wang Rui.
“Their smuggling method goes through the outer court’s Merit Hall,” Wang Rui continued.
“The Merit Hall?” replied a very gentle young voice.
“That’s right. According to our Enforcement Hall’s investigation, over the past five years, the Merit Hall has issued a total of over one million seven hundred thousand sect missions to our outer sect disciples.”
“Over one million seven hundred thousand?” The gentle young voice turned somewhat surprised. “How many outer sect disciples are there in total? Spread across, doesn’t that mean each outer sect disciple would have to carry out dozens of sect missions every year?”
“Because…” Wang Rui’s voice hesitated slightly before he continued, “Among these over one million seven hundred thousand sect missions, more than one million two hundred thousand were completely fabricated.”
“…”
Silence from the young man in response.
“During our investigation of the Merit Hall, we discovered that the smuggling wasn’t limited to just herbal medicines. There were also large quantities of elixirs, spirit stones, and various mineral resources lost. The total loss amounts to roughly eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones,” Wang Rui added.
“And then? What’s your next step?” the gentle young voice asked.
“Currently, the Merit Hall supervisor of the outer court, along with several administrators under him, have all been detained by our outer court’s Enforcement Hall. Based on the intelligence gathered so far, this smuggling case has been confirmed to implicate four major peak branches—Kongyuan Mountain, Linwu Mountain, Yibai Peak, and Mingxiao Peak. The outer court elders have already sent letters to the Enforcement Halls of these four peak branches, requesting coordinated arrest operations,” Wang Rui replied.
“I’ll handle the Kongyuan Mountain side personally,” the gentle young voice said.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the entrance of the outer court’s Enforcement Hall.
A young outer sect disciple at the Qi Circulation Realm, who didn’t look very old, rushed breathlessly into the hall and shouted, “Report!”
Wang Rui frowned slightly. He straightened up and took a few steps toward the door. “What is it?”
“On Wenyuan Mountain, there’s a cultivator in plain daoist robes requesting entry into the sect!” the outer sect disciple answered.
“What’s that person here for?” Wang Rui asked.
“This disciple doesn’t know. He only said he wanted to see the person with the highest cultivation that this disciple knows,” the outer sect disciple continued.
“And then you just listened to him and came running here to find me?” Wang Rui gave a half-smile.
“No, it’s just that this disciple thought it necessary to report the situation to you, Supervisor…”
The outer sect disciple’s voice grew a bit shaky.
“Does that person carry any documentation with him?” Wang Rui pressed.
“No…”
“Then just send him away! What’s there to report?” the outer court Enforcement Hall supervisor said, a hint of anger in his voice.
“But…” The outer sect disciple’s voice trembled even more. “That person wears a token at his waist… it’s a Mirage Palace token.”
“Oh?” A slightly interested young voice came from within the Enforcement Hall.
The outer sect disciple raised his head hesitantly, and what came into his view was the pure white Kongshan Sect daoist robe.
Embroidered on the cuff were cloud crane patterns in gilded gold.
