Void Cultivation

Chapter 374: Chapter 373- Suspicion

Grey and Violet continued walking toward the Detective Agency Department. Their pace was neither hurried nor leisurely, yet every step they took covered an astonishing distance. To an ordinary mortal, or even a low-level cultivator, it would have been nearly impossible to keep up with them without exhausting themselves.

For the first few minutes, neither of them spoke.

The quiet atmosphere lingered between them until Violet finally broke the silence.

"I’m sure you’re aware of the recent activities of the disciples from the Sects Alliance."

Her voice was calm and barely above a whisper, yet it carried with perfect clarity to Grey’s ears. Despite walking through a bustling street filled with countless cultivators and merchants, not a single bystander overheard their conversation.

Grey gave a small nod.

After emerging from his period of secluded cultivation, he had already gone through numerous reports detailing the movements of the Sects Alliance disciples throughout Sky Mist City.

Wherever those disciples appeared, conflict inevitably followed.

Almost every challenge ended with someone lying in a pool of blood, teetering on the brink of death.

As members of the Detective Agency, whose responsibilities were mkre of less the same with those of the Murder Department it was impossible for Grey and his colleagues to ignore such incidents. Every violent confrontation, every suspicious injury, and every disturbance involving cultivators eventually found its way onto their desks.

However, during the time Grey had remained in closed-door cultivation, the number of reports had increased at an alarming rate.

The accumulation became so overwhelming that the physical files could no longer hold all the information. Eventually, the department had no choice but to transfer the remaining reports directly to his Jade Slip alongside countless murder investigations and other urgent cases awaiting his attention.

The moment Grey stepped out of cultivation, he had already skimmed through every report with his divine sense.

Although he had yet to investigate any case personally, he already possessed a comprehensive understanding of the current situation within Sky Mist City.

"Yes," Grey replied in the same subdued tone as Violet. "Their challenges have become increasingly ruthless, and the number of casualties continues to rise with each passing day."

He paused briefly before adding,

"Fortunately... there haven’t been any confirmed deaths."

"At least, not yet."

A faint seriousness flashed across his eyes.

The current situation involving the Sects Alliance was an incredibly peculiar one.

The heaven’s chosen from the various sects had been openly challenging the disciples of Sky Mist City, repeatedly trampling on their pride while leaving many severely injured. Under normal circumstances, Sky Mist City would have intervened long ago to suppress such blatant provocations.

Yet nothing of the sort had happened.

Although the combined strength of the Sects Alliance was more than sufficient to overwhelm Sky Mist City entirely, it was equally obvious that they had not come with the intention of launching an outright invasion.

Instead, they seemed to be pursuing a far more calculated objective.

By allowing their younger generation to dominate Sky Mist City’s disciples publicly, they were displaying the overwhelming superiority of the alliance while simultaneously applying psychological pressure upon the entire sect.

Every victory weakened Sky Mist’s morale.

Every defeat diminished its prestige.

Every casualty served as another reminder of the widening gap between the two sides.

It was a simple strategy.

Yet it was also an exceptionally cruel and effective one.

If things continued at this pace, Sky Mist City’s confidence would eventually crumble without the Sects Alliance needing to wage a single large-scale battle. By the time negotiations or demands were finally presented, many within Sky Mist would already have accepted defeat in their hearts.

The higher-ups of the Sects Alliance had planned this remarkably well.

Their scheme to gradually suppress Sky Mist City into submission was no longer just a possibility.

With each passing day, it was becoming an increasingly realistic outcome.

However, the most suspicious aspect of the entire affair wasn’t the Sects Alliance’s actions.

It was Sky Mist City’s response.

Or rather...

Its complete lack of one.

Despite suffering repeated humiliation, Sky Mist City’s upper echelon remained strangely silent. They neither restrained the disciples of the Sects Alliance nor issued any meaningful orders to halt the constant challenges.

It was as though they were deliberately allowing everything to unfold exactly as it was.

Whether they were quietly waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike or hiding a far deeper scheme beneath the surface, no one could say.

But one thing was certain.

The current silence of Sky Mist City was both an opportunity... and a source of immense suspicion.

The Captain’s line of thinking was no different from Grey’s. Hearing his analysis only reinforced her own suspicions.

She nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression gradually appearing on her face.

"If something this obvious has already occurred to us," Violet said quietly, "then the people truly directing the Sects Alliance must have noticed Sky Mist City’s unusual behavior as well."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"They probably realized it the instant Sky Mist City failed to react to their sudden arrival. Any normal sect would have immediately shown some form of resistance or at least questioned such an unexpected visit."

Grey listened in silence before giving a faint nod.

Ordinarily, when one sect paid a formal visit to another, there were only two possible intentions behind it.

The first was diplomacy.

Whether it was to negotiate peace, establish an alliance, discuss cooperation, exchange resources, or even sign a truce between hostile factions, such visits were relatively common throughout the cultivation world.

The second reason, however...

Was domination.

One sect would deliberately pressure another into submission, gradually weakening its influence and crushing its spirit until resistance became nearly impossible.

The outcome of such encounters was usually one of two things.

Either the weaker sect willingly accepted the authority of the stronger one...

Or an all-out war erupted between both factions.

Fortunately, the latter was comparatively rare. Once a conflict reached that stage, the losses suffered by both sides were often catastrophic, even for the victor.

From every angle Grey examined the current situation, the visit of the Sects Alliance clearly belonged to the second category.

Furthermore...

This was not a single super sect attempting to suppress Sky Mist City.

It was seventeen.

Seventeen super sects standing together beneath the banner of the strongest alliance within this region of the Central Quadrant.

Their combined influence, military strength, and cultivation resources were enough to make even ancient sects think twice before opposing them.

Because of that, Sky Mist City’s silence became even more unsettling.

Any reasonable person would instinctively assume that Sky Mist City was preparing some hidden countermeasure while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Otherwise...

Its current behavior simply made no sense.

Violet glanced toward Grey.

"What do you think the Sect Master’s objective is?" she asked with a curious smile on her face. As if watching Grey figure it out by himself was a type of entertainment.

Grey remained silent for several breaths.

His gaze stayed fixed ahead as though countless possibilities were being arranged inside his mind before he finally spoke.

"Is there someone within Sky Mist City whose status is even higher than the Sect Master?"

Violet’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"Oh?"

"What makes you think that?"

Grey answered almost immediately.

"The experts accompanying the seventeen super sects are all cultivators who have surpassed the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm. Most of them should have already stepped into either the Nirvana Realm or the Transcendence Realm."

He spoke calmly, his voice devoid of emotion.

"The Sect Master is still within the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm."

"And judging from his current aura..."

"He doesn’t appear anywhere close to making a breakthrough."

Grey’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"He couldn’t possibly be the one orchestrating everything."

That conclusion was almost self-evident.

If the Sect Master truly stood alone against the Sects Alliance, he would already be at a disadvantage against just one of those experts.

Yet there were seventeen individuals of comparable strength leading the alliance.

If they truly wished to force Sky Mist City into submission through brute force alone, they possessed more than enough power to overwhelm the Sect Master and make him lower his head.

There had to be another reason they continued employing such a slow and methodical strategy.

Violet stared at Grey for a brief moment before an impressed smile slowly appeared on her face.

"You’re right."

"There is someone whose authority surpasses even the Sect Master’s."

"She’s the true ruler of Sky Mist City."

"However..."

Violet’s tone softened.

"She spends almost all of her time in secluded cultivation and rarely appears before anyone."

Grey nodded slightly.

His deduction had been correct.

But...

It still wasn’t enough.

"Even if Sky Mist City possesses someone whose cultivation matches theirs," Grey said thoughtfully, "that alone shouldn’t be enough to deter seventeen super sects."

He fell silent again.

"The only explanation is that..."

"...her identity itself is extraordinary."

"So extraordinary that even the Sects Alliance cannot afford to act recklessly."

His voice sounded distant, as though he were piecing together fragments of a puzzle that remained incomplete.

Only someone possessing an unimaginable background could force seventeen dominant super sects to abandon direct conquest in favor of psychological warfare.

Violet merely smiled.

She neither confirmed nor denied his conclusion.

That smile alone was enough to tell Grey he was moving in the right direction.

---

Deep within the towering mountains of Sky Mist City, hidden beyond layers of mist and countless protective formations, stood an ancient palace that had remained untouched for countless years.

Within one of its secluded halls...

Several figures sat quietly around a large circular table carved from flawless white jade.

The atmosphere inside was utterly silent.

Not a single person spoke.

Only the soft sound of flowing tea disturbed the stillness.

A dignified middle-aged woman moved gracefully around the table, carefully pouring fragrant spiritual tea into each person’s cup.

Every movement she made was elegant and practiced, displaying neither haste nor nervousness despite the overwhelming pressure filling the room.

There were six individuals seated around the table.

Each of their figures was obscured by faint spiritual mist, making it impossible to distinguish their appearances clearly.

The only exception...

Was the person occupying the seat of honor.

Or rather...

The woman who wasn’t seated at all.

She appeared to be a young woman with long black hair that cascaded down her back like flowing waves beneath the moonlight.

Her complexion was pale beyond imagination, giving her an almost ethereal appearance.

Her loose white robes draped gently around her slender frame, making her resemble a wandering spirit more than a living cultivator.

She hovered several inches above her chair.

Even the hem of her robes never touched the ground.

Her expression remained vacant.

Her eyes seemed devoid of life, as though they had witnessed countless ages pass before them.

She looked beautiful beyond words...

Yet unbearably lonely.

Graceful...

Yet shrouded in an indescribable gloom.

Simply sitting there without saying a single word caused the entire hall to feel strangely oppressive, as though the surrounding heaven and earth had unconsciously fallen silent in her presence.