Chapter 1368: Ganging Up on Lan Daolin

"Master, we received word from the personnel at the Sacred Realm exit. The other eight Sacred Venerables have left the Sacred Realm one after another."

Inside Tianlan Sacred Hall, Lan Daolin gradually raised his head from a set of Misty Pavilion secret archives he had been personally searching through for some unknown purpose. The report had come from his disciple Qing Jiu, who had hurried inside.

"They all left the Sacred Realm?" Lan Daolin asked suspiciously.

"Yes." Qing Jiu answered, then hesitated. "This disciple also received earlier news that the supervisors from Baichuan Valley, one of Han's Three Great Sects, suddenly mobilized more than a hundred people around Boundless Pavilion. No one knows what they were doing. I wonder whether it could be connected to this."

"Boundless Pavilion?" Lan Daolin slowly stood. His voice sank. "Why did you not report this earlier?"

Qing Jiu grew slightly nervous. "Junior Brother is Pavilion Master of Boundless Pavilion. This disciple thought it would be better to wait for Junior Brother to report matters concerning Boundless Pavilion himself. Who would have expected no word to come for so long?"

"I'll go take a look!"

The words had barely left Lan Daolin's mouth when he was already gone. Swish! A figure shot out of the hall.

...

At Boundless Pavilion, no one knew how many hearts had been thrown into panic. Cultivators passing through the place had suddenly all been placed under control. They could enter, but no one was allowed to leave.

The first people to impose the lockdown were the more than one hundred Baichuan Valley disciples Li Zhengfa had brought.

Naturally, Baichuan Valley alone could not control Boundless Pavilion. But once Du Wuxu, one of the Nine Saints, stood behind them, the situation changed completely.

Du Wuxu had not left the Sacred Realm to fight. One man could not personally control every corner of Boundless Pavilion. He had also arrived too quickly for forces under his own command to keep pace, and there had not even been time to summon men by messenger Goldenwing. So his first act had been to meet Li Zhengfa and order him to transmit Du Wuxu's command: seal Boundless Pavilion, and allow no one to leave.

With more than a hundred people openly acting under Du Wuxu's authority as eyes, ears, and enforcers, no one moving through Boundless Pavilion dared disobey. The entire place was brought under control immediately.

While the lockdown was being established, Du Wuxu ordered Li Zhengfa to lead the way and rushed straight to the room where Zhuge Chi had previously stayed.

He broke through the door.

Zhuge Chi was long gone.

The only result was that the new guest staying in the room nearly died of fright.

Du Wuxu then barged directly into the Pavilion Master's compound to find Lan Ming. But after asking around, he learned Lan Ming was gone too. The explanation was that he had gone to the Sacred Realm.

Whether Lan Ming had truly gone to the Sacred Realm or not, Du Wuxu did not care. He immediately ordered Li Zhengfa to summon personnel from the various sects' shops stationed in Boundless Pavilion and place them under Li Zhengfa's command to strengthen the lockdown.

Afterward, the other seven Saints arrived one after another. They learned that Zhuge Chi had escaped and that Lan Ming had also disappeared.

Once they asked when Lan Ming had left, messages were immediately sent to the Sacred Realm entrances and exits to verify whether Lan Ming had actually returned inside.

Eight of the Nine Saints had appeared at Boundless Pavilion all at once. With movement on this scale, who in the entire place would dare make a move without permission?

This was Lan Daolin's territory. However frightening the Eight Saints might be, personnel in the Pavilion Master's compound still tried to argue their case.

The eight ignored them completely.

Even Du Wuxu alone would not have cared about their objections. Once he discovered both men were missing, he immediately organized a full search of the compound.

Lan Ming and Ban Hai had left too hastily and overlooked one matter.

They had never dealt with Yan Zhan's corpse.

It was found inside a secret chamber in the compound.

The people of Baichuan Valley naturally recognized him. The body was carried before Du Wuxu, and they confirmed that the missing disciple had been found—and murdered.

No one knew who had killed him. But the corpse had been discovered inside the Pavilion Master's compound. The implication was obvious.

It also largely confirmed Li Zhengfa's earlier suspicion: the missing disciple had caused the operation to be exposed and alerted the snake by striking the grass. The disappearances of both Lan Ming and Zhuge Chi were very likely connected to it.

After the other seven Saints arrived and full control of the situation had been established, naturally they could not rely solely on Li Zhengfa's word. A complete verification began.

Before the Eight Saints, Li Zhengfa recounted in detail every step that had brought the investigation here.

Following the trail, they verified one point after another. Matters outside Boundless Pavilion could be checked later. Anything that could be confirmed here was confirmed immediately.

They verified Li Zhengfa and his people's stay, Zhuge Chi's stay, and the movements of the disguised Lan Ming when he entered and left the Pavilion Master's compound to meet Zhuge Chi. Guards on duty had naturally seen him.

Those guards were Lan Daolin's people. Naturally they were unwilling to say anything harmful to Lan Ming. They were immediately subjected to harsh interrogation and finally confessed the truth.

At the same time, Yuan Se sent an urgent message to Huo Kong, Presiding Administrator of Misty Pavilion, ordering him to dispatch men immediately to seize the Misty Pavilion member whom Li Zhengfa and the others had first been watching, so that the earliest part of Li Zhengfa's report could also be verified.

Only then did Lan Daolin, late to realize what had happened, finally arrive at Boundless Pavilion.

Hovering in the air, he saw the entire place under control. Then he saw the Eight Saints standing in a row on an elevated open space within the Pavilion Master's compound, watching like tigers eyeing prey.

Lan Daolin was instantly furious.

He descended from the sky and faced all eight alone. "What are you trying to do?"

Some of the eight were expressionless. Others wore cold smiles.

Du Wuxu pulled out a rolled testimony he had been holding behind his back and flung it directly at Lan Daolin's face. "Read it yourself!"

Lan Daolin caught it in one hand. Remaining vigilant toward the eight, he opened the scroll, realized he was holding it upside down, turned it around, and began reading.

The contents were shocking.

If what was written here was true, then Zhuge Chi's timely escape from their earlier encirclement was almost certainly connected to Lan Daolin's own son.

Lan Daolin knew in his heart that the matter was probably genuine.

Fury surged inside him.

He wanted nothing more than to tear that unfilial wretch apart with his own hands.

He had arranged for Lan Ming to remain here precisely because he wanted his son kept away from the disputes inside the Sacred Realm, hoping to give him a peaceful end. Lan Daolin had even warned him before, yet that wretch refused to listen and still dared carry out such affairs behind his father's back.

It was intolerable.

He was furious inside, but when he raised his eyes and swept them across the eight, he shook the testimony in his hand. "Absurd! What does this prove? How do I know this wasn't a trick arranged by the eight of you?"

Du Wuxu gave a small wave.

The terrified Li Zhengfa stepped forward, along with a group of Boundless Pavilion guards who had been tortured until their bodies were covered in wounds.

"Whether it was a trick, you know perfectly well in your own heart. The witnesses are all here. If you don't believe them, take them back and question them yourself."

Lan Daolin's cold gaze swept across the witnesses, then returned to the faces of the eight. "If you have nothing to hide, why didn't you notify me?"

Du Wuxu said, "Could this be hidden from you? You were bound to come. Why would we need to notify you?"

Wu Chang tilted his head slightly and cast a glance toward Lü Wushuang.

Then he suddenly shouted at Lan Daolin, "Lan Daolin, speak. Who did you give the Wuliang Fruits from Wuliang Garden to?"

At those words, several of the others instinctively looked toward him.

Lan Daolin pointed at him in fury. "Wu Chang, what are you implying?"

Wu Chang said, "Do you think Wuliang Fruits are something just anyone can steal? And how did Zhuge Chi break through to the Nascent Soul Realm? You and your son probably know that better than anyone."

The Wuliang Fruits had been stolen?

Li Zhengfa and the others were secretly shocked.

This was the first time they had heard of it.

Lan Daolin roared, "The Crow Generals beneath the fruit tree were arranged by you! Apart from you, no one could approach silently. I think you're the thief crying 'thief'!"

"You still dare deny it?" Wu Chang gave a cold snort.

Black mist rose around his body.

He suddenly flashed.

Two figures collided in an instant, a violent blast of force sweeping outward.

One sentence had been enough.

Wu Chang and Lan Daolin were already fighting.

Earth split. Stones flew. Thunderous explosions shook the surroundings, forcing Li Zhengfa and the others to retreat in alarm.

From the ground to the sky, the two figures attacked and counterattacked at blinding speed.

Wu Chang's shout came from above. "This thief harbors treacherous designs. The evidence is conclusive. What are all of you still hesitating for?"

The seven below looked at one another.

Then, one after another, they shot into the sky.

In an instant, all eight joined forces and launched a frenzied siege.

"If you want to condemn a man, you'll never lack a charge!"

Lan Daolin roared again and again. His body moved like flowing cloud and phantom shadow as he wove among the eight. The exquisiteness of his movement art made it extraordinarily difficult for them to pin him down.

The nine figures fought from sky to earth.

The scale of the destruction was heaven-shaking.

The exquisite skybridges spanning Heavenly Lake began collapsing one after another like rotten wood. Wherever the nine fought, devastation followed.

Those unable to evade in time were either injured outright or hurled away by the violent pressure of the battle. The aftermath alone was more than ordinary cultivators could withstand.

The temporary lockdown of Boundless Pavilion immediately collapsed into complete disorder.

Who had ever witnessed a battle this terrifying?

Everyone feared being caught in the disaster. People scattered and fled in all directions, and the entire place descended into chaos.

The attackers had eyes only for Lan Daolin.

Now that they had an opportunity to kill him, each wanted to seize it. Who still cared about anyone else?

Lan Daolin soon could no longer endure.

The figure flashing like flowing cloud and phantom shadow among the eight suddenly plunged downward and shot into Heavenly Lake.

All eight pursued him at once.

Boom!

The lake exploded.

A column of water surged into the sky.

The high embankments surrounding the lake collapsed under the violent surge and came crashing down.

Under the heaven-shaking force of the battle, the scattered buildings and structures of Boundless Pavilion were obliterated.

From this moment on, the Boundless Pavilion that had stood in the Boundless Desert disappeared completely.

Only a lake remained.

Violent undercurrents churned deep beneath the water.

Before long, even those gradually subsided.

Far away in the vast desert, where a light breeze stirred the sand, there suddenly came a thunderous bang.

Sand erupted skyward.

A figure shot out and tore through the air.

It was Lan Daolin.

A long time later, the placid lake began churning beneath the surface once more.

A massive frozen creature slowly floated upward.

Granny Xue stood atop the ice-sealed flood dragon. Her cane was buried in the creature's skull.

Two other flood dragons had also been killed, though their bodies had sunk to the bottom of the lake.

A while later, Wu Chang and the others surfaced one after another.

The eight exchanged looks.

Every one of them shook his head.

After all eight had pursued Lan Daolin deep into the lake, they discovered an extremely deep underground waterway beneath it, twisting away to some unknown destination.

Then the three flood dragons suddenly attacked.

The three were no match for the Eight Saints, but underwater their power was enormous.

The delay caused by those flood dragons was enough for Lan Daolin's trail to vanish completely.

"Now that we've already acted, we can't let him escape so easily. Two people stay here and keep watch. The rest search the surrounding area. What do you all think?" Du Wuxu asked.

The eight exchanged glances.

Once they reached agreement, they proceeded accordingly.

...

At the Sacred Realm entrance, Lan Daolin appeared.

He forced his way into the Sacred Realm and descended upon Shouque Villa. After finding personnel from Tianlan Sacred Land, he demanded brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, personally wrote a letter, and ordered it sent immediately to Tianlan Sacred Land.

Then he left again without pause.

This time, he rushed straight toward Daluo Sacred Land.

The moment he arrived, Daluo Sacred Land descended into chaos.

Lan Daolin said nothing.

He began killing.

In the end, he seized Luo Fangfei by the throat and carried her away through the sky.

"Cough... cough..."

Collapsed on the ground, Sha Rulai coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

[End of Chapter 1368]