System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

119: A covert pursuit in the dark, the conspiracy begins to unfold.After leaving the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, Ye Chen did not accept the accommodation arranged by Liu Yun. Instead, he found a place in the west of the city called the “Listening Rain Pavilion,” which appeared ordinary but was actually run by a Cultivation Family and emphasized guest privacy. The inn’s environment was quiet and secluded, equipped with soundproofing and basic defensive Formations, which suited him perfectly.

Entering the guest room and setting up several personal warning Restrictions, Ye Chen sat down cross-legged. He did not immediately Cultivate but instead meticulously reviewed everything he had seen today in his mind.

The cold, foul Qi inside the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, the strange medicinal ingredients purchased, and the Token Fragment that constantly kept him on high alert... all these clues pointed toward the Dark Hall brewing a conspiracy in Tianfeng City. This conspiracy was likely related to the upcoming Heavenly Prodigy Sword Debate.

“The Heavenly Prodigy Sword Debate gathers the Empire’s most outstanding young talents. If something happens...” Ye Chen’s eyes sharpened. Although he was not the type to pity the world, the Dark Hall’s actions were vicious, often involving the Blood Sacrifice of millions. If their conspiracy succeeded, countless innocent lives would suffer. Both publicly and privately, he could not stand by and watch.

He once again took out the black Token Fragment, which was covered in layers of Seals, and placed it in his palm. Chaos Protective Aura cautiously probed into it, attempting to decipher its mysteries. The fragment remained incredibly hard and impenetrable, but the ancient, deep, and destructive aura of hunger emanating from it became clearer. Simultaneously, the pure dark energy inside the fragment seemed slightly more active than when it was in the mine, faintly resonating with an extremely weak frequency toward a distant direction within the city.

“As expected... within Tianfeng City, there is something, or someone, related to this object?” Ye Chen felt certain. This fragment might be the key for him to find the Dark Hall’s core personnel.

He decided that tonight, he would follow this faint resonance and investigate.

That night, the moon was hidden and the stars were sparse.

Although Tianfeng City enforced a curfew, for high-level Cultivators, the city walls and patrolling guards were meaningless. Ye Chen’s figure melted into the night, darting like a phantom through the eaves and alleys. His aura was suppressed to the extreme; even if a Tiangang Realm Cultivator passed nearby, they would struggle to detect his presence without deliberate investigation.

Following the faint guidance transmitted by the Token Fragment, he stealthily moved toward the east side of the city.

The further east he went, the more luxurious the buildings became. They were mostly the residences and villas of high officials, noble families, and powerful Sects, and the guards were noticeably stricter. Obscure Divine Sense occasionally swept through the air—the unconscious vigilance of the experts stationed throughout the area.

Ye Chen was extremely careful, utilizing the Divine Ability [Chaos Genesis: Myriad Transformation] to its limit. His aura simulated the flow of the night wind and the stillness of the shadows, perfectly blending into the environment. He could even feel several powerful Divine Senses sweeping past him without lingering.

Finally, after passing through an area of extensive, heavily guarded garden residences, the resonance from the Token Fragment suddenly became clear!

The target was not far ahead!

Ye Chen hid himself within the crown of an old, lush tree, his gaze piercing the night as he looked ahead. It was a seemingly inconspicuous residence—gray walls, black tiles, and a deserted entrance. Compared to the magnificent, brightly lit mansions surrounding it, it looked completely out of place. The residence was covered by an extremely obscure Formation fluctuation; if not for the guidance of the Token Fragment, Ye Chen would have almost overlooked it.

This Formation was not a powerful defensive or offensive Formation, but a sophisticated “Concealment and Isolation Formation,” specifically used to hide the internal aura and activity.

“This is the place.” Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He could sense a cold aura inside the residence that originated from the same source as the Token Fragment, but was denser and more active. It was also mixed with the specific fishy-sweet and decaying smell of medicinal ingredients like Corrupt Bone Grass and Heart-Eroding Orchid.

He did not rush in. The residence’s Formation was quite intricate, and forcefully breaking it would certainly alert the enemy. He lay in wait silently, like the most patient hunter, his Divine Sense like the finest thread, carefully probing the Formation’s light barrier, searching for its operating patterns and weak points.

At the same time, he was carefully sensing the situation inside the residence.

The residence was not large, and the personnel inside seemed few, but every one of them had a cold aura and considerable Cultivation, at least at the Earth Fiend Realm level. They moved silently, rarely communicated with each other, and maintained strict discipline. Beneath the residence, there seemed to be a vast underground space where the energy fluctuations were strongest, and the Yin-Sha Qi had almost materialized. Furthermore... it was mixed with fragments of will that caused heart palpitations, as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing!

“Soul Refining? Or... cultivating some kind of Evil Creature?” Ye Chen felt a chill in his heart. The Dark Hall’s scheme here was likely more malicious than he had imagined.

Just as he was concentrating fully on his investigation, the residence’s inconspicuous side door silently opened. A Black-Robed Figure flashed out and quickly merged into the night.

Ye Chen’s gaze sharpened. This person was none other than the Earthly Fiend Realm Fifth Level Cloaked Figure who had traded with the Wealthy Merchant at the Hundred Herbs Pavilion during the day! He was moving quickly now, apparently heading out to execute a mission.

An opportunity!

Ye Chen made a decisive move, temporarily abandoning the investigation of the residence. His figure drifted down from the tree crown like smoke, silently following the figure. Compared to a fixed stronghold, this Dark Hall operative, who was out on a mission, might yield more intelligence.

The Cloaked Figure’s Movement Technique was extremely fast, and he was very familiar with the dark alleys and side paths of Tianfeng City, deliberately choosing secluded routes. He appeared highly vigilant, occasionally changing direction abruptly or stopping to sweep his Divine Sense behind him.

However, Ye Chen’s Tracking Skill was honed through countless life-and-death battles. Combined with the Divine Ability [Myriad Transformations] to simulate the environment, minimizing his sense of existence, he remained like a shadow clinging to the bone, trailing far behind without being detected.

The Cloaked Figure hurried along, but his final destination surprised Ye Chen—it was not another secret stronghold as expected, but a luxurious guesthouse district in the central area of Tianfeng City, near the edge of the Imperial City. This area was primarily inhabited by Sect representatives and Family Geniuses from all over the Empire who had come to participate in the Heavenly Prodigy Sword Debate.

The Cloaked Figure stopped near an independent courtyard that was brightly lit and heavily guarded, hiding in the shadows and staring coldly at the courtyard gate. The banner hanging at the entrance of the courtyard was embroidered with the image of a giant sword wreathed in flames—the symbol of the “Blazing Sun Sect”! The Blazing Sun Sect was one of the top Sects in the Empire, second only to the Imperial Family, renowned for its fierce and overbearing Fire-Element Cultivation Techniques.

“His target is someone from the Blazing Sun Sect?” Ye Chen wondered. Why would the Dark Hall target the Blazing Sun Sect?

The Cloaked Figure observed for a moment without approaching. Instead, he took out a palm-sized, oddly shaped Black Compass from his sleeve. He bit his fingertip, dripped a drop of jet-black blood onto the center of the compass, and chanted incantations.

The needle on the compass began to spin wildly, eventually pointing toward the Blazing Sun Sect’s courtyard. A wisp of extremely faint Black Qi, almost blending into the night, emerged from the compass surface. Like a living thing, it silently drifted toward the courtyard.

That Black Qi was not an attack; it was more like a... mark, or a Tracking Imprint!

Ye Chen’s eyes turned cold. Although he didn’t know the specific function of this mark, it was certainly not benign. He could not allow the Dark Hall to succeed.

Just as that wisp of Black Qi was about to touch the defensive light barrier around the courtyard, Ye Chen moved. He held his fingers together like a sword and lightly tapped the air.

[Chaos Genesis: Myriad Transformation]—Simulate Spatial Ripple!

A spatial fluctuation, weak to the extreme and seemingly naturally occurring, rippled open right in front of the wisp of Black Qi. Disturbed by this sudden Spatial Ripple, the Black Qi’s trajectory deviated slightly. With a soft “poof,” it struck an inconspicuous Bluestone on the exterior corner of the courtyard wall and silently seeped in, failing to trigger the Blazing Sun Sect’s defensive Formation.

The Cloaked Figure seemed unaware of this subtle change. Seeing that the rune on the compass representing a successful marking lit up faintly, he nodded in satisfaction, put away the compass, and merged back into the darkness, returning the way he came.

Ye Chen watched the Cloaked Figure’s retreating back, then glanced at the marked Bluestone, his gaze profound.

Was the Dark Hall marking the Geniuses participating in the Heavenly Prodigy Sword Debate? What did they intend to do? Mass assassination? Or was there another, more terrifying scheme?

He felt that an invisible net was silently being cast over Tianfeng City. And he himself was already caught within the net.

Without alerting the enemy, Ye Chen silently erased all traces he had left behind and followed the Cloaked Figure from a distance, returning once more to the vicinity of the concealed residence.

He needed to know what exactly was hidden inside that residence. Perhaps the answer lay tonight.