“Are these all the pieces of evidence?” Zhu Xuanji asked, arriving at the Zhou family estate.

The Zhou family patriarch personally received him.

Zhu Xuanji cut straight to the chase, saying he had rushed over as soon as he heard about the attacks.

“This might be the work of the Shadow Devil cultivator! According to our previous conjectures, someone secretly released him,” the Zhou family patriarch declared.

“This is an evil force lurking in the shadows!”

“If we hadn’t discovered it in time, I fear both of my Zhou family’s Qi Refining geniuses would have perished,” the Zhou family patriarch said, his expression grave.

Zhu Xuanji pinched the corpse of an ant in his hand, his eyes flashing with golden light as he activated the Root-Tracing Retrospection Art.

He remained silent throughout.

The Zhou family patriarch, his face filled with hopeful anticipation, inquired if he had discovered anything.

Zhu Xuanji shook his head!

“The evidence from your family alone is not enough. I’ll go and take a look at the other families,” he stated.

Zhu Xuanji bid farewell to the Zhou family patriarch.

He then visited the City Lord’s mansion, the Zheng family, and Ning Zhuo’s small courtyard, one after another.

The results of his investigation were as he had anticipated.

There were clues, and many of them.

The problem lay precisely in the sheer number of them.

The Root-Tracing Retrospection Art could detect closely related items, but this close relationship could be in many different aspects.

For example, from the traces of poison that harmed Ning Xiaohui, Zhu Xuanji found the related ingredients, the apothecary’s assistant who prepared the medicine, the servant who delivered it, and so on. Could he determine that the apothecary’s assistant or the servant were the culprits based solely on this?

No!

Because they were all closely related to the preparation, delivery, and the poison itself.

But could he be sure that they weren’t the culprits?

Also no.

Because they could have secretly added the poison while preparing or delivering the medicine.

The Root-Tracing Retrospection Art could only uncover clues; truly in-depth investigation required Zhu Xuanji’s various interrogation techniques.

But Zhu Xuanji decided to stop.

With so many clues, the energy and time required to investigate further would be terrifying.

Zhu Xuanji strongly suspected: this was a deliberate setup by the culprit, intended to delay his investigation.

Like the previous incident of the Fire Persimmon Mechanism Monkeys going berserk and attacking Yuan Er.

Afterward, Zhu Xuanji traced many clues from the remains of these Mechanism Fireblast Monkeys.

Were these clues useful?

Their value was minimal.

Zhu Xuanji preferred to see only a few clues emerge under the Root-Tracing Retrospection Art.

The fewer the clues, the more worthwhile it was to investigate further.

But now, every piece of evidence had so many clues.

Then the culprit’s intention to counter the Root-Tracing Retrospection Art was very clear.

However, this was also within Zhu Xuanji’s expectations.

As the reputation of the Root-Tracing Retrospection Art spread wider and wider, many powerful individuals or forces would consciously take precautions against it.

All techniques in this world were tools, helping cultivators to better realize certain aspirations.

Since they were tools, they could be targeted.

What was difficult to target was always powerful cultivators, not excellent tools.

There were no invincible techniques, only invincible cultivators.

“Originally, I had hoped that the culprit would reveal a flaw. It seems I was a bit too naive!”

Zhu Xuanji left the four major forces and decided to proceed with his previous investigation plan.

“Perhaps my methodical investigation has already put pressure on the culprit. That’s why these attacks occurred, trying to divert my attention.”

Zhu Xuanji frowned.

After investigating, he felt that something was amiss.

There was something strange, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was, no matter how hard he thought about it.

Moreover, the strange feeling had dissipated.

Zhu Xuanji’s subsequent actions disappointed the heads of the three major families.

The three patriarchs met in secret to discuss their plans.

“Detective Zhu is truly disappointing.”

“Perhaps he has already found out which force is behind it, but he can’t reveal it due to his position!”

“Are you suggesting?”

The three patriarchs fell silent.

Although they didn’t say it explicitly, they all knew they were referring to the City Lord’s mansion.

Whether it was the previous attack or this one, the City Lord’s mansion suffered the least losses.

More accurately, they turned misfortune into blessing.

Meng Chong’s reputation soared after thwarting the assassins twice, firmly suppressing the Qi Refining geniuses of the other three families.

“Meng Kui has gotten along well with our three families since he took office. This time, it may not be his doing. After all, Meng Chong’s determination in exploring the Immortal Palace is far ahead of everyone else,” the Zheng family patriarch said.

The Ning family patriarch also analyzed, “I did suspect the City Lord’s mansion after the last attack. But this time, the intensity of the assassination was extremely high, with the intention of killing off the Qi Refining geniuses of our three families. Perhaps there really is a hidden force plotting something?”

The Zhou family patriarch shook his head, sneering, “Haven’t all of our three families’ talented juniors survived?”

“Even if someone had died, could you trace it back to the City Lord’s mansion?”

The Zhou family patriarch sighed deeply, “The Meng family is a great family in our Southern Dou Immortal Kingdom!”

“The Meng family cultivators generally act impulsively and have strong personalities!”

“Especially the Four Generals of Meng, each of them is renowned for their military exploits, having slaughtered countless enemies!”

“Not to mention the other three fierce generals. Meng Kui is one of the Four Generals, seemingly gentle, but it’s all an illusion.”

“Think about it, everyone, have our three families had a good time since he took office?”

“Isn’t it much more oppressive than under the previous City Lords?”

“I wonder if the two of you have investigated Meng Kui’s past battle reports?”

“This person is even better at setting up schemes than our Zhou family, with a nickname called ‘Summit Prime Minister’.”

“Would such a person be easy to deal with?”

The Ning family patriarch pondered, “Now that you mention it, I do share many of your sentiments.”

“The City Lord’s mansion was the first to discover the Lava Immortal Palace.”

“Followed by the Zhou and Zheng families.”

“According to the information my family has gathered, the two families secretly bribed Meng Kui to prevent him from reporting it to the imperial court.”

“But thinking about it, if Meng Kui had reported it immediately upon discovery, what would be left for us?”

“On the surface, the Zhou and Zheng families took the initiative to seek his cooperation, but could this have been part of his scheme?”

The Zheng family patriarch snorted, “Very likely.”

“Meng Kui is actually more difficult to deal with than the other members of the Meng family, because he is more insidious!”

“Relying on the Lava Immortal Palace, he made our three families actively cooperate with him, allowing him to manage the Immortal Palace smoothly and harmoniously over the years.”

“Previously, he deliberately released information, relaxed surveillance, and attracted countless rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators to explore the Scarlet Flame Demon Lava Cave.”

“Countless people have died over the years, and they have filled the gaps with their lives, slaying countless Scarlet Flame Demon Beasts, greatly reducing the pressure on the Immortal Palace, and allowing the City Lord’s mansion to gradually obtain detailed information about the Immortal Palace, the Scarlet Flame Demon Lava Cave, and so on.”

“If the City Lord’s mansion had to do it all alone, I’m afraid the City Guard would have been wiped out by now.”

The Zhou family patriarch added, “Since the emergence of the Lava Immortal Palace, Meng Kui has personally guarded it, suppressing the Immortal Palace and strictly prohibiting anyone from approaching.”

“Hmph.”

“His excuse is wonderful, and exceedingly high-sounding.”

“In reality, his actions completely prevented the cultivators of our three families from entering the Immortal Palace to explore its legacy.”

Previously, it was very troublesome for the Zhou and Zheng family cultivators to enter the Immortal Palace. They had to climb to the top of the volcano, enter the Scarlet Flame Demon Lava Cave, and choose the correct path to enter the Immortal Palace within the mountain.

In this process, they also had to face the Scarlet Flame Demon Beasts along the way.

Finally, the cultivators would come into contact with the Immortal Palace.

But they could not break through; only those with mechanical skills who had long been recognized by the Palace Spirit could enter the Immortal Palace.

Originally, with the emergence of the Immortal Palace, the cultivators of the three families could enter and exit frequently with great convenience.

But Meng Kui’s personal suppression made it impossible for the three families to access the Immortal Palace.

Although no cultivators from the City Lord’s mansion had entered the Immortal Palace, the three families were well aware that the City Lord’s mansion was far less competitive than the Qi Refining stage in this aspect.

In the Qi Refining stage competition, Meng Chong was a supreme talent. This advantage was simply too great.

The Zhou family patriarch looked deeply moved, “At this point, finding the real culprit is not important. What’s important is the Lava Immortal Palace.”

The other two patriarchs nodded in agreement.

The Zhou family patriarch seized the opportunity, “Only by uniting and cooperating more closely can we hope to contend with the City Lord’s mansion.”

“To show my sincerity, I am willing to fully open the Gathering and Dispersing Wishful Spirit Tide Array for the use of the two families.”

The Ning and Zheng family patriarchs were somewhat surprised.

The opening of the Gathering and Dispersing Wishful Spirit Tide Array was a point that the Zhou family patriarch had always refused to budge on during previous negotiations.

Unexpectedly, this assassination, with the Zhou family’s two geniuses suffering the greatest losses, prompted the Zhou family patriarch to make a decision and bring out the Gathering and Dispersing Wishful Spirit Tide Array.

“Good!” the Zheng family patriarch said excitedly, “In that case, I will take out my family’s foundation—the Sharp Advance Needles.”

The Ning family patriarch nodded, “Then my Ning family will offer the Ice Light Strengthening Vein Talisman!”

“The Gathering and Dispersing Wishful Spirit Tide Array can help cultivators accumulate and unleash their power faster.”

“The Sharp Advance Needles can open up the Qi meridians in a cultivator’s body in advance during the Qi Refining stage, saving the cultivator the effort of painstakingly carving them.”

“The Ice Light Strengthening Vein Talisman can cover the inner and outer parts of the Qi meridians in a cultivator’s body with a layer of ice light. With this protection, cultivators can breathe in and out at a speed 30% higher than the limit without worrying about their Qi meridians being unable to withstand it and collapsing under the force of the mana.”

The talented cultivators of the three families were injured one after another and needed to recuperate.

They urgently needed to modify the other members of the team and raise their cultivation levels.

These assassinations made the three family heads aware of the cruelty of the competition and the power and domineering nature of their opponents.

They humbled themselves and cooperated more actively.

Ning Ze’s residence.

Dining room.

“Mother, how long do we have to wait?”

Just as Ning Ji stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a dish, his mother, Wang Lan, directly struck the back of his hand with her chopsticks.

Ning Ji winced in pain and quickly withdrew his hand.

Wang Lan glared at her beloved son, “What’s wrong with waiting a little longer?”

“Your father is still in the private prison. How can you eat your meal?”

Ning Ji covered the back of his hand, “But, we don’t have to wait for Ning Zhuo to come before we eat. We’ve never had this rule before. We always eat first, don’t we?”

Wang Lan snorted coldly, “How can now be compared to the past?”

“Ning Zhuo is so highly regarded by the young patriarch. As long as he says a few good words to the young patriarch and pleads for your father, your father will be released!”

(End of chapter)