Just as Yun Zelin was strategizing, feeling that things were finally on the right track, Mount Tai Sect was in chaos.
Let's rewind to two days prior.
The battle between Li Miao, Lan Lechuan, and Zuo Lishan was too grand; it couldn't be concealed.
Not to mention the latter part where the two fled for their lives and Li Miao pursued them, it was like a bulldozer, leaving overturned trees, flying rocks, collapsed houses, and sunken ground in its wake.
The Headmasters of Songshan, Hengshan, and Hengshan Sects had been worried by the various anomalies on Mount Tai Sect these past few days, only wanting to meet Master Zuo for a thorough inquiry, but Master Zuo always avoided them.
As guests, they couldn't just barge in and demand answers without cause, so they could only wait anxiously.
At that time, the few of them were gathered, discussing countermeasures.
Suddenly hearing such a loud commotion, the Headmasters' first reaction was, "Master Zuo, what the hell have you done!? Do you need Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) to bombard you with cannons!?"
"Did you dig up the Jinyiwei Commander's ancestral grave!?"
However, after a while, the Headmasters heard the clashing of weapons and angry roars mixed in with the booming sounds.
And these roars… the more they listened, the more they sounded like Zuo Lishan?
The Headmasters exchanged glances and went together towards the source of the sound.
By the time they arrived, Zuo Lishan had already fled, and they only caught the tail end.
So they watched Li Miao, the Jinyiwei Commander who had been acting arrogantly in front of them a few days ago, grab the head of the already disfigured Lan Lechuan and forcefully rip it off.
Then Li Miao turned to look at them, said, "Don't leave," and carried the head away.
At this point, the Headmasters were in a predicament.
Lan Lechuan was a top master who had made a name for himself more than ten years ago. When Ji Tianrui held sway over the martial world, he rarely showed his face, and most of the Ming Cult's affairs were handled by him, the Left Emissary.
None of the Headmasters were young, so they naturally recognized that the headless corpse, with its entire torso on the ground, was Lan Lechuan.
What exactly was going on at Mount Tai Sect!?
At this moment, no matter how close the Five Mountains Sword Sect were, no matter how much the Headmasters cared about their reputation, or what kind of lucky psychology they held, a thought couldn't help but arise from the bottom of their hearts.
"Should we… just leave?"
"Let's split the luggage; you go back to your Mount Song, and I'll go back to my Heng Mountain?"
Goodness, what Five Mountains Alliance Meeting are we even having now? Is there still a place for our Five Mountains to speak in this area?
Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) and Ming Cult have fought to the death here, killing a Ming Cult Left Emissary.
We can't afford to offend either side.
The few of them went forward to examine the traces left by this fierce battle, and the more they looked, the more startled they became.
Each sect's martial arts were different, and there was indeed no unified classification standard. In terms of destructive power, those who used hidden weapons naturally couldn't compare to those who used weapons; in terms of resilience, no one would compare to a master of external martial arts.
But above the peak, it truly transcended the understanding of ordinary martial artists.
Deng Boxuan, the Headmaster of Hengshan Sect, squatted down and touched a spot on the ground.
This was a bluestone slab, very thick, about two or three inches, with a sword mark cutting through the middle, dividing it into two halves.
Deng Boxuan drew his sword and inserted it into the sword mark; it went in until the hilt was blocked by the bluestone slab, but it still didn't reach the bottom.
Zhou Yingxue, the Headmaster of Songshan Sect, reached out and touched a tree stump as thick as an arm's embrace, its cross-section smooth as a mirror.
Zhang Jingfeng, the Headmaster of Hengshan Sect, didn't say anything, but looked around, his face growing increasingly grim.
The traces here had exceeded their imagination. Now they only felt like rabbits who had inadvertently stepped into a tiger and leopard's struggle, and could be torn apart if they weren't careful.
It was precisely because they had long experienced the martial world and their own martial arts were high enough that they could increasingly feel the terror of these traces.
"Gentlemen, what should we do?" Deng Boxuan spoke.
He wasn't too close to Mount Tai Sect, maintaining a somewhat detached relationship within the Five Mountains Sword Sect. If anyone could be said to be uninvolved, it was him.
So now, only he could calm his mind and speak first.
Zhang Jingfeng was silent for a moment, then said, "Gentlemen, don't rush to leave, please listen to me."
"Lan Lechuan's body cannot just be left here; it needs to be dealt with."
"Headmaster Zhou." He said to Zhou Yingxue, "Go and instruct your disciples to collect Lan Lechuan's body and hand it directly to the Mount Tai Sect disciples. Don't say anything, just let the Mount Tai Sect people take this hot potato."
"Headmaster Deng, go to the private residence in the back mountain and see if Headmaster Liu is still there. Since she already sided with the imperial court early on, and deliberately pointed out the Ming Cult that day, she should know something."
"If you find her, by all means, ask her to help us out. It's Master Zuo who wants to be the leader of this Five Mountains Alliance Meeting, and it's also Master Zuo who suppressed Mount Hua Sect; it has little to do with us."
Deng Boxuan muttered to himself, "It has little to do with me, but you two didn't hold back, did you?"
"This is because I usually don't get involved in these matters, so they want to use my reputation."
However, he knew that now was not the time to dwell on such matters, so he nodded to Zhang Jingfeng.
"I'll go find Master Zuo. This matter ultimately falls on his Mount Tai Sect, and he can't escape responsibility."
"No time to lose, let's set off now."
With that, the three Headmasters departed.
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By that evening, the three had gathered.
They looked at each other, all feeling that the other's complexion was not good, and sighed one after another.
Zhou Yingxue spoke first, saying, "The body has been collected, and the traces of the battle have also been cleaned up. However, the Mount Tai Sect people kept digging for details, and I barely managed to fob them off."
"The body has no head, so they won't recognize it for a while, but it shouldn't be long before they do."
Zhang Jingfeng said, "I followed the traces of the battle all the way, and it led me to the back hall of Mount Tai Sect."
"There was a Mount Tai Sect disciple who had fainted from fright. I brought him back beforehand, without the Mount Tai Sect people noticing. However, his heart meridian was injured, and he won't wake up for a while. My disciples are using inner energy to warm him, but he's estimated to wake up only in two days."
"And… I questioned a few Mount Tai Sect disciples, and Master Zuo has likely been staying there these past few days."
Deng Boxuan looked around and said, "The private residence in the back mountain is already empty; Headmaster Liu is gone."
"But she left a note; come and see."
With that, he took the paper from his bosom.
Liu Baiyun was suddenly called away by Gao Ling, sent by Li Miao. She left in a hurry, only able to write a few brief sentences. The handwriting was messy and the meaning unclear.
Upon closer inspection, they made out a few sentences.
"Mount Tai Sect is colluding with Ming Cult."
"This matter is already settled."
"Stay here, don't leave, and wait for the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting."
"Cooperate with the imperial court, and there will be no danger to your life."
After reading the note, the few of them looked at each other again, silent for a moment.
After a long while, Deng Boxuan was the first to speak: "Gentlemen, what do you think?"
Zhang Jingfeng's fingers rubbed the hilt of his sword. After a long moment, he slowly said, "Headmaster Liu's character should be trustworthy."
"That day, she chased after Headmaster Zhou, speaking about collusion with the Ming Cult. At the time, we only thought it was the arrogance of a small person who had suddenly risen. Now, thinking about it, it was more likely a warning."
"At the very least, those second and third-rate forces who went down the mountain these past few days were able to escape this muddy water because of her actions."
"But, we can't entrust our lives to her mere words…"
Zhou Yingxue pursed her lips and said, "Let's wait a bit longer… wait for that unconscious Mount Tai Sect disciple to wake up and ask about the situation at the time, then we'll make our plans."
Deng Boxuan sighed, "That's all we can do…"
The three of them, filled with worry, returned to their rooms, waiting only two days before making a decision.