“This should be Harvest Valley City. Located near a mountain, it enjoys the weather of eternal spring. It’s the city that boasts the greatest agricultural produce within a radius of several hundred thousand li. Most of the food supply in the Sanctum of Sages originates from here!”
It did not take Zhang Xuan long to verify their current location.
Back when he was still in the Sanctum of Sages, he had browsed through quite a couple of books regarding geography. By roughly gauging the direction and distance that he had traveled from the Sanctum of Sages, he could easily deduce his current location.
With a swift scan of his surroundings, Zhang Xuan shook his head. It won’t do to search around aimlessly like this. Let me try using the Library of Heaven’s Path to verify the location…
With such a thought in mind, he flicked his wrist and took out an empty book. He drew out the streets around him and wrote ‘Sage Kui’s sculpture is in this direction’.
He touched the book lightly, and the Library of Heaven’s Path jolted.
However, a book was not compiled.
“It didn’t work again? What’s going on?” Zhang Xuan’s complexion turned awful.
Just what in the world was happening to the Library of Heaven’s Path?
It had never failed him in the past, but nowadays, it was malfunctioning more frequently than ever, as if an old machine sputtering to its death. Was it really in an urgent need of an upgrade?
Well, he had indeed been using it for more than a year now. Perhaps, it was starting to lag behind his current power level, especially with how fast he had been growing stronger.
No, that’s not right. The Library of Heaven’s Path shouldn’t have failed under normal circumstances. A thought suddenly arose in Zhang Xuan’s mind. Unless… the sculpture is placed in a location concealed from even the view of the heavens…
The previous few times that the Library of Heaven’s Path had malfunctioned was probably because the individuals that he had sought to check possessed the Discarnate Constitution of Divination, just like him and Luo Ruoxin.
However, there were other means to bypass the Library of Heaven’s Path as well. For example, the culprits at White Creek Mountain had resorted to some unique means that would not only conceal their trail from the Eye of Insight but also the prying gazes of seers…
The situation that Zhang Xuan was facing at the moment was rather similar to the latter. Was it possible that some kind of unique means had been cast upon Sage Kui’s sculpture in order to prevent anyone from divining its whereabouts?
“If that’s the case, there’s only one possibility…”
A sharp glint flashed across Zhang Xuan’s eyes as he quickly scanned his surroundings. He walked up to a nearby cultivator and clasped his fist “This friend over here, may I ask where the Seer Guild of the Harvest Valley City is located?”
“Seer Guild? It’s over in that direction, roughly a four li building. It’s shaped like a tortoise, so you don’t have to worry about missing it!”
The cultivator was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his mid-forties. He responded to Zhang Xuan’s question amicably.
“Many thanks!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist once more.
He beckoned Luo Ruoxin with a wave of his hand before flying in the direction that the middle-aged man had pointed out.
“Are you suspecting that a seer from the Harvest Valley City is colluding with the culprits in order to prevent other seers from divining the location of Sage Kui’s sculpture?” Luo Ruoxin swiftly grasped Zhang Xuan’s train of thought.
“A normal isolation barrier might be able to prevent ordinary cultivators from tracking it, but it wouldn’t be able to stop the divination of the seers. To be absolutely safe, the culprits would have to engage the help of a seer to conceal it from the view of the heavens too!” Zhang Xuan said with a nod.
“Indeed. I think you are on the right track.” Luo Ruoxin nodded in agreement.
While the current Sanctum of Sages did not have too many experts, it still had a 9-star seer working in its service—Master Feng. If he divined the location of the sculpture, there was a good chance that he could fathom its rough location after a couple of tries.
So, if the culprits wanted to make a perfect getaway, they would have to use some kind of anti-divination technique on the sculpture.
In all of Harvest Valley City, there was only one group of people who were able to achieve that feat so quickly… the seers from the Seer Guild!
Traveling ahead, it did not take long for the two of them to arrive before a tortoise-shaped building. There were some mysterious patterns inscribed on the surface of the building, and they seemed to wield some kind of inconceivable power that prevented even one’s Spiritual Perception from seeping in.
We’ll know whether we have gotten the right place or not once we get in! Zhang Xuan thought as he walked up to the entrance of the tortoise-shaped building.
At this moment, however, a young man walked out and blocked his path. “Please halt your footsteps. Our Harvest Valley City Seer Guild doesn’t welcome any visitors!”
“I am Zhang Xuan, the head of the Sanctum of Sages. We have just lost a precious artifact, and I have specially made a trip here in the hope of engaging the help of your guild leader to help us divine its whereabouts!” Zhang Xuan said as he flicked his wrist and revealed his substitute Sanctum Head Token.
“You are the head of the Sanctum of Sages?” Startled by the high standing of the guest before him, the young man quickly clasped his fist politely and said, “Elder, please hold on for a moment. I’ll report your arrival to our guild leader right away!”
After saying those words, the young man hurriedly rushed back into the tortoise-shaped building.
Roughly three minutes later, a black-haired elder walked out along with the young man.
“Pardon me for my lacking welcome, I was unaware of your arrival, Sanctum Head Zhang. Please, come in!”
The elder appeared to be in his sixties, and his cultivation was at Saint 8-dan pinnacle. Wearing the long robe of the Seer Guild, his appearance gave the impression of an enlightened expert.
“I’ll be imposing on you then. To be honest, I have come with a request that I will need to trouble you with!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist politely.
“Sanctum Head Zhang, you are too courteous. You must be unaware of how resounding your reputation is these days. I never thought that our guild would have the honor of hosting you. Please, this way!” the elder said as he led the way forward.
Soon, they arrived in a room.
As soon as they walked in, a slight frown appeared between Luo Ruoxin’s brows. She quickly sent a telepathic message over. “Zhang Xuan, be careful.”
“What’s wrong?” Zhang Xuan replied discreetly. “Did you notice something?”
This was the first time that Luo Ruoxin had sent him a telepathic message asking him to be careful. It seemed like there was really something wrong with this Seer Guild.
Luo Ruoxin appeared to want to say something, but she seemed to change her mind at the last moment. “It’s nothing. I just think that it would be best to proceed warily.”
“Un, I understand!” Zhang Xuan replied telepathically.
It would be foolish to turn a blind eye to Luo Ruoxin’s warning. Thus, Zhang Xuan casually placed his hand on his waist, ready to make a move as soon as anything happened.
However, it seemed like his worries might have been unfounded. Even when he walked to the middle of the room, he still did not notice any anomalies.
After everyone had taken a seat, the elder raised his gaze and asked, “May I know the reason behind your visit, Sanctum Head Zhang?”
“Not too long ago, a couple of burglars snuck into our Sanctum of Sages and stole our Sage Kui’s sculpture. Following the trail of the burglars, we found that the trail abruptly ends here. Considering that we are both affiliated with the Master Teacher Pavilion, I would like to trouble you to divine the identity and whereabouts of the culprit!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.
Zhang Xuan’s words were roundabout, but the implied meaning was very clear to those hearing his message. He was effectively saying, My item disappeared in your territory. If you can’t divine the identity and the whereabouts of the culprits, I’m afraid that I’ll have to doubt you!
“The trail of the burglars ends here?” A displeased frown appeared on the elder’s face. “Sanctum Head Zhang, are you suspecting our Seer Guild of hiding the burglars and the stolen possession of the Sanctum of Sages?”
“The burglars who have stolen Sage Kui’s sculpture are all Otherworldly Demons. However, they were able to conceal themselves perfectly, such that even my Eye of Insight is rendered helpless before their means. On top of that, our seers are unable to divine the whereabouts of the burglars or our missing possession. I’d hate to accuse you, but I’m afraid that I can’t turn a blind eye to the evidence lying before me!” Zhang Xuan replied calmly.
“The loss of our possession is a small matter, but the involvement of the Otherworldly Demons in the burglary is a cause for concern. Things could turn ugly if I report this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion, so I ask of you to give us your full support. This is the best way to cleanse your Seer Guild of suspicion!”
“Sanctum Head Zhang, I respect you as the head of the Sanctum of Sages and the Zhang Clan, and it’s out of goodwill that I welcomed you into our Seer Guild. Yet, you are maligning my Seer Guild of conspiring with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe…” The elder abruptly rose to his feet and uttered coldly, “Just what do you stand to gain from besmirching the reputation of our Seer Guild?”
“Calm down, there’s no need to lose your temper here.” Zhang Xuan glanced at the agitated elder. “I don’t mean anything by those words. All I want is to retrieve the treasure that was stolen from our Sanctum of Sages. If you are truly as innocent as you claim, you won’t mind me searching through your Seer Guild, right? If I fail to find anything, you can rest assured that I’ll provide due compensation to your Seer Guild for my mistake!”
“You wish to ransack our Seer Guild? Preposterous! Our Seer Guild shoulders the heavy responsibility of divining the future to protect mankind. Even the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters have to show us some respect! Yet, a mere sanctum head like you seeks to ransack our premises?” the elder bellowed furiously.
