Chapter 825: Dark Undercurrents

Late at night.

The Cui Family, a pavilion sealed under a formation.

As he listened to his daughter recount everything she’d seen and heard, Cui Chang’an’s expression shifted erratically.

The third elder is a traitor!?

There was no getting around it; this news caught Cui Chang’an entirely off guard.

Cui Jingyan looked at her father with concern and tried to comfort him. “Father, please don’t be angry. Young Lord Su said that for now, we should pretend we don’t know anything to avoid alerting him. That way, we can catch him and his cohort in one fell swoop.”

She paused, then added, “Besides, Young Lord Su already reacquired the Netherworld Thunder Mirror, so its absence won’t negatively affect our defensive formation’s power during the Lantern Festival.”

Cui Chang’an froze. He couldn’t help but take a second glance at his daughter. A moment later, he sounded gratified. “So, you’ve learned to comfort your father! You really have grown up.”

Cui Jingyan sounded a bit embarrassed. “Those were just Young Lord Su’s orders. All I did… was pass them on to you.”

Cui Chang’an laughed. “Go back and get some rest. I already understand the situation.”

Cui Jingyan nodded, then left.

However, as soon as he was alone, Cui Chang’an’s expression darkened, and his eyes flashed with irrepressible murderousness.

“Those bastards! Do they really think my father won’t be coming back?”

In a crisis, birds of the same forest flew their separate ways.

But the Cui Family was far from the end of its rope, and there was still a month or so until the Lantern Festival, yet some of their clansmen already couldn’t sit still!

Cui Chang’an didn’t fear external foes, but he dreaded internal strife.

He was well aware that sometimes, a peak faction’s destruction started from within.

Over the years, there had?been too many examples of this to count.

One of the most famous such incidents was the heaven-shaking sudden change at the Grotto of Abstruse?Force five hundred years ago.

The Swordmaster of Abstruse Force inexplicably passed away, but each of his disciples acted independently, and his enemies joined forces and attacked, dying the grotto’s skies red with blood!

In the end, although the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force’s youngest disciple, Empress Qing Tang, quelled this upheaval, the Grotto of Abstruse Force divided after this battle, plummeting from its former position as the most dominant action of the Wilds.

The crux of the matter was that internal conflict arose amongst the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force’s subordinates, and his disciples fought amongst themselves. It was a brutal internal conflict.

Otherwise, even without the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force, external foes likely would never have made it into the grotto.

This battle had dramatically shifted the world’s balance of power.

Before that battle, the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force stood at the pinnacle of the Wilds, and his faction, the Grotto of Abstruse Force, was the unshakable top orthodoxy of the Nine Provinces.

Yet now, its former glory had dissipated to the winds!

This was a vivid example of what could happen to them.

Rumors that the ancient Cui Longxiang had encountered disaster in the Sea of Bitterness were already circulating; people said he wasn’t coming back.

Ancient clans like the Qu, Hong, and Tantai Families were already champing at the bit, and it seemed highly likely that they’d cause trouble during the Lantern Festival.

Now, there were even traitors within the Cui Family’s ranks. As the leader of the family, how could Cui Chang’an not be alarmed?

He most certainly didn’t want the Cui Family, which had stood since antiquity, to fall under his leadership!

“It doesn’t matter why the third elder betrayed us. I absolutely cannot forgive him!” Cui Chang’an’s expression suddenly shifted.

Shortly before Cui Jingyan arrived, the third elder had visited him to discuss the Qu, Hong, and Tantai Families’ visit.

Cui Chang’an held nothing back. He told the elder why each of the three ancient clans had come.

When he mentioned that the Qu Family had come to request entrance to the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication, the third elder proclaimed the matter fishy and requested a mission. He then left to see if anything had changed in the ruins, just in case.

However, Cui Chang’an had already entrusted the key to Su Yi, so he politely refused the third elder’s suggestion, saying he’d already sent someone to investigate the ruins!

Afterward, the third elder bade farewell and left.

Looking back on it knowing that the third elder was a traitor, Cui Chang’an realized that something was strange about the third elder’s visit!

The Qu Family had only requested entrance to the ruins earlier that day. Tonight, a traitor tried to seize the opportunity to investigate the very same ruins. How could that possibly be a coincidence?

Don’t tell me that the third elder and the Qu Family have long since joined forces, and that they’re working together to enter the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication? Cui Chang’an’s expression instantly darkened.

He could no longer remain seated.

The third elder already knew that he’d sent someone else to investigate the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication.

Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that the third elder would attempt to use alternate means to enter the ruins!

But before long, Cui Chang’an calmed back down.

With Uncle Su there, there’s no need for me to worry. I’m afraid the third elder has no idea how terrifying an existence now carries the key to the ruins of Adjudication… A cold smile appeared on Cui Chang’an’s?face.

“Ol’ Tao.” Cui Chang’an silently called out.

“What are your orders, my lord?” An elderly servant appeared silently, seemingly out of nowhere, then bowed in greeting.

“Go investigate the whereabouts of the third elder’s children and close relatives, but remember: don’t alert anyone,” ordered Cui Chang’an. “I’m going to take a trip to the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication. It’d be best if you could finish your task before I return.”

“Yes, sir!” The elderly servant left to carry out his orders.

……

Beneath the night sky.

The eastern district of Ziluo City, near the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication.

Weeds flourished around the dilapidated buildings, and faint traces of black, baleful energy hung in the air.

“Fellow Daoist Qu, tonight is a rare, perfect opportunity. Before long, the subordinate Cui Chang’an dispatched will arrive at the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication,” said a graying middle-aged man with the air of an immortal.

This was none other than the third elder of the Cui Family, Cui Weizhong!

Four people stood beside him.

The leader was an old man in yellow, with graying hair and youthful features. This was none other than the Qu Family elder who’d been a guest of the Cui Family earlier that day.

His three companions, two men and one woman, suppressed their aura as thoroughly as possible, but they still gave off an unfathomable air.

The yellow-robed elder laughed. “If we succeed in tonight’s mission, we won’t forget your contributions, Brother Cui!”

Cui Weizhong’s eyes flashed, and he laughed, “I don’t covet any sort of credit. It’ll be enough so long as you don’t forget our agreement, Fellow Daoist.”

The yellow-robed elder nodded. “Rest assured. I, Qu Mingwei, will never go back on my word!”

Cui Weizhong glanced at his companions, then asked, “Brother Qu, you’ve yet to introduce our three fellow Daoists.”

The yellow-robed Qu Mingwei’s expression was rife with meaning. “It’s best if you don’t learn their identities.”

Cui Weizhong was inwardly solemn, and he nodded.

From beginning to end, the three of them stood there, completely ignoring Cui Weizhong and Qu Mingwei’s conversation.

Instead, their gazes were fixed on the ancient palace towering amidst the distant darkness.

The palace was fully ten thousand feet tall and incomparably grand, like a mountain rising out of the earth, shrouded in the inky curtain of night. It looked incomparably mysterious.

The ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication!

In ancient times, the Bureau of Adjudication was the most famous prison in all of the Netherworld. Everyone imprisoned there was a terrifying, vicious existence.

At the same time, the Bureau of Adjudication was the Infernal Palace’s execution ground. Over the years, countless criminals guilty of heinous crimes had?been judged here.

Including no shortage of Emperors!

It was no exaggeration to say that, in ancient times, the world’s criminals feared no place more than the Bureau of Adjudication.

But after countless years, the bureau and its surroundings had fallen into ruin.

“Someone’s coming,” said Qu Mingwei. “Don’t move, everyone. Let’s wait and see who it is.”

Everyone looked into the distance.

Soon, they saw a tall, upright figure amidst the darkness. He was dressed in blue, and he held his hands behind his back. He sauntered through the abandoned ruins as casually as if he were out for a stroll.

“Why is it that Su kid?” Qu Mingwei recognized Su Yi at a glance, but he was instantly stunned.

Su Yi had, earlier that day, effortlessly suppressed Tantai Liu in the Cui Family’s Northview Pavilion. He’d even endured Emperor Tantai Chi’s attack with his Spiritual Incarnation Realm cultivation.

This had left a deep impression on Qu Mingwei.

Third Elder Cui Weizhong was unwittingly stunned. “Fellow Daoist, you recognize that kid?”

Qu Mingwei exclaimed, “His name is Su Yi, and he came to Northview Pavilion today alongside Xue Huaning. Apparently, he’s a marriage prospect she’s selected for her daughter. Why don’t you know about him?”

Cui Weizhong frowned. “That girl Jingyan only returned to the family estate today. I did hear that she’d brought a man home with her. Perhaps… that’s the Su Yi you speak of, Fellow Daoist.”

Here, he paused. He couldn’t help but be confused. “Strange. Why would the family head send an outsider to the ruins of Adjudication?”

Qu Mingwei’s eyes flashed. “Perhaps that old fox Cui Chang’an realized something, but he didn’t want to alert any of your clansmen. Of course, if we really want to know the answer, we can just capture the kid and interrogate him.”

Cui Weizhong’s eyelids twitched, and he shook his head. “We absolutely cannot do that. If we do, the family head is sure to discover tonight’s operation. In that case, everything we’ve done will go to waste!”

He paused, then added, “Furthermore, the key to the ruin of the Bureau of Adjudication requires a secret activation method to work. Not even I know it, so if we hurt the boy, we won’t be able to get into the ruins even if we obtain the key.”

Qu Mingwei instantly furrowed his brow.

But it was then that the tall man in gray said suddenly, “We can just wait until the boy has undone the seal, then seize the opportunity to slip in.”

He paused, then added, “If the boy discovers us, allow me to erase a portion of his memories. That way, we’ll go undiscovered. Cui Chang’an can forget about learning what happens here tonight.”

When they heard this, the group’s spirits soared.

Meanwhile, off in the distance, Su Yi’s tall, lean figure was already approaching that vast, grand palace.