Chapter 34 The Theft

On the mountainside of Chuyun Peak, white clouds drifted thickly.

A young disciple in a moon-white robe was ascending the mountain path step by step.

As he lifted one foot to step onto a stone stair, his vision blurred, and then he stood frozen in place, unable to move, even his spiritual sense growing hazy.

Next to him, a figure flickered, and a tall young man suddenly appeared—it was Han Li.

“Tell me in detail about the sect’s Scripture Depository,” Han Li said slowly, his eyes flickering with a strange blue light as he stared into the young man’s eyes, his voice carrying an eerie tone.

“The Scripture Depository is located on Jisheng Peak and is divided into an outer and an inner hall. The outer hall is open to all disciples and elders, while the inner hall is only accessible to inner disciples and elders…” The white-robed disciple answered dully, his eyes unfocused, like a wooden puppet.

Listening to the disciple’s words, Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but a hint of thoughtfulness flickered deep in his eyes.

As a critical location of utmost importance, the Cold Flame Sect naturally managed the Scripture Depository with great strictness.

On ordinary days, when sect disciples and elders exchanged for scriptures, they not only had to pay a large number of spirit stones but also had to deduct sect contribution points.

Sect contribution points measured the degree of contribution made by disciples and elders to the sect, generally obtained by completing tasks issued by the sect. The more arduous the task, the higher the contribution points earned. Without sufficient time to accumulate, it was simply impossible to have enough contribution points to exchange for high-level techniques and secret arts.

Thus, inevitably, some would take unconventional paths and seek other means.

There had been times when many rogue cultivators with ill intentions, under the guise of joining the Cold Flame Sect as external elders, secretly sneaked into the Scripture Depository to steal scriptures, but without exception, they were all discovered, and their fates were naturally miserable.

The reason was simple: the security measures of the Scripture Depository were too tight, leaving these people no opportunity.

According to the white-robed disciple, a Deity Transformation elder was always stationed inside the hall, and patrols were conducted constantly, day and night, summer and winter, without interruption. In addition, there were countless powerful restrictions, making it nearly impossible for ordinary cultivators to approach.

Han Li pondered on the spot for a moment, then withdrew his finger from the white-robed disciple’s brow. His figure vanished from the spot like a ghost in an instant.

The white-robed disciple, who had been lifting his foot for a long time, finally stepped down.

He staggered, nearly falling.

After steadying himself, he rubbed his slightly numb calf, looked around blankly, shook his head in bewilderment, and continued up the mountain.

About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense later.

Han Li’s figure appeared on Jisheng Peak. He stood under a tall, verdant ancient cypress tree, gazing into the distance at a two-story octagonal pavilion with a pointed roof.

The pavilion was about nine zhang high, with eight corners and eight sides, but only one large door opened to the south.

The walls and roof of the pavilion were engraved with various complex runes for lightning protection and fire resistance.

Two teams of patrolling cultivators circled on both sides of the pavilion, crossing back and forth, alternating their rounds.

After watching for a long time, Han Li’s face showed a thoughtful expression, then his figure blurred and vanished from the spot.

That night.

Deep within the Cold Flame Sect, in a valley, there stood a stretch of green stone halls. Around them, teams of patrolling disciples passed by from time to time, as many as seven or eight teams, all led by cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, clearly indicating the importance of the place.

A patrol team flew silently past the valley entrance. The leader, a burly man in a blue robe, seemed a bit drowsy and yawned silently.

At that moment, from several dozen zhang away, another patrol team flew over, heading off in a different direction to patrol.

Seeing this, the blue-robed man couldn’t help but curl his lips.

Although the Heavenly Talisman Hall was an important site of the Cold Flame Sect, arranging so many night patrol disciples was overly cautious.

Not only was the location hidden, but the sect’s protective grand formation also enveloped the entire mountain gate. How could anyone possibly sneak in here?

He naturally dared not say these words aloud; instead, he transmitted an order to his disciples to remain vigilant and was about to fly into the valley.

Just then, from a hall not far from the blue-robed man, there was a sudden thunderous explosion, followed by a burst of purple electric light, which then immediately returned to calm.

The blue-robed man was startled, as if he hadn’t reacted.

“Who goes there!”

“Not good! Someone has infiltrated the Heavenly Talisman Hall!”

The night-patrol disciples behind the big man cried out in alarm.

The blue-robed man reacted as well, diving down in shock and instantly arriving outside the great hall.

"Who dares to trespass in the Talisman Hall? Surrender at once!" the man bellowed, a magic artifact clutched in his hand. With a wave, the patrolling disciples behind him immediately spread out and surrounded the hall.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Other night-patrol disciples also flew over instantly. Seven or eight teams, over a hundred people, surrounded the hall so tightly that not even a fly could escape.

The interior of the hall was pitch black, with no movement at all.

All the halls here were covered by restrictions, preventing divine sense from probing inside.

Several team leaders exchanged glances, uncertain whether to charge in.

As night-patrol disciples, they had no authority to set foot here.

"What happened?" A streak of white light shot over, landing outside the hall, revealing the figure of a white-haired elder.

"Master Fan, you're here! Someone just broke into the Talisman Hall! We were about to enter and search, but according to the rules, we're not qualified to go in," a team leader quickly said as he approached the elder.

"What! A bunch of fools! At a time like this, why stick to the rules? What are you standing around for? Get in there!" The white-haired elder flew into a rage, shouting as he charged into the hall.

Seeing this, most of the team leaders followed immediately, though two remained outside.

As he rushed to the entrance, the white-haired elder froze.

The restrictions on the main gate were actually intact.

The elder found it strange but had no time to think. He took out a token-like object, and a beam of white light flew from it, striking the door.

The door flickered with light and creaked open.

Several people rushed into the hall, and the white-haired elder waved his hand, casting a spell.

White light burst forth from all corners of the hall, illuminating it brightly.

The crowd was stunned. The hall was simply furnished, with only a dozen or so white jade shelves, visible at a glance.

There was no one inside! On the floor were several scorched marks.

"No one? Could he have already escaped?" The team leaders looked at each other in bewilderment.

The blue-robed man was also in the hall, his eyes wide with disbelief.

When the incident occurred, he had been right next to the hall, his eyes never leaving it for an instant. How had the person left?

"Ah! Heaven-Shadow Stone! Moon-Gazing Grass!" The white-haired elder rushed to a white jade shelf, his face pale and lips trembling.

Each of these white jade shelves was filled with materials, all surrounded by restrictions. However, the restrictions on two jade shelves had been broken, and many materials were missing.

"Flowing Ripple Wood! Iron Heart Feather!" The elder ran to another shelf, beating his chest and stamping his feet in extreme anguish.

The several Nascent Soul team leaders also looked grim.

"Chase him! Mobilize all night-patrol disciples! We must catch that thief!" The white-haired elder stamped his feet and roared in fury.

...

The theft of a large quantity of precious talisman materials from the Talisman Hall caused an uproar in the Cold Flame Sect. Countless night-patrol disciples were dispatched to search for the thief.

The search operation dragged on from midnight until dawn. Later, many outer disciples were also awakened and joined the pursuit.

In the end, almost the entire Spirit Flame Mountain Range was turned over, but not a trace of the thief was found.

The matter soon reached the sect's higher-ups. A late-stage Void Refinement elder skilled in tracking came personally to the Talisman Hall. After investigating, he judged that the thief had escaped using a lightning teleportation array, leaving no trace, and even he could not track them.

Seeing that even a late-stage Void Refinement elder could not find the thief, and since it was impossible to disturb the Nascent Soul-level supreme elders over such a trivial matter, Master Fan of the Talisman Hall reluctantly called off the search.

Although the open search ended, the sect naturally would not simply let the matter drop.

The protective grand formation around the Spirit Flame Mountain Range showed no signs of intrusion, so the culprit was still within the range. The Cold Flame Sect secretly sent experts to pursue them.

After this incident, the defenses within the Cold Flame Sect became several times stricter than usual.