Chapter 1804: Tracing the Investigation

His body stiffened, and Mo Ling's ancient sage's massive spirit soul hastily leaped into the air, looking around. He saw only quiet courtyards, with no sign of any formation having been triggered.

It was as if no one had ever been there.

"Escaped?"

His pupils contracted, and Mo Ling's ancient sage's face darkened like ice.

He was the strongest among spirit soul masters, with unfathomable cultivation. He had thought the other was just showing off in front of an expert and could be easily caught. He never expected that even with his spirit soul leaving his body, the other would escape right under his nose.

It was like a slap in the face!

"He definitely hasn't escaped..."

His eyes flashed like lightning as he glanced around. With a slight movement of his spirit soul, the formations around the Spirit Imperial Palace were instantly activated.

Under his soul force pressure just now, the other might have torn through space to escape, but he surely couldn't have fled this palace.

Moreover, based on his understanding of spirit souls, the other's true body must be nearby; otherwise, traces would have been revealed long ago.

Swish!

The spirit soul returned to his physical body, and his tightly shut eyes slowly opened.

"To be able to achieve no trace of yin-cold aura and escape smoothly under my pressure—who exactly is this person?"

He knew all the surviving spirit soul masters. Even an ancient sage level couldn't escape from him like that. Who was this suddenly appearing fellow?

And where did he come from?

"Someone!"

After pondering for a moment and coming up with nothing, he turned and called out.

"Ancient Sage Mo Ling!"

A middle-aged man in black armor emerged from the shadows.

Mo Ling's ancient sage said, "In the past few days, have any unidentified persons entered the palace?"

The middle-aged man replied, "Reporting to the ancient sage, since His Majesty the Spirit Emperor was injured, the palace has been sealed. In the past month, only appraisers have been allowed in, a total of two hundred and thirty-two, and none of them have left!"

"Appraisers?"

Mo Ling's ancient sage snorted, "It seems it's among them... Bring me all their files!"

"Yes!"

The middle-aged man nodded and was about to leave when he heard the ancient sage's voice continue, "Wait, I'll go with you! I want to conduct the interrogation personally!"

...

"That was close!"

With a light leap, his soul entered his body through his brow. Zhang Xuan opened his eyes and let out a breath.

He hadn't expected to encounter an ancient sage of spirit souls, and one so sensitive that he immediately detected his traces.

Fortunately, he knew the flaw in the other's attack; otherwise, if he had been caught, he wouldn't even know how he died.

No wonder Chen Yong the Emperor and Liu Yang had said the place was fraught with danger. It seemed he had still underestimated the people of this world.

Although the spirit soul was formless and intangible, an excellent method for reconnaissance and escape, it was not the most secure or safe method.

"Having been detected, the other party will likely suspect the appraisers. Should I leave now?"

He frowned.

With his spirit soul discovered, this ancient sage would surely suspect the many appraisers. It wouldn't be long before he came to investigate.

If he wanted to escape, he had to do it quickly.

Otherwise, if they really came looking, it would be hard to avoid being found out.

"Once I leave, it will be nearly impossible to get back in..."

Having finally managed to disguise myself as an appraiser and sneak in here, I would be truly unwilling to leave directly without finding the location of the dragon blood.

Moreover, with this alert raised, it would likely be very difficult to get in again next time.

"All appraisers, come out and assemble!"

Just as I was pondering whether to flee, I heard a loud shout from outside, followed by countless footsteps, as if there were guards outside every room.

"Too late..."

I shook my head and stood up.

It seemed this ancient sage reacted faster than I had anticipated, instantly detecting the problem.

But that was fine; his witch soul was completely different from ordinary witch soul masters, perfectly integrated with his physical body. Coupled with his clean background and flawless disguise, even if they tried to investigate, they might not find anything.

Stepping out of the room, I saw the corridor filled with guards. Seeing me emerge, they immediately said, "This way, please!"

Following behind, I soon arrived at a large hall, surrounded by guards. The middle-aged guard from before and that Moling Ancient Sage were both standing inside.

Zhang Xuan, unflustered, followed behind the other appraisers and slowly walked in.

As soon as he entered, he felt the eyes of Moling Ancient Sage focus on him, as if trying to probe his true identity. But after a while, finding nothing, the sage simply shook his head.

Within less than five minutes, over two hundred appraisers had gathered together.

The middle-aged guard handed over the roster.

Moling Ancient Sage swept his divine sense over it, quickly reading through the contents.

"We have thoroughly investigated each of these appraisers. They are all locally reputable, of clean background, with traceable records, and none have any connection to Yong Emperor! Based on our previous experience, not one is a witch soul master..."

The middle-aged guard lowered his voice.

"No witch soul master? Then could that person just now have appeared out of thin air?"

Moling Ancient Sage sneered.

He knew very well the defenses of the Spirit Emperor Palace; even an ancient sage could not infiltrate without his knowledge.

Over the past month, only these appraisers had arrived; apart from them, no one else could have entered.

In other words, the one who fled just now was most likely among this group.

"This... it's possible someone has hidden their identity!"

The middle-aged guard nodded.

The two of them turned their gaze sharply toward the assembled appraisers.

Everyone looked bewildered, not knowing why they had been summoned so urgently.

Moling Ancient Sage stirred his spirit, and a powerful soul force spread out, enveloping all two hundred people.

Zhang Xuan immediately felt as if his body were bound by an invisible rope. His internal true energy jumped, ready to resist, but he quickly suppressed it.

Zizi zi!

Since he did not resist, the other's witch soul threads entered his body along the acupoints, seemingly making contact with his soul.

Knowing that this method of soul probing could examine the essence of each person's soul, Zhang Xuan still did not resist.

He had comprehended the True Solution of the Soul, and combined with his cultivation of the Heavenly Dao technique, his witch soul could change its aura at will. The soul fluctuations left behind when he fled earlier had already been concealed upon his return. No matter how the other probed, he could not find any trace.

Sure enough, the witch soul threads circled inside his body and slowly returned.

"Moling Ancient Sage..."

The middle-aged guard looked over.

The old man shook his head, his brows furrowed into a knot, as if he too could hardly believe it.

He had thought that with soul probing, he could easily find the witch soul master, but the soul fluctuations of these people all did not match.

Pausing, Moling Ancient Sage suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "How many appraisers came today?"

Zhang Xuan's heart gave a "thump!"