Uncle Mo would certainly hold a grudge... Mo Hua sprawled on the desk, his mind wandering in chaos before slowly untangling his thoughts... Within the Qianxue state boundary, there must be a major conspiracy. At Uncle's place, there would surely be great peril. But whether a conspiracy or peril, they were not of much concern to him at the moment. His current task was to figure out a way to preserve his life and to develop steadily. In addition to enhancing his cultivation and Divine Sense, he needed to learn as many things as possible. Formation, spells, and other Tao Cultivation knowledge were all necessary to learn more about. To ensure that he could graduate smoothly from the Taixu Gate and form his Core with peace and stability... He also needed to seek out some intelligence to prevent problems before they occurred. Only then, if dangers arose in the future, would he be able to foresee them and be prepared. Mo Hua nodded, thus he devoted himself to his studies with even greater diligence... ... In the Qianxue state boundary, at the Taoist Court. Gu Changhuai, after finishing the Supervisor's duties, returned to the Taoist Court, his appearance travel-worn, yet his handsome face still revealed a clear, cold detachment. It was arduous work to pursue Sin Cultivators outside, enduring the elements and roughing it. Back at the Taoist Court, there were still tedious procedures to handle. He felt somewhat impatient, but still suppressed his irritation and slowly reviewed the documents of his subordinates. As he was perusing the files, an idea suddenly struck him, and he asked the Enforcement Leader beside him, "How is that robbery and murder case coming along?" "Are you referring to..." The Enforcement Leader was somewhat nervous. With so many cases in the Taoist Court, he wasn't sure which one Gu Changhuai meant, and he feared not being able to respond, making him quite intimidated. Gu Changhuai frowned, "Hidden elder-second." "Yes." The Enforcement Leader remembered, flipping the files hurriedly before replying, "Reporting to the Supervisor, it's about to be closed..." "Closed?" Gu Changhuai's gaze narrowed slightly. The Enforcement Leader swallowed, unable to fathom Supervisor Gu's thoughts, "Supervisor, yes, it's about to be closed..." "Was Hidden elder-second captured?" "He has been thrown into the Taoist Prison and punished according to his crimes..." "How was he captured?" The Enforcement Leader immediately flipped through the files again before answering: "It is said... on Canglang Mountain, following the trail, they found Hidden elder-second, broke through his concealment, and disciples from Taixu Gate, Tai'a Sect, and the Hundred Flower Valley worked together to capture him and delivered him to the Taoist Court..." "Are you sure it's Hidden elder-second?" "After verifying his bloodline, Spiritual Root, Cultivation Technique, and the Spiritual Power he practiced, there's no mistake; it's indeed Hidden elder-second..." Gu Changhuai was perplexed, "Were there no other Cultivators who helped?" "There's no mention in the files; there shouldn't have been any..." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞 Gu Changhuai's gaze became sharp as his thoughts churned. It didn't make sense... The sequence of events in the files was accurate, but not the rationale behind them. How were the tracks found, the concealment broken, and the cooperation achieved in capturing someone? Capturing a Sin Cultivator skilled in stealth and assassination was a complicated matter; being the Supervisor of the Taoist Court, how could he not understand that? A few inexperienced Sect Disciples, in just a day or two, had managed to nab Hidden elder-second, which seemed rather suspicious however one looked at it... "Take me to see Hidden elder-second," Gu Changhuai said. "Yes," the Enforcement Leader nodded. Following the Enforcement Leader, they descended into the underground Taoist Prison where Gu Changhuai saw Hidden elder-second. Hidden elder-second was locked in a Spirit Banning cell, secured by Second Grade chains. He had been tortured, with his limbs disabled and his teeth broken, looking miserable. Gu Changhuai frowned, "Are our Taoist Court's penal methods so severe?" The Enforcement Leader forced a smile, "No... he was almost in this state upon arrival..." "His limbs were broken, tendons in his hands severed, all of his teeth shattered, and his knees... It's unknown what sort of evil thing he knelt on, they're utterly ruined..." Gu Changhuai paused before asking, "Who did this?" "Those Sect Disciples, I guess..." Gu Changhuai's brow furrowed deeply. The Enforcement Leader said, "Supervisor, is this... not against the rules?" Gu Changhuai snorted coldly, "What's against the rules about that? He's a Sin Cultivator. If you're not cruel to them, they'll be cruel to you. It's just that..." He glanced at Hidden elder-second with a twitch of his eyelid, "This technique is too practiced..." Nowadays, are Sect Disciples so ruthless...? "Were those Disciples injured?" Gu Changhuai asked again. "When they delivered this Hidden elder-second, I saw them; they all looked quite energetic, I didn't see any injuries..." "Hmm." Gu Changhuai nodded and turned to leave. But just before he left, a glance at the corner of his eye caught the scorch marks on Hidden elder-second's face; his gaze sharpened. "Did you use fire torture?" "No," The Enforcement Leader muttered, "We only used Thousand Jun Spirit Wood to beat him..." Gu Changhuai, looking at the burn mark on Hidden elder-second's face, said, "This is... a Five Element Fire Series Spell..." It didn't look like a sword, not like a blade, nor had the pinpoint burn marks of being seared by fire... It resembled the scorching marks of an exploding Fireball, that would mean... "Fireball Technique?" Gu Changhuai mumbled to himself. The Fireball Technique was nothing special, an entry-level spell. In the Cultivation World, any Cultivator with a Fire-series Spiritual Root knew how to perform the Fireball Technique. Anyone could...? Gu Changhuai paused, his gaze suddenly intense. A certain incident flashed in his mind. He remembered the food place outside Qing City over half a year ago, where most of the human traffickers who had abducted Yu Er had died from the Fireball Technique. Gu Changhuai pondered swiftly in his heart... They were five in total on this mission. Ouyang Feng practiced the Ouyang Family's Swordsmanship, Shangguan Xu also used a sword, while Hua Qianqian cultivated the Hundred Flower Valley's White Flower Spiritual Formation.