Chapter 567: What Are Their Intentions?

The outer areas of this imperial palace were public, open for tours. But the very core remained a forbidden zone, closed off to visitors.

HUM!

As Ye Xuan approached the core area, he suddenly felt the Sword of Domination on his back seem to tremble. At the same time, a strange sensation flickered through his mind.

His Sword of Domination also began to grow faintly hot.

’Could there be something strange in this core area?’

Ye Xuan frowned and looked toward the core area. Martial Artists were standing guard, clearly prohibiting visitors. But while his body couldn’t enter, his Soul Sense could. Ye Xuan immediately deployed his Soul Sense, extending it toward the core area.

His Soul Sense traveled inward until it suddenly froze, as if it had hit an invisible wall, unable to advance another inch.

He was startled, his pupils constricting. To be able to block his Soul Sense probe... there was actually a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner deep within the imperial palace.

"Eh?"

In the core area of the imperial palace, a large group of Martial Artists with extraordinary auras were arranging something in a simple, ancient hall. The auras of these people were profound, each a world unto themselves. They were all powerful experts at the Tier Seven Martial King level.

In the center of the hall, an old man sat on an ornate chair. He wore a red robe and held a long Skull Staff. He suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise, his brows furrowing slightly as he glanced in Ye Xuan’s direction.

Outside the hall, the invisible wall that had blocked Ye Xuan rippled. A surging wave of Soul Power instantly shot out, chasing after Ye Xuan’s Soul Sense.

Ye Xuan’s brow furrowed. The other party had clearly discovered his presence and wanted to uncover his identity.

"Hmph."

Ye Xuan let out a soft, cold snort. The Soul Seal in his mind immediately flared with brilliant light. Far away, his wisp of Soul Sense began to spin rapidly, forming an invisible vortex that instantly sucked in the pursuing Soul Sense. At the same time, the Soul Sense vortex exploded with a BANG, turning to ash and vanishing without a trace.

Immediately after, Ye Xuan secretly performed a Hand Skill, quickly erasing all traces left by his Soul Sense. He then calmly blended back into the crowd of tourists, admiring the surroundings without a hint of alarm.

When the old man’s first wisp of Soul Sense was sucked into the vortex and annihilated, the look of shock and suspicion in his eyes deepened. He shot to his feet, a faint light flashing on the Skull Staff in his hand as an even more powerful Soul Sense shot out.

But Ye Xuan had already completely retracted his Soul Sense. No matter how the old man searched, he couldn’t find a single trace. Having lost his target, he could only send his Soul Sense rushing out in the original direction, sweeping over the Martial Artists touring the palace and meticulously inspecting each and every one of them.

Ye Xuan sensed the terrifying Soul Sense sweeping back and forth over the crowd. He completely suppressed the Soul Power within his body, acting like a genuine tourist as he curiously sized up the surrounding palaces.

The terrifying Soul Sense swept over him twice but found nothing special. It soon retracted and swept over other tourists.

After sweeping over the area several times without any results, the Soul Sense finally returned empty-handed.

’How is this possible.’

In the core area, the old man holding the Skull Staff had a look of shock on his face, his brows tightly knitted.

"Ancestor, what is it?"

Among the many Martial Artists, a middle-aged man in a green martial robe with an extremely imposing face looked gravely at Tianyi, a trace of doubt on his face. This man was precisely the Profound Mystery Sect’s Sect Master, Tang Zhao.

Everyone in the hall stopped what they were doing and looked at the old man of extraordinary status.

This person was named Tianyi, an ancestor of the Profound Mystery Sect. His power reached the heavens. Back when Tang Zhao was just a disciple of the Profound Mystery Sect, he was already a Supreme Elder of the sect.

His achievements in Soul Refining were astonishing. He focused on cultivating the art of Soul Refining in seclusion and rarely participated in sect affairs, so not many people knew of him. He had already retired decades ago.

But in terms of status, he stood even higher than Tang Zhao. He was one of the hidden cornerstones of the Profound Mystery Sect.

Master Tianyi was a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner who wouldn’t even frown if Mount Tai collapsed before him. Yet he had just lost his composure, crying out in alarm and jumping to his feet, shocking everyone present.

Master Tianyi frowned, settled back into his chair, and asked, "Are there any other Seventh Grade Soul Refiners from the major sects in this Ancient Yang City?"

Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment before replying, "Besides you, Ancestor, I’m afraid there are no others. There are a few Sixth Grade Soul Refiners among the major sects. Dong Boson of Gale Light Academy seems to be a Peak of Sixth Grade Soul Refiner. I wonder why Ancestor asks this."

Tianyi pointed in Ye Xuan’s direction. "Just now, someone from that direction probed with their Soul Sense, and I caught it. As I was tracking the source, this person actually formed their Soul Sense into a spiritual storm and shredded mine within it. By the time I came to my senses and tried to resume the chase, all traces left by their Soul Sense had been wiped clean. I lost them."

"What?"

At this, everyone was greatly alarmed. They were all dumbfounded and filled with disbelief.

Tang Zhao said, "Ancestor, could you be mistaken?"

As a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner, Tianyi would never make a mistake about such a thing. But what Tianyi Ease Ancestor said was so incredible that he couldn’t help but ask.

As for the others, although they were also confused, they could only listen obediently, as their status was not high enough.

Tianyi said in a deep voice, "Tang Zhao, what do you think?"

Tang Zhao shook his head, saying in shock, "What Ancestor says is surely not false. It’s just that the idea of a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner spying on us from outside, one who could even evade Ancestor’s tracking... we find it truly hard to believe. We cannot imagine their origin."

Tianyi’s face was grim, his brows slightly furrowed. "This person might not necessarily be a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner. I observed their Soul Sense; it was somewhat weak. It’s possible they are a Peak of Sixth Grade Soul Refiner. But how did this person evade my tracking?"

Tianyi thought it over and over but couldn’t figure out the reason.

Tang Zhao’s eyes narrowed. He exclaimed, "Could it be that someone from Gale Light Academy has discovered our purpose?"

What they were doing here was highly secretive, with the goal of not being detected by anyone. If Gale Light Academy discovered them, it would be troublesome.

Master Tianyi shook his head and said confidently, "Discovered? Not necessarily. With me here, who could possibly see through the situation? However, we must speed up our operation. If we arouse the suspicion of other powers, it would indeed be a bit troublesome."

"As for Gale Light Academy, the time for the peace talks is drawing near. Tang Zhao, it’s time for you to make a public appearance. It will serve as a good distraction."

"Yes," Tang Zhao and the others said respectfully.

Soon, the many experts from the Profound Mystery Sect continued their arrangements in the hall as instructed by the old man.

Outside the imperial palace, Ye Xuan followed the crowd out, his heart still pounding with lingering fear.

’To think there’s a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner inside the ruins of the Ancient Yang Empire’s imperial palace. What on earth are these experts from the Profound Mystery Sect doing here?’

Ye Xuan’s eyes flickered, inwardly shocked. That’s right—he had already recognized that Elder Tianyi in the palace was from the Profound Mystery Sect.

What Elder Tianyi didn’t know was that Ye Xuan had once been implanted with a Nether Heart Seed. And only a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner could brand a Nether Heart Seed. Thus, Ye Xuan had long ago deduced that the Profound Mystery Sect had a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner.

Furthermore, the strength of that invisible Soul Sense wall was very similar to the aura of the expert who had branded him with the Nether Heart Seed. This allowed him to instantly guess that this person was precisely the Profound Mystery Sect’s Seventh Grade Soul Refiner.

Ye Xuan’s eyes gleamed. ’In that case, the experts from the Profound Mystery Sect arrived long ago. They just haven’t made their presence public. They’ve been in Ancient Yang City all this time, carrying out some kind of operation.’

At this thought, a faint sense of worry rose in Ye Xuan’s heart.

Whatever the people from the Profound Mystery Sect were doing here, there was no doubt about their objective—it was definitely aimed at Gale Light Academy.

Ye Xuan had a vague feeling that if they succeeded, Gale Light Academy would surely be in grave danger during the peace talks seven days from now.

’I have to find out what on earth they are doing.’

Ye Xuan’s eyes flickered, but he was also well aware that with his current strength, barging in would undoubtedly lead to a perilous situation. He knew better than anyone how powerful a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner was.

"And then there’s my Sword of Domination." Ye Xuan drew the black heavy sword from his back. The broken, decayed greatsword had returned to its calm state, but Ye Xuan couldn’t forget that when he entered the palace’s core area earlier, the Sword of Domination had shown a strange reaction, even growing hot.

’Could it be that my Sword of Domination can react to a Seventh Grade Soul Sense? Or is there some other reason?’

Ye Xuan guessed silently.

He walked and pondered how he could enter the core area to investigate.

Going himself was clearly out of the question. Informing Vice Director Ge and the others would be too risky; it could alert the enemy and even put Vice Director Ge and his team in danger.

If only he had some kind of doppelgänger technique to send a clone, that would be for the best.

In his previous life, Ye Xuan had cultivated a doppelgänger technique. It allowed him to use his own flesh, blood, and Profound Energy to create a simple mirror image clone. This clone possessed a portion of his combat power and could be conveniently dispatched to scout dangerous places.

However, this doppelgänger technique could only be cultivated and used after reaching the Tier Seven Martial King Realm. Besides, even if he could use it now, the clone’s strength would be nowhere near enough to break through the barrier set up by a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner.

The Soul Sense of a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner was so strong that even an ordinary Tier Seven Martial King couldn’t penetrate it, let alone a mere clone.

’Soul Sense...’

As he walked, Ye Xuan suddenly seemed to think of something. He stopped in his tracks as a flash of inspiration struck him.

’That’s it!’ His eyes instantly lit up. ’I may not have a doppelgänger... but I have this!’

Right then, Ye Xuan didn’t return to Gale Light Academy’s residence. Instead, he immediately found an inn near the imperial palace and paid a hefty sum to stay there.

In the room, Ye Xuan sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes tightly closed.

HUM!

With a thought, a black figure instantly materialized above his head. It resembled a black War God, radiating a profound and heavy pressure.

It was Ye Xuan’s Devouring Martial Soul.