Hundreds of miles west of Penglai Mountain, there is a town named Yanshui, which extends in all directions by water and land in the city, making Yanshui City a prosperous commercial and transportation town within a radius of hundreds of miles.

A hundred miles north of Yanshui City, there is a continuous mountain range, and there are villages that have lived in the mountains for generations, making a living from hunting and farming.

A few days ago, the fur traders who had been traveling between the village and Yanshui City could not wait for the farmers to come and deliver the goods, so they went to the villages in the mountains in groups to check on the situation. As a result, it didn't matter, almost even the three souls and seven spirits were scared away, and even two people were scared unconscious on the spot.

The whole village was gathered in one place, and everyone seemed to have been killed unknowingly in their sleep, so the death was not miserable, and it could even be said that it was somewhat peaceful. It's just that because there are so many people in the land, nearly a hundred corpses are piled up alive into a small mountain, which is really terrifying in the eyes of people who have never seen such a situation.

The matter quickly spread to Yanshui City, and the officials in charge of the city guessed that this matter was beyond the reach of ordinary people, so they sent people to ask for help from the nearest Xianfu Taixuguan. The too vain Yuyuan Zhenren repaired a letter overnight to his friend, the Shangyao Fu Qing Zhenren, who immediately sent several disciples to investigate the situation after receiving the letter.

The disciple sent to investigate made his way into the depths of the mountain, found a strange altar in the valley, and found a broken Flying Star Sword in the woods near the altar.

Chu Zhaoran and two other disciples went down the mountain earlier to deal with affairs, and according to the time, they just arrived near Yanshui City today. Thinking that he happened to hear about such a terrible incident, he went to investigate, but he didn't know what happened in this deep mountain, and the three of them disappeared together.

Several disciples realized the seriousness of the matter, and searched the vicinity for another day, but finally did not find the whereabouts of Chu Zhaoran and the other two disciples, and rushed back to the mountain with the broken sword.

When the Qing Zhenren learned that something had happened to his beloved disciple, and saw that the Flying Star Sword given by him in the past had now been broken, he was in a hurry for a while, and he vomited a mouthful of blood on the spot, and staggered backwards and shook a few steps before he could hold on.

The disciples had never seen such a situation before, and they were all frightened and panicked, and hurriedly passed down to invite the four elders who were invigilating the examination. When a few elders arrived, Fu Qingzhen was leaning on the Taishi's chair, although it had eased a lot, but his face was still terrifyingly pale.

Fu Qingzhen cherishes Chu Zhaoran's disciple like his life, which is well known in the sect. On weekdays, Chu Zhaoran went down the mountain to carry out tasks, and when he returned, even if he only suffered some skin injuries, Fu Qing Zhenren would tell Fanxiang Zhenren to let her contribute the most valuable medicine.

So much so that every time Chu Zhaoran went back to the mountain to see his master, he had to wrap or hide the injuries on his body first, otherwise he would sooner or later have no face to face the Fanxiang Zhenren who had lost countless precious medicinal materials because of his slightest injury.

But this time it's different.

Everyone knew what the sword meant as a magic weapon to a cultivator, let alone a divine weapon like the Flying Star Sword. The relationship between the sword and its master has always been "the sword is in the person" and "the sword is not abandoned", and breaking the sword means "abandoning the way" or "dying" to a certain extent.

The reason why the mountain villa where the Yun family lives is called "Burial Sword" is because there are countless cultivators who have been defeated by others after participating in the sword test conference, and seeing that there are more than 10 million people in this world who are more talented than themselves, they have buried or abandoned the sword in shame, and since then they have never mentioned the matter of cultivation and turned to other ways.

"Senior brother, don't be too anxious, maybe things are not as serious as imagined......" Yuan Yang Zhenren wiped the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, trying to alleviate the dull and suffocating atmosphere in the main hall.

A real person glanced at him and said coldly: "Although the junior brother has good intentions, he must also recognize the reality." The Flying Star Sword is not an extraordinary product, and it is almost impossible to break it, not to mention that Chu Zhaoran is not an ordinary disciple, which shows that this time he is probably a powerful opponent that even you and I have never fought against, how can he use a sentence of 'not so serious' to perfunctory? ”

"Oh, senior brother, you know that I'm in-" Hearing that a real person said this, Yuan Yang Zhenren's sweat became more serious, and he hurriedly explained, but was quietly stopped by Fan Xiang Zhenren on the side.

"Did the disciples who went to investigate bring back any useful information?" She interrupted Yuan Yang's words and asked.

Fu Qingzhen shook his head, and his voice was still a little trembling when he spoke, and he didn't have the usual calm and calm: "I am about to send a disciple to investigate again." If you have any ideas or countermeasures for this, you may wish to put them forward and we will discuss them together. ”

A real person stroked his long silver beard and said, "Now it seems that this matter is more serious than imagined." I am afraid that it will not be enough to send disciples to investigate, so it is better for me to go there in person. ”

Everyone agreed when they heard this, but the real people were silent for a long time, as if they were having scruples. The rest of the people looked at each other, not knowing why.

After a while, Fu Halal slowly spoke: "What the junior brother said is reasonable. It's just that the deadline for the sword test conference is approaching, and the martial arts can't be delayed. And if the suspension of the martial arts is announced at this time, it will definitely cause a lot of disciples to speculate wildly, and if the truth is known, it will inevitably cause panic in the sect. This matter has not yet been conclusive, and if we and other elders go to investigate with great fanfare, and after being known by other sects, I am afraid that it will cause unnecessary trouble. ”

Hearing this, the elders had different faces, and Wufang Zhenren frowned, and said, "Then what does Senior Brother think it should be?" ”

Fu Qingzhen glanced at him, and said: "Now that the situation is unknown, it is not appropriate to make it public and spread it publicly." And in order to avoid affecting the normal progress of the martial arts, it is advisable for one of us to lead the disciples down the mountain to investigate, and we should keep a low profile to avoid being known by our disciples and other sects. ”

With that, he glanced around the hall, as if to ask if anyone had any objections to the decision. The rest of the elders looked at each other and remained silent.

"In that case, let me investigate." Wufang Zhenren opened his mouth coldly, and the sound echoed in the main hall, like the clanging sound of jade colliding.

"The whereabouts of the real person in charge are unknown now, and the senior brother, as the acting head of the sect, should stay in the sect to fulfill the responsibility of the head of the sect, and if he suddenly goes down the mountain as the head of the faction, it may cause people to talk." He looked at the Fuqing Zhenren, "If Senior Brother can trust me, I will go on my behalf." ”

As soon as these words came out, the hall was silent for a long time.

Yuan Yang Zhenren's sweat was even more serious, and Fan Xiang Zhenren took a handkerchief from the sleeve of his robe and handed it to him, who cast a grateful glance at her. Youdao Zhenren pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"If it is arranged according to what Senior Brother said, Senior Brother Wufang's suggestion is indeed more appropriate." He said, "And there is no way for the junior disciple to cultivate profoundly, and the sword is outstanding, and it is even more reassuring for him to go to investigate it personally." With that, he looked at the other two, who nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, the Qingzhen person didn't want to say anything more, so he had to agree: "In this way, I will bother my junior brother to go down the mountain." ”

Wufang Zhenren glanced at him, nodded, and said, "For the sake of convenience, please allow me to take the broken sword of the Flying Star Sword with me." ”

The real person was stunned, and then said, "That's nature." With that, with a wave of dust, the broken sword of the Flying Star Sword appeared in front of the real person in Wufang.

Wufang Zhenren took the broken sword, and saluted respectfully to the Fuqing Zhenren, and left the hall with his robe rolled up.

Yuan Yang Zhenren looked at the situation in front of him, quietly approached the ear of Fan Xiang Zhenren beside him, and said in a low voice: "Why do I seem to smell gunpowder?" But he was glared at by the latter, so he had to shut up obediently and say no more.

The real person watched from afar as the back of the real person disappeared, and a complex emotion surged through his eyes.