Another person nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "After all, these are two Superior Immortal Bone positions, it is not surprising that someone secretly made a move."


    "Wen Lijun, Feng Zhou, the two of you enter the Imperial Pce to inquire and see if the emperor knows some clues," they said.


    Zhou Zili spoke softly and then reminded them:


    "Act with utmost prudence. As a Court Immortal, his identity is different from before, now being part of the Immortal Alliance, his lineage deserves some respect."


    "Understood."


    The two bowed, turned around in one step, and entered the grand interior of the Imperial Pce.


    Inside the Golden Throne Hall, all the officials were present, and the sudden appearance of two figures nearly startled the flood dragon on the Coiled Dragon Pir, causing a noisy uproar.


    On the Dragon Throne, the Son of Heaven stood up abruptly with a calm expression and waved his hand:


    "Dismiss the court."


    The Secret Guard, d in battle armor of four colors, strode into the hall to clear the area.


    In a blink of an eye, the Golden Throne Hall was empty.


    The Son of Heaven slowly walked down the jade stairs, bowed, and said, "Zhao Yunan, a descendent of the Zhao Family, greets the two Superior Immortals."


    "Worthy of being a descendent of a Court Immortal, indeed possessing a certain bearing, unlike ordinary people," they remarked.


    Wen Lijun faintly praised him and then got straight to the point, "We two havee from the Tai Xu Holy Land. A wonderous phenomenon urred in your Imperial Capital the other day, how much do you know about it? Speak the truth."


    "Indeed, a major event happened the other day, but Yunan knows very little, only that after the event, my Vermilion Bird Secret Guard Governor vanished without a trace, and the leader is also missing," he exined.


    Regarding the event that urred prior, Zhao Yunan was also full of confusion.


    Seeing this, Wen Lijun and the other slightly furrowed their brows, asked a few more questions, and then turned to leave.


    The two jointly arrived at the former site of the Vermilion Bird Town Garrison Command. In the days that passed, the street was mostly cleaned up, only this area was sealed off by the Imperial Court and had remained untouched.


    After observing for a moment, both exerted their power together, drawing lumps of dried blood out of the dust to start inferring one by one.


    Soon, the inference waspleted, and disappointment covered their faces:


    "We can''t infer it."


    "Perhaps the person is already dead."


    With their divine skills, as long as they were still in this world, they would have some sensation; now feeling nothing, there was only one possibility: no trace of the body remained.


    Having no choice, the two had to return to Zhou Zili''s side.


    Seeing the look on their faces, Zhou Zili already understood and sighed lightly:


    "Let it be, I will ask heaven. Fortunately, nowadays the Court Immortal presides over the Heavenly Dao. Reminiscing about our past as fellow sect members, he might give some leeway."


    Before he finished speaking, he raised his finger, slicing open his palm, and in a blink of an eye, blood gushed out like a fountain, gradually forming a vague human figure.


    The next instant, the figure seemed to ignite into fierce mes, emitting rolling red smoke that covered the skies for thousands of miles.


    The world turned blood red as if plunging into purgatory. Wen Lijun and Feng Zhou showed shock in their expressions; this scene, even they had never seen before.


    Burning blood as a sacrifice to heaven, to seek a response, this was a divine skill unique to Pseudo-Immortals.


    Not all beings are privileged to make sacrifices to heaven.


    A few momentster, the blood color in the sky slowly dispersed, and a dark cloud appeared in the sky, with lightning flickering and the roaring of thunder shaking the void, heard across a hundred countries.


    Zhou Zili staggered, his face pale as snow, and the thunderclouds above his head began to slowly disperse.


    The two beside him dared not ask, only waiting for Zhou Zili to regain his breath.


    "It''s unclear..."


    Regaining his senses, Zhou Zili''s eyes filled with surprise. Blocking the world''s response to Heavenly Dao, even Demi Immortals of the Immortal Tribtion Realm did not possess such means, even True Immortals found it difficult.


    The person who killed Ling Qi had some wondrous treasure that shielded against heavenly secrets, or perhaps an external force had interfered.


    Zhou Zili slowly furrowed his brow, the matter was bing moreplicated.


    The one who acted was not from the Holy Lands of the Southern Region, but another party, possibly even rted to forces beyond our realm.


    This shift in the Heavenly Dao Laws might be a sign of something.


    "Heavenly Dao''s guidance is only a vague direction. The two of you follow this path slowly and conduct your search. I must return to the Holy Land for now," he instructed.


    Raising his hand to point them in a direction, Zhou Zili did not linger, stepping into the void, and in an instant, he disappeared without a trace.


    This matter is of great importance; no matter what, they had to first report it to the Immortal Alliance.


    ...


    ...


    Before he knew it, a month had passed.


    By noon, the sky had cleared. Above the river waves, the vast smoky clouds followed behind arge ship trailed by over twenty smaller boats, sailing downstream, gs fluttering on them all.


    Chu Zheng sat cross-legged on a boulder on the shore. He didn''t call out to the fleet but rather pulled out his tablet and exhausted the number of repairs for today.


    [Five Elements Shaping Pill (Fourth Order): Harnesses the Qi of the Five Elements, fortified with the materials of White Tiger ws, Azure Dragon Scales, ck Tortoise Armor, Vermilion Bird Feathers, and Qilin Blood from the Five Sacred Elements, simmered for three years into a pill that can shape the Five Elements Primordial Body. Due to the ages passed, the medicinal power has nearly depleted.


    Repairs (490/500)]


    A month had passed, and the repair of the Five Elements Shaping Pill neared its end, just two days away frompletion.


    Once he swallowed this pill, he would be one step closer to the Jade Bone Realm.


    From Great Zhou to Giant Marsh, the distance spanned over three hundred thousand miles.


    After hurrying day and night for over a month, Chu Zheng finally stepped into the territory of Giant Marsh Country.


    This ce was known as ''Giant Marsh'' because the country contained manykes and seas, mostly inds, and travel between cities relied heavily on boats.


    As a result, the power of the Royal Family of Giant Marsh Country was extremely fragmented, virtually in name only. The national situation was quite chaotic, predominantly ruled by powerful familiespeting against one another.


    Due to the deep rivers and seas, water demons often caused trouble within the territory of Giant Marsh Country.


    Many small sects flourished here, andmoners needed cultivators stationed on their boats for safe passage across rivers, as safe crossings were rare. It was amon sight to see cultivators not yet entered in the Spiritual Spring of Nourishing Power mingling withmon people.


    Upon entering Giant Marsh, Chu Zheng began to gather information, but he did not inquire directly about Song Lingqing. Instead, he asked about the prominent Song families.


    The Song Family in Giant Marsh had a branch, or rather, this branch in Giant Marsh Country represented the direct lineage.


    In terms of seniority, Song Tonghai was the second son. Following the order of elder and younger, his elder brother Song Tongxuan was considered the rightful sessor of this branch of the Song family.


    Originally, Chu Zheng nned to leverage his identity as a cultivator to gather information through local influencers, including some smaller Immortal Sects.


    However, after a discreet inquiry, he quickly abandoned this n.


    Within Giant Marsh, the strongest power was Qionglou.


    Qionglou was a foreign power, with its main lineage not residing within Giant Marsh and located very far from here, harboring cultivators in theter stages of the Divine Infant Realm.


    Even though it was just a small branch, within the myriad of little sects in Giant Marsh, it stood out, robust in power.


    Upon hearing this name for the first time, Chu Zheng felt a touch of familiarity and, after a careful thought, he realized with a start.


    This name, he had heard it from Fu Quanliang''s mouth before.


    In the past few years, among the countries under Phantom Spirit Sect, one had discovered a lower quality Spirit Mine.


    Ultimately, Qionglou exchanged a high-quality Divine Weapon to take over that country, including the lower quality Spirit Mine itself.


    Now, it seemed the country Fu Quanliang spoke about that was exchanged might just be the current Giant Marsh Country.


    Considering this, Chu Zheng dismissed the idea of using the Immortal Sect to gather intelligence.


    Since Qionglou had dealings with Phantom Spirit Sect, any unintentional leak could alert Phantom Spirit Sect, which could invite trouble and be counterproductive. It was better to remain cautious.


    Chu Zheng slowly got up, about to call to the fleet nearby when a small boat slowly approached.


    The small boat wasn''trge and could only amodate two or three people, manned by a single old man paddling.


    The old man wore grey, his hair white as frost, his back hunched, his expression unclear, resembling a piece of decaying wood about to sink into the river.


    Chu Zheng was moved and leaped onto the small boat, smiling:


    "Old man, the river winds are fierce and the waves high. Can your small boat make it across?"


    The old man sighed softly, "It can cross, no wave too big to ovee..."


    Chu Zheng settled at the bow, swaying with the waves:


    "Old man, at your age, why must you stille out to ferry people?"


    Hearing this, the old man slowly lowered the oar in his hands and murmured softly:


    "Originally, I had a nephew who ran errands, but now, that nephew has inexplicably died. I must do it myself."


    "Oh? Was it an ident while out boating?"


    Chu Zheng''s gaze sharpened slightly, "Old man, may I ask your family name?"


    "It is Geng, without honor."