"Excellent work, Cauldron Lord," Lin Yu praised, worry-free with the Cauldron Lord's help. He stored the cauldron and flew back to the hostage manor, where the Cauldron Lord finished refining Blooddrinker and Feng Yifei. Lin Yu resumed seclusion to solidify his foundation for突破 (breaking through) to Myriad Manifestations Grade Eight.
...
In the mist-shrouded Profound Heaven Immortal Gate, a deacon added special oil to soul lamps in the Longevity Hall, ensuring they didn't extinguish. Suddenly, he saw a flicker among the elders' lamps and thought one had gone out. Focusing, he paled in terror: Feng Yifei's lamp, still half-full of oil, had abruptly extinguished.
The deacon scrambled outside, and bells rang through the gate. Soon, elders gathered outside the Longevity Hall. The Grand Elder, in purple robes, glared at the deacon. "Explain—what happened?"
"Honorable Elders, I... I found Elder Feng Yifei's soul lamp extinguished and called you here," the deacon stammered. The consecutive deaths of two elders were unprecedented in centuries—understandably, the elders were enraged.
"Elder Feng went to investigate Elders Zhang and Jiang's deaths and was killed. Is someone targeting us?"
"No matter what, the Great Zhou must answer. They died in Zhou—even if not their doing, they're implicated."
"Elder Feng was Myriad Manifestations Grade Five, with Blooddrinker and the Demon Blood Pill. He could fight like Grade Eight in a pinch. Who else but hidden sects could kill him?"
The elders suspected rival hidden sects, the only ones with experts capable of defeating Feng Yifei.
"Send messengers to those sects and ask. I'll go to the Great Zhou myself. If the culprit is brave enough, let them kill me too!" the Grand Elder snarled.
"Grand Elder, the Sect Master is in seclusion to突破 (break through) to Void Formation. If you go, the gate will be leaderless. What if this is a ruse? Let me go instead," said a blue-robed swordsman with a long beard, carrying a sword on his back.
"Brother Peng, your offer is most welcome," the Grand Elder nodded.
Peng Wudi, obsessed with sword cultivation, was extremely powerful—only slightly weaker than the Grade Eight Grand Elder. Though the culprit might be above Grade Eight, Peng Wudi was a cross-realm sword cultivator, his strength truly matching Grade Eight. With secret pills to temporarily boost his cultivation, he could unleash Grade Nine power.
"I've hit a bottleneck in sword intent. This mission will let me travel and perhaps gain new insights," Peng Wudi smiled.
"Agreed. Brother Peng will investigate in Zhou. Others, visit each hidden sect and inquire. The gate is attempting a Void Formation breakthrough, and our ancestors are in deep seclusion—we must not disturb them unless facing extinction. This is our weakest hour, hence the audacity of these villains. I, Jiang Wanliu, swear: anyone who harms our disciples will pay in blood!"
"An eye for an eye! Blood for blood!" The elders' cries echoed through the sky.
...
In the Great Zhou, Lin Yu cultivated in seclusion as Su Miaozhen returned to the capital and entered the imperial study. The Zhou Emperor and chief minister gasped: "General Su, you say Elder Feng of the Profound Heaven Gate died by the National Protector's hand? What happened?"
Su Miaozhen recounted the events in Cloudreach Ridge.
"Your Majesty, blame not General Su. This may even benefit us," the chief minister soothed the enraged emperor.
"How so?"
"As General Su said, Elder Feng used treasures and pills to fight like Grade Eight but was easily slain. This proves the National Protector is truly Grade Eight or stronger! With such a powerhouse, the Han and Qi Dynasties won't dare attack, and we can face hidden gates with confidence," the minister smiled.
"True, but an Immortal Gate elder died by our protector. I fear retaliation," the emperor fretted—hidden gate reprisals could cripple the Zhou.
"General Su said the protector can erase clues. We must trust him to block time-tracing. The hidden gates won't trace this to us," the minister reasoned.
"Valid. General Su, you must leave the capital for the border. The Immortal Gate will send more investigators. Stationing you at the border keeps them from taking out their anger on you and protects the protector's secret," the emperor said. Hidden gates had treasures to extract secrets—better to keep Su Miaozhen away.