However, one couldn't rely on guesses and judgment to determine something. There could be other reasons for why the branch sect didn't come to welcome them.
As for what the reason was, it could be known easily. They just had to make a trip to the branch sect.
Purple Mystic Fairy lifted her head and looked at the capital in the sky.
Although the branch sect didn't appear and couldn't guide them, it wasn't difficult for her to resolve this matter.
The eyes of Lord Fifth also revealed a hint of coldness. As for the others, most of them were deep in thought. Many of them secretly glanced at Xu Qing and the captain.
Chen Tinghao and Sun Liying also sensed that something was amiss. After asking politely, Chen Tinghao immediately spoke.
"Senior Zi Xuan, Fellow Daoist Xu Qing, Fellow Daoist Erniu, I'll ask later if something happened to your Eight Sect Alliance's branch sect. However, if it's just guiding you into the city, we can help."
As he spoke, he immediately took out a jade slip and transmitted his voice.
When Xu Qing and the captain heard this, they bowed to Chen Tinghao to express their gratitude.
Purple Mystic Fairy nodded slightly. If there was no need, she didn't want to use her connections in the county capital on her first day here, especially on such a small matter like entering the city.
Moreover, the most important thing was that this was the county capital and there were many experts here. She couldn't be as fearless as she was in the Yinghuang Province.
Here, she had to be more cautious.
This was especially so when they had just arrived.
Hence, she first needed to figure out what had happened to the branch sect of the Eight Sect Alliance.
With Chen Tinghao's help, three beams of light quickly flew out of the county capital above and transformed into three people.
These three people wore brownish-black standard-issue robes and their bodies were surrounded by lightning. Clearly, they were from the same sect as Chen Tinghao.
However, they didn't look like a Sword Holder.
After they arrived, they exchanged pleasantries. Under Chen Tinghao's introduction, Xu Qing knew that these three people were Primordial Lightning Lineage disciples who were on patrol duty in the city.
When the three of them heard Chen Tinghao introduce Xu Qing and the captain as new Sword Holders, they were clearly even more polite. Their expressions were filled with respect as they escorted the group of people from the Eight Sects Alliance into the county capital.
This scene caused Xu Qing, who was good at observing, to gain another understanding of the status of the Sword Holder.
At the same time, he instinctively looked at the city that was getting closer and closer.
This city looked circular from afar and was incomparably vast. There were high walls surrounding it and countless rune marks flickered inside, forming waves of terrifying pressure.
This was especially so when they got close. This pressure was extremely astonishing. When it swept past them, it seemed to be verifying their identities.
With Chen Tinghao and the three patrols as guarantors, Xu Qing and the others didn't encounter any obstacles during the verification of their qualifications to enter the city. They successfully stepped into the county capital.
As he stepped in, a majestic city was reflected in Xu Qing's eyes.
Although the capital was large, it was orderly. There were many buildings on the long streets and most of them were made of green jade with purple and red roofs. It looked imposing but at the same time, there was a natural sense of solemnity.
Also, because the city was filled with spirit plants and trees, this solemn atmosphere also carried a hint of elegance.
Dense spirit qi was constantly emitted from every brick, tile, blade of grass, and tree, enveloping the surroundings, causing the entire capital city to be filled with vitality.
There were many mortals and cultivators inside, and the streets were bustling with activity.
The buildings looked imposing from afar. Up close, there was no lack of aesthetic beauty. There were many courtyard houses with large doors and small houses that exuded exquisiteness.
Regardless of scale or appearance, they weren't something the Eight Sects Alliance's city cluster could compare to. The difference in foundation between the two sides was obvious.
What shocked Xu Qing the most were two places.
Firstly, because the capital city floated on the chest of the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether's statue, the first thing one saw when they lifted their heads was not the god's fragmented-face or the sun and moon, but the head of the Ancient Sovereign Mystic Nether's statue.
Its holy intent, its gaze that looked at all living beings, and the hint of pity for all living beings in its expression were clearly expressed.
Secondly, after stepping into the city, Xu Qing had a feeling that he was standing at the peak of Fenghai County. His body, soul, and everything seemed to have faintly fused with Fenghai County the moment he entered this city.
This feeling was incomparably strange. Xu Qing had never felt a similar feeling in any city he had gone to before.
This place was clearly not the tallest building in Fenghai County.
"That's the power of luck," Purple Mystic Fairy said softly.
"As the capital of a county and the core of the entire Fenghai County, the luck of Fenghai County is gathered here. Although luck is illusory, it does exist."
"However, most of them are gathered above the orthodoxy of the various races. It's difficult for sects and other forces to have them."
Xu Qing fell into deep thought.
As they moved forward, Chen Tinghao introduced the county capital.
"The entire county is divided into the 9 rings and 77 districts. As for the details, you'll naturally know later, so I won't say much."
Because they had to rush to the branch sect as soon as possible, Chen Tinghao didn't explain it in detail. Instead, after knowing the address of the branch sect, he brought them there as quickly as possible.
The branch sect of the Eight Sects Alliance was located in the southwest direction of the capital, in District 59.
The location couldn't be said to be remote, but it wasn't close to the core either. However, from the outside, it could be considered a good courtyard residence. One could faintly see fake mountains and flowing water inside, bringing with it some elegance.
However, there wasn't a single branch sect disciple here now. Moreover, the gate of the courtyard was also sealed by black talismans.
Looking at the seal, the expressions of the Eight Sects Alliance's disciples turned unsightly. Purple Mystic Fairy's gaze swept across the seal and she expressionlessly took out a jade slip and began to ask her acquaintances in the county capital.
This seal already explained everything.
Something had indeed happened to the branch sect.
"Zhang Siyun?" After Xu Qing's gaze swept past the seal, he looked at the captain. The captain and Xu Qing looked at each other and their eyes slowly narrowed.
He and Xu Qing were both from the Homicide Department. Not only had they seen seals, but they had also used similar items.
Hence, they knew that generally speaking, sealing a residence meant that the matter hadn't been thoroughly investigated. Hence, outsiders weren't allowed to step in and destroy it. They had to wait for the corresponding department to deal with it.
Moreover, they had encountered such a thing on their very first time in the county capital. The possibility of them being targeted was extremely high. As for who did it… Xu Qing thought about it and deduced Zhang Siyun had the motive and the ability.
After all, Zhang Siyun was recruited directly. It was enough to show his background in the county capital.
Chen Tinghao also frowned when he saw this seal. He took out a jade slip and inquired about it. His three fellow sect members also asked around.
The capital was too large, so unless it was a matter within one's jurisdiction, it was impossible for everyone to know about the matters in other areas.
However, as the local heads of the county capital, they soon obtained an answer.
"Seven days ago, the branch sect here was taken away by the Law Palace on suspicion of overstepping their bounds. They are currently being interrogated." Chen Tinghao raised his brows and looked at Xu Qing and the others.
At that moment, Purple Mystic Fairy also learned the answer from an acquaintance but it was more detailed.
"The order was sent by the director of the Third Department of the Law Palace, Yao Yunhui. Overstepping one's authority can be serious or a small matter. This is clearly intentional. Xu Qing, among the new Sword Holders of the Sword Holding Court this time, what's the surname of that person from the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect?"
"His surname is Zhang, Zhang Siyun!" Xu Qing said in a low voice.
"Do you guys have any conflicts?" Purple Mystic Fairy asked.
"Yes." Xu Qing nodded.
"Then, it should be him. I found out from my good friend that this Yao Yunhui is a member of the Yao family. Back then, she married into the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect which caused the Yao family to be unhappy. Her Dao companion's surname was Zhang who passed away early. The two of them had a son." A cold glint flashed in Purple Mystic Fairy's eyes.
"From the looks of it, the goal of overstepping the authority isn't the branch sect but Xu Qing!" Lord Fifth said hoarsely.
"The other party is a little impatient. Seven days is an awkward time period for interrogation. Little Qing, if we were preparing to do something similar in the Homicide Department back then, what would we do?"
The captain spoke softly from the side. Xu Qing lifted his head and looked into the distance as he calmly spoke.
"Set up a trap and kill the target in one strike."
"That's right. If we were strong, there would be no need for such a plan. We would just capture them directly. We would only do this if we were wary. However, we wouldn't be so anxious. We would set up more traps and not alert the enemy. We would wait for an opportunity to deal a fatal blow and not give the other party the possibility of counterattacking."
The captain licked his lips.
"If you're in such a hurry, there's only one goal - slander. So, capture a group of people first and wait for the target to appear before taking him away with the excuse of cooperating with the investigation. At the same time, be more arrogant. It's best if you make the other party angry and arrest him. The Homicide Department doesn't do such a thing often because it's too crude."
"Why?" Wu Jianwu didn't understand and asked blankly. When Ning Yan heard this, he secretly glanced at him disdainfully.
"This is an opportunity for a small matter to become bigger. After wrapping the matter up a little, we can directly put the target on the wanted list. Otherwise, we can only deal with it slowly." The captain's voice was cold as he looked at Xu Qing.
"Little Qing, how do you plan to resolve this matter?"
"This matter is very easy to resolve," Xu Qing calmly said.
"That's right. Resolving it is very simple. We just have to think about how to counterattack."
"Just modify the method of the Pilotage Department."
"Interesting. How dare they scheme against us two old members of the Homicide Department!" The captain laughed.
The conversation between the two caused everyone in the surroundings to take a deep breath.
Chen Tinghao was the same. The gaze he used to look at Xu Qing and the captain contained a deeper meaning.
Purple Mystic Fairy's eyes revealed admiration. Lord Fifth also smiled.
"Zhang Siyun's mother should be sending someone over soon." Xu Qing looked into the distance. After his voice rang out, two figures whistled out from the streets he was looking at.
Even before they arrived, their murderous intent spread out intensely, enveloping this place.
"They're here." A dark glint flashed in the captain's eyes as the two figures approached rapidly.
They instantly appeared in front of everyone.
These two people wore blue Daoist robes and had a black cape on their backs. They were similar to the Daoist robes of the Sword Holding Palace but with a greater emphasis on uniformity. Their expressions were gloomy. They ignored Purple Mystic Fairy's existence and looked around before focusing on Xu Qing.
"You're Xu Qing?"
"We disciples of the Law Palace have interrogated the Eight Sects Alliance's branch sect and found out that Xu Qing is suspected of overstepping his authority. Therefore, the Law Palace has summoned Xu Qing for investigation."
"If you resist, the Law Palace has the right to kill. If you refuse the investigation, the Law Palace has the right to use force."
"If an outsider interferes with the law enforcement of the Law Palace, they will be suppressed."
The two of them were at six palaces Golden Core Realm. Their voices deliberately spread in all directions, causing many passersby in the surroundings to hear them.
After that, the two of them didn't capture Xu Qing immediately. Instead, their gazes landed on the other disciples of the Eight Sects Alliance, especially Purple Mystic Fairy. They glanced at her a few more times, as though they were giving them time to react.
At that moment, Chen Tinghao and the disciples of the Eight Sects Alliance looked at Xu Qing and the captain. This scene was really… exactly the same as what they had said earlier.
Xu Qing had worked in the Homicide Department for three years. From an ordinary member of the Homicide Department, he had become the director of the Seventh Peak's Homicide Department. He was extremely familiar with these tricks.
The captain was even more experienced.
Upon seeing the other party speak like this, Xu Qing cupped his fists toward Purple Mystic Fairy.
"Senior, I can handle this matter. It's fine."
Xu Qing then cupped his fists toward Lord Fifth and Chen Tinghao. Finally, he glanced at the captain and walked toward the two Law Palace disciples.
—-
