The Vault of the Saber Battle Union was where all the valuable items were kept.
Most of this was in the form of immortal stones, but there were also some immortal weapons, as well as precious resources. And being a Vault, it was greatly protected and only a few people could access it.
Ding Yao had deposited the Storage pouch containing the Spiral Flake Crystal here since the Union Captain did not have the time to check it last time.
Originally, he was supposed to bring it straight to the man, but a sudden meeting by the city lord had prevented it. And after the Union Captain returned, he was embroiled in the issue with the death of their members and the disappearance of Cong Shui.
But now that the man had some time, he finally desired to see it.
"I'm here to bring in an item at the behest of Union Captain." Ding Yao stated to the guards standing outside of the vault.
Of course, the guards knew who Ding Yao was as he was one of the higher ranked members in the Saber Battle Union here. What he said was just a formality and there was no way they were going to ask him for any extra documentation.
"You can go ahead." The guards quickly let the man pass.
Ding Yao opened the large doors that were sealed with a formation and appeared inside the vault.
The vault was actually not that big and was only ten square meters in size. This allowed it to be a lot more secure and easy to move in case of trouble.
As for the many items inside it?
All of them were kept in individual spatial storage treasures all of which had extra safety measures placed on them. This way even if something was taken from the vault by an unauthorized person, they still wouldn't be able to open the spatial storage treasures.
These spatial storage treasures were sorted according to the material they held, with there being a pile of pouches that contained the Immortal stones. Then a stack of shelves that held thousands of spirit herbs inside them and a chest that held tons of metals and other refinement materials inside.
But in the middle of all this, there was a lone pouch which contained the Spiral Flake Crystal.
Ding Yao picked it up and quickly went back to the main hall of the building. He didn't want to make the Union Captain wait any longer, as he knew the man would only get irritable by time. He had been in the union for long enough to know the behavior of the Union Captain.
"Here it is, Union Captain." Ding Yao bowed his head while offering the Spatial Storage Pouch.
The Union Captain held it and saw that the original seal placed by the Black Candle Pavilion was intact.
"Mmm, good." The man nodded seeing that nobody had spied on it before him.
~shua~
The man used his immortal sense and probed the Spatial Storage Pouch, releasing the seal and allowing him to see the contents inside it.
His expression was normal for a few seconds and became confused after a few more.
"Mmm?" Ding Yao noticed this and wondered what was happening.
The other people in the hall also noticed after seeing that the Union Captain had not spoken after even a minute. He was still in the state of probing and it was unkink why he was like that.
"Union Captain?" someone finally spoke up.
The scarred face man looked up and gazed at them with an expressionless face.
"Ding Yao... Would you care to tell me what you did after getting the Spiral Flake Crystal?" The Union Captain asked calmly.
Ding Yao didn't know why the Union Captain was asking this which was known to everyone, but he still answered the man.
"After winning the Spiral Flake Crystal at the auction, I took it from the staff, verified it and left the Black Candle Pavilion. Then on the way back, I met up with our members who were in charge of going after Cong Shui.
I briefly talked with them before splitting and returning to the Saber Battle Union. Here, I was about to head to you but learned that you were not present in the building. Thus as per the protocols set, I deposited the Storage Pouch containing the Spiral Flake Crystal as is in the Vault." Ding Yao explained it clearly.
The Union Captain heard his words and nodded lightly, making Ding Yao feel relived.
"I see... but then why is it that this bag is EMPTY!?" The Union Captain erupted!
"WHAT!?" Everyone in the hall shouted in unison.
"How can it be empty?" Ding Yao was doubting his life. "I'm sure the seal on it was intact too. You checked it yourself Union Captain, it was not touched at all." He tried to explain.
"Take a look yourself!" The Union Captain threw the Spatial Storage Pouch at the man.
Ding Yao quickly caught it and anxiously checked the pouch. And when he sensed the empty interior, his face turned pale. Cold sweat covered his back and his legs started trembling.
"U-union Captain... I assure you there really was a Spiral Flake Crystal in it!" Ding Yao didn't know how he would be getting out of this problem now.
The Union Captain was furious right now, but even he didn't know how this was possible. As much as he wanted to blame someone, he also knew it wasn't the fault of his subordinate right now.
'The seal was intact, and there is no way Ding Yao would make a mistake or lie to me.' The Union Captain thought deeply, realizing that there must be something more to this. 'Cong Shui escaped and someone must have helped her... at the same time our Spiral Flake Crystal went missing. The vault is secure and it definitely didn't happen there.'
For five minutes silence prevailed in the hall before the Union Captain finally spoke again.
"Someone has targeted our Sable Battle Union."
