Chapter 909: Storyteller Exposed

The Yunlun Mountain Range, core area.

The struggle for the Nine Dragon Veins was in full swing. It could be said that very few spirit refiners who had survived to the second phase of the trial were able to remain detached.

Whether actively or passively, everyone was swept into the tide. But there are always exceptions.

A small portion of the trial participants in the Yunlun Mountain Range were not there for the trial itself, but for the City of the Sky. These stowaways were indifferent to the progress of the trial.

Their only concern was the rift in the void island high above. "When will it descend?"

Xu Xiaoshou's painting clone, the Storyteller, also gazed listlessly at the distant void island. The majestic ancient city stood above the Eastern Heavenly King City; even a mere corner of it revealed its grandeur.

After its emergence and a second modification, the painting clone no longer resembled the Storyteller's original appearance. Even its signature red long dress had been dyed a simple black and white. The Storyteller couldn't openly appear in the Yunlun Mountain Range and wait to be caught.

What Xu Xiaoshou wanted was for the trial officials to discover it actively and unintentionally, rather than foolishly blundering into a situation where Rao Yaoyao could instantly recognize it.

"Buzz—"

As he strolled through the wilderness, an almost imperceptible spatial fluctuation reached him. Xu Xiaoshou's spiritual sense immediately detected it. Previously, he might have missed such a subtle spatial ability.

However, after obtaining the spatial source stone and analyzing the realm of Yi from the perspective of a spatial node, he could instantly confirm: "There's been a battle nearby; someone has opened a domain!"

A domain signifies a Throne. Which trial participant possessed Throne cultivation and dared to initiate a battle in the Yunlun Mountain Range? None!

This must be a battle between a stowaway and a trial official, occurring again in an unknown location! "After more than half a day, I've finally waited for it..." Xu Xiaoshou mused to himself.

He immediately manipulated the painting clone to appear highly displeased, muttering, "Why is everyone fighting everywhere? Can't a person get some rest?" Then, as if encountering trouble and eager to avoid it, it quickly departed. Realizing that a quick departure might still be risky, the painting clone thought for a moment, then tore open a spatial rift, slipped inside, and vanished.

The spatial rift was drawn. The image of it slipping inside was also fake. But its disappearance was genuine. The painting clone's purpose ended there; after passively attracting the trial official's attention, it immediately vanished.

And after it vanished, the spatial rift disappeared as well.

It was as if no one had ever been there.

Remotely manipulating the painting clone, using its scarce spiritual essence to wield the Void Painting Brush, and creating another painted scene of the clone's location was the only method Xu Xiaoshou had successfully tested for the painting clone. Other than that, the painting clone possessed no combat ability whatsoever.

If it were truly approached or touched, these illusions would instantly dissipate.

But by vanishing before it could be touched, it left others with only speculation and endless conjecture. As for whether vanishing from such a distance meant it went completely undetected, leaving him to merely fantasize and waste a painting clone...

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't worried about that at all. There were no fools in the Holy Divine Palace!

One breath. Two breaths. Less than three breaths passed.

In the distance, spatial fluctuations morphed into the shape of a black domain, which then collapsed, revealing a black-clad enforcement officer carrying an unconscious person on his shoulder.

"Who's there!"

Shou Ye narrowed his eyes, his sharp aura from the recent battle still lingering, as he coldly swept his gaze over the area where the "Storyteller" had just been. Within a domain, only its master could observe the external situation.

If a domain master's control over their domain wasn't strong, and their attention was focused on matters within it, it would be difficult for them to detect events outside. But Shou Ye was not like that.

Even if the stowaway had become a Throne, they were no match for him. Having dealt with the stowaway in a few moves, Shou Ye noticed a small disturbance outside the domain while interrogating them.

A young man in a black and white dress, clearly dressed as a trial participant, had aimlessly appeared in the wilderness. This desolate place was nowhere near the Nine Dragon Veins.

By rights, a trial participant shouldn't have come to such a desolate place. Yet, in mere moments, the young trial participant seemed to sense something amiss and fled by tearing open a spatial rift.

Who could have detected an anomaly at the scene? And who could tear through space with such ease?

Shou Ye immediately realized this was another stowaway, and one with extraordinary abilities, so he promptly knocked out the stowaway within the domain and emerged. But it was too late.

The young stowaway in the black and white dress was already gone.

Shou Ye carried the unconscious person to the spot where the black and white-dressed stowaway had been. His spiritual sense carefully probed the area, only to discover something surprising. There wasn't even a trace of spatial fluctuation in the vicinity!

Ordinarily, even if someone fled using a spatial rift, Shou Ye was confident he could infer their general direction by tracking the spatial fluctuations, provided he acted quickly enough. But now, after only a few breaths, all spatial fluctuations in the area had completely vanished.

"How formidable!"

"That person actually managed to effortlessly erase all spatial traces?" Shou Ye was startled and suspicious.

He felt he had discovered a major catch. Because such a method, let alone a normal Throne, might not even be achievable by a Dao Slashing expert.

Shou Ye himself couldn't do it. He could tear through space. But he couldn't completely erase spatial traces after leaving.

Only a powerful individual with a deep understanding of spatial rules could achieve such a feat.

This individual, who detected his presence and then slipped away, must be an experienced expert, capable of vanishing without a trace. That's why they dared to roam so brazenly through the Yunlun Mountain Range... Shou Ye thought. "Who could it be?"

He paused, remembering the notice that had been issued from above just last night. A high-ranking member of the Holy Divine Palace, a Great Void, had died in battle in the Yunlun Mountain Range, and everyone was required to be on high alert.

Shou Ye couldn't help but shiver. Could this ability be related to the Great Void's death?

Regardless, any new discovery had to be reported immediately. Shou Ye pulled out a special combat communication bead and, using his Heavenly Secret ability, contacted the current controller of the Cloud Realm World — Yu Zhiwen.

Before the main spirit mirror.

Yu Zhiwen had been sleepless all night. This was the most difficult battle she had ever fought.

After an all-night remote confrontation with an unknown Heavenly Secret Master, her spiritual energy was greatly depleted, yet she couldn't rest. She had to focus intensely on all the spirit mirror feeds. Because if clues about the murderer of Yi weren't found quickly, they might truly escape.

"Buzz."

Suddenly, the communication bead chimed.

Yu Zhiwen snapped out of her focused state, took out a pill, swallowed it, and answered the call. "Miss Zhiwen, this is Shou Ye. In core area number 163, please bring up the spirit mirror feed; there should be a new discovery here," Shou Ye's voice came through.

Yu Zhiwen's spirits lifted, and she immediately replied, "Understood." She made a hand seal.

Soon, she located the spirit crystal feed of Shou Ye's location. Zooming in, she couldn't clearly see what was happening inside the domain, but outside it, a strikingly abrupt man caught her attention.

"Black and white dress?" Yu Zhiwen described some prominent features.

"Yes, that's him!" Shou Ye confirmed. "Unless I'm mistaken, this person is a stowaway, and it's highly likely they didn't enter using a trial jade token but through a void rift." A void rift?

Yu Zhiwen was startled by this information. This implied at least Dao Slashing strength, as only then would one be able to traverse void rifts, locate the specific spatial coordinates of the Yunlun Mountain Range, and emerge.

Yu Zhiwen tried to find the spirit mirror feed specifically belonging to this man in the black and white dress using the trial jade token... There was none!

"This person has no spirit mirror feed and no trial jade token; they most likely entered through a spatial rift," Yu Zhiwen stated cautiously. The appearance of such a powerful stowaway in the Yunlun Mountain Range without any prior trace was already a dereliction of her duty.

"Trace this person's previous footage to see where they came from," Shou Ye said. "If they passed near area 76, it's highly possible they are one of the culprits." Area 76 was where the Xu Gang had previously been stationed, and also where Yi had died.

Yu Zhiwen immediately manipulated the spirit mirror, focusing on the man in the black and white dress, zooming in and replaying the footage. Time rewound... The black and white-dressed man's movements were traced back from Shou Ye's side to the moment of his emergence.

The footage ended there. Further back, there was no information.

Yu Zhiwen was stunned.

Had this person appeared out of thin air?

"Is something wrong?" Shou Ye asked, adding, "Send me a copy of the spirit crystal feed." Yu Zhiwen immediately complied, responding as she sent it: "It's very strange. This person's movement pattern is extremely peculiar. They seem to have no destination, just walking stiffly, sometimes stopping and not moving at all. They haven't appeared anywhere outside of Area 163; they simply emerged from the ground."

On the other end, Shou Ye frowned as he listened. After receiving the spirit crystal feed, he watched it himself and found that, as Yu Zhiwen had described, the black and white-dressed man merely walked stiffly like a puppet, with no other peculiarities.

But his very existence was abnormal. "There's definitely something wrong!"

The more Shou Ye looked at the person, the more he felt something was amiss. What man in the world would like to wear a dress, even a very simple black and white one?

He was a powerful expert, at least at the Dao Slashing level, and had his dignity! Someone of Dao Slashing strength or above, who liked wearing dresses, was discovered not long after Yi's death, and although far from the battlefield, possessed the ability to traverse space as a stowaway... Shou Ye felt there was someone in his memory who matched this description.

"Oh, they changed clothes!"

At this moment, Yu Zhiwen replayed the spirit crystal feed and noticed that the black and white-dressed man's skirt color seemed to change the instant he emerged. Not only that, his appearance also seemed to have changed.

But the transformation was too fast, and combined with his emergence, the footage was very blurry, making it impossible to discern other information. "Send me the image," Shou Ye immediately said.

Yu Zhiwen immediately froze the frame of the person's emergence, selected the clearest image available, and sent it over. When Shou Ye received the image, the first thing that caught his eye was the striking red dress.

His pupils contracted. This red dress, for the younger Yu Zhiwen, might only be information from intelligence reports, making it hard for her to immediately connect it to anything specific.

But Shou Ye, during his time in the White Cave, had encountered them face to face... The Holy Slave, the Storyteller!

Shou Ye took a deep breath, feeling somewhat shaken. He had inexplicably run into the Storyteller and even brushed past them. Was it a coincidence? Regardless, the matter was too significant for just him and Yu Zhiwen to speculate about here.

Since it concerned the death of the Great Void, even if the suspicion regarding the Holy Slave Storyteller was only sixty or seventy percent likely, it still had to be reported to Rao Yaoyao. "Notify Sword Immortal Rao and send her this spirit mirror footage," Shou Ye said, relaying all the key information that would draw attention. "The suspect is provisionally identified as the Holy Slave Storyteller. Tell her I discovered him, and that I even exchanged blows with him in the White Cave."

Yu Zhiwen's heart suddenly skipped a beat. The Holy Slave Storyteller?

Wasn't this one of the main culprits Rao Yaoyao had speculated about concerning the truth of Yi's death?

"Understood!"

Yu Zhiwen didn't dare delay, immediately compiling and transmitting all this information to Elder Rao. Afterward, she gazed at the spirit mirror footage, her expression lost in thought. If it was the Holy Slave Storyteller, what was the purpose of this exposure?

From the spirit mirror footage, the Storyteller truly seemed to have no objective from the moment he emerged until Shou Ye spotted him, appearing as if merely strolling. But how could that be?

Such a significant figure wandering aimlessly in the Yunlun Mountain Range—was he afraid of not being noticed or exposed? "No, that's not right!"

Yu Zhiwen's thoughts grew serious; she had discovered an anomaly. The Storyteller was indeed strolling, but every so often, he would stop as if frozen, either squatting or standing, then looking up at the sky, devoid of any movement.

"He doesn't seem like the Storyteller; he's more like a puppet..." Yu Zhiwen was suspicious.

Weren't these the actions of a puppet without its master's control? But the other party was the Holy Slave Storyteller, so these deductions clearly didn't hold.

Moreover, the Storyteller himself had entered the void island. If this was his external manifestation, would the separation between the two realms cause a disruption in their connection, leading to such symptoms?

Yu Zhiwen didn't know how strong the Storyteller's external manifestation ability was, or if the main body and clone would affect each other when separated by space. But with the Storyteller's high status and immense strength, it shouldn't manifest in such a way, should it?

"There must be another reason!"

Yu Zhiwen felt there was something here she hadn't yet grasped. She awaited Rao Yaoyao's reply.

Perhaps only the knowledgeable Elder Rao could help her find the answer.

But just then, a strange sound suddenly echoed from high above, like a demon screeching in a deep valley, or a monstrous wind wailing between two peaks. "Gulu—"

The sound came from above.

Yu Zhiwen looked up, and her starry pupils trembled violently. Up above, the void island rift, which had been utterly silent, now suddenly gaped open like a gaping maw ready to devour everything!