Chapter 1825: Being Detected

He had considered many countermeasures, all of which could ensure that his true identity would be difficult for the other party to detect.

But he had forgotten about the timing.

Given the recent incident, it was natural that the appraisers who arrived today would be the prime suspects.

"Four people arrived today: Wu Tao from Kaiyong City, Mo Fei from Huhai City..."

Taking out a list, the middle-aged guard glanced at it and said, "The four of you, step forward."

Zhang Xuan stepped out.

At this moment, the more guilty one appeared, the easier it was to be discovered. It was better to face them calmly.

In any case, his current identity as Wu Tao was clean, so he wasn't afraid of an investigation.

"You all arrived today, correct?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling slowly approached, his eyes scanning each of the four individuals in turn, but he found nothing unusual.

Although his gaze lingered on Zhang Xuan for a moment, he still didn't notice anything.

Frowning slightly and seeing the wary expressions on all the appraisers' faces, Ancient Sage Mo Ling looked around and explained.

"Everyone, there's no need to be nervous. We are investigating an infiltrator who has sneaked into the Spirit Emperor Palace. As long as you have no other intentions, you don't need to worry."

Upon hearing that they were investigating an infiltrator, everyone simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they were sometimes a bit greedy, they were genuine appraisers and had no connection to an infiltrator.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling observed everyone's expressions but found no abnormalities. His brows furrowed even deeper, and he continued, "This infiltrator is a Soul Oracle, so their soul and body definitely won't be as compatible as a normal cultivator's. This is a treasure for detecting soul-body compatibility. All you need to do is walk beneath it, and it will reveal your true identity."

With that, he flicked his finger, and a spherical orb appeared in the air, spinning steadily and emitting a radiant glow.

"Perhaps the four who just arrived today should go first?"

He finished speaking and looked at Zhang Xuan and the others.

"Alright."

An appraiser from the crowd stepped forward.

The middle-aged guard had just called out his name; it was Mo Fei.

He took two steps to stand beneath the orb, his body enveloped in its light.

A row of numbers appeared within the orb.

Ninety-four.

"A compatibility above ninety means they are not a Soul Oracle. Next one."

The middle-aged guard glanced at it and said.

Under normal circumstances, at birth, the soul and body are most compatible, typically reaching one hundred. However, with cultivation, as the spirit detaches from the body and the soul undergoes transformation, cases of less than perfect integration can occur.

Even so, as long as one wasn't a Soul Oracle, their compatibility would easily exceed ninety.

Seeing that he wasn't the one being sought, Mo Fei showed no surprise and turned to walk back.

Immediately after, the second appraiser walked forward.

Ninety-two.

Also meeting the criteria.

The third, ninety-six.

Then it was Zhang Xuan's turn.

He took a deep breath and walked forward as well.

In the Master Teacher Continent, there were no Soul Oracles, so he had never seen or tested this treasure. Therefore, Zhang Xuan didn't know what his soul-body compatibility was. However, he cultivated Heaven's Path Divine Art, and although his soul could leave his body, his compatibility should not be lower than that of an ordinary person.

As he stepped beneath the orb, his body was immediately enveloped in a gentle light.

A line of text appeared above.

"Hmm... perfect compatibility!"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling and the middle-aged guard were both stunned.

One hundred signified perfect compatibility, a condition typically only found in cultivators below Saint 5-dan. Yet, this individual's cultivation had already reached Saint 7-dan. How could he possess such a high compatibility?

"Perfect soul-body compatibility indicates that the soul is fundamentally unable to leave the physical body. It shouldn't be him."

Ancient Sage Mo Ling shook his head.

Although he was puzzled, all sorts of geniuses existed in the world, and unusual phenomena were not uncommon.

After all, the one he had fought was a true Soul Oracle who cultivated Soul Oracle arts. How could such a person have such perfect soul-body compatibility?

"Continue the inspection."

Having examined all four who arrived today and found nothing unusual, Ancient Sage Mo Ling simply waved his hand, signaling them to proceed.

Soon, all more than two hundred people in the room had been scanned.

None had a compatibility lower than ninety.

In other words, consistent with the information received earlier, there were no Soul Oracles among them.

"Could I have guessed wrong?"

His brows furrowed into a knot.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling was also somewhat perplexed.

The people of the Spirit Emperor Palace had undergone countless inspections and certainly wouldn't be infiltrators. And it wasn't these appraisers. So where did that Soul Oracle previously come from?

"Ancient Sage, what should we do now?"

Seeing that the soul and treasure investigations had yielded no results after half a day, the middle-aged guard looked over again.

"First, have them continue appraising treasures. Oh, and bring me their previous appraisal results."

Ancient Sage Mo Ling waved his hand.

"Understood."

The middle-aged guard arranged for everyone to continue appraising treasures, while also retrieving all the results from the box.

"The prices appraised by these appraisers are quite close, with only a small number having significant discrepancies."

Seeing him read the content on the cards, the middle-aged guard smiled.

Those who passed the assessment and were selected were undoubtedly the best among appraisers. It was relatively easy for them to identify the true value of ordinary ores and medicinal herbs.

"For the Falling Star Stone, combining the results from so many appraisers, the most accurate price obtained is 120 high-grade spirit stones. For the Water-Cold Stone, it's 250 high-grade spirit stones."

The middle-aged guard detailed the price of each treasure.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling nodded, scanning everyone's answers, and suddenly stopped. "Appraiser Wu Tao's answers are incredibly precise!"

Even if ores were of the same material, their prices could vary greatly depending on size, color, and origin. The prices provided by the middle-aged guard were averages compiled from the results of over two hundred appraisers.

They were extremely accurate.

For an ordinary appraiser to get one correct by chance would be acceptable, but for Wu Tao to perfectly match the standard answers for five consecutive ores and seven or eight medicinal herbs was unusual, even to Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

"Indeed, I find it strange too. His appraisal skills must be exceptionally high."

The middle-aged guard nodded with a smile.

"I wouldn't rule out that possibility. Is this Wu Tao the same person whose soul-body compatibility reached one hundred earlier?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling's eyes flashed.

While appraisers could identify treasures and estimate their prices, it was usually within a general range. To be absolutely precise, without even a single spirit stone's difference, seemed impossible. How could he be so accurate?

Achieving no discrepancy in even a single spirit stone across more than a dozen consecutive treasures was astonishing.

Moreover, his soul-body compatibility had reached a puzzling one hundred percent.

"Yes," the middle-aged guard also sensed that something was amiss.

"Bring me Appraiser Wu Tao's information again."

With a raised eyebrow, Ancient Sage Mo Ling hastily instructed.