Bai Xunli arrived at the cavern accompanied by Yan Zhen and Lu Jianhong. She had left Luo Heng behind to guard the infirmary.
"Shizun!" Lu Jianhong was ecstatic to finally reunite with his master. A wide grin spread across his face as he bowed and saluted Gu Tianzhu.
"I heard you went down to accompany Doctor Xu. Now that you've returned, I take it everything went well?" Gu Tianzhu smiled at his third disciple.
"Yes, Shizun! This disciple successfully accompanied Doctor Xu until she reunited with Doctor Lin!"
"Well done." Gu Tianzhu nodded approvingly.
He then turned to Bai Xunli and gave a slight nod. "Captain Bai. Enforcer Yan."
Bai Xunli bowed and saluted Gu Zhenren before turning to do the same to Princess Shenxing.
"Princess. I apologize again for my late arrival. I was unaware that the Princess was coming."
Mu Qingran crossed her arms and scoffed. "You should have been here already! This cavern was the site of the core extraction! What were you doing in the city?!"
Bai Xunli bowed once more. "Princess, I was at the yamen's morgue. Yesterday, around dinner time, Tie Yanfang killed many people at the inn, extracting four cores before coming here."
Mu Qingran's jaw dropped. "What?! How come this Princess didn't hear anything?!"
She turned to Wu Zhenhai, eyes narrowing. "Did you know this and deliberately conceal it from this Princess? You should be punished!"
Wu Zhenhai stood in silence, his gaze steady as he regarded Mu Qingran with calm patience.
Mu Qingran pouted and sat back down.
Bai Xunli seized the opportunity. "Princess, now that I am here, ICEB's authority over this matter is official. Allow me to handle the situation in the cavern. I suggest the Princess return and rest."
Everyone present understood exactly why Bai Xunli had said that. A few of them even held their breath, waiting for Mu Qingran's reaction.
"No! This Princess refuses!" Mu Qingran's voice rang with conviction. "This matter is too important! This concerns the people's safety! This Princess cannot just sit back and do nothing!"
For all her arrogance, Mu Qingran was not entirely without virtue. She genuinely cared about her people. Noble Consort Qian had pushed her to cultivate to pull her away from the palace's politics. Her mother understood that if Mu Qingran remained in the palace, she would become an easy target for their enemies.
Mu Qingran herself had not objected to the idea of cultivation. She wanted to become an Immortal so she could protect her people. That was one of the reasons she had insisted that Wu Zhenhai bring her to Bai Mountain to investigate. She had already suspected that cultivators were involved. She felt responsible.
Wu Zhenhai knew this, which was why he had agreed to bring her up the mountain.
Now that she had confirmation that Lingxu Sect was involved, her resolve hardened. She wanted to bring them down—so they could no longer harm her people.
Bai Xunli sighed. She had expected this, but she had to try. Mu Qingran's presence complicated her work, but it also had advantages. If they used Princess Shenxing as a witness, Lingxu Sect would be forced to tread extremely carefully. Both the Princess and ICEB could be formidable enemies.
Bai Xunli nodded. "I completely understand, Princess. Your love for the people is commendable. Let me conduct my investigation, and Princess may stay as an observer. Didn't Han Shengzun always want the Princess to learn more about how ICEB operates?"
Mu Qingran appeared to consider this. Then she nodded. "Fine! Do your job! This Princess will stay on the sidelines and observe. But this Princess will not hesitate to intervene the moment this Princess finds you incompetent!"
Bai Xunli nodded and saluted. "Agreed, Princess."
She turned to Gu Tianzhu, who had been sitting across from Mu Qingran, silently observing their exchange.
"Gu Zhenren, is it true? That Tie Yanfang is dead?"
Both Mu Qingran and Wu Zhenhai startled. Tie Yanfang had died? He was a Saint! Who could have killed a Saint?!
Gu Tianzhu hesitated briefly before nodding. "Yes. Tie Yanfang is dead. Captain Bai, you received this information from…?"
"Doctor Xu Yun. She informed me that one of her companions killed Tie Yanfang. I just wanted to confirm."
Gu Tianzhu nodded again. "Doctor Xu was right. One of her companions killed Tie Yanfang."
Bai Xunli's expression shifted between disbelief and awe. "I thought her companions were all doctors. But one of them was obviously not. Who is he? Is he also a Saint?"
"Captain Bai, I thought you were here to investigate the cavern?" Gu Tianzhu's tone shifted, sharper than before, his usual composed demeanor replaced by something far more guarded.
Bai Xunli was taken aback. She hadn't expected Gu Tianzhu to turn hostile regarding this mysterious person. He must be a Saint from Ziyu Sect—but if so, why wouldn't Gu Tianzhu just say it? Why the secrecy?
Clearing her throat, she refocused. "Yes. I am here to investigate the cavern. Please, Gu Zhenren, tell me what you know."
Gu Tianzhu's expression remained unreadable as he responded flatly, "Tie Yanfang was the culprit. He orchestrated everything. He taught core extractions to Mo Chaoren and Feng Hailin. They were distributing Fanjing Pills—pills that forcibly create cores in humans with no innate talent."
"Then Mo Chaoren and Feng Hailin would extract their cores here. In this very room, in fact. And they would burn the bodies afterward."
"We have managed to save most of the victims. They are in the back, learning how to stabilize their cores. They must learn, and I intend to take them back to Ziyu Sect with me."
Gu Tianzhu spoke the last sentence with conviction. Xuan Tian had given him permission—no one else had a say in it. He would fight ICEB if necessary.
Bai Xunli and the others remained silent, processing the weight of his words.
It was Princess Shenxing who responded first. "This Princess feels that would be best, but how many are there?"
Gu Tianzhu felt a wave of relief—if the Princess had agreed, he would face no further obstacles. "Twenty-one people, Princess."
Bai Xunli snapped back into focus. "Twenty-one? That's a lot! Were they all from Baishan City?"
Gu Tianzhu remained calm. "Most of them are. Not all."
Wu Zhenhai could no longer hold back his curiosity. "How can so many people go missing, yet no one reports it?"
Gu Tianzhu produced a written note. "Because of this."
Bai Xunli examined the paper carefully. "The paper itself is nothing special. We can find this anywhere. But what's written on it… is this enough to make their families stay silent?"
Gu Tianzhu nodded. "Apparently. And some of the victims were illiterate, yet they all left the same written note. It wasn't necessarily always written on paper. One of them wrote it with dirt on the floor."
Bai Xunli and her team were stunned. "How did that work?"
Gu Tianzhu explained evenly, "Hypnosis. After consuming Fanjing Pills, they formed a core and entered a hypnotic state. It took a great deal of effort for us to wake them.
"This Princess doesn't understand. How can someone who was illiterate write something? And this hypnosis—how can they be told to do something they don't even know?" Mu Qingran furrowed her brows, struggling to comprehend the information.
The ICEB Enforcers had an idea but remained silent, looking instead to Gu Tianzhu for an explanation, as they weren't certain.
Gu Tianzhu, one of the elders of Ziyu Sect, was a man of vast knowledge and an exceptional teacher to his disciples. His explanations were always clear and easy to understand. Right now, he felt like he was conducting one of his lessons.
"It is a long and complicated process, but it can be achieved—with the right ingredients and cultivation level."
"But—" Mu Qingran opened her mouth to question further, but Gu Tianzhu cut her off smoothly. "This Zhenren's knowledge is still shallow. This Zhenren does not know the exact ingredients or methods used to create the Fanjing Pills. However, this Zhenren strongly believes that both the formula and the technique are part of a forbidden practice."
With that, Gu Tianzhu ended his 'lesson.'
Silence fell over the chamber.
Bai Xunli sighed loudly. "This is too much information. From Mo Chaoren alone, we cannot determine if the entire Lingxu Sect is involved. But Tie Yanfang's Peak, the Divine Elixir Peak, is definitely complicit. We need to investigate further. We cannot make this public or march into Lingxu Sect and accuse them with only this. They will undoubtedly sever ties with Tie Yanfang to escape prosecution."