"We can't delay any longer. We must notify the Falling Star Valley of this matter as soon as possible. Otherwise, if someone else discovers something unusual, it will become a problem even if it isn't one, making it seem as if we are harboring malicious intent," the Feng family's third ancestor said worriedly after some thought, his eyes fixed on the corpse on the ground.
"Yes, we can't delay. Third Brother, can you think of any reason why Fang Guangjun would go looking for the Foundation Establishment ghostly creature alone without notifying me?"
"Big Brother, I know what you mean. you're suspecting this person's true identity. There are quite a few people coveting our family's Yin Tomb-Cavern in the back hills now. You're afraid he was bought by our rivals, aren't you? But this is too much of a coincidence. The attack on the Feng family this time was sudden. It's possible that even the Falling Star Valley itself didn't know who they would send to help. How could this Fang Guangjun be so sure it would be him?"
"What if the attack on the Feng family this time was deliberately orchestrated by someone?"
Hearing this, the Feng family's third ancestor was shocked. "How is that possible?"
"What's so impossible? Those ghostly creatures were willing to cross the area where we had already laid a grand formation at all costs just to attack us. Perhaps someone placed something that attracts ghostly creatures near the Feng family's estate? You're not unaware that it's not easy for Yin-type ghostly creatures to fly over a grand formation. In the past, they would instinctively retreat upon touching the edge of the formation. Moreover, the timing of this ghostly creature outbreak was too perfect, happening right when the Falling Star Valley was under attack from the outside and had no time to spare for itself. All of this is such a coincidence. Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?" the Feng ancestor said ponderously.
"Big Brother means... you want to check Fang Guangjun's storage pouch to see if we can confirm his true identity?" The Feng family's third ancestor was also a smart person and quickly understood his brother's meaning. Moreover, what the Feng ancestor said was indeed reasonable.
"Yes. I truly cannot see through Fang Guangjun's sudden action, nor can I think of a reason for it. It can only mean that he came here with a purpose," the Feng ancestor nodded, a hesitant look on his face.
If the deceased were their enemy or some other outside cultivator, the Feng ancestor would have checked Fang Guangjun's storage pouch long ago. But Fang Guangjun had died fighting a ghostly creature. You snatched the body back; you can't just say the storage pouch was lost, can you? They were just a small vassal of the Falling Star Valley. When a Falling Star Valley cultivator died, they had to return everything they could to the sect.
Especially a storage-type magical treasure like a storage pouch, which they were not allowed to touch. If there was some kind of Falling Star Valley cultivation method inside, even if you said you didn't secretly look at the manual after touching the storage pouch, they would have to believe you. For secretly learning cultivation method manuals, or privately pocketing some kind of Falling Star Valley pill formula or artifact refining manual, the Falling Star Valley could directly annihilate your entire family.
This was why, even after so long since Fang Guangjun's death, the Feng ancestor had examined all the injuries on his body but had not dared to open the storage pouch. Even if you could find a reason to completely destroy Fang Guangjun's body, the Falling Star Valley would definitely send someone to investigate thoroughly when a Foundation Establishment cultivator perished. Where would you say he died? The Falling Star Valley might even send an expert to directly flatten that place. At that time, if the Falling Star Valley was willing, a Golden Core expert could easily perform a Soul-Searching on a Foundation Establishment ghostly creature, and the process of its fight with Fang Guangjun would become crystal clear.
But thinking of Fang Guangjun's strange actions, the Feng ancestor was naturally unwilling to bear the wrath of the upper sect in such a muddle-headed way.
"Big Brother, once we open the storage pouch, the last trace of the remnant Divine Sense on it will disappear. If we can't find anything, we'll truly have no way to defend ourselves. Why don't we wait for someone from the Falling Star Valley to arrive, state our doubts, and request to examine his storage pouch on the spot?" the Feng family's third ancestor swallowed, his voice somewhat dry.
For a time, the entire secret chamber fell silent.
"You know what their tempers are like. If the person they send is someone we know, it might be easy to talk to them, and they might grant my request. Otherwise, not only will they suspect us of having ulterior motives, but they will also resolutely take the body and storage pouch away together. At that time, whatever they say will be the final word. And letting them open the storage pouch on the spot, how can we get any benefits from that? Our Feng family has already used up about half of our remaining Spirit Stones to activate the defensive formation this time. We can't afford to give out many more benefits. Doesn't our own family need to survive? I have a certain degree of confidence in opening his storage pouch. I have also discreetly inquired about his background during my previous conversations with Fang Guangjun. This person has only recently joined the Falling Star Valley. It's impossible for someone like him to have obtained the sect's intermediate or advanced cultivation methods so quickly. At most, he would have some introductory methods for reference. So... there's a seventy percent chance or more that we don't have to worry about him carrying any Falling Star Valley secrets!"
As he said this, a stern light flashed in the Feng ancestor's eyes. He suddenly raised a hand, and Spirit Power instantly gushed out. A strong suction force was born out of thin air in the secret chamber. A storage pouch immediately flew out from Fang Guangjun's body. He was not a indecisive person. He had previously hoped that the third ancestor could help him find some clues, which would have been the best result. Since that didn't work, he no longer wanted to find other reasons. The mere suspicion of Fang Guangjun's identity was enough.
Seeing this, the third ancestor opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.
After a cultivator perishes, the remnant Divine Sense restriction on their storage pouch is like rootless duckweed. What's more, the Feng ancestor's cultivation was already much higher than Fang Guangjun's. With just a touch of their Divine Senses, the last trace of Fang Guangjun left in this world also melted away like ice and snow. His aura completely vanished in an instant.
The next moment, the Feng ancestor's Divine Sense plunged into the storage pouch without hesitation. The third ancestor watched his brother's actions nervously.
Immediately, the Feng ancestor's expression changed, turning ashen in an instant.
"Big Brother, what's wrong?" Seeing his brother's rapidly changing expression, the third ancestor knew from his look that he had discovered something terrible.
The Feng ancestor didn't speak, his eyes looking as if they were about to spew fire. With a flash of Spirit Power from his hand, he held the storage pouch's opening downwards. Instantly, after a "pitter-patter" of objects falling to the ground, a large pile of things appeared. The third ancestor's eyes fell upon five corpses.
"It's Zaihua and the others, and that little cultivator surnamed Tian. This..."
"He really is a malicious villain with ulterior motives! It was this person who killed Zaihua and the others." A chilling light filled the Feng ancestor's eyes. His Divine Sense had already swept over the five bodies. All five had been killed in a single blow. Only a cultivator at or above the Foundation Establishment stage could kill Feng Zaihua in one blow.
His Divine Sense quickly swept over the five bodies. There was no thick death qi or yin-cold poison gas in any of them, which meant they had not died at the hands of a ghostly creature.
"Big Brother, we might have made a mistake. If this storage pouch had been obtained by a Falling Star Valley cultivator, even if they didn't open it on the spot and took it back to the sect, when four corpses of our Feng family disciples appeared inside, not only would the Feng family be blameless, but the Falling Star Valley would have had to give us an explanation. But now..."
The third ancestor suddenly thought of the consequences of this matter, and his anger immediately turned to worry.
Hearing this, the Feng ancestor's surging anger also quickly dissipated. He couldn't help but regret it. How could he have known this would happen? He had originally just wanted to see if he could find some clues. Now, you say the person was killed by Fang Guangjun, but his storage pouch has been tampered with. The Falling Star Valley could say that your Feng family killed Fang Guangjun for some ulterior motive and then framed him.
At the same time, Tian Denghu's body was also inside, which made things even more difficult to explain.
After thinking all this through, the Feng ancestor simply remained silent. He first put away the five bodies of Tian Denghu and the others. Then, right in front of Fang Guangjun's corpse, he emptied everything from the storage pouch onto the floor.
There weren't many things in the bag. Besides a small black shield, there were five defensive talismans, eight small porcelain bottles, five Voice Transmission Talismans, and over a thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. The rest were some demonic beast bone materials, a few jade slips, clothes, and other things.
He had seen Fang Guangjun take out the small black shield before. It was a decent magical treasure. The five talismans also seemed to be of a good grade. But at this moment, the two Feng ancestors turned a blind eye to these, focusing their attention on the few jade slips and the clothes. These things were likely useful clues that could expose Fang Guangjun's true identity.
The two of them quickly checked, but to their disappointment, the few jade slips did indeed record a cultivation method, several immortal arts, a qi-replenishing pill formula, and a map. At this moment, they couldn't be bothered about whether these cultivation methods belonged to the Falling Star Valley. They looked through the cultivation method and the immortal arts.
"This should be the main cultivation method Fang Guangjun practiced and several decent immortal arts. The description of the cultivation method is quite similar to the effects he displayed during the day." The Feng ancestor quickly made a judgment, and his heart relaxed a little. At least the cultivation method shouldn't be from the Falling Star Valley, which would reduce their dissatisfaction.
They couldn't find any particularly obvious clues in these jade slips and were still unable to determine Fang Guangjun's origin. The pile of clothes were low-grade spirit artifact-level garments. With the two Feng ancestors' knowledge, they could tell that the artifact refining techniques of several pieces of clothing came from different regions of the Forsaken Continent. This only showed that Fang Guangjun had been to those regions before and didn't prove anything problematic about his identity.
"This is troublesome. This person isn't very wealthy, and he purchased very few things, which makes it very difficult to find more clues. The Voice Transmission Talismans and the remaining jade slips also don't have any contact imprints left on them. Two of those talismans were even given to him by me," the Feng ancestor murmured.
Over a thousand Spirit Stones was really not much for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, not even enough to buy a bottle of mid-grade medicinal pills. Fang Guangjun's frugality, on the contrary, made his true origin even more concealed.
At this moment, the third ancestor looked at two small green porcelain bottles among the pile on the ground.
"Big Brother, I feel that these two medicinal pill bottles are different from the others." As he spoke, he casually picked one up.
"Be careful, don't let it be something highly poisonous." Cultivators were always somewhat wary of things stored in jade or porcelain bottles. As the Feng ancestor's Divine Sense swept over, he quickly urged caution.
The third ancestor was also exceptionally careful. As he spoke, he had already tossed the small green bottle into the air and then, with a casual flick of his finger, a shield of Spirit Power enveloped the bottle. Immediately, he pointed again, and the stopper was opened. As the stopper popped open, a faint fluctuation of soul power rippled from the mouth of the bottle.
"This... this... this is a Soul-Containing Bottle?" Feeling the fluctuation of soul power, the Feng ancestor, who had also been staring at the small green bottle, said with some uncertainty as he sensed it carefully.
Although they had seen Soul-Containing Bottles before, unless soul power was leaking out, they couldn't sense it just from the surface. From the outside, it didn't look much different from some medicinal pill bottles. Now that there was an unexpected fluctuation of soul power, the Feng ancestor couldn't be sure.
Just as the Feng ancestor's voice fell, a wisp of a soul drifted out from the mouth of the bottle.