Chapter 411: A Lead

At those words, the group all furrowed their brows.

They had brought the young man along specifically for his gifted divine ability when they set out from Qishan to find the Meng clan's divine treasure. But to have him unable to make out someone's appearance was something that had never happened before.

At this point, the young man thought for a moment and said, "Though I could not make out the face of the person who took Dream of a Thousand Autumns, I did see a large black cat with a very close connection to that person."

"A large black cat?"

The white-robed middle-aged man and the others all showed puzzled expressions. Black cats were common enough in the world, and how was one supposed to find the person who had taken the Meng clan's divine treasure from a single black cat?

"You may not be aware, but that black cat was no ordinary cat. It was exceptionally large and easy to identify. If we can find that large black cat, we can find the person who took Dream of a Thousand Autumns."

The young man said this with considerable confidence. The large black cat's size was so distinctive that anyone who had seen it would remember it immediately, and following that thread to find the person in question would not actually be that difficult.

Even so, the young man had a quietly unsettling feeling about the person whose face he could not see.

That someone's aura could affect what appeared in his vision was something he had never encountered before, and it was a question that troubled him now.

At this point, the white-robed middle-aged man heard the young man's explanation, exchanged a look with the others, and gave a slow nod, "Since that black cat has such distinctive characteristics, it does provide us with something to work from."

At those words, someone in the group considered for a moment and spoke, "On the road here there were reports that while the Meng clan's divine treasure stirred, the Great Xuan imperial capital also underwent dramatic upheaval, and there was even a female emperor."

A woman becoming emperor was naturally the most astonishing news in the hearts of people everywhere, and its impact on those assembled was even greater than the news of the three demonic sects opening the Demonic Cores.

"There is also a report that the three demonic sects of Great Xuan opened the Demonic Cores, but the Eighth Prince of Great Li stepped in and took everything. He is now a great demon lord known throughout the Great Xuan martial world."

"And that same night, he was here at the Qingxuan Temple. Is it possible he was the one who took Dream of a Thousand Autumns?"

Various members of the group spoke up one after another. Though none of these reports had been confirmed, it did not stop them from directing their suspicion toward Li Musheng.

"That question is simple enough. We investigate and find out. If he has that large black cat with him, then it must be him without question."

The young man said this with sudden certainty. Li Musheng's name had spread through all five kingdoms on the continent, and the group had heard no shortage of stories about him during their journey.

Some called him the first person in the world beneath the Martial Gods, with martial talent unrivaled under heaven. Within the borders of Great Xuan, the talk was that he had entered the demonic path and become a great demon lord to rival the Demonic Patriarch of old.

Every piece of news about him sounded more extraordinary than the last, and most people who heard it for the first time instinctively doubted it was real.

But when the entire world was talking about it, and many people had witnessed with their own eyes how he had suppressed the Assassination Saint of the Hidden Kill Pavilion in front of a crowd, even those who harbored doubts had begun to waver, and were starting to accept that the martial world had truly produced a figure of monstrous talent.

"If the Eighth Prince truly did take the Meng clan's divine treasure, then we must proceed with extreme caution."

The white-robed middle-aged man frowned and spoke. A person's name carried weight like a great tree's shadow.

If Li Musheng were merely an unknown prince of Great Li, they would not have paid him any particular attention. But his name was growing larger by the day, and even these figures, who had heard plenty of extraordinary things, felt a certain unease when they heard it. Looking down on him was simply not something they could afford to do.

"Regardless, the Meng clan's divine treasure must be retrieved. It concerns the future of both our families, and even if it has genuinely fallen into that prince's hands, we cannot give up."

Someone said this in a measured tone, and no one else in the group objected.

Very quickly, the group from Qishan departed from the air above the Qingxuan Temple and vanished in an instant.

...

Shangyang City.

The imperial capital of Great Li had been draped in a heavy, tense atmosphere for the past month or so, with a mood of anxiety and alarm, as though the slightest disturbance would send everything into panic.

This was especially true after news spread that Li Musheng had left Shangyang City. With both the external pressure of four kingdoms and the internal pressure of three top martial world sects, more than a few of the city's residents and wealthy families had been quietly preparing to slip away and move their assets.

Of course, the Great Li court, facing threats on every side, had still responded with decisive measures.

Beyond deploying the Six Doors, the Hidden Intelligence Bureau, and the Tianjin Guards to hold the line against the martial alliance the three-sect coalition had established, they had also mobilized military reserves built up over years, sending them to the borders to resist the incursions from the four kingdoms.

During the time Li Musheng had been away, Great Li had been embroiled in bitter fighting with Great Zhou at the borders, while simultaneously the court's conflict with the three major sects had also cost both sides a great many martial world experts.

Even so, the situation remained deadlocked. The court could not bring down the three major sects, and the three major sects could not deal the court a decisive blow that would give the other kingdoms an opening to exploit.

But that stalemate had been shattered by Great Xuan's move.

Great Xuan's public defiance of the consensus the four kingdoms had implicitly agreed to, withdrawing its forces from the border with Great Li and even actively seeking an alliance, was an unexpected stab in the back that had infuriated the other three kingdoms and left the beleaguered Great Li in stunned relief.