Chapter 978: Inspection

The leader of the Five Punishments Guard remained silent, only instructing his subordinates to interrogate the four Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, including Meng Zhang.

Meng Zhang saw no need to conceal his identity. He cooperated honestly with the questioners, revealing his status and background.

This wasn't a secret, nor was there anything unsavory about it.

Upon hearing that Meng Zhang was the Sect Master of Taiyi Sect and that he was visiting Ba Wudi of the Dali Dynasty, the leader couldn't help but give him an extra glance.

He might not have heard of Taiyi Sect before, but having a Primordial Spirit realm Sect Master undoubtedly indicated Taiyi Sect's position among Primordial Spirit sects.

Being qualified to visit Ba Wudi meant having some level of status.

Next, the Five Punishments Guard responsible for questioning Meng Zhang became much more amiable after inquiring about the origins of the four Primordial Spirit True Monarchs.

Once the origins of the four Primordial Spirit True Monarchs were established, the leader began to speak.

He introduced himself as Feng Baofeng, the deputy commander of the Five Punishments Guard.

The siege of this area, trapping everyone here, was an action of last resort.

Several years ago, the Five Punishments Guard received information that Demonic Cultivators were lurking near the Crossing Severing Mountain Range.

The Five Punishments Guard dispatched a large number of personnel to pursue these Demonic Cultivators.

However, the Demonic Cultivators were elusive, skilled at hiding, cunning and unpredictable, repeatedly evading their pursuit.

The reason they surrounded this area was due to suspicions that Demonic Cultivators might have infiltrated it. Hence, they carried out a thorough inspection.

There were certainly several inaccuracies in Feng Baofeng's account.

Demonic Cultivators were a common enemy of the Cultivation World, to be eliminated by all means.

As long as Demonic Cultivators dared to appear openly, the Dali Dynasty's official stance, regardless of their true intentions, would demand a show of pursuit and extermination.

The Five Punishments Guard investigating Demonic Cultivators appeared reasonable on the surface.

However, through the intelligence acquired at the Heavenly Palace, Meng Zhang had gained some insights into the internal situation of the Dali Dynasty.

Within the Dali Dynasty, Demonic Cultivators had always existed.

These Demonic Cultivators weren't all enemies of the Dali Dynasty; some even had cooperation with it.

The case of You HongzhiTrue Monarch from the Four Seas Commercial Firm, who had aligned with the secret demon lineage, was a unique example.The secret demon lineage caused confusion within the Dali Dynasty, naturally inviting comprehensive eradication by the dynasty.

For other Demonic Cultivators, as long as they didn't violate Dali Dynasty's laws, refrain from causing trouble, they could still find a space for survival within the dynasty.

Although Demonic Cultivators were universally condemned in the Cultivation World, it was quite common for major powers like the Dali Dynasty to secretly collaborate with them.

As long as this collaboration remained hidden, evidence wasn't seized, and no one could use it as a pretext to confront the Dali Dynasty.

Demonic Cultivators, due to the nature of their cultivation techniques, often had impulsive tendencies towards violence and a cruel, bloodthirsty disposition.

Those who couldn't control their innate nature occasionally stirred trouble within the Dali Dynasty, resulting in disturbances caused by Demonic Cultivators.

Such Demonic Cultivators were also targets of the Dali Dynasty's vigorous suppression.

However, as per Meng Zhang's knowledge, the Five Punishments Guard wasn't a specialized unit for hunting down Demonic Cultivators within the Dali Dynasty.

The primary responsibility of the Five Punishments Guard was to uphold the legal order of the Dali Dynasty.

Demonic Cultivators would generally only be pursued by the Five Punishments Guard if they committed significant crimes or violated the law.

Meng Zhang had been keeping a close eye on the situation within the Dali Dynasty, frequently reading the official bulletins and reports placed on the communication stone tablets set up at Grand Lion Ridge to stay informed about ongoing events.

If there had indeed been major incidents caused by Demonic Cultivators within the Dali Dynasty, it should have been at least mentioned to some extent in these reports.

However, throughout these years, Meng Zhang had not come across any news related to Demonic Cultivators in the reports he had read.

Of course, it was possible that the Dali Dynasty authorities had intentionally suppressed the information to prevent its dissemination.

But considering that the Five Punishments Guard had been mobilized on a large scale, and according to Feng Baofeng, the deputy commander, they had been hunting Demonic Cultivators for years, it was highly unlikely that such actions could be kept secret.

Meng Zhang sensed a contradiction in the words of the deputy commander, Feng Baofeng, implying that the Five Punishments Guard's current operation was not as straightforward as it seemed and might have hidden motives.

Moreover, Meng Zhang had a deep understanding of Demonic Cultivation himself.

The fact that Demonic Cultivators could survive for years in the Cultivation World, evading the pursuit of major cultivation forces, suggested there were various reasons for their resilience.

An essential aspect was their strong adaptability and survival skills.

Many Demonic Cultivators excelled at concealing their presence, possessing unique methods of hiding.

Unless they practiced special secret techniques or had specific magic tools, it was challenging to identify Demonic Cultivators hidden among ordinary people.

Meng Zhang hadn't observed any indication that the Five Punishments Guard members had learned special secret techniques or had magic tools for identifying Demonic Cultivators.They're attempting to use the methods they employ against ordinary criminals to root out hidden Demonic Cultivators through interrogation, and it's nothing short of a joke.

Given the reputation of the Five Punishments Guard and Han Yao's prestige, their actions shouldn't be this unwise.

Meng Zhang can't help but feel that the inspection carried out by the Five Punishments Guard is just a facade.

Under the pretext of inspecting for Demonic Cultivators, they've locked down this area, most likely with ulterior motives.

Unexpectedly, he's found himself entangled in trouble as soon as he stepped out.

At this moment, Meng Zhang doesn't have the leisurely mindset he had before.

After the questioning concluded, the deputy commander of the Five Punishments Guard, who identified himself as Feng Baofeng, didn't let the four Primordial Spirit True Monarchs present go.

After explaining the Five Punishments Guard's operation to hunt down Demonic Cultivators, he remained silent, standing there without continuing to speak.

Patience was a virtue they all seemed to possess; the four Primordial Spirit True Monarchs also didn't speak, awaiting his reaction.

Since it was an official action by the Five Punishments Guard to pursue Demonic Cultivators, even if they felt dissatisfaction, they could only forcibly restrain themselves and wouldn't act rashly.

After a good while, the dozens of surrounded cultivators had all been questioned, and no issues were found.

However, the Five Punishments Guard didn't cease their activities. Instead, they maintained the lockdown and detained all the cultivators within the sealed area.

Meng Zhang had been closely observing the actions of the Five Punishments Guard, and he noticed they had no intention of lifting the lockdown.

Activating his innate Divine Ability, the Deception Breaking Eye, Meng Zhang examined all the cultivators present.

Aside from three Primordial Spirit cultivators, whom he avoided scrutinizing too deeply to avoid alerting them, he glanced over all the cultivators on the scene. Whether they were the detained cultivators or the Five Punishments Guard members, he roughly grasped their backgrounds.

Among the present cultivators, there didn't seem to be any trace of Demonic Cultivation.

Of course, due to the cursory nature of the scan, some oversight was inevitable.

Furthermore, Demonic Cultivators possessed enigmatic techniques; it was possible that some could evade Meng Zhang's Deception Breaking Eye.

Nevertheless, Meng Zhang leaned towards the conclusion that there likely weren't any Demonic Cultivators among the present cultivators.

The reasoning was simple: if there were truly Demonic Cultivators here capable of evading his detection, his Spiritually Aware ability derived from being a Diviner would most likely trigger an automatic warning.

Even You Hongzhi True Monarch, a Demonic Cultivator from the secret demon lineage back then, hadn't eluded his Spiritual Awareness, let alone other Demonic Cultivators.

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