Chapter 1287: The Thought of Two Factions

After a few moments of thought, the old man asked his subordinate.

"What about the envoys from our god? Is there any problem with them?"

"No, Your Eminence. There has been no problem with them. Since the arrival of the second group of envoys, nothing has happened to them. It looks like Tarius' followers have taken a wary stance once they arrived and are no longer attacking the envoys for now," the man answered.

"However, we still have not found any trace of those Tarius' followers. It is truly as if they just disappeared. There is no artifact or technique that can track them."

The old man frowned.

"The powers across the second heaven are quite restless right now because of this matter. But not all of it is bad. With the news that Rudraf City was attacked and the incident in Su City, all powers have raised their alert. Some of the powers that did not participate before have decided to join the hunt for Tarius' followers across the second heaven," the man continued.

"What are the chances that the group in Su City and the one in Rudraf City are the same group?" the old man asked.

"That is possible, Your Eminence, and we have already considered it. However, the weakest point of that theory is that the attacker in Rudraf City acted very differently from the one in Su City."

"The one in Rudraf City was far more reckless and even dared to carry out a suicide attack. That is why we still lean toward the conclusion that there are two different groups operating in separate places," the man replied.

The old man kept frowning. He thought for a moment before continuing.

"Is there any movement from the rebel group?"

"No, Your Eminence. The rebel groups are still the same. They are still causing trouble in the northern region, but that is all. As for the rebel groups in the other regions, we still have not found any sign of them. They are still hiding themselves well," the man answered.

"The only notable thing we have found is that some individuals whom we already suspect have connections with the rebels are making their way to the Purple Lotus Sect's domain."

"However, they are actually only accepting an invitation from one of the merchant families to an auction. It looks like a great treasure has been found, and that is enough to attract many people from across the second heaven to this auction. So, we did not find anything out of the ordinary in their movements. There are not enough signs of them carrying out any suspicious activities at this auction."

The old man was truly displeased. His gaze was filled with annoyance.

"I can imagine those rebels must be overjoyed with this situation, seeing us and Tarius' followers killing each other. If I were their leader in this situation, I would not leave my hideout. I would simply wait and strike when the time is right," he commented.

"A snake that waits for the right moment to strike is the most dangerous one. Do not lower your guard against them. Keep an eye out for any sign of unusual movement. That includes any suspicious person who might have connections to them."

"Yes, Your Eminence."

The old man nodded and released a deep breath.

"Then, what about the security around the central region of heaven and the surrounding domains? Is there anything unusual?"

"For now, there is nothing, Your Eminence. We are still maintaining tight inspections at every teleportation gate. We have also spread our members, with at least one Immortal Saint in each group, to places where there is a possibility that someone could slip through without passing the gates," the young man answered. Then he remembered something and quickly added,

"Oh, yes. The only thing we have taken note of is that someone from the envoys' group has been inspecting the security at several gates within our domain. The member is a man with Immortal Overlord Stage cultivation."

The old man raised his eyebrows before narrowing his eyes.

"Are you sure he is one of the envoys? Isn't there no one among the envoys with Immortal Overlord Stage cultivation?"

"Yes, we are sure, Your Eminence. There is no mistake about his aura or energy. I also went to verify it myself, and the purity of his energy is no less than yours. There is no way someone like that comes from the second heaven. We thought he might have deliberately used some kind of technique or artifact to fool our inspection artifact," the man replied.

The old man thought for a moment.

"Maybe he just wanted to make sure of something? Did the envoy want to check where those Tarius' followers could have slipped through?" he murmured.

He nodded at his own guess before looking at the man as he spoke.

"Keep looking for traces of those Tarius' followers and continue maintaining vigilance around the central region of heaven. We still do not know how those Tarius' followers managed to slip past our security from the higher heavens. Do not let anyone lower their guard."

"Yes, Your Eminence," the man answered before slowly taking a step back. He continued retreating until he left the hall.

Left alone, the old man thought for a moment.

'I don't know why, but I feel there is something missing in this entire matter. What is it?'

He simply could not put his finger on that feeling. It was as if there was a missing puzzle piece that should have been there, one that could make the entire situation much clearer.

'The sudden visit from the higher heavens to search for a dangerous individual who might have ties to the rebels, and the sudden attacks from Tarius' followers. What is it that I feel is missing?'

Even after thinking for a while, he still could not find the answer, which made him let out a sigh.

'Forget it. It is useless to think about it at this moment. Let's wait for now.'

He then closed his eyes once again and continued his meditation.

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In an unknown place, inside a dim room illuminated only by a few illumination crystals, a man with a pale complexion sat in meditation.

He had a thin body and a bald head. He wore only a pair of black pants, exposing his entire upper body. The aura of a peak Immortal Saint Stage powerhouse leaked throughout the room. His purple aura was so ominous and dense that it looked like a thick purple fog.

That aura also exuded the aura of Tarius' followers.

As the bald man continued meditating, a knock came from the door, followed by a man's voice from outside.

"My lord, I have brought news that you might want to hear."

The bald man opened his eyes. They glistened with a purple light for a split second before he retracted his aura. The purple fog quickly disappeared, and only after making sure there was not even a trace of his aura remaining did he open his lips.

"Enter."

The door opened, revealing a young man with long black hair. He entered with a wary expression, as if he were afraid to step inside. In fact, he was truly tense and even fearful at this moment.

After he thought it was safe, he inwardly sighed in relief. This room was the deadliest place in this hideout because it was where the man before him, their lord, cultivated. Their lord was a master of poison and one of, if not the most powerful poison users in the second heaven.

Just one whiff of his poison aura could kill even an Immortal Overlord Stage cultivator. Three breaths of it could kill even a low-level Immortal Saint Stage cultivator.

He was a walking calamity, and his poison did not distinguish between enemies and allies.

After the black-haired man entered, he dropped to one knee.

"My apologies for disturbing you, my lord, but our courier has already returned, and this time he brought an interesting report."

Hearing that, the bald man became curious.

"Interesting?"

The man nodded.

"Yes, my lord. Over the last few weeks, there have actually been some interesting incidents happening outside..."

He then spoke about the assassination incident in Su City and, most recently, the attack on Rudraf City.

After hearing the report, the bald man was surprised, and it was clear from his expression.

All this time, they had become much more careful with their movements. With many powers strengthening security across the second heaven, their communication network had become disrupted.

They could only use couriers to deliver messages from one group to another.

Even to deliver a small message, they had to evade or fool numerous security checkpoints, or even take long detours to avoid encountering them.

That was why they did not immediately receive the news regarding the incidents in Su City and Rudraf City.

After his initial surprise, the bald man narrowed his eyes. At this moment, he felt that something was strange.

"Is there any message from the other groups saying that it was their doing? I have never heard of this kind of plan from any of the other groups," he said.

"No, my lord. There has been no message regarding this matter, and many of the other groups are asking the same question. They also asked our informants whether we were responsible, but obviously we were not. They also seemed oblivious to the attacks, making it obvious that they were carried out by a group that is not coordinating with us," his subordinate answered.

The bald man frowned.

"This is truly strange. If this is a separate group, which group is powerful enough to do that?" he murmured to himself.

"Is it another reinforcement from our god? The Lord Northern Emperor and Southern Emperor are being held back in the eastern region. But if that is the case, then this unknown reinforcement should have come to the nearest group to inform us of their arrival."

Finding the situation increasingly confusing, he let out a sigh.

"For now, let's wait and see. We will observe the developments over the next few days and see what happens before making a move," he said.

"Yes, my lord," the man answered before leaving the room.

After being left alone, the bald man closed his eyes.

'I don't know why, but I feel something is odd with these attacks.'

He released a deep breath.

'Forget it. As long as those bastards suffer heavy casualties, that is the only thing that matters.'