"You can't see through it, but you still have to look carefully," Xu Mu said, smacking his lips. "This is a matter of life and death, and more importantly, it concerns the legacy of your Tianshi Mountain. As the Dao Zi, you must protect it well."
Zuo Mingqiu nodded. "I know that, of course. It's just that the time hasn't come for me to make a decision or offer advice. My task now is simply to survive safely until the Heavenly Sacrifice Inheritance Assembly, and then defeat Zhao Qingdong there."
Xu Mu shook his head and said seriously, "Have you ever thought that even if you defeat Zhao Qingdong there, the position of Heavenly Master might not fall to you?"
"Let me ask you this, do you have any confidantes? Who are the trustworthy people among the peaks, who are the traitors, and who are the ones who definitively support Zhao Qingdong? I'll help you investigate."
Zuo Mingqiu asked cautiously, "Why are you asking this?" "I just remembered, you haven't told me your purpose for coming to Tianshi Mountain yet!"
"It's... nothing major." Xu Mu smacked his lips. After some hesitation, he decided not to tell Zuo Mingqiu about True Person Chongming's plan yet.
"In short, you need to know that I won't harm you, nor will I harm Tianshi Mountain." As Xu Mu spoke, he took out the identity token given to him by True Person Taiwu and waved it in front of Zuo Mingqiu, smiling, "See? Even the sect leader of the Law Enforcement Hall, who supports you the most, has approved me and supports me investigating these matters. What else do you not trust me about?"
Looking at the token, Zuo Mingqiu's expression visibly stiffened, and then he calmly said, "True Person Taiwu is not necessarily on my side."
Xu Mu was taken aback. "How is that possible? Wasn't he clearly on your side? He even asked me to guarantee that I wouldn't harm you, and even signed a contract before giving me the token."
Zuo Mingqiu shook his head again. "It's not what you think. True Person Taiwu is the peak master of Rakshasa Peak and the head of the Disciplinary Hall. On the entire Tianshi Mountain, he only obeys the Heavenly Master and the Sect Master."
"His asking you to promise not to do anything to harm me doesn't mean he wants you to help me, but rather he doesn't want you to cause trouble. Currently, the relationship between me and Zhao Qingdong is very delicate. If there's any slip-up, the entire Tianshi Mountain will be in turmoil. That's why he had you sign the contract."
"He specifically mentioned my name because I am still the Dao Zi, a Dao Zi personally recognized by the Old Heavenly Master. He must ensure my safety."
"As for who he will support after the Old Heavenly Master ascends, me or Zhao Qingdong, who knows?" Zuo Mingqiu said calmly, falling into silence.
Xu Mu scratched his head, smacking his lips in confusion, "It's really chaotic."
Zuo Mingqiu smiled slightly. "However, even though he might not be on my side in the future, he is at least on my side now."
"So his token is valid."
"I believe your identity is not a problem."
Xu Mu was stunned.
Zuo Mingqiu paused, then continued, "Sacred Sun Peak, Immortal Weng Fuyuan, True Person Jie Jiao, True Person Huang Long, and True Person Du E are all my confidantes and will definitely support me."
"True Person Lan Qi, True Person Puxian, and True Person Yuding support Zhao Qingdong."
"Most of the elders of Immortal Travel Peak do not participate in this matter, and their attitudes are inscrutable. Only Great Master Xuandu has declared his stance and will support Zhao Qingdong."
"Immortal Weng Nan Ling of Rakshasa Peak, Daoist Cihang of Heavenly Light Peak, and True Person Randeng of Azure Cloud Peak have all clearly declared their support for me. The remaining True Persons have unclear attitudes."
Xu Mu shook his head. "You said it, but it's like you didn't say it."
"I want to know, regarding the assassination attempts you've encountered, do you suspect any mastermind?"
"It's hard to say," Zuo Mingqiu sighed, then said, "If it really comes down to it, you can investigate Daoist Wuji of Azure Cloud Peak. His behavior is very suspicious."
"The day I was assassinated, a domain lord escaped from the scene. His movements resembled his, but there's no evidence."
"Daoist Wuji," Xu Mu nodded. "I've noted it down."
A brief silence. Zuo Mingqiu took a deep breath and looked at the dark walls around him. He turned to look at Xu Mu and asked, "You don't have any more questions, do you?"
Xu Mu nodded. "Yes."
Zuo Mingqiu smiled. "Then let's go out."
"I can't wait to go into seclusion."
Xu Mu nodded. But then, his expression turned to astonishment.
"Why are you shaking?" Xu Mu felt a tremor and looked at Zuo Mingqiu in surprise. Zuo Mingqiu's body was inexplicably trembling, and it seemed like his own body was also moving.
"I'm not shaking," Zuo Mingqiu replied, startled, then asked Xu Mu, "What are you shaking at?"
Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu met eyes and then both silently looked at the ground beneath their feet. They were underground, on the edge of the Thunderclap Zone. Now, it seemed something was moving beneath the ground, causing the surface to tremble. Zuo Mingqiu was closer to the epicenter, so his tremors were larger, but now their amplitudes were exactly the same.
"Such terrifying thunder element, is it a thunder vein?" Xu Mu sensed for a moment, then said with some surprise. He sensed an astonishing amount of thunder element underground, far exceeding the terrifying thunderclouds he encountered in the Heavenly Tribulation Zone. The difference was like that between the ocean and a lake.
"Beneath the Thunder Pool, there are naturally only earth veins, or rather, thunder veins," Zuo Mingqiu said. His brow furrowed. This anomaly beneath the Thunder Pool was something he had never encountered before.
"Let's go down and see." With that, Xu Mu pressed the 'Gen' symbol on his palm and plunged into the earth. Zuo Mingqiu followed closely behind. The two broke through the thick layers of rock and soil without any obstruction, like fish swimming in the ocean. In a short while, they descended to a depth of over forty thousand meters below the surface.
Then, Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu arrived at a vast, boundless underground world, tens of meters high and seemingly infinite in extent. This space, whose creator was unknown, bore marks on the rocks that clearly indicated it had been carved out a very, very long time ago.
In the very center of this space lay a thunder vein, winding like a long snake, emitting terrifying thunderous sparks. What shocked Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu was that this thunder vein was moving. Like a serpent, it glided forward, opened its maw, and swallowed another smaller thunder vein. Immediately, the lightning on its body surged, and its width increased.
"This is not a thunder vein," Xu Mu said, shaking his head with a grave expression. "This is a demon."