I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 558: The Idea Is Beautiful

Niehua Temple might not be particularly large, but it wasn’t exactly small either. With fifteen or sixteen people scattered about searching, the distances between them were quite considerable. The noise that the Star Martial Warriors made rummaging through the ruins was extraordinary, almost like a scene of heavy machinery at work.

Using Earth Attribute Star Martial Skills, the Leveraging Skill, and similar abilities was commonplace. But what Wang Lan did—using Weight Exchange to make objects within tens of meters float into the sky like cosmic debris—was visually stunning.

The temple had a main hall, but there were also some houses quite far from it. These were probably meant for high-ranking monks. This wasn’t because they were of higher status and needed to be separate, but because distance from others was more conducive to their meditative practices.

For example, Master Chenghai practiced his silent meditation in a dilapidated hut on the back mountain.

Jiang Xinyu came to a cottage. It had not been damaged by the battle and was very clean inside. She gently pushed the door open, and light poured into the cottage.

Inside was a clay Buddha statue, with an incense burner and a meditation cushion in front of it. The east room was a bedroom, and the west room a kitchen. Both the bedroom and the kitchen were tidily maintained.

Just as Jiang Xinyu was about to search the place, an intense sense of crisis suddenly assaulted her. In an instant, her body turned into mist and scattered. The next moment, with a loud noise, the entire cottage distorted and was reduced to ash.

Jiang Xinyu, having evaded the attack, floated in the air. About to leave, she realized she was enclosed by a transparent barrier. Four mysterious figures in black cloaks and strange masks were casting a sealing spell to trap her.

Judging by the Star Energy Fluctuation rippling around the four figures, they were all at the Star Sea realm. The sealing skill they used could even lock space, isolating all sound and movement within. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Even if other Star Martial Warriors were to look over, they wouldn’t see anything unless they approached and sensed it closely.

Jiang Xinyu hurriedly fired a spiral ice cone at the barrier. Its high-speed rotation gave it terrifying piercing power. But upon hitting the barrier, it barely caused a ripple before disappearing without a trace.

"It’s no use. The seal deployed by the four of us at the Star Sea realm cannot be broken even by a Titled Strongman. You might as well die here—"

Within Niehua Temple, Wang Lan lifted his head. A momentary unease washed over him.

Sounds of searching could occasionally be heard around him. Wang Lan searched for Jiang Xinyu but saw no sign of her.

"Hmm? Where’s Xinyu?"

"She seemed to go over to that cottage... Huh? I remember there was a cottage there. I just saw it a moment ago..." Yu Ruoyun said in confusion, her expression suddenly changing. In that instant, Wang Lan had already vanished in a flash.

"I thought that last attack would kill you instantly. I underestimated you. Die—"

The four figures knew they couldn’t delay; they essentially had only one chance to strike. They never expected Jiang Xinyu, supposedly the weakest, to be so powerful.

Star Power surged from Jiang Xinyu’s body. She suddenly raised her hand, and a Sword Qi instantly formed between her fingers. The most lethal attack Jiang Xinyu commanded now was the Sunlight Sword Skill. With Wang Lan’s recent support, her Sword Qi had reached the threshold of evolving into a Sword Soul. If this strike landed, it was powerful enough to instantly kill a Star Sea realm pinnacle expert.

"SWOOSH—"

The Sword Qi instantly struck one side of the sealing barrier. Its terrifying sharpness was released at once, causing the entire barrier to twist violently.

Outside, in what had appeared to be empty space, the air began to distort, like the world seen through a funhouse mirror. Seeing this, how could Wang Lan not realize that there was a barrier here?

With a flick of his hand, a wave of Sword Qi swept out. The Sunlight Sword Skill Wang Lan used was on a completely different level compared to Jiang Xinyu’s. If Jiang Xinyu’s Sunlight Sword Qi was something even a Titled Strongman wouldn’t dare to face head-on, then the Sunlight Sword Skill wielded by Wang Lan was something even an expert like Drulu, who had exceeded the Star Soul Realm, would not dare to confront directly.

With a single slash, the barrier before him shattered instantly.

BOOM! A burst of Star Power erupted, revealing the hidden space before Wang Lan’s eyes. Four figures were sent flying backward. Jiang Xinyu stood there, Star Power surging around her, looking utterly dumbfounded and somewhat dazed at the shattered barrier.

Jiang Xinyu indeed felt a sense of frustration. After all, the four mysterious Star Martial Warriors thought that by sealing her within the barrier, they could hunt her down. But they hadn’t figured out who was the predator and who was the prey.

Jiang Xinyu’s single Sword Qi had already tested the strength of the barrier. Possessing the Sunlight Sword Skill, Supreme Goodness Like Water, and several other S-rank Star Martial Skills, she had the power to fight even four Star Sea realm experts.

What did it matter if she couldn’t break the barrier? She could just kill those who created it. But before she could even exert her full strength, Wang Lan had shattered the barrier with a single sword strike, sending the four mysterious Star Martial Warriors flying.

Jiang Xinyu looked perplexed and didn’t move, but Wang Lan certainly did. His figure flickered. In an instant, he was beside the four Star Martial Warriors, grabbing all four of them.

Only then did the four Star Martial Warriors come to their senses. The sudden destruction of the barrier had dealt them a powerful shock. Combined with the force of Wang Lan’s sword strike, they were lucky to be alive.

"What happened? Huh, it’s you!" Grey Fox, attracted by the noise, rushed over and was taken aback when he recognized the four individuals.

"Do you know them?"

"They are some of the strongest Star Martial Warriors who went missing. What’s going on? Why did you attack us?" Grey Fox took a step forward and demanded.

"GA GA GA... For immortality... AARGH—"

Suddenly, all four screamed. Their bodies seemed to weather away, dissolving into thick black smoke. In the smoke, they crumbled into ash, like scattered paper, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

This scene was strikingly similar to when Wang Lan captured the underlings of the man in the black robe. The Evil spirit could grant them the power of undeath but could also take away their ability to live. Granting undeath required them to offer the lives of those they killed as an exchange. Depriving them of life, however, was merely a thought for the Evil spirit.

"’The Evil spirit... has indeed returned to Cloud Sea,’ Wang Lan said gravely, watching the scene unfold.

"Are you saying those missing people have encountered the Evil spirit? And were then bewitched into becoming its lackeys?" Grey Fox asked in a deep voice.

Wang Lan suddenly looked up, his eyes fixed on Grey Fox with profound meaning. Catching Wang Lan’s gaze, Yu Ruoyun’s eyes also glinted sharply as she too stared intently at Grey Fox.

Speaking of missing persons, aren’t you one of them too?

"Let’s not split up anymore. Who knows if there are still people hiding in the dark."

The group continued their search until nightfall. Apart from the six-word hint left by the old monk—"From origin one comes, to destination one goes"—they found no other information. Even those six words were actually useless information.

Their search proving fruitless, Wang Lan and his colleagues left Niehua Temple and flew back to the Tianjian Bureau. Wang Lan told Grey Fox and the others to rest early, saying they would discuss any matters the next day.

「That very night, Wang Lan quietly left the hotel to find Che Pure.」

"Wang Lan, your visit at this late hour must mean something important," Che Pure said.

"Those missing brothers might have been controlled by the Evil spirit," Wang Lan said gravely.

"I was already mentally prepared for this. Lord Grey Fox had informed me earlier. Right now, the priority is to guard against the destruction the Evil spirit could cause in Cloud Sea Province. It has taken control of so many of our brothers; its schemes must be significant."

"What I mean is... including Grey Fox."

"What?" Che Pure looked at Wang Lan in shock, not expecting him to suspect Grey Fox as well.

"Don’t forget, Grey Fox is also one of the missing, and his squad was missing for three days."

"But didn’t they say they encountered a cognitive distortion field, and for them, only a day seemed to pass?"

"That’s what they say, but who knows?"

"Greedy Wolf, although your reasoning is sound, Grey Fox is a Titled Strongman after all, a person of standing in Jade Country. Your suspicion seems somewhat inappropriate. If you want to doubt him, you’ll inevitably have to arrange for someone to secretly watch him. With Grey Fox’s abilities, detecting surveillance will not be too difficult.

Then... it will be hard for us to explain, won’t it?"

There was another unspoken thought: hadn’t Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun also been out for a day? If Grey Fox was suspect, what about them? Of course, Wang Lan’s and Yu Ruoyun’s strength was enough to clear them of suspicion, but the principle was the same. Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun were powerful, but was Grey Fox, also a Titled Strongman, any weaker?

"I have my reasons for suspicion!" Wang Lan said calmly. "The place we encountered Grey Fox was less than two kilometers from Niehua Temple. And at a location about twenty kilometers from there, we discovered man-made markings left on a tree.

These markers are left to prevent getting lost in dense forests. The marks were no more than twenty-four hours old, so I suspect Grey Fox and his team left them. If only one day had passed for Grey Fox and his team, there’s a temporal contradiction.

Moreover, when we arrived at Niehua Temple, it had just been massacred. The bloodstains were still fresh, indicating it happened about an hour prior, with the battle lasting roughly half an hour.

If Grey Fox was in the vicinity at the time, only two kilometers away, how could he not have detected the commotion? When we encountered Grey Fox, they claimed they had gotten somewhat lost in the forest and joined us because we had a map.

But if they had sensed the aftershocks of the battle, why wouldn’t they have investigated in that direction? Although the inconsistencies aren’t glaring, Grey Fox’s account definitely has flaws.

And a more plausible hypothesis is... the ones who massacred Niehua Temple were very likely Grey Fox and his group."

Upon hearing this, Che Pure’s expression changed drastically. It wasn’t because Wang Lan’s speculation was impossible, but because it was terrifyingly plausible—a possibility Che Pure hadn’t even considered.

"Also, how did the Evil spirit find Niehua Temple? Did it just happen to arrive before us and silence them? After three millennia of changes, and being sealed for that entire time, how did the Evil spirit become so well-informed?"

Wang Lan’s question sent another jolt through Che Pure.

Che Pure had vaguely felt something was amiss. Wang Lan’s point instantly clarified it. Wasn’t this the exact discrepancy?

"There are spies for the Evil spirit within our Tianjian Bureau!" Che Pure immediately made the connection.

"The Evil spirit has just been unsealed; this spy couldn’t be a deeply embedded agent."

"’Is it those few brothers who supposedly returned safely?’ Che Pure said, a cold glint reflecting in his glasses.

"Most likely! We must also secretly monitor these individuals."