Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 293: Shadow Approaches

Gao Xingchen frowned, Nan Li's words were like a flash of lightning that pierced his thoughts. Yes, the person who wrote the letter knew everything about Xingchen Pavilion, he must be an insider!

"Master, I am incompetent, and the source of the letter is a mystery." Xuan Feng knelt on one knee, his tone heavy. He searched all possible places, but still couldn't find any clues. This letter seemed to have fallen from the sky.

"Get up, this is not your fault." Gao Xingchen rubbed his brows, and an inexplicable irritation surged into his heart. Since the establishment of Xingchen Pavilion, it has never encountered such a difficult matter.

"Report——"

A disciple ran in in a panic, gasping for breath and said, "Pavilion Master, this is bad, Junior Brother Wang...he's missing!"

"What?!" Gao Xingchen stood up suddenly, a cold light flashed in his eyes, "When did it happen?"

"Reporting to the Pavilion Master, Junior Brother Wang went out to buy things early this morning and has not returned yet. We have sent people to look for him, but..." The disciple's voice became smaller and smaller, obviously worried that Junior Brother Wang had met with an accident.

"Let's go!" Gao Xingchen didn't have time to think about it, and immediately took Xuanfeng to the place where Junior Brother Wang disappeared.

Nan Li looked at their departing backs, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. There was a traitor inside the Xingchen Pavilion, and now someone is missing. Is there any connection between these two things? A feeling of uneasiness surged in her heart.

She decided to personally check out the defensive formation of the Star Pavilion, hoping to find some clues. As the deputy head of the Star Pavilion, Nan Li was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also proficient in formations. The defensive formation of the Star Pavilion was arranged by her personally.

Nan Li came to the forbidden area in the back mountain, which was covered with various mysterious runes, emitting a faint light. She carefully examined each array point, and her face gradually became solemn.

"Sure enough, there is a problem!" Nan Li discovered that although the Star Pavilion's defensive formation looked intact on the surface, it had actually been secretly modified by someone. Some key formation patterns had been cleverly modified, causing the power of the formation to be greatly reduced.

"Who is so bold as to modify the Star Pavilion's defensive formation without authorization?" Nan Li's heart was filled with confusion and anger. She was sure that the person who modified the formation knew it very well, otherwise it would be impossible for him to do it so cleverly.

Who is it? Is it the same person who wrote the letter?

As night fell, Gao Xingchen and Xuanfeng still hadn't found the whereabouts of Junior Brother Wang, and a shadow cast over their hearts.

"It seems that we have to prepare for the worst." Gao Xingchen's voice was low, and his tone was full of worry and anger.

At the same time, Nan Li also returned to the meeting room and told Gao Xingchen what he had discovered.

"What?! The defensive formation was tampered with?!" Gao Xingchen was shocked when he heard this, "How could this happen? Is there really a traitor among us?"

"We can't be sure yet, but the possibility is very high." Nan Li said in a deep voice, "We must find out the truth as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."

Gao Xingchen nodded and immediately summoned all the core members of Xingchen Pavilion to discuss countermeasures together.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was so solemn that it seemed frozen. Gao Xingchen sat in the main seat, his face terribly gloomy. Below, several elders and core disciples of the Xingchen Pavilion lowered their heads, their brows filled with worry and uneasiness.

"I believe everyone has heard that a series of strange things have happened in Xingchen Pavilion recently." Gao Xingchen's voice was low and powerful, echoing in the hall. "First, someone secretly passed on information to slander Xingchen Pavilion, then Junior Brother Wang disappeared, and now even our defense formation has been tampered with! What does this mean? It means that there is a problem within us, and it is not a small problem!"

"Master, could it be that we are overthinking it?" The third elder said cautiously, "Maybe it's just a coincidence?"

"Coincidence?" Gao Xingchen sneered, "So many things happened one after another, and you tell me it's a coincidence? Third Elder, you are too naive!"

"That's right, Third Elder, this is no joke!" The Fifth Elder also echoed, "If we don't find the traitor in time, something bad will happen to Xingchen Pavilion sooner or later!"

"Master, I suggest that this matter be thoroughly investigated immediately. It is better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go!" said the Seventh Elder in a firm tone.

Several other elders and disciples also expressed their agreement, and for a moment, the entire conference hall was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

"I have made up my mind. This matter must be thoroughly investigated!" Gao Xingchen slammed the table and said in a deep voice, "From today on, Xingchen Pavilion will enter a state of emergency. No one is allowed to enter or leave at will. Violators will be severely punished!"

"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.

At this moment, a disciple ran in in a panic, knelt on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "Pavilion Master, it's not good, Senior Sister Zhao... Senior Sister Zhao..."

"What happened to Senior Sister Zhao?!" Gao Xingchen's heart tightened and a bad premonition came to his mind.

"Senior Sister Zhao...she was ambushed and seriously injured!"

"What?!" Gao Xingchen felt his eyes go dark and he almost fainted. Zhao Wanwan was his junior sister and one of the people he trusted the most. He would never allow her to make any mistakes!

"Who did it? Where are they?!" Gao Xingchen roared, his voice filled with rage.

“My subordinate…I don’t know…” The disciple was so frightened that he was shaking with fear and couldn’t even speak clearly.

"Waste!" Gao Xingchen cursed angrily, grabbed the disciple by the collar, and asked sternly, "Tell me, where did Senior Sister Zhao appear last?"

"In...near Luoxia Valley..."

"Luoxia Valley..." A cold light flashed in Gao Xingchen's eyes. Without time to think, he pushed the disciple away, turned around and rushed out.

"Master, wait for me!" Seeing this, Nan Li hurriedly followed.

Luoxia Valley is located a hundred miles away from Xingchen Pavilion. It is a primitive forest with few people. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li rushed all the way and finally arrived at Luoxia Valley at dusk.

As soon as he entered the valley, Gao Xingchen smelled a strong smell of blood. His heart sank, and he quickly quickened his pace and ran towards the direction where the smell of blood came from.

Deep in a dense forest, Gao Xingchen finally found Zhao Wanwan. She was lying on the ground, covered in blood, with a weak breath, and was obviously on the verge of life and death.

“Junior sister!” Gao Xingchen’s eyes immediately burst into tears when he saw this. He rushed forward and hugged Zhao Wanwan in his arms, and asked anxiously, “Junior sister, how are you? Who did this?!”

Zhao Wanwan slowly opened her eyes and said weakly, "Brother... cough cough... be careful... they... they..."

Before she could finish her words, Zhao Wanwan fainted.

"Junior sister! Junior sister!" Gao Xingchen was immediately panicked upon seeing this. He hurriedly injected true energy into Zhao Wanwan, hoping to save her life.

At this moment, a burst of cold laughter suddenly sounded from all around: "Hehehe, Gao Xingchen, I didn't expect that you would have this day!"

Gao Xingchen raised his head suddenly, and saw that a dozen men in black had surrounded them. Each of these men in black had a strong aura and murderous intent, and it was obvious at a glance that they were not ordinary people.

"Who are you? Why did you attack my junior sister?!" Gao Xingchen roared.

"It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is that today is the day you die!" The leading man in black smiled coldly, and suddenly a black sword appeared in his hand, pointing directly at Gao Xingchen.

"Want to kill me? With just a bunch of trash like you?!" A cold light flashed in Gao Xingchen's eyes. He gently put Zhao Wanwan on the ground, then slowly stood up, a powerful aura emanating from him.

A war is about to break out! Gao Xingchen settled Zhao Wanwan, his heart boiling with anger, but he also knew that the most urgent task was to find the mastermind behind the scenes. He began to dig deep into every strange thing that happened in Xingchen Pavilion recently, trying to find clues. He found that the person who passed the message was secretive, but deliberately guided public opinion to attack the new policy of Xingchen Pavilion; before Junior Brother Wang disappeared, he had privately contacted a mysterious businessman; and the defense formation was tampered with by someone, and the technique was so sophisticated that it was definitely not something that Xingchen Pavilion disciples could do.

All of this points to a mysterious person who is hiding in the dark and is familiar with the situation of Xingchen Pavilion. Gao Xingchen flipped through the files of Xingchen Pavilion, page by page, trying to find relevant information from the dust of history. Nanli also used his intelligence network throughout the Nine Stars Realm to track down the whereabouts of the mysterious businessman and the people who had contact with him.

However, their investigation seemed to be stuck in a fog, and they could not find a breakthrough. The mysterious man hid himself very deeply, leaving no traces. It seemed that he had fallen from the sky and came specifically to target Xingchen Pavilion.

Just as Gao Xingchen was preparing for further action, another serious incident occurred in Xingchen Pavilion. An important elder was found seriously injured and unconscious in his room. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li rushed to the scene and found that the elder was breathing weakly and the room was in a mess, obviously after a fierce fight.

Gao Xingchen checked the elder's injuries and found that his meridians were broken and his life was in danger. Nan Li carefully searched the room, hoping to find some clues. Suddenly, she cried out softly and found a jade pendant in the elder's hand.

This jade pendant was emerald green, and carved with a phoenix spreading its wings and ready to fly. It was exquisitely crafted, and it was obvious at first glance that it was not an ordinary item. However, what was even more eye-catching was that the phoenix's eye was inlaid with a blood-red gem, which emitted a strange light in the dim room.

Gao Xingchen took the jade pendant and examined it carefully, with a storm in his heart. He had seen the record of this jade pendant in the secret room of Xingchen Pavilion. It was said that it was a token of the founder of Xingchen Pavilion, symbolizing supreme power and glory, and it disappeared later.

"Could it be that all this is related to the past of Xingchen Pavilion?" Gao Xingchen murmured to himself, his eyes full of confusion and shock. The appearance of the jade pendant put a bigger mystery in front of them, and also foreshadowed that they would face more dangerous enemies and challenges.

Gao Xingchen held the jade pendant tightly in his hand. The cold touch was like a branding iron, burning a burning question in his palm. He looked around. The room was in a mess, the tables and chairs were overturned, the books on the bookshelf were scattered all over the floor, and the air was filled with a faint smell of blood and a strange fragrance. He seemed to have smelled this fragrance before, but he couldn't remember where he had smelled it before.

"This fragrance..." He whispered to himself, frowning.

Nan Li keenly noticed his abnormality, "What's wrong? Did you find anything?"

Gao Xingchen shook his head and handed the jade pendant to her. "Do you recognize the mark on this jade pendant?"

Nan Li took the jade pendant and examined it carefully. The jade pendant was emerald green and soft to the touch. It was engraved with a lifelike phoenix spreading its wings and ready to fly. A blood-red gem was inlaid in the phoenix's eyes, emitting a strange light in the dim room, adding a bit of weirdness to this simple jade pendant.

She carefully identified the red gem in the phoenix's eye, and gently stroked the edge of the gem with her fingertips. A familiar feeling came over her heart.

"This seems to be..." She hesitated for a moment, and countless images flashed through her mind, finally settling on an ancient book, "Blood Jade!"

"Blood jade?" Gao Xingchen had never heard of this before. "What's so special about this blood jade?"

Nan Li put the jade pendant back in his hand and explained, "Blood jade is not an ordinary jade. It is made by sealing the essence of a powerful monster with a special secret method and then nurturing it for a hundred years. This kind of jade contains powerful power, but it is also full of ominous omens. Legend has it that only people with evil intentions will use blood jade."

Gao Xingchen's heart trembled. Thinking of the series of strange things that happened in Xingchen Pavilion recently, an ominous premonition came to his mind. Could it be that all this was done intentionally by someone? And what was this person's purpose?

"It seems that we are in trouble." He said in a deep voice, with a hint of solemnity in his tone.

Nan Li nodded, her eyes firm, "No matter who is behind this, we must find out and never let Xingchen Pavilion be destroyed in our hands."

Gao Xingchen clenched the jade pendant in his hand. The blood jade in the phoenix's eyes seemed to be burning, reflecting his resolute face. He had a hunch that this jade pendant was the key to solving the mystery. As long as he followed this clue, he would be able to find the mastermind behind it and uncover the truth behind it all.

"Xuan Feng!" He shouted to the outside of the door. A man in black came in and knelt on one knee. "What do you want, Pavilion Master?"

"Pass the order and block the news. No one is allowed to spread this matter." Gao Xingchen ordered calmly, "Also, send people to closely monitor all suspicious persons. If you find any, report it immediately!"

"Yes!" Xuanfeng took the order and left.

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked at each other, both of them were full of determination. They knew that a bigger storm was approaching, and they were ready to meet the challenge. They would follow the clues on the jade pendant and embark on a road full of unknowns to find the enemy hidden in the shadows and the long-forgotten secrets of Xingchen Pavilion...