Why Is Everyone in My Sect a Spy?!

Synopsis

The moment the sword tip pierced the morning mist, I was kneeling on the Take a Master platform of Qingxu Sect, going through the rite of three kneelings and nine prostrations.

Sect Master Xuanjizi stroked his graying beard and, with a genial smile, bestowed on me the Dao Name “Qingxuan.”

Yet no one knew that a token bearing the character “Shadow” was hidden in my sleeve.

Even fewer knew that this seemingly ethereal, immortal sect had, from the very first day I set foot in it, become the arena of my career as a spy.

Chapter One

My name is Shen Yuan. On the surface I was a down-on-his-luck cultivator, orphaned and alone, who had come to seek entry. In truth I was a secret agent of the Shadow Department of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Three months earlier, a secret report had come out of the imperial city: Qingxu Sect, foremost among the four great sects, was suspected of colluding with the Demon Cult, with the intent of overthrowing the dynasty.

My mission was to infiltrate Qingxu Sect and get to the bottom of it. If the evidence proved conclusive, I was to destroy the proof of the sect’s demon collusion at the right moment, and if necessary, eliminate the ringleader.

The Shadow Department always chose operatives with clean backgrounds and no flaws to exploit. I fit the bill perfectly.

On top of that, my Breath-Concealing Art was flawless, more than enough to suppress my Cultivation Base to the third layer of Qi Refining and pass myself off as an Outer Disciple of the Outer Sect, a man of mediocre Aptitude.

On the day I entered the sect, the one assigned to receive me was the Outer Sect steward, Li Xiuyuan. The man had a sharp mouth and a monkeyish face, and when he looked at people there was always some calculation behind his eyes.

He looked me up and down, took in my plain clothes and my timid manner, then curled his lip and tossed me a set of gray disciple’s robes.

“The Outer Sect has plenty of rules. Talk less and do more. No Outer Disciple looks at what he shouldn’t or asks what he shouldn’t.”

With that he was gone, swishing his sleeves as he walked.

I was lodged in the Outer Sect’s Outer Disciple dormitory, a cramped little wooden room that packed in four people.

The three disciples who shared it were: Wang Dazhuang, with a back like a tiger’s and a waist like a bear’s, a brute who lived for body-tempering;

Zhao Shusheng, too feeble to have strangled a chicken in his life, yet with a bellyful of poetry and books;

and Su Waner, a silent girl whose brows always carried a trace of sorrow.

At first I assumed the three were ordinary disciples. Day after day I chopped firewood, hauled water, and cultivated by the book, all the while watching the sect’s every move in secret.

Qingxu Sect really did have the air of an immortal gate: green mountains rearing up, clouds and mist wreathing around, disciples in white robes pure as snow, their steps light. Yet the calmer it was, the more wary I grew.

Everyone in the Shadow Department knew that the fiercest undercurrents usually hid beneath the calmest lake.

As the days passed, I gradually began to notice things that were not right.

The steward, Li Xiuyuan, seemed greedy for money and gain, yet every time he went down the mountain to purchase supplies, he would sneak off to the Black Market in the west of the city for a circuit.

Once I deliberately knocked over his travel bag. What fell out was not the Medicinal Pills and Magic Tools the sect needed, but a packet of black sand stained with Demonic Qi.

Wang Dazhuang was easygoing on ordinary days, but every full moon he would slip away to the bamboo grove behind the mountain and trace strange gestures at the empty air.

I followed him secretly once and saw him in a secret conversation with a man in a black robe. The man’s voice was hoarse, carrying the thick accent peculiar to the Demon Cult’s cultists.

Zhao Shusheng always claimed to be single-minded toward the Dao, yet in the depths of night he would secretly copy out the Demon Cult’s cultivation technique manuals and secret manuals.

Once, pretending to get up in the night, I caught him frantically hiding the Secret Manual under his pillow, his eyes full of panic.

Even Su Waner, the least noticeable of them all, was strange in her own way.

At her waist hung a jade pendant, and the pattern on it was unmistakably the token of the Demon Cult’s Saintess.

My heart lurched, and a ridiculous yet perfectly clear thought surfaced:

How was it that the Outer Sect of Qingxu Sect was crawling with undercover agents?

I forced down the shock in my heart and went on playing the ever-obedient disciple Qingxuan, a man of mediocre Aptitude.

I knew that the more moments like this came, the more I had to keep my head.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Who was the mantis, and who the oriole, was still undecided.

Chapter Two: The Senior Brother’s “Goodwill”

Half a year after entering the sect, thanks to a fairly diligent attitude toward cultivation and a nature that never stirred up trouble, I had muddled along into the middle ranks of the Outer Sect as an Outer Disciple.

On this day, the sect was selecting Inner Sect disciples for promotion to Inner Disciple, and the test was to fight a third-rank Demonic Beast, the Fire Lion. The Fire Lion had thick hide and tough flesh, and its fire-type techniques were astonishingly powerful. For disciples at the Qi Refining stage, it counted as no small challenge.

When my turn came to step onto the field, I deliberately hid my ability and used only thirty percent of my strength. After several rounds of grappling I won by a hair, but I was left battered all over.

After the assessment ended, a young man in a moon-white robe walked up to me. His features were striking, his bearing warm and refined. He was none other than Chu Mingxuan, the finest Inner Disciple of the Inner Sect and a Direct Disciple of Sect Master Xuanjizi.

“Junior Brother Qingxuan, some of the moves you just made were off.” Chu Mingxuan handed me a vial of healing medicinal pills, his voice gentle. “This Fire Lion’s weakness is in its abdomen. If you can find the right moment, one strike is enough to defeat it. There was no need to end up in such a wretched state.”

I took the Medicinal Pills and bent at the waist to thank him. “Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother Chu. This junior brother is dull of Aptitude and still has much to learn from his senior brother.”

Chu Mingxuan smiled and reached out to pat my shoulder. “Think nothing of it. On the road of cultivation, diligence is what matters. If you don’t mind, come to my Zhuyun Peak someday and I’ll give you a few pointers.”

My heart stirred. Chu Mingxuan was the Sect Master’s Direct Disciple; if I could worm some information out of him, it would be of great benefit to my mission. But on second thought, the man was too perfect, perfect to the point of being unreal.

The Shadow Department’s training had taught me to keep my guard up twelve times over around everyone. I thanked him for his kindness but declined his invitation. “I’m grateful for your goodwill, Senior Brother. It’s only that this junior brother’s Aptitude is low, and I fear I would hold back your cultivation.”

Chu Mingxuan did not press it. He only shook his head with a smile and turned to leave.

Watching his back, I knotted my brows. Just now, when he had patted my shoulder, I had clearly felt a wisp of extremely faint Demonic Qi flick past his fingertips.

This Chu Mingxuan was probably no good sort either.

Sure enough, a few days later I stumbled on Chu Mingxuan meeting in secret with a man of the Demon Cult at the back mountain. He stood on a huge boulder, his expression cold and hard, nothing like his usual warm and refined self.

“Is the item ready?” Chu Mingxuan’s voice carried a trace of cold that was not easy to detect.

“Rest easy, Young Master Chu. Three days from now, the item will certainly be delivered into your hands.” The man in the black robe spoke respectfully.

“Mm.” Chu Mingxuan answered flatly. “Remember: not a fraction of this may leak. If anything goes wrong, you know the consequences.”

The man in the black robe agreed hastily, then turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished into the night.

Chu Mingxuan turned, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, his eyes sharp as an eagle’s. I held my breath, concealing my presence to the extreme, my heart pounding.

He looked for a long while and seemed to notice nothing amiss. Only then did he turn and leave.

I let out a breath, but my back was already soaked with cold sweat.

This Qingxu Sect really was hiding dragons and crouching tigers. Even a Direct Disciple was colluding with the Demon Cult. It seemed my mission would be trickier than I had imagined.

Chapter Three: The Senior Sister’s “Test”

Chu Mingxuan’s probing had made me all the more cautious. I knew that in this sect, there was no one I could trust.

And yet trouble always seemed to come knocking of its own accord.

On this day I was chopping firewood at the back mountain when I heard a woman’s cry of alarm. I looked toward the sound and saw Su Waner driven into a corner by a second-rank Demonic Beast, a Swift Wind Wolf.

The Swift Wind Wolf was blindingly fast, its claws gleaming cold, and Su Waner was so frightened that her face went deathly pale as she retreated step after step.

I hesitated. By rights I had no business meddling. But then I thought again: the jade pendant at Su Waner’s waist might hide some secret. If I could save her life, perhaps I could worm some information out of her.

I gripped the firewood knife in my hand, drew up the Spiritual Energy in my body, and charged. The knife fell in a fierce arc of blade-light, just barely turning aside the Swift Wind Wolf’s claws.

“Junior Sister Su, run!” I called in a low shout.

Su Waner froze for a moment, then realized what was happening and scrambled to the side.

I grappled with the Swift Wind Wolf, the firewood knife whirling in my hands with astonishing vigor. I still hid my strength, using only forty percent of my Cultivation Base, and fought the wolf to a standoff.

Just then a clear, crisp woman’s voice rang out: “Junior Brother Qingxuan, I’m here to help!”

I looked up and saw a woman in a pink dress drift over as light as a feather, a long sword in her hand, her figure graceful. It was none other than Liu Ruyan, the Inner Sect’s Senior Sister.

Liu Ruyan’s swordplay was exquisite beyond compare. The long sword left its sheath, the sword-light like a bolt of white silk, and in just a few moves she cut the Swift Wind Wolf down.

“Thank you for saving my life, Senior Sister Liu.” I cupped my hands in thanks.

Su Waner hurried to thank her as well, her voice trembling slightly.

Liu Ruyan smiled, her gaze settling on me, sizing me up with interest. “Junior Brother Qingxuan, your knife work just now was rather methodical. Who’d have thought it? For all your mediocre Aptitude, you’ve got real skill after all.”

My heart clenched. This is bad, I thought. I must have given something away when I made my move.

I hastily lowered my head and put on a look of alarm. “You praise me too much, Senior Sister. This junior brother was only chopping about at random. It was luck, nothing more.”

Liu Ruyan looked at me with a smile that was not quite a smile. “Luck? Lasting this long under the Swift Wind Wolf’s claws is not something mere luck can do.”

She stepped closer, dropped her voice, and spoke in a tone only the two of us could hear. “Lord Shen of the Shadow Department. You have been well, I trust?”

My whole body went rigid, my pupils contracting sharply.

How could she know my identity?

My head snapped up and I looked at Liu Ruyan, my eyes turning icy in an instant. My hand crept quietly to the dagger at my waist. If she dared expose me, I would strike at once and kill to silence her.

Liu Ruyan, however, showed no sign of caring about my murderous intent. Instead she smiled faintly. “There’s no need to be tense, Lord Shen. I am not your enemy.”

She drew a token from her sleeve. The token was engraved with the character “Guard.”

“I am Liu Ruyan, Imperial Guard Commander of the Great Yan Dynasty.” Her voice dropped even lower. “I’m here to investigate Qingxu Sect’s demon collusion as well.”

I looked at the token, and a stormy sea surged up in my heart.

The Imperial Guard Commander? A spy as well?

Just how many undercover agents was this Qingxu Sect hiding?

Chapter Four: An Alliance with Hidden Agendas

Liu Ruyan’s appearance had left me thoroughly bewildered.

I had never imagined that this seemingly sweet and delicate Senior Sister was actually the Imperial Guard Commander.

“Why are you here?” I stared into her eyes, trying to read something in them.

“The dynasty didn’t send only you from the Shadow Department. It sent the Imperial Guard as well.” Liu Ruyan put the token away, her voice soft. “The Shadow Department investigates; the Imperial Guard handles the response. I just didn’t expect we’d meet like this.”

I pondered for a moment. The Shadow Department and the Imperial Guard had always kept their waters separate. For this mission, the top had sent me alone and said nothing about anyone from the Imperial Guard taking part.

“How can you be sure I’m not with the Demon Cult?” I asked coldly.

Liu Ruyan laughed. “The Shadow Department’s Breath-Concealing Art is one of a kind in the world. When you made your move just now, you hid your ability on purpose, but that faint trace of presence could not fool me.”

I fell silent. It seemed this Liu Ruyan really did have some skill.

“In that case, let’s cooperate for the time being.” I slowly lowered the dagger from my waist. “But let me put the ugly words first: if you dare play any tricks, don’t blame me for being merciless.”

“Relax.” Liu Ruyan patted my shoulder. “Our goals are the same: to get to the bottom of Qingxu Sect’s demon collusion.”

Just like that, Liu Ruyan and I formed a temporary alliance.

From her mouth I learned more. It turned out that besides her and me, people from other factions had infiltrated Qingxu Sect as well.

Wang Dazhuang was a spy the Demon Cult had planted in the sect to pass along messages. Zhao Shusheng was a scout sent by the neighboring Qinglan Kingdom, intending to steal Qingxu Sect’s cultivation techniques. Su Waner’s identity was the most special of all: she was the younger sister of the Demon Cult’s Saintess, sent into Qingxu Sect by the Demon Cult to keep her safe, far from the cult’s strife.

And the seemingly gentle Senior Brother Chu had an even more complicated identity. He was not only the Sect Master’s Direct Disciple but also the illegitimate son of the Demon Cult Leader. This collusion between Qingxu Sect and the Demon Cult had been brokered by him from the middle.

The words made my scalp go numb.

The Outer Sect steward was with the Demon Cult; the three disciples who shared my room were, respectively, Demon Cult, Qinglan Kingdom, and the younger sister of the Demon Cult’s Saintess. The Inner Sect senior brother was the Demon Cult Leader’s illegitimate son; the Inner Sect senior sister was the Imperial Guard Commander.

This Qingxu Sect was simply a grand hodgepodge of undercover agents!

“Then what about Sect Master Xuanjizi?” I asked hurriedly. “Is he with the Demon Cult too?”

Liu Ruyan shook her head. “Not for now. Xuanjizi is deep and calculating, and his dealings leave no openings. I investigated him for half a year and never found a single lead.”

I knotted my brows. Sect Master Xuanjizi was the key figure. If even he was in collusion with the demons, then this matter was probably not so simple.

“Three days from now, Chu Mingxuan will make a deal with someone from the Demon Cult.” Liu Ruyan said suddenly. “The item being traded seems to be Qingxu Sect’s Sect-Suppressing Treasure, the Qingxu Sword Manual.”

“The Qingxu Sword Manual?” My heart jolted. “That’s one of the cultivation world’s finest Secret Manuals of the sword. If it falls into the Demon Cult’s hands, the consequences are unthinkable.”

“Exactly.” Liu Ruyan’s expression was grave. “So we have to stop this deal.”

I nodded. This was, after all, one of the Missions of my trip.

Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were not so simple. As the Demon Cult Leader’s illegitimate son, why would Chu Mingxuan go out of his way to trade the Qingxu Sword Manual with the Demon Cult?

There had to be something else fishy in this.

Chapter Five: The Twist at the Deal

Three days later, on the night of the full moon.

The bamboo grove at the back mountain was thick with mist.

Liu Ruyan and I hid in the branches of an ancient towering tree, holding our breath as we waited for the deal to begin.

As the night deepened, two figures appeared in the center of the grove, one before the other.

The one walking in front was Chu Mingxuan. He was still in his moon-white robe, his expression cold and hard. The one walking behind was a man in a black robe, the very same man who had held that secret talk with Wang Dazhuang.

“Did you bring the item?” The man in the black robe’s hoarse voice echoed through the bamboo grove.

Chu Mingxuan drew a brocade box from his sleeve and tossed it over. “The Qingxu Sword Manual. Here it is.”

The man in the black robe took the brocade box, opened it, and a satisfied smile spread across his face. “Young Master Chu is trustworthy, as expected.”

He too drew a jade vial from his sleeve and tossed it to Chu Mingxuan. “This is the Spirit Severing Pill the Cult Leader promised you.”

Chu Mingxuan took the jade vial, uncorked it and sniffed, then nodded. “Very good.”

Just then Liu Ruyan and I exchanged a glance and leaped down together.

“Chu Mingxuan, colluding with the Demon Cult is a crime deserving ten thousand deaths!” Liu Ruyan leveled her long sword straight at Chu Mingxuan.

Chu Mingxuan, however, showed not a hint of panic. Instead he sneered. “Senior Sister Liu. You have been well.”

The man in the black robe’s face changed at the sight. “Who goes there?” he barked.

“Liu Ruyan, Imperial Guard Commander of the Great Yan Dynasty!” Liu Ruyan’s voice rang with righteous authority.

The man in the black robe’s face changed drastically, and he turned to flee.

“Trying to run?” I sneered and flashed forward, blocking his path. The dagger in my hand gleamed cold.

Seeing this, the man in the black robe knew he could not escape, so he turned back and glared at us with vicious hatred. “If you’re men of the dynasty, then you should know what happens to those who stand against the Demon Cult!”

“Words are wasted!” Liu Ruyan swept her long sword out and drove it at the man in the black robe.

The man in the black robe refused to be outdone. He drew a curved saber and closed with Liu Ruyan.

I turned to Chu Mingxuan instead, my voice cold. “Senior Brother Chu, surrender yourself.”

Chu Mingxuan laughed instead, a strange laugh. “Shen Yuan, do you really think I was making a deal with the Demon Cult?”

My heart stirred. I had caught a thread of something wrong.

“What else would it be?” I asked coldly.

Chu Mingxuan slowly uncorked the jade vial in his hand and poured out the Medicinal Pill inside. It was no Spirit Severing Pill, but a black pellet that gave off a pungent stench.

“This is the Demon-Swallowing Pill.” Chu Mingxuan’s voice carried a thread of ice. “A Medicinal Pill made specifically to counter the Demon Cult’s people.”

My pupils contracted sharply.

The Demon-Swallowing Pill?

Just then the man in the black robe let out a wretched cry. Liu Ruyan’s sword had pierced his shoulder, and from the wound wisps of black smoke rose.

“You… you dare trick me!” The man in the black robe clutched his wound and glared at Chu Mingxuan with vicious hatred.

Chu Mingxuan sneered. “Tricking you was exactly the point. I, Chu Mingxuan, am a disciple of Qingxu Sect. How could I possibly make common cause with the Demon Cult?”

He had barely finished speaking when a streak of golden light shot in from outside the grove, straight at the man in the black robe.

The man in the black robe could not dodge in time. The golden light struck him, and in an instant he turned to flying ash.

Liu Ruyan and I focused our eyes and saw Sect Master Xuanjizi walking over at a leisurely pace, a fly whisk in his hand, his bearing august.

“Sect Master!” Liu Ruyan and I bent at the waist in salute together.

Chu Mingxuan bent at the waist as well. “Honored Master.”

Xuanjizi stroked his beard and nodded. “Mingxuan. Well done.”

Liu Ruyan and I looked at each other, utterly lost.

What on earth was going on?

Chapter Six: The Sect Master’s Gambit

Xuanjizi’s appearance had completely turned the situation around.

He looked at our bewildered expressions and said slowly, “It seems you’ve all been kept in the dark.”

So it was that Chu Mingxuan was not the Demon Cult Leader’s illegitimate son. His parents had been killed by the Demon Cult. He had slipped into Qingxu Sect and placed himself under Xuanjizi as a disciple, all to avenge them.

And Xuanjizi had long known that the Demon Cult wanted to get its hands on the Qingxu Sword Manual, so he had deliberately laid a trap. He had Chu Mingxuan pretend to collude with the Demon Cult in order to draw out the Demon Cult’s undercover agents and net them all in one sweep.

“Then what about Li Xiuyuan, Wang Dazhuang, and the rest…?” I asked hurriedly.

“Li Xiuyuan was indeed a spy of the Demon Cult.” Xuanjizi said flatly. “Wang Dazhuang was a piece the Demon Cult planted. Zhao Shusheng was a scout from the Qinglan Kingdom. Su Waner is the younger sister of the Demon Cult’s Saintess. I ascertained her identity long ago. It’s only that she’s not evil by nature, so I didn’t expose her.”

Liu Ruyan and I listened, dumbstruck.

So all of us had been inside Xuanjizi’s calculations?

“Then why didn’t the Sect Master say so earlier?” Liu Ruyan asked, knitting her brows.

“If I had said so earlier, how could I have drawn out the Demon Cult’s main force?” Xuanjizi smiled faintly. “The Demon Cult Leader has always coveted my Qingxu Sect’s Qingxu Sword Manual. For this deal he meant to come in person. It was only that something came up at the last moment, so he sent this underling instead.”

Understanding dawned on me. So Xuanjizi had been casting a long line to catch a big fish.

“Then what about the dynasty…?” I said hesitantly.

“I sent someone to report this matter to the Emperor long ago.” Xuanjizi said. “The Emperor sent you here also to coordinate with my plan.”

Liu Ruyan and I exchanged a glance, both smiling wryly.

After all that fuss, we were the ones who had known the least.

“All right.” Xuanjizi put away his fly whisk, his expression turning grave. “As long as the Demon Cult Leader lives, the cultivation world will not know a day of peace. Three days from now, the Demon Cult Leader will come in person to seize the Qingxu Sword Manual. At that time we will lay an ambush and net him in one sweep.”

Liu Ruyan, Chu Mingxuan, and I answered in unison: “Yes!”

At that moment I finally let out a breath of relief. It seemed the case of Qingxu Sect’s demon collusion had been nothing but one big misunderstanding.

Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were not over.

Su Waner’s identity, Zhao Shusheng’s purpose, and the Qinglan Kingdom’s ambitions… all of it was like an invisible net cast over the whole of Qingxu Sect.

Chapter Seven: The “Surprise” After the Dust Settles

Three days later, the Demon Cult Leader indeed came in person.

Xuanjizi had long since laid an inescapable net, and Chu Mingxuan, serving as bait, led the Demon Cult Leader into the ambush.

A great battle could break out at any moment.

Liu Ruyan, I, and the assembled disciples of Qingxu Sect struck at the same time. Xuanjizi unleashed the Qingxu Sword Manual as well, sword-light crisscrossing with boundless power.

Though the Demon Cult Leader’s power was formidable, he was ultimately one against many. Xuanjizi’s sword caught him in the Dantian and destroyed his Cultivation Base.

The Demon Cult Leader was captured, and the cultists under his command were netted in one sweep as well.

The case of Qingxu Sect’s demon collusion was thus solved.

The Emperor issued a decree commending Qingxu Sect, naming Xuanjizi the True One Who Protects the Nation and Chu Mingxuan the General Who Protects the Nation. Liu Ruyan and I, for our merit in cracking the case, were promoted three ranks.

Everything seemed to have settled.

On this day, as I was preparing to leave Qingxu Sect and return to the imperial city to report, Su Waner came looking for me.

She looked at me, her expression complicated. “Senior Brother Shen, I… I have something I want to tell you.”

My heart stirred. “What is it?”

Su Waner bit her lip and said softly, “Actually, my elder sister, the Saintess of the Demon Cult, didn’t join the Demon Cult willingly. She was coerced by people from the Qinglan Kingdom. The Qinglan Kingdom wants to provoke a war between the Great Yan Dynasty and the Demon Cult and sit back to reap the fisherman’s profit.”

My pupils contracted sharply.

The Qinglan Kingdom?

“There’s more,” Su Waner continued. “Zhao Shusheng is no ordinary scout from the Qinglan Kingdom. He is the Qinglan Kingdom’s prince.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

Zhao Shusheng was the Qinglan Kingdom’s prince?

“I’ve already told the Sect Master and Senior Sister Liu about this.” Su Waner said. “The Sect Master says the Qinglan Kingdom’s ambitions are wolfish, and we cannot afford not to guard against them.”

I nodded, my heart flooded with emotion.

This Qingxu Sect really was hiding dragons and crouching tigers.

I walked out through the Mountain Gate of Qingxu Sect, looked at the green mountains in the distance, and let a wry smile touch my lips.

This spy mission was the most outrageous one of my life.

The sect was crawling with undercover agents, every camp gathered in one hall, each with their own hidden agenda, only to discover in the end that all of it had been one meticulously laid trap.

I was about to turn and leave when Liu Ruyan’s voice came from behind me.

“Shen Yuan!”

I turned back and saw Liu Ruyan coming quickly, an envelope in her hand. She held it out to me. “This is a secret edict from the Emperor.”

I took the envelope, opened it, and was struck dumb.

The edict read: Shen Yuan is ordered to remain undercover in Qingxu Sect, keeping watch on Zhao Shusheng, prince of the Qinglan Kingdom, as well as Su Waner, Saintess of the Demon Cult, and to report their movements at any time.

I looked at the edict, torn between laughter and tears.

Well, it seems my career as a spy will have to go on.

I looked up at the Mountain Gate of Qingxu Sect. Sunlight fell on the lintel, and the three characters “Qingxu Sect” shone bright.

It was as if I could see countless undercover agents hidden in every corner of the sect, staging one Infernal Affairs after another.

Why is everyone in the sect a spy?

Perhaps this is just normal life in the cultivation world.

I shook my head, turned, and walked back through the Mountain Gate of Qingxu Sect.

Under the setting sun, my shadow stretched very long.

This grand undercover spectacle had only just begun.