Chapter 1624: The Diviners Guild

"This must be Fenggu City! Nestled against the river and mountains, spring-like all year round, with abundant harvests—it's the richest area within hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Many of the Holy Son Hall's supplies come from here!"

Soon, Zhang Xuan confirmed their location.

While at the Holy Son Hall, he had read many geography books. This place was not far from the hall, and with a little orientation, he could identify it.

"Searching like this will get us nowhere. Better to use the Library to pinpoint the direction..."

After observing for a while, realizing that aimless searching would yield nothing, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist and took out a blank book. He drew the surrounding streets and wrote the words "The statue of Saint Kui is here."

The Library trembled, but no book appeared.

"What's going on? Failed again?" Zhang Xuan's face darkened.

What was up with the Library lately?

It kept malfunctioning. Did it really need an upgrade?

That made sense—he had been using it for over a year. Old equipment just couldn't hold up.

"No, the Library usually doesn't fail unless... the place where the skeleton is hidden uses special power to obscure the heavenly secrets..."

Just as he was lamenting, a thought struck him.

In the recent failures, Luo Ruoxin, like himself, was of the Void Derivative Physique and couldn't be probed; Wu Chen and those seen at Baixi Mountain had used special means to conceal their tracks, making them invisible to the Eye of Insight and undeducible by diviners...

Now, with the statue of Saint Kui, the Library couldn't find it. Could it be similar to the latter case—not hidden by a special formation, but... obscured by someone using special methods to cloud the heavenly secrets?

"If so, there's only one possibility..."

His eyes flickered as he looked around. He approached a cultivator a few steps away, bowed with clasped hands, and asked, "Excuse me, brother, could you tell me where the Diviners Guild in Fenggu City is?"

"The Diviners Guild? Over there, less than two kilometers away. It's the building that looks like a tortoise shell."

The man, a straightforward middle-aged fellow around forty, replied.

"Thank you..."

His eyes brightening, Zhang Xuan nodded quickly, acknowledged him, and headed in the direction he had pointed.

"You suspect that... a diviner has obscured the heavenly secrets and hidden the statue of Saint Kui?" Luo Ruoxin caught on.

"Hiding it in a special formation can block tracking but can't stop a diviner's calculations... unless someone manipulates the heavenly secrets or uses special techniques to obscure them."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Right!" Luo Ruoxin understood.

Although the Holy Son Hall currently lacked many experts, it was still easy to find one or two diviners close to or at half-step Nine Stars.

Having them calculate the statue's whereabouts would likely pinpoint its location.

The only way to make it completely unfindable was... to obscure the heavenly secrets!

In this city, the only place capable of doing that, and doing it so quickly, was probably... the Diviners Guild!

Knowing the location, they walked a short while and soon saw a tortoise-shell-shaped building before them, its surface covered with various patterns that masked some special power, making it difficult even for divine sense to probe.

"Is it here? We'll know once we go in."

Nodding, Zhang Xuan said no more and quickly approached the main entrance.

"Stop right there. The Diviners Guild only receives diviners, not outsiders!" A young man stepped out, blocking their way.

"I am Zhang Xuan, Hall Master of the Holy Son Hall. A treasure has been stolen from our hall, and I have come to seek your guild master's help in deducing its whereabouts." Flipping his wrist, Zhang Xuan produced the Hall Master's token.

"Hall Master of the Holy Son Hall?"

Startled, the young man quickly clasped his hands: "Senior, please wait. I will inform the guild master at once..."

With that, he hurried inside.

In less than three minutes, an old man with black hair followed him out: "I had no idea Hall Master Zhang was visiting. Forgive me for not welcoming you properly. Please, come in..."

The old man appeared to be in his sixties, with a cultivation base at the peak of Saint Realm Eight. Dressed in the robe of the Diviners Guild, he exuded an air of otherworldly elegance.

"Thank you for your trouble, Guild Master. I have indeed come to ask for your help..."

Zhang Xuan clasped his hands.

"You flatter me, Hall Master. Your name has been thundering in my ears these days. I never expected you to grace us with your presence. It truly honors our guild..."

The old man led the way as he spoke. Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin followed him into the room. As soon as they entered, Luo Ruoxin frowned and sent a telepathic message: "Zhang Xuan, be careful!"

"What's wrong?"

Seeing her take the initiative to warn him for the first time, Zhang Xuan turned his head: "Have you noticed something?"

As if about to speak, Luo Ruoxin finally stopped: "Nothing. Just be cautious."

"Mm." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Since she said so, this place might not be safe. He placed his hand on his belt, ready to act if danger arose.

But perhaps he was overly worried. As they reached the center of the hall, he sensed nothing unusual.

"May I ask what brings Hall Master Zhang here today?"

Once both sides were seated, the old man looked over.

"It's like this. The statue of Saint Kui from our Holy Son Hall was recently stolen. According to the traces, it disappeared here. Since we are both under the jurisdiction of the Master Teacher Academy, I would like to trouble you, Guild Master, to deduce who took it and where it is hidden. If we find it, I will be most grateful."

Zhang Xuan clasped his hands.

He spoke very directly, implying that since the item disappeared in their territory, they should help with the deduction, or else they would be under suspicion.

"Disappeared here?" The guild master frowned, a hint of displeasure on his face: "Hall Master Zhang, are you suggesting that we diviners have hidden the Holy Son Hall's treasure?"

"The one who stole our hall's statue of Saint Kui was an Otherworldly Demon. They hid it so perfectly that even my Eye of Insight couldn't detect it, and even divination couldn't deduce it. I really can't think of who else could do that."

Zhang Xuan looked at him calmly: "The loss of our hall's item is a small matter, but if it involves the Otherworldly Demons and is reported to the Master Teacher Academy, the trouble would be immense. I hope you can help, Guild Master, so that suspicion can be cleared."

"Hall Master Zhang, I respect you as the Hall Master of the Holy Son Hall and the head of the Zhang Clan, and I received you cordially. But now you are falsely accusing our Diviners Guild of wrongdoing. What is your intention?"

The old man stood up abruptly, his face darkening.

"No intention other than to recover our hall's treasure. Guild Master, there's no need to be nervous or angry. If it has nothing to do with you, you wouldn't mind if I search the place, would you? If I find nothing, I will personally apologize to you."

Raising his eyelids, Zhang Xuan looked at him calmly.

"Search? How dare you! We diviners deduce the heavenly secrets. Even the Master Teacher Academy headquarters treats us with respect. What right do you, a mere Hall Master of the Holy Son Hall, have to search?"

His face livid, the old man trembled with rage.