Three months after entering Black Stone Mine, Elder Luo Cheng returned to Black Mountain Gate.
At least, that was what everyone saw.
A black-brown elder robe. A dark iron token at the waist. A cold face with sunken eyes. A heavy aura that made ordinary disciples lower their heads before they even spoke.
Fang Lin walked along the western mountain path with Tan Wu and Mei Su following behind him. Tan Wu carried the medicine box, while Mei Su held the sealed mine reports carefully against her chest.
Neither of them spoke.
During the past three months, they had grown used to his silence. To them, Elder Luo had only become slightly more reclusive after guarding the mine.
That was not strange.
Luo Cheng had always been difficult to approach.
Cold.
Suspicious.
Unpleasant.
Fang Lin used that reputation like armor.
The sect was busier than when he had first entered. Disciples moved between training grounds, inner disciples carried scrolls toward the central halls, and several Spirit Foundation elders flew short distances between stone platforms, their robes stirring in the mountain wind.
Black Mountain Gate's atmosphere felt heavy.
Not only because of the mountain pressure.
Because of tension.
Fang Lin sensed it immediately.
The matter of the Demon Sealing Ruins had not ended. Guo Zhen had not returned. Many disciples had died. The three sects had failed to silence the surviving recruited cultivators because of the unknown senior from the Thousand Leaf Immortal Sect.
Rumors had spread.
Some said Guo Zhen had died to demonic contamination. Some said a hidden cultivator had slaughtered disciples inside the ruins. Some said the three sects had sent secret Spirit Foundation geniuses to kill recruited cultivators and then lost control of the situation.
No one knew the full truth.
But everyone knew something had gone wrong.
Fang Lin's expression did not change.
He continued along the stone road toward the western resource district.
The Resource Hall of Black Mountain Gate was built into the side of a cliff. Its outer walls were made of black stone, reinforced with iron patterns and formation lines. Two stone statues stood before the entrance, each shaped like a crouching mountain beast.
The disciples guarding the door wore black-brown robes and iron waist tokens. When they saw Fang Lin, they bowed immediately.
"Elder Luo."
Fang Lin gave a cold nod and entered.
Inside, the hall was wide and dim. Rows of stone shelves held scrolls, jade slips, ore samples, and sealed boxes. Clerks moved quietly between them, recording shipments and resource distributions.
At the far end of the hall sat an old man in dark elder robes.
His hair was grey, his shoulders were broad, and his cuffs carried three black mountain stripes.
Peak Spirit Foundation Realm.
Elder Shi Kun.
He managed several western resource halls and outer mine shipments. His aura color was dark brown mixed with iron grey. Unlike Luo Cheng's cold heaviness, Shi Kun's pressure felt more settled, like an old mountain that had endured too many storms to move easily.
Fang Lin walked forward and cupped his hands slightly.
"Elder Shi."
Shi Kun stopped reading a scroll and looked up. His gaze landed on Fang Lin's face for a moment.
"Luo Cheng. You returned."
His voice was low.
"Black Stone Mine?"
Fang Lin nodded. He took the sealed reports from Mei Su and placed them on the table.
"Stable. Production of Black Stone Crystal has not changed much. The lower vein pressure increased twice, but the formation pillars held."
Shi Kun opened the report and scanned it. His expression remained dull.
"Any theft?"
"Two workers tried to hide crystal fragments. Their hands were broken."
Shi Kun nodded.
That matched Luo Cheng's style.
"What about the guards?"
"Lazy, but not useless."
Shi Kun snorted lightly. "That is already better than most outer mine guards."
Fang Lin remained silent.
Shi Kun read a few more lines, then placed the report aside.
"Your handwriting is still ugly."
Fang Lin's expression did not change.
"Reports only need to be readable."
Shi Kun glanced at him, then gave a faint grunt.
"Still the same temper."
Fang Lin lowered his eyes slightly.
Inside, his mind remained calm.
Small details mattered. A wrong response here could create suspicion, but Luo Cheng had never been polite, and Shi Kun clearly did not expect him to be. In a strange way, Luo Cheng's bad personality made him easier to imitate.
If the real Luo Cheng knew that his unpleasant nature had become useful after death, he might have coughed blood again and again.
Shi Kun leaned back.
"The sect has been unsettled while you were away."
Fang Lin said coldly, "Because of Guo Zhen?"
Shi Kun's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Not only him."
He tapped the table.
"The River Sword Sect lost Lu Han. Crimson Flame Hall lost Yan Chi. We lost Guo Zhen. Three Middle Spirit Foundation geniuses vanished inside the Demon Sealing Ruins."
His voice became lower.
"Not died openly. Vanished."
Fang Lin did not speak.
Shi Kun continued, "The Sect Master and Elder Mo believe someone killed them before the ruins ejected everyone."
Fang Lin's face remained cold. "Who?"
"If we knew, would the sect still be unsettled?"
Fang Lin gave no reply.
Shi Kun looked at him for several breaths before saying, "You were lucky to be assigned to the mine. Those who stayed in the sect have been questioned repeatedly."
Fang Lin's eyes moved slightly. "Questioned?"
"Every elder connected to Guo Zhen's resource distribution, training, missions, and recent movements."
Shi Kun's fingers tapped the report again.
"His death caused trouble."
Fang Lin understood.
Guo Zhen had not been an ordinary disciple. A newly broken through Middle Spirit Foundation genius might not be much before the peak powers of the continent, but inside Black Mountain Gate, he had represented future strength.
His death meant lost resources.
Lost face.
Lost hope.
And perhaps even weakened the connection to Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
If Guo Zhen had lived, there was a chance he might have climbed higher in the future. Black Mountain Gate had not only lost a disciple. It had lost a possible ladder.
Shi Kun suddenly said, "You supervised some outer resource shipments before your mine duty."
Fang Lin's heart moved.
His face did not change.
"I did."
"Some old records need sorting."
Shi Kun waved his hand, and a clerk brought over a black archive token.
"The sect will prepare a tribute summary for the next communication with Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain. Old reward batches, ore tribute, disciple support records, and external resource distributions need to be checked."
Fang Lin looked at the archive token.
His thoughts sharpened instantly.
Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
The door had opened by itself.
Shi Kun pushed the token forward.
"You are unpleasant, but you are careful with numbers. Take three days. Enter the outer archive and sort the records related to external body-tempering reward batches from the last ten years."
Fang Lin accepted the token calmly.
"Yes."
Shi Kun looked at him. "Do not lose anything."
Fang Lin snorted. "I am not a disciple."
Shi Kun also snorted.
"Go."
Fang Lin turned and left.
Tan Wu and Mei Su followed behind him.
Only after they exited the Resource Hall did Fang Lin's eyes deepen slightly.
Three days.
Outer archive.
External body-tempering reward batches.
This was exactly what he needed.
But the timing was also dangerous. If the sect was preparing a tribute summary for Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain, then contact with that major power might arrive soon.
A message.
An envoy.
A request.
Or an inspection.
Fang Lin needed to move very carefully.
That night, he returned to Luo Cheng's western slope residence.
Old Ke opened the courtyard gate and bowed.
"Elder has returned."
Fang Lin gave a faint nod and entered.
The residence was exactly as Luo Cheng's memories described. Cold stone rooms. A body-tempering chamber. A side room for scrolls. A storage chamber containing old robes and low-grade pills.
Nothing warm.
Nothing unnecessary.
It suited a lonely cultivator with no family ties.
It suited Fang Lin even more.
He entered the main room and activated the formation. Only then did he sit down.
The black archive token rested in his palm. A faint formation mark moved inside it.
He did not go to the archive immediately.
Being too eager would be suspicious.
Luo Cheng had just returned from three months of mine duty. It would be normal for him to rest first, review his own notes, and enter the archive the next day.
Fang Lin closed his eyes.
His divine sense spread through the residence.
Old Ke was boiling water in the back room. Tan Wu was organizing the medicine box. Mei Su was sorting scrolls.
No one was watching.
Good.
Fang Lin withdrew his divine sense and began circulating the Soul Metamorphosis Technique.
After the breakthrough to the Late Stage Solid Soul State in the mine, his soul had become stronger and more stable. Maintaining Luo Cheng's identity no longer strained him as much as before.
But the Resource Hall was different from the mine.
More elders.
More clerks.
More records.
Hence, more chances for mistakes.
He could not afford even a small slip.
The next morning, Fang Lin went to the outer archive.
The archive stood behind the Resource Hall, built into the inner side of the cliff. Its entrance was guarded by two Late Qi Conjunction disciples and one Early Spirit Foundation deacon.
The deacon was a short man with a square face and thick eyebrows. His robes were black-brown, but his waist token was bronze, marking him below elder rank.
When he saw Fang Lin, he cupped his hands.
"Elder Luo."
Fang Lin held out the archive token.
"Elder Shi ordered me to sort external reward batch records."
The deacon checked the token and immediately stepped aside.
"Please enter."
The archive door opened.
Cold, dry air flowed out.
Fang Lin stepped inside.
Rows of stone shelves stretched into the dimness. Jade slips were sorted by year and origin. Scrolls were sealed in black wooden tubes. Some boxes carried formation locks to prevent tampering.
Fang Lin walked slowly.
Luo Cheng's memories allowed him to find the correct section without hesitation.
External resources.
Body-tempering materials.
Higher power reward batches.
Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
The section was smaller than Fang Lin expected.
That made sense.
Black Mountain Gate was only a low-level affiliated force. It did not receive rewards often.
He sat at a stone table and began reading.
The first batch was from eight years ago.
Ordinary body-tempering paste.
Heavy stone marrow.
Black bone grass.
Distributed to inner disciples.
Nothing useful.
The second batch was from six years ago.
Dark shell powder.
Mountain blood pills.
Stone pressure talismans.
Nothing.
The third batch was from four years ago.
Fang Lin's eyes paused.
External Reward Batch Seventeen.
BMT-17.
Sent from Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
Delivered through a regional envoy.
Marked for promising body-cultivation disciples.
Distributed under the supervision of Black Mountain Gate's inner resource division.
Fang Lin continued reading.
Heavy marrow paste.
Black tortoise shell fragments.
Ancient bone powder.
Earth pressure beads.
Old vitality leaves.
His gaze stopped.
Old vitality leaves.
Quantity: nine.
Condition: sealed.
Evaluation: moderate vitality, suitable for recovery after body tempering.
Distribution: three to Guo Zhen, two to Meng Shi, two to another disciple named Lu Kang, two stored in reserve.
Fang Lin's eyes became still.
There were more.
Two had been stored in reserve.
But this record was four years old.
Were they still there?
Used?
Sold?
Destroyed?
Moved?
Fang Lin read further.
A follow-up note had been added one year later.
Reserve portion transferred to Inner Body Hall for disciple injury recovery.
No names listed.
Fang Lin's expression remained calm, but inside, his thoughts moved quickly.
The leaves might no longer exist.
But the important point was clear.
Guo Zhen had received three.
Fang Lin had only found one in his storage ring.
Did Guo Zhen consume the other two?
Did he trade them?
Or had he kept one because he did not value it highly, while the others had already been used?
Fang Lin memorized everything.
Then he looked at the origin mark.
Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
Outer Resource Division.
Batch source: Old Root Storehouse.
Old Root Storehouse.
The name entered Fang Lin's mind like a hook.
Root.
Leaf.
Grey seed.
Was it a coincidence?
Fang Lin did not believe in coincidences easily anymore.
He continued reading. The record did not explain what Old Root Storehouse was. It only stated that it belonged to Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain's external resource system.
Fang Lin copied nothing.
He only memorized.
Writing down suspicious information would be foolishness.
After that, he continued sorting the records properly. If someone checked later, they would see that Elder Luo Cheng had done exactly what Elder Shi ordered.
He organized the batch slips.
Marked missing seals.
Corrected two shipment counts.
Recorded damaged scroll tubes.
All in Luo Cheng's heavy, ugly handwriting.
Several hours passed.
No one disturbed him.
Near evening, Fang Lin closed the final jade slip.
He had found the first real clue.
Old vitality leaves.
BMT-17.
Old Root Storehouse.
Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
And another important point.
Meng Shi had also received two leaves.
Meng Shi was alive.
Badly injured after the Demon Sealing Ruins, but alive.
Fang Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.
Did Meng Shi still have them?
Had he consumed them?
Had Black Mountain Gate collected his storage items after the ruins?
He needed to find out.
But not immediately.
Meng Shi was connected to the Demon Sealing Ruins incident. Approaching him too quickly would be dangerous.
Fang Lin stored the last record and left the archive.
The deacon outside bowed.
"Elder Luo, finished for today?"
Fang Lin said coldly, "Half finished."
"Understood."
Fang Lin walked away.
His pace was steady.
His face was Luo Cheng's.
His aura was heavy and cold.
But beneath that elder's face, Fang Lin's heart had sharpened.
The grey-green leaf had not come from Black Mountain Gate.
It had come from Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
Black Mountain Gate was merely a lower door.
The next door was higher.
Much higher.
As he returned to the western slope residence, the evening sun fell behind the black mountains, staining the sky dark red.
Fang Lin looked toward the distant peaks.
Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
Old Root Storehouse.
Old vitality leaves.
The path had become clearer.
But clearer paths often meant greater danger.
That night, inside Luo Cheng's stone room, Fang Lin sat alone.
The archive token lay beside him.
The grey seed floated silently in his spiritual sea. The faint sprout mark on its surface did not move, but Fang Lin could feel it.
A quiet longing.
Not hunger.
Longing.
As if somewhere far away, beyond Black Mountain Gate, something connected to it was waiting.
Fang Lin slowly closed his eyes.
He would not rush.
He would finish sorting the records. He would learn what had happened to Meng Shi's leaves. He would avoid the Demon Sealing Ruins investigation. And when the time came, he would find a path toward Venerated Black Tortoise Mountain.
For now, he remained Luo Cheng.
An elder nobody liked.
An elder nobody questioned.
An elder standing quietly behind Black Mountain Gate's first door.
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