The legend of the Shadow Plane and the inference that the demon head remnant soul was hidden within it pressed like a heavy boulder on Tang Xiaoqi's heart. This not only meant the upcoming purge action would be extremely perilous, but revealed a terrifying possibility—the demon head could so precisely hide in that "dark side," and likely recover strength using its environment. Was there "assistance" from within the Alliance?
Realm-External Heavenly Demons excelled at bewitching hearts and amplifying desires. Even he had battled it in his heart's depths. It was hard to guarantee that within the Alliance, especially those in high positions with certain power and resources, none would be invaded. Perhaps not, but even being subtly influenced in judgment, providing some convenience at crucial moments, could cause irreparable consequences. Moreover, who could guarantee no mole existed like previous Shadow Snake Pavilion remnants, long since completely corrupted, willingly serving as demon head's claws?
This thought could no longer be suppressed. The Alliance couldn't withstand another collapse from within. The Purification Institute's demonic spot chaos was not yet completely quelled; if internal problems emerged now, consequences would be unimaginable.
Xiaoqi made no public announcement. He secretly summoned Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng, Third Sister Liu Yun, and a few other absolutely trusted core members, including Second Brother Luo Feng, who had transformed into a "Digital Life" form.
In a secret chamber equipped with multiple protections, Xiaoqi laid out his concerns: "The Shadow Plane entrance is hard to find, internal environment special. For the demon head to so quickly find and hide there, without someone familiar with internal affairs providing guidance or convenience, the possibility is extremely low. We must assume that within the Alliance, at least among those able to access core intelligence or resource allocation authority, there exists a 'mole' influenced by the demon head."
Mu Qingfeng's brow was tightly locked, knowing internal relationships ran deep: "Alliance Master, this matter is momentous. Without conclusive evidence, rashly investigating, I'm afraid..."
"I know the risks." Xiaoqi interrupted. "Therefore this investigation must be conducted secretly, scope limited to Alliance Council elders, important department heads, and core members able to access space-related secrets or large resource allocation authority."
Third Sister Liu Yun's eyes flashed cold light: "Better to kill mistakenly than let one escape?"
Xiaoqi shook his head: "No. What we want is to uncover moles, eliminate hidden dangers, not create panic and wrongful cases. Second Brother, you're responsible for monitoring all non-public communication networks, abnormal resource flows, and people with major behavioral pattern changes, establishing risk assessment models."
Luo Feng's excited voice came from the jade pendant: "No problem! Data analysis is my specialty! Give me authority, I can dig up everyone's secrets!"
"Senior Brother, using the pretext of routine affairs inspection, contact people on the list, closely observe their auras and soul fluctuations for signs of demonic erosion or mind control. I will attach a strand of my spiritual sense to you."
"Third Sister, mobilize the Law Enforcement Hall's concealed forces to investigate these people's recent interpersonal contacts, whether they contacted suspicious items or locations, especially focusing on clues related to confirmed Shadow Snake Pavilion remnants."
After clear division of labor, a silent storm began brewing within the Alliance's high levels.
Mu Qingfeng interviewed each elder and head. He could feel Xiaoqi's strand of attached spiritual sense, like the most precise detector, scanning each thread of spiritual flow, probing the finest ripples in their souls' deepest depths.
Most people were normal—souls clear, auras pure. However, when interviewing Elder Qian, deputy director responsible for Alliance treasury resource allocation, Xiaoqi's spiritual sense caught an extremely subtle, cleverly disguised wave of the same origin as demonic energy source, like a wisp of oil at a stream's bottom. Moreover, when discussing certain specific resources' flow, his gaze flickered momentarily, though quickly concealed.
Almost simultaneously, Third Sister Liu Yun's undercover agents discovered that one of Elder Qian's trusted disciples had secretly traveled several times in the past half year to the vicinity of a restricted Shadow Snake Pavilion peripheral site. Luo Feng's data analysis showed Elder Qian and his faction's recent resource approvals contained several large allocations with unclear destination, exactly matching for certain space experiments, but corresponding project records were vague and contradictory.
Multiple clues converged on the same person.
Just as Xiaoqi prepared to order deeper investigation or control of Elder Qian, an unexpected message arrived—Elder Qian had destroyed his own primordial spirit and died in his seclusion cave dwelling! The scene left no suicide note, only a faint trace of demonic energy and destroyed storage artifact debris that might have held key evidence.
News spread rapidly among Alliance high levels. A real-power elder's sudden self-destruction, especially in such sensitive times, immediately triggered massive shock. Panic and suspicion spread like a plague.
"He committed suicide from guilt! Trying to destroy evidence!" Liu Yun's voice was icy.
Mu Qingfeng showed worry: "Though we eliminated a harm, we also startled the snake, making internal hearts even more unsettled. Other moles are probably hiding deeper, temporarily not daring to act."
Xiaoqi gazed at the jade slip recording Elder Qian's abnormal allocations. One mole was uncovered, yet the water became more murky. Internal investigation must continue, but methods needed to be more and clever. And the Shadow Plane action must accelerate. Before the true enemy attacked again from within, he must beat them to the punch, striking at the heart!