Chapter 137: The Scariest Conclusion
"Back then, we theorized that it’s impossible for a normal gathering of a few rogue cultivators to run such a huge operation so smoothly and leave without any traces. What if several powerhouse cultivators were in charge of the entire operation? Shouldn’t they all be demonic practitioners who don’t fear the Crimson Snow Sect at all?
"The Holy Land of laws is obviously a delicious piece of pie to outsiders. But we all know that powerful cultivators are restricted from entering that place due to the existence of the circle of laws. So, let’s revise our theory a bit and combine all the clues we’ve gathered so far."
In one breath, Han Xuhan finished explaining his reasoning, which seemed to suck up the temperature inside the boat by a couple of degrees. Rubbing off the goosebumps on his arms, he slowly reconstructed what had happened in Pine Town before its erasure.
"Firstly, the portal leading to the land of laws opens up, emitting hints of its existence that attracted cultivators from all over the region like insects toward a lamp in the dark.
"Secondly, the demonic cultivators come into the picture. And since their leader, a powerful expert, cannot get in, he used the people of the town nearby as cannon fodders and instructed his disciples to help him explore the world fragment.
"Thirdly, with the continuous disappearances of the denizens of the town, the news reached our sect, which is in charge of protecting this area from normal and supernatural threats. So the sect issued a mission for the outer court disciples, probably without realizing the level of threat this incident carried.
"Fourthly, we came here as investigators, something that they might have already predicted, and we fall into the trap they set for us by manipulating the town chief. We left with Shen Kai in tow, a demonic cultivator who led us to the woods and ambushed us, thinking that he could subdue us and use us as cannon fodders too. A cannon fodder cultivator is much more useful than a normal human, after all.
"Fifthly, Shen Kai failed, ran away, and informed his masters, who should have been hiding near Pine Town to watch over the process. A few hours later, many cultivators got kicked out by me, some of whom were likely to be demonic cultivators as well. They all inform their master about what is happening inside.
"Sixthly, finally tired of these scuffles and afraid of leaving their own traces, the powerful demonic experts wiped off the entire town, possibly because it contained important clues related to their operation that couldn’t be easily removed, or maybe there were bigger secrets involved here that we do not know yet.