Chapter 312 - 263: Identity Speculation

Celestial Demon Sect.

Inside the Soul Destruction Hall.

The moment the Spirit Destruction Hall Master received the message, his expression changed, and an Elder immediately asked what had happened.

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master answered.

"A mysterious Spirit Refiner has appeared in Vortex Cave."

"What!"

The moment those three words were uttered—mysterious Spirit Refiner—all the Celestial Demon Sect Elders present knew what was happening.

This Spirit Refiner, about whom they still had little information, had inflicted great losses on their sect’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences.

The Stone Demon Sect’s fall into ruin and the Feng Family’s annihilation were both the work of this Spirit Refiner.

And now, this Spirit Refiner had shown up at Vortex Cave.

After a brief silence, an Elder spoke up.

"Compared to the previous incidents, at least we have some news this time."

"Hall Master, shouldn’t we go and reinforce Vortex Cave?"

"Use your head. If we could reinforce them, the Hall Master would have already said so. Even if you rushed to Vortex Cave now, you’d only be there to collect corpses. And if the Spirit Refiner has burned the bodies, you won’t even get that chance."

There was something else this Celestial Demon Sect Elder left unsaid.

’Judging by the Spirit Destruction Hall Master’s expression, the mysterious Spirit Refiner must be on a rampage inside Vortex Cave’s territory. If the Spirit Refiner had been trapped outside the Grand Array, the Hall Master wouldn’t look like this.’

"Hall Master, what is this mysterious Spirit Refiner’s Realm?"

Discovering the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s presence and learning this piece of news wasn’t difficult.

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master was silent for a moment before answering.

"Mid-stage Foundation Establishment."

The reason for his earlier silence was that he couldn’t understand why this Spirit Refiner was only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

In his mind, the mysterious Spirit Refiner should have been at the Peak of Foundation Establishment, or at the very least, late-stage Foundation Establishment.

When he gave this answer, many of the other Elders reacted similarly to him. They all fell silent.

The news that the mysterious Spirit Refiner was only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment was far more shocking than they had expected.

Some Elders, their faces etched with disbelief, exclaimed in shock.

"Only mid-stage Foundation Establishment!?"

"To be so powerful at only the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment... just what kind of monster is this Spirit Refiner...?"

"So our previous line of investigation was all wrong. If the Realm is mid-stage Foundation Establishment, doesn’t that mid-stage Foundation Establishment Elder from the Celestial Cloud Sect fit the description best?"

"I seem to recall someone saying earlier that they thought this mysterious Spirit Refiner had a Core Formation Stage Cultivation. Turns out they’re just mid-stage Foundation Establishment."

"Elder Chen, cut the sarcasm. My previous guess was a reasonable one. Could you have imagined this Spirit Refiner was only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment?" the Celestial Demon Sect Elder who had previously speculated the mysterious Spirit Refiner was a Core Formation Cultivator immediately retorted, firing back a question of his own.

"Hall Master, was there any other information in the message?"

"No." The Spirit Destruction Hall Master shook his head. "The mysterious Spirit Refiner appeared in Vortex Cave and revealed a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation. That’s it."

The message was incredibly brief.

This implied the situation at Vortex Cave was so critical that the Foundation Establishment Cultivators there didn’t have much time to send a more detailed message.

"The fact that they could send a message at all means there’s a chance they escaped from the mysterious Spirit Refiner. Let’s wait a while and see if any more news comes in."

Under the current circumstances, there was no way for them to send a message to the Foundation Establishment Cultivators at Vortex Cave.

Even if a message got through, the cultivators would likely be in the middle of fleeing and unable to receive it.

"Hall Master, should we go and take a look?"

"We definitely need to go to Vortex Cave. Who among you is willing to go?"

The Spirit Destruction Hall Master scanned the Elders present.

Before long, five Celestial Demon Sect Elders volunteered, and the Spirit Destruction Hall Master immediately granted his permission.

Even though this mission would likely be a wasted effort, they still had to go and see for themselves.

After the five Celestial Demon Sect Elders departed, the remaining Elders in the Soul Destruction Hall continued their discussion about the mysterious Spirit Refiner.

A mid-stage Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiner.

The scope had seemingly narrowed, yet it felt even harder to identify this mysterious Spirit Refiner.

Within the Celestial Cloud Sect’s territory, there were more Spirit Refiners at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment than at the late-stage and Peak of Foundation Establishment combined.

"This mysterious Spirit Refiner is hidden so well. We still can’t even be sure if they’re from the Celestial Cloud Sect."

"If they’re mid-stage Foundation Establishment, they aren’t necessarily a Spirit Refiner from the Celestial Cloud Sect."

"What do you all think? Could Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect be this mysterious Spirit Refiner?" a Celestial Demon Sect Elder proposed, also providing his reasoning. "If I remember correctly, Fang Yun took first place in the Celestial Cloud Sect’s Inner Sect competition back when he was in the Qi Refining Stage. I think he also got excellent results in some kind of trial. But there’s been no news of him since he reached Foundation Establishment."

They had investigated and learned about the special constitution Fang Yun possessed.

This special constitution would provide a definite boost to his power.

"You’re overthinking it. Isn’t Fang Yun from the Celestial Cloud Sect only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment?"

"The Celestial Cloud Sect has his information on total lockdown. Can you be sure he’s still in the early stage and hasn’t, with the sect’s nurturing, already broken through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment?"

"Even if he did break through to the mid-stage, he wouldn’t have been there for many years. I feel like this mysterious mid-stage Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiner is close to reaching the late stage."

As for whether Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect was the mysterious Spirit Refiner, the Celestial Demon Sect Elders with differing opinions all voiced their thoughts.

Most of the Celestial Demon Sect Elders believed Fang Yun was not the mysterious Spirit Refiner. The Elder who had proposed the idea only gained the support of a few others.

"Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect is not only talented in Artifact Refining, but also in Alchemy. With an Elder like that, never mind whether the Celestial Cloud Sect’s Supreme Elders and Sect Leader would let him out at all, let alone allow him to come to our territory."