The entire mining tunnel looked extremely luxurious.
Especially the main hall, with its gaudy decorations and various priceless ornaments.
A middle-aged man, appearing to be in his forties, was leading a group of disciples in meditation.
"Bad news, Third Elder, Xiao Chuan's soul jade tablet shattered!"
Just as the group was focused on their cultivation, a disciple rushed in from a nearby tunnel, speaking urgently to the middle-aged man at the front.
"What? Xiao Chuan's soul jade tablet shattered? How is that possible?"
Upon hearing this news, the Third Elder stood up in shock.
All the disciples in the hall were also startled, immediately ceasing their cultivation.
"It's absolutely true, Third Elder, please look, it's truly broken."
"Young Master Xiao has likely perished!"
The disciple, looking terrified, handed the shattered soul jade tablet to the Third Elder.
He had been feeling lazy and took a nap earlier. To his surprise, upon waking, he saw Xiao Chuan's soul jade tablet broken, scaring him so much he almost fainted.
"Impossible. Although this Xiao Chuan is a good-for-nothing, he's still a genuine cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining. He also had a body-replacement puppet given by the Sect Leader, so how could he be killed so easily?"
"In the entire Hangcheng, besides our Ghost God Sect members, no one else has the ability to kill him!"
The Third Elder frowned, his tone a mixture of worry and dread.
Everyone knew how doting their Sect Leader was on Xiao Chuan. If he discovered his only son was dead after coming out of seclusion, wouldn't they all be implicated?
"No, Song Tao, you must depart immediately and personally go to Ru Shuang Group to investigate."
Without delay, the Third Elder looked at a man in his thirties beside him and gave the order.
"Find out the truth of the matter, bring back the murderer, and hand them over to the Sect Leader for judgment."
"Otherwise, all of us will likely perish with him!"
As he spoke, the Third Elder's face was filled with anxiety.
Currently, Xiao Kui was in seclusion attempting to break through to the Core Formation stage. If he emerged to find his son dead and the killer undiscovered, they would undoubtedly be held responsible!
The wrath of a Core Formation cultivator could indeed cause millions to fall.
Song Tao, as the eldest disciple of the Ghost God Sect, had a cultivation base at the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.
It was most appropriate for him to handle this matter.
"Yes, Third Elder!"
Upon hearing the Third Elder's command, Song Tao immediately rose and agreed.
Without any hesitation, Song Tao, accompanied by two other Ghost God Sect disciples, set off directly towards Hangcheng.
As the three of them were all cultivators, they reached the headquarters of Ru Shuang Group from the outskirts in less than an hour.
At this moment, the perimeter of Ru Shuang Group was completely swarmed by security guards. Qiu Hanying had even informed the police, requesting heavily armed officers for external security.
After all, the value of the antiques being auctioned this time was immense, and even the Hangcheng police had to take it very seriously.
However, to cultivators like Song Tao, these defenses were practically useless.
After casually employing an illusion spell, the three of them entered Ru Shuang Group.
Yet, no matter how they searched, they couldn't detect any trace of Xiao Chuan's death.
"Eldest Senior Brother, could the scene of the incident not be here?"
One of the Ghost God Sect disciples inquired after a thorough search.
"Not here? Then where could it be? It couldn't possibly be..."
Suddenly, Song Tao thought of an absolutely impossible location.
The Hangcheng stronghold of the Ghost God Sect!
But there were four Qi Refining stage cultivators stationed there!
Among them, two had even reached the fifth level of Qi Refining!
With their protection, could Xiao Chuan still have met his demise?
"Never mind, let's go and check first. Perhaps they have some clues."
Without further hesitation, Song Tao led his two disciples to the Ghost God Sect's stronghold in Hangcheng.
However, as soon as he entered, Song Tao sensed something was amiss.
The entire courtyard was eerily empty. The four Ghost God Sect disciples who were previously stationed there had also vanished.
"What in the world is going on?"
Seeing this, Song Tao was utterly bewildered.
First, the Sect Leader's beloved son was murdered, and now there wasn't a soul in the Hangcheng stronghold. What was happening?
"Eldest Senior Brother, what do we do now?"
A Ghost God Sect disciple felt lost upon witnessing this scene.
"We'll stay here for now and try our best to investigate the truth of the matter tomorrow."
"If we go back without any answers, we'll definitely be punished by the Third Elder."
Song Tao's brows furrowed deeply. He was beginning to feel that the entire situation was far more complicated than he had initially thought.
"Yes, Eldest Senior Brother."
Hearing Song Tao's words, the other two disciples dared not say anything more and respectfully agreed.
"But Eldest Senior Brother, where should we start our investigation?"
As he spoke, one of the disciples found himself in a difficult position.
Both Ru Shuang Group and the stronghold had encountered trouble, but the people involved had disappeared without a trace, as if they had evaporated into thin air.
How could they possibly investigate this?
"Hmph, we'll start with Ru Shuang Group. The Young Master must have gone to Ru Shuang Group before his incident!"
"Tomorrow night, we..."
Song Tao spoke with certainty, addressing his two junior brothers.
He had a good personal relationship with Xiao Chuan. Just last night, Xiao Chuan had called him, saying that Qiu Hanying, the female CEO of Ru Shuang Group, was a rare beauty.
Now that something had happened, in the end, it was undoubtedly related to Ru Shuang Group and Qiu Hanying!
"Yes, Eldest Senior Brother!"
With Song Tao's confirmation, the other two disciples finally felt at ease.
They immediately prepared beds within the stronghold and began to rest their eyes.
The next day at noon, at the main entrance of Ru Shuang Group.
Qiu Tiancheng, Qiu Tianhong, and others respectfully stood at the entrance, seemingly waiting for someone.
Shortly after, a Range Rover pulled up to the company entrance. An elderly man, appearing to be in his sixties, stepped out of the car.
Although this person seemed to be in his sixties, his movements were extremely agile, and his eyes, in particular, were bright and piercing, giving him a very energetic aura.
"Master Bai, we've been waiting for you eagerly, like waiting for the stars and moon!"
Upon seeing this person, Qiu Tianhong quickly stepped forward, his expression filled with respect.
"Hehehe, Director Qiu, thank you for your hard work," Bai Yunlong replied with a gentle smile upon seeing Qiu Tianhong.