Ling Tian felt incredibly fortunate for his decisive action. He was even somewhat fearful, thinking that if he hadn't sensed something was wrong and summoned Hai Dongqing, then retreated into the spiritual realm, he would have been ground to a pulp by the rampaging formation, just like the disciples of the Tianshan Sword Sect!
Ling Tian knew that this time, things had escalated significantly. The Tianshan Sword Sect was, after all, a great sect with a thousand years of history, yet their headquarters had been destroyed, with no survivors.
Such an event would undoubtedly instill fear in all martial sects and send shockwaves through the martial world.
Furthermore, whether it was the unorthodox or the righteous alliance, they would investigate who was responsible for this. Regardless of the perpetrator's alignment or stance, anyone capable of such an act was either a pervert or a madman!
With this thought, Ling Tian immediately controlled Hai Dongqing. The magnificent bird soared into the sky, flapping its wings with all its might, flying towards the sea at the fastest possible speed.
...
The sect leader of the Tianshan Sword Sect, Yun Hantian, had been far from idle these past few days. Ever since his son was murdered, he had been in a state of fury.
Dozens of members of the Long family had already been killed by him. If Ling Tian hadn't used heavenly lightning to blast apart the Long family's headquarters, Canglong Valley, Yun Hantian would have already led his forces there.
Of course, the Long family was not an easy opponent. The Tianshan Sword Sect had also suffered many casualties during this time.
Then, one day, Yun Hantian, the sect leader of the Tianshan Sword Sect, suddenly received a call from home, informing him that someone had broken into the mountain-protecting formation.
Due to signal issues, the details that followed were not clearly conveyed.
The Tianshan Sword Sect's headquarters could only communicate with the outside world via satellite phone, and the signal was not very good. This was because the Tianshan Sword Sect was located in a desolate area surrounded by primeval forests.
In addition, the Tianshan Sword Sect's mountain-protecting formation had a strong signal-blocking effect, rendering ordinary mobile phones unusable.
Moreover, the Tianshan Sword Sect considered the location of their headquarters their greatest secret and had always kept it hidden from the outside world, making it impossible for them to install landline phones or internet cables there.
In fact, it was common for the satellite phone connection to drop when Yun Hantian contacted headquarters. However, today, Yun Hantian felt an unsettling premonition; his right eyelid twitched incessantly, as if signaling that something was about to happen.
So, after eliminating a few more targets from the Long family, he frantically tried to call his headquarters, but the line was always busy.
He tried several numbers, but all attempts to connect were futile. Yun Hantian sensed that something was amiss and immediately drove for over 40 hours, rushing back to Bianjiang Province from the central plains.
Along the way, Yun Hantian and his trusted subordinates made phone calls almost every hour.
However, their efforts were destined to be in vain! The calls were never connected, and Yun Hantian's heart was filled with a terrible foreboding.
Finally, Yun Hantian returned to the Tianshan Sword Sect. Upon exiting his vehicle, he, along with two trusted subordinates, sped towards the headquarters. What greeted their eyes was beyond belief!
The vast headquarters of the Tianshan Sword Sect had not a single intact building, nor a single complete corpse!
Everywhere were ruins and rubble, not even a single tree remained intact!
On that day, after the mountain-protecting formation went out of control, it continued to operate, releasing all the energy it had accumulated over a thousand years.
The storm of swords and blades raged for an entire day before it finally stopped, but the entire Tianshan Sword Sect had no one left with a complete body!
"How could this happen... How could this happen..."
Yun Hantian felt the world spin and collapse around him.
After all, the Tianshan Sword Sect headquarters housed hundreds of people – his disciples, his family, and the venerated elders and patrons of the Tianshan Sword Sect. They were all inside!
But now, everyone connected to him was dead!
The strongest individuals of the entire Tianshan Sword Sect were all dead!
Although there were dozens of Tianshan Sword Sect disciples outside the headquarters, they were all of very poor aptitude and had little chance of breakthrough in martial arts, which was why they were sent on errands outside the mountain.
"Pfft..." Overwhelmed by extreme grief and rage, Yun Hantian finally couldn't hold it in. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, his vision went black, and he immediately lost consciousness.
The two disciples beside him were also in a state of shock and profound sorrow. It took them a while to react before they quickly pinched his philtrum to administer first aid.
After a long time, Yun Hantian finally woke up.
"Ugh... Who did this? Who did this? I will tear them to shreds!"
...
Meanwhile, the righteous alliance was in an uproar. When the mountain-protecting formation was activated, the satellites in the sky suddenly registered a reaction.
Satellites today are pervasive, observing ground conditions in real-time. Meteorological satellites, in particular, issue warnings if significant changes occur on the ground.
A satellite over Bianjiang Province detected that a location that should have been primeval forest had suddenly lost its forest cover, replaced by a fierce storm.
Even more peculiar was that after the storm, a large clearing appeared, spanning over ten square kilometers.
According to satellite imagery, the area was filled with ruins and rubble, and this clearing was an almost perfect circle, a shape rarely seen in nature!
Such peculiar circumstances were difficult to explain scientifically, as according to the meteorological data of that day, there were no severe weather conditions in the vicinity.
Thus, the matter was reported to the righteous alliance. After analysis, the righteous alliance made a startling conclusion: that was the headquarters of the Tianshan Sword Sect, which the righteous alliance had been searching for!
From the satellite photos, it was clear that the headquarters of the Tianshan Sword Sect had been completely destroyed! And such a massive disaster would make it unlikely for anyone inside to survive!
It was evident that someone had infiltrated the Tianshan Sword Sect and triggered the mountain-protecting formation.
The righteous alliance immediately convened an emergency meeting to discuss the matter, analyze the cause of the incident, and the series of chain reactions it would trigger.
However, the meeting devolved into bickering for a long time, yielding no progress. It was merely decided to send people to investigate; without on-site reconnaissance, the true facts could not be ascertained.
But if they truly sent people, they might not uncover the truth either!
However, the three top figures of the righteous alliance had a conjecture at this moment.