Ling Tian pondered for a moment, then said, "I suspect this talisman wasn't drawn by himself, but was given to him by someone else. He was also set up, or more accurately, silenced!"
Ling Tian's words pierced the veil of mystery, and indeed, the truth of the matter was precisely as he stated. Zhang Xiu Jian was also a member of the Yin Fu Sect. Like Zhang Dao Quan, he had been sent to Long Hu Mountain from childhood. Due to Zhang Dao Quan's presence, Zhang Xiu Jian directly became his disciple, and they posed as master and apprentice. This arrangement made their infiltration of Long Hu Mountain easier.
Their original plan was to fully cultivate Zhang Xiu Jian and then have him find a way to marry Zhang Cai Feng, ultimately becoming the sect leader of Long Hu Mountain. Imagine, a disciple of the Yin Fu Sect becoming the sect leader of Long Hu Mountain. At that point, all of Long Hu Mountain's resources and heritage would fall into the hands of the Yin Fu Sect. This was a grand, incredibly complex scheme, but if successful, the rewards would be immense.
However, Ling Tian's appearance introduced a significant variable into their plan. First, Ling Tian had won Zhang Cai Feng's heart, leaving Zhang Xiu Jian with no opportunity to marry her. Without marrying Zhang Cai Feng, he couldn't gain sufficient support within Long Hu Mountain to ascend to the position of sect leader.
On the other hand, there was the "Compendium of Talismans and Formations" that Ling Tian had given to Sect Leader Zhang Dao Yun. The existence of this book had greatly boosted Long Hu Mountain's strength. They mastered many more powerful talismans, their success rate in drawing talismans had increased manifold, and even some broken lineages and lost talismans were recreated by understanding their principles. Zhang Dao Quan, holding a not-so-low position within Long Hu Mountain, naturally sensed these changes. After extensive inquiries, he learned about the book!
Zhang Dao Quan believed that if the Yin Fu Sect obtained this book, their strength would also surge. The value of this book even surpassed that of the sect leader of Long Hu Mountain. Instead of wasting decades trying to seize the sect leader position with a low probability of success, it was better to find a way to acquire the book. Later, he discovered that the book was kept by Zhang Dao Yan, and thus he began his scheme to steal the book from Zhang Dao Yan.
Coincidentally, this time, the sect leader of Long Hu Mountain, Zhang Dao Yun, was injured. In fact, his injury was also part of the Yin Fu Sect's design. To treat the sect leader, several high-ranking officials of Long Hu Mountain took turns to guard him. Zhang Dao Quan intended to use the opportunity when Zhang Dao Yan was attending to the sect leader to steal the book.
Of course, Zhang Dao Quan knew that Zhang Dao Yan was the foremost expert in talismans and formations at Long Hu Mountain, and his residence would undoubtedly be protected by various formations. It would be impossible to steal something from him silently and without detection. Therefore, he devised a plan to lure the tiger away from its lair. He instructed the unfortunate Zhang Xiu Jian to attack Ling Tian. Regardless of success or failure, the attention of the Long Hu Mountain disciples would be drawn to Ling Tian.
Then, Zhang Dao Quan seized this opportunity to sneak into Zhang Dao Yan's room. As expected, there were warning formations in the room. After succeeding, he immediately fled. Ling Tian's courtyard was four to five kilometers away from Zhang Dao Yan's residence. Moreover, he had prepared a paraglider and used the Wind Control Talisman to propel it. By the time Zhang Dao Yan and his men returned, he had already vanished. Besides, in the mountain forest at night, even with superior Qinggong, it would be difficult to catch up to a paraglider.
As for the冥火符 (Ming Huo Fu -冥 fire talisman) in Zhang Xiu Jian's hand, it was purely part of his scheme. He specifically instructed Zhang Xiu Jian to use the talisman only at the most critical and dangerous moments. In reality, the冥火符 was meant for self-detonation. He set a trap for the foolish Zhang Xiu Jian, aiming to silence him. For the sake of the "Compendium of Talismans and Formations" and the interests of the entire Yin Fu Sect, sacrificing a disciple was nothing in his eyes. Thus, Zhang Xiu Jian was confusedly silenced, his form and spirit annihilated, leaving only a trace of residue.
"How detestable! I know it, this must have been Zhang Dao Quan!" Zhang Cai Feng was not foolish. She summarized the events of the past few years and quickly identified a suspect. "Ling Tian, if your 'Compendium of Talismans and Formations' falls into the hands of the Yin Fu Sect, the consequences would be unimaginable. They are people of crooked ways. If they can mass-produce powerful talismans, they will surely sell them to other crooked factions for profit. It will be extremely difficult for us to deal with them in the future..."
Seeing Zhang Cai Feng's somewhat dejected and anxious expression, Ling Tian smiled and gently stroked her head. "Cai Feng, you take everyone back and take good care of your father. That fellow who escaped, leave him to me!"
Zhang Cai Feng thought for a moment, bit her lip, and then nodded firmly. "Ling Tian, I entrust this matter to you. The safety of Long Hu Mountain and the entire world rests on your shoulders."
Ling Tian said no more. He turned and vanished into the night. The disciples of Long Hu Mountain did not see a majestic Sea Eagle suddenly soar into the air from a treetop dozens of meters away, heading in a certain direction!
At this moment, more than ten kilometers away, Zhang Dao Quan was cautiously controlling the paraglider. He had used several Wind Control Talismans consecutively and changed directions twice. He was now very confident that even if the disciples of Long Hu Mountain had wings, they couldn't catch him.
In the distance, there was a riverbank with grasslands on both sides. This was the landing spot Zhang Dao Quan had long planned. He adjusted his night-vision goggles, confirmed the landing area, and used the last Wind Control Talisman. A strong gust of wind blew, and the paraglider finally landed on the ground.
After landing, Zhang Dao Quan quickly rolled up the paraglider and stuffed it into the parachute bag. It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with the paraglider; with his wealth, he could buy hundreds or thousands of them without hesitation. The main reason was his fear of being discovered, which could lead to his whereabouts being revealed. After all, the paraglider was quite conspicuous in the mountain forest. Once daylight broke, if Long Hu Mountain conducted a drone search, they might discover that he had escaped from this direction. He intended to eliminate all potential risks, just as he had personally killed his disciple with his bare hands, without any reservations!
It took him over ten minutes to stuff the paraglider into the parachute bag. Then, he found a dense thicket and hid the bag inside, covering it with plenty of grass and branches. Confident that it would be difficult to spot from the outside, he prepared to leave. However, at that moment, Zhang Dao Quan felt as though something was observing him from the shadows!