Riven had just returned from Murong City.
As his figure appeared near the carriages, he immediately noticed that they were surrounded by cultivators from the Drifting Mist Pavilion.
But what truly caught his attention was something else.
Through his eyes, he could see a dense dark miasma clinging to many of the cultivators riding the horses. It was attached to them, seeping into their bodies like a shadow that refused to leave.
Even more disturbingly, that same miasma extended toward the carriages.
Just one glance was enough, and Riven understood everything. He had also heard what the man leading them had said moments ago.
"Stand down."
His voice was calm, yet it carried a weight that instantly cut through the tension.
Hearing him, Jerry and the other outer sect disciples felt a wave of relief. If an inner sect disciple spoke on their behalf, they might be freed from these accusations.
The direct disciple turned toward Riven, carefully observing him. He tried to recall if he had seen him before and whether he was someone important.
Someone tied to a higher authority within the sect?
But no matter how hard he thought, he found nothing, and since no one else here recognized him either, a thought suddenly appeared in his mind.
A scapegoat.
A faint smile formed on his face. "So you are with them," he said. "No wonder they managed to take so many people out of the city."
Riven simply smiled in return and began walking toward him. The direct disciple immediately became alert and drew his weapon.
Riven waved his hand casually, and to everyone's shock, the man was thrown off his horse.
He hit the ground heavily.
"How… how did you—?!"
The direct disciple was visibly shaken as he tried to comprehend what had happened. The direct disciple tried to stand, but his expression quickly changed.
He couldn't move.
The armor he wore suddenly felt unbearably heavy, pressing him into the ground as if the weight of a mountain had fallen upon him.
Riven walked up to him and looked down.
"You must have been doing this for quite some time."
The man's face paled as the situation had reversed too quickly.
He had intended to frame Riven. Instead, he himself had become the target.
Idiot… I've offended the wrong person…
His thoughts raced in panic.
This man was clearly the one who had dealt with the Core Formation cultivator earlier, and yet he had tried to push the blame onto him.
Still, he forced himself to speak.
"I—I don't know what you're talking about."
"I am a direct disciple of Elder Kai from the Law and Order Hall. I'm here to capture human traffickers."
"Friend, I advise you to release this technique. We can resolve this peacefully."
The smile on Riven's face faded.
"Stop lying."
"And you are not my friend."
Riven glanced around.
All the cultivators were watching, with a simple wave of his hand, the ground erupted, and vines shot upward from beneath the earth, wrapping around the guards and dragging them down.
One after another they were buried into the ground, leaving only their heads exposed. Even the direct disciple was pulled under, with fear in his eyes.
They had collided with something far beyond their understanding.
The remaining guards who were not taken underground stepped back instinctively, their expressions pale. Riven did not spare them another glance.
He returned to the carriage, picked up the map, and sat down.
"Let's go."
The driver hurriedly obeyed.
Jerry and the others, still shaken by the turn of events, mounted their horses and followed.
Behind them, the remaining guards stared in shock. They rushed to help their buried companions, but no matter how hard they pulled, they couldn't move them.
Not even slightly.
Realizing this, some decided to return to the sect to call for reinforcements. But when they turned back, they froze by seeing that beside each buried person, a red flower had bloomed.
Its petals swayed gently in the air.
...
Inside the carriage, Riven calmly traced the route on the map with his finger. After a while, he gestured for Jerry to approach.
Jerry immediately rode closer.
"Yes, Senior Brother?"
Riven asked, "About the human trafficking, you said it was illegal, yet it still exists. What is it all about?"
Jerry nodded and began speaking carefully about what he knew.
"Senior Brother, far to the west lies a great empire. That empire strictly banned human trafficking, and those caught are heavily punished."
"Seeing such an initiative by the kingdom, most of the sects also decided to ban it in the cities under them."
"Since the empire has banned it and sects rely on disciples and elders, they have no need for slaves. So in areas controlled by sects or the empire, such practices are rare."
"But…" he hesitated slightly.
"Some still have a demand."
"Cultivation families. Hidden organizations. Groups that recruit openly, but still not many people decide to join them and choose sects as they are more reliable than cultivation families."
"They create a market for slaves."
Riven listened quietly.
Then he nodded slightly and fell into thought. After a moment, he turned his gaze in a different direction and then back at the map.
He then pointed in a particular direction from the carriage and said to Jerry, "There is something in that direction, quite far, but you can check it later on."
Hearing this, Jerry was surprised and looked in the direction and carefully memorized it.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
After that he fell back to the group, and they discussed among themselves.
"Should we go check it?"
"If Senior Brother mentioned it, it must be valuable."
"But if it's valuable, why didn't he take it himself?"
One of the girls replied calmly, "With his strength, do you think he needs such things?"
The group fell silent.
It made sense. Someone who could suppress a direct disciple with a wave of his hand would not care about minor treasures.
Jerry interrupted them.
"Stop arguing."
"We return to the sect first and report the mission."
"After that, we can investigate."
"There's no harm in checking."
Everyone nodded and then quietly followed the carriage.
It did not take long before they reached Drifting Mist City, and since they belonged to the Drifting Mist Pavilion, they entered without paying any fees.
Inside the city, Riven noticed slight inconsistencies in the map, so he took out his brush and made small adjustments. Then he put it away and stepped out of the carriage.
He handed two spirit qi stones to the driver, who happily accepted them and left.
The outer sect disciples dismounted and walked alongside Riven toward the sect.
After ten minutes, they arrived at the massive gates with 'Drifting Mist Pavilion' written on it. Five guards stood at the entrance, checking identity tokens.
They did not stop Riven upon seeing his inner sect attire.
Riven paused briefly at the gate.
Beyond it, the world changed, and the bustling city vanished, and in its place was a long, quiet path leading toward mountains covered in mist.
The air felt lighter, and even the qi was denser.
From what Riven could sense, the entire region was surrounded by formations that contained the mist within the sect grounds.
The mist itself was unusual.
Light and refined.
It enhanced the concentration of qi within the sect.
On the mountains, buildings could be seen through the mist.
Disciples moved about in the distance, forming a crowd.
After walking further, they reached Mission Hall, where many disciples were entering and leaving.
Jerry and the others stopped and bowed to Riven respectfully.
"Senior Brother, we will report the mission."
Riven nodded faintly, and without another word, he turned and walked away, his figure gradually disappearing into the mist.