Yun Ming's eyes fell upon a piece of grey-white bone, about half a meter long and quite easy to identify.
Judging by the shape of the cranium, the way the parietal bone extended down to the sphenoid bone, the sphenoid bone growing forward to form a beak, the final extension to the ethmoid region, and the spinal column, this bone fragment likely belonged to a serpentine Soul Beast known as a Bloodscale Serpent.
Yun Ming's gaze flickered, and intangible space energy condensed rapidly, moving the snake bone before his eyes through the power of space.
Looking at the smooth, clean-cut break at the rear of the snake bone and the degree of weathering, this Bloodscale Serpent must have died at the hands of a sharp weapon. Judging by the weathering, the time of death was likely around three years ago; however, considering the harsh environment of this place, the weathering might have accelerated, suggesting the time of death was actually a little over two years.
Dying by a sharp weapon, dead for over two years, and buried here in the desolate eastern suburbs of Heaven Dou City—the fact that this thing could appear here meant it must have been intentionally discarded! Furthermore, comparing it to the surrounding soil, it appeared to have been buried quite recently.
Yun Ming caught the scent of a conspiracy and released his Spiritual Power to continue probing for similar feedback in the surroundings. As he walked and dug, he soon unearthed a pile of various bones from beneath the surface—different types, different causes of death, but all having died within the last two or three years. There were bones of fierce beasts like tigers and leopards, bones of avian beasts like eagles and rocs, and even human bones.
Moreover, the closer he moved toward the center, the higher the density of these various remains, and the higher the strength of the bones; regardless of whether it was human or beast, the cultivation level before death was higher the closer one got to the center. Even though the number of remains Yun Ming had dug up already exceeded a hundred, his perception told him that many more still lay buried.
Having found these things, Yun Ming was certain that the peculiarity of this place had indeed been discovered by some Soul Master organization, and that they had used their own methods to expand this Dead Realm; it was confirmed to be an artificial creation.
Afterward, Yun Ming ignited his Soul Power to illuminate this dim world and carefully inspected every burial site, discovering residual blood-painted patterns left behind by that group before they departed.
Yun Ming pieced together these burial sites and the fragmented blood-painted patterns in his mind, deducing their layout. Although he discovered that this was a strange array pattern based on the general nodes and the extension of the blood lines, the patterns were too severely damaged. Even with his knowledge of Soul Guidance devices from his future life, Yun Ming could not determine the true effect of this array.
After spending about two hours in total, Yun Ming confirmed that there were no omissions in his investigation of this place and, having understood it thoroughly, he borrowed the power of space to rise into the air and return to the normal territory of the Douluo Continent.
Yun Ming turned to look at the dilapidated landscape before him, his heart filled with questions.
What was the nature of this organization? Was it an anti-human organization like the Holy Spirit Church that pursued slaughter, destruction, and calamity, or was it some unknown Soul Master faction? At present, the nature of the people behind this was completely indiscernible.
What was the purpose of this organization? To expand this Dead Realm? But given that the radius of the Dead Realm had only grown by a little over ten meters after more than two years of expansion, this shouldn't be their primary goal; otherwise, if the situation blew up and Martial Soul Hall intervened, they wouldn't be able to continue. If it were like the Holy Spirit Church, based on Yun Ming's understanding of those scoundrels from his past life, while they certainly sought greater extinction of life, if it were something else, what was the objective?
Furthermore, there was an issue with the timeline. Before, when Martial Soul Hall wasn't so busy, they hadn't discovered the anomaly here. Now that Martial Soul Hall's ambitions had just been revealed, the Heaven Dou Spirit Hall Holy Temple had received the news. It looked like a diversionary tactic—was this a coincidence?
There were many questions and much suspicion. However, for now, Yun Ming could only investigate the things buried behind this bit by bit.
Silver light flashed again, and Yun Ming returned to the clan land of the Breaking Clan. He recorded the characteristics of the humans and remains he had seen, as well as the known array diagrams, one by one, before summoning the clan elder, Yang Teng.
Yang Teng arrived and greeted him.
"Young Master!"
Yun Ming said calmly.
"No need for formalities."
Yang Teng looked at the serious-faced Yun Ming and knew it was a serious matter, so he asked.
"Young Master, what are your instructions?"
Yang Teng got straight to the point, and Yun Ming didn't waste words. He handed the information he had just written to Yang Teng and issued an order.
"Uncle Teng, help me find out as much as possible about the origin and possible identities of the Soul Beasts or Soul Masters on this list, as well as any detailed information related to them."
"At the same time, help me arrange some capable men—those skilled in concealment and those good at tracking and investigation—to go and watch the dilapidated clan land in the east of Heaven Dou City, and try to find out if there are any traces of suspicious people."
"Finally, especially regarding that fragmented diagram, see if you can help me find its source."
Yun Ming didn't have much information in his hands; all he could do was mobilize the intelligence network he could command and investigate with all his might for any potentially useful intelligence.
At the same time, he arranged for experts skilled in concealment to watch the movements around the Dead Realm around the clock without interruption. He also employed special Soul Masters skilled in tracking to see if they could find any traces of human activity. Although Yun Ming felt that if his own Spiritual Power couldn't find anything particularly useful, it would be tough for others, he had to try! What if they found something? Regardless of the purpose of the people behind this, they always needed manpower to execute their plans. Finding the people would allow him to follow the vine to the melon and find the mastermind.
"Also, use the name of Martial Soul Hall to spread the word that Martial Soul Hall is investigating this. Don't overdo it."
After Yun Ming noted down a series of orders, Yang Teng gathered the stack of handwritten notes with their vigorous calligraphy and replied.
"Yes, Young Master!"
"May I ask what grade the Young Master has set for this mission?"
Ranking missions to establish priority and importance was very common in the Soul Master World. The method used by the Breaking Clan was the Numerical Grading Method, from one to five, with higher numbers indicating higher importance.
Yun Ming said without hesitation.
"Level four, execute immediately."
Level four was already the highest grade for conventional missions; anything higher, reaching level five, involved missions that could determine the fate of the clan. Given that this matter involved things even Yun Ming was unsure about, this incident deserved this rating.
Yang Teng received the order, took his leave, and immediately went to make arrangements.
Yun Ming was looking forward to what would eventually be discovered; for now, he would just wait for news.
Because of a single word from Yun Ming, the intelligence departments under the Breaking Clan, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Poison Douluo, Ya Li, and many other associated forces all received a mission with extremely high priority.
Countless people began working overtime because of Yun Ming's words, while Yun Ming, aside from his cultivation, also spent his time deducing the fragmented diagram.
And the people Yun Ming wanted to find were likewise gathering to conspire.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader