Dapeng's Time Travel Life

Chapter 336 The Fog of Intelligence and the Hidden Cracks in the Alliance

In the spacious yet somber council hall of Lingxiao Pavilion, candlelight flickered, illuminating the solemn faces of the leaders of various sects. A huge map lay spread out on the stone table, marked with various colored markers indicating possible strongholds of the dark forces and the distribution of each sect. Zhang Peng stood before the map, his finger slowly tracing its surface, his brow furrowed, trying to discern a clear pattern from the seemingly chaotic information.

“According to reports from our scouts, the dark forces are becoming increasingly active in various places. They seem to be gathering strength and preparing to launch a large-scale attack.” Zhang Peng’s deep and powerful voice broke the silence in the council hall.

Xuan Chenzi, the sect leader of Tianxuan Sect, stroked his beard and nodded slightly: "Since the dark forces dare to be so blatant, they must have something to rely on. We must find their weaknesses as soon as possible in order to gain the upper hand in this upcoming great battle."

The leader of the Danxia Sect, Chisongzi, crossed his arms, a hint of anxiety on his face: "But the information we have so far is too fragmented to piece together a complete picture of the dark forces' plans. If this continues, we will remain in a passive defensive position."

Everyone fell into deep thought, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Just then, a Lingxiao Pavilion disciple rushed into the council hall, his face filled with anxiety: "Lord Zhang Peng, Sect Leader Xuan Chenzi, there's an emergency!"

Zhang Peng's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "What's going on? Tell me quickly!"

The disciple, panting heavily, said, "One of our spies who went to the dark forces' stronghold has returned, but... he was seriously injured and on the verge of death. He left only one sentence."

"What did you say?" Xuan Chenzi asked anxiously.

"He said... the dark forces have an inside man." The disciple's voice trembled, and these words were like a bombshell, causing a huge uproar in the council hall.

"An inside man? How is that possible?" Chishongzi suddenly stood up, his face full of shock. "Our alliance has always been strict in vetting its members. How could there be an inside man from the dark forces?"

Zhang Peng's face turned extremely grim. He knew that if this news was true, it would be a fatal blow to the alliance. "Whether it's true or not, we must take this news seriously. From now on, all sects must strengthen their internal investigations and find this mole."

However, the investigation was far from easy. Distrust and suspicion existed between the various sects, causing a crack to appear in the once-close alliance. At an alliance meeting, Qingyunzi, the leader of the Qingyun Sect, suddenly launched an attack.

“I think the mole might be in Lingxiao Pavilion,” Qingyunzi said coldly. “Zhang Peng, your Lingxiao Pavilion has clashed with the dark forces the most. Who can guarantee that none of you have been bribed by them?”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Peng was furious, but he suppressed his anger: "Sect Leader Qingyunzi, your words are baseless. Can't you see how many sacrifices our Lingxiao Pavilion has made to fight against the dark forces?"

"Hmph, sacrifice? Who knows if it's just a show you all staged?" Qingyunzi retorted without backing down.

Seeing this, the other sect leaders began to discuss among themselves. Some sect leaders, while not believing that Lingxiao Pavilion had an inside agent, also began to have doubts about Zhang Peng and his group; others believed that they should not make accusations without solid evidence.

Murong Yu stood up angrily: "Qingyunzi, don't make baseless accusations! Our Lingxiao Pavilion is loyal to the Alliance. In order to find clues about the dark forces, we went deep into the Dark Abyss and almost lost our lives. Yet you are making unfounded accusations here. What are your intentions?"

Liu Ruoli also stood up, trying to quell the dispute: "Sect leaders, now is not the time for mutual suspicion. We should unite as one and fight against the forces of darkness together."

However, Liu Ruoli's words had no effect. The conflicts between the various sects deepened, and the alliance's cohesion was greatly weakened. Zhang Peng looked at the chaotic situation before him, his heart filled with helplessness and worry.

"This can't go on. We must find evidence to prove our innocence as soon as possible, and at the same time find out the real mole," Zhang Peng thought to himself.

Therefore, Zhang Peng decided to conduct the investigation himself. He, along with Murong Yu, Liu Ruoli, and others, went deep into various sects, communicating with the disciples in an attempt to find clues from them. During the investigation, they discovered some strange phenomena.

Several sect disciples have recently been behaving strangely, always going out late at night and acting very mysteriously. Zhang Peng and his group followed one of the disciples and discovered that he was secretly meeting with a mysterious man in black robes.

"Finally found you!" Zhang Peng thought to himself. He, Murong Yu, Liu Ruoli, and the others quietly approached, preparing to capture the two in one fell swoop.

However, just as they were about to make their move, the man in black seemed to sense the danger. He suddenly turned around and shot several beams of black light towards Zhang Peng and the others. Zhang Peng and the others quickly dodged, the black beams grazing their bodies and striking a nearby tree, instantly corroding it into a pile of ashes.

"Hmph, you dare to follow me!" the man in black said coldly. "Do you think you can catch me so easily?"

Zhang Peng unleashed the power of the Chaos Law, forming a protective barrier around everyone: "No matter who you are, you won't escape today!"

Having said that, Zhang Peng unleashed his Chaos Law Sword Technique, sending multicolored sword energy slashing towards the black-robed man. The black-robed man unleashed his dark spiritual power, colliding with Zhang Peng's sword energy and producing a deafening roar.

Murong Yu and Liu Ruoli also joined the fray, unleashing their respective spells and engaging in a fierce battle with the black-robed man. During the battle, Zhang Peng discovered that the black-robed man was incredibly powerful; his dark spiritual energy seemed to contain a strange and unpredictable force that was difficult to defend against.

"Everyone be careful, this black-robed man's power is very strange!" Zhang Peng shouted. He concentrated, trying to find the black-robed man's weakness.

Suddenly, Zhang Peng noticed that the black-robed man's spiritual energy fluctuations would become momentarily disordered with each attack. He was overjoyed; this might be the black-robed man's weakness! "Listen up, everyone! When he attacks next time, let's all attack the spot where his spiritual energy fluctuations become disordered!" Zhang Peng shouted.

Everyone nodded in agreement. When the black-robed man attacked again, his spiritual energy fluctuations indeed became disordered. "Now!" Zhang Peng shouted, unleashing the strongest strike of his Chaos Law Sword Technique. A five-colored light, carrying boundless power, shot towards the black-robed man.

Murong Yu and Liu Ruoli also unleashed their strongest spells, attacking the man in black robes. Under the combined assault of the group, the man in black robes let out a painful scream, and his body began to become ethereal.

"No, you can't defeat me!" the black-robed man cried out in despair. Just as he was about to dissipate, he suddenly unleashed a powerful dark force that spread outwards.

"Oh no, he's going to self-destruct!" Zhang Peng's expression changed drastically. He quickly unleashed the power of the Chaos Law, enveloping everyone in it and forming a solid defensive barrier.

"Boom!" The black-robed man self-destructed, the powerful energy impacting everything around him. Protected by the power of the Chaos Laws, Zhang Peng and the others barely withstood the energy's impact.

As the energy dissipated, everyone slowly opened their eyes and found that the man in black robes had vanished. The disciple who had acted strangely collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Zhang Peng and the others quickly stepped forward and woke the disciple. "Why did you collude with the dark forces?" Zhang Peng asked sternly.

The disciple looked at Zhang Peng and the others in terror, his eyes filled with fear: "I...I was forced into this. The dark forces threatened me that if I didn't help them, they would kill my family."

Zhang Peng's heart sank. He hadn't expected the dark forces to use such despicable means to infiltrate the alliance. "Don't worry, as long as you tell us everything you know, we will protect your family."

The disciple hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded: "The dark forces have planted spies in various sects. They use these spies to gather intelligence and prepare to launch a surprise attack on the alliance. Moreover, they are also plotting a larger conspiracy, which seems to be related to an ancient artifact."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Peng and the others' expressions changed drastically. "An ancient artifact? What exactly is going on?" Murong Yu asked.

The disciple shook his head: "I don't know the specifics either. I only know that the dark forces have been searching for an ancient artifact, which is said to possess the power to destroy the world."

Zhang Peng pondered for a moment: "It seems we must find this ancient artifact as soon as possible and not let the dark forces succeed."

So Zhang Peng and the others took the disciple back to Lingxiao Pavilion. They informed the leaders of the various sects of this news, and the leaders were all shocked upon hearing it.

"I never imagined that the dark forces would be so insidious, planting so many spies among us," Xuan Chenzi said angrily.

"Now is not the time for anger; we must find a solution as soon as possible," Zhang Peng said. "We need to reorganize the alliance, strengthen internal unity and trust, and at the same time, do everything we can to find the whereabouts of the ancient artifacts and thwart the dark forces' conspiracy."

The leaders of all the major sects expressed their approval. Under Zhang Peng's leadership, the alliance began intensive preparations. They strengthened communication and exchanges between the sects, rebuilding trust. At the same time, they dispatched numerous spies to search for clues about the ancient artifacts.

Meanwhile, inside the stronghold of the dark forces, Fu Chunming's face darkened horribly upon learning of his informant's capture. "Zhang Peng, you think you can stop my plan? I'll make you regret this!" His eyes gleamed with hatred; an even fiercer confrontation was about to unfold…