Li Mo shook his head, his expression somewhat confused. "That is precisely what this disciple finds puzzling."

"Shadow Hall utilized the 'Soul Appraisal Spirit Disk' to probe him from a distance without alerting him. The fluctuations of his soul and his physical body are in perfect harmony, seamless and tightly fitted, completely lacking the subtle fissures of rejection that occur between a soul and a body in cases of possession. Even the most top-tier possession secret art could not achieve such perfect fusion within a mere two years."

"As for his conduct..." Li Mo recalled the records in the archives, "Although he is cautious about hiding his edge, even a bit 'slippery,' he has committed no acts harmful to the sect. On the contrary, in the Northern Frontier, he risked his life to cover the retreat of his comrades. Within the sect, he treats those in menial posts with kindness, and his reputation is excellent. Whether it's Wang Defa from the Repair Hall or fellow disciples who have interacted with him, their evaluations of him are mostly 'reliable' and 'righteous.' No signs of cultivating demonic arts or absorbing essence and blood have been discovered either."

"What about his interpersonal connections?"

"That is also a point of suspicion. His network of contacts appears messy on the surface, but is actually extremely refined." Li Mo recounted them as if listing family treasures, "He is on good terms with Formation Peak's True Disciple Luo Feng, who is a formation fanatic with a simple mind. He has a past connection with Beast Peak's Qin Yi, whose background is mysterious. He also frequently visits the Transmission Pavilion, having had several interactions with that old man guarding the pavilion, mostly to borrow ancient formation texts. These few individuals are all people of some weight or background within the sect. The supervisor of the External Affairs Repair Hall, Wang Defa, is even more fiercely loyal to him, clearly viewing him as a benefactor."

"As for outside the sect... apart from a few necessary missions and black market dealings (reselling Repair Hall scrap materials), no traces of contact with suspicious individuals have been found."

"Reselling scrap materials..." The Punishment Peak Master's mouth curled into a mocking arc. "He certainly knows how to manage things."

He leaned back, his entire figure once again receding into the darkness. His gray eyes seemed to have countless streams of data light flashing through them, as if conducting some kind of precise deduction.

"Mortal wasteland, sudden emergence of cultivation."

"Self-taught without a master, profound in the path of formations."

"Glittering military achievements, entangled with coincidences."

With each sentence he uttered, the finger tapping the tabletop grew heavier. With the final tap, his fingertip actually left a shallow fingerprint on the hard obsidian desk.

"This boy either harbors a shocking secret, or he is a truly once-in-ten-thousand-years genius—however, even a genius requires a clean origin."

The Punishment Peak Master suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze piercing Li Mo like a sword. "How are the preparations for the Heart-Questioning Formation?"

Li Mo bowed and said, "They have been completed according to the standard True Disciple assessment procedure. The first layer questions the 'Dao heart,' the second questions 'loyalty,' and the third questions the 'inner demon.'"

"Insufficient."

The Punishment Peak Master's voice was icy, carrying an indisputable decisiveness. "Conventional formations guard against gentlemen, not villains. If he truly has a problem, conventional methods would have already been rehearsed hundreds of times in his mind."

"Relay my order. Adjust the core of the Heart-Questioning Formation."

Li Mo abruptly looked up, a flash of shock appearing in his eyes.

He only heard the Punishment Peak Master say coldly, "The focus is not on whether he is loyal—since Elder Mo entrusted the Border Defense True Seal to him at the cost of his life, it indicates this boy is temporarily above suspicion on matters of great right and wrong. What my Punishment Peak wants to investigate is the hidden dangers."

"The key points are: Where does his cultivation come from? Who imparted his knowledge? Who truly stands behind his extraordinary 'luck' that defies common sense?"

The Punishment Peak Master stood up, his black robes billowing like a giant eagle spreading its wings.

"The Heart-Questioning Formation will strip away his surface consciousness, forcing him to face his true self, amplifying all concealment. I want to see what form that deepest 'shadow' in his heart truly takes."

"Input these three points into the Heart-Questioning Formation's core 'Three Questions.'"

He retrieved a rune shimmering with an eerie purple glow from his sleeve and flicked it with his finger. The rune hovered before Li Mo.

"For the formation core, add this 'Trace Origin and Reflect Light' rune."

Li Mo looked at the rune, his pupils constricting sharply. Trace Origin and Reflect Light—this was a high-level soul-searching auxiliary rune, one of Punishment Peak's trump cards. Although it didn't damage the soul like soul-searching techniques, it could forcibly materialize the most profound images from the subject's subconscious.

Using this in a True Disciple assessment was an unprecedented heavy-handed move.

"Peak Master, this..." Li Mo hesitated slightly. "If Formation Peak finds out..."

"Execute." The Punishment Peak Master uttered only two words.

Li Mo's body trembled. He said no more, received the rune with both hands, and bowed respectfully. "This disciple obeys the command."

With that, he turned and exited the Shadow Hall. The cold sweat on his back had already soaked through his clothes.

As the heavy stone door closed once more, the Shadow Hall returned to dead silence.

The Punishment Peak Master sat back down behind the desk, his gaze still fixed on that Great Xing dynasty household registration document concerning Su Ming.

At that moment, the shadows behind him suddenly writhed as if coming alive.

A stooped, hunchbacked old woman holding a withered wooden cane slowly emerged from the shadows. Her face was crisscrossed with deep wrinkles, and she cradled an ancient bronze mirror in her arms. The mirror's surface was dull and lusterless, yet it faintly exuded a bloody aura.

She was the Deputy Peak Master of Punishment Peak, the old woman in charge of the Heart-Questioning Formation and sect punishments.

"Peak Master."

The old woman's voice was hoarse and grating, like two pieces of rusted iron grinding together. "Isn't targeting a little brat like this a bit too harsh? That's the apple of Xuanheng's eye, just taken in as a disciple. That boy Xuanheng is fiercely protective of his own. If he finds out we've added 'seasoning' to the Heart-Questioning Formation..."

The Punishment Peak Master didn't turn his head, speaking indifferently, "I know Xuanheng is protective. Precisely because of that, we must investigate thoroughly."

He picked up the jade slip on the desk and gently rubbed it.

"Elder Mo entrusted the Border Defense True Seal to him. What kind of heavy artifact is that? If Su Ming's background is clean, after weathering this trial, his position as a True Disciple will be truly solidified. Xuanheng will have nothing more to say and will even owe my Punishment Peak a favor for 'verifying his identity.'"

"If it's not clean..."

A flash of gray light passed through the Punishment Peak Master's eyes—a pure, unadulterated, impersonal killing intent. "Then he is a malignant tumor buried within Formation Peak, and even within our Cloud Hidden Sect. While his wings are not yet full, it must be excised. Even if it offends Xuanheng, I will not hesitate."

The old woman chuckled lowly twice, her withered fingers stroking the bronze mirror in her arms.

"This old one understands. I will go make the arrangements now."

"There really is a strange smell about this little brat..." the old woman murmured to herself, lowering her head to look at the mirror in her arms.

She saw that on the originally dull mirror surface, a faint trace of blood-red color had unknowingly swept across. That blood-red color twisted and swirled, vaguely outlining a blurred, indistinct human silhouette that seemed to be coldly observing the outside world from within the mirror.

"Even the 'Sin Mirror' is reacting..."

The turbidity in the old woman's eyes dissipated. "It seems this Heart-Questioning game will be quite a spectacle to watch."

...

Meanwhile, at the Gazing Star Cliff cave dwelling.

Su Ming, who was meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly and without warning shuddered.

The feeling was like being licked on the back of the neck by the tongue of a venomous snake hidden in the shadows.

"What's wrong?" In the Consciousness Sea, Lin Yu's voice immediately rang out, carrying a hint of vigilance.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes, his brow slightly furrowed. He subconsciously touched the spot on his chest where the Border Defense True Seal rested.

"For some reason, I feel unsettled."

Su Ming said in a low voice, "It feels like some scheme targeting me is closing in."

Lin Yu fell silent for a moment, then sneered, "Tomorrow is the Heart-Questioning Formation. Those intelligence operatives from Punishment Peak are definitely burning the midnight oil studying you. This feeling is normal."

"Don't panic. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."