"I may have found a clue." Elyon began, setting down a stack of jade slips. "Though it doesn't directly name the Ephemera Sect, it involves an incident that occurred around the same time as the Ice Drake abduction and the

Imperial Court's compensations."

Lin Mu gestured for him to continue. "Go on. What happened?"

Elyon took a steadying breath. "A fleet of ships carrying a massive shipment of Immortal Stones and rare resources was lost at sea. I assume they were meant to be payment to the people the imperial court had bought treasures from. According to the records I found, the fleet departed from the southern trade port of Luyan Harbor and was supposed to arrive at another port in the western territories. It never made it."

Daoist Chu frowned. "How large was this fleet?"

"Quite large," Elyon said. "At least thirty ships, all registered under imperial authority. They were reportedly carrying wealth equivalent to a quarter of the yearly revenue of a major province. The ships vanished somewhere along the southern ocean route. By the time anyone realized they were missing, over a week had already passed."

Grand Elder Huo leaned forward slightly. "And the cause?"

Elyon shook his head. "Uncertain. The official reports claimed it was a storm. Others speculated that a massive sea beast attacked them. Some even whispered that pirates or rogue cultivators might have been responsible, though no proof was ever found.

Whatever the case, no survivors were recovered. By the time rescue parties were dispatched, the ocean had already reclaimed everything. Not even wreckage floated to the surface."

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes, thinking deeply. "An entire fleet of thirty ships vanishing without a trace? That is no ordinary disaster. Even a storm would leave debris or corpses behind. This sounds more like a deliberate erasure." "That was my thought as well," Elyon admitted. "What is strange is that the shipment was reportedly bound for the western territories, but its contents were largely resources that could have been used in cultivation or alchemy. Immortal Stones, rare herbs, frost jade, and spirit crystal ore. Their combined presence hints at a purpose beyond simple trade."

Daoist Chu nodded. "If those materials were meant as part of the repayment of the compensation to the Ice Drakes, perhaps they were being redistributed or moved for secrecy. But if the fleet vanished, that could explain why there were gaps in the Imperial Court's records afterward."

Lin Mu rested a hand on his chin. "Or it could mean something far worse. If the Ephemera Sect was behind this, they may have struck at the fleet to cut off the intermediaries who helped them acquire what they needed. Once their objectives were met, eliminating those who knew too much would have been a logical step."

Grand Elder Huo's gaze hardened. "That would fit their pattern. They prefer to work from the shadows, removing every trace of their presence. Even the disappearance of the fleet could be disguised as a natural disaster."

"Exactly," Lin Mu said quietly. "And with several years having passed since the incident, the trail has grown cold. No one would suspect foul play now. The Empire has long moved on."

Elyon sighed and nodded. "Unfortunately, I found nothing else that could link it directly to the Ephemera Sect. Whatever evidence once existed is buried under layers of official silence."

Lin Mu was silent for a long moment.

He looked at the map laid out before them, tracing a finger along the southern ocean routes. His mind moved quickly, assembling fragments of information, forming and discarding possibilities.

Though the fleet incident remained a shadowy clue, it revealed a pattern. Someone had been manipulating events at a scale that only a large and powerful sect could achieve. And there was only one sect he knew of that matched both the secrecy and ruthlessness displayed here.

Still, the matter could not rest on speculation alone. Fortunately, Monk Hushu had something new to share.

"While Elyon was investigating the fleet," the monk said, "the Abbot and several elders of the Silent Lotus Temple were studying our archives. They uncovered records concerning old experiments on elemental beasts. Not only from our world but from other realms as well. It seems cultivators have long been fascinated by the potential of elemental bloodlines."

Grand Elder Huo raised an eyebrow. "Experiments? What kind?"

"Refinements," Monk Hushu replied. "Records speak of attempts to extract bloodline energy from powerful elemental beasts, using it to create what they called Elemental Dao Pills. These pills were designed to strengthen one's comprehension of a specific element, allowing cultivators to advance more rapidly in that Dao."

Lin Mu's interest sharpened. "Elemental Dao Pills... That sounds close to what the Ephemera Sect might have done."

"Indeed," the monk continued. "While the original purpose was alchemical, the records show that the bloodline energy could also be converted into catalytic material for various purposes, both alchemical, formation oriented as well as cultivation.

Theoretically, this same process could be twisted into producing a catalyst powerful enough to birth a Greater Elemental. It aligns perfectly with what we

have seen."

Daoist Chu's eyes glimmered thoughtfully. "If that is true, then the Ice Drake they captured may have been used for that very purpose. Its bloodline energy would be more than sufficient to create such catalysts."

Monk Hushu nodded but added a caution. "The records also mention that the process is extremely inefficient. Even with a beast as mighty as an Ice Drake, the amount of refined catalyst that could be created would be limited. At most, perhaps ten portions could be obtained from a juvenile drake."

Lin Mu's gaze grew distant as he thought back to the events they had witnessed; the snowfields, the strange weather shifts, the Greater Ice Elemental itself. He began mentally counting the number of known regions that had shown similar phenomena.

Slowly, his brow furrowed.

"Ten or less portions," he repeated. "That would explain the limited scope of

their influence. Each catalyst might have been used to seed a specific location, warping the climate and gradually drawing elemental energy to form Greater Elementals. But the number we have encountered so far suggests they may already have used most of their stock."