Elder Emil thought for a moment before he finally decided to tell the 'truth' in a way that wouldn't reveal much but also not affect him much because he knew lying in front of those five and getting away with it was almost impossible.
"I...I entered the forbidden region after getting a message of disturbance in one of the barren cinder cones, and when I reached it, I found a Crimson Platinum Mountain hidden by a formation!"
"Wait! Crimson Platinum Mountain?" One of the Grand Elders, a tall, wizened man with long snow-white hair and sword eyebrows, his name was Edwin Weston, suddenly spoke with a hint of disbelief and a hint of desire, "Do you mean the Spirit Metal, Crimson Platinum?" Not only Grand Elder Edwin but also the other three Grand Elders and Vincent were astounded when they heard about the 'Crimson Platinum' because they all knew how rare Spirit Metal was. If someone wanted to forge spirit treasures, a spirit metal was a must. Similarly, forging with a spirit metal can also provide a spirit forger with insights into forging and even increase their cultivation.
Furthermore, Crimson Platinum was an Upper Ascension Grade-5 Spirit Metal, which means it was valuable to Grand Elders!
Vincent's expression changed ever so slightly as he looked at Elder Emil and then subtly glanced at the four Grand Elders. They were only here because they all sensed the powerful Heavenly Tribulation, but they never expected that by the time they arrived, it would already be over, and now Elder Emil had revealed even more shocking news.
"This guy is suspicious!' Vincent thought but didn't show it to the grand elders and decided to interrogate Emil alone.
Elder Emil sighed secretly in relief since he had successfully diverted everyone's attention on the Crimson Platinum from himself and quickly told them the other half of the story about how Mountain Tyrant attacked him because it thought he had taken the Crimson Platinum it had been protecting all this time while he missed the part about how they know each other.
After hearing Emil's explanation, all the Grand Elders frowned while Vincent remained impassive as if the disappearance of Crimson Platinum had nothing to do with him, nor did he seem interested in Crimson Platinum, at least it didn't show on his face while he was secretly relief because he knew even if they found the Crimson Platinum, these old men won't let him have it easily under many pretexts.
"Junior Sister Inez, can I trouble you with checking the location, Flame Elder Emil just described and see if you found any hidden clues?" Grand Elder Edwin asked from the only woman in their group with spirit transmission, an old woman with fierce eyes; she was Grand Elder Inez Oriente!
"Alright." Grand Elder Inez agreed and vanished the next moment.
She has the highest attainment in space laws and detection ability, and if any space-type treasure was used in that place, she could find it as long as it wasn't above her cultivation realm.
Among this group, the Grand Elder, without any stars on his collar, was burly and had the aura of a fierce warrior who had been on countless battlefields and didn't have the aura of a forger. Instead, he was a flame cultivator and also the strongest person in the entire AIG Sect, Grand Elder Chester Sutton!
Grand Elder Chester coldly looked at Elder Emil and asked, "Do you mind if we check your storage treasure? Just to be sure you're not hiding the Crimson Platinum and wasting our time."
No one speaks despite this matter being extremely underhanded and emulating for Elder Emile. If Elder Emil had the same power level as them, they wouldn't have asked for such a thing, but he was too weak, not to mention he was also part of their sect.
'Showing your true colors by bullying a junior...' Vincent's eyes flashed with disgust and disdain, but he didn't say anything since he knew these greedy old guys also had some 'righteous excuse.'
Besides, he also has some doubts about Elder Emil and knows Emil is withholding something from them.
Although Spirit Metal can't be stored in a normal spirit storage treasure, there are some ways to store it, like a special container that can hide a spiritual treasure's life aura, and then it can easily be stored within the storage ring.
Even though this kind of container was also quite precious and rare, one can still find them if one has connections. Elder Emil shouldn't have that kind of connection, but these Grand Elders weren't going to take that risk.
Elder Emil's expression changed when he heard it. Still, he knew he couldn't do anything; in fact, he might've done the same thing if their position were to change, and besides, he didn't have the Crimson Platinum, nor did he have anything noteworthy of these Ascension Grand General's attention.
If this can help him escape this situation, he doesn't mind letting them inspect his storage ring. So, he quickly removed his storage ring and removed his spiritual mark. Also, if they were able to discover the missing Crimson Platinum, they'd reward him for his contribution!
"Please feel free to check it." He said respectfully.
This time, the third old man with a long white beard and hair moved. He was Grand Elder Bernard Norberg. The storage ring flew into Grand Elder Bernard's hand, and he sent his law sense to inspect every item in it while the others remained stoic.
After a little while, a hint of disappointment flashed past Grand Elder Bernard's eyes as he said, "He's clean." He returned the storage ring to Elder Emil, who sighed in relief.
Vincent spoke at this moment with a hint of smile through spirit transmission with all the Grand Elders, "Grand Elders, there are high chances that the Crimson Platinum was taken away by this mysterious person who had undergone Heavenly Law Tribulation, which also means that it is gone with him.
"But what we should be investing instead is who that person was and how he was able to sneak into this place without triggering the ancient formation. There is also a chance he had entered from 'that' place. What do you think?"
The three Grand Elders looked at Vincent with a hint of annoyance, but they didn't have words to refute him since they knew there were high chances that his last words were true. Furthermore, they knew the implication behind Vincent's last words.
"Now that we are here to investigate, we'll naturally examine this matter since it's related to the ancient treaty." Grand Elder Edwin stated through spirit transmission.
Vincent was waiting for those exact words as he quickly replied, "Excellent. I've already informed Senior Guardian Spirit about the Grand Elders' concern and willingness to protect the sect. So, Senior has agreed to let Grand Elder Chester and Grand Elder Bernard go to the 'boundary' and investigate this matter thoroughly!"
The Grand Elders' expression instantly changed when they heard it. They looked at Vincent with disbelief and dark expressions-it was as if Vincent had killed their ancestors!