Chapter 269: Everyone in Taichu Rushes to be the Vanguard

Before long, another person walked into the Taichu Grand Hall. He was dressed in a simple gray robe, his hair and beard speckled with white, but his face was ruddy and jade-like, with the air of an immortal.

The moment this person stepped over the threshold, the aura emanating from his body seemed to contend with the weighty presence of the Grand Hall itself.

Seeing this powerful figure enter, the masters of the four great halls were all startled. They immediately rose from their chairs and respectfully saluted him as juniors.

“Greetings, Elder Quan,” the four said in unison.

The elder, known as Elder Quan, gave a slight nod in acknowledgment. As he approached, Sect Master Huanglong, who had been frowning in deep thought, also came to his senses.

He, who showed no favor to anyone, also stood up, forced a smile onto his face, and said, “Elder Quan, please, sit.”

Elder Quan still just gave a silent, slight nod and walked to the first seat below the Sect Master’s throne and sat down.

“Sect Master, is there some matter that requires even my presence at this meeting?” he asked after taking his seat. As an elder of the Elder’s Council, his words held no excessive politeness.

Huanglong looked at Qin Haoxuan and said, “The matter is of great importance, which is why I have disturbed your secluded cultivation, Uncle-Master Quan. However, Hall Master Xuanji of the Nature Hall has not yet arrived, and this matter is also greatly related to his disciple, Qin Haoxuan. So, I must ask you to wait a moment.”

“Oh,” Elder Quan replied, not asking any further questions. After a faint acknowledgment, his gaze shifted to Qin Haoxuan. With his sharp eyes, how could he not see his low cultivation level and poor aptitude?

Being glanced at by him, Qin Haoxuan felt as if a living Taichu Grand Hall had come crashing down on him.

This powerful and majestic aura was even more shocking than when he had walked up the ninety-nine white jade steps and faced the hall directly. After all, the aura of the hall was dead, but this elder’s was alive.

If not for his own powerful spiritual sense, he would have likely collapsed under that single glance. Even the Sect Master had not given him such a great pressure. Qin Haoxuan was secretly shocked; the power of this Elder Quan was plain to see.

Seeing his appearance, the most shocked were not Qin Haoxuan, but the masters of the four great halls.

Although they were high and mighty in the Taichu Sect, compared to Elder Quan of the Elder’s Council, they were just juniors in charge of miscellaneous affairs.

Normally, all matters of the sect, large and small, were decided by the Sect Master and the five Hall Masters.

Only when a major event that shook the entire sect occurred, one that even the Sect Master could not decide on, would the Elder’s Council be asked to step in.

When an elder from the council appeared, it meant that something shocking had happened. The last time, with the Blood Demon incident, it had been Elder Yufeng who had appeared.

In the Elder’s Council, Elder Yufeng’s prestige was slightly inferior to Elder Quan’s. For the Sect Master to invite him this time, and to say that the matter was related to Qin Haoxuan, made the four Hall Masters even more surprised.

What major event, sufficient to startle Elder Quan, could possibly be related to the weak seed disciple Qin Haoxuan?

Even the recruitment of three Unsurpassed Purple Seed disciples had only alarmed the elders; it hadn’t specifically required them to make an appearance. What heinous crime had this Qin Haoxuan committed to make the Sect Master invite Elder Quan?

The four Hall Masters wracked their brains, but they could not guess the reason.

Just then, a series of coughs came from outside the hall. The one they had been waiting for, Xuanji of the Nature Hall, had finally arrived.

Among them all, his cultivation was the weakest, and his lifespan was nearly exhausted, so it was normal for him to be slow.

Hearing the familiar cough, Qin Haoxuan turned his head and saw his master appearing at the entrance.

In the few months since they had last seen each other, his back was a little more bent, the wrinkles on his face were more numerous and deeper, and his eyes were sunken. His gait was far from as nimble as before.

To say he was a cultivator was less accurate than to say he was a dying old man.

Sect Master Huanglong, sitting high on his throne, shot him a displeased glance, clearly unhappy about having to wait for him alone.

This glance fell in Qin Haoxuan’s eyes; it was clear the Sect Master was not satisfied with his master.

Seeing that the Sect Master and the four Hall Masters were all waiting for him, and especially seeing Elder Quan, Xuanji was startled.

He was just about to say a few words of apology when he saw Qin Haoxuan standing beside Elder Yu. In his heart, Qin Haoxuan was a good seedling for cultivation, the brother whom Pu Hanzhong had cared for with all his heart, the hope of the Nature Hall’s revival, and his most proud disciple.

But how could he be here now? This was the Taichu Grand Hall, a place that only the high-level core members could enter.

The shrewd Xuanji saw the ashen face of the Sect Master, and the gaze that occasionally fell on Qin Haoxuan, and Elder Quan also occasionally opening his eyes to size up his disciple, plus the strange looks from the other four Hall Masters.

A bad feeling flashed through his heart. Could Qin Haoxuan have caused trouble? And trouble so great as to startle the Elder’s Council? All sorts of guesses made him extremely worried. He forgot all etiquette and walked straight to Qin Haoxuan, his face full of concern, and said in a gentle tone, “Haoxuan, did you get into trouble?”

Qin Haoxuan knew his master had misunderstood. After all, with his status, it was impossible for him to be here. It was inevitable that he would be misunderstood.

He was moved. Before he could explain, Xuanji, seeing the moved look in his eyes, thought he had really gotten into big trouble.

He looked at him with a kind gaze. “Don’t worry. If you’ve really gotten into some trouble, your master will protect you, even if it costs me my old bones.”

“Master…” His voice was choked with emotion.

Seeing this, Elder Yu could no longer remain silent. He laughed heartily. “Senior Brother Xuanji, you have a good disciple! He hasn’t caused you any trouble; on the contrary, he has rendered a great merit.”

“Ah!” Xuanji was taken aback. He had originally thought he had caused some great disaster. After realizing the situation, the worry on his face faded, replaced by a look of joy. Just as he was about to ask something, the Sect Master spoke.

“Hall Master Xuanji, please sit down. Since everyone has arrived, let us begin,” Huanglong said, no longer able to remain patient.

Thinking of the possible appearance of a second Netherworld Demon Abyss, especially within the borders of the Soaring Dragon Nation, he was extremely worried.

He said to Elder Yu, “Junior Brother Yu, please trouble yourself to tell this matter from the beginning. This is of great importance; please listen carefully, everyone.”

The four Hall Masters and Xuanji, as well as Elder Quan, were all puzzled by what he had said about Qin Haoxuan rendering a great merit.

They were just about to whisper among themselves when Huanglong had to emphasize the gravity of the matter to get them to put away their gossip.

He recounted the matter in its entirety, interspersing it with the speculation that the rogue cultivators had started the war to draw their attention in order to set up the passage to the Netherworld. Of course, he also gave great praise to Qin Haoxuan.

After he had finished, Huanglong said, “The formation was discovered by Qin Haoxuan. I have heard his description of it and have basically confirmed that this matter is true. Elder Quan, all you Hall Masters, what are your thoughts? What are your countermeasures?”

The moment his words fell, there was an uproar. They had originally thought he had caused trouble, but they never expected him to have rendered such a great merit.

A happy smile spread across Xuanji’s old face, and the deep wrinkles completely smoothed out. His spirit seemed much better, as if he had become several decades younger.

Hearing the Sect Master ask for opinions, the impulsive Guyun stood up on the spot, his fat face twisted as he shouted with agitation, “Which bastard did this contemptible thing? Don’t they know that this will be the death of the entire cultivation world?

If they want to commit suicide, why drag us down with them? Have they lost their minds?” At the same time, he glanced at Qin Haoxuan, a hint of envy in his eyes.

To discover a passage to the Netherworld Demon Abyss, to report it to the sect in time, and to prevent the appearance of a second one—this merit was astonishingly great.

“This matter is not simple,” Elder Quan, who was sitting in the first seat, said, giving him a look of approval.

Bizhu picked up where he left off. “Qin Haoxuan said that the ones guarding the formation were two rogue cultivators, one at the Twenty-First-Leaf and one at the Twentieth-Leaf.

With their strength, it is clearly impossible for them to have set up such a large-scale formation. There must be a mastermind behind it.”

The other Hall Masters shot him a sidelong glance. Isn’t that nonsense?

Guyun frowned. “Could it be that this formation was not set up by a human, but by a demon scattered in the cultivation world? Is this their conspiracy? The demons first promised these rogue cultivators benefits, had them start a war to draw our attention, so they could leisurely create a second Netherworld Demon Abyss?”

The moment his words fell, he was immediately refuted by Su Baihua. “Impossible! Cultivators and demons have always been irreconcilable camps.

As long as one is not a fool, they would know that once the cultivation world is eliminated, the next to be eaten by the demons will be these rogue cultivators who worked for them.

It is simply impossible for them to work for demons. Even the notoriously insane demon cultivators would not do such a foolish thing.”

Elder Quan also nodded in agreement. “Those who are not of our race must have a different heart. The rogue cultivators know what is at stake.”

“Could it be that a rogue cultivator has obtained an evil art like the Demon Devouring Manual and wants to increase his own strength by devouring the demons of the Netherworld?” Xuanji, who had been silent all this time, said.

His words caused a wave of gasps. In fact, several of the Hall Masters had already thought of this, but the Demon Devouring Manual was too terrifying, and they were unwilling to speak of it.

After the Hall Masters had spoken their piece, Elder Yu, who had been frowning all this time, finally said, “I suspect there is more than one such array diagram. After all, one can only create a single spatial passage. There might be others in other places. These small diagrams form a great array. As long as the caster’s magic power is sufficient, it will be enough to open another Netherworld Demon Abyss.”

He had come out of the Netherworld Demon Abyss; his knowledge was naturally extraordinary.

“The rogue cultivators’ war has not stopped. The person behind it must still be setting up arrays in other places. Perhaps the moment the great array is complete, they will immediately activate it and tear open a second Netherworld Demon Abyss.”

Elder Yu stated his speculation, which happened to coincide with Huanglong’s. The three of them who had survived the abyss knew better than anyone how terrifying it was.

Elder Quan said to Huanglong, “Sect Master, this matter is of great importance and cannot be delayed. We must immediately send people to investigate the situation.”

Huanglong nodded and his gaze swept over the several Hall Masters. “Who will go?”

The moment his words fell, all five of them stood up excitedly and declared, “I will go!”

Qin Haoxuan was taken aback. He had originally thought that for such an arduous task, they would have to be appointed by the Sect Master, yet all five of them, including his own master, had volunteered.