Volume 5 Chapter 32

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Volume 5 Chapter 32: Discussion

About three years ago, after receiving a letter from Liu Huaxiang, the contents of which were unclear, Immortal Zizhen, though his expression remained unchanged, left Qingxu Gate-which needed his protection due to its weakened state-without hesitation. He traveled down the mountain for over half a year, gathering Mahayana Stage masters he knew from all around the Shenzhou Continent to form the Righteous Alliance to combat "Ming."

As soon as the Righteous Alliance was established, they immediately took action, first organizing elite cultivators from various sects into dozens of teams to travel across the Shenzhou Continent, aiming to eradicate the "Ming" organization’s "Tian Sha" scattered throughout the continent and the "Ming" organization cultivators protecting them.

This operation had a dual purpose: to stop the growing chaos and war in the mortal world of the Shenzhou Continent over the years and to test the strength of the "Ming" organization.

This could be considered the first clash between the "Ming" organization and the Righteous Alliance.

However, the result shocked the masters in the Righteous Alliance. During this confrontation, the dozens of teams sent out by the Righteous Alliance, although powerful and protected by the "Golden Armored Soldier Gods" given by the masters, still suffered nearly thirty casualties among the Condensed Core Stage cultivators, and over half of the cultivators below the Lingji Stage were also killed or injured. The team that Xu Qingfan accidentally joined had bad luck, encountering three high-ranking members of the "Ming" organization. Even so, they were not the team with the heaviest losses, showing just how fierce the battle was.

The "Ming" organization seemed to have known in advance about the Righteous Alliance’s return and attack, being well-prepared, which was a major reason for the heavy losses of the Righteous Alliance. This also led Immortal Zizhen and others to start suspecting whether there was a traitor from "Ming" within the Righteous Alliance.

Nonetheless, the Righteous Alliance successfully eradicated the "Tian Sha" throughout the Shenzhou Continent and completely eliminated over a hundred "Ming" organization outer cultivators guarding the "Tian Sha Seed." As a result, the chaos in the mortal world of the Shenzhou Continent gradually subsided, and despite facing significant losses, the Righteous Alliance achieved a great victory.

Moreover, it also helps maintain the increasingly chaotic situation in the cultivation world. It can be said that the gradual stability of the Shenzhou Continent over the years is partly thanks to the Righteous Alliance.

However, the time for the cultivation world’s catastrophic event, which occurs every 2,800 years, has not yet arrived. Everyone knows this is only the calm before the storm; the more peaceful it is now, the more terrifying the chaos will be when the catastrophe strikes.

Although that battle was considered a victory, the Righteous Alliance is also clearly aware that this action was just a test between both sides. The mysterious and powerful core members of the "Ming" organization never showed up at all, while more than ten masters of the Righteous Alliance remained at "Ronghua Mountain" and did not take action. This operation may have caused significant losses to "Ming’s" peripheral forces, but it did not come close to crippling them.

Because of this, after eliminating "Tian Sha," the Righteous Alliance became even more assertive, constantly seeking traces of "Ming" throughout Shenzhou Continent. Knowing that many core members of the "Ming" organization are esteemed figures in the cultivation world, many sects and cultivators were also monitored by the Righteous Alliance, including the currently most prominent "Eight Wilderness Hall."

However, after the battle of "Tian Sha," the "Ming" organization, which had been becoming more visible in the cultivation world, suddenly went into hiding, seemingly wanting to avoid the strength of the Righteous Alliance. Since the battle of "Tian Sha," although the Righteous Alliance has made many significant moves, they have still not confronted "Ming" again.

But because of this, the hiding of the "Ming" organization has made the Righteous Alliance even more uneasy. They do not know what was left in Liu Huaxiang’s letters that could make those usually calm masters so disordered.

Finally, after two years of thorough investigation across the Shenzhou Continent, the Righteous Alliance set their sights on the "Treasure Pavilion."

The mystery of the "Treasure Pavilion," along with the terrifying wealth it has accumulated over the years, aroused the Righteous Alliance’s suspicions.

Thus, this time, the Righteous Alliance sent several teams to various "Treasure Pavilions" across the Shenzhou Continent, but has no immediate plans to act against the "Treasure Pavilion." It is merely a preliminary test.

This time, it was three Condensed Core Stage cultivators who ventured to the Treasure Pavilion that Xu Qingfan often visited. They were Layman Nanshan from the Xingyin Sect, Venerable Xuan Yuan from Penance Valley, and one of Xu Qingfan’s acquaintances, Master Guanghui from Mercy Cloud Temple.

Accompanying them were some of their disciples.

Because this Treasure Pavilion, located on the Shenzhou Continent, is the largest of its kind, and the manager there is the chief manager of all Treasure Pavilions, this group was also the largest.

Since this operation was merely a reconnaissance and was unlikely to pose any danger, everyone remained relaxed and flew towards the Treasure Pavilion, chatting about their cultivation experiences or recounting adventures from recent years.

It is said that in recent years, to fight against the "Ming" organization, the members of the Righteous Alliance have had much less time for secluded cultivation. Although they are unwilling in their hearts, they cannot oppose the orders of their elders, and they feel a deep sense of helplessness.

The contents of Liu Huaxiang’s letter were only discussed among the masters, for reasons unknown, and were not shared with the disciples.

At this time, Master Guanghui was recounting the dangers of their last operation to two fellow cultivators beside him.

"During our last operation, I encountered three senior members of the Nether," Master Guanghui spoke. "According to Taoist Friend Xu, they were prospective core members, incredibly powerful, with strange cultivation methods that were difficult to defend against. At that time, my team had five Condensed Core Stage experts, along with Taoist Friend Xu and three fellow Taoists from Liuhe Gate assisting us, yet we still suffered heavy losses. If not for the later appearance of Number Two, causing internal conflict, and Taoist Friend Xu’s extraordinary skills and quick thinking, we might not have survived."

Layman Nanshan of the Xingyin Sect, a man of refined demeanor, frowned and commented after hearing Master Guanghui’s account, "If even the prospective members are this powerful, I wonder how strong the core members of the Nether truly are. No wonder our predecessors are so wary of this mysterious organization."

Among the three, Venerable Xuan Yuan from "Penance Valley" had the highest cultivation level and was the leader of the small team. His ability was just a breath away from the Golden Core Stage. Like all cultivators from "Penance Valley," he wore simple clothes and was barefoot, with a face full of sorrow.

In the past, when Master Guanghui recounted his experiences in the last "Tian Sha" battle, Venerable Xuan Yuan remained silent, but at this moment, another thought crossed his mind.

Suddenly, the usually silent Venerable Xuan Yuan spoke up, "I wonder who this Taoist Friend Xu truly is. Although he claims to be a rogue cultivator from the Southern Wasteland, our ‘Penance Valley’ is close to the Southern Wasteland, and yet we have never heard of this rogue cultivator. Moreover, during the calamity that befell the Southern Wasteland years ago, we didn’t see this Taoist Friend Xu."

After a pause, Venerable Xuan Yuan added, "Furthermore, we only knew that the Righteous Alliance was established to oppose a mysterious organization, but it was through this Taoist Friend Xu that we learned the organization is named ‘Darkness’. Judging by his actions in the ‘Tian Sha Battle’, he seems to know more about ‘Darkness’ than we do, and his responses in battle showed great experience, not typical of a rogue cultivator who’s secluded."

Hearing Venerable Xuan Yuan’s words, Master Guanghui was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I too have my doubts, but from Taoist Friend Xu’s actions, it is clear he is on the side of righteousness. Although he conceals his identity, he bears no ill will towards us and is worthy of trust."

Venerable Xuan Yuan nodded silently, about to speak again, when he suddenly paused, turning his gaze to the distance, sensing peculiar and ominous Spirit Qi fluctuations, as if something was happening there.

A moment later, Master Guanghui and Layman Nanshan also sensed the Spirit Qi fluctuations, and they too looked into the distance.

These Spirit Qi fluctuations were caused when the first of the three puppets controlled by Xu Qingfan collapsed under Little Black’s surprise attack.

The three exchanged a silent glance, hesitated no longer, and swiftly flew towards the source of the Spirit Qi fluctuations with the disciples in tow.

As they approached the source of the Spirit Qi fluctuation, Master Guanghui exclaimed in surprise, "It’s Taoist Friend Xu!"

Suddenly, two dark figures appeared beside Xu Qingfan, raising their swords to attack him. The three people present were unable to determine how these shadowy figures had appeared.

While the trio thought Xu Qingfan would be injured or worse, somehow he managed to escape unharmed, causing one of the dark figures to disintegrate instantly.

Seeing this scene, the three were taken aback. Although "Xu Fan" was renowned in the cultivation world for years, they hadn’t expected such remarkable abilities.

Despite this, the three quickly moved towards Xu Qingfan, wanting to lend him a helping hand.

Just then, the remaining dark figure reappeared, emanating a bright light before exploding terrifyingly. The low-level disciples behind the three wobbled under the blast’s aftershock, nearly falling from the sky.

It should be noted that they were still nearly a hundred yards away from Xu Qingfan, indicating the explosion’s formidable power.

As for Xu Qingfan, he couldn’t escape in time and was engulfed by the explosion’s smoke and fire. After a long while, as the smoke cleared, a figure could be seen plummeting rapidly from the sky towards the ground.