Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 36

Volume 6 Chapter 36: Coping and Strategies

Just as Xu Qingfan made up his mind to return to the Southern Wasteland to look for Jin Qinghan and Dongfang Qingling, at the top of "Ronghua Mountain," in the Qingxu Hall, fourteen masters and more than ten sect leaders gathered together. Although they had just won a great victory against the Southern Wasteland demon beast, everyone’s faces were extremely heavy.

If you looked closely, you could see one or two masters unable to hide a hint of despair on their faces.

It was not clear what everyone had been discussing earlier, but now there was a deep silence.

After a moment, Immortal Zizhen spoke first and said, "The only good news is that we have defeated the Southern Wasteland demon beast, and our friend Xu from Jiuhua saved the kylin that commands all beasts. Our grudges with the Southern Wasteland demon beast are finally settled, and we can now focus our strength on the ‘Underworld’ organization that caused all of this. Sigh…"

Although he spoke of something good, Immortal Zizhen couldn’t help but sigh at the end, though no one knew why.

By the way, with Mr. Liu’s help, no one exposed the lies that Xu Qingfan told. According to Xu Qingfan, the reason he went deep into the Southern Wasteland was to investigate the sudden attack of the Southern Wasteland demon beast. He discovered that the Southern Wasteland demon beast had captured two kylin that controlled all the beasts under the lead of the Nine-Tails, which led to the loss of control and their attack. After he rescued the two kylin, the demon beasts regained their control, which matched the sudden return of the Southern Wasteland demon beast during the fierce battle, so no one doubted it.

Hearing Immortal Zizhen’s words, Li Fulu slightly nodded and said, "Xu Qingfan’s fortune seems quite deep; he actually found the kylin. Not only did he relieve our worries, but his own strength also increased to the late stage of the Golden Core Stage. His future is indeed limitless."

"Hmph! Whether that kid has a future depends on whether we old folks can break the purpose of the ‘Underworld’ organization. Otherwise, not just that kid Qingfan, but any junior present will fall into an irreversible situation. This matter seemed very certain, but unfortunately, the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map’ was stolen by that Zhang Xusheng guy. Even if we find the Underworld organization’s headquarters, we’ll have to fight for our lives. It would be less effective than using the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map’."

Thinking of how their hard-created "Four Spirit Sky Map" was taken away by Zhang Xusheng, Immortal Zizhen felt a mix of helplessness, bitterness, and anger. However, since this item was lost in Mr. Liu’s hands and taken by the top evil figure, Zhang Xusheng, even he couldn’t guarantee he could do better than Mr. Liu, and he couldn’t complain about it either.

"No matter what, we cannot allow the ‘Underworld’ organization to achieve their goals. After nearly half a year of rest, the younger generation’s Spirit Qi has already recovered. The countless demon beasts’ inner cores have helped the disciples improve their power, and many high-quality magical tools have come from the many demon beast bodies. Having just defeated the Eight Wilderness Hall, Beast Madness cultivator, and Southern Wasteland demon beast, our Righteous Alliance is currently in high spirits and must take action. After all, from the news we have received, if the ‘Underworld’ organization’s goals truly can be realized, it will happen within the next two years. We must focus all our efforts on finding the location of the ‘Underworld’ organization’s base to take action."

Li Fulu said slowly.

Immortal Zizhen shook his head and said, "Not only that, but we also need to find Zhang Xusheng’s whereabouts and find a way to reclaim the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map.’ Otherwise, if Zhang Xusheng refines the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map,’ it will cause great trouble. Furthermore, if we have the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map,’ we will have a much better chance of dealing with the ‘Underworld’ organization."

Li Fulu nodded and said, "Then it’s settled. We will immediately send the elite disciples of the Righteous Alliance to various places on the Shenzhou Continent to focus on finding the ‘Underworld’ organization and Zhang Xusheng’s whereabouts. To save time, we old folks cannot stay here any longer; we must also go with the younger generation to investigate."

Upon hearing Li Fulu’s words, the masters nodded in agreement.

"Hum." Mr. Liu suddenly let out a cold hum and said, "It seems you have forgotten something."

Immortal Zizhen asked, "What do you mean by what Daoist Friend Liu just said?"

Mr. Liu sneered and said, "The ‘Underworld’ organization has controlled and guided the Eight Wilderness Hall, Beast Madness cultivator, and Southern Wasteland demon beast to cause great chaos in the cultivation world over the years. This is not only to weaken our Righteous Alliance’s strength, but a more important purpose is to hold us back and prevent us from finding them. The three great disasters are interconnected, forming a massive calamity unlike anything seen before. How could they allow us to leisurely search for them at this critical moment? I fear that the ‘Underworld’ organization has more tricks up their sleeve to create chaos and delay us in these last two years."

As he spoke, Mr. Liu coldly scanned everyone present and said in an even colder tone, "Do you all remember that there were reports of zombies appearing on the coast of the East Sea? At that time, you all thought it was just a few evil sects taking advantage of the chaos, not worth worrying about. But how do you explain the master who controls the dead energy that Xu Qingfan encountered in the Southern Wasteland?"

"The Taoist friend said…"

"The Zhong family has returned."

After hearing Mr. Liu’s words, everyone’s face changed dramatically.

Immortal Zizhen listened to Mr. Liu’s words, thought for a moment, and then said, "Actually, this is not a big concern. Ancestor Zhong Kui of the Zhong family is definitely not the kind of person who would willingly be used by the ‘Ming’ organization. This action probably aims to gain a space for survival, rather than targeting us. Otherwise, he would not have been hiding by the East China Sea instead of attacking us in confusion. Tomorrow, I will personally go to the East China Sea to find him, calm him down, and make sure he doesn’t interfere with us in the last two years. As for future matters, we will talk about it after we deal with the Ming organization."

Upon hearing Immortal Zizhen’s words, everyone nodded in agreement.

On the other side, seated at the lower position, the sect leaders exchanged glances. Then, Qinglingzi of Qingxu Gate stood up to represent everyone. He bowed respectfully to the masters and asked, "Esteemed seniors, since the establishment of the Righteous Alliance, you have often mentioned the ‘Ming’ organization and its purpose for causing chaos. When discussing this, you all looked very serious. Yet you took the great risk of capturing the Four Spirits to make the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map.’ We do not understand the true purpose of the ‘Ming’ organization that makes you all so concerned. We are about to lead our disciples to battle the ‘Ming,’ so please enlighten us so that we can have a goal moving forward."

After hearing Qinglingzi’s words, the masters exchanged glances, and Immortal Zizhen spoke up, "Now that things have come to this point, we can no longer hide the truth from you."

Then, Immortal Zizhen slowly spoke, and after listening, each sect leader’s expression changed dramatically, even turning pale.

After the meeting ended, each sect leader returned to their respective sects and, without any pause, urged their elders and disciples to go out and search for the ‘Ming’ organization and Zhang Xusheng, even more anxious than the masters themselves, not knowing what terrifying news they had received.