Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 77

Volume 6 Chapter 77: The Final Battle Begins (6)

Although he felt he had an idea in his heart, Xu Qingfan was not sure. After he quietly walked along the narrow path and observed for a moment, he finally confirmed his earlier guess. A deep sigh filled his heart.

Xu Qingfan finally understood why he had never come here, yet felt a sense of familiarity with this mountain cave.

The way the rocks were shaped, the way the plants grew, and the size of the surroundings were exactly like what Bai Qingfu had told him about Zhang Xusheng’s secret base.

"Did I really just move to ‘Black Glory Valley’? Is this good luck or bad luck?"

Observing the surroundings, Xu Qingfan murmured, his eyes full of disbelief.

In theory, using the "Sky Escaping Talisman" could move a cultivator to any place within a two-thousand-mile radius. If someone was unlucky, they might use great effort to cast the "Sky Escaping Talisman" and find they only moved a few yards. Although this situation is very rare, it could be deadly in life-and-death moments like Xu Qingfan faced before.

However, at this moment, Xu Qingfan couldn’t decide if being moved here or just a few yards away was worse.

The "Sky Escaping Talisman" is indeed amazing, but it has two deadly weaknesses: first, it takes a long time to prepare, almost a full incense stick’s time, which is enough for an opponent to kill the caster a hundred times. Second, the colorful light around the caster is very obvious, and anyone with decent power can easily find the caster’s exact location.

This means that if "Black Glory Valley" really is Zhang Xusheng’s main base, Xu Qingfan would be unable to escape. At least, he couldn’t leave using the "Sky Escaping Talisman," and other ways would be too dangerous.

Or rather, there was no need to use the words "if" anymore. Xu Qingfan could faintly sense that hundreds of strong presences were coming from all over the mountain’s interior. If it weren’t Zhang Xusheng’s main camp, which mountain would hide so many powerful masters of the Condensed Core Stage at once?

"Forget it, let’s take it step by step."

Xu Qingfan sighed internally about his bad luck and quietly thought to himself.

After using the "Sky Eye Skill," the scene inside the mountain became clearer. He saw that this part of the mountain was not a vast empty space; rather, it resembled a maze filled with walls, creating narrow pathways. Inside the walls, there were hollowed-out spaces forming caves, some for living and others for different purposes.

Being within the mountain, surrounded by countless walls, he could only see the scenery around him, unable to take in the overall view of the mountain’s interior. Xu Qingfan sensed that this place must be enormous, likely equipped with various chambers and hallways, and judging by the height, he realized he was merely on one level of the mountain’s interior, in just a corner of it.

In fact, this was true. Xu Qingfan’s unfortunate luck led him to a spot where four walls met. Before him were only two paths leading southwest, placing him in the far eastern corner of the mountain. The strong presences he sensed were all scattered around the central area, at varying heights and obviously on different levels.

Perhaps it was in his nature, but although this mountain was large and complex, there was no source of light, making it quite dim. However, this terrain and lighting provided a perfect hiding place for Xu Qingfan.

After a brief hesitation, Xu Qingfan decided to give up the idea of venturing deeper into the mountain and instead sat down in the deepest corner to meditate and recover from his injuries.

At this moment, Little Black, Xu Ying, and Xu Zhiyuan had no strength left to fight. Xu Qingfan didn’t want to put himself in danger out of mere curiosity.

"The ‘World-wide Communication Symbol’ I sent to the elders of the Righteous Alliance should be arriving soon, right? Once those masters receive my message, they will surely come to ‘Black Glory Valley’ to investigate. If they find something wrong, there will definitely be a great battle between the Righteous Alliance and Zhang Xusheng. Or perhaps, at that time, it will be my chance to leave this place. Until then, it’s better for me not to act hastily."

Before closing his eyes to heal, Xu Qingfan silently thought to himself.

After shutting his eyes, time flowed by like water, silently and unnoticed. At the moment he closed his eyes, he unwittingly drifted far away.

…

Just after Xu Qingfan had closed his eyes to heal for about one or two hours, he suddenly opened them wide, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Although separated by a thick mountain wall, Xu Qingfan could still clearly sense that terrible yet familiar aura.

It was the aura of a monster! The monster had actually caught up!

Then, the mountain wall shook, as if the monster was continuously attacking the entire ‘Black Glory Valley.’

Xu Qingfan’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down, a faint smile appearing on his lips as he murmured, "This is good. Let me see what kind of strength Zhang Xusheng’s followers really have. At this moment, Zhang Xusheng should be in seclusion refining the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map.’ Without Zhang Xusheng, how much can they push the monster? This unexpected shift to this place may mean I can’t leave, but alongside some danger, I also found a group of skilled fighters to help me against the monster. My luck isn’t all bad after all."

As he spoke, Xu Qingfan slowly closed his eyes again. While he focused on healing with the medicine in his body, he also paid attention to the changes outside the mountain wall.

However, even though he felt relaxed like he was watching a show, Xu Qingfan still had deep doubts in his heart. How did that monster track him all the way from the Southern Wasteland?

…

Xu Qingfan’s guess was correct; he was in an inconspicuous corner of a layer deep within the mountain, which was indeed Zhang Xusheng’s headquarters.

At this moment, high-ranking members of the "An" organization were meeting in a hidden room on the highest layer of the mountain, discussing important matters. Zhang Xusheng had been fully focused on refining the "Four Spirit Sky Map" for days and had no time for anything else, so every move of the "An" organization was decided by these senior members.

The members of the "An" organization were now divided into two parts.

One part consisted of the old members from the "An" organization that Zhang Xusheng founded after he left Jiuhua. Although the original "An" organization was destroyed by the "Ming" organization, those who managed to escape were incredibly strong and smart. To further his plans, Zhang Xusheng reestablished the "An" organization a hundred years ago, bringing these people together as his right-hand men. Each old member of the "An" organization was a senior member, second only to Zhang Xusheng.

However, while these people had status and strength just below Zhang Xusheng in the "An" organization, they were generally suspicious about Zhang Xusheng abandoning them to join the "Ming" organization. They followed Zhang Xusheng’s orders, but there was an underlying sense of distrust. They might trust Zhang Xusheng’s strength and intelligence but not his character. Zhang Xusheng did not mind; he believed he could control them, and in fact, he could.

There were very few of these people, fewer than ten, but each had reached the peak of the Golden Core Stage, practicing unique and extraordinary magical arts that were far beyond the average golden core cultivator.

The other part consists of the experimental products that Zhang Xusheng has created through his many years of experiments. Each person’s body has undergone extensive modifications by Zhang Xusheng. Their abilities are strange and unpredictable. However, compared to the old members of the "An" organization, they are still lacking. After all, they were nurtured by Zhang Xusheng and have not faced many major challenges, so their experience and wisdom are still far behind. Most importantly, despite gaining great strength through transformations, they can no longer grow any further. Years ago, Bai Qingfu and Nangong Qingshan, who were not even at the Condensed Core Stage, were the four guards by Zhang Xusheng’s side because they were the only ones among Zhang Xusheng’s experimental products who could continue to grow and practice.

Although these individuals have many shortcomings, they are abundant in number and are completely loyal to Zhang Xusheng, making them the cornerstone of the entire "An" organization.

Besides Zhang Xusheng, there are eighteen high-ranking members in the "An" organization—nine old members and nine of Zhang Xusheng’s strongest experimental products. They look down on each other; the old members believe that the experimental products are still just experiments and inferior to themselves in many ways. Meanwhile, the experimental products resent the fact that the old members have higher status the moment they join. They also feel these people are not Zhang Xusheng’s trusted followers. Every gathering turns into a verbal battle, ending with the experimental products’ miserable defeat.

Of course, it might also be that Zhang Xusheng intentionally created such a situation.

At this moment, it is the same.

Except for one experimental product assigned a task by Zhang Xusheng, the other seventeen gathered together. After following their usual practice of exchanging sarcastic remarks, the official meeting finally began.

"Xuan Luo hasn’t sent back any news for a whole month. Did something happen over at ‘Underworld’? Or has that old man from ‘Heaven’ discovered Xuan Luo’s true identity?"

"Previously, the boss made an agreement with ‘Earth’, but as the time approaches, ‘Earth’ hasn’t informed us as promised."

"It seems something significant has truly happened over at ‘Underworld’. What should we do? Should we tell the master? Or should we investigate ourselves first?"

"The master is refining the ‘Four Spirit Sky Map’. This is the most important task right now, and he should not be disturbed."

Voices, some dark and some gentle, echoed among the seventeen people. Among them, those who called Zhang Xusheng ‘master’ were his experiment subjects, while those who referred to him as ‘boss’ were the old members of the ‘An’ organization.

Just as everyone continued to discuss, suddenly, the mountain wall shook as if someone was attacking it, and at the same time, everyone clearly sensed a dangerous and terrifying presence outside the mountain.

"Enemy attack!"

Everyone was slightly taken aback when one person suddenly said coldly.