Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 114

Volume 7 Chapter 114: Undercurrents

While the masters were discussing matters in "Qingxu Hall," their disciples and followers waited outside the great hall. There were about two hundred of them, all experts at the Golden Core Stage or above, standing together by their factions, subtly opposing each other, yet managing to coexist peacefully.

But when the group of masters left "Qingxu Hall," an unusual event occurred.

Xu Qingfan and Mr. Liu quietly exchanged thoughts about the day’s events and were the last to leave the great hall among the masters.

Meanwhile, Chou silently followed behind Xu Qingfan.

When Chou appeared outside the grand hall…

"To avenge Anluo!"

A loud shout suddenly rang out in Zhang Xusheng’s group of followers, and unexpectedly, everyone nearby looked in surprise towards the direction of the sound.

Suddenly, a strong killing intent filled the area around Ronghua Mountain, and under the astonished gaze of the crowd, Jiluo sprang up from the middle of Zhang Xusheng’s followers and rushed towards Chou like lightning.

A faint black mist transformed into a black dragon, silently roaring as it swept towards Chou, and this black mist was Jiluo’s special skill—Malaria!

Hidden in the black mist, Jiluo suddenly grew several black spikes on his body, exuding a strong sense of danger, and lunged fiercely at Chou.

The sudden change left everyone stunned, including Mingluo and other members of the "An" organization beside Jiluo, all with shocked expressions, clearly not even they had expected Jiluo to attack so suddenly.

Faced with Jiluo’s unexpected move, although the masters were surprised, they remained calm, knowing that Jiluo could not pose a threat to Chou given Chou’s strength.

And the calmest of all was undoubtedly Chou, the one being attacked.

Although her face was hidden by a large hood, that hint of disdain was still very clear.

In the next moment, the sharp spikes on Jiluo’s body had deeply pierced into Chou’s body, and at the same time, the miasma surrounding him surged all at once through the spikes into Chou’s body.

Seeing his sudden attack succeed, a glimmer of joy flashed in Jiluo’s eyes.

In his eyes, Chou was surely doomed.

However, as time went on, the joy on Jiluo’s face gradually faded, replaced by a look of disbelief.

The expected event of Chou being controlled by the miasma and losing strength did not happen; Chou still stood there, coldly watching Jiluo in front of him, as if looking at a clown.

The miasma that Jiluo had sent into Chou’s body was completely neutralized by the mutated death energy inside Chou; compared to Chou’s mutated death energy, the miasma seemed far too simple.

"Have mercy!"

Seeing this scene, Zhang Xusheng frowned slightly and said sharply to Chou.

"Let him go, Chou."

After a moment of hesitation, Xu Qingfan also gave the order.

Unfortunately, they both spoke too late.

Chou’s body shook, and the sharp spikes that Jiluo had stabbed into Chou’s body all bounced back out, taking Jiluo down with them, falling far away.

"It’s too late," Chou said quietly to Xu Qingfan, "I have already passed the death energy into his body."

As if to confirm Chou’s words, Jiluo suddenly let out a cry of panic and fear.

The death energy had taken effect.

Under the devouring of the death energy, Jiluo’s body began to turn into sores all over, slowly melting away. Zhang Xusheng glanced at Chou, a glint of determination in his eyes, and in the next moment, he flashed to Jiluo’s side, disregarding the mutated death energy within Jiluo’s body. He placed his hand on Jiluo’s back and began to drive out the mutated death energy.

Seeing Zhang Xusheng’s actions, both Xu Qingfan and Chou furrowed their brows. Although Chou’s mutated death energy was not as pure and mysterious as true death energy, it was more aggressive and destructive, considered one of the most powerful forces in the world. Yet Zhang Xusheng showed no fear at all.

Although Zhang Xusheng did not care about Chou’s twisted death energy, his actions were already too late.

After a moment, Zhang Xusheng finally drove the twisted death energy out of Jiluo’s body, but Jiluo’s body had almost turned to a skeleton. The back half still looked a bit like a person with Zhang Xusheng’s help, but the front half had become a bloody skeleton, lifeless.

Zhang Xusheng sighed, withdrew his hands from Jiluo’s back, and looked down at his own palms.

His once clear and beautiful hands were now covered in signs of decay. Zhang Xusheng frowned slightly, and in the next moment, his skin healed and returned to normal.

Xu Qingfan shot a displeased glance at Chou and then apologetically said to Zhang Xusheng, "Taoist Friend Zhang, my disciple has grown used to fighting over the years and does not know how to hold back in battle…"

Zhang Xusheng shook his head and said to Xu Qingfan, "We cannot blame Chou. After all, Jiluo attacked first, and I should have been more cautious. Jiluo and Anluo used to have a good relationship, but his emotions have been strange these days. It was my oversight."

Looking at the lifeless Jiluo at his feet, Zhang Xusheng shook his head slightly and turned to Mingluo, saying, "Find a place to bury him."

Mingluo and the others glanced at Chou, a hint of complexity flashing in their eyes. Without saying a word, they took Jiluo’s bones and flew away into the distance.

"Dear Taoist friends, let us proceed as planned."

After Zhang Xusheng finished all of this, he spoke to the other masters.

The group of watching masters all nodded and flew into the distance under Zhang Xusheng’s lead. After all, Jiluo’s strength and life were not worth mentioning to these masters, especially since Jiluo was not their subordinate.

In chaotic times, human life is not valued more than a dog’s. The masters looked down on this saying; they claimed that everyone is equal in front of the Heavenly Way, but at the same time, they accepted this saying.

Watching Mingluo and others leave with Jiluo’s body, a trace of doubt flashed in Xu Qingfan’s eyes, feeling that this sudden small change seemed to hide something.

He exchanged a glance with Mr. Liu and waved his hand slightly. A few members of Tianzuo Camp transformed into smoke and quietly followed behind Mingluo and the others.

Zhang Xusheng saw this scene and a smile crossed his lips, but he said nothing and simply led the group of masters flying into the distance.

…

Zhang Xusheng, Immortal Zizhen, Mr. Liu, Chou, and Xu Qingfan, along with Liu Ziqing, were the six strongest cultivators in the Righteous Alliance. Together with more than ten ordinary masters, they represented nearly half of the Righteous Alliance’s strength, embodying humanity’s hope.

Once the masters reached outside Yongzhou State, they began to practice according to Zhang Xusheng’s plan.

"Let’s get started."

After Zhang Xusheng told the masters all the details, he nodded at Xu Qingfan.

Xu Qingfan nodded.

"Heaven and Earth Chess!"

With a soft shout, Xu Qingfan summoned his "Heaven and Earth Chess" into his hands.

A green chessboard appeared, about the size of an ordinary board. It looked very normal, but the immense pressure made all the masters feel alarmed.

As Xu Qingfan put Spirit Qi into it, an invisible barrier spread out from the chessboard in his hands, extending for miles around.

At the same time, Xu Qingfan’s appearance began to change without him realizing it. Various black patterns appeared on his face, transforming the calm and composed Xu Qingfan into something dark and strange, like a demon risen from the depths of hell. As his aura changed, Xu Qingfan’s presence grew stronger, almost rivaling that of Mr. Liu and Zizhen.

Xu Qingfan’s eyes were even more startling; the cold detachment and ruthless logic seemed etched deep within his soul. Yet beneath that indifference lay an incredible fervor!

This is a new state of Xu Qingfan combining the "Beast Madness" and "Possession" states—"Demonic Transformation"!

Seeing this scene, all the masters showed expressions of shock. Xu Qingfan was only in the middle stage of the Soul Splitting Stage, but at this moment, his power surged to the peak of the Soul Splitting Stage. If that were all, it would be fine, but the most important thing was that while in the space created by the "Heaven and Earth Chess," Xu Qingfan seemed to become the very essence of heaven and earth, invincible!

This is the power of the "Heaven and Earth Chess," which contains all of Xu Qingfan’s abilities from "Substitute for Heaven" and "Cosmic Secret Record," and holds an incredibly strong power of space, time, and confinement!

Even Mr. Liu looked astonished, as he had not expected Xu Qingfan to grow to such a level.

Only Zhang Xusheng remained calm, watching Xu Qingfan’s transformation, with a mysterious smile reappearing on his face.

Under the gaze of the shocked masters, Xu Qingfan raised his hand, and a white chess piece suddenly appeared in his hand.

"Hurry!"

Xu Qingfan shouted lightly, his voice like rolling thunder echoing in the space controlled by the "Heaven and Earth Chess." Then, the white chess piece in Xu Qingfan’s hand glowed with white light, as if a blazing sun was clasped between his fingers.

"Smash!"

Xu Qingfan’s fingertip placed the chess piece on hope, and the crisp sound of connection stirred the soul.

As the chess piece fell, a faint white light suddenly appeared around Xu Qingfan and the group of masters, and the masters felt their bodies lighten, moving with a speed more than twice as fast!

"Recognize!"

With another gentle shout, another white chess piece fell, and the white light around the masters grew stronger, making their senses and reactions feel even sharper.

"Protect!"

A layer of protection appeared around the masters.

"Spirit!"

The Spiritual Qi around the masters grew incredibly thick, greatly enhancing their magical abilities and recovery of Spiritual Qi.

…

In a moment, Xu Qingfan placed his pieces quickly. When all ten white pieces were in place, the masters were surprised to find that within the area controlled by the "Heaven and Earth Chess," their power nearly doubled!

"Next move!"

Zhang Xusheng remained calm and said to Xu Qingfan.

A few beads of sweat had already appeared on Xu Qingfan’s forehead, but he still nodded.

Meanwhile, under the combined control of the masters, a huge rock came crashing toward Xu Qingfan at an incredible speed.

"Stop!"

This time, the piece Xu Qingfan held between his fingers was a black piece, shimmering with dark mist, as if a black hole had appeared in his hand.

As the black piece was placed, the previous fast-moving rock suddenly slowed down.

"Press!"

The weight of the giant stone suddenly increased and it started to fall to the ground.

"Chaos!"

The space around the giant stone began to become chaotic, and the stone swayed unsteadily as it moved.

…

When all the practice ended, all the masters clapped and cheered, no longer looking serious as they usually did.

Xu Qingfan did not take part in the fight at all, but through Xu Qingfan, everyone’s fighting power doubled!

After the one-sided attack and defense practice ended, under Zhang Xusheng’s command, the two sides started to practice together.

The masters needed to understand the strength they gained, to know each person’s abilities, to be familiar with their roles, whether to entangle, to distract, to attack, or to defend…

As the masters worked together more and more smoothly, their fighting power greatly increased again.

At this moment, all the masters felt more confident than ever about their battle with the Shura Clan!

This training lasted for ten whole days.

During these ten days, not only did everyone grow more in tune with each other, but Zhang Xusheng also adjusted their strategies based on the situation.

First, because Xu Qingfan controlled the "Heaven and Earth Chess," he could sense everything happening in its space and understood the masters’ state the best, so Zhang Xusheng handed over his command to Xu Qingfan, as only Xu Qingfan could perfectly control the flow of battle.

After realizing that Xu Qingfan had the powerful treasure "Sword of Life and Death" in addition to the "Heaven and Earth Chess," Zhang Xusheng also gave Xu Qingfan the right to deliver the final blow, because Xu Qingfan’s "Sword of Life and Death" combined the "World Defying Sword," "Holy Spirit Sword," and "Qixia Sword," making it even stronger than the "Heaven and Earth Sword" held by Mr. Liu. It was best for him to deliver the final strike.

This meant that in the final battle, Xu Qingfan would be the master of rhythm on the battlefield, the best supporter, the highest commander, and the one who would deliver the final deadly blow.

If they won this battle, most of the credit would go to Xu Qingfan, and he would go down in history as the greatest in the cultivation world!

Although the masters felt it was a bit unfair to place such a huge responsibility on Xu Qingfan, they believed it was the best choice and had no reason to oppose it.

"Taoist Friend Xu, if we can achieve final victory in this battle, you will surely become the true leader of the Human Alliance, an unprecedented leader. Your reputation will reach the highest point in human history!"

After practicing these days, Zhang Xusheng seemed to have gained confidence in humanity’s victory. He smiled at Xu Qingfan, his expression returning to what it was before, and that smile showed he felt everything was under his control.

Xu Qingfan’s face remained calm in response to Zhang Xusheng’s compliment. The leader of the Human Alliance had an unprecedented reputation, which was tempting, but for Xu Qingfan now, it was just a matter of responsibility and pressure.

"The battle is not over; it is too early to say that."

Xu Qingfan said softly.

While the two talked, neither noticed that the darkness in Immortal Zizhen’s eyes was becoming more obvious.

A being he viewed as a villain had become the leader of humanity, the most esteemed person in the history of the human cultivation world, while he, a representative of righteousness, had become nothing more than a side character.

For Immortal Zizhen, this was simply unbearable, yet the situation was such that there was nothing he could do.

Although Immortal Zizhen could be seen as a representative of righteousness or even stubborn, his character and integrity were unquestionable. However, at this moment, jealousy and unwillingness had taken root in his heart like a seed, and when the time was right, it would sprout. What kind of fruit it would bear was impossible for anyone to predict.

Perhaps Zhang Xusheng sensed this because the seed in Immortal Zizhen’s heart was planted step by step by Zhang Xusheng himself.

When all the masters returned to Yongzhou State, they were filled with confidence. Looking at the silent Immortal Zizhen, Zhang Xusheng, who had regained his usual demeanor, wore a smile that was more mysterious than ever.

"Heavenly Way… you use destiny to challenge me, while I fight against you with the unpredictable nature of human hearts… I truly look forward to the final outcome of our struggle, no matter what the result may be…"

Zhang Xusheng looked up at the clear yet deep starry sky, where the stars seemed to gaze coldly at him, like the watchful eyes of Heavenly Way.

Yet, in front of Heavenly Way, Zhang Xusheng showed no fear at all.

He was certain he would win this unprecedented battle.

If nothing unexpected happened.

…

The masters spent a full ten days practicing, and after returning to Yongzhou State Ronghua Mountain, they each went to rest and recover.

After ten days of hard work, everyone felt a bit tired.

Especially Xu Qingfan, who had worked the hardest these days, was feeling quite tired.

But Xu Qingfan did not rest; upon his return, he called all the cultivators from the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands to a meeting, as all the operations of the Human Alliance had been under the control of the high-ranking members of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands during this time.

After Bai Qingfu and others reported to Xu Qingfan about all the preparations of the Human Alliance over the past few days, Xu Qingfan nodded and turned to look at Zhang Ningmei and the Tian family brothers.

During this time, their "Tianzuo Camp" had been secretly watching over Zhang Xusheng’s followers.

"For these days, all of Zhang Xusheng’s followers have been very quiet, focusing on their training without any unusual activity."

Xu Qingfan nodded, but his brow furrowed again.

Was Zhang Xusheng really just trying to help humanity through this unprecedented crisis?

At this moment, Xu Qingfan’s doubts finally began to waver.

"Continue to monitor closely; do not make any mistakes."

"Yes."

After everyone had left, Xu Qingfan sighed and finally had time to rest.

…

At the same time that Xu Qingfan was discussing with his followers, on the edge of Yongzhou State, in a desolate area.

The soil suddenly loosened, and a skeleton crawled out from beneath the earth.

It is not quite right to call it just a skeleton; the front half of its body was a skeleton, while the back half was flesh that was missing parts, creating a frightful appearance!

It was Jiluo, who had been killed by Chou before!

In this condition, Jiluo still had a faint breath of life!

Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan’s followers, who were cultivators, completely ignored this dead person; even though they had doubts, after ten days of watching, they had long since dispersed. After all, the operations of the Human Alliance rested on the cultivators of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, and they could not waste manpower for a long time watching a dead person.

After Jiluo crawled out from deep underground, he staggered and walked toward the outside of Yongzhou State.

Outside Yongzhou State, a "Disaster Cloud" had been waiting for a long time.

Once inside the "Disaster Cloud," Jiluo looked around as if searching for something.

Finally, Jiluo found it.

A green pearl quietly waited in the corner.

"Shura Holy Pearl"!

The "Shura Holy Pearl" contains countless blood and power of the Shura Clan!

Jiluo held the "Shura Holy Pearl" in his hand, and a hint of a satisfied smile appeared on his fierce face.

His mission was to carry the "Shura Holy Pearl" and silently find the "Spirit Eater" through the "Disaster Cloud," be devoured together by the "Spirit Eater," and send the power of the "Shura Holy Pearl" to the "Spirit Eater"!