Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 5

Volume 7 Chapter 5: The Rulers Set Out, Power Begins to Form (Part 2)

Upon hearing Li Yuhan’s request, the twelve Jiuhua disciples looked at Li Yuhan and Wang Zegang in disbelief, unsure of what to say.

Finally, Wang Yuxian spoke up, "Sect Leader, we cannot leave. If it were any other time, you could send us anywhere. Xu Martial Uncle is the greatest expert in our Jiuhua, a legendary figure, and it is a great honor to learn from him. But in this situation, if we leave, it would be like fleeing the battlefield. How could we ever face our fellow disciples again?"

Li Yuhan furrowed his brow when he saw Wang Yuxian, who usually obeyed him, openly contradicting his command. He had a flash of anger and was about to say something when Wang Zegang addressed the twelve before him, "I understand your feelings. No one wants to run away at a time like this, but have you considered that even if you stay here, what can you do? The strongest among you is at the peak of Lingji. In future battles, you won’t even qualify to be a pawn. Your intentions to help humanity and Jiuhua are good, but to truly make a difference, you must first gain enough strength. My Island Master has the means to help you quickly improve, so think about it carefully."

After hearing Wang Zegang’s words, the twelve fell silent. After a long moment, Wang Yuxian bowed to Li Yuhan and Wang Zegang and said, "In that case, we will prepare right away."

A hint of sadness flashed unnoticed in Li Yuhan’s eyes. Given the current situation in the Shenzhou Continent, any separation could be a final goodbye.

Watching Wang Yuxian lead everyone out in a line, Li Yuhan sighed softly and asked Wang Zegang, "Is Martial Uncle Xu really not coming back?"

Wang Zegang shook his head, then nodded. His tone suddenly became distant and dreamy as he said softly, "He has not returned, but he has already come back."

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Wang Yuxian and the others were very quick. After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they returned to Li Yuhan’s courtyard, and Wang Zegang flew with the twelve people towards Old Beggar and the others.

Old Beggar first met Xu Qingfan more than two hundred years ago. Over the years, he became deeply interested in crafting, but his skills remained at the Lingji Stage. After two hundred years, he was already very old. If he hadn’t often traded the magical tools he made for "Longevity Pills" or other elixirs with other cultivators, he would have died long ago.

However, even so, when Old Beggar talked about crafting, he was still full of energy, seeming to become decades younger in an instant.

Over the years, as resources in the Human Alliance have become scarcer, Old Beggar and the others fell into a kind of madness due to having nothing to do. For those who see crafting and alchemy as their whole life, it felt like a torture. They often led other busy Alchemy Masters and Medicine Pill Masters to trouble Immortal Zizhen, complaining about why those with sects always had endless resources while they had nothing to do, which made Immortal Zizhen very troubled.

Comparatively, it was easiest to persuade Old Beggar. First, he had nothing to do, second, he had a good friendship with Xu Qingfan, and most importantly, Wang Zegang showed him several crafting materials from the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands and told him these materials were plentiful on Rainbow Spirit Island. After that, without needing to say more, Old Beggar stubbornly insisted on following Wang Zegang, his determination made Wang Zegang doubt whether Old Beggar would easily change sides if someone from the Shura Clan showed him some rare materials.

With Old Beggar taking the lead, everything else became easier. The other crafting fanatics usually followed Old Beggar’s lead. When they saw Old Beggar following Wang Zegang and that Wang Zegang had many rare crafting materials, they eagerly joined the group behind Wang Zegang. Additionally, Old Beggar was close friends with the crafting master Scholar Beihai, who often teamed up with him to complain about their unfair treatment to Immortal Zizhen. After Old Beggar persuaded him, he and a few close Medicine Pill Masters also joined the group.

And so, after finishing the tasks that Xu Qingfan had assigned, Wang Zegang did not dare to delay any longer. Accompanied by twelve young Jiuhua cultivators, seven Alchemy Masters, and five pill refiners, a total of twenty-four people, they quietly set off beyond Yongzhou State under Wang Zegang’s leadership.

At the edge of Yongzhou State, Wang Yuxian and the others discovered that five cultivators had been waiting there for a long time. The weakest among them had reached the late stage of the Real Golden Core Stage, and they were well-known rogue cultivators among humans. It was unclear why they were mixed up with Wang Zegang, but it seemed they also wanted to join Wang Yuxian and his group in going to Xu Qingfan’s secluded place.

According to Wang Zegang, these five people, like him, had received great benefits from Xu Qingfan thirty years ago and were devoted to him. However, when Xu Qingfan went into seclusion in a hurry, he did not take these five with him.

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Although Yongzhou State is only one of the flourishing eighteen states of Middle-earth, it still covers a vast area. It is impossible to defend every part of it like a solid fortress. Over the years, the arrangements made by human cultivators have been primarily focused on external threats rather than internal ones, aimed at Shura rather than fellow humans. With the experience of infiltration from six months ago and over half a year of observation, even with twenty-nine people, they silently approached the outskirts of Yongzhou State.

"Elder Wang, aside from Yongzhou State and Haizhou State, the other sixteen states of thriving Middle-earth are all within the influence of the Shura Clan. Their numbers may be small, but they can appear suddenly to hunt us. For the past thirty years, our human cultivators, unless hidden by the ‘Disaster Cloud’ or gathering in large groups, have not been seen again once they left Yongzhou State. I wonder how we will pass through the territory of the Shura Clan."

After leaving Yongzhou State, Wang Yuxian asked first.

Wang Zegang smiled slightly and said, "I will leave the same way I came."

Saying this, Wang Zegang took a command token from his sleeve and shot it into the sky. Before long, a white cloud about two hundred feet wide slowly floated down to the ground in front of everyone.

Upon seeing this white cloud, whether it was the five rogue cultivators, the twelve Jiuhua cultivators, or the twelve alchemists and artifact makers, they all shuddered and exclaimed in unison, "‘Disaster Cloud’!"

This seemingly ordinary white cloud before them was none other than the "Disaster Cloud," which Zhang Xusheng had spent hundreds of years perfecting and later shared with the Righteous Alliance, contributing greatly to the Human Alliance over the years. What exactly is it?

However, even among the high-ranking human cultivators, the "Disaster Cloud" is an extremely secret and precious item. Even a sect leader seldom sees it, and it should only be moved in dire situations. Each time it is used, there must be a significant accomplishment. How did Wang Zegang, or rather Xu Qingfan, obtain such a rare and valuable item?

Seeing everyone’s stunned expressions, Wang Zegang couldn’t help but smile slightly and said, "It’s not only Zhang Xusheng who has the ‘Disaster Cloud.’"

With that, Wang Zegang led everyone into the "Disaster Cloud."

Once everyone entered the "Disaster Cloud," they felt as if they had suddenly stepped into a white space. The area was about a hundred feet wide, and in this expanse of white, the only other color was a gray orb at the top of the space, emitting a subtle gray light among the pale surroundings.

However, what shocked Wang Yuxian the most was that inside the "Disaster Cloud," it was almost crowded. There were roughly a hundred individuals, all under sixteen years old, including even four or five-year-old children. They showed no signs of Spirit Qi, wore tattered clothes, and appeared thin and sickly, like refugees, huddled together and timidly glancing at Wang Yuxian and the others.

Among the youths in the "Disaster Cloud," there was only one middle-aged scholar and one fierce-looking girl who were cultivators. The fierce-looking girl’s power was even on par with Wang Zegang’s, while the middle-aged scholar seemed even more mysterious, his body faintly appearing a bit transparent.

If Wang Yuxian and the others had seen golden core cultivators inside the "Disaster Cloud," they wouldn’t have been so surprised, but they never expected Wang Zegang would transport so many human refugees using the "Disaster Cloud."

It is a common belief among all humans that the ordinary people outside Yongzhou State have either gathered within Yongzhou State due to human cultivators or have been killed by the Shura Clan.

Noticing Wang Yuxian and the others’ surprise, Wang Zegang sighed and said, "I found these refugees unintentionally in a hidden valley while coming to Yongzhou State. They were out hunting when a member of the Shura Clan discovered them, and I took the chance to save them."

"Are there still ordinary people outside Yongzhou State?" Wang Yuxian asked in disbelief.

Wang Zegang sighed and replied, "They should be the last group. At least from the East Sea to Yongzhou State, a distance of nearly two hundred thousand miles, I have not seen a single ordinary person. They originally belonged to a village, and as I understand it, before the great calamity began, they escaped into a hidden valley led by the elders of their clan to avoid the wars. They have not been affected by the disasters. However, after a hundred years, the food in the valley ran out. To survive, some of the young members secretly left the valley to search for food, but they were discovered by the Shura Clan. After I saved those young members, I thought the Shura Clan would find them sooner or later, and even if they did not, they would starve. So I brought them into the ‘Disaster Cloud’."

Another cultivator named Dongfang Quan, who was also a confidant of Xu Qingfan like Wang Zegang, asked with disbelief, "If that’s the case, why are there only children here?"

A hint of sadness flashed in Wang Zegang’s eyes as he said, "Those who were slightly older gave up their chance to leave. The ‘Disaster Cloud’ can only hold one hundred and forty people. To ensure the survival of their families, they chose to leave the opportunity for these young children."

Upon hearing Wang Zegang’s words, everyone felt heavy-hearted.

At that moment, a middle-aged scholar approached the group. Just as Wang Zegang was about to introduce him, the scholar smiled and said, "My surname is Liu, and my name is Liu Ziqing. I will be working with all of you in the future, so I hope you will take care of me."