Chapter: Meeting
The three of them stepped on flying swords and arrived at a peak, where someone had already been waiting.
Besides Liu Xiao, the convener of this meeting, there were Jin Ling and Chu He from the Talisman Hall.
After the few of them landed, Liu Xiao stepped forward to greet them, saying, "Senior Sister Wang Yan, I didn't expect you to come out of seclusion."
"Senior Sister Wang Yan." Jin Ling and Chu He stepped forward to pay their respects.
Wang Yan did not waste words either; after sitting on a stone stool, she cut straight to the point, saying, "Tell me, what is the situation? Someone is ambushing disciples of our Spirit Moon Sect-they truly have the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard!"
After brewing his words for a moment, Liu Xiao stepped forward and said, "It's not confirmed yet. The reply from the disciples guarding the ore vein this time said that a Nine-Clawed Devil Octopus appeared, but it's too much of a coincidence, so much so that it looks like someone arranged it."
"If we rule out the possibility of a Demon Beast, then we were ambushed. Moreover, the ore vein was lost, and even the disciples planted over there were killed and replaced by their people."
"As for the means of contacting the sect, I believe it isn't very difficult for them to acquire."
Shen Ge stepped forward to interject, "Analyzing it this way, the Tide Crabs that approached earlier might have been decoys released by that group of people. As for why they didn't make a move in the end, it was probably because Junior Sister Mu Wan released a Soul-Losing Gall."
Hearing this, Mu Wan furrowed her brows and said, "Then that explains it. Why did the Tide Crabs from the deep sea suddenly come to the shallow sea, and why did they have an extra wound, neither big nor small, on their bellies?"
"And afterwards, there were the Giant-Mouthed Fish, which are likewise from the deep sea. Now we can basically be certain that someone is ambushing us."
"However, according to Shen Ge's statement, since they were afraid of that Soul-Losing Gall and didn't dare to strike, it proves they don't have anyone at the Golden Core Stage. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Shen Ge and me to return safely last time."
"Now the only thing we need to determine is how many people the opponent has and roughly what realms they are in," Chu He spoke up.
"That's right, but we still have to keep an eye on how the sect handles this. If the sect's handling doesn't meet our expectations, we must remember to remind them," Jin Ling also chimed in.
Speaking of the sect, Shen Ge shook his head and said, "Everyone, I feel that us discussing this has little meaning. I believe the elders in the sect have already perceived the abnormality. This time, they will either send three to five enforcement squads carrying powerful Law Artifacts or formations, or directly dispatch a Dharma Protector or elder to check it out."
"The other party's actions can already be considered flagrant ambushes. For a matter that damages the sect's prestige, the sect cannot possibly let it go unchecked."
"Uh... Junior Brother Shen isn't wrong about that. The sect will very likely directly send a Golden Core Stage elder or Dharma Protector to confirm the situation," Chu He agreed. "If it really is an anomaly with Demon Beasts, then perhaps a war isn't far off either, and we must make preparations early as well."
Wang Yan nodded and said, "Then Junior Brother Liu, keep an eye on the sect's actions. If enforcement squads are sent, we will follow along; if a Golden Core Stage elder is sent, the few of us won't need to go add to the chaos."
"Understood, Senior Sister. I will keep this in mind."
"Alright, do you all have anything else to discuss? If not, I'll be leaving first. After all, having been out for so long, I should go visit Senior Sister Liuyue."
Jin Ling glanced at Shen Ge and said, "The East Approach Secret Realm is apparently about to open, seems like it'll be within these recent three to five months."
The East Approach Secret Realm?
The ancient texts Shen Ge had recently been perusing just happened to have a description of this secret realm.
If he remembered correctly, it opened once every hundred years, and seemed to be located in the Northern-most Woman's Country, also bordering the Hehuan Sect's territory. By then, it was estimated that both righteous and devil cultivators would gather, and he wondered if a fight would break out.
Yet, such things shouldn't happen at a time like this. After all, the East Approach Secret Realm bore the reputation of a Divine Spirit Medicine Garden, abounding with all sorts of spirit medicine and weapon-reforging materials, and even contained some treasures that would make even Nascent Soul old monsters' hearts flutter.
Precisely because too much was implicated, no one dared to make a move there. After all, if a real fight broke out, the three devil sects in the Southern Wilderness territory would be considered the disadvantaged party, and things might eventually escalate into battles between Nascent Souls, with no telling which side might suddenly pop out a Spirit Severing old monster in the end.
"This time we probably won't be able to contend with those sects like the Evergreen Sect. After all, our vitality was injured from fighting the Devil Creek Sect before, and we haven't made it back up yet."
"With fifty people dispatched from each side, even if we count all of our Foundation Establishment Peak and Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators on this side, we still have fewer than thirty people."
"There's no need to worry anxiously about that. After all, the situation is laid out as it is, and there's no helping it if we can't seize them. We'll just strive for fewer casualties when the time comes."
After uttering these words, Wang Yan summoned her flying sword and prepared to leave, exhorting, "Are Senior Brother Qin and the others in seclusion attempting to breakthrough to the Golden Core? Find a way to awaken them, have them ease up, and wait until after the East Approach Secret Realm passes."
With that, a streak of sword light soared into the sky and vanished at the summit of the mountain range.
Shen Ge turned his head to glance at the people present, and asked with mild curiosity, "Is the East Approach Secret Realm very dangerous?"
"Disciples from various sects attack and plunder one another, and there are rampant Demon Beasts inside, with even Golden Core and Nascent Soul Stage Demon Beasts not in short supply. You tell me whether it's dangerous or not? Ever since this secret realm was discovered, it has never been heard that any sect's team could come out without casualties," Mu Wan cast a side-eye at him and explained.
"That's not right, is it?" Shen Ge seized on the crucial information and said, "Since Golden Core and Nascent Soul Stage Demon Beasts are not in short supply, aren't we going to our deaths by entering? Even though the things inside are very tempting, why are people still going in when it's clearly a life-threatening matter?"
Hearing this, Jin Ling spoke up in explanation, "Those Demon Beasts are all in the depths, and once the secret realm opens, they are restricted to moving only within a certain range-this is one of the rules of the secret realm. As long as we don't step into that range to provoke them, we basically won't suffer attacks."
Shen Ge nodded and said, "That's more like it, otherwise why would life-threatening matters still prompt all the major sects to head there successively."
"You should have read the other rules, so I won't mention them. But there is an unwritten rule inside, one that our several righteous sects have tacitly agreed upon: do not wantonly slaughter disciples of other sects, except for devil cultivators. Furthermore, if you encounter devil cultivators harming people, help out where you can."
"This time, I don't know whether Meng Yan of Yellow Maple Valley has appeared in the team. A hundred years ago, relying on that unpredictable Thunder Method of his, he killed several Foundation Establishment Late Stage devil cultivators, and even a Foundation Establishment Peak devil cultivator; his strength can be called terrifying."
"If he still remains at Foundation Establishment, then there is a high probability he is at Foundation Establishment Peak now. He will likely be the strongest person inside this secret realm."
"Fortunately, though, he belongs to a righteous sect and isn't a devil cultivator. If he were a devil cultivator, we would truly only be able to huddle together for warmth," Chu He shook his head and sighed, as if envious of the other person's strength, which was formidable enough to evoke fear.