Chapter 208 - 208 205 Feisha City
Chapter 208: Chapter 205 Feisha City Chapter 208: Chapter 205 Feisha City For a time, the Beast Taming Sect had dispatched several elders to all the smaller sects under their influence, summoning the people in charge to discuss the matter of conquering the Otherworld.
The news spread to the various sects, immediately causing a stir among the upper echelons.
They had not expected the Beast Taming Sect to make such a decision.
Although abnormal occurrences had been frequent in recent years across the domains, and many sects had noticed hints of trouble brewing, the majority of cultivators were not privy to the highest levels of decision-making within the Cultivation World.
Now, through the plans of the Beast Taming Sect, quite a few sects had arrived at a rough guess about the future direction of the Cultivation World.
“It seems the great calamity is indeed about to start.”
On a beautiful mountain peak, an old man with white hair and beard gazed at the sky and said softly, “Except this time, unlike during the Ancient Great Tribulation, it is not the calamities from other worlds that come to us, but we who bring calamity upon them.
Hehe, not bad, at least we won’t suffer the heavy losses our Human Clan did last time.”
“Master, what do we do now?”
Next to him, a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothing with a refined and scholarly demeanor looked at the elder and asked respectfully, “Should we follow the Beast Taming Sect’s course?”
“Of course, at this time you must not hesitate, or who knows what the Beast Taming Sect might think; if we cause their dissatisfaction, trouble might come knocking on our door.”
The old man glanced at him and said, “Conquering the Otherworld isn’t just about fighting for the Beast Taming Sect, it is also an opportunity for us to gain many benefits for ourselves.
…
For so many years, our Fog Hidden Sect hasn’t been able to expand its influence one bit, still struggling due to insufficient territory and resources.
Now that the Beast Taming Sect is willing to offer us a chance to obtain resources, of course, we must take part.”
“But…”The middle-aged man hesitated and said, “I always feel that the Beast Taming Sect is looking for helpers for themselves.
They need to keep enough manpower to guard against Taiyi Mountain and the Giant Spirit Sect; they can’t possibly send most of their strength to battle.
Maybe the Beast Taming Sect wants us smaller sects to be their pawns.
“We do not understand that world and don’t know the strength of its forces.
What if we suffer heavy losses?
It could be a loss that outweighs the gain.”
“Humph, do you still expect to reap the rewards without working for it, and for the Beast Taming Sect to just give us benefits for nothing?”
The elder glared at the middle-aged man, “It is precisely because the Beast Taming Sect needs to keep enough manpower to guard against Taiyi Mountain that we smaller sects can share in the spoils.
Otherwise, should the Beast Taming Sect have sufficient manpower, why would they need our small sects to take part?
“We small sects do not have the strength to attack the Otherworld alone, but now the Beast Taming Sect is willing to take us with them, which presents our chance to grow.
“If we want benefits, it’s inevitable that some disciples and sect members will be lost.
You have been Sect Leader for so long; you cannot be indecisive and timid.
When it’s time to make a decision, you must not hesitate.”
“Yes.”
The middle-aged man agreed, but then hesitated again and asked, “What about Taiyi Mountain?”
The elder’s face showed anger, “I’ve told you before, not to have any dealings with Taiyi Mountain, and yet you don’t listen.
It’s only been a hundred years since I’ve been in seclusion, and you’ve been bold enough to engage with Taiyi Mountain’s Heart Sword Lineage.
“Do you not understand that those who waver on both sides do not end well?
If you carelessly leak information, aren’t you afraid the Beast Taming Sect will see our Fog Hidden Sect as traitors and deal with us?”
“Disciple saw that the Taiyi Mountain Sword Cultivators are too powerful and considered the future of our sect, so I covertly interacted with the Heart Sword Lineage of Taiyi Mountain, but this matter is very secret – others do not know – it should not leak out.”
“Foolish!”
The elder angrily pointed at the middle-aged man and shouted, “There’s no such thing as an airtight wall in this world, especially in the Cultivation World.
Even if there truly is a strong airtight wall, someone will drill a hole through it, and then the wind will blow right through it.”
He glared at the middle-aged man, seething, and finally sighed, “To avoid bringing disaster upon the sect, you’re no longer fit to be Sect Leader.
Pass the position on to your junior brother.”
“Ah, Master?
I know I was wrong, you…”
The middle-aged man, who had been elegantly composed, suddenly panicked upon hearing this.
“Humph, no more words; to be cautious, from today onwards you’re to retreat in seclusion in the back mountains for a hundred years.
Otherwise, at this crucial junction, if the Beast Taming Sect finds out anything, the entire sect will suffer the consequences because of you.
“You only saw the sharpness of Taiyi Mountain’s Flying Swords, but forgot that the Beast Taming Sect’s fangs are right in front of you.”
The elder was furious and had not expected his disciple, on whom he had placed such high hopes, to be secretly colluding with Taiyi Mountain’s Sword Cultivators.
If the Beast Taming Sect found out, they certainly wouldn’t let them off; as for Taiyi Mountain, they’d probably be happy to watch them fight among themselves and would not move a finger to help them face the Beast Taming Sect’s punishment.
Similar conversations were occurring in many sects, although the majority of the sects affiliated with the Beast Taming Sect weren’t as bold as that middle-aged man, daring to openly associate with the Sword Cultivators of Taiyi Mountain.
Of course, there were also those who secretly informed both Taiyi Mountain and the Giant Spirit Sect.
After all, some small sects were located near the territories of those two sects and sometimes, inevitably, had to deal with their forces.
For a moment, undercurrents surged through the territory of the Beast Taming Sect.
However, since the Beast Taming Sect had not yet come to an agreement with the other sects, many matters were limited to the knowledge of the upper echelons; the average cultivators had not been mobilized.
Thus, Qin Feng was completely unaware of this.
He had now arrived within the borders of Nanyue Country.
Returning to this realm, he discovered that it had regained its former bustle, although the followers of the Evil God were gone.
Still, the region was wedged between the territories of the Beast Taming Sect and the Giant Spirit Sect, and disputes often arose, which then became pretexts for various battles of magic.
Along his journey, Qin Feng had already witnessed many cultivators fighting.
Not wanting to get involved, he would always give such conflicts a wide berth, lest others mistake him for wanting to profit from the spoils of the deceased.
He was still intent on playing it safe, not wishing to attract trouble before he had mastered the Small Divine Power of “Shrinking Ground to Inch.”
However, when he arrived outside Huangzhou City and searched twenty miles to the west along the city gates, he found not a dry well, but an expansive estate.
It was only after inquiring that he realized this place belonged to a small family under the Giant Spirit Sect, and indeed, they had only moved here in the last ten years.
Upon hearing this, Qin Feng sighed.
No one would build a clan in such a remote place without reason, unless there were resources capable of supporting a family’s survival and growth.
Therefore, Qin Feng suspected that the cultivators of this family must have sensed the presence of Earth Element Evil Qi here before deciding to build their residence, given that such qi could be collected and sold to other cultivators in need.
Evil Qi had many uses: aside from cultivating divine skills, it could be used to refine special Magical Treasure Divine Weapons and even certain techniques required Evil Qi for cultivation, so there was no concern about its marketability.
While undoubtedly, the family hadn’t extracted all the Evil Qi, intending to harvest it over time for a sustainable income, after many years of gathering, it wouldn’t be as pure and concentrated as at the beginning.
After much contemplation, Qin Feng still decided to sneak into the small family estate under the cover of a dark and windy night to see what was going on.
After all, his master might have had other intentions for sending him here, so it was best to investigate the situation first.
Unfortunately, with prohibitions cast throughout the estate, Qin Feng wasn’t very familiar with such techniques.
Although he carefully avoided many areas, he still accidentally triggered a prohibition at the edge of an old well in their backyard, which contained Evil Qi.
Before the family’s cultivators arrived, Qin Feng forcibly broke through the prohibition to take a quick look into the well.
Finding the Evil Qi within to be only average, he lost interest in gathering his divine power there and left the place.
As for the two Foundation Establishment cultivators who came to stop him, they were unable to keep up with his pace.
This was because he did not want to expose his identity as a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect; otherwise, he could have easily revealed his Spiritual Beasts and effortlessly slaughtered all the cultivators, big and small, within the family.
However, his heart wasn’t cruel enough to murder even infants, and there was no need to kill these cultivators, so he left directly, leaving the two bewildered Foundation Establishment cultivators in the night wind, wondering about the stranger’s purpose.
Since no death occurred and the thief did not damage their ancient well used for harvesting Evil Qi, they did not pursue, to avoid falling into the trap of potentially leading the tiger away from the mountain.
After leaving the estate, Qin Feng gave it some thought and, feeling uninterested in traveling about the area, left Nanyue Country directly, heading in the northwest direction.
He planned to visit the ruins of Feisha City in the Northwest Desert.
As for traveling, he would postpone it until after his divine powers had been refined.
Otherwise, he felt unwilling to waste time on such endeavors.
Riding the Spiritual Vulture for several days, he finally reached the edge of the desert.
Gazing at the blazing sun above, stepping on the fine sand beneath, and sensing the desolate surroundings of the desert, Qin Feng couldn’t help but recall the rumors about this place.
There was originally no desert in the Southern Domain until an Otherworldly being cast a Supreme Dao Technique during an Ancient battle, stripping away all the vitality of this region for ten thousand miles in both heaven and earth.
Although later an earth-shattering battle resulted in the slaying of that Otherworldly being here, the area could not recover even the slightest vitality due to being tainted with the being’s aura of death and ultimately transformed into this desert.
Qin Feng didn’t know if this tale was true or false, as he had never searched for such information in the Scripture Pavilion.
If it were true, it would be terrifying, the death of a powerful being could render ten thousand miles into a complete dead land, it’s frightening to contemplate how strong that being must have been.
Yet over the years, occasional patches of green have appeared on the edges of the desert, and even some small oases have been found deep within, indicating that, over time, the Heaven and Earth Laws are gradually improving the environment.
Perhaps after a few tens of thousands of years, once the aura of the Otherworldly being in the desert dissipates completely, the area might be restored to its original state.
Qin Feng did not bother with those oases; he was no camel and didn’t need to go there to replenish water.
Currently, following the map, he was searching for the ruins of Feisha City.
After tens of thousands of years of erosion by the sands, it was uncertain whether any relics remained above ground.
If not, it would be difficult to locate them.