Chapter 158: Beyond Control

The two of them chatted via Divine Sense Transmission while squeezed into the crowd.

At this moment, above the main hall, a group of Danyuan Realm Elders began arranging tasks for the various inner and outer sect departments based on the reminders from the two True Monarchs.

As the most important department, the Alchemy Hall would go all out to refine and stock up on Spirit Pills; the affiliated Medicine Gardens and the disciples sent out to gather herbs all had to hurry to collect ingredients for various standard Spirit Pills, and for this, the Spirit Stone mines also had to accelerate their mining speed and purchase large quantities of Spirit Medicine from civilian cultivators and other Immortal Sects.

Next was the Qi Hall, which had to step up the forging of a large number of defensive and offensive Magic Treasures, especially those for Soul protection, which were the top priority; these would be primarily standard-issue, ensuring that every disciple heading down the mountain would have one.

The Array Hall had to urgently refine a batch of large-scale defensive array equipment to provide safe gathering points for disciples heading out, and other things like small-scale trapping and killing arrays were also indispensable.

The Talisman Hall would go all out to produce various defensive and offensive Spirit Talismans, ensuring every disciple heading down the mountain had two second-tier Spirit Talismans for self-defense.

As for the inner sect elite disciples and Personal Disciples, the Elders would also separately craft some Spirit Talismans of at least the third-tier for them.

And for Core Disciples in the top twenty like Lan You and Yi Zhen, it was estimated that the two True Monarchs would inevitably bestow even more powerful Magic Treasures and Spirit Talismans.

All arrangements were orderly, and the Elders and deacons of each department received their orders one by one.

From this, one could see the benefits of the strict hierarchical system of Yuqing Hall; when it came to arranging such major events, orders were passed down level by level, and there were people to follow them, preventing chaos.

Half an hour passed quickly, and this unprecedented meeting, hosted by two True Monarchs appearing together, finally ended; a large number of disciples left in groups under the orders of their department Elders to prepare.

Yun Xi, Ling Shuang, Yang Ying, and a group of other young female cultivators were the same; as Personal Disciples of inner sect Elders, and with almost all of them possessing Zhenyuan Realm strength, they were all the main force for heading down the mountain to exterminate Soul Beasts, so they all left as well.

As a large number of Escape Lights flew away from the main hall plaza, eventually even Lan You had to bid farewell and leave, and Xu Chen was the only one left on the entire plaza, feeling lonely as if he had been abandoned.

"Little Friend Xu, come with this Daoist to the main hall for a chat!"

At this time, at the entrance of the mountain gate's main hall, the group of Elders had already returned to their respective departments to arrange tasks, leaving only the two True Monarchs; Yuyangzi nodded slightly at Xu Chen, then turned and walked into the main hall.

Xu Chen hurriedly followed along eagerly.

Entering the main hall, the two True Monarchs sat down on meditation cushions, and Xu Chen bowed, saying: "I wonder why the two seniors have summoned this junior?"

Baiyun Zhenjun stroked his beard and smiled: "Little friend has been at my Yuqing Hall for over half a month, and I imagine the gains have been quite good; of course, you have also helped Yuqing Hall refine many Spirit Pills, which counts as mutual benefit. There may have been some unpleasantness during this time, and I hope little friend will not take it to heart!"

Xu Chen hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "This junior would not dare; it was just some sparring between peers. This time, I must thank Senior Baiyun for allowing this junior to study in the Scripture Pavilion; I have benefited greatly. If there is any need in the future, this junior will certainly not refuse."

Baiyunzi nodded with satisfaction and said: "Hmm, I originally intended to keep little friend at Yuqing Hall for a while longer, but seeing the current dire situation, many of our Yuqing Hall disciples will be arranged to head down the mountain one after another to participate in exterminating Soul Beasts, and I fear we will not be able to attend to you properly, so we will not keep you. Therefore, I hope you can return to the Taiyuan Sect as soon as possible to pass on the news of the Soul Beast mutation to the cultivators stationed at Black Wind Ridge, to prevent any mishaps."

Xu Chen nodded hurriedly: "This junior was originally prepared to bid farewell to the two True Monarchs and the Elders today. I will definitely rush back to Longmen Mountain as soon as possible to pass on the news as the senior requested!"

Yuyang Zhenjun then took over the conversation: "It is fortunate that you and You'er brought back the news of the Soul Beast mutation last time, otherwise I fear our Song Kingdom would have suffered even greater casualties than Black Wind Ridge. Although you are young, you have saved the immortal and mortal realms of our Great Song twice, a contribution of great merit. By rights, you should be heavily rewarded. If you have any needs, feel free to speak; as long as we two old fellows can do it, we will certainly satisfy you."

Xu Chen shook his head hurriedly: "The several True Monarch seniors already rewarded me last time; how could this junior dare to ask for more? However, I wonder what the situation was like when the senior went down the mountain to investigate, so that this junior can explain it more clearly after returning."

Yuyangzi's expression turned grave: "I summoned you here for this very reason. What I saw on this trip down the mountain far exceeded my imagination. The Eastern Wasteland has already been completely occupied by the Black Wind and Soul Beasts; one can barely see a single living person. Tens of thousands of Soul Beasts have invaded the Wu Kingdom from the Eastern Wasteland, causing hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, and Soul Beasts are rampaging through half of the Wu Kingdom's territory."

"The most incomprehensible part is the Soul Beast mutation. A large number of Soul Beasts rely on devouring and fusing the flesh and blood of humans and beasts to mutate into fleshly bodies like those of Demon Beasts. Once they have bodies, they can survive in the mortal world like ordinary Demon Beasts, and then continue to devour and fuse more flesh and blood to strengthen their bodies, becoming even stronger."

"On this trip to the Wu Kingdom, I personally saw a giant Soul Beast over ten zhang in size. Although its strength was only at the late second-tier, its body was incredibly tough, and it was actually able to grow a suit of bone armor on its exterior using human and animal bones. Even late-stage True Essence cultivators cannot kill it. And there are no shortage of such Demon Beasts that are still continuously mutating and evolving through devouring flesh and blood; just the ones I saw, large and small, numbered in the hundreds."

Xu Chen was startled, his face turning pale: "If that is the case, wouldn't the Eastern Wu Kingdom be finished soon?"

Yuyang Zhenjun nodded and said in a deep voice: "Indeed, the Wu Kingdom is effectively beyond saving. A large number of civilians have become refugees, flooding into the southeastern counties of the Song Kingdom, and behind them are endless waves of Soul Beasts. Although the immortal realm of the Wu Kingdom is trying its best to block and exterminate them, it is like a drop in the bucket. If my estimation is correct, within a month at most, these Soul Beasts will invade the southeastern border of the Song Kingdom, and the future situation of the Song Kingdom will also become precarious."

Xu Chen said nervously: "Then won't our Great Song also be unable to hold out for long?"

Yuyang Zhenjun gave a bitter smile: "That is about the size of it. Apart from stepping up the defense of our borders, we must take the initiative to go out and kill those mutated high-tier Soul Beasts to assist our neighboring countries in stabilizing their footing; we cannot let them continue to devour flesh and blood to grow. Whether this Soul Beast disaster can end is actually beyond our control; in the end, it still depends on the attitude and progress of Senior Wuyazi!"

Xu Chen understood immediately.

The two True Monarchs, Yuyangzi and Baiyunzi, actually had no confidence in quelling this Soul Beast disaster; their goal in taking the initiative to strike was just to buy time.

"Senior Yuyang, besides the Wu Kingdom, shouldn't the situation in the Ming Kingdom and the Shu Kingdom be a bit better?" Xu Chen asked.

Yuyangzi nodded slightly and said: "That is true; the situation in the inland countries is indeed much better, but they can only barely stabilize the situation. At present, the places where the Black Wind is leaking have still not been sealed, and Soul Beasts are still appearing in large numbers. The Ming Kingdom and the Shu Kingdom have each completely lost at least three counties, with hundreds of thousands of mortal casualties, and the cultivators have also suffered heavy losses. Right now, Chixia Zhenjun is helping the Ming Kingdom refine a Five Elements Flag Array. Before the Black Wind passage is suppressed, the situation in the Ming Kingdom will not improve; it will only continue to deteriorate. A few days ago, I went to Lingyun Hall and learned that the Ming Kingdom had lost two more Danyuan Realm powerhouses, plus the three who died before. If they keep dying like this, it won't be long before several medium-sized Immortal Sects in the Ming Kingdom collapse."

Xu Chen could not help but gasp.

Although he had taken down two Danyuan Realm powerhouses, that was just a stroke of luck, and he had used an Immortal Treasure. The chance of a real cultivator killing a Danyuan Realm expert in battle was minimal. Yulong Zhenren seemed quite mediocre, looking like he had just entered the Danyuan Realm, but he could withstand two strikes from an out-of-control fourth-rank Spirit Sparrow, and even after his third-tier Magic Treasure was destroyed, he did not seem to have taken much damage, and he could still take his anger out on the three of them.

It could be seen that the power of the Danyuan Realm was not as weak as he had seen, but rather terrifyingly strong.

But with five such powerful Danyuan Realm experts already dead, one could see just how terrifying the scope of the Black Wind leak in the Ming Kingdom, the number of Soul Beasts appearing, and the strength of some of those Soul Beasts had become.

The strongest Soul Beast encountered in the Great Song territory was the giant spider that was crushed to death by a finger from Xuanchen Zhenjun last time.

But if a Danyuan Realm expert were to face that giant spider, they could kill it quickly; after all, the giant spider's strongest ability was spitting Spider Silk, and as for its tough body, it was completely vulnerable in the face of the terrifying Magic Treasures and Magic Spells of a Danyuan Realm powerhouse, because Xu Chen could barely break through the giant spider's defense.

"Senior Yuyang, then what about the number and strength of the Soul Beasts you mentioned earlier that can devour cultivators and mutate?" Xu Chen asked, his curiosity undiminished.

Yuyangzi's face twitched slightly, and after a long silence, he let out a breath and said: "The number of such Soul Beasts is not large; I only saw one, but there are rumors among cultivators in the Wu and Ming Kingdoms of them being seen. As for their strength, it is a bit hard to describe; it should be related to the strength of the cultivator the Soul Beast devoured and fused with. The stronger the cultivator, the stronger the Soul Beast becomes after mutation. However, they are quite terrifying in their use of Magic Spells, which are exactly the same as those of cultivators."

Xu Chen was startled and asked: "Could it be that the Soul Beasts can also perform hand seals and chant incantations?"

Yuyang Zhenjun was stunned for a moment and laughed loudly: "That they have not done, but one can feel strong Qi fluctuations on the Soul Beast. Every time it releases a Magic Spell, it will actively stimulate Qi just like a cultivator. This situation does not exist in Demon Beasts, which shows that the intelligence of this kind of Soul Beast is quite high, so they are somewhat difficult to deal with."

Xu Chen, however, breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, although they are difficult to deal with, at least we have Magic Treasures and Spirit Pills. No matter how strong the Soul Beasts are, they can only rely on their physical bodies to resist; at most, they can be considered a bit stronger than Demon Beasts of the same tier. Additionally, this junior feels that once the Soul Beasts have bodies, they should actually be easier to deal with. According to the experience of my last encounter with Daoist Lan, once a Soul Beast mutates, the Soul Bead disappears. Without the Soul Bead, there is no chance of resurrection, so killing one naturally means one less."

Yuyang Zhenjun nodded upon hearing this: "Little friend is right; this is indeed the only good news for us. It is fortunate that Little Friend Xu escaped from the underground cavern and brought back the news of the Nether Qi leak, allowing us to make sufficient preparations in advance, otherwise our Great Song territory would have become like the surrounding countries, and we would certainly be in a state of utter chaos right now."

Baiyun Zhenjun waved his hand: "Let us not talk about this anymore. Little friend should bring the news back as soon as possible so that the cultivators guarding Black Wind Ridge can be prepared. At the same time, the Taiyuan Sect must also strengthen its search and defense in the Southern Border region; after all, there are more Demon Beasts and poisonous insects in the Southern Border, and once Soul Beasts mutate there, their strength will likely be even more bizarre and formidable. I and Yuyang Zhenjun still need to contact other Immortal Sects to act together as soon as possible, so we will not keep you any longer. You should go first!"

Xu Chen hurriedly stood up, cupped his hands to bid farewell to the two True Monarchs, and after walking a few steps, he looked back to see that the two True Monarchs were no longer in the main hall. He could not help but feel a surge of envy; if he had that kind of strength, he would be back in less than an hour.

But now, to fly back on his sword over a distance of ten thousand li, he feared it would take half a month.

However, when he walked outside the main hall, he discovered a Seven-colored Cloud Sparrow whistling over, and in the blink of an eye, it landed on the steps, and Lan You jumped off the bird's back.

(End of chapter)