Chapter 96: Shocking the Entire Hall

Whether Xu Chen's words were true or false, others could not tell.

At first, they listened with great interest, even exclaiming in wonder, but when they heard the end—about the Immortal fighting the terrifying giant beast in the Void, and the name of the Immortal was mentioned—the entire hall erupted like a disturbed nest.

The five True Monarchs' expressions changed drastically, and they jumped up almost simultaneously; a group of Danyuan Realm Sect Leaders and Elders were so shaken in spirit that they swayed unsteadily, while the group of low-to-mid-level cultivators squeezed at the entrance of the hall let out cries of shock that echoed through Zhaoyang Peak.

This matter was too shocking.

It was so inconceivable that it felt like a dream.

"Junior Nephew Xu, you, you are not lying, are you?"

True Monarch Chixia, who possessed nearly eight hundred years of cultivation, completely lost his composure; he held his horsetail whisk upside down, his beard and eyebrows trembling incessantly.

Xu Chen hurriedly bowed and said, "This junior naturally would not dare to lie; Daoist Friend Lan You witnessed this with me."

Everyone turned their heads in unison to look at Lan You.

Lan You took a few deep breaths, glanced at Xu Chen from afar, then stood up and bowed, saying, "The matter is exactly as stated. After Daoist Friend Xu and I woke up, we lost track of time. After Senior Wuyazi killed and repelled the giant beast, he said that the beast had originally been imprisoned deep within the rift to suppress the Nether Qi, but because too much time had passed and the array had decayed, the beast broke free from its confinement, which led to the Nether Qi invading the mortal realm. After that, we were sent out of the Void, the ground began to collapse, and Daoist Friend Xu brought me out as we fled."

Xu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and secretly nodded at Lan You.

As long as the two of them did not let anything slip, the matter of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle would not be exposed.

He believed that a magical treasure that even a True Immortal could not identify would be even harder for these Spirit Realm Great Cultivators to discern.

Therefore, this lie could still withstand scrutiny.

After a long period of noise and agitation in the hall, the five True Monarchs quickly regained control of their emotions, releasing powerful auras to suppress the entire room. Once everything was quiet, True Monarch Chixia then said, "This matter has far exceeded our expectations. Please, Danyuan Realm Daoist Friends, stay behind; everyone else, withdraw from the hall for now."

"We obey the decree of True Monarch Chixia!"

A group of Elders and Disciples of the Taiyuan Sect all bowed and then reluctantly withdrew from Taiyuan Hall.

Soon, only the five True Monarchs and more than ten Danyuan Realm Sect Leaders and Elders remained in the hall.

True Monarch Chixia raised his hand to set up a Spirit Qi barrier, sealing the entire hall before sitting cross-legged. With a solemn expression, he said, "Daoist Friends, please sit. It seems my worries have become reality. This matter is of great importance; we must carefully discuss our countermeasures."

Everyone returned to their seats, but their emotions remained so shocked and agitated that they could not contain themselves; each of them had surging Souls and overflowing Spirit Qi, and their Dao hearts, which had been as steady as old dogs for hundreds of years, were now completely out of control.

Taiwuzi, sitting restlessly, tugged at his snow-white beard and said with a trembling voice, "W... Wuyazi, why does this name sound so familiar? It seems I have heard it somewhere before."

True Monarch Chixia said in a deep voice, "If my guess is correct, this Wuyazi should be a Void Returning senior from the Taiyuan Sect of the past. Over a thousand years ago, someone found a fragment of a Ruyi Magic Treasure in the ruins of the Taiyuan Sect, and the three characters 'Wuyazi' were on it. This item is still in the treasure pavilion of our Yuqing Hall; it has been gathering dust for over a thousand years. I saw it several times when I was young."

"Whoa—"

The hall instantly erupted into another wave of shock and commotion.

Taiwuzi suddenly realized and said, "So that is it. No wonder I have some memory of it; I also caught a glimpse of that Ruyi fragment back then."

True Monarch Baiyun nodded in agreement, "Indeed, our Yuqing Hall treasure pavilion does have such an item. I have also seen it. After I reached Spirit Transformation, I even took it out to study it carefully for a few days, but the Spirit Qi inside had already dissipated, and I could not obtain any information."

With the three True Monarchs from Yuqing Hall and Longmen Mountain as witnesses, everyone no longer had the slightest doubt about what Xu Chen had said.

The name Wuyazi was very unfamiliar to ordinary cultivators because all traces of the Taiyuan Sect had been completely destroyed in a great catastrophe more than three thousand years ago. The items left behind were few, and the records were even fewer; many records even seemed to have been deliberately destroyed by people. After the items that remained were lost through centuries of excavation by the Immortal World, there was no way to trace or organize them.

At present, many sects in the Great Song and even the surrounding neighboring countries have a few items from the Taiyuan Sect, but they are all incomplete.

Suddenly, a True Immortal who had entered the Spirit Refining Void Returning realm over three thousand years ago appeared; this news was like a giant boulder thrown into a pond, instantly shocking everyone out of their wits.

And the most important thing was not the appearance of Wuyazi, but the other matter Xu Chen mentioned.

That was, after the Ancient Fierce Beast that was supposed to suppress the Nether Rift broke free from its seal and escaped, according to Wuyazi's words, a large amount of Nether Qi would soon leak into the mortal realm. The huge changes in Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley had already proven that this statement was not false. Moreover, in the near future, a large number of powerful Nether Beasts should appear near Black Wind Ridge through this rift, and the Taiyuan Sect would be the first to bear the brunt.

After all, Black Wind Ridge was within the sphere of influence of the Taiyuan Sect, and Spirit Fox Valley, which had collapsed into a large pit, was right near the mountain gate of the Taiyuan Sect.

Therefore, True Monarch Xuanchen, whose emotions had been relatively calm at first, now felt his heart filled with panic.

It was true that he had reached Spirit Transformation and his strength had reached the pinnacle of the Great Song, but as the saying goes, the further one goes, the less one knows. The higher the cultivation, the more one feels awe toward heaven and earth, and the more one feels one's own insignificance.

Otherwise, why would he not even dare to enter the depths of the Black Wind Ridge rift alone?

Because this kind of Evil Land was truly too unpredictable.

Only a group of low-level Kaiyuan Realm cultivators like Xu Chen and Song Qingshi, these fearless, rebellious young cultivators, would dare to run in there to seek fortune.

He had originally intended to revitalize and carry forward the Taiyuan Sect after reaching Spirit Transformation, but he did not expect to suddenly hear this bad news, which made him feel that his luck was poor.

"Junior Uncle, since Wuyazi is a senior of the Taiyuan Sect, I imagine he still has some care for the mortal realm of the Great Song territory; otherwise, he would not have come to deal with it when this Ancient Fierce Beast broke free from its seal. Discussing this now is too far off for us; we should focus our energy on how to deal with the two matters of the Nether Qi leakage and the Soul Beast invasion. Otherwise, once it gets out of control, I fear the entire Great Song will suffer a heaven-shaking catastrophe," Baiyunzi said after much deliberation.

Yuyangzi also nodded in agreement, "Indeed, dealing with the immediate matter is of utmost importance; this matter cannot be delayed."

Taiwuzi said with concentration, "Daoist Friends, what do you think that escaped Ancient Fierce Beast could be? Even a True Immortal could not suppress or kill it; it must be immensely powerful. I am worried that if this thing also runs into the mortal realm, I fear the disaster it causes will be even greater."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned even paler, but True Monarch Chixia waved his hand and said, "There is no need to worry about this. Once a terrifying beast of this level appears, no one in the mortal realm can do anything but wait for death, and we are all the same. Furthermore, since Senior Wuyazi has already taken action, he will surely pursue it; it is not for us to worry about. In addition, Senior Wuyazi claimed to be an immortal under the command of the Donghua Emperor of Yuxu Palace. Although we do not know what kind of strength and level the Donghua Emperor and Yuxu Palace are, it is clearly a large True Immortal sect where True Immortals gather. They will certainly not let this beast escape, nor will they let the Nether Qi continue to invade the mortal realm. Although there is a distinction between immortals and mortals, heaven and earth form a single entity; if the skin does not exist, to what can the hair attach? Therefore, they will certainly find a way to block the Netherworld Passage. Our current priority is that we must suppress the exit of the Nether Qi, try to control the scope of its dissipation, and at the same time organize manpower to kill the Soul Beasts, so as to prevent them from escaping and ravaging the mortal realm, causing suffering to the common people."

True Monarch Xuanchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed, "Senior Chixia's words resonate deeply with me. The most urgent task is for everyone to help my Taiyuan Sect guard the two places of Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley. Otherwise, if the situation is lost, the immortal and mortal realms of the Song Kingdom will never be at peace again."

Several True Monarchs and a group of Danyuan Realm Sect Leaders and Elders all nodded in agreement, and they began to communicate in twos and threes about the impact of this matter on the future of the Immortal World, instead completely casting Xu Chen and Lan You aside.

Xu Chen let out a long breath, sat down silently, and picked up the fruits and fine wine on the table in front of him to eat and drink.

Although he had eaten until he was almost bursting just a moment ago, after telling this whole story, he was not only dry-mouthed but also felt that the consumption was too great, and he was hungry again.

Lan You sat kneeling beside True Person Yulong, secretly glanced at Xu Chen, and a faint blush appeared on her pale cheeks; then she also picked up some fruit and began to eat.

Thus, while a group of Great Cultivators and Danyuan Realm cultivators began to discuss and arrange how to handle the aftermath, the two of them were eating and drinking as if no one else were around, as if they wanted to fill the hunger and thirst of nearly a month before they would be satisfied.

It was not until two quarters of an hour later that Xu Chen ate until he was full and could not stuff any more food in, and only then did he stop with a burp. The five True Monarchs had also more or less discussed a countermeasure. True Monarch Chixia coughed lightly, picked up a Jade Ruyi, and tapped the table gently. The sound reverberated in the souls of all the cultivators, and the noise of the discussion instantly quieted down.

"Alright, this matter cannot be delayed. We old fellows have briefly discussed a countermeasure, and I hope all Daoist Friends can cooperate closely to quell this incident as soon as possible..."

True Monarch Chixia briefly recounted the countermeasure they had discussed, which was nothing more than drawing a group of cultivators from various large and small immortal sects to form a joint team to patrol Black Wind Ridge and Spirit Fox Valley daily, and to kill the escaped Soul Beasts as much as possible to control the situation from worsening further.

Of course, before this, the five True Monarchs and more than ten Danyuan Realm Sect Leaders and Elders would also join forces to set up powerful restrictive arrays at the two locations to suppress the scale and range of the Black Mist, while simultaneously monitoring the activities of the Nether Beasts.

Regarding these arrangements, the group of Danyuan Realm cultivators naturally only had the duty to obey and no power to decline.

Notice: It will be released tomorrow at noon. Although the performance is a mess, the author still hopes that book friends can support it as much as possible and subscribe to read along.

In addition, there will be no update tomorrow morning; at least ten chapters will be released upon release.

(End of this chapter)