Chapter 822: Wan Shen Gu

At this moment, someone in the great hall spoke, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

That person's position was also on the periphery, just one member among the various "unremarkable" Immortal Swords.

Yet his voice was not unremarkable; upon hearing this voice, several people turned their heads almost immediately, filled with inexplicable surprise—a surprise that truly carried a good deal of joy.

Wei Zhangle was even more so, his joy momentarily uncontrollable; he immediately turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw that familiar, incomparably handsome face.

Brother Zhao?

So Brother Zhao is here?

He has been at Jianshan the whole time? Did he actually not follow along onto the ship?

Zhangle could now be certain that Tang Zhao was not on that ship; if for no other reason, that ship had encountered such a crisis at the time, and for Tang Zhao to have not stepped forward to try and save everyone—how could that be possible?

Given Tang Zhao's temperament, as long as he was there, he would never lag behind. And Zhangle was confident that only Tang Zhao could fail to notice him, while there was no way he could fail to notice Tang Zhao. Since there was no sign of him, then he was not there.

But likewise, given Tang Zhao's temperament, he shouldn't have been absent for the final observation; after all, he had been traveling outside the whole time and had never once seen that world.

Zhangle confirmed Tang Zhao was not there, and his heart was filled with some worry, fearing that Tang Zhao had met with some accident.

Seeing Tang Zhao again at this moment, seeing him safe and sound with all limbs intact, Wei Zhangle's heart was finally set at ease, but a doubt still lingered in his mind:

During the time they boarded the ship, where had Tang Zhao gone?

Just as the Great Ship set sail from Huangbaijie, a team of Fire Spirit clansmen arrived at the "Wan Shen Gu," the Shengdi of the Tianmo Jie.

At this time, the entire Tianmo Jie was busy with the departure of the Guancha Chuan and the subsequent final negotiation conference, and Wan Shen Gu had become deserted.

Don't look at the Guancha Chuan as only carrying one Tianyou High Priest and a few Heaven-Reaching Priests; the matters involved were not few at all. Not to mention the coordination between various races, logistical support, and contingency plans for the aftermath, the negotiation conference to be held later with the Human was the main event, involving almost all the "Great" Priests.

To ensure absolute fairness, the negotiation conference was also to be held in Huangbaijie. Originally, the Human World proposed holding it on the ship, but this was vetoed by the Tianyou High Priests, the reason being that the ship was too large; the single action of docking the ship into Huangbaijie would take more than two days, not to mention setting up the venue on board. Even so, the Great Heavenly Demon still had to dock a new Lifeboat to serve as the venue; since the previous request was rejected, the Tianmo found it hard to refuse this one.

All participating High Priests had to travel to that ship in advance to gather, and before that, hold a preliminary meeting in the Lingjie. With meeting after meeting, each one crucial, the hub of the Lingjie, the "Zhong Shen Sheng Dian," was worked to the point of chaos. A massive amount of manpower and resources gathered here, and inevitably there were minor oversights elsewhere, and even Wan Shen Gu was no exception.

Of course, it was not to say that Wan Shen Gu was left undefended. The entire staff of Wan Shen Gu remained here, especially the controller of Wan Shen Gu, the Shengnyu, who remained in the valley cultivating and was also responsible for repairing parts of the ship. Her group of knight attendants naturally served by her side, never leaving her.

This Shengnyu currently had a relatively quiet personality and did not like to go out; except for necessary Sacrifice rituals, she was rarely seen. Instead, she was devoted to craftsmanship and technology, and it was said she contributed greatly during the construction of the Great Ship.

Honestly, she was also a controversial figure. Those who supported her naturally said she was both pure and wise, and that her talent and contributions were top-tier among the generations of Shengnyu, while those who questioned her doubted her piety.

It was said that because this Shengnyu wanted to refine her techniques, she not only collected technical data from the Hundred Races and particularly admired the Human "Rune Formula," but also once disguised herself to study in the Human World. She lingered in the Human World for several years, even learning systematic Rune Sword knowledge and apprenticing under a Human teacher. She refused to speak openly about these experiences, which made people suspicious of her intentions.

Back then, when she stood out from several "Zhen Nu" to become the true Shengnyu, it caused quite a bit of controversy. But her aptitude was indeed outstanding, and with several Tianyou High Priests backing her, she also had wide prestige among the younger generation, eventually sitting in this position. Over these years, she had quietly done only her duty and researched her hobbies; although she could not compare to those outstanding Shengnyu in history, she had not caused any more trouble. And the fact that she used technology to create some very useful tools, which gradually became widespread, brought her prestige in another field.

Especially in recent years, a project she launched in collaboration with a certain pro-Lingjie force in the Human World, which took a different path and forged ahead, was praised by the Tianyou High Priests as a "century-long plan that would change the landscape of the two worlds," which completely affirmed her position. If not for the fact that this extinction disaster came too fiercely, the plan she promoted would have already begun to show its effects.

In this great disaster, the Shengnyu's performance was also very eye-catching. She obtained a powerful treasure from the cooperating forces in the Human World, and combined with her own solid technical foundation, she played a huge role in shipbuilding. It could be said that the previous plan was still a toss-up, but because of her efforts, the plan was accelerated into reality. This undoubtedly boosted her prestige tremendously, and thus no one could question her status anymore. Even if she did not attend such an important meeting and only stayed behind closed doors in the Shengdi to do research, no one could criticize her.

On this day, the Fire Spirit clansmen arrived at Wan Shen Gu. Leading them was the Fire Spirit clan's current nominal ruler, Chief Priest, and Son of Fire, "Hui." This Son of Fire's status in the Fire Spirit clan was equivalent to the Shengnyu's status in the Lingjie, but when he arrived before the real Shengnyu, he had no face at all. He had arrived early at a cottage in Wan Shen Gu to wait for an audience.

At the entrance of the cottage stood a knight who, even by human standards, could be considered tall and handsome. He said nothing, only scanning the entire scene with a scrutinizing gaze.

When Hui arrived and saw several people waiting at the entrance of the cottage, he felt relieved: there were not many people in line; it seemed that today, or even this morning, he would be able to see the Shengnyu. He slightly touched a Bead on his chest; inside the bead was a cluster of flames, which was bestowed upon him by the God. He always carried it on his person, hoping the God's blessing would bring him good luck and allow him to complete the God's commission and perform a meritorious service for the God.

Who would have thought that he would wait for over an hour, and it didn't matter that he hadn't been called, but not a single person in front of him had been called in either. Seeing that there was no end in sight, he hesitated. If it were in the past, given the Fire Spirit clan's status, he certainly wouldn't have dared to say a word in a place like this, but now, after the God's descent, he had unknowingly gained a bit more confidence. He stepped forward, performed a salute, and asked the Tianmo who was more than twice his size in front of him, "This big brother, may I ask when the last person summoned went in?"

That Tianmo looked down at the Son of Fire and said in a muffled voice, "What last person? The Shengnyu hasn't started summoning anyone yet today."

The Son of Fire was stunned and said, "Ah? It's not early anymore, is it?"

That Tianmo snorted, "Perhaps the Shengnyu hasn't gotten up yet..."

At this time, the guarding knight struck the ground with the sword he was wearing and shouted, "Do not discuss the Shengnyu! The Shengnyu is diligent; she gets up much earlier than you every morning. She is busy worrying about the great affairs of the world and doing crucial research. What urgent business do you have? By your own merits, seeking an audience with her should be at the back of the line. When she has time to see you, that is your glory; if she has no time, then you wait."

The several Tianmo who were waiting all fell silent at the same time. Their status within their clans was not low, and in fact, none of them were used to being treated this way. With this guy speaking like that, no one felt comfortable, but there was nothing to be done. When one is under a low roof, one has to bow one's head; since they came to seek an audience with the Shengnyu, they couldn't just start a fight with a knight.

Originally, after a while, everyone would gradually calm down, but at this moment, someone suddenly walked over in a hurry from outside the gate and said to the knight, "Is the Shengnyu here?"

Although the knight still had an indifferent look, he said, "Yes. Go in."

That person agreed and walked inside.

This immediately poked a hornet's nest. The waiting Tianmo were suddenly anxious, and one of the most hot-tempered ones shouted, "Wait! We are waiting here, why can he go in?"

The knight said coldly, "You are not the same as him."

That Tianmo said, "Of course we are not the same. We are Lingjie people, he is a savage; is he worthy of seeing the Shengnyu?"

That's right, the person who entered later was indeed a "Human," a person from the Human World, a young man with a decent appearance, a slender and even somewhat frail build, and a slightly pale complexion. If he were just any Tianmo, that is, a Lingjie person, everyone would mostly have endured it; after all, they were not ignorant of the ways of the world and knew that there would always be those with strong backing who had more convenience than others, and they shouldn't be easily offended. But a mere savage—which Lingjie person would look up to him? How could they tolerate him cutting in line?

The knight sneered, "He is a savage, so what? He is someone the Shengnyu values. Don't say he's a savage; even if he were a cat or a dog, how could we allow you to talk so much?"

The Son of Fire thought: Someone the Shengnyu values? Yet compared to a cat or a dog? It seems the Temple Knight doesn't respect him much either? It seems a savage is just a savage, and no one looks up to them. But if he really is valued by the Shengnyu, he must have some confidence. Could it be that he just swallows his anger when insulted?

He saw the Human youth smiling all over his face, bowing repeatedly and saying, "My lords, please calm your anger, calm your anger. I am fortunate to be valued by the Shengnyu, and I have absolutely no intention of overstepping. It is just that Her Highness ordered me to report something to her immediately, so I dared not delay. I am not intentionally obstructing you, my lords."

Seeing him so humble, everyone was even more disdainful, thinking: Looking at his cowardly appearance, he must be a sycophant who relied on a face or flowery words to please the Shengnyu, only then being able to get close to her side.

Although they looked down on him in their hearts, if this person really was a favorite, they had no way to speak. They couldn't really compete for favor with such a person, could they? Plus, with the knight glaring at them, they had no choice but to sullenly stop the argument. The hot-tempered Tianmo who spoke first said, "Since you can see the Shengnyu, please mention the people outside to her. We all came specifically to pay our respects to her, and we each have urgent matters. Please trouble Her Highness to see us..."

These words were again disrespectful. The youth kept apologizing with a smile, and the knight glared at them, just about to speak, when they heard someone say, "No need for him to pass on the message. I have come out now. What urgent business do you have that you want to see me for?"