Chapter 276: Going Underground
"Wait a second, timeout. Figure what out?" Li Yao asked in confusion, looking back and forth between Xiang Yu and the empress.
"The central continent is creating the demons and sending their disciples here to ’solve’ the problem, gaining heavenly merit and using it to increase their cultivation and talent. That’s how the central continent has always been above the others," Xiang Yu explained.
[That’s right,] the empress confirmed. [They’re probably also using an immortal level treasure to siphon the qi from the other continents and concentrate it into their continent,] she added.
Xiang Yu thought to himself that if they could go to such lengths to maintain their power, they probably didn’t want the other continents to develop strong and talented people. If that was the case, then Li Yao was probably going to be targeted.
He wondered if that was why that soul and body integration cultivator was here the day before. With Li Yao’s talent, they probably wanted to recruit her or get rid of her if she refused.
"That means they’re bad guys, right? Should I kill them if I come across them?" she asked.
Xiang Yu wondered how she came to such a conclusion. Those geniuses from the central continent were probably also accompanied by powerful guardians. There was no way they would let them walk around freely without any protection, especially in foreign territory.
"No need, let them be unless they provoke you," Xiang Yu spoke.
Li Yao nodded obediently.
"Besides, I’ll still be here with you, so don’t think about it too much," Xiang Yu spoke, seeing her lost in thought. He thought to himself that Li Yao was the kind of person to twist the words she received and make up her own interpretations.
"Ah, I see. Then I don’t have to think about it. I’ll just listen to senior brother," she said with a bright smile.
Xiang Yu had a strange expression.
[That’s right. Don’t try to think about anything, just listen to your senior brother and everything will be fine,] the empress spoke with relief. She thought to herself that luckily, Xiang Yu was here this time. Li Yao was more likely to listen to him, so she probably wouldn’t go rogue. And in case she fell into qi deviation like before, he could help her snap out of it.
"How long will you be gone for?" Xiang Yu asked.
[About a week will be fine,] the empress said.
"Alright, I’ll prepare meals and other resources," Xiang Yu said. "Also, bring the sword to the spirit vein so I can reinforce the runes."
Li Yao nodded and took out her void sword. It still didn’t have a scabbard. She lightly tapped on it, but it didn’t produce any sound. She then raised it and sliced slowly downward, cutting through space effortlessly like butter.
She then walked forward and appeared directly in the spirit vein. When she entered, she was mesmerized by the sight before her. There were more than five Xiang Yu’s walking around, each going about their individual tasks.
"So many senior brother..." she said in wonder, but her expression changed as she sensed that the true Xiang Yu wasn’t among them. She then turned around to look in the direction she had come from.
"You are at the sect barrier?" she asked.
"That’s right," Xiang Yu inside her spiritual sea answered. Though internally, he couldn’t help but wonder how she kept doing that. She always said that she had a good nose, but when asked to use it to find anyone else, she couldn’t. He wondered if he had some kind of tracking device on his body. He needed to inspect his body thoroughly when he had time.
...
Xiang Yu opened the barrier and allowed them to come in. The five sect masters all came forward, guiding their huge flying boats through the entrance.
Xiang Yu guided them on where to park the massive vessels. When they were properly positioned, the crews inside instantly started unloading the things packed within.
The five sect masters then walked over to Xiang Yu.
"Greetings, Grand Elder," they greeted in unison with cupped fists, and Xiang Yu returned the gesture.
The sect masters subtly analyzed Xiang Yu as they approached. They thought to themselves that the Grand Elder gave them an even more uneasy feeling than before, even more intense than the sect master.
Wang Jian thought to himself that it hadn’t even been that long since they parted ways, yet the Grand Elder’s oppressive aura had grown even more pronounced. It wasn’t the aura of powerful cultivation exactly, but rather an overwhelming presence that one couldn’t ignore, like standing before a sleeping dragon.
Xiang Yu carefully received the materials and exchanged them with resources of his own. The trades included mainly high-level pills, weapons, talismans, and other valuable resources. To his surprise, he even received fourth grade herbs and other materials that he hadn’t expected to obtain so easily.
He thought to himself that these sect masters were really going all out this time. Those resources were probably part of the foundation of their sects. It seemed he wasn’t losing out by much by giving them his high level resources. These resources would help improve his production quite a bit. The weapon refining materials especially excited him. With them, he might even be able to make a mid-level divine weapon.
After exchanging the resources and chatting for a bit, the sect masters and Xiang Yu parted ways. All of them began preparing to return home one by one, their crews loading the received goods onto their respective flying boats.
As Wang Jian was preparing to leave, he suddenly noticed something strange at the edge of his vision. "What’s that?" he wondered as he observed the edge of the barrier where the splattered demon remains were sliding down the formation.
Coming closer to investigate, he observed that although some regenerated and attempted to attack the barrier once again, some of them were seemingly being swallowed by the earth. But what surprised him even more was that the earth where they entered wasn’t being corrupted, which he found quite strange.
After some thought, he concluded that the creatures were trying to break through into the sect barrier by going underground.
He went back inside and told Xiang Yu about this. Xiang Yu reassured him that the barrier was solid even underground so such attempts were completely useless.
Hearing this, Wang Jian returned to his flying boat and prepared for departure. Though he still couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the whole situation. He thought to himself that it was quite early for these demonic scouts to have developed enough intelligence to think of going underground as an alternative attack method.
He then dismissed these thoughts with a weary sigh. "I guess it’s working much quicker this time. We need to hurry up," he spoke aloud to himself.
He then looked back at the resources packed securely into their boat and smiled with satisfaction. "With these, we should be able to hold on for a long time. Now all we need is for the Grand Elder to figure out the cure for corruption, and all will be good."
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