Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1027: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (35)

A massive figure was gliding across the night sky… sometimes vanishing into the darkness, as if disappearing completely, and other times revealing itself in a fleeting glimpse.

It had the form of an enormous bird.

But in truth, it was an eagle demon, a creature under the jurisdiction of the Kun Division of Xuanyuan Palace. At this moment, it was heading toward the massive pillar of light deep within Mt. Tai.

On the eagle demon’s back rode Long Xiruo, Luo Pianxian, Kui Qianyi, and others.

The eagle demon had no idea that it was carrying the True Dragon of Divine Land. However, the fact that Kui Qianyi, a major figure of Xuanyuan Palace, was among its passengers was already enough to boast about for years.

"Lord Kui, we should reach our destination in about half a tea’s time," the eagle demon said respectfully.

"Thank you for your effort," Kui Qianyi nodded, then glanced at Long Xiruo.

Long Xiruo had to lean against Luo Pianxian for support. In her weakened state, the speed of flight was already unbearable, let alone enduring it in the dead of winter.

The young True Dragon of Divine Land's small face was already drained of color from the cold wind. Still, she held onto the treasure orb tightly and kept her gaze fixed on the land beneath the eagle demon.

Though she couldn’t directly summon a body here, she could still perceive through the treasure orb as a medium."The ley lines around Mt. Tai are shifting… That pillar of light is continuously extracting energy from the earth," Long Xiruo frowned. "Damn it, this is like bleeding the entire ley line system dry!"

Kui Qianyi pondered, "Who could possibly have such power to manipulate the ley lines across a hundred-kilometer radius around Mt. Tai?"

"Hope," Long Xiruo exhaled, her expression complex. "Only Hope could do this. Its former self was once a section of the Teng Dragon Vein, one of the twelve ancestral veins of Divine Land. Later, it fused with Mt. Tai’s ley lines and became a new Dragon Vein. To Hope, Mt. Tai’s ley lines are like its own kin!"

"The 71st generation of Heavenly Heart…" Kui Qianyi murmured. This was the very same name Long Xiruo had mentioned before the eruption of the spiritual energy pillar, tied to both Hope and the 71st generation of Heavenly Heart. "Plain-Clothed Dao… After all these years, do they still intend to repeat the tragedy of the past?"

Long Xiruo’s gaze turned cold. "No matter what his ultimate goal is, we absolutely cannot allow the spiritual energy to keep being extracted. If this continues, the land will wither and die… Kui Qianyi, can’t we go any faster?"

Kui Qianyi glanced at Long Xiruo’s shivering shoulders and sighed inwardly. He tapped his cane against the eagle demon’s back. "Bai Tou Eleven, go faster."

"As you command!"

The eagle demon, Bai Tou Eleven, spread its wings wider, cutting through clouds and mist, covering hundreds of meters in an instant.

As they rushed forward, Gui Ying glanced downward, hearing Su Zijun’s voice echo in his mind.

— Listen, don’t tell Kui Qianyi or Long Xiruo that I’m here.

For Gui Ying, Kui Qianyi’s orders took precedence over those of Xuanyuan Palace. However, Su Zijun’s words outweighed Kui Qianyi’s, so he could only keep this secret buried.

But who was that foreign woman traveling with Su Zijun?

He felt a bit envious—following the eldest sister, always at her side, ready to serve…

Yet, Long Xiruo’s group wasn’t the only one heading toward the pillar of spiritual energy.

It was a complete failure—not only had an unknown intruder infiltrated, but all four captains of the Management Bureau had been rendered unconscious in their own rooms.

Captain Ling Feng and his team were only awakened later by other Bureau members. However, before they could even consider the identity of the mysterious enemy, they had to move immediately.

On the highway, over a dozen black Santana sedans sped toward the pillar of light.

All four captains were in the same car, with Ling Feng driving.

"Why did this have to happen now?!"

The captains inside the car were in a foul mood. The fact that all four of them had been knocked out would undoubtedly result in a harsh reprimand from their superiors.

"That person must be highly skilled in illusions to take all four of us down simultaneously. But what’s strange is—why did they sneak in?"

"Yeah, if they had malicious intent, they could have easily done something worse. But after checking, I found no hidden injuries… Though that doesn’t rule out the possibility of an advanced technique that evaded detection. Still, nothing seems to be missing."

"We don’t have time to dwell on it now. Maybe we’ll find the answers when we get there." Ling Feng floored the gas pedal. "Starting the new year like this… not a good omen."

The captains grew more solemn. Their urgency wasn’t just due to the spiritual energy pillar.

Before they were even awakened, both Daoist and Demon factions had already rushed ahead.

Earlier, Daoists and Demons had clashed over a suspicious edict. If the spiritual energy pillar turned out to be some world-shaking treasure, it could ignite another war between the two factions. And with the current manpower at the Management Bureau, they might not be able to contain it.

"Ugh! This is so frustrating! I already had to work overtime during the new year, and now we have a mess on our hands!" The only female captain among them growled, "Year after year, hiding this and covering that… Might as well expose everything to the public! Screw it! Just turn the hidden world into the open! If anyone causes trouble, we’ll just use brute force!"

"Don’t jinx it," Ling Feng said seriously. "If that happened, things would spiral out of control. Hong Ling, you wouldn’t want your husband and children caught up in this, would you?"

"I know!" Hong Ling snapped coldly. "Of course, I know… That’s exactly why I think this world doesn’t need supernatural beings. Whether Daoist or Demon, they are the real source of chaos!"

The other three captains exchanged subtle glances and fell into silence.

Hong Ling had been a soldier. She had personally witnessed her parents and younger brother being slaughtered by a rampaging demon. After that, she joined a special military unit and later volunteered for the Management Bureau’s captain training program. She was fast-tracked to Kunlun for further training before returning three years ago.

"Do a headcount," Ling Feng broke the silence. "Glasses, how many people do we have left?"

The bespectacled captain responded swiftly, "Forty-three regular agents, eleven senior investigators, and ninety-seven logistics personnel. That leaves just the four of us."

Ling Feng’s expression grew serious. "If things go south, we can’t count on the logistics team. Regular agents can handle small fry, but in a full-scale battle, only senior investigators and the four of us will matter. Hopefully, the major figures of the Daoist and Demon worlds still respect the contract… But if the situation gets completely out of hand, I authorize the use of ‘God-Slaying Bullets’!"

"Ling Feng, are you serious?" The four-eyed captain looked solemnly at the driving Ling Feng. "Although the director temporarily granted you this authority… have you really thought this through? Once you use the 'God-Slaying Bullets,' it means exposing our trump card. If the Daoists and Demons find out that we've secretly developed such a thing, I’m afraid—"

"We can't worry about that now! If the Daoists and Demons really start fighting…" Ling Feng smiled bitterly. "Then next, we'll probably have to explain everything by saying that aliens are invading Earth…"

After all, the appearance of this spiritual energy pillar had already gone viral on the internet. There was no way to stop it.

…

…

It was unclear who arrived first, but if one had to say, it seemed that both sides arrived almost simultaneously.

The radiance shone from the deep valley, piercing straight into the sky.

The representatives of the Four Celestial Spirits clan, members of the Demon World, and various sects and factions were now divided into two camps—most of them had rushed here straight from the banquet, each using their own methods, unwilling to back down.

"Old man Baijie, I didn’t see you at the banquet, but you still showed up here… You’re holding up pretty well, huh?"

"Hehehe, I’m old, I’m old… I can’t keep up with the young anymore." With his hands folded behind his back and a slightly hunched posture, Daoist Baijie slowly opened one eye and said, "This old man wouldn’t be able to take a single punch from you, young master of the White Tiger clan."

Huang Baifu was a towering young man dressed in a sleeveless vest, dress pants, and leather shoes. Despite the freezing winter night, he exuded a blazing presence.

But when he heard Daoist Baijie’s words, he simply let out a cold sneer… The president of the Daoist Association and head of Kunlun, claiming he couldn’t take a single punch from him? Anyone who believed that would be a fool.

"Daoists, the Management Bureau went out of its way to prepare a banquet for you all… Running off like this isn’t very polite, is it?" A woman in a fiery red mink coat, with a stunning figure and looking to be in her early thirties, chuckled as she stood beside Huang Baifu. "If you’re not careful, the Management Bureau might just invite you back for tea."

"Hehehe, having tea sounds nice—chatting while drinking tea, I quite enjoy that kind of life," Daoist Baijie said with a broad smile. "Would you like to have a few cups too, Daoist friend Qu Xinghe?"

The red-clad woman—Qu Xinghe, the priestess of the Vermilion Bird clan—smiled and said, "I am but a Demon; I dare not accept the title of ‘Daoist friend’ from you."

Daoist Baijie replied, "There are three thousand paths to the Dao, but they all lead to the same destination. Even if you are of the Demon race, you have attained wisdom, which is rare. Humans follow the human path, and Demons follow the Demon path, but in the end, we all seek the same thing. On the path of the Great Dao, we all explore and move forward—so why not call each other Daoist friends? Am I right, Daoist Tushan?"

As he spoke, Daoist Baijie looked toward Ming Tushan, the clan leader of the Black Tortoise clan—an elderly, gaunt man who looked even older than Baijie himself.

"Daoist Baijie, I dare not accept your words," Ming Tushan shook his head.

"Daoist Tushan, don't belittle yourself," Daoist Baijie opened his eyes and said. "In the past, the True Martial Great Emperor came from the Black Tortoise clan, and today, the orthodoxy of True Martial still exists."

"I’m just an old man carrying a tortoise shell, I’m not looking to carry any burdens," Ming Tushan hurriedly said. "I can’t bear it, I really can’t."

Watching these two elders from the Daoist and Demon factions bickering, Cang Jinshui of the Azure Dragon clan glanced at Qu Xinghe.

The two of them secretly communicated via divine sense.

"That old fox Baijie is as cunning as ever. Because of the True Martial Great Emperor, the Black Tortoise clan has always been in an awkward position among the Demons. Yet he insists on bringing it up here… If something happens later, I’m afraid that old ghost Ming Tushan will stay neutral. Qu Xinghe, we should prepare early."

"No rush—let’s observe the situation first. Since Huang Baifu likes to show off, let that reckless brute take the lead. But… we should still be wary of that old ghost Xiao Shengmo."

"The key issue is this spiritual energy pillar…"

Unknowingly, everyone’s attention had already converged on the towering pillar of spiritual energy.

It was right before their eyes… Yet, the reason for its emergence and the secrets hidden within it remained unknown to both the Daoist and Demon factions.

One thing, however, was certain—around the pillar, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was incredibly dense, far surpassing the spiritual energy reserves of any sect or territory.

Even outside the valley, just taking a breath of the escaping spiritual energy was equivalent to several days of intense cultivation… If one could cultivate here continuously, their progress would be astonishingly rapid.

Thus, even without knowing what lay behind the pillar, the pillar itself was already a priceless treasure to both the Daoists and Demons!

At this moment, a middle-aged Daoist beside Daoist Baijie stepped forward—he was Hanyang, one of the two vice presidents of the Daoist Association, a representative of the True Transmission Sect.

"Everyone, I believe you all remember the last Edict incident quite clearly?" Hanyang had an immortal-like bearing and a kind demeanor, making people naturally inclined to listen to him. "In my opinion, whether Daoists or Demons, most of us are already here. Why don’t we do this—let’s enter the spiritual light together, find the source of this energy first, and then discuss the next course of action… What do you all think?"

"Agreed."

"Fine."

"Let’s move—I'm not in the mood to waste time bickering with you all!"

Thus, the two factions surged forward, charging into the valley bathed in spiritual light.

…

…

How to describe it?

Perhaps it could be called hell.

On a vast, floating wasteland within a pitch-black dimensional rift where everything was still visible, a lone man stood atop a mountain of countless Void Abyss Demon corpses.

"Da Zhe."

At that moment, the man suddenly turned around. His ancient longsword, stained with fresh blood, slashed out in a mighty crescent arc of lightning!

The sword energy instantly split the wasteland apart—only to be caught effortlessly by a pale white hand.

With a slight squeeze of the fingers, the white hand not only stopped the sword energy but crushed it into nothingness.

Instead of anger or fear, the man atop the mountain of corpses was overjoyed. He immediately leaped down and rushed forward. "Miss Yōu Yè, hurry up and get me out of this hellhole! Sister No. 18 totally set me up!"

"But you did well, didn’t you?" Yōu Yè smiled slightly. "It seems you’ve almost mastered the power of Zhanlu Sword."

"I just want to take a bath…" Da Zhe, his eyes bloodshot, groaned. "And then get some sleep."

"Let’s go—Master needs you."

(End of Chapter)