While the two in the "Red Chan Sect" were talking, in a secret room on the third floor of the "Gui Qu Lai Xi" shop in the Peiyang Trading City, thousands of li away from the "Red Chan Sect," Su Hong, in a tight-fitting palace dress of light green, was leaning against a table, exuding the tranquility of a secluded orchid in a valley. A middle-aged man in a gray shirt stood beside her with his hands down.
"Miss, combining the information from several other places, a total of fifty-seven large and small sects and families on the Desolate Moon Continent have completely disappeared in the past year. They were all located in the territories under the jurisdiction of the four great sects. Based on various traces, to be able to do this without leaving a single clue, it was either a premeditated relocation, or a great cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage or above had acted, to be able to wipe out everything so quietly. Our personnel have investigated the nearby cultivation sects. They either knew nothing, or were already on alert. During this period, more than a dozen of our people were taken away by these sects with extreme vigilance. Some of them came out safely afterward, but they were also closely watched by the other party. Some of them... some of them disappeared from then on..."
The middle-aged man in the gray shirt said with some trepidation. He didn't know if the young miss was satisfied with this result. Although the young miss's cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, her status was extremely noble. Once, a Golden Core elder was directly transferred back to the headquarters for ineffectiveness in handling matters, and the result was as if he had evaporated from the world.
"Oh, is there any news from the hidden pieces in the four great sects?" Su Hong asked with a calm expression, gently turning a jade bracelet on her fair wrist that emitted a mesmerizing glow.
"The four great sects are extremely strict about the promotion of their high-level members. The young miss also knows this. We have at most a few people who have infiltrated the middle levels, and this was also the result of great effort and cost. Unless they obtain extremely important information, they usually will not transmit any news. This time, two pieces of news have come from the Ten-Pace Courtyard and the Supreme Mystery Teachings. The Nascent Soul ancestors in their sects have both gone out for three days respectively. And during this period, within a few hundred thousand li of the two sects, six cultivation sects and families have disappeared in those few nights. According to the ability of a Nascent Soul old monster, with the assistance of a teleportation array, plus their formidable speed at the Nascent Soul stage, a distance of several hundred thousand li back and forth is simply an easy matter." The middle-aged man in the gray shirt carefully chose his words as he thought.
"Then what are the results of your investigation into these disappeared cultivation sects and families?" Su Hong's fair arm, set off by the mesmerizing colors of the jade bracelet, was like silk under the moonlight.
"These sects and families are basically third-rate cultivators. There is almost not a single second-rate cultivator. The reason I say almost is because we cannot be sure if the total number of disappeared is only the fifty-seven that have been investigated. Based on their past experiences, these sects and families are usually extremely low-key and are extremely careful and respectful to their superior sects. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are treading on thin ice. Not even a prodigy of this generation has been born in their sects. Therefore, many of the younger generation have gone out on their own to find a stronger backer in order to barely survive in the cultivation world. The high-level members of the sects are also ordinary people, and they are usually cautious and timid in their dealings. So these sects are not conspicuous, and it is very difficult to obtain valuable intelligence from them," the middle-aged man in the gray shirt reported the intelligence he had obtained truthfully.
After a period of silence, a slight, rhythmic "da da da" sound echoed in the secret room. Su Hong's long, fair fingers were gently tapping on the tabletop, her beautiful brows furrowed. The middle-aged man in the gray shirt stood respectfully on the side, not making a sound, as if he were afraid of disturbing her thoughts.
After a long time, Su Hong suddenly stopped tapping on the tabletop and raised her beautiful head. "For all these disappeared to be cautious and timid sects is a common point that proves that a major change is about to happen on the Desolate Moon Continent. There should be a force that we don't know about that is secretly fighting against the four great sects. This force, which we didn't even notice before, has been suppressing all kinds of possible exposing behaviors until this past year. I don't know what happened, but they have activated the hidden pieces they had previously deployed. And the four great sects have also noticed, and they should have mastered a certain amount of information, which is why they have acted secretly with thunderous means."
"All this is not in our interests. The Desolate Moon Continent should only be a less important part of our layout. But now it seems that the change that is about to happen is very likely to involve the overall layout. You should quickly send the situation here and the analysis just now back to the headquarters, and have the headquarters use higher-level hidden pieces to find out about the sudden change here." Although Su Hong's tone was unhurried, it gradually became solemn.
"Yes, your subordinate will go and do it now. Then in the next period of time, should we..." the middle-aged man in the gray shirt hurriedly agreed. After thinking for a moment, he hesitated and spoke again.
"There can be no more major moves during this period. The peripheral personnel should also be withdrawn as much as possible, just do the daily things. Wait for the reply from the headquarters for everything," Su Hong said in a cold tone.
"Yes." Hearing the unquestionable tone in Su Hong's voice, the middle-aged man in the gray shirt bowed respectfully, and his figure slowly disappeared into the darkness of the secret room.
In the secret room, it was quiet. Only Su Hong was left sitting there alone, still frowning in thought. After a long time, her figure suddenly moved, and she slowly stood up, muttering to herself.
"That force was discovered so easily by the four great sects. They have lost their patience in hiding. Why are they in such a hurry to come out? What is it that they need to do even if it means exposing themselves? Where do they come from? Why were they so quiet before? Now, dozens of them have been exposed at once. This is an extremely large number of hidden pieces. Hmph, but I imagine that these exposed sects are just pawns for them. Third-rate families and clans? I'm sure there are also second-rate sects and families, and maybe even... even first-rate sects..."
The voice in the secret room gradually faded, and Su Hong's graceful figure also merged into the darkness.
In the far north of the Desolate Moon Continent, in a Chan room of the Pure Land Sect, the room was filled with the lingering scent of sandalwood. The windows were bright and the tables were clean. The furnishings in the room were extremely simple. Four people were sitting around a purple sandalwood table. Amidst the ethereal sandalwood smoke on the table, the room was filled with a fresh fragrance. A purple clay teapot was placed in the middle of the table, and four green, jade-like tea cups were steaming.
The four were an old monk in coarse gray clothes, a middle-aged man in a green shirt, an old Daoist in a hemp robe, and a handsome scholar in a white robe.
"This time, it is also this old monk's honor that Fellow Daoist Mo, Fellow Daoist Zhong, and Fellow Daoist Gongsun could come," the old monk in coarse gray clothes said faintly.
"Hehe, Great Master Liaofan, there is no need for such pleasantries. The four of our sects have gathered here, so we should prioritize the recent matters," the middle-aged man in the green shirt said with a wry laugh. He was none other than Mo Qing of the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
"Fellow Daoist Mo is right. But I imagine that the few of us have not seen each other for nearly a hundred years. The three of you have become even more powerful than before," the old Daoist in the hemp robe said with a light laugh, stroking his goatee.
"Zhong Yue, your Supreme Mystery Teachings is always so hypocritical. Your disciples and grand-disciples have been led astray by you. Your cultivation in these hundred years has reached the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul, but your Daoist conduct has worsened a lot," the scholar in the white robe said with a cold face, mercilessly to the old Daoist in the hemp robe.
"Immeasurable... Heavenly Venerate. Alas, Gongsun Changxing, the Ten-Pace Courtyard is all like you, lacking in sentiment. Sword cultivation has become a path of no emotion. Talking to people is like drawing a sword to stab them." The old Daoist called Zhong Yue's expression froze, and he couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.
Mo Qing and Great Master Liaofan, on the other hand, smiled faintly upon seeing this. Seeing that Gongsun Changxing's expression had become even colder and he seemed about to speak again, Liaofan had already put his palms together and hurriedly said, "Amitabha, benefactors, for this gathering, let's prioritize the important matters first. What do you all think?"
Seeing Liaofan speak like this, Gongsun Changxing glanced at the old Daoist Zhong Yue and did not speak again.
"Great Master Liaofan, do you have any news to share with us?" Mo Qing said with a serious expression.
"Amitabha. Even if you don't ask, Fellow Daoist Mo, I was going to say it. In the past year, a total of ten sects and families here have acted abnormally. They have sent out a large number of people to move around, infiltrate other sects, and kill and rob. At the same time, four other sects have moved their residences overnight on their own, their whereabouts are erratic," the monk Liaofan said with his hands clasped together.
"Oh? I also have twelve families that have had evil intentions there, and three have disappeared on their own," the old Daoist Zhong Yue said with a solemn expression.
"Fifteen have made strange moves, and three have disappeared," Gongsun Changxing said concisely.
"There were a total of seven abnormalities in our place, and four disappeared. After capturing these people and performing soul-searching, it was related to that thing," Mo Qing also said with a serious expression.
If Su Hong were here, she would know that their words were quite different from her intelligence.
After hearing Mo Qing's words, the three of them looked at each other. Daoist Zhong Yue was the first to speak. "It seems that this matter has really changed. On my side, I and Senior Brother Zhong Yang acted and destroyed more than a dozen families. The soul-searching was also related to that thing, but their sects and families have not found this thing, and they were all informed by a person with a separate mission of the direction and scope of what they were looking for. These dozen or so families were all in single-line contact, and the people who contacted them and gave them orders all had their faces covered, so they didn't know who the other party was at all."
Gongsun Changxing glanced coldly at the few of them. "It's the same here. It's just that one of the destroyed families was a first-rate cultivation family. During that time, the Nascent Soul ancestor was severely injured by me and two senior brothers before we captured him alive. When we were soul-searching, we got a piece of news."
"Oh? Brother Gongsun has made some progress on your side?" Hearing this, the old Daoist Zhong Yue did not care about Gongsun Changxing's attitude just now, but said with a revived spirit. Mo Qing and Liaofan also looked at Gongsun Changxing with burning gazes.
Gongsun Changxing's eyelids lifted slightly. "There is some. But this family's ancestor is obviously not completely clear. In his memory, he also cannot determine the location of that thing. But after talking with the person from the hidden force behind the scenes, he vaguely guessed that this thing would not exceed four at most. This time, to have them act so suddenly, at the cost of exposure, their intention is already very obvious."
"That is to say, they are very anxious, even so much so that they have to do it. Also, this time, to have so many hidden pieces appear at once, it means they are very confident. But we still don't know where the force behind the scenes is. We will be attacked from both front and back then," Liaofan's brows furrowed tightly, as if he were very helpless about this.
"Everyone, why bother? Can their ultimate goal be outside the Devil's Cliff Crevice?" Mo Qing's expression was serious as he spoke cautiously.
"Fellow Daoist Mo, what you say is reasonable. But back then, millions of years ago, when those seniors were hunting down the remnants, it is said that a part of the remnants escaped to an extremely secret place. To this day, after the great battle millions of years ago, have they accumulated their strength and developed new means? If they bypass the Devil's Cliff Crevice, it would be the most difficult thing for us to guard against," Gongsun Changxing also said.
"Amitabha, those unknowable matters have already been investigated by Great Uncle Ling and Uncle Yuandu and a few others with their great divine abilities. We should find these few things as soon as possible," the monk Liaofan recited a Buddhist prayer.
"Since we have guessed that the number will not exceed four, then let's divide the areas where we have received news, then strengthen our forces and send more disciples to go separately..." In the Chan room, the four gradually began to use voice transmission.