Chapter 995
: The remnants of the old era
Looking at the red circles that were highlighted on the map in his hand, Song Changsheng sometimes couldn't help but admire the vitality of these unorthodox and heretical methods.
More than a hundred years have passed since the initial signs appeared. During this time, the righteous forces have been relentlessly cracking down on the problem, leaving no stone unturned. The entire border region has been like a field that has been plowed over and over again.
Even the demon kings who infiltrated from the demon realm have been captured no fewer than ten over the years with the help and guidance of the Myriad Manifestations Palace.
These people, despite most of them not being very strong, and many not even having a Golden Core cultivator in charge, are like grass on the plains, impossible to burn out by wildfire and able to grow again with the spring breeze.
If he hadn't captured Zhang Chuqiu this time, he really wouldn't have known that after so many purges, there were still so many evil forces lurking in the borderlands.
"With your cultivation level, your status in the Gu Immortal Sect should not be low. Where is your headquarters? Who are the experts in the sect? Why did you come to this border region?"
Zhang Chuqiu had just woken up from her coma when she heard Song Changsheng ask a series of questions about death.
He looked around and found himself in a completely unfamiliar space. There were only two people in this space, him and Song Changsheng. Behind Song Changsheng stood a huge ancient tree that was rooted in the void and reached the sky.
Song Changsheng could clearly sense his panic and said calmly, "This is my domain of laws. Being inside will completely isolate you from the outside world. No one can find you, and of course, you can't contact anyone either."
Answer my questions carefully. Don't try to hide anything or deceive me; your little tricks are futile in my eyes.
The Law Domain is an ability that can only be mastered after opening the door to the Great Dao, and that ancient tree, with its extraordinary Daoist charm, can connect heaven and earth, and is no different from the legendary Nascent Soul Dharma Form.
Although he didn't know why the Nascent Soul Dharma Form of the "True Lord" opposite him was a tree, he was now completely convinced of Song Changsheng's identity as a "True Lord".
Due to the constraints of the ancient covenant, True Monarch-level powerhouses cannot attack the demon race. To the demon race along the Canglan River, True Monarchs are just paper tigers, and Golden Core cultivators are their main fighting force.
However, the ancient covenant only bound the human and demon races, not these heretics.
If this person were to personally take action, it would be like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves; apart from the Thunder King Palace, probably no one could contend with him.
If the other party were to join forces with the Myriad Manifestations Palace, and several True Lords were to act simultaneously, how could the Thunder King of the Thunder King Palace possibly stir up any trouble?
Their scheme has clearly failed, so they might as well use the information they possess to buy themselves a chance to survive.
“True Lord, you overestimate me. If I had any status within the sect, I wouldn’t have been thrown to the border. I’m just a pawn that can be discarded at any time. How would I know where the main headquarters is?”
I guess it must be in some secret realm or in that remote sea that few people venture into.
The sect has many powerful members, and the sect leader's cultivation is certainly above yours. Below him are two protectors, who are the pillars of our sect.
He didn't say it aloud, but his meaning was clear: after years of accumulation, the Gu Immortal Sect had at least three Nascent Soul True Monarch level experts in charge. He had some status, but it was the kind that could be easily given up. So don't try to get too much information about the border regions from him.
"Since the Gu Immortal Sect is so powerful, why bother sending you here to die? You haven't had an easy time these past few years, have you?"
Hearing this, Zhang Chuqiu helplessly spread his hands and said, "True Lord, don't be fooled by how we all seem to be scrambling to squeeze onto the periphery. In reality, the center of gravity of the sect has never been here."
"We're merely a casual pawn in the sect leader's game. If we do well, we'll be rewarded; if we do poorly, we won't even have anyone to collect our corpses."
"Even if you're just playing around, you should still have a purpose. Aside from colluding with the demon race, don't you have any other tasks to perform?"
"The order to conspire with the demon race was only received in recent years. At first, I was ordered to come to the border region, but it was just half of the prophecy 'the benefit lies in the southwest'."
Even the sect leader's own deductions failed to reach a conclusion, and he originally did not want to get involved. However, other hidden sects entered the game one after another, and the sect leader was worried about losing the initiative. So he ordered me and Chen Dunjia to lie in wait in the border areas to verify the truth of the prophecy.
These branch offices you see were all established for intelligence gathering. There are quite a few of them, but they are short-staffed, ranging from a dozen or so people to as few as three or five.
During this period, some members acted recklessly and exposed our whereabouts, which led to an encirclement and suppression, forcing us to go into complete hiding.
"If I hadn't received orders from the sect leader thirty years ago, I wouldn't have interfered in the affairs of the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce."
At this moment, the regret in Zhang Chuqiu's heart was beyond words.
He thought he could take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to disrupt the four realms and create an opportunity for the demons along the Canglan River to break through the ancient covenant. He never expected that one wrong step would lead to eternal regret. Not only did he fail to complete the mission, but he also became a prisoner.
"Another prophecy." Song Changsheng frowned slightly. It's no exaggeration to say that this half-prophecy played a significant role in the current turmoil in the border regions.
The Gu Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect are both ancient evil forces. Given their resources, they would never look down on such barren lands as the border regions.
But it was precisely because of this half-prophecy that all these demons and monsters were drawn into the scheme, which is truly hateful.
What are the specific details of the command?
"The sect leader instructed us to spare no effort to help the demon race break through the restrictions of the ancient alliance. He promised to reward us handsomely after the mission was accomplished, and even promised us the opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. That's why I chose to take the risk and collude with Mao Dongxing and others to create an opportunity for the demon race."
"According to the cyclical development pattern of the old and the new, the border regions have passed through the trough of this cycle and are beginning to gradually enter the peak period."
The present and the foreseeable future will be the period of greatest strength for the borderlands. Since you intend to collude with the demon race to break the ancient alliance, why not act sooner?
"When the source of disaster appears, a great calamity will descend. The truth of the previous prophecy is hard to discern, but this one has long been tested by time."
Every catastrophe is a reconstruction of class and order.
The social hierarchy in this world has been rigid for too long, leaving no place for us remnants of the previous era. In the words of the sect leader, there is only one way to regain our dominion over this land: to break the existing order and establish a new one ourselves.
However, our strength is still far from sufficient, and we must rely on the power of the demon race to succeed.
No one can predict when the calamity will descend, but now that Guqiu has changed, the attention of the major human forces has been drawn away, leaving them no time to attend to the border regions. This is the perfect opportunity for us to find a breakthrough.
According to the original plan, after the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce changed hands, I would further instigate internal strife among them. Once the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce, the Xuanling Sect, and the Ancient God Pavilion were in chaos, the foundation of Gusu would be shaken.
With the foundation of the Suzhou cultivation world shaken, our prior arrangements in the Lu Kingdom cultivation world can be made to advance directly from the northwest, joining forces with the ancient witch clan and the Benlei Sect within the Suzhou cultivation world to further impact the Suzhou cultivation world.
The barbarian tribes that dominate the snowy plateau will also take the opportunity to launch a general offensive against the Great Xiao Dynasty.
The Heavenly Fire Cult will respond in the cultivation worlds of Dayu and Daming, and take advantage of the situation to attack the cultivation world of Da Chu.
The Thunder King Palace has already reached an alliance with the Sea Clan and will be responsible for restraining forces such as the Myriad Manifestations Palace and the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty.
At this point, the borderlands will inevitably descend into chaos, and all the major demon kingdoms along the Canglan River will mobilize their forces. Even with a thousand schemes, your defeat is inevitable!
After listening to Zhang Chuqiu's plan, Song Changsheng was horrified to discover that these evil forces had already silently woven a vast net capable of overturning the entire border region.
If he hadn't discovered this conspiracy beforehand, the consequences would have been unimaginable. He had found it strange before that these evil and heretical sects were impossible to kill or eradicate completely; it turned out that behind them stood those reclusive sects that usually kept a low profile.
In fact, he preferred to refer to this group of people as the remnants of the old era rather than as reclusive sects.
There are two types of reclusive sects. One type is truly reclusive, having grown weary of the bloodshed and endless scheming in the cultivation world, choosing to distance themselves from the mortal realm and focus on cultivation.
They will not change their minds because of external changes; they only have a pure heart that yearns for the Tao.
Another type is like the Gu Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect.
Once at its peak, it declined for various reasons and, under the influence of external forces, chose to live a life of seclusion.
Cultivators who remain untouched by worldly affairs are ultimately a minority; the vast majority of so-called reclusive sects belong to the latter category.
It's not that they want to live in seclusion, but rather that there's no place for them, the remnants of the old era, on the ship of the new era.
That's why they yearn to establish a new order.
This also coincides with the scene that Song Changsheng saw when he was undergoing his inner demon tribulation.
"Could these remnants of the old era be the beginning of this catastrophe?"
Looking at the several recorded catastrophes in history, they are all traceable, simply progressing from minor chaos to major chaos, and then to world-ending catastrophe.
Although there are quite a few minor disturbances at the moment, most of them are concentrated in remote areas, and the heartland of the human cultivation world has not been affected.
Recalling what Zhang Chuqiu had said, he guessed that the beginning of this catastrophe would most likely be triggered in the heart of the human race, spreading from a single point to the entire human cultivation world.
"Guqiu...Guqiu..."
As he murmured the name, a flash of inspiration struck Song Changsheng.
Guqiu is the origin of the human race and the greatest reliance of those top powers in suppressing collective destiny.
If the catastrophe began in Guqiu, the consequences would be...
"What do you mean by the 'change of events' you just mentioned in Guqiu? Have you planned any actions?"
"If the sect leader hadn't given me this task, I wouldn't have been qualified to know these secrets, let alone dare to ask. I only know that this is a major event that will attract the attention of the top human forces, making it the time when their defenses are most relaxed."
"Guqiu... Could it be that the black market's control over those Nine Heavens Secret Treasures is because of this matter, and that they want to start a war with these remnants?"
Two seemingly unrelated things, when linked together, are surprisingly harmonious.
Without much thought, Song Changsheng quickly realized that Guqiu was still too far away for him at the moment. The most urgent task was to uphold the ancient covenant, only in this way could the conspiracy of these remnants of the old regime be thwarted.
These remnants of the old era do have some foundation, but they are far from being able to fight against the entire human cultivation world. Even if they really have the ability to do something to Guqiu, without the support of the demon race, they will only have one path to take: annihilation.
If the demon race wants to respond, they must cross the buffer zone of the Canglan River and the Hengduan Mountains, which are part of the ancient covenant.
As long as the border regions can withstand the demon race's offensive, all their plans will fail.
Fortunately, they were bound by an ancient covenant. Before the covenant was broken, they only needed to face attacks from a few demon kingdoms along the Canglan River.
With his current strength, he is quite confident that he can unite the forces in the southwest.
However, the biggest problem right now is how to gain the initiative.
Passively waiting for the demon race to attack is definitely not an option, because while the demon race is making their move, the remnants of the old era are likely to also attack. In that case, we won't be able to defend ourselves from both sides, which would be exactly what the enemy wants.
"To take the initiative, we must lure the snake out of its hole," Song Changsheng thought to himself.
Breaking the established plan and going out of the opponent's rhythm is the essence of turning passivity into initiative.
Although the demon race and its remnants reached an agreement, their trust was weak and their composition was complex. Under such circumstances, it was difficult to finalize a plan that everyone could agree on, as any mishap by any party could lead to complete failure.
This gave him room to maneuver.
If we were in their shoes, what would the demon race want most right now?
Naturally, this means breaking the ancient covenant.
Without the constraints of the ancient covenant, the powerful members of the demon race can act at will and retaliate against any wrongdoing.
However, the defenses of the border regions were impregnable, and every attack resulted in heavy losses. Therefore, they had to find allies to break through the fortress from within.
This is why the demon race chose to join forces with those remnants, and it is also the main reason why the demon race chose to lie low after the hundred-year period.
Both have the ultimate goal of overthrowing the human cultivation world, but their bottom lines are different.
For the demon race, success is achieved as long as they can conquer the borderlands.
The Gu Immortal Sect and other forces planned very carefully, setting the time for their uprising to coincide with the descent of the Calamity Star. The demon race's infiltration plan failed, and with no other options, they were able to patiently wait.
If, at this moment, an opportunity were presented to the demon race to break through the border defenses in one fell swoop, would they not be tempted?
If the demon race is tempted, they will break the original plan and create a situation where neither side can take care of the other.
A single move can have far-reaching consequences. Once the deployment is disrupted, adjusting it will not be easy for this bloated and fragile alliance, and they may not even be able to react in time.
Luring the enemy out of their hole, drawing them in deep, and then wiping them all out in one fell swoop.
This is the method Song Changsheng plans to use on the demon race. As long as the ancient covenant is upheld, those remnants of the old era will not be able to cause any trouble.
"It seems we should keep these small fry alive." Song Changsheng looked at the markings on the map, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
……
P.S.: This chapter is a supplement to the update on the 18th. There are still 13,000 words owed for the monthly vote bonus, and 3,000 words that were missed during the Chinese New Year period, so let's call it 4,000 for now, which is 17,000 words.
I'll try to catch up on everything this month. Thank you for your understanding and support, fellow cultivators. I'll try to update more next month. (End of Chapter)