Secret Realm?

Tang Pi perked up upon hearing that the white-robed king could suffer. “Do you have any interesting strategies?”

Qin Huai waved his hand beneath the sea of blood, clearing the red waters under Tang Pi’s feet. An image appeared before him, showing a group of experts from Qingzhou City steadily navigating the river, headed towards a specific location.

As the prefecture overseer of Qingzhou for over a century, Tang Pi was familiar with the city’s terrain. Instantly recognizing their destination, he wondered aloud, “Is the Sacred Heart Sect preparing to attack Wuji Mountain?”

Astonished, he mused, “Has Wuji Mountain not fallen yet? Kong Binghuang, the old fox, is indeed remarkable. He even dared to compete with Zhang Fan for the title of Dao Child in his youth. The top three of Qingzhou truly underestimate themselves.”

Tang Pi had returned to the blood sea promptly after his setback at the Heart’s Eye Pavilion, intending to recruit Wang Kun as an ally. He had assumed that the Sacred Heart Sect’s aggressive move had already conquered the territory.

The resilient stand of Wuji Mountain was unexpected. Had he known, he would have first approached Kong Binghuang to potentially turn a foe into a friend in the fight against the Sacred Heart Sect.

Listening to Tang Pi’s revelations, Qin Huai discovered some of Kong Binghuang’s impressive feats from his younger days. He had competed with the current sect master for the title of Dao Child, extorted the master of the Buddhist Sect, and even publicly criticized the master of the Confucian Sect at the city gates of Great You Capital. Quite the accomplishments.

Tang Pi’s tone shifted, “Regrettably, the man is overly arrogant. After his defeat back then, he angrily left our sect, swearing to build Wuji Mountain into a second True Path Sect. Yet, the world isn’t governed by ‘genius’ alone.”

Intrigued, Qin Huai asked, “How do you know Kong Binghuang so well?”

“Haha. Truth be told, when I heard that an unknown young sect master from the True Path Sect had appeared at Wuji Mountain, I was shocked,” Tang Pi confessed. “I feared the True Path Sect was plotting to take over Qingzhou, so I investigated Kong Binghuang. The more I discovered, the more I lost sleep. I was caught between the fear of drawing the wrath of the True Path Sect’s master if I killed Kong Binghuang and the fear of my Kun Peng clan being obliterated if he became too powerful.”

Tang Pi sighed, reminiscing about those tumultuous years. It seemed as if he had been in a coma for a long time.

As the Prefecture Overseer of Qingzhou, Tang Pi felt like he was treading on thin ice. A single misstep might lead to his beheading at the hands of the True Path Sect’s proud heir.

“Fortunately, even heaven’s favorites are not omnipotent. They are no mere myths or legends,” he breathed, a relieved expression crossing his face. “Following his departure from the True Path Sect, it appears Kong Binghuang, having severed his connections, lost access to a huge amount of cultivation resources. Most critically, he lost the privilege to enter the spirit realm.”

His prospects of advancing to the king realm dramatically decreased. Consequently, despite his talent, he was stuck at the peak of the visceral prefecture realm for decades, unable to progress further.

Qin Huai remained silent at the mention of the ‘spirit realm,’ not wishing to reveal a flaw that might expose his true identity as Wang Kun. He chose to silently commit the name ‘spirit realm’ to memory.

“We should wrap this up. It’s getting late,” Qin Huai commented, glancing at the people’s activities in the image.

Agreeing, Tang Pi said, “Indeed. So, we have an agreement. I’ll exchange the heads of the Sacred Heart Sect’s martial artists for my clansmen’s safety within the blood sea.”

“I suggest you also safeguard the people of Wuji Mountain. They are our natural allies,” Qin Huai advised.

Tang Pi chuckled. “That might prove challenging. My Kun Peng clan just weathered a significant upheaval and remains vulnerable. Completely defeating this group would be extremely difficult.”

Having seen Qin Huai’s image of Qingzhou City, Tang Pi was aware of the recent internal conflict within his clan that led to the death of all four branch clan leaders. Therefore, he didn’t conceal this fact, hoping to regain Qin Huai’s trust.

Qin Huai replied, “Just give it your best shot, Lord Prefecture Overseer. What matters is not the number of people saved, but your sincerity in working with me.”

Nodding in understanding, though inwardly gritting his teeth, Tang Pi assured, “I will undoubtedly give it my best.” He knew he had to make some sacrifices to acquire the blood sea, this precious Feng Shui land.

With a flap of his wings, Tang Pi soared into the sky, leading his numerous subordinates toward Wuji Mountain.

…

At Wuji Mountain, Kong Binghuang surveyed the barren land from the peak.

What was once a lush forest now lay devoid of green, replaced by pools of blood scattered across the wasteland and inside craters. Several mountains of the once majestic Wuji Mountain were now ruins, with broken walls and collapsed buildings.

Behind him, the few remaining peak masters of Wuji Mountain assembled. Out of the initial fifteen, only three remained: Lotus Peak’s Lu De, Cliff Peak’s Yu Zugui, and Tiancheng Peak’s Shi Molin.

In the wake of recent events, only about three hundred disciples of Wuji Mountain remained. Those with insufficient cultivation levels had been sent out of Qingzhou City through secret passages overnight by the peak masters. They went to the ten counties of East Qingzhou, under the protection of the Qingzhou Alliance.

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