Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 697 - 697 696 Northwest Beacon Fires 7

697: Chapter 696 Northwest Beacon Fires 7 697: Chapter 696 Northwest Beacon Fires 7 The two traveled westward, where human cultivators became increasingly scarce and the number of undead creatures slowly rose.

Neither chose to take a detour, considering it an unnecessary action.

When cultivators make a move, they rely not only on the underhanded but more so on their finely honed skills.

On this, both were very confident.

Especially Hou Niao, who was quite curious about how a cultivator from the sea could move stealthily and rapidly in a desert environment.

Xunfeng Valley, located directly on the Tea Horse Road forest belt, was under the Daoist Sect’s jurisdiction.

When hints of Ancient Lop’s forest belt first appeared, this place swiftly followed suit with afforestation—a visible environmental advantage and human effort.

Differences in Daoist traditions aside, it didn’t mean that the Daoist Sects were irrational or unaware of how to maximize their own interests.

The title of the advocate for protective forests had been claimed by the Demon Sect forces like the Shan Sect, an unavoidable fact.

Therefore, for the always competitive Daoist forces who refused to bow to those non-mainstream traditions, it was impossible to resign themselves to letting others take the limelight.

They had been waiting for such an opportunity, only moving ahead once the frequency of sandstorms signalled a breakthrough–this was why, as Yu Zhengxing mentioned, countless Daoist spies had been tirelessly thrown into the Xunfeng Valley.

With vast resources and abundant manpower, the Daoist Sects didn’t fret over minor losses; their enthusiasm hadn’t been dampened by failures of the past two years but had instead intensified, even to the point of deploying True Disciples to solve the problem.

Thus, Hou Niao and Yu Zhengxing’s complaints were somewhat biased; the Shan Sect had already garnered the greatest reputation and naturally wouldn’t care who picked up the leftovers.

They weren’t very concerned about Xunfeng Valley, knowing that even if Shan Sect ignored it, someone would take charge.

This was a piece of high-level wisdom from the Shan Sect that Hou Niao hadn’t yet grasped.

It was with this consideration that the Daoist Sect’s efforts towards Xunfeng Valley had never ceased.

If not with a Golden Core, nor with numbers, then one must focus on quality.

…

A group of about ten cultivators rode a flying boat, heading towards Xunfeng Valley.

Leading them was Han Tiangang, the Heavenly Gang Star, a True Inheritor of the Guo Sect.

On his either side were Huai Liangyou, a True Disciple from the Qi Sect, and Lou Yue, a True Disciple from the Zhou Sect.

The three of them were the experts specifically called upon to scout out the true situation in Xunfeng Valley, with each already at the peak level within the Tongtian Realm.

Moreover, each possessed a skill set tailored to the desert environment.

Their main offensive element was, without exception, Earth, with supporting elements of fire, wood, and metal, purposely omitting water.

The Constellation True Inheritors held by the Daoist Sects were considered the finest across the Continent, including the Heavenly Kui Star, the Heavenly Machine Star, the Heavenly Purple Star, the Heavenly Punishment Star, and the Heavenly Gang Star—a total of five individuals, comprising nearly half of the Continent’s talents.

Although Heavenly Gang Star wasn’t the strongest among these five, he was the most suitable with his peak-level Earth Element Daoist Method fitting the current situation perfectly.

The other two True Inheritors, Huai Liangyou and Lou Yue, were also experts in the Earth Element, differing only in their subsidiary preferences.

Clearly, the Daoist Sects were bent on investigating and destroying Xunfeng Valley—seizing the final chance before the undead creatures fully realized the danger to humanity’s resolve, for once they would fortify the area with heavy defenses, mere Tongtian Realm cultivators would find it as difficult as ascending to heaven to accomplish such a feat.

The three of them were the main force in this operation, with the others merely coordinating their actions.

It would be ideal for all to enter Xunfeng Valley together, but if not, they could still help in creating diversions and cover for them.

A Wild Geese Letter arrived, Huai Liangyou beckoned with his hand, and then looked towards Han Tiangang, “Senior Brother, the mining team up ahead is now within a hundred li of Xunfeng Valley.

Dai Xun is doing well, having gathered nearly thirty people.

Such a force is enough to draw the undead creatures’ attention.

Should we accelerate our pace?”

Han Tiangang waved his hand calmly, “No rush, slow down!

Follow them, and tell everyone to be cautious and keep their presence concealed,” he instructed.

This operation by the Daoist Sect was meticulously arranged; not only did this group include supporters and a core team, but several Daoists had even been sent ahead to gather cannon fodder, such as Dai Xun and his group, who deliberately spread rumors of precious mines near Xunfeng Valley to attract explorers.

People die for wealth as birds die for food.

In the very same Kneecap Desert, scores of Loose Cultivators roamed about, vulture-like, swooping down eagerly for any advantage or ready to clash for a contribution to humanity.

These were the expendables meant to scout the path, with one goal: to sow chaos and enable the real forces to infiltrate amidst the disorder.

These expendables couldn’t all be played by Daoist Sect disciples; that would be too conspicuous.

The best targets were those Loose Cultivators wandering the desert.

Over these days, Dai Xun’s silver tongue had already drawn in more than thirty of them.

It was time to begin.

Lou Yue added from the side, “It depends on Dai Xun’s ability now; the closer he gets the group to Xunfeng Valley, the bigger our chance.

Over these two years, no one knows the exact situation within Xunfeng Valley.

With too few going in, it’s bound to be problematic.”

Their current position was more than fifty li away from the group of cultivators ahead, and most significantly, they were at a great height, floating at five thousand Zhang above ground, nearly the limit for Tongtian Realm cultivators.

The flying boat provided them substantial protection, a Daoist Sect specialty unmatched by anyone; for example, the boat they were on had a unique ability to conceal its tracks and presence.

Unless someone got within a certain distance, they would be very hard to detect.

According to the plan, the vanguard cultivator group would soon make contact with the undead under the pretext of searching for treasure, foment chaos, and attract as many nearby undead as possible.

This would allow the real force to take advantage in the confusion.

A group sat on the flying boat, their divine senses closely monitoring the situation ahead, waiting for the signal to move.

An infiltration of this nature was exceedingly difficult; the optimal moment was actually two years ago, before the undead had any defenses, when top cultivators could have been sent directly… Now, after being harassed for two years without garnering any insight, they had only managed to elevate Xunfeng Valley’s defenses several levels higher, greatly increasing the mission’s difficulty—it was a case of doing more harm than good.

Apart from a few like Dai Xun, the group ahead consisted of variously sourced recruits, some even anonymous; in contrast, those on the flying boat were elite Daoist Sect members, all from the Southeast Daoist Sects of Qi, Zhou, and Guo, without a single outsider.

This was typical of the Daoist Sects: in real action, they never trusted outsiders.