King of Creation
Chapter 575 - 568: The Counterattack from the Longevity Sect (Second Update)

Chapter 575: Chapter 568: The Counterattack from the Longevity Sect (Second Update)

"This Longevity Sect Master is truly worthy of being the leader of a sect; relentless and bold, impressive indeed!"

After reading the contents of the talisman communication, Ye Zhen genuinely expressed his admiration.

The talisman communication was sent by Tian Guizhang, the Vice Sect Hierarch of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, mainly concerning the situation of the Longevity Sect under the rumor of the assassination reversal involving the Demon Cloud Fruit.

The response of the Longevity Sect was undeniably swift.

Following significant losses the night before, that very afternoon, the Longevity Sect Headquarters in Qinglan Martial City and its subdivisions in other locations issued a Heroic Notice at the same time, inviting heroes from all over the martial world to jointly visit both the interior and exterior of the Longevity Sect.

At the same time, the Longevity Sect Headquarters issued a notice stating that starting that evening, all major Spirit Veins within the sect, the locations of its subdivisions, and all of its secret agents would become visible guards.

Anyone could enter and visit any place within the Longevity Sect Headquarters and subdivisions at any time, especially within the major Spirit Veins owned by the sect, to verify whether they were cultivating Demon Cloud Vine Trees, thus dispelling the rumors.

At the end of the notice, it particularly emphasized that while everyone was welcome to visit, those who dared to damage even a blade of grass or a piece of wood within the Longevity Sect Headquarters or subdivisions would face the sect’s most fierce retaliation and be killed on the spot!

According to Tian Guizhang, this announcement was extremely domineering.

Because in doing so, the Longevity Sect exposed over fifty percent of its secrets, but it’s undeniable that the move was extremely clever.

Ye Zhen’s rumor almost completely dissipated in front of this strategy.

According to intelligence from the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, since the afternoon the announcement was made, the Longevity Sect’s headquarters and subdivisions indeed opened up, but with very strict security in place.

Wherever martial artists were allowed to visit, there were martial artists from the Longevity Sect standing guard.

In just one night, the number of martial artists who visited the Longevity Sect Headquarters and its subdivisions exceeded a hundred thousand, of which more than two thousand were strong practitioners of the Vein Forging Realm, and it is said there were more than a handful of kings in the Soul-Opening Realm.

Such a massive influx of people into the Longevity Sect Headquarters and subdivisions, which were usually shrouded in mystery, naturally put the sect on high alert.

Reportedly, except for a few protector Venerables who were in closed-door cultivation, all other protector Venerables appeared in person and were on alert at either the headquarters or various subdivisions.

If anyone showed any signs of misbehavior, they would be struck down with thunderous force.

According to the intelligence, over a hundred martial artists had been killed by the Longevity Sect under various pretexts in the past three days; and according to information from the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, most of those who were killed were either sworn enemies or had past conflicts with the Longevity Sect.

These brazen martial artists genuinely thought that the Longevity Sect would ignore them and daringly visited the headquarters, only to be killed by the sect under pretext, with altogether dignified rationalizations that left others without anything to say.

After all, in comparison to the nearly half a million people in three days, the probability of these hundred or so martial artists being killed is very small; and indeed, there were some who truly went too far and ignored the warnings of the Longevity Sect guards.

After three days, that is, today, the number of martial artists who visited the Longevity Sect Headquarters and its subdivisions has sharply declined.

From a peak of nearly two hundred and sixty or seventy thousand people in one day, it dropped to less than fifty thousand.

According to Tian Guizhang’s estimation, within five days, the impact of Ye Zhen’s rumor would decrease by ninety percent.

As for the remaining ten percent impact, it can’t disappear in a short time since people naturally harbor doubts.

You, the Longevity Sect, claim to be open and honest, seeking to prove it’s just a rumor, but if you were indeed cultivating Demon Cloud Vine Trees, you surely would have moved them long ago, not left them for us to see, right?

There are no shortage of martial artists who think this way.

This ten percent impact will gradually diminish over time, but Ye Zhen’s rumor, which almost destroyed the Longevity Sect, has essentially vanished into smoke.

In passing, the Longevity Sect also eliminated more than a hundred of its foes.

It seems the Longevity Sect not only successfully resolved the crisis but also reaped significant benefits.

But in fact, the losses suffered by the Longevity Sect this time were huge.

Until now, the true strength of the Five Great Forces within Qinglan Martial City has always seemed like flowers in the fog—indistinct and unclear.

But this time, the from-the-inside-out strength of the Longevity Sect has been grossly exposed.

The number of Vein Forging Realm Martial Artists has always been a hallmark of the strength of a power; until then, the various forces had speculated about the number of protector Venerables, that is Vein Forging Realm Martial Artists, within the Longevity Sect.

Some guessed around six hundred, others seven or even eight hundred, but the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s estimation was that the number of protector Venerables in the Longevity Sect would not exceed nine hundred.

However, the number of protector Venerables that appeared during this opening event exceeded one thousand.

Even more crucially, on the second evening at the headquarters, due to the arrival of two Establishment Kings, a mysterious Establishment King from the Longevity Sect also appeared.

According to spies from the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, that person was definitely not the Sect Master Yin Changsheng.

In other words, the current number of Establishment Kings possessed by the Longevity Sect could be more than two.

This is definitely an important piece of intelligence. If Ye Zhen were an intelligence officer for the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, this information alone would have made a significant contribution to the sect.

But the exposed intelligence of the Longevity Sect doesn’t end there. During this participatory action, the sect inadvertently revealed two unknown High Grade Spirit Veins and countless other resources.

An originally mysterious and powerful sect had most of its truth laid bare in the sunlight because of a rumor initiated by Ye Zhen, and the extent of this loss is hard to quantify.

But one thing is certain: the high echelons of the Longevity Sect harbor deep hatred for Ye Zhen.

At the end of the talisman communication, Tian Guizhang repeatedly stressed this point, saying that the upper levels of the Longevity Sect were intensively planning action against Ye Zhen.

In the words of the upper echelons of the Longevity Sect, only by personally obtaining Ye Zhen’s head can they wash away the shame inflicted upon their sect.

Moreover, the Longevity Sect had already taken concrete action.

Within these past three days, both overt and covert forces of the Longevity Sect had begun frantically seeking information about Ye Zhen, probing for any intelligence regarding his status within the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.

Although many within the Sect were vigilant in reporting this activity, leaks were inevitable.

Tian Guizhang repeatedly cautioned Ye Zhen to be extremely careful during this time and even offered a suggestion that left Ye Zhen not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

If possible, Tian Guizhang suggested that Ye Zhen stay for a while in Feng Qingyue’s Spirit Academy, which was deemed safer.

Tian Guizhang went on to explain that he made this suggestion for two reasons: first, because Ye Zhen had done Feng Qingyue a favor, and second, because Ye Zhen was the first man who could reside in Feng Qingyue’s courtyard.

Ye Zhen just smiled at Tian Guizhang’s suggestion and then cast it aside.

A joke, when had Ye Zhen ever needed a woman’s protection?

Besides, such a large force as the Longevity Sect was not easily annihilated; the pursuit of Ye Zhen was seemingly endless—how could there be an end to such a residence?

However, Tian Guizhang’s suggestion gave Ye Zhen another doubt.

"Could it be that even staying within the Sun and Moon Divine Sect is unsafe? This doesn’t seem likely, does it?"

"No matter where one is, one must possess formidable strength..."

Murmuring softly, Ye Zhen closed his eyes once more, and his body was immediately enshrouded in an immensely surging Divine Soul Wave, as he commenced his arduous cultivation again.

...

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.

The mighty Divine Soul Waves around Ye Zhen suddenly retracted, sweeping back into his body like a receding tide, and his eyes opened, a flash of cold star-like light fleeting by, as a strange feeling suddenly spread outwards from him in all directions, like ripples across the water.

That was Ye Zhen’s Spirit Perception, weaving through the Spirit Institute No. 99 next door, skillfully avoiding the martial artists cultivating in the Silent Chambers, and extending to the more distant Spirit Institute No. 98 and 97.

"Hmm, the maid in Spirit Institute No. 98 is cooking Spirit Plants; her technique is clearly not as diligent as Hundred Herbs."

"Spirit Institute No. 97, well... let’s leave that be..."

Ye Zhen’s Spirit Perception quickly passed through Spirit Institute No. 97, the scene within causing Ye Zhen, who hadn’t been intimate for a long time, to blush with embarrassment.

The maid inside Spirit Institute No. 97 was stepping naked into a bath, her face flushed and her body marked with traces of recent passion.

In the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, every maid within the Spirit Institute essentially played such a role. As long as the master of the Spirit Institute wished, there was nothing that couldn’t be done.

Of course, Ye Zhen hadn’t yet touched Hundred Herbs.

Ye Zhen’s Spirit Perception paused near the outer wall of Spirit Institute No. 96. "Is this the limit?"

"Approximately just over five hundred meters, this improvement in Spirit Perception is quite substantial!" Ye Zhen carefully sensed around him.

Previously, when he had just mastered the Dark Soul Art at the First Stage, Ye Zhen’s Spirit Perception could only reach a hundred meters, barely extending from his small courtyard.

He never expected that simply switching to a different Divine Soul Technique would boost his Spirit Perception by more than fivefold, leaping directly from his own academy’s wall to the vicinity of Spirit Institute No. 96.

This enhancement once again made Ye Zhen feel the Secret Record of Soul Refining was worth the acquisition!

And at that moment, Ye Zhen had successfully cultivated the First Stage of the Secret Record of Soul Refining.

However, aside from Spirit Perception, the other improvements from mastering the Secret Record of Soul Refining required Ye Zhen to experience them gradually, as Divine Soul Power could not be demonstrated all at once like Spiritual Power.

"Has it been twenty-one days now?"

With the successful cultivation of the Secret Record of Soul Refining, Ye Zhen was in high spirits. The mere enhancement of his Spirit Perception was enough to justify the twenty-one days he spent without stepping foot out of the Silent Chamber.

"Hundred Herbs, prepare the hot water, I need a bath!"

Ye Zhen called out lightly, and in a sudden move, amid the crackling sounds of his joints, he stepped briskly into the courtyard, intending to practice the Black Dragon Tyrant of Heaven Style to stretch his limbs after staying still for over twenty days.

"Swoosh!"

The punch tore through the air. The first stance of the Black Dragon Tyrant of Heaven Style, the Black Dragon Tail Swing.

Ye Zhen’s legs, like whips, made consecutive strikes into the low air, and even without using Spiritual Power, the air whistled with each blow.

The second stance of the Black Dragon Tyrant of Heaven Style, the Black Dragon Divine Claw!

Ye Zhen shaped his hands into claws, making successive strikes toward the black practice stone in the center of the courtyard. This was an extremely sturdy stone that even Vein Forging Realm Martial Artists could not shatter, and Artifact Refiners could not refine, so with its abundance, it became a common practice stone within many Spirit Domains in the True Spirit Domain, enduring hundreds of blows without damage.

Because they were mined in complete pieces, they were rather large, casting a sizable shadow in the courtyard when stood upright.

But at that instant, something bizarre occurred.

As Ye Zhen’s claws consecutively hit the black practice stone, the large shadow cast by the stone suddenly moved like flowing water. A piercingly sharp black light coalesced rapidly and shot straight towards Ye Zhen’s vital point at his heart!

As the color drained from his face, Ye Zhen instantly realized what was happening.

This was the Longevity Sect’s counterattack! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian - qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)