Lifespan Extraction: I Ascend As The Immortal Beast Tamer
Chapter 42: Supervise a Competition?, Plans of Reading Grandeur!

Chapter 42: Supervise a Competition?, Plans of Reading Grandeur!

"Zar, what are you doing here?" Valley Master Yu shone with a lot less luster than a dozen years ago. "I see that you’re about to break through to the Core Formation Realm. That Yellow Ascendance Core Formation Pill I gave you should allow you to succeed..."

Zar bowed in thanks. "I appreciate what you’ve done for me, Master, but I feel as if I haven’t done enough for you in return."

"You could participate in the Medicine Valley Ten-Year Tournament," said Valley Master Yu. "But I know you won’t... and even with your talent in the Dao of the Sword being exceptional..."

"Haha..." Zar could only helplessly laugh. "Anything else, dear Master?"

Valley Master Yu stared deeply at him before ultimately saying, "There is one other thing. And you don’t need to worry, for you won’t acquire any meaningful fame from the task."

"What about—"

"There’s no danger either," Valley Master Yu answered before he had the chance to ask. "All you have to do is head over to Trial Sect Branch #780 — which is one of the five Trial Sect Branches subordinate to our Outer Sect. Then you just need to supervise an Outer Sect Advancement Competition that’s coming up in a few days."

"Supervise a competition?"

"Yes," replied Valley Master Yu. "It should be quick and simple, but because the other Disciples of my Medicine Valley are preoccupied with other tasks, that leaves only you. I’d appreciate it if you could do this for me."

Zar hesitated, and though he really didn’t want to do it, he felt there was no way he could reject her now — not after all she had done for the persona he created for himself here.

He nodded.

Valley Master Yu smiled, and with the flashing of a bright white light, a map with a location marked on it levitated over to Zar. She then wished him well and shooed him out of her courtyard before he changed his mind.

While watching him exhale in resignation as he walked away, Valley Master Yu smiled beautifully.

"One day, if I’m no longer here, you won’t have much of a standing in the Sect. Hopefully, this at least opens your eyes a little and gives you enough motivation to promote yourself within the Sect..."

She only wished the best for her favorite Disciple.

As Zar reluctantly made his way toward one of the Trial Sect Branches, a sinister-looking group of cultivators were convening within a dimly-lit space outside the Blazing Sun Sect. They wore robes that depicted a scenery burning with a dark green flame, and a whole world overcome with misery.

Disciples of the Seven Underworlds Sect.

"What do we know of these shadowy creatures?" asked a hooded old man, his cultivation flaring at the Void Crossing Realm.

"Sir," replied a different hooded man of the Deity Transformation Realm. "We believe these shadow creatures to be wraiths, or something similar to them. And from how they’ve only been targeting those from the Evil Faction or generally evil beings, we have been able to deduce that they are collecting high-purity Evil Energy. This is likely why they’ve extracted the Sky and Golden Cores of every single one of our members they encountered."

"Wraiths?" questioned a taller Void Crossing Realm hooded man. "Why on earth would wraiths be hunting us?? And how could there possibly be so many of them seemingly operating under the same directives??? Wraiths are notoriously known to be mindless, vengeful entities that kill without rhyme or reason. These shadowy creatures clearly have proper organization skills. Furthermore, whenever we’re close to capturing one, an unknown source always pulls on them, allowing them to escape."

"This would indicate that there’s a controller," said the first Void Crossing Realm hooded man, disproving the theories of their subordinates. "But for there to be a controller of so many powerful creatures at the Deity Transformation Realm... Even we’re not capable of such a feat."

"There’s more," added a third Void Crossing Realm hooded man, his voice sounding much older than the others, his aura equally more immense. "These shadowy creatures roughly resemble more advanced species of Demon Beasts that roam the lands. Even odder, some are of lower-rank descent, with a few not even being Nascent Soul Realm Demon Beasts."

"Whoever’s working behind the scenes to gradually foil our plans really is using skills similar to what we use," the gruff voice of a fourth Void Crossing Realm hooded man echoed, his frame far broader and larger than the others. "And we’re sure that traitors with feuds against our Sect aren’t responsible?"

The first Void Crossing Realm hooded man shook his head. "None capable enough to do all this. Moreover, it wasn’t only our Sect that had entire battalions of forces and Branch Sects annihilated. High-ranking Demon Beasts and common bandits alike have been slaughtered en masse by these unaffiliated shadowy creatures. Whole branches of Evil Sects turned into ghost towns overnight — including four of our own..."

The whole room became deathly silent, with the silence only breaking after the oldest and strongest among them spoke up for the first time:

"Whatever these undead Immortal monstrosities are, they’ve been putting a wrench in our plans for years now," he began with a ghastly voice, his Half-step Body Integration Realm cultivation pulsating with an eerie glow. "With their existence, we now need to speed things up."

"!!!" "!!!" "!!!"

"You mean!?"

"Yes," said the oldest, deathly serious. "I’ve received the green light from the higher-ups, so commence the second round of bombs. Target the Trial, Outer, Inner, and Core Sects of all eighteen main branches of the Blazing Sun Sect. Make sure to coordinate with the moles in order to create a commotion so massive that the Direct Sect Branches will have no choice but to act.

As long as this all goes according to plan, the distractions created by the bombs will create a lapse in judgment among the Direct Elders. The Sect Barrier for the Outer Expanse will naturally crumble thereafter."

"But what about 9th and 10th Ancestor?? Weren’t they still in seclusion, preparing to break through to the Origin Infant Realm!??"

"They were, yes," the oldest evilly grinned. "But they are ready now. And with the Grand Elders and Supreme Elders of the Blazing Sun Sect so caught up with their everlasting war with the other Elemental Kingdoms, this is our chance. The chance for our first-rate Sect to rise up and topple the foundations of a Great Sect that has roots extending as far back as tens of thousands of years!"