114: desolate

The three Blood Martial Realm Elders all sensed the changes in the Crimson Tiger.

Although surprised, they were all incredibly delighted by this transformation of the Crimson Tiger.

Immediately, they controlled the Crimson Tiger, rushing back at full speed.

As the Crimson Tiger charged, the evil spirits from all directions were sent flying.

They were utterly unable to impede the Crimson Tiger's advance.

However, while the Crimson Tiger's speed and impact force had increased, its consumption of energy was still considerable.

Whether it could successfully return to the Red Tiger Sect… remained uncertain.

As they continued to advance, everyone clearly felt the astonishing number of these evil spirits.

So many evil spirits… they were simply inexhaustible!

Previously, over the past half-month, they had cleared out many, but now… even more evil spirits were appearing endlessly.

This also made them deeply realize that the Seven Stars Province was truly no longer a place where they could stay.

Next, they would inevitably have to find a way to migrate away as much as possible.

Otherwise, staying here would surely be a dead end.

After some travel, they were not far from Nan Lie Mountain, where the sect was located.

The Qi Strength of many Inner Sect Disciples was completely exhausted at this point.

The Crimson Tiger's body became dim and indistinct, appearing as if it could dissipate at any moment.

“It's about to give out!”

Anxiety appeared in the eyes of the three Blood Martial Realm Elders.

In fact, being able to hold on until now was already quite impressive.

Without the boost Xiao Shi provided through the Crimson Tiger Totem, the entire Crimson Tiger would have dissipated after only traveling a third of the way, at most.

At that point, there would undoubtedly have been huge casualties among them.

Although the Crimson Tiger was on the verge of dissipating, they were not far from Nan Lie Mountain.

Most importantly, the evil spirits here were no longer mutated evil spirits affected by Netherworld Qi.

Their strength was far less formidable.

To fight their way back to the sect from here, although there would still be some casualties, they believed the losses would not be too great.

However, just as the Crimson Tiger, which enveloped everyone, was about to dissipate, numerous figures suddenly rushed over from a distance.

Leading them was none other than… Sect Master Guo Chengdao!

After learning about their current predicament, he specifically led the few disciples remaining in the sect to provide support.

Upon seeing the Sect Master, the three Blood Martial Realm Elders also breathed a sigh of relief.

With the Sect Master's support, their casualties would undoubtedly be even smaller.

Thus, when they fought their way back to the sect, they had only lost a dozen or so Night Watch members in the Entering Martial Realm.

This had basically minimized their losses.

However, when everyone thought of Jin Yun City, which they had abandoned this time, and the many ordinary people within Jin Yun City, they couldn't bring themselves to be happy, feeling a heavy weight in their hearts.

Upon their return, the three Blood Martial Realm Elders recounted their entire experience to Sect Master Guo Chengdao.

What puzzled them most was the blood-armored knight who appeared at the time, and the strange situation where their cultivation stabilized after the Crimson Tiger Totem disappeared.

Guo Chengdao frowned deeply.

Earlier, when the Crimson Tiger Totem was swallowed by the Ghoulish Spirit, his cultivation also showed signs of dropping, but it quickly stabilized.

He hadn't expected… such a complex situation to arise.

The Crimson Tiger Totem was immensely important to their Red Tiger Sect, affecting the cultivation of everyone, and could not be lost.

But now, the whereabouts of the Crimson Tiger Totem were unknown.

Whether it even still existed was a mystery.

This gave them a huge headache.

“The Crimson Tiger Totem should still exist…” Guo Chengdao mused for a moment before making a judgment.

“If I'm not mistaken…”

“There might be a powerful expert hidden within our Red Tiger Sect.”

“Whether it was the blood-armored knight from before, or the boost the Crimson Tiger received during your journey, it was all this person's doing.”

“It can be said that this crisis was resolved by this mysterious expert! Without this expert, none of you would have returned alive.”

“And now…”

“The Crimson Tiger Totem is very likely in his hands!”

Guo Chengdao reached this conclusion after combining everyone's experiences.

The three Blood Martial Realm Elders looked thoughtful.

They hadn't had time to think carefully before.

Now, having calmed down and reflected, they also felt it was very likely to be the case.

“But why would this powerful expert, who clearly possesses immense strength, hide himself?”

They expressed their confusion about this.

“In these chaotic times, everyone has their own way of survival. Some like to display their talent and strength to enjoy the most resources and the best treatment.”

“Others, however, prefer to bide their time, focusing on concealment. Even if they possess earth-shattering power, they will not expose themselves to others.”

“This mysterious expert clearly belongs to the latter.”

Guo Chengdao sighed.

Different ways of survival, there was no single one that was necessarily right or wrong.

These were all personal ways of surviving in a chaotic world.

As long as it suited oneself, then it was the right way.

The three Blood Martial Realm Elders nodded.

“If the Crimson Tiger Totem is truly in the hands of this mysterious expert, then… do we need to find him?”

In their view, the Crimson Tiger Totem, after all, concerned the fate of their entire Red Tiger Sect.

No matter what, they needed to know who this mysterious expert was before they could feel at ease.

However, Guo Chengdao shook his head.

“Since this mysterious expert is unwilling to reveal himself, we should respect his wishes. After all, he is the one who saved us this time.”

“Moreover…”

“Judging from this mysterious expert's actions this time, he is clearly on our side, and may even be a disciple of our Red Tiger Sect, just very deeply hidden…”

“Even if the Crimson Tiger Totem is in his hands, it may not be a bad thing.”

“We just need to know… that there is a mysterious expert in our Red Tiger Sect, and when our Red Tiger Sect encounters difficulties, this mysterious expert will certainly not stand by and do nothing.”

“Normally, we don't need to disturb him, nor should we spread word of his existence. We just need to know ourselves.”

“If this mysterious expert has any needs, I believe he will contact us on his own initiative.”

The three Blood Martial Realm Elders exchanged glances.

They felt that the Sect Master's attitude towards this mysterious expert… was as if he regarded him as an ancestral elder of the sect.

However, when they thought of this mysterious expert's intervention this time, they felt that he indeed possessed the qualifications to become an ancestral elder of their Red Tiger Sect.

After all, facing the massive Ghoulish Spirit… even the Sect Master was powerless to resolve it.

Yet, the other party directly slew the Ghoulish Spirit.

After realizing that such a mysterious existence was within the sect, they continued to discuss the matter of migration.

Now, migrating the entire Red Tiger Sect out of the Seven Stars Province was clearly an extremely difficult task.

After all, they had already found it incredibly difficult just to return to the sect from Jin Yun City.

The difficulty of migrating the entire sect out of the Seven Stars Province was imaginable.

“To migrate the sect out of the Seven Stars Province, we must cooperate with the Seven Stars Sect. I believe they are also struggling with migration now…”

Guo Chengdao had long had ideas about the migration.

However, he also knew that the Red Tiger Sect's location and the Seven Stars Sect's location were quite far apart.

It would probably not be easy for them to meet up.

“Perhaps besides the Seven Stars Sect, other forces also need to be contacted…” Elder Qiao pondered.

The current situation in Seven Stars Province endangered all forces.

At this time, all forces definitely wanted to leave.

If all these forces united, there might be hope.

“By the way, how did the Flying Origin Palace migrate? And where did they migrate to?” A Blood Martial Realm Elder suddenly raised a question.

Guo Chengdao had also told them about the Flying Origin Palace's withdrawal from Seven Stars Province.

“The Flying Origin Palace has the support of the Cang Yan Army, so migrating naturally is… Hmm?”

The other two Elders and Guo Chengdao simultaneously froze.

They suddenly thought of a crucial question.

Seven Stars Province was one of the thirteen provinces under the Cang Yan Territory.

Although it was the most barren and weakest peripheral province among the thirteen, it was still part of the Cang Yan Territory's land.

Typically, the governing power of each province in the Cang Yan Territory needed to be recognized by the Cang Yan Army to become the ruler of a province.

The Flying Origin Palace, now abandoning Seven Stars Province without a care, if they didn't have the Cang Yan Army's approval, how dare they do such a thing!

This was somewhat terrifying to ponder.

“There are two possibilities!” Guo Chengdao's expression was more solemn than ever.

“One is that they received instructions from the Cang Yan Army, which is why they withdrew from Seven Stars Province.”

“The other is that they defected from the Cang Yan Territory and pledged allegiance to another territory…”

Guo Chengdao knew very well that the Cang Yan Territory and the neighboring Star Luo Territory had always been in open and covert struggles.

The Flying Origin Palace might have pledged allegiance to the hostile Star Luo Territory.

“If they pledged allegiance to the Star Luo Territory, then it's easy to explain.”

“The Star Luo Territory and the Cang Yan Territory have always been enemies. For the Cang Yan Territory to lose a province, that's the situation the Star Luo Territory wants to see most.” Elder Qiao said.

He realized that this Seven Stars Province chaos might involve a struggle between two major territories!

“No… this isn't right.” However, Guo Chengdao shook his head with a grim expression.

“If the Flying Origin Palace defected from the Cang Yan Territory and pledged allegiance to the Star Luo Territory, then the Cang Yan Army couldn't possibly have made no move at all.”

“Although Seven Stars Province is just a small province in the Cang Yan Territory, it is still the Cang Yan Territory's land. How could the Cang Yan Army allow Seven Stars Province to fall without intervention?”

“I don't believe that with the Cang Yan Army's intelligence, they wouldn't know the current situation in Seven Stars Province. But until now, the Cang Yan Army has not appeared. What does this mean!?”

The expressions of the three Elders changed simultaneously.

Indeed, as Guo Chengdao said, if the Seven Stars Province chaos was orchestrated by the Star Luo Territory in collusion with the Flying Origin Palace and the Heretical Organization, then the Cang Yan Army couldn't possibly have made no move at all.

They would have immediately come to eradicate these evil spirits the moment they appeared!

But in this matter, they had never seen the Cang Yan Army appear from beginning to end.

“Sect Master means…” One of the Elders' voices trembled.

“The Flying Origin Palace must have received instructions from the Cang Yan Army, which is why they withdrew from Seven Stars Province.” Guo Chengdao said dejectedly.

“The Cang Yan Army…”

“They are clearly abandoning Seven Stars Province!”

Even though they had guessed it, the three Elders' faces still changed drastically.

If all this was done by the Star Luo Territory in collusion with the Flying Origin Palace and the Heretical Organization, then they could still wait for the Cang Yan Army to intervene and rescue them.

But if all this… was simply the Cang Yan Army's intention to abandon Seven Stars Province from the start!

Then for them, it was truly a dead end!

“But…”

“But why would the Cang Yan Army abandon Seven Stars Province?!”

“It doesn't make sense!”

“Even if Seven Stars Province is small, it's still their territory. Why would they abandon a territory for nothing?” An Elder said excitedly, truly unwilling to believe that the Cang Yan Army would abandon Seven Stars Province like this.

“I had already discussed this matter with the Seven Stars Sect before. The Seven Stars Sect had once received recognition from the Cang Yan Army and served as the governing power of Seven Stars Province. They have connections to understand the specific situation, and I believe there will be an answer soon…” Guo Chengdao said in a deep voice.

Everyone's mood was somewhat low, feeling very uneasy.

Although this was just their speculation, the fact that the Cang Yan Army had not appeared until now already indicated the problem.

Soon, Guo Chengdao received a message from the Seven Stars Sect.

Although Seven Stars Province was now occupied by many evil spirits, they could still exchange information through some special birds.

When Guo Chengdao saw the message from the Seven Stars Sect, his entire face instantly turned pale.

His body trembled.

He seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant, his face filled with exhaustion and sorrow.

Upon seeing the Sect Master's expression, the three Blood Martial Realm Elders' hearts also sank.

Although they were all mentally prepared, they still felt a surge of tension and trembling.

Guo Chengdao closed his eyes in sorrow.

This Seven Stars Province chaos was indeed a game between two major territories.

But what was different was that the one who caused Seven Stars Province to fall was not the Star Luo Territory, but… the Cang Yan Army!!

In the Cang Yan Territory's last gamble against the Star Luo Territory, they lost to the Star Luo Territory, and thus had to cede one province out of the thirteen to the Star Luo Territory.

They chose the most barren and weakest Seven Stars Province.

But even so, they were unwilling to give a complete Seven Stars Province.

They simply gave the Star Luo Territory a province already fallen and occupied by evil spirits!

Therefore… before the impending handover of the province, the Cang Yan Army specifically reached an agreement with the Heretical Organization, allowing the Heretical Organization to come to Seven Stars Province and turn it into a world of evil spirits!

This way, even if they had to cede a province to the Star Luo Territory, they would not give a complete province.

They would just give a province filled with endless evil spirits.

It was purely to disgust them.

This was a game between the two major territories!

Usually, in such games, even if one side gained an advantage, the other side would constantly try to reduce that advantage.

And in this level of game, the tiny Red Tiger Sect could be said to not even count as a pawn.

It could be discarded at will.

The Cang Yan Army merely notified the Flying Origin Palace, giving them a chance to withdraw.

In the eyes of the Cang Yan Army, only the Flying Origin Palace in the entire Seven Stars Province held some value to them.

It was worth giving them a chance to withdraw.

Other forces?

They didn't even have the qualification to be notified.

They were left to fend for themselves.