Han Jianqiu was unable to speak at all.
He had heard of Hall Master Zheng Yang and Pavilion Master Liu Yang as well, and they were reputed to be extraordinary geniuses who only appeared once every several thousand years.
People of their caliber would surely be able to stand against even Zhang Xuan and his Gods’ Sword Intent once they matured. It would not be a wise decision to make enemies out of them.
An alliance between the Sevenstar Pavilion and the Myriad Beasts Hall would certainly be to the disadvantage of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion.
Not to mention, he had not understood just how many benefits Zhang Xuan had promised Starchaser Palace in order to convince Du Qingyuan to pass down her position to him.
“What a commotion!”
At this instant, hearty laughter suddenly echoed outside the main hall.
Following that, two silhouettes walked into the room.
The head of the Blackmirror Citadel, Bai Xuansheng.
The head of the Evanescent Immortal Sect, Gu Zhuiyun.
The appearance of these two caused the atmosphere in the room to become even tenser.
With this, almost all the heads and ex-heads of the Six Sects were present in the room!
Bai Xuansheng had been recuperating all this while, and while he still appeared a little pale on the surface, his current condition would not affect his exertion of strength anymore.
As for Gu Zhuiyun, he was a tall, lanky old man with a haughty look on his face.
“The two of you are concerned about our sect leader becoming the head of Starchaser Palace as well?” Han Jianqiu asked with a deep sigh. “Would you believe me if I said that I am unaware of this matter?”
Bai Xuansheng shot a cold glance at Elder Kui Xiao before clasping his fist toward Han Jianqiu. “Elder Han, I think you are misunderstanding our intention. We are here to meet Sect Leader Zhang Xuan in order to discuss something with him!”
He did not manage to catch a clear glimpse of the faces of the culprits who had done him in at the Sea of Little Mirror back then. That being said, there was no such thing as a perfect secret in the world, especially when it came to a major operation like that.
There were not too many diamond crystals of that brilliance in the world. All he had to do was track down the sect that had acquired such a diamond crystal recently.
“You wish to meet our sect leader?” Han Jianqiu frowned.
“That matter concerns the future of the Six Sects. I want to hear Hall Master Zheng Yang and Pavilion Master Liu Yang’s opinions on the matter,” Gu Zhuiyun said as he glanced at Elder Qin Yuan and Elder Kui Xiao.
“May I know what the matter you are referring to is?” Han Jianqiu asked with a perplexed frown.
It was apparent that Bai Xuansheng and Gu Zhuiyun were standing on the same line on this matter, whatever it might be. In fact, there was a good chance that they might have already forged an alliance with one another.
“We can all agree that Semi-Divinities are the strongest experts on the Forsaken Continent. A sect must have a Semi-Divinity realm cultivator in order to enjoy peace and prosperity in the long-term,” Gu Zhuiyun began explaining.
The crowd nodded in agreement.
The presence of a Semi-Divinity realm cultivator dictated whether a sect was able to prosper or not. Without the presence of a cultivator in the highest tier, it mattered not how many High Immortals a sect had.
It was also for this very reason that the Six Sects had been able to suppress the aquatic creatures all these years.
Gu Zhuiyun continued. “The Azure Bridge is going to descend very soon. Are those sect leaders of yours confident of defeating the warriors of the Hall of Gods to earn the qualifications to reach the Semi-Divinity realm?”
No one was able to say a word, not even Han Jianqiu.
After all, who could possibly make such a declaration?
There was no denying that Sect Leader Zhang Xuan was powerful, but his cultivation was only at the Heavenly True Immortal realm at the moment. At that level, he would have difficulties trying to deal with ordinary Heavenly High Immortal realm cultivators, let alone the warriors of the Hall of Gods!
The same went for the Myriad Beasts Hall and the Sevenstar Pavilion.
While the unparalleled talents of their new heads sparked great hope within them, deep in their hearts, they were still uncertain if they would be able to overcome the Azure Bridge.
They had challenged the Azure Bridge themselves many years back, and they knew just how difficult it was.
Seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces, the edges of Gu Zhuiyun’s lips inched upward as he spoke up. “However, our Evanescent Immortal Sect and Blackmirror Citadel are confident of it!”
“Confident?”
Han Jianqiu and the others looked at Gu Zhuiyun in disbelief.
Just what in the world gave him the confidence to make a bold claim like this?
“Take a look at this,” Gu Zhuiyun said as he flicked his wrist and took out a jade token.
Han Jianqiu took the jade token and looked at its contents. A moment later, he raised his head to look at Gu Zhuiyun once more, this time with an even more confused look on his face, and asked, “What is this?”
Recorded within the jade token were the battle techniques, moves, and flaws of a certain cultivator.
“It is the information of a warrior of the Hall of Gods who fought with the geniuses of our Evanescent Immortal Sect!” Gu Zhuiyun replied.
“The information of a warrior of the Hall of Gods?”
The other three immediately rose to their feet as they looked at Gu Zhuiyun in disbelief.
If they could acquire detailed information regarding the warriors of the Hall of Gods in advance, they would be able to make preparations and design a battle strategy that would pretty much guarantee their victory!
Hall Master Qin Yuan quickly took the jade token in order to browse through its contents. Then, with an agitated look on his face, he asked, “How did you manage to acquire something like that?”
The information appeared to be legitimate, but he still found it hard to believe that the Evanescent Immortal Sect was actually able to acquire something as precious as this.
The Hall of Gods had always been a lofty existence. They rarely made a move, but when they did, there were never any eyewitnesses. As such, it was nigh impossible to gather any information regarding them.
“Of course, there’s no way we would have the means to acquire something like this by ourselves. The one who compiled and gave us the jade token is the Ethereal Hall,” Gu Zhuiyun replied.
“Hall Master Kong is indeed an extraordinary figure. He’s the closest existence to a god among us all. He gave us all of this information and said that as long as the candidates cultivate according to his advice, they should be able to easily clear the Azure Bridge and reach the Semi-Divinity realm!”
“Hall Master Kong?” Han Jianqiu frowned in skepticism. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world. Why would Hall Master Kong risk offending the Hall of Gods to give this to us?”
Putting aside where Hall Master Kong had acquired the information from, assuming that the information was true, it would only be a matter of time before the Hall of Gods traced the leak of information to him.
Once that happened, even with Hall Master Kong’s superior strength, it was unlikely that he would be able to fare too well against the Hall of Gods.
“Of course, there’s no way we wouldn’t understand something as basic as that. In exchange for this information, Hall Master Kong requested to borrow our Evanescent Boots and Paragon Blackmirror for a month,” Gu Zhuiyun replied with a chuckle.
Han Jianqiu’s complexion immediately turned grim. “Even though the Guardian Artifacts of our Six Sects aren’t Semi-Divinity artifacts, they contain the blood essence and energies of our predecessors. In a battle, they can exert might that surpasses even that of Semi-Divinity artifacts. Is it really fine for you to loan it out so easily?”
Just like how Starchaser Palace had an altar that could communicate with the gods, each of the Six Sects had their Guardian Artifacts as well.
The Guardian Artifact of the Evanescent Immortal Sect was the Evanescent Boots. It was said that the founder of the sect had forged them with celestial meteorite. After putting them on, one would be able to tread across space and cover millions of li within a single breath!
On the other hand, the Guardian Artifact of the Blackmirror Citadel was the Paragon Blackmirror. It was able to seal a person’s soul through its reflection, thus incapacitating that individual.
These artifacts had not reached the Semi-Divinity realm yet, but they exerted a force that even Semi-Divinity realm experts would shudder to face. Putting everything aside, even Elder Qin Yuan would have to flee in the face of those artifacts.
As for the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, its Guardian Artifact was a sword left behind by its founder. Having been tempered by the Gods’ Sword Intent, it wielded overwhelming might that could slay even Semi-Divinity ream experts with ease.
The Myriad Beasts Hall had an Earth Wyvern ancestor. It was just that the latter had fallen into a deep sleep a long time ago, and it was unknown whether it was still alive.
The Sevenstar Pavilion had a unique artifact known as the Sevenstar Chess. It was rumored to be a chess set once used by the gods. No one knew of its exact tier, but it was said to be an extremely profound artifact.
Of course, due to the sheer power of these Guardian Artifacts, they could only be activated and used by Semi-Divinity realm cultivators. Otherwise, the Six Sects would be able to ensure their longevity just with these Guardian Artifacts.
These Guardian Artifacts were the greatest trump cards of the Six Sects, but the Blackmirror Citadel and the Evanescent Immortal Sect had actually loaned them out so easily over a mere possibility.
Even though the Ethereal Hall’s tracks had remained clean throughout the years, it was still unwise to place a tool that could dictate the fate of a sect in the hands of an outsider.
“It might not be my place to say this, but without these Guardian Artifacts, you will be powerless to protect yourselves if the Hall of Gods make a move on you,” Hall Master Qin Yuan said with a deep frown.
This was a particularly unwise move especially since the Hall of Gods had become unnaturally active in recent days. To give away their greatest trump card in such uncertain times did not seem like a good idea at all.
“Powerless to protect ourselves? Do you think that we would fail to consider something this obvious?” Gu Zhuiyun burst into laughter.
With a flick of his wrist, a set of armor materialized around his body. This armor emanated a pressure reminiscent of a conqueror.
“That is… a Semi-Divinity defensive artifact?”
Han Jianqiu and the others were stunned.
Not a single one of the Six Sects had a Semi-Divinity artifact, so where in the world did Gu Zhuiyun manage to acquire one?
“That’s right. It’s a bestowment from Hall Master Kong! This artifact and the information regarding the warrior of the Hall of Gods is what Hall Master Kong paid in exchange for borrowing our Guardian Artifact,” Gu Zhuiyun replied.
Han Jianqiu and the others were flabbergasted.
This was unbelievable!
To give out Semi-Divinity artifacts and the information regarding a warrior of the Hall of Gods just to borrow their Guardian Artifacts for a month…
Even with the vast wealth that the Ethereal Hall commanded, surely they could not afford to squander their fortune like that?
“If that’s the case, it means that Citadel Lord Bai has a Semi-Divinity artifact too, right?”
“I believe that Elder Kui Xiao should know very well if I have a Semi-Divinity artifact or not!” Bai Xuansheng spat as he glared at Elder Kui Xiao savagely.
“Me? How would I know something like that?” Elder Kui Xiao scoffed incredulously, as if he knew nothing about the matter.
Of course, he knew the truth better than anyone else.
He had been wondering where Bai Xuansheng had acquired the Semi-Divinity artifact, but in the end, it turned out to be from an exchange with the Ethereal Hall.
It was just that their pavilion master had robbed Bai Xuansheng back in the Sea of Little Mirror, taking away the latter’s weapons and storage ring.
He knew that there was no way he could admit to this matter, or else there could be severe complications in the future.
“Don’t bother putting on an act before me. The both of us know very well what happened in the Sea of Little Mirror!” Bai Xuansheng bellowed.
He had realized that all his items had disappeared when he came to. It did not take him much thinking to figure out that the culprit was the one who had been hiding not too far away while he was fighting with the Blackback Tortoise.
And it stood to reason that the one who was hiding in the area was the one who had prepared the diamond crystal to lure the Blackback Tortoise over in the first place.
“I don’t know why you would make such a claim, but we can clarify the misunderstanding between the both of us later on… What I’m more concerned with is why Hall Master Kong would go to such lengths make a deal like this.”
Elder Kui Xiao knew that it would only make things more awkward if they continued dwelling on the matter, so he decided to focus on the matter at hand. “Aren’t you concerned about what Hall Master Kong is going to use your Guardian Artifacts for?”
It had prospered for the past several thousand years after snatching a ‘神 (God)’ character from the Hall of Gods, such that it boasted the greatest number of treasures in the world. Why would it pay such a heavy price just to acquire theirs?
It was truly an enigma what Hall Master Kong was up to.
