<h4>Chapter 476: Undercurrents</h4>
"I''ve collected quite a few, haven''t I?" the middle-aged man chuckled to himself, then ced the three new masks onto the wooden shelf before stowing it away with a pleased nod.
After that, he flipped a hand over to produce a hollow golden te, which he tossed forward, and the te flew several feet through the air before swelling to the size of a round table, while all types ofplex runes lit up on its surface.
Immediately thereafter, an enormous pir of golden light erupted out the center of the te, rising directly up into the heavens.
Before long, specks of spiritual light began to converge, and three blurry figures appeared around the golden te. Their bodies were enveloped in flowing golden light, making it impossible to glean their appearance.
"What is it, Gongshu Jiu? Haven''t you gone to search the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor? Why have you suddenly contacted us?" one of the golden figures asked.
"Gan Jiuzhen is also in this immortal manor right now," Gongshu Jiu replied.
The same golden figure stirred slightly upon hearing this, and they asked, "Are you sure it''s her? Her identity is extremely mysterious in the Reincarnation Pce, and even the name ''Gan Jiuzhen'' may not be her true name. On top of that, she''s frequently changing her mask, so how can you be sure that it''s her?"
"I have no concrete evidence to prove it, but ording to the memories of a few Transient Guild members that I just killed, the way that their leader, Wyrm 3, likes to do things, is quite simr to Gan Jiuzhen''s style," Gongshu Jiu replied.
"In that case, please make sure that you capture her alive, Fellow Daoist Gongshu. As I''m sure you''re aware, she''s harboring many secrets that are worth exploring," one of the other golden figures said with a smile in their voice.
Gongshu Jiu nodded in response, and he was just about to conclude themunication when he suddenly recalled something, and he said, "Oh, I almost forgot. I discovered someone using the Spirit Refinement Technique in the immortal manor earlier, and from the looks of it, they''ve already cultivated it to at least the third level."
"To think that there are still people willing to risk their lives to cultivate the forbidden technique. There''s no need to capture that person alive, just execute them on the spot," the third golden figure dered in a cold voice.
Gongshu Jiu nodded in response, then swept a sleeve through the air, and the golden te reverted back to its original size before flying back up his sleeve, following which he flew away into the distance atop his flying carriage.
......
Meanwhile, high up in the sky a vast distance away.
Han Li and Jin Tong were flying through the air when the former suddenly stopped in his tracks before turning toward a certain direction.
"What is it?" Jin Tong asked.
"I just sensed a burst of extremely formidable energy fluctuations erupt into the sky in that direction, but it seems to be gone now," Han Li exined.
"Formidable energy fluctuations? Let''s go and take a look!" Jin Tong suggested as a hint of excitement appeared in her eyes.
Han Li was naturally aware of what her intentions were, and he shook his head as he replied, "Let''s not go out of our way to find trouble, we''ll have plenty of powerful enemies to face."
"How boring," Jin Tong scoffed with a disappointed pout.
Han Li took another nce in that direction with his brows slightly furrowed, then continued to fly away into the distance with Jin Tong.
......
In a well-preserved cluster of ptial buildings, four cultivators dressed in Vast Flow Pce attire were each using a treasure to collectively attack a restriction around a pce.
Right as they were about to seed, spiritual light suddenly shed over the surface of an antiquated mirror hanging directly above the pce gates, and a beam of white light shot out of it to strike the chest of one of the four cultivators, who instantly let loose an agonized howl as a hole was punched through his chest, sending him toppling to the ground.
A resounding thump rang out as the array that the four cultivators had jointly conjured up instantly exploded.
The fair-skinned schr who was the leader of the group instantly rushed over to the cultivator that had been struck down, then flipped a hand over to summon a golden pill to feed him.
Before long, the bones and flesh in the man''s chest began to recover, but he still gasping for breath.
Everyone else was quite relieved to see this, but they were still quite concerned about their current situation.
"It''s already been over half a month since we lost contact with the pce master and the others. We have to get out of this ce as soon as possible. Perhaps the pce master has already found that ce by now," the fair-skinned schr said with a grim expression.
The other three cultivators hurriedly gave affirmative responses, and after a short rest, they began working on breaking the restriction again.
......
On a charred hill in the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, there were wisps of white smoke rising up everywhere.
Several hundred feet below the ground here was an underground pce, inside of which was arge ck stone chair. At the moment, the chair was being upied by none other than the grand elder of the Dawn Fall Sect, Feng Tiandu.
The ground in front of him was littered with giant ck rocks, and they seemed to be the remains of the puppets that had previously guarded this ce.
Feng Tiandu was inspecting the puppet remains on the ground with a dark expression when all of a sudden, the sound of footsteps rang out from outside the pce.
Momentster, Qi Tianxiao made his way into the pce, and he extended a salute toward Feng Tiandu as he said, "All of our people have already been sent out. There are two teams that we''re currently unable to get into contact with, while the rest of them are all still searching for the High Zenith Pce, but to no avail."
"Is there any news about the people from the Immortal Pce and the Vast Flow Pce?" Feng Tiandu asked.
"There has been some news, but it was only gathered yesterday. The Immortal Pce and the Vast Flow Pce have employed a simr strategy to ours, sending out all of their people to search for the High Zenith Pce, but it seems that they haven''t had much luck, either," Qi Tianxiao replied.
"There should still be some time before the heavenly cauldron opens. If we can find its location prior to that, we''ll be able to set up some measures in advance and seize the initiative," Feng Tiandu said.
"Rest assured, Senior Martial Brother, I''ll be sure to keep a close eye on everyone else," Qi Tianxiao said as he cupped his fist in a salute.
......
On a bleak and deste red in stood a pair of tall men dressed in Southern Dawn Race attire. Each of them was holding a golden cane as the sped through the air, and directly behind them were three cultivators who were dressed in Ghost Wail Sect attire, but were actually cultivators of the Ubiquitous Pavilion.
For some reason, no conflict had arisen between the two parties, and instead, it seemed that the trio of Ubiquitous Pavilion cultivators were merely following the pair of Southern Dawn beings.
The two Southern Dawn beings both wore wooden expressions, and they resembled puppets as they flew onward without anymunication.
After flying for a few minutes, the five of them spotted a set of ruins that resembled a city in the distance, and they hurriedly elerated toward it.
......
In another area of the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, there was a series of undting hills, interspersed with valleys of different depths.
There were also lush forests, flowing rivers, fiery valleys filled with miasma... All types ofndmarks were present in the area.
Among thesendmarks was a small andpletely unremarkable-looking valley that wasn''t filled with miasma, nor did it have any greenery or rivers running through it.
It was just a little shorter than the valleys on either side of it, and there were currently three people gathered in the valley, discussing something in hushed tones.
All three of them had rather grim looks on their faces, and they were led by none other than Dao Lord Ouyang Kuishan of the ze Dragon Dao.
"Fellow Daoist Ouyang, we''ve already roused the suspicions of the Immortal Pce by leaking the location of the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor''s entrance. If we warn Daoist Hu Yan and others in advance this time, surely we''ll be used of betraying the Immortal Pce," one of the other two figures said.
"So what? The Immortal Pce promised us so many things, yet have they followed through on any of them? Right now, we''re theughingstock of the entire Northern cial Immortal Region, and we''re constantly being restricted by the Immortal Pce in everything that we do. Rather than continue to live such a cowardly and pitiful existence, we may as well at least go out in a meaningful way," Ouyang Kuishan said as a hint of sorrow shed through his eyes.
"We only betrayed Dao Lord Baili so that we could save the ze Dragon Dao, but we should''ve known better than to expect that Xiao Jinhan would follow through on his promises. We have no one to me but ourselves for bing theughing stock of the entire immortal region," the third figure mused with a wry smile.
"This experience has taught me a valuable lesson: only by attaining sufficient power can one escape the fate of being controlled by others. I think this is an opportunity for us. All of the leading powers of the immortal regions are gathered here right now, so there''s no need for us to directly oppose the Immortal Pce.
“All we have to do is muddy the waters so that others can chip away at the Immortal Pce''s forces. The more the Immortal Pce is worn down, the less control they''ll be able to exert over us," Ouyang Kuishan said.
"You''re right. In any case, all we''re doing is tipping off Hu Yan and the others, and the Immortal Pce can''t find any evidence to prove that we tipped them off."
With the decision made, the three of them pulled out an octagonal copper array te each, then assembled them together, and the ze dragon design engraved onto their surface instantly lit up with crimson light.
Deep within the valley, there was a rippling light barrier that was quite blurry and indistinct, making it impossible to clearly see whatid beyond it.
......
Beneath a nket of dark clouds in the sky stood a ck mountain that was over 10,000 feet tall.
Near the mountain summit was a spacious cliff, and the white-robed Xiao Jinhan was standing on the edge of the cliff with his robes pping around him, looking into the distance with aplex look in his eyes, and he was apanied by Deputy Pce Master Xue Ying.