Chapter 83

Listening, listening, listening, listening. Zhang Chenglong, the Dragon Seeking Palace’s Inspector of the Demon Sect, Lin Fan of the Yunqing Gate, Lei Zhenzi of the Leishan in Southern Zhou, Meng Wan, a female disciple of the Tiankun Gate, and Xiefengzi of the Zixiao Hall’s Li Huo Sect, a total of five people, will go to the Qingping Gate to inquire about the matter of Bai Buyi.

Among them, Meng Wan’s Tiankun Gate belongs to the Quanzhen lineage, a sect that practices abstinence and detachment from emotions. She wore a white robe, elegant and captivating, with a touch of a fairy’s aura. Zhang Chenglong, the oldest, became the leader of the group due to the Demon Sect’s formidable strength. Lei Zhenzi, though straightforward, was a wise and simple person. Xiefengzi carried a large gourd on his back and looked at the other four people with a calm expression, naturally exuding a sense of pride. Apart from the three people who talked about the Ghost Gate.

The Tiankun Gate belongs to the Quanzhen lineage and would not normally ally with the righteous and the demonic. They preferred to stay out of worldly affairs, but the Demon Lord and the head of the Tiankun Gate had some connections. In the end, the Tiankun Gate joined the alliance of the righteous and the demonic, but they never cared about the affairs of the righteous and the demonic or the trends of the world, much like sweeping the snow from one’s own doorstep. They were indifferent to the resurgence of the Ghost Gate.

The reappearance of the Ghost Gate was bad news not only for the righteous and the demonic but also for the evil sects. The people of the Ghost Gate did not distinguish between good and evil, and their main focus was on killing. Ordinary members of the Ghost Gate had low cultivation levels and were not to be feared, so the evil sects did not take them seriously. However, the high-level experts of the Ghost Gate enjoyed targeting the righteous, the demonic, and the evil, as the souls of cultivators were more powerful and could be used to refine the Ghost Gate’s magical treasures, the Yin Soul Skulls.

Xiefengzi also asked, "According to legend, the disciples of the Ghost Gate are ordinary people, and the Wraith Banner can absorb the essence and blood of its owner. The more frequently it is used, the faster the user dies. How can there be experts?"

Zhang Chenglong replied, "Indeed, if ordinary people use the Ghost Gate’s techniques to refine the Wraith Banner, they are not to be feared. The so-called experts of the Ghost Gate refer to those who have already achieved success in their cultivation and have completed the Foundation Establishment stage. They can not only drive the Wraith Banner without being harmed but also do not engage in indiscriminate killing like low-level disciples. They can distinguish the strength of their opponents. The Ghost Gate has two magical treasures: the Wraith Banner, which is already very powerful, and the Yin Soul Skull. According to historical records, when the Ten Thousand Evil Sect attacked the Ghost Gate’s headquarters, the head of the Ten Thousand Evil Sect fought alone against the five Yin Soul Skulls of the Ghost Gate’s chief protector. The battle lasted a day, and although the Ghost Gate’s chief protector was eventually defeated, the head of the Ten Thousand Evil Sect was invaded by yin energy and passed away after ten years. Of course, the Ghost Gate’s headquarters had protective arrays; otherwise, it would have been much easier to defeat them."

Xiefengzi asked, "What are the characteristics of the Ghost Gate’s experts?"

Zhang Chenglong replied, "I don’t know. Many disciples of the righteous, the demonic, and the evil, who are unable to advance in their cultivation, are unwilling to give up. If they have the opportunity to join the Ghost Gate and refine the Wraith Banner, their strength will greatly increase. Because of this, when they refine the Yin Soul Skulls, they choose people with high cultivation. The Ten Thousand Evil Sect destroyed the Ghost Gate because their chief inspector was killed by four Ghost Gate disciples, who took his skull to refine the Yin Soul Skull. Fortunately, it was not yet completed when the Ten Thousand Evil Sect attacked the headquarters; otherwise, the power of the chief inspector’s Yin Soul Skull would be unknown." This is why the impression of the Ghost Gate is mostly of its low-level disciples, and few people pay attention to the few elite disciples.

Xiefengzi asked, "How can we break the Wraith Banner?"

Zhang Chenglong replied, "There are many techniques to break the Wraith Banner of low-level disciples. I believe that after the Ghost Gate reappears, the various sects of the righteous and demonic alliance will inform their disciples of methods to deal with the Wraith Banner. But if it’s an elite disciple, it’s much harder to say. They are flexible and versatile, and they also practice techniques, making them difficult to handle."

Xiefengzi asked again, "Can we identify them?" The Li Huo Sect did not have as comprehensive records as the righteous and demonic sects.

"Yes," Zhang Chenglong replied, "The people of the Ghost Gate have black qi at their feet, covering their entire body, which cannot be concealed."

Hearing this, Xiefengzi felt more at ease. This was different from the conflict between the righteous and the demonic, which was caused by ideological differences and eventually led to them becoming mortal enemies. The Ghost Gate had no grudges against the righteous, the demonic, or the evil, but because of their cultivation, they were targeted. The disciples within the headquarters were safe, but those outside were in danger. Xiefengzi thought to himself: No wonder the Ten Thousand Evil Sect took the lead in destroying the Ghost Gate; the Ghost Gate indeed made all cultivators feel threatened.

If the evil sects invaded, they would want to seize the spiritual mountains and blessed lands. Some evil sects used civilians to refine evil magical treasures, while others occupied mountains. Ultimately, they were not very united. The righteous and the demonic had almost no contact, and even among the righteous, there was little interaction. But when a great disaster came, they would unite. If the Ghost Gate grew too powerful, the righteous and demonic alliance might even include the evil sects.

Xiefengzi looked at Meng Wan. The Tiankun Gate was like sweeping the snow from one’s own doorstep. Three hundred years ago, during the great battle of the evil sects, the Tiankun Gate did not send a single soldier. The evil sects also informed all sects not to provoke the Quanzhen lineage. It was unclear whether the Tiankun Gate had considered that once the righteous and demonic were eliminated by the evil sects, how long they could survive. Even if you wanted to focus on cultivation, the world had to allow you a place to practice.

Looking at Lin Fan, Xiefengzi thought: The Yunqing Gate, although still adhering to its rules of not selecting talent, allowing those who wish to stay to stay and those who wish to leave to leave, has a stronger sense of cohesion. Moreover, many talented individuals have emerged from the Yunqing Gate, and it will eventually become the leader of the righteous. What about the Leishan Sect in Southern Zhou? It is probably the most difficult sect to deal with, and even the righteous and demonic sects do not fully understand its inner workings.

...

The five people traveled on the cloud tops and entered Qingzhou. Qingzhou had little land, a moderate population, and a poor country but wealthy people, forming a stark contrast with Northern Zhou. The people lived quite comfortably, and the government returned 90% of the tax revenue to the people. Even the emperor had only three wives and four concubines, earning the love of the people. As a result, the people of Qingzhou had a strong sense of pride. A hundred years ago, a conflict occurred at the border between Northern Zhou and Qingzhou. Five thousand wolf riders from Northern Zhou invaded Qingzhou, where the border defense consisted of only a few hundred people. However, the wealthy and chivalrous immediately gathered their private armies to resist and distributed wealth to recruit thirty thousand brave warriors from the twelve continents, repelling the wolf riders of Northern Zhou on the Longbei Grassland. Despite this, Qingzhou’s military was the weakest among the twelve continents due to its poor country and strong people. The wealthy and chivalrous submitted numerous petitions to the court, and ten years ago, the court began to levy a military tax. Qingzhou, having no army, bought warriors from the twelve continents to form a ten-thousand-strong army that could rival the wolf riders of Northern Zhou, guarding the border.

However, Northern Zhou was a strong country with a poor population, possessing a formidable army of 400,000, including 100,000 elite imperial guards, ranking first in the twelve continents. If Northern Zhou launched a full-scale invasion and Central Zhou did not come to the rescue, the fall of Qingzhou would be imminent. The court of Central Zhou preferred to have Qingzhou as a neighbor rather than the hostile Northern Zhou, so it would not stand idly by. Because of this, although there have been frequent conflicts at the border between Northern Zhou and Qingzhou over the past hundred years, they have all been minor.

Qingzhou valued literature over martial arts, and its interior was quite prosperous, with the most famous pleasure quarters in the twelve continents. Qingzhou has also produced countless talented poets. Its fine wine and cuisine are the best in the twelve continents, and even merchants from Eastern Zhou come to Qingzhou to buy wine to sell in Eastern Zhou, where the price can increase several times and still be in high demand.

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