Chapter 513 - 227: Change
"But the calmer things are, the stranger it feels. That’s why the sects from the six prefectures have all sent many people to our Sect... Besides the experts from each sect, there are also some outstanding disciples... to guard against the unexpected."
His senior sister explained eloquently.
It slowly dawned on Qin Fang... He finally understood what those probes of Divine Sense were searching for.
In a way, they were looking for traces of the Three Religions, but not entirely.
’...A core location that hasn’t been confirmed yet?’
His senior sister added, "The elders and experts from All Sects all say the power beneath the Ancient Well is terrifying. If even the Ancient Well isn’t the core location, it means what the Three Religions are planning this time is horrifying... It might even be enough to overthrow the entire Great Yu."
Her eyes were filled with deep worry.
Qin Fang was stunned.
’...Overthrow the entire Great Yu?’
The Great Yu encompassed a full thirteen prefectures, a vast territory!
Overthrowing the entire Great Yu... would be no easy feat.
But considering how the Three Religions operated... they had to take the threat seriously.
Qin Fang’s expression grew solemn as well.
He chatted with his senior sister for quite a while, right up until a knock came at the door. More case files had been delivered to the Sacrificial Hall.
"Junior Brother, do you want to look these over?"
His senior sister took the files, then looked at Qin Fang and asked with a smile.
Qin Fang jolted and quickly shook his head. "No, no! I just got back, I have to go report to Master... Ahem, uh, I’ll leave the Sacrificial Hall to your capable hands, Senior Sister. This junior brother will take his leave now..."
With that, he grabbed his bundle and beat a hasty retreat.
He left his senior sister and the few Inner Sect Disciples who had delivered the files snickering in his wake...
...After all this time, how could they not know that their Senior Brother Qin detested this kind of official business more than anything?
After her laughter subsided, his senior sister brought the files to the desk. Her smile vanished as she began to examine them with great focus.
From time to time, she would tuck away a strand of hair that fell before her eyes, her expression gentle and focused...
Once airborne, Qin Fang let out a long sigh of relief.
He was in a bit of a daze as he replayed the recent scenes in his mind.
Before he knew it, he had flown past the Inner City and arrived at the Sect.
He didn’t snap out of it until a disciple greeted him.
He glanced down, giving a slight nod. Qin Fang soon arrived at Linyuan Peak, which was as quiet as ever. He first put down his bundle, then picked up some Bee Meat and honey and headed for the Peak Vein where his master was in meditative seclusion.
"Master, your disciple has returned to the Sect and has come to pay his respects."
He called out, bowing respectfully outside the meditation chamber.
"Come up."
His master’s gentle voice rang out.
Qin Fang immediately went up to the peak and saw his master.
"Master."
Qin Fang bowed respectfully.
A smile appeared on his master’s face upon seeing Qin Fang. He nodded lightly. "Come and sit."
Qin Fang smiled back, walked over, and placed the honey and Bee Meat on the table.
His master looked Qin Fang up and down, then suddenly raised an eyebrow. "One year... and you’ve had a breakthrough? You’ve reached the Condensing Truth Realm?"
"Yes."
Qin Fang knew that while his practice of the Concealing Breath Leaf Skill was decent, there was no hiding it from an expert of his master’s caliber, so he wasn’t surprised.
Hearing Qin Fang’s confirmation, the surprise on his master’s face grew. He could only sigh in admiration and say, "Your cultivation speed... even I’m a little envious."
Qin Fang scratched his head in embarrassment.
"It’s for the best. With a storm brewing in Canglan, there’s no telling how long these peaceful days will last... The faster you cultivate, the better... If something unexpected happens in the future, you’ll have a greater ability to protect yourself,"
his master concluded with a sigh.
Qin Fang was taken aback. He asked gravely, "Master, have you discovered something new?"
But his master just shook his head gently. "Everything is as usual."
"If that’s the case... why would you say such a thing, Master?"
"The more things seem this way, the greater the storm will likely be when it finally breaks."
His master sighed softly. "The Ancient Well is likely not the core of the Three Religions’ plot. For the past year, experts from Within the Sect and several other sects have been searching for the true core, but we’ve come up with nothing."
"We haven’t even discovered a second location like the Ancient Well..."
"This just goes to show how deeply the Three Religions are hidden, far more so than we anticipated."
His master was clearly very worried.
Upon hearing this, a thought struck Qin Fang. "Master," he said, "that core... could it be in some kind of special location? A place that Divine Sense has trouble probing?"
It was just like at Old Ox Back. He had sensed Divine Sense probes multiple times there, yet no one had ever discovered him.
If Old Ox Back was one such place... then it was certainly possible for a second, or even more, of these special zones to exist.
"That is what everyone is speculating as well."
To his surprise, his master sighed and said, "But Canglan Prefecture isn’t huge, yet it’s not small either... The Great Cloud Marsh sprawls in all directions, with tributaries everywhere. Beyond the Great Cloud Marsh, the land is dense with mountain ranges, and the terrain is even more complex... If the core is truly in a place like that, how could we possibly find it? Even if we mobilized every single person in Canglan Prefecture to search... it would likely be impossible."
Clearly, the Sect elders had already considered this possibility.
And Canglan Prefecture had a population in the tens of millions.
But the terrain was simply too complex.
There were mountains, wilds, and rivers everywhere.
Even if all those tens of millions of people were mobilized, finding such locations would be incredibly difficult.
...After all, ordinary mortals could stumble right into one of those special regions and likely not notice anything unusual at all.
"For now, the only thing we can do is wait for the Three Religions to make a move... The moment they act, we’ll have a chance to follow the trail, just like what happened at Jiulian Island. But if they remain hidden... I’m afraid finding them will be nearly impossible."
His master sighed softly.
This was the only strategy All Sects could come up with.
It was undoubtedly a crude strategy, one that left the initiative entirely in the hands of the Three Religions.
But under the circumstances, this "crude strategy" was also their only option.
Qin Fang opened his mouth as if to speak, but then could only let out a soft sigh... There was nothing he could do about it, either.
His master went on to explain some of the changes and decisions made within the Sect recently, before finally saying, "Now that you have reached the Condensing Truth Realm, it is time for you to enter the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm."
His master had brought up the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm on his own initiative.
Qin Fang’s spirits lifted. He let out a slow breath and said respectfully, "As you command, Master."