Chapter 1940: Chapter 1933: Scoundrels
"What exactly happened? Can you tell me everything you know?" Zhang Menglong saw that the disciples of Shennong Valley had slightly recovered, and he wanted to learn more.
"Let me tell you!" A male disciple stepped forward, seemingly holding some authority among them, with everyone showing him great respect. "My name is Ling Yi, and I am a direct disciple from Shennong Valley. My teacher is Dan Chenzi, a senior elder of Shennong Valley."
Zhang Menglong nodded. A direct disciple indeed carried significant weight. Based on Zhang Menglong’s knowledge, even if a direct disciple of Shennong Valley were only at the eighth grade in the Divine Cultivator realm, their alchemy skills would surpass those of an alchemist at the peak of the Divine Cultivator realm. They could easily refine a Saint Grade Elixir and might even be able to concoct some lower-ranked Divine Grade pills.
From his background, he was likely able to connect with many martial artists of the Dao Realm. But judging by his current disheveled appearance, it was hard to see his impressive background.
"Don’t rush, take your time to tell the story!" Zhang Menglong became quiet, listening to him narrate.
"It was about three years ago. Gu Xiao’s brothers and your friends were trapped in Xuanyun City by the Divine Profound Hall. At that time, besides Divine Profound Hall and your Sunset Sect, almost all superpowers were mobilized, including our Shennong Valley. I think it was because Brother Gu Xiao acquired many of our inheritances in the Ancient Cave Heaven?"
"Indeed," Zhang Menglong nodded. "I was lucky to obtain your valley’s Medicine Cauldron and the heritage within the cauldron, so in exchange, I hoped for your valley’s assistance. Other superpowers felt similarly."
Ling Yi nodded. Although this matter hadn’t been confirmed previously, most people could generally guess that this was the case. As for how he managed to locate all the superpowers’ items, they were not keen to investigate further.
"After obtaining that Medicine Cauldron, the elders researched and found numerous advanced elixir recipes recorded within, along with techniques for controlling flames, and even alchemy techniques, cultivation techniques, and martial arts. Everyone from the Valley Master to the trainees received many resources!"
Initially, Ling Yi felt that Shennong Valley was about to rise. Former core disciples’ cultivation techniques were passed down to trainees, while core disciples and direct disciples like him had their cultivation techniques upgraded to almost the same level as the former Valley Master.
Not only Shennong Valley but many other superpowers faced a similar situation. If trends continued, the former superpowers would once again shine with their glory, and the superpowers would reign supreme over this world!
"But barely a month had passed when those vermin from the Divine Profound Hall couldn’t sit still!" Ling Yi ground his teeth. "They didn’t receive any inheritance from Brother Gu Xiao, and Brother Gu Xiao even exposed the weaknesses in their martial arts techniques. At that rate, within a century at most, the Divine Profound Hall would be relegated to a second-rate power."
Zhang Menglong nodded. If everything continued normally, it was likely the script would play out this way.
"Those people absolutely won’t allow such a thing to happen. Now, other superpowers merely have the potential and trend of surpassing them, but truly achieving this at least requires decades or even centuries of cultivation. A month’s time can’t accomplish much at all!"
"So they plan to strike first?" Zhang Menglong vaguely guessed what had transpired recently.
"Yes, they kept intentionally causing friction, even at the cost of some disciples, to escalate our frictions. Then they had legitimate reasons to trouble us. These troubles increased in level, starting among disciples, extending to elders, and finally leading to an all-out conflict between entire powers!"
"Their first target was Illusion Heart Valley. Illusion Heart Valley’s cultivation focuses on soul and spiritual power, which is demanding, resulting in only slightly more people than Shennong Valley. Our Shennong Valley’s network is complex and vast, so they didn’t dare to strike at us first, making Illusion Heart Valley their best choice."
"They mobilized all elders, the Vice Hall Master, and the Hall Master. In one night, Illusion Heart Valley was caught by surprise, almost entirely defeated, and the remaining people were captured by them."
"That simple? Illusion Heart Valley is also a superpower, isn’t it? Even if they couldn’t win, they should be able to find some allies or something to buy some time, shouldn’t they?" Zhang Menglong was puzzled.
"If it were just that, there would certainly be no problem. But the Divine Profound Hall had planted many people internally, from disciples to elders. They even tampered with Illusion Heart Valley’s regular resources, rendering Illusion Heart Valley practically paralyzed at the time."
"Really shameless!" Zhang Menglong gnashed his teeth.
"They took away all the captives, then somehow plundered Illusion Heart Valley’s cultivation techniques and martial arts and had all individuals in Divine Profound Hall from the elders upward learn them. So when facing the next power, they had more methods at hand."
"No wonder," Zhang Menglong nodded. "I just saw traces from various super sects in the ruins of your Shennong Valley. Initially, I thought you were besieged; seems like Divine Profound Hall has dealt with many superpowers."
"Yes," Ling Yi said dejectedly, "We resisted with all our strength, even sought help from many friends. But unexpectedly, elders from other superpowers helped them join our opponents, increasing the pressure on us greatly, leading to our ultimate defeat."
"And you guys..."
"Before my teacher was captured, he hid us in a cave underneath the swamp he discovered when he was young. Previously, he used it as a secret place to while away time lazily, and now it has turned out to be our lifesaving refuge."
"You’re quite fortunate," Zhang Menglong sighed. "They captured your people, likely forcing them to refine elixirs to further bolster their forces. How many superpowers remain unharmed?"
"Only five," Ling Yi replied, "Their actions are swift and fierce, before we realized it, they had dealt with seven superpowers. The remaining powers couldn’t unite quickly enough to come up with a strategy, thus they were easily defeated one by one."
"As far as I know, only your Sunset Sect, Battle Soul Palace, Invite Moon Palace, Heaven’s Strategy Valley, and Mount Yushen are still holding out against them, but that’s news from two months ago. We don’t know the current situation."
"Have you been hiding here for these two months? Why not go look for them?"
"Those vermin from the Divine Profound Hall think they haven’t fully scoured us. Every few days, someone comes to sweep through. If we’re found, we’ll likely face death; we can only temporarily hide here and leave it to fate."
As if proving these words, a voice suddenly echoed from the sky, "I told you, there must be some fish who escaped the net. Sure enough, I found them; there are quite a lot!"
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