Your Spell Version is Too Low!

Chapter 264: Chapter 252: Celestial Master Chen

Nanyin World-Suppressing Army, Central Tent.

Huge Array Maps, depicting mountains, rivers, the state, sun, moon, and stars, hung on the four walls of the tent, while the floor was covered in the supple pelts of exotic beasts.

Several Everlasting Lamps, carved from pure Spirit Stones, floated in mid-air, emitting a constant, cold radiance.

They illuminated the tent in sharp detail, yet cast deep shadows along its edges.

At the tent’s heart, an extremely complex chart was spread across a wide, heavy stone table.

The chart outlined the general mountain ranges and Earth Qi flows of the Northwest Land, and was covered in dense, minuscule talismanic characters and markings.

These symbols and characters were not static.

Under the influence of the faint Spiritual Light inherent in the chart and the Array within the tent, they flickered in and out of existence and shifted slightly from time to time.

They were constantly deducing and changing on their own.

Grand Protector Nanyin, Li Xuanqing, clad in his majestic, crimson Python Robe, stood before the table with his hands clasped behind his back. His heavy gaze was fixed on a section in the center of the chart that had been thickly circled, yet was completely blank save for a few blurry question marks and flashes of chaotic Spiritual Light.

His brows were tightly knitted, furrowed deep with worry.

The fingers of the hands behind his back unconsciously curled and tightened into fists, his knuckles turning a pale white.

On the chart, crimson-gold arrows representing the advance of the Nanyin World-Suppressing Army and the Righteous Alliance Army already penetrated deep into the heart of the Northwest.

"Is there still no news, Celestial Master Chen?"

Li Xuanqing’s voice broke the long silence in the tent.

His tone was steady, but the weight behind his words seemed to make the flames of the floating lamps flicker.

About three paces behind him, a figure was almost perfectly merged with the boundary between the Spiritual Light and shadows in the tent.

The man wore an ancient-styled Profound Cyan Daoist Robe and a Furong Crown. His face was thin and long, with three strands of a long beard hanging over his chest. In his hand, he held a Jade Handle Duster.

This was none other than Celestial Master Chen, the current Sect Leader of the great southern sect, the Celestial Secret Sect. He was also the leading figure accompanying the northern expedition, tasked specifically with divining heavenly secrets and locating the Imperial Soldiers.

A Foundation Establishment Great Master of unfathomable Cultivation.

Hearing Li Xuanqing’s inquiry, Celestial Master Chen raised his eyelids slightly.

Within his eyes, which seemed capable of piercing the mists of worldly affairs, was an abyss of calm.

His lips moved, and his voice, though not loud, resounded directly in Li Xuanqing’s ears and echoed throughout the spacious tent:

"To answer the Grand Protector, there is still no definitive information.

That set of [Imperial Soldiers] is a treasured artifact that suppressed the nation for the Golden Tang Dynasty. Forged from the destiny of an era and the Wish Power of millions, it has long since gained sentience, and its ability to conceal itself is extraordinary.

Its hiding place must be the most secret location within the Earth Veins of the Northwest.

If it were easily found, how could the countless titans of the Northwest Demon Path have remained oblivious and left it for us to find today?"

He flicked his Duster gently. The silver threads sliced through the air, creating faint ripples of Spiritual Mechanism, as if plucking at the invisible threads of karma.

"Though our army has advanced deep, the Northwest is vast, its demonic aura obscures the sun, and the terrain is far more complex than anticipated.

My divinations are also heavily obstructed by the dense Demonic Energy.

We must proceed slowly and untangle this matter with care.

According to this humble Daoist’s calculations, in a little more time, once our army’s spearhead advances further—cleansing the land and purging more of the demonic aura and Muddy Qi—we will stir a deeper layer of the Spiritual Mechanism.

Perhaps... a crack will appear in the Imperial Soldiers’ self-concealment."

"A little more time?" Li Xuanqing spun around, the movement causing the hem of his Python Robe to cut through the air with a soft SWISH.

His gaze was like a torch, no longer deep and restrained as when he faced the chart, but searingly intense as he stared directly into Celestial Master Chen’s placid eyes.

"Celestial Master Chen, are you not being a little too optimistic about the current situation?"

He took a step forward. Under the Spiritual Light, the ferocious python embroidered on his crimson Python Robe seemed to come alive, exuding an aura of blood, iron, and slaughter.

It stood in stark contrast to the profound, otherworldly aura surrounding Celestial Master Chen.

"This isn’t the beautiful, civilized land of Nanyin! This is the Northwest Demon Cave!

Our army’s advance may seem smooth, and we may have eradicated countless strongholds, but what about those four true Demon Peaks?"

Li Xuanqing raised a hand and pointed northwest, toward the world outside the tent.

"Since the war began, besides rooting out a few insignificant spies at the start, have they shown the slightest sign of truly intervening?

Their mountain gates remain as unshakable as Mount Tai to this day!

Have their true elites suffered even a single scratch?"

He stared down Celestial Master Chen, speaking one word at a time:

"Do you really think they’re intimidated by the might of my Nanyin army? That they fear our ’glorious Righteous Dao’?!"

Faced with Li Xuanqing’s almost accusatory, intense gaze and the pressure of his suppressed fury, the faint, detached smile on Celestial Master Chen’s face did not fade.

It merely deepened, carrying with it a trace of imperceptible indifference.

He raised his Duster again, its silver threads flowing, smoothing out the Spiritual Mechanism in the tent that had been slightly disturbed by Li Xuanqing’s agitated aura.

"Grand Protector, please calm yourself."

Celestial Master Chen’s voice was tranquil and unhurried.

"The matter of the [Imperial Soldiers] spans millennia and carries immense weight. It cannot be judged by the gains or losses of a single moment or place.

The northern expedition’s strategy, the pace of the advance, and even how we handle those four Demon Peaks are all matters beyond this humble Daoist’s purview.

This is the grand design personally drafted by the True Monarch and His Majesty.

You, Grand Protector, and I are merely the ones carrying it out."

He met Li Xuanqing’s gaze calmly, his tone betraying no emotion, yet it subtly drew a line between them:

"For you and I to complain and argue here does nothing for the grand design, nor does it help in finding the Imperial Soldiers.

Why don’t we... follow the established plan, marshal the troops, and continue to press forward?

The deeper we plow,

perhaps the sooner the dawn will break."

The air in the tent seemed to freeze.

The light of the lamps shone steadily, illuminating Li Xuanqing’s sharp, chiseled profile—hardened by suppressed anger—and Celestial Master Chen’s transcendent, untroubled face, as if nothing in the world concerned him.

Li Xuanqing’s chest rose and fell slightly. He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

The searing intensity in his eyes gradually subsided, settling into a deeper, colder pool of darkness.

He said nothing more, only giving Celestial Master Chen one last, deep look.

"You need not trouble yourself with military matters, Celestial Master."

Li Xuanqing’s voice returned to its initial stability, perhaps even more indifferent than before. He turned, looking neither at the chart nor at Celestial Master Chen, and strode out of the tent, his crimson Python Robe stirring a faint breeze.

"I have my own arrangements."

The heavy tent flap was thrown open.

The biting Northwest wind and the unique, grim aura of a military camp instantly flooded in, diluting the stifling spiritual pressure and silent confrontation within the tent.

Celestial Master Chen stood alone in the tent, his faint smile unchanged as he watched the gently swaying flap.

Only, an inscrutable glint of light flashed through his eyes for a brief moment.

He lowered his gaze, his eyes returning to the ancient, mist-shrouded chart flickering with Spiritual Light on the table.

His Jade Handle Duster fell silently to his side, its silver threads no longer flowing.

Outside the tent, the night deepened, and the army’s banners snapped in the wind.

Li Xuanqing’s figure merged into the shadows and lamplight of the camp. His steps were firm, but his bearing seemed to hold a new, heavy resolve compared to when he had arrived.

「 ... 」

"The Valley of No Life?"

Upon hearing the latest secret report from Xuan Ping Master, Qi Yun, who was in the middle of practicing his Talisman Skill, raised an eyebrow, a clear look of surprise flashing across his face.

He was no stranger to the name "Valley of No Life."

It was a rather famous land of death in the Northwest Land, located deep within a desolate mountain range.

True to its name, not a blade of grass grew there, no birds or insects could be found, and even the most tenacious moss could not survive.

The location of the Valley of No Life was at a near ninety-degree deviation from the current advance of the main Nanyin World-Suppressing Army, placing it completely off the planned route for the northern expedition.

’The World-Suppressing Army suddenly turned at such a sharp angle, even at the cost of altering their entire strategic posture, just to march toward that land of death?’

’Is there news of the Imperial Soldiers?’ Qi Yun’s Heart Thought raced as he immediately jumped to the most likely possibility.

"My Lord, your subordinate believes that is not the case," Xuan Ping Master’s reply was calm and swift.

"Although the main body of the World-Suppressing Army has changed course, Grand Protector Li Xuanqing has issued strict orders to all Cultivators from the Righteous Sects, including our Nine Kings Mountain, to hold their current positions and forbade them from making any unauthorized moves, much less following them.

If they had truly discovered the exact location of the Imperial Soldiers, there is no way Nanyin would completely cast aside ’allies’ like us to go alone.

Such an act would be tantamount to betraying the tacit understanding between the True Monarchs."

Hearing this, Qi Yun’s furrowed brow did not relax, but instead grew deeper.

’Not the Imperial Soldiers? Then what could it be? What could make Li Xuanqing risk creating a rift with the Righteous Sects, to so urgently and even abnormally divert his army toward a land of death?’

’What’s so special about the Valley of No Life?’

Qi Yun quickly searched through his fragmented memories of the Valley of No Life, trying to find any clue that might connect to the current situation and Nanyin’s objective.

Just as he was deep in thought, the Taixu Jade Order hidden in a corner of his [Daluo Heaven] suddenly vibrated without warning!

Qi Yun’s heart tightened, and he immediately sent a strand of his Heart and Spirit into it.

On the Jade Order, the once gentle luster was now flashing in a rapid, urgent manner. An extremely brief Divine Thought message, yet one filled with unquestionable authority and urgency, was imprinted directly onto his perception:

"Upon receipt, proceed to the Valley of No Life immediately. No delays!"

Qi Yun’s gaze froze.

He had just learned that the Nanyin World-Suppressing Army was making an abnormal rush for the Valley of No Life, and in the next moment, an urgent secret order arrived from the higher-ups of the Holy Sect.

’A coincidence?’

’Absolutely not!’

’Two completely different powers focusing their attention on the same land of death at almost the exact same time... What exactly is hidden there?’

Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes. All the surprise and doubt within them had settled, replaced by a deep, bottomless calm. The pale gold [Spirit Gathering Talisman] at his fingertips silently dissolved, reverting to primordial Spiritual Light.

"I understand," he sent a Heart Thought to Xuan Ping Master. "Continue to monitor the Righteous Alliance Army’s movements, especially the reactions within Nine Kings Mountain to Li Xuanqing’s order.

I will handle the matter of the Valley of No Life."

Cutting the connection, Qi Yun rose to his feet.

His green robes were the same, his temperament still gentle and peaceful—the disguise of "Yun Zhongzi" was flawless.

He straightened his sleeves, pushed open the door to his quiet room, and put on that refreshing, spring-like smile once more as he walked toward Master Hu Chan and the others, who were discussing matters inside the cave.

’Even the Holy Sect has received news and wants to go to the Valley of No Life.’

’It’s impossible that these major Righteous Sects have no idea what’s going on.’

’I have to go to the Valley of No Life, but first, I need to get some intel from these ’fellow Daoists of the Righteous Path’.’

’Best to be prepared.’

「 ... 」