The road is vague

Chapter 278 Nine Nether Soul Stone
Somewhere in the Celestial Realm.

There are seven uniquely shaped stone statues here, each over ten feet tall, covered with Great Zhou runes, posing in different ways around a large altar.

Six mysterious figures cloaked in black seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

"Humph!"

One of them let out a cold snort, his face contorted with rage.

"We're only missing Hua Lan Nu from Miao territory. We've been waiting here for a whole day, delaying the elder's instructions. Even we have to bear joint responsibility, how despicable!"

Another person offered words of comfort.

"This is the Heavenly Realm, which is fraught with danger. After all, she is only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Perhaps something unexpected happened to her."

"Whatever the reason, the organization decided to develop the hidden treasure of the Great Zhou Dynasty here while the attention of those Lu State's major clans was focused on the Jianmu Divine Tree. Who knows when such a good opportunity will come again? We can't afford to miss it!"

"It seems we have no choice but to find a female cultivator to temporarily replace Hua Lan Nu."

"Over the years, the attacks against us by various countries have become increasingly severe. Many branches that the organization cultivated in various countries have been eradicated, especially the Qian Kingdom branch. The first seven have already officially declared war on the organization, which has greatly delayed the organization's plan to restore the Great Zhou Dynasty. But no matter what difficulties we face, the organization's determination to unify the Central Plains and end the chaos has never changed. We all joined the organization for this goal..."

After devising a plan, the six split into two groups, with three of them quickly leaving.

About an hour later.

The three returned, bringing with them a monk.

The three people on duty here were taken aback when they saw the cultivator dressed in the robes of the Thousand Chariots Sect.

"What are you three doing? This is a disciple of the Thousand Chariots Sect. Everyone knows that the Chewu Kingdom only has male cultivators. We need a female cultivator. Are you all stupid?"

The black-clad cultivator in charge of the capture chuckled upon hearing this.

"Hehe, Captain Song, please calm down. Chewu Kingdom only has male disciples. How could the three of us not know this? It just so happens that I also practice the Flower Picking Technique. I could smell the fragrance on this person's body from a distance, which is how I saw through her disguise as a woman. I think this person is most likely a descendant of a Golden Core elder from the Thousand Chariots Sect."

If Li Mo were here, he would be greatly surprised.

This person was none other than Zuo Lan of the Thousand Chariots Sect.

She was actually a woman disguised as a man. Although she was a true disciple of the Thousand Chariots Sect, her personal combat strength seemed to be negligible.

"Who are you!"

Zuo Lan looked somewhat frightened. She vaguely sensed that she had been forced into the activities of a secret organization, and that her chances of survival were slim.

Upon hearing this, the leader, referred to as Captain Song, immediately snorted coldly.

"Hmph, you don't need to worry about who we are. If you want to live, just tell us your identity and cooperate with our next move."

Zuo Lan gritted her teeth.

But being under someone else's roof, she had no choice but to confess honestly.

"My real name is Xuanyuan Zuolan. I am the granddaughter of the Xuanyuan Patriarch of the Qiancheng Sect. Although I am a woman, because of my high status, I have been secretly nurtured since I learned that I possess spiritual roots. Unfortunately, I am not interested in Taoist cultivation. I am more interested in crafting flying chariots..."

Even the six members of the Hidden Dragon Organization couldn't help but gasp upon hearing this.

Chewu Kingdom has a total of three Nascent Soul cultivators.

Among them, the Xuanyuan Ancestor of the Qiancheng Sect, although he was only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, was an old monster who had lived for nearly a thousand years and was extremely skilled in the art of formations. Before the Qian Kingdom and Lu Kingdom started their century-long war, he was once the nominal leader of the four Gobi Kingdoms.

Such a Nascent Soul cultivator is someone even the Hidden Dragon Organization would not want to offend.

This put the six people, who had originally planned to use her to silence her, in a dilemma. They looked at Zuo Lan with a sense of unease and couldn't help but exchange a glance.

"No matter what, let's get the mission done first!"

When it comes to research on the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Hidden Dragon Organization is second to none.

After repeated research by the Hidden Dragon Organization, the runes on these seven statues were finally concluded to be a kind of sealing and storage technique, which serves to preserve spiritual energy from leakage.

However, apart from some important sects using it to store secret treasures, ordinary people would never store them in this way.

Therefore, the Hidden Dragon Organization speculates that a secret treasure of the Great Zhou Dynasty may be hidden here, which can only be opened through special means.

that's it.

Zuo Lan was forced to join the Hidden Dragon Organization's secret mission, becoming the seventh member of this secret team. Following the instructions of the other six, and referring to the posture of the statue beneath her feet, she activated the spiritual light with a spell and poured it into the giant stone statue beneath her.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The Great Zhou runes on the seven statues seemed to come alive and surged toward the central altar.

Seeing that the method was effective, the six members of the Hidden Dragon Organization began to breathe rapidly, staring intently at the central altar, ready to take the secret treasure at any moment.

But at this moment.

A terrifying spiritual pressure suddenly appeared!

Immediately afterwards, the enormous altar seemed to bloom like a lotus flower, radiating rays of spiritual light in all directions.

"Oops!"

Such a drastic change immediately shocked the six people, but at the same time they were also pleasantly surprised.

This means that the object sealed here is indeed extraordinary!
The only problem is that such a commotion will likely attract the attention of people nearby soon. Only Zuo Lan is determined to escape, but dares not make any rash moves.

"My God, what are all these? How can there be so many?!"

As the altar was slowly opened, thousands of emerald green beads floated up, radiating astonishing divine power. The six men in black immediately gasped for breath, vaguely sensing that they had discovered an extraordinary treasure.

"The Nine Nether Soul Stone, this is the Nine Nether Soul Stone used by the Great Zhou Dynasty to activate the ancient teleportation array!"

"So many Netherworld Soul Stones are hidden here! What are the ancient cultivators planning to do?!"

Just as the six were preparing to collect these Nine Nether Soul Stones.

These Nine Nether Soul Stones seemed to be drawn by something, and they all shot into the sky, heading straight for the distant horizon. The six people were taken aback and, without thinking twice, immediately used their abilities to try and intercept them.

Don't miss out.

Zuo Lan immediately tried to escape, but suddenly felt an unbearable abdominal pain. She knew that the Gu worm technique that these people had just used on her was taking effect, and she knelt on the ground with a pale face.

Upon seeing this, the six men let out a cold laugh.

"Fairy, please come with us."

Although they were unable to collect all the Nine Nether Soul Stones, only managing to collect a small portion, each person obtained anywhere from three to five stones to more than ten, which was enough to give them something to show for it when they returned.

As for how to deal with this person, that depends on the decision of the higher-ups.

But at this moment.

Two people, after noticing the unusual place, immediately went out together.

One of them was emanating billowing black poisonous gas, obscuring his figure; all that could be seen was his angry and helpless face as he roared at the person behind him.

"You bald monk, how long are you going to keep following me?!"

The person following behind him was none other than a monk from the State of Jin.

After chanting Buddhist mantras, he held up the IOU and said calmly, "As long as you fail to fulfill the contract, I will not leave. You will reap evil consequences from evil deeds, and your magical power will become weaker and weaker as a result."

The man gritted his teeth, yet was utterly helpless.

He then turned to look at the six men in black in front of him, automatically ignoring the pained and weak Zuo Lan.

"I am Zhang Feng of the Corpse Poison Sect of Yue Kingdom. You six, lend me 30,000 spirit stones and I will let you go this time!"

This person seemed to completely disregard the six people in front of him.

The six people looked at each other and then revealed a hint of sarcasm.

However, at that moment, three more people appeared.

Two of them, a man and a woman, were present. The female cultivator looked around and, upon seeing Zhang Feng, the so-called Corpse Poison Sect member, her face paled instantly.

"Hiss! It's Zhang the Madman from the Corpse Poison Sect!"

Zhang Feng was very satisfied with the woman's performance and grinned at her.

Upon seeing this, the female cultivator couldn't help but take two steps back, but when she saw the attire of the male cultivator who had come alone on the other side, she couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

“Eh, Fellow Daoist Wan, these seem to be your fellow disciples.”

The Sword Heart Sect disciple, whom the female cultivator addressed as Fellow Daoist Wan, revealed a slightly stiff smile beneath a mask covering the upper half of his face. He nodded but didn't say anything more.

The other Sword Heart Sect disciple mentioned by the female cultivator was Li Mo, who had been drawn here by the strange phenomenon.

When he saw that among the group of men and women in the distance, there was one dressed similarly to himself, a look of surprise appeared on his face behind the mask.

A genuine disciple of the Sword Heart Sect has actually arrived?
Li Mo's eyes darted away slightly, clearly feeling guilty about his identity as a disciple of the Sword Heart Sect, and he didn't take the initiative to greet anyone.

However, something was clearly happening here. When he saw Zuo Lan in agony on a statue in the middle of the field, he looked surprised and went closer.

"Fellow Daoist Zuo?"

When Zuo Lan saw that it was Li Mo, she managed a slight smile.

She was about to say something when she collapsed in agony.

Only then did Li Mo use his spiritual eye technique to observe closely and discover that there was a centipede-like worm inside Zuo Lan's abdomen, and he immediately gasped in shock.

"Gu insect technique?"

……

the other side.

The distant Jianmu Divine Tree, hundreds of feet tall, was a veritable lush and verdant tree.

The Jianmu Divine Tree is even more magnificent than the Qingling Divine Tree atop Qingming Mountain. The surrounding space is layered, twisted, and distorted, giving it a somewhat unreal feel.

It's as if this sacred tree exists in several different worlds at the same time, a projection between the gaps between these worlds, and its existence can only be discovered by close observation.

At this moment, more than ten disciples of the Lu Kingdom formed a barrier, trapping a spirit bird.

Yao Chun Chun of the Undying Mountain, Bi Wang Chan of the Natural Sect, Di Er Yong of the Rebirth Sect, Liu Can and Zhao Wu of the Heaven-Seizing Sect were all among them.

This spirit bird sometimes grew large and sometimes small. Sometimes it spread its wings and grew to four or five zhang in length, releasing a powerful two-colored spiritual light to fight against the barrier. At other times it shrank to the size of a palm, darting left and right within the barrier, trying to break through the encirclement, revealing a hint of anxiety.

But at this moment!
Countless green lights shot in from the distant horizon and disappeared into the Jianmu tree.

Affected by this, the Jianmu Divine Tree suddenly shone with astonishing spiritual light.

The dozen or so disciples of the Lu Kingdom who were capturing the Rainbow Bird suddenly felt a distortion in the vicinity. After a brief moment of astonishment and panic, one of them, who was proficient in spatial arts, cried out in alarm.

"Oh no! Something is about to be summoned by the Jianmu Divine Tree!"

The chaotic and distorted space, nourished by a large number of Nine Nether Soul Stones, seemed to instantly attract the attention of something on the other side of the Jianmu Divine Tree, which noticed the gradually weakening spatial barrier on this side.

It contained a great deal of malice, revealed undisguised greed, and emitted a chilling laugh.

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph..."

"A foolish and arrogant world is actually exposing itself..."

Amidst the chaotic spatial fluctuations, something terrifying seemed eager to cross the weak point of the Jianmu Divine Tree's space and enter this realm.

(End of this chapter)