The road is vague

Chapter 429 Elder Hidden Dragon

The Spiritual Immortal Ceremony was held as scheduled, a grand gathering for puppeteers.

Thousands of puppeteers, regardless of their cultivation level, gathered to discuss puppetry techniques and openly competed.

During this period, not only puppeteers from the Puppet Sect and the Divine Mechanism Sect actively participated, but also a large number of independent puppeteers arrived. Even some puppetry sects from Tianyuan Highlands and the Ten Thousand Bones Sect of Ling Kingdom sent puppeteers upon hearing the news. It is just unknown whether any puppeteers from the Rebirth Sect of Lu Kingdom disguised themselves and came.

During this time, the Puppet Sect's Tenon and Mortise Master presented the sect's most precious treasure, the Star Crystal!

This item is said to nourish the soul and enlighten wisdom. It is a treasure that puppeteers in ancient times have been pursuing, and it is now almost extinct in the world of mountains and seas.

At such a grand event, almost no one doubted that the owner behind the Lü family workshop, who spared no expense to host this event, would be able to be reborn as a legendary puppet life through the concerted efforts of many puppeteers.

During the banquet.

Li Mo actually saw many familiar faces from the Lingmu Sect.

Although the Lü family had lost power in the Lingmu Sect, they remained deeply entrenched, and many Lingmu Sect cultivators came to offer their congratulations.

"The Ye siblings, Ye Yifang and Ye Zhimei, have both advanced to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. They truly are prodigies of the sect! Yang Zhiman's senior brother, Wen Sheng, has also advanced to the Golden Core realm. Hmm, that looks like Fairy Ning Li or Fellow Daoist Qi Xuan..."

Looking at the familiar face in the doorway, Li Mo was momentarily stunned.

Now, the Lingmu Sect has not only escaped the crisis of extinction, but in just a few decades, in the eyes of outsiders, four Nascent Soul stage cultivators have emerged, which can be described as a sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

It seems that it was precisely because of that crisis that the disciples of the Spirit Eye Sect were filled with a sense of crisis. Looking around, Li Mo felt a sense of vigor and vitality. It was likely that the number of Golden Core cultivators in the sect had doubled in just a few decades.

"Junior sister, I will protect you today!"

Another familiar face appeared – it was Lü Bin.

Li Mo had a deep memory of this talented disciple of the Lü family.

After wandering around in the crowd for a while, Li Mo noticed an inconspicuous puppeteer.

"Wang Zhu!"

He was slightly surprised when he saw his friend.

Because the opponent, who was actually a formation master, also had expertise in mechanical engineering and stood out in the tournament.

"Could it be that after avenging his great grudge, he has taken up his bamboo weaving trade again?"

Li Mo chuckled to himself. If they waited a few more years and these people made further progress, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators in the Spirit Eye Sect might be able to recover to its peak.

And that's when.

A communication talisman fell from the sky. Li Mo caught it, listened to it, his expression slightly hardened, and then flew towards the headquarters of the Yuancheng Road Guidance Bureau.

"Hehe, you're really lucky, kid!"

After meeting Li Mo, Zhong Laogui handed over the mission information with a strange smile.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a name for yourself. You've only been the town's garrison commander for a few days, and you're probably going to be promoted to deputy commander soon. Tsk tsk, so, any questions?"

Li Mo looked at the mission intelligence and was surprised to discover the Hidden Dragon Organization's secret headquarters within the Great Qian Kingdom!

His mission was to infiltrate the headquarters, completely destroy it, and take control of its secret teleportation array.

"no problem!"

Li Mo carefully stored the intelligence and responded in a low voice.

Although he was quite disappointed to miss the Spiritual Immortal Puppet Tournament, he had more important matters to attend to. After bidding farewell to Old Ghost Zhong, he quickly changed his form and left.

According to intelligence, the Hidden Dragon Organization does not have a Nascent Soul cultivator stationed at its headquarters in the Great Qian Kingdom.

Although this is a super-secret organization spanning multiple countries, it is impossible for every country to have a Nascent Soul level expert in charge. According to a lot of intelligence, this Hidden Dragon organization is most likely related to the once destroyed seventh largest country in the Central Plains, the Little Zhou Kingdom. This country once dominated the Tianyuan Highlands and was a veritable seventh largest country standing alongside the current six countries.

With something on his mind, Li Mo used the teleportation array to arrive at Baishi County in Jingzhou.

Only in Jingzhou could such convenience be achieved.

Baishi County is located in the mountainous area of ​​Jingzhou. It is rich in marble, silver and sulfur. The local population is sparse, and most of the workers are from other places who come here to mine and transport various raw materials.

Li Mo secretly arrived at the local road administration office.

"Your Excellency, the Town Governor!"

The visit of a high-ranking official of the fourth rank was a major event that the Baishi County Road Pass Office had not experienced for many years.

The centurion in charge of the secret investigation informed Li Mo of more detailed information. Li Mo listened attentively, asking questions from time to time, and finally nodded in satisfaction.

"You have all made extraordinary contributions this time, and I wish you all the best in your future promotions."

Li Mo's words immediately brought joy to everyone's faces.

However, this was not flattery from Li Mo. He knew that the merits these people had made were enough to ensure that their official rank would be promoted by one or even two levels.

However, he was the one who ultimately reaped the rewards!
After leaving the Road Guidance Office, Li Mo summoned the Money-Stealing Rat from his sleeve, smiled slightly, and entered the Money-Stealing Realm. He then used the Money-Stealing Rat to secretly deliver the rat to the headquarters of the Hidden Dragon in the Great Qian Kingdom.

This is a relatively isolated village.

No one would have guessed that all the villagers here were disciples trained by the Hidden Dragon Organization. The Hidden Dragon Organization trained these people from childhood within the Great Qian Kingdom, which would make it much easier for them to carry out missions within the Great Qian Kingdom in the future.

The thieving rat moves swiftly and silently, occasionally pausing to sniff around alertly.

After dodging numerous sentries and forbidden traps, he arrived at a cave and then silently slipped inside using earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to enter a hidden space).

After leaving the Thief Realm, Li Mo put Xiao Zhi into his sleeve. Then, he activated his True Spirit Eye, scanned his surroundings, and combined with the clues in the intelligence, quickly found the location of the teleportation array.

Next, we will capture and kill the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators here.

With just a signal from him, the road guides would completely surround the village.

To his slight surprise, all the members of the Hidden Dragon Organization were gathered near the teleportation array, looking tense as if they were waiting for something.

This made him more cautious.

So Li Mo used the Shadow Mask to change his appearance and form while simultaneously activating the Dark Concealment Thunder to eavesdrop.

"I heard that only the Grand Elder came secretly this time. Under normal circumstances, doesn't headquarters not send cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage into the Qian Kingdom?"

"Unless absolutely necessary, headquarters will not allow cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage to enter the Qian Kingdom. Two hundred years ago, Elder Tianlei was killed by Qian Yuan Saint King because he appeared in the Great Qian Kingdom, which greatly weakened the organization. However, it was precisely because of Elder Tianlei's selfless dedication that the organization obtained the Demon Blood."

"What important matter could possibly cause the organization to break this rule that has been upheld for two hundred years?"

"I heard it's because the organization's creation of the Heavenly Demon Statue is only one step away from completion. The arrival of the Grand Elder is likely related to the Spiritual Flavor Eternal Puppet Conference currently being held in Yuan City."

"what!"

"Is the Heavenly Statue, which the organization has spent over two hundred years painstakingly crafting at great cost, finally about to appear? Is there any hope for our restoration of our nation...?"

Everyone looked excited, but Li Mo was greatly alarmed.

However, at that moment, the teleportation array suddenly began to flash with spiritual light. Accompanied by a spatial rumble, a vast amount of spiritual light gathered, and everyone stood respectfully, their faces filled with excitement, waiting with unwavering eyes.

Li Mo also took this opportunity to stand respectfully.

As the teleportation light stabilized, a dwarf old man, only three feet tall, stepped out of the teleportation array, and everyone in the cave bowed in unison to greet him.

"Greetings, Elder!"

The dwarf old man had a broad forehead and a full face. He held a wooden cane, stroked his beard, and smiled slightly at the crowd.

"Everyone, get up."

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up.

Li Mo was secretly alarmed, realizing that this person was most likely a cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage.

"Liu Zhen".

"My subordinate is here!"

The Grand Elder's expression gradually turned serious. He stroked his beard and asked, "Was the Puppet Masters' Conference in Yuan City held as scheduled? Did the Puppet Sect really present a Star Crystal?"

"Reporting to the Grand Elder, it is absolutely true!"

After receiving a clear answer, the dwarf elder grunted in approval and immediately gave the order.

"You must immediately gather all the core disciples here, take the teleportation array and leave the Great Qian Kingdom, and keep the branch disciples in hiding. There must be no delay."

"Yes!"

As Liu Zhen responded, the Grand Elder of the Hidden Dragon Organization, led by another Golden Core cultivator, quickly left the underground hall.

After a while.

Upon seeing this, the previously tense group breathed a sigh of relief and began discussing the matter with delight.

"Hiss! They're actually asking us to abandon headquarters? Is the organization planning something big this time, even willing to abandon this place at any moment?"

"Hmph, I've had enough of living here every day, carefully lurking and hiding!"

"The Grand Elder is truly compassionate towards us..."

As the group was talking, one of the female cultivators noticed Li Mo in the corner.

"what?"

The middle-aged female cultivator looked Li Mo up and down, her expression showing confusion.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

People nearby also turned to look.

Li Mo remained silent, pondering the upcoming visit of the mysterious Grand Elder to the Spiritual Immortal Puppet Assembly. The fact that the elder had requested the dismissal of everyone here clearly indicated that he was prepared for the worst.

The Spiritual Immortal Puppet Tournament may be subject to some changes!

This made Li Mo uneasy.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Li Mo let out a cold snort.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, he drew the Flowing Gold and Fiery Sword from behind his back, and instantly, the temperature in the entire underground space rose dramatically.

"Old monster Nascent Soul!"

"They are cultivators from the Qian Kingdom!"

The people inside the cave were all terrified.

Liu Zhen reacted the fastest and immediately flew out of the palace.

Upon seeing this, a fierce glint flashed in Li Mo's eyes. He stretched out his right hand and made a grasping motion in the air. The Five Elements Rings vanished in a flash, instantly imprisoning the person in charge in mid-air.

Liu Zhen was unable to move in mid-air when a spiritual pearl suddenly appeared, its purpose unknown.

But before it could even unleash its power, it quickly melted away under the oncoming light of the small sun.

"Do not!!"

The Flowing Gold and Fiery Sword swept away everything in its path, burning Liu Zhen to ashes.

In the blink of an eye, Li Mo killed a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. No one doubted Li Mo's cultivation level anymore. They all showed expressions of fear and despair and wanted to escape from the cave. Some even tried to activate the teleportation array. It was a complete mess.

"Run!"

"Get out of the way!"

Li Mo acted decisively, activating the Five Thunder Transformation technique to destroy the teleportation array.

Several cultivators who wanted to escape via the teleportation array were instantly filled with rage.

Left with no other choice, they had to unleash their magical weapons, preparing to fight to the death and carve out a bloody path.

"Who are you! Aren't you afraid that the Grand Elder will return?"

Li Mo snorted coldly at the man's threat. A lightning scripture in his dantian shattered silently, and a violent burst of lightning erupted. Several Foundation Establishment cultivators could not withstand the terrifying spiritual pressure and collapsed with their bodies limp.

Several Golden Core cultivators were horrified, and two of them summoned demonic statues.

These two golems are incredibly powerful, both reaching the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

However, even in his current state of extreme power, Li Mo was no match for him. As screams echoed from the underground hall, Li Mo annihilated more than twenty core disciples of the Hidden Dragon Organization in the shortest possible time.

The entire underground hall was filled with a strong stench of blood.

After quickly packing up his storage bag, Li Mo returned to the surface.

About a quarter of an hour later.

He went to a secluded place, sat down cross-legged, took out a top-grade flying sword magic weapon, and chanted incantations.

"go with!"

The flying sword flashed and disappeared without a trace.

This is a secret technique for sending messages via flying swords, a secret technique for sword cultivators. He must report the situation here to Old Ghost Zhong as soon as possible.

"I hope it's not too late."

After muttering to himself, Li Mo sent a signal into the air, leaving the matter to the Heavenly Mandate Bureau to handle during their patrol, while he flew straight towards Jimu Mountain at full speed.

(End of this chapter)