488 A Ten-Thousand-Year Plan? The Last Pure Land!

“He came out of the bronze world and pretended to be mad, risking his life to share the true history of Qingzhou little by little,” Xiang Mingfeng stated.

“Follow me. That old man is at the end of the tunnel,” Fan Ziyu said. “He’ll share the rest with you. Your friend Xu Tong from the Blue Sea Pavilion is also there.”

Fan Ziyu increased his pace. They came to a three-way split and picked the leftmost path with a dim light.

After a while, everyone saw a bright light. Exiting the underground, they were hit with fresh air. They were also met with a wide and barren landscape.

Nearby, a bunch of people had set up tents and were sitting around, their eyes void of life.

“This is… We must be outside Qingzhou City already,” She Wanshan realized in surprise. He looked back. The barren outskirts of the city were already very blurry. Meaning, this secret tunnel was over ten miles long.

Everyone walked forward. Occasionally, someone would stand up and bow deeply to Fan Ziyu. It seemed that the old man had used this secret tunnel to save numerous lives over time.

The air was heavy with the smell of blood. Many people were injured, with some seriously hurt and near death. Lying on the ground, they were taken care of by their remaining family, quietly waiting for their end.

There were many such elderly, weak, women, and children scattered around the barren land.

“Brother Xu!” Upon seeing a familiar face, everyone hurried over.

“Brother Zhou, Brother Xiang, Brother Fang…” Xu Tong stood up, covered in wounds and wrapped in white bandages, revealing only his head.

“Brother Xu, did only you manage to escape from the Blue Sea Pavilion?” Qin Huai asked.

“No, my mother and her students, along with some trusted helpers are safe,” Xu Tong answered. “But when we got to the outskirts of the city, there were too many enemies, so I acted as a decoy to draw them away. I don’t know where they are now.”

“They should be alright.” Qin Huai sighed with relief. With Xu Tong’s mother and the great elder of the Blue Sea Pavilion protecting them, Luo Ya and the others should be safe.

“Senior!” Qin Huai spotted the mad storyteller with whom he’d once shared a meal.

“This is…” She Wanshan and the others also noticed.

They quickly bowed to the man. “I’m okay, I’m okay…” This old man, who used to be mad, was now entirely different. His eyes were clear and he had a refined air about him.

Fan Ziyu clarified Qin Huai and the others’ confusion. The old man also smiled and said, “I happened to be telling Little Xu…

“I entered the bronze world about fifty years ago. Not long after, I found the key. Then I entered the level-zero array and saw the core, the bronze mountain and river diagram.”

Everyone exchanged glances. This was different from the conditions they had to complete after finding the key.

“Then, I tried to understand the diagram. But my comprehension was poor, and I didn’t have enough physical strength or blood essence. In the end, I failed…

“But, I refused to give up. I continued to cultivate in the level-zero array, trying to forcibly refine the bronze mountain and river diagram. I hoped to use it as my first guardian spirit item to enter the visceral prefecture realm.”

The old man’s expression darkened.

“However, even after more than ten years, I still couldn’t understand it. But one day, I accidentally discovered a big stone slab in the level-zero array. From the bronze slab, I learned the truth about what happened ten thousand years ago.

“It even knows the true identities of the people in charge of the Great Nether and Qingzhou. You also know who I am. I think this is the guidance my ancestor gave me. In the end, I used that stone slab as a guardian spirit item and broke through the visceral prefecture realm. After that, I walked out of the heavenly stairs…”

Everyone listened carefully and began to understand the full story. The old man used the story on the stone slab as a way to trick and distract the demons bit by bit. Ultimately, he used the Three Cauldron Elixir Dispensary to share the truth of what happened ten thousand years ago with all of Qingzhou.

“We’ve been guided by Senior and the Emperor of Qingzhou,” Xiang Mingfeng said, revealing the emperor’s plan. “Or you could say… We are the ones chosen by the emperor.”

Gou Jie smiled slightly. “All coincidences are predestined.”

“A great expert like the Emperor of Qingzhou has long calculated everything,” Le Ji’an added. “Indeed, this generation has the most future kings in Qingzhou. Brother Zhou has also appeared. He was the first person in ten thousand years to understand and refine the bronze mountain and river diagram. All grudges will end in our era. It’s either you die or I die.”

Qin Huai was quiet, feeling the responsibility weighing heavy on him. He looked at his hands. It felt like the massive gears of history were slowly turning, subtly pushing him, an unknown martial artist who only wanted to protect his family, to the forefront of history’s current.

The Eight Virtuous Kings, the Sacred Heart Sect… these fearsome enemies were all standing against him because of the Emperor of Qingzhou. And these people directly threatened the lives of those he cared about most.

“Send these civilians to the ten counties of East Qingzhou,” Qin Huai said. “We’ll establish checkpoints on the roads between the East Qingzhou Ten Commandery and Qingzhou City as the last line of defense.”

“The ten counties of East Qingzhou? That’s a barren land… It’s also the furthest from Qingzhou City,” Xiang Mingfeng said. “But we don’t know much about East Qingzhou, and we don’t know if there are demons or arrangements by the Sacred Heart Sect there.”

“There are very few in the ten counties, but there are definitely none in Lingjiang,” Qin Huai said confidently. “Zhou Cunzhong is also my alias. My real name is Qin Huai, the master of the Nine Dragons Sect in Lingjiang. I’ve already killed all the Sacred Heart Sect’s disciples there.”

Qin Huai continued, “To ordinary people, that place is definitely safer than Qingzhou City and other places in Qingzhou.”

Xiang Mingfeng and the others weren’t too surprised. They had long realized that the name Zhou Cunzhong was likely a false name, especially Hua Yanli and Yun Qi. After finding the human skin mask that Huang Qiguang was hiding, they already knew Qin Huai’s true identity.

“If Brother Qin’s ten counties of East Qingzhou are trustworthy, it’s a blessing for the people.” Xiang Mingfeng sighed.

“However, these refugees might encounter Sacred Heart believers and evil people. I’m afraid they’ll ruin the last untouched land, right?” Yun Qi asked.

“Leave this to me,” the old man said slowly. “My bronze diagram can see through the identities of those demons. It’s much more convenient than the Ghost Ox Sect’s ghost piercing mirror.”

Feng Zhiqun also added, “That’s true. Now that we know the characteristics of those demons, we just need to drip a drop of the demon’s blood essence into the ghost piercing mirror to see some truth. And even the disciples of the Sacred Heart Sect can be screened.”

He continued, “Moreover, our Ghost Ox Sect’s ghost piercing mirror can be mass-produced. No matter how powerful Senior’s bronze diagram is, it can’t cover everyone.”

Qin Huai said, “Then I’ll leave the screening work to the two of you.”

“But there’s still one problem…” Feng Zhiqun said. “I know of a small warehouse for the materials for the Ghost Piercing Mirror. There are quite a few of them in there. But as for the treasure master, I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to find many in Qingzhou.”

“As long as there’s a treasure master?” Qin Huai asked.

Feng Zhiqun nodded.

“In Lingjiang, we have dozens of treasure masters. That should be enough, right?” Qin Huai replied.

Feng Zhiqun couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. Even the richest county in Qingzhou probably couldn’t find dozens of treasure masters. If he remembered correctly, Lingjiang was considered to be in the middle and lower levels among the ten counties of East Green.

“If that’s the case, the demons and the Sacred Heart believers shouldn’t be a problem.”

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