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Chapter 284: The Grandmaster
🕑 Added 2024-10-03 07:31:33 +0000 UTC"[The Calamity Stone, also known as the Spirit-Destroying Stone, contains the power of devouring and is a presence that was born from the void, capable of absorbing spiritual energy.]"
Staring at the brief line of results from the appraisal, Lin Xiao fell into deep thought.
It seemed that these people were aware of the stone's effects, which explained why they went to such lengths to capture mortals rather than doing it themselves.
Judging from the state of the rescued mountain villagers, it was clear that this Calamity Stone did not only affect cultivators with spiritual power but also had an impact on ordinary people.
These cultivators were aware of this, yet they didn’t dare abduct people within their own country, so they risked sneaking into the borders of Pusi Country.
However, considering the ruling power of a sect within its own territory, capturing people on their own turf would be far less risky and much more convenient than going to a neighboring country.
From this, he could basically deduce that the royal court of Huanyou Country was likely not unaware of the situation.
Perhaps, they were even the ones secretly orchestrating everything.
Lin Xiao tried to destroy the Calamity Stones within the mines, but after a long, exhausting effort, he only managed to eliminate the outermost layer. It was impossible to know how deep and vast the stone deposits went.
Thus, completely destroying the site in a short time was out of the question. Lin Xiao had no choice but to seal the place for now.
There would be time in the future to find a way to deal with it properly.
Given the great danger posed by the Calamity Stones, Lin Xiao spent some spirit stones in the system store to purchase an advanced sealing formation to use here.
He also set up an illusion formation around the area, also purchased from the store, to prevent ordinary people from stumbling in.
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to study formation techniques, so he didn’t carry any good items related to them.
Lin Xiao had no doubts about the quality of items produced by the system, so he wasn’t concerned about wasting his spirit stones.
The illusion formation also came with a built-in defense function.
After thinking it over, he left a few more things behind in the area.
Once everything was set up and the sky was getting late, Lin Xiao left the site, returning to Pusi Country the same way he came.
Shortly after his departure, the Golden Crow Sect disciples who came to change shifts noticed something strange.
The originally continuous mountain range had transformed into a massive lake.
The cultivators confirmed the location several times—they were not mistaken.
Confused, they unwittingly stepped into the illusion formation Lin Xiao had set up.
The next day, the supervisor in charge of the matter at the Golden Crow Sect noticed that the disciples who were supposed to switch shifts hadn’t returned, which made him realize that something might have gone wrong. He immediately rushed to the mine.
There, he too found the area completely transformed.
He searched the surroundings but found no trace of their sect members.
Even though the supervisor was a Golden Core cultivator, he didn’t let his rank make him careless. Instead, the missing sect members made him more cautious. He only dared to probe from the outer edges, not daring to advance further.
No matter how he probed, the lake scenery remained unchanged. No matter how powerful an attack spell he hurled at it, it was swallowed up without a ripple.
Seeing this, the supervisor grew increasingly uneasy and quickly left to report the situation to the king.
The king of Huanyou Country was very surprised.
Upon hearing the report, his first thought was that Pusi Country had discovered their activities and sent experts from their three great sects to intervene.
After all, the report mentioned an extremely large and powerful illusion formation.
Even the Golden Core cultivators of the Golden Crow Sect were helpless against it. He hurriedly left his palace, intending to inform the Grandmaster.
Deep within the palace, the Grandmaster, clad in red robes, knelt before a black stone carving on a table, burning incense.
The man’s features were plain, though his bone structure was decent.
However, his complexion was pale as frost. Though he appeared to be in his twenties, his face lacked any youthful color.
Upon hearing that the king had arrived, the Grandmaster only slightly raised his eyelids before closing them again, continuing to mutter something under his breath to the black stone carving.
This was the scene that greeted the king of Huanyou Country when he entered, but he was long used to it. Despite his anxiety, he didn’t dare interrupt and quietly sat down to wait.
After a long while, when the sun outside had shifted from east to west, the Grandmaster finally opened his eyes, his gaze as deep as ink.
Seeing this, the king of Huanyou Country breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak, the Grandmaster spoke first:
"Do not worry, Your Majesty. The Calamity Immortal has already made a decision regarding this matter."
The king was startled at first, then carefully replied:
"So, Grandmaster, you already knew about this... We failed to anticipate that Pusi Country would react so quickly, even using their ancestral treasures to seal the mine. We hope that you can speak favorably of us to the Calamity Immortal..."
He assumed that the large illusion formation had come from one of Pusi Country’s three major sects.
After all, considering Pusi Country’s royal lineage…
With so many years as neighbors, who didn’t know who’s who?
There was no way Pusi Country’s royal family had such a powerful treasure.
The Grandmaster didn't turn around but let out a faint chuckle before casually saying:
"When the Calamity Immortal is born and retakes control of this world, rewards will come your way. However, you must also be diligent in your work. This has only just begun, and already there are problems. What more can I say?"
Hearing this, the king of Huanyou Country immediately apologized:
"Please, I beg the Calamity Immortal and the Grandmaster to give us another chance. We will resolve this issue. All I ask is that when the time comes, the Grandmaster lends us a hand."
The Grandmaster, seemingly uninterested in further conversation, closed his eyes as if to nap and spoke softly:
"Go, Your Majesty. When the time is right, I will act."
With that, he shut his eyes completely and fell silent.
Seeing this, the king quickly closed his mouth and quietly left the chamber.
Once he was far from the Grandmaster’s palace, the slight panic in his eyes turned to cold resolve.
As the king, aside from the ancestral figures of the royal family, when had he ever needed to be so humble?
But it was all for the sake of obtaining the Calamity Immortal’s cultivation method, which required no spiritual roots…
Once he secured that method and shared it with the entire royal family, when the time came…
Damn that Golden Crow Sect for being so careless. If it weren’t for the sect’s longstanding loyalty to the royal family, dating back to the country’s founding, he would’ve already unleashed his wrath!
Now, just as things were getting started, Pusi Country had caught wind of it…
With a somber face, the king returned to his palace.
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