After hearing the Great Elder's words, I heaved a huge sigh of relief. My worried heart was finally at ease for the time being.
To be honest, I wasn't confident in my plan to persuade the Buddhist, Daoist, and Mystic sects, especially Mount Longhu, which I had a grudge against. I had already mentally prepared myself to be rejected this time. It was a blessing from the heavens to have this result.
In contrast to my sigh of relief, the other elders behind the Great Elder all had unhappy expressions. However, with the Celestial Master's decree, they had nothing to say.
After conveying the Celestial Master's decree, the Great Elder raised the horsetail whisk in his hand and smiled at me. "I'll have to ask Mister Zhou to tell us what we should do next."
His attitude was very humble. He had previously said that the Celestial Master's residence would be under my command. However, I obviously wouldn't take his words seriously. I hastily waved my hand and said that I wouldn't dare.
While exchanging pleasantries, I was also thinking that the Celestial Master's residence naturally wouldn't trust me. Thus, I couldn't rashly arrange for them to do anything. Even if they agreed, I reckoned that they would only obey on the surface but oppose on the inside. It wouldn't be of much use.
The current plan would be to temporarily use Mount Longhu as a signboard according to what I had thought before I came.
With that in mind, I smiled and said, "This matter isn't urgent. Currently, the human race is scattered. We still need the various powers to gather before we can make a decision.
I'll take the liberty of leaving my contact information. As for the specifics, we'll discuss it in detail after we contact each other. "
The Great Elder was indeed a reasonable person. He also knew that everything was still uncertain. After hearing what I said, he only smiled and exchanged contact talismans with me before asking me about the next step of the plan.
This naturally wasn't something that couldn't be said. During this trip, I originally planned to persuade Mount Longhu and Mount Lao. Since the trip to Mount Longhu was successful, I would need to make a trip to Mount Lao.
After hearing my plan, the Great Elder nodded and praised, "Mount Lao can be considered one of the ancestral halls of Daoism. It is indeed necessary to make a trip there. Since that's the case, I'll wait for Mister Zhou's news."
The Great Elder's words had the intention of sending me off. I didn't intend to stay any longer, so I bid farewell and left the mountain.
Before leaving, I asked Liu Ruxu if she had any unfinished business. She could take advantage of this trip to Mount Longhu to take care of it.
However, Liu Ruxu told me that he and Mount Longhu didn't owe each other anything during his lifetime. He didn't have any unfulfilled wishes.
Seeing him like that, I didn't say anything. After descending the mountain, I headed directly to Mount Lao.
Mount Longhu and Mount Lao were quite far apart. Even with my current cultivation, it took me more than a day to reach the foot of Mount Lao.
It was different from Mount Longhu. Previously, when I went to Mount Longhu, I was actually very worried. After all, Celestial Master Zhang's cultivation wasn't ordinary, and he had an old grudge against me. It was hard to say what would happen when we met.
But on Mount Lao's side, there wasn't anyone with Celestial Master Zhang's cultivation. Although I couldn't defeat the Sect Master of Mount Lao, I was confident that I could deal with him. Moreover, Mount Lao owed me a favor, so I wasn't worried. After arriving at Mount Lao, I directly went up the mountain.
At this moment, Mount Lao was also closed. However, I had been here not long ago and was quite familiar with the mountain gate, so I headed there directly. I was prepared to make some noise in front of the mountain gate to call for the gate's entrance.
However, before I reached the mountain gate, I felt a strange aura. Apart from the pervasive spiritual energy and ancient wild energy, there was also a very thick presence of demonic energy.
I was bewildered. Could it be that the demonic race had come to Mount Lao?
I didn't think too much and hastened my pace. When I got close to the mountain gate, I could even smell the thick scent of blood in the air. My heart sank.
Originally, Mount Lao didn't have much of a relationship with me, but this time, Mount Lao was an important force in the alliance of all the cultivators in the world. If the demonic race launched a sneak attack, it would be extremely disadvantageous to the great cause of killing the demonic race.
As I was thinking, I arrived at the mountain gate. Just as I had imagined, the mountain gate was wide open and there was no one guarding it. Thus, I directly rushed in and flew toward the Supreme Purity Palace.
Soon, I arrived at the Supreme Purity Palace. The first thing I saw was a bloodstain in the courtyard, but there was no one around.
After using my spiritual sense to search, I found a group of Daoist priests lying on the ground in a secret location in the Supreme Purity Palace, panting heavily.
After hurrying over, the Daoists discovered that someone had come and immediately assumed a posture of fighting with their lives on the line. After seeing that it was me, they heaved a sigh of relief, struggled to get up, and came to greet me.
The person walking in front was Liu Zongcheng, whom I had dealt with last time. When he arrived in front of me, there was a trace of doubt on his face. He weakly asked, "Mister Zhou, why are you here?"
In the current situation, I naturally didn't have the time to tell him why I had come. Rather, I anxiously asked him, "Elder Liu, what happened to Mount Lao? Why is it like this?"
Hearing my question, Liu Zongcheng's face was immediately covered with a layer of worry, mixed with anger. He sighed and answered, "Not long ago, a group of demonic race suddenly launched a sneak attack. We were no match for them, and in the end, the Nuwa Stone of the Sect Master was forcibly taken away. We don't know if he's alive or dead. The other disciples also suffered heavy casualties. We were worried that the demonic race would attack again, so we organized the others to temporarily hide."
I had already guessed that the demonic race would attack, but I didn't expect that the demonic race would steal the Nuwa Stone of the Sect Master of Mount Lao.
The Sect Master was a person who had achieved the Yang Spirit Ascension. To be able to steal the Nuwa Stone from him and cause heavy casualties to Mount Lao, the demonic race's strength was evident.
Last time, when I was looking for Wang Li, I met some demonic race members who had achieved the Yang Spirit Ascension. However, compared to the group of demonic race members Liu Zongcheng was flying in the sky, their strength was obviously much lower.
After explaining the situation, Liu Zongcheng told me that the Nuwa Stone was the Sect Master's life-saving treasure. After it was stolen by the demonic race, the Sect Master ignored his internal injuries and chased after them. It had been more than an hour since then, and I didn't know if he was still alive or not.
He sounded worried, but I didn't care. When the Mountain and Sea Realm opened, Nangong had told me that even if he died after achieving the Yang Spirit Ascension, he could rely on the power of the Yang Spirit to survive for several months.
Even if the Nuwa Stone was taken away, the Sect Master of Mount Lao wouldn't have to worry about his life.
However, I was quite confused about this matter. The ten great divine tools had all recognized their masters. If one wasn't their master, they wouldn't be able to display their power. What was the point of the demonic race stealing the Nuwa Stone?
Or did they have some secret technique that I didn't know about that allowed them to change their masters?
I didn't have time to think about these questions. I asked Liu Zongcheng if he knew the demonic race member who had attacked first.
Liu Zongcheng shook his head. "Although there were several demonic race members here, there was only one who attacked. I've never seen him before, but I speculate that he was most likely a Greater Demon from the Mountain and Sea Realm."
His speculation should be correct. The human world had just undergone great changes, and the new demonic race members had just developed intelligence. It was unlikely that they would be so scheming as to steal the Nuwa Stone. Therefore, there was no doubt that it was a Greater Demon from the Mountain and Sea Realm.
Although the Nuwa Stone had other uses, such as increasing one's cultivation base, its greatest use was to resurrect a certain life form. If humans could do it, then the demonic race could do it too.
Could it be that the Greater Demon had stolen the Nuwa Stone to resurrect someone, or perhaps some other Greater Demon?
If that was the case, then it was terrifying.
The Greater Demon who had come to steal the Nuwa Stone had at least a Breakthrough Realm cultivation base. If it was willing to risk its life to do such a thing, then it must be an even more terrifying existence. Perhaps it was a Dawn Realm Demon.
I was very worried, but I didn't say anything. After all, this was only my speculation, and I didn't have any proof. It would be better to wait for the Laoshan Mountain Sect Leader to come back and see if he had found any clues.
With that in mind, I put the matter aside for the time being.
The Laoshan Mountain Sect Leader had been gone for an hour, and I didn't know where to go to pursue him.
Therefore, I comforted Liu Zongcheng and asked him to come with me to check on the injuries of the people from Laoshan Mountain.
Although I had some friendship with Laoshan Mountain, it wasn't very reliable. Furthermore, in the Mountain and Sea Realm, I had a conflict with the Laoshan Mountain Sect Leader over the matter of Han Wennan. This was a good opportunity for me to establish good karma with him, which would be of great help in my future lobbying efforts.
Of course, this was only one of my considerations. Now that we were facing a powerful enemy, the human race should be united. Even if I didn't have such a goal, I wouldn't stand by and watch them die.
Seeing my actions, Liu Zongcheng was moved. He saluted me and said, "Laoshan Mountain will remember Mister Zhou's kindness."
This was my original goal, so I didn't say anything after he thanked me. I waved my hand and went to the people from Laoshan Mountain.
Those people's injuries were very serious. If I hadn't come here today, I'm afraid most of them would have died.
Although I wasn't a doctor, I had the spiritual power in my body that could heal injuries, so treating their injuries was a piece of cake.
After several hours of treatment, most of them had recovered.
I was physically and mentally exhausted. After I was done, I sat cross-legged and adjusted my breathing for a long time before I could recover.
When I woke up, the survivors of Laoshan Mountain were standing in front of me. When they saw me open my eyes, they immediately bowed to express their gratitude.
Although I had my own motives, I was indeed their benefactor, so I calmly accepted their salute.
After they saluted me, I was about to say something when a shadow flashed outside the house. Before I could react, I heard a thud as if something heavy had fallen.
The others didn't know what had happened, so they followed me out of the house to check. Then, they saw a man covered in blood lying in the flower garden in the courtyard.
I didn't recognize him at first, but the Daoist priests of Laoshan Mountain shouted the Sect Master's name and hurried to check.
When I arrived, they had already turned the Sect Master over. He was unconscious, and the flesh on his chest was torn. There wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't damaged. He was still breathing.
Seeing the Sect Master in this state, the joy on the faces of the Laoshan Mountain Daoists disappeared. They looked panicked and didn't know what to do.
Seeing this, I hurried forward and placed my hand on the Sect Master's body to check his injuries.
Just like what I saw on the surface, the Sect Master's Life Palace was seriously damaged. Moreover, he didn't have a wisp of Dao energy in his body. His Heavenly Veins couldn't even move. He could only rely on the power of the Yang Spirit in his Life Palace to support his breathing. Moreover, his Yang Spirit was severely damaged. If he didn't receive treatment soon, he wouldn't be able to hold on for long, even with his cultivation base.
The situation was critical, and the morale of the Laoshan Mountain Daoists was low. I didn't tell them the truth and just asked them to bring the Sect Master back to the Supreme Purity Palace.
Since I was the one who treated everyone's injuries, they naturally trusted me. They followed my instructions and carried the Sect Master inside, placing him on a pile of cushions.