After a long line, Gu Zheng's group, who had successfully passed the inspection, were finally able to enter the fort.
Everything inside was very unfamiliar to Gu Zheng.
This was because although the fort looked very shocking from the outside, the inside seemed to have been forcefully split in half by someone. At the very least, there was a wall that wasn't high above their heads. It felt very narrow, and on the two sides of the path were layers of low rooms.
Most of them were empty, with no one living in them. It felt like they were in a prison.
"The first level here is almost abandoned. It was originally a place where various formations were carved. As long as someone is in charge, they can activate the defensive formations outside."
Fang Jie explained when he saw Gu Zheng's puzzled expression.
With his explanation, Gu Zheng immediately understood. However, through the thick layer of dust, he couldn't see the detailed structure inside.
"We're going to the third level. The second level is for us unimportant subordinates, while the second level is for the city lords. Only very important people can live there. The two environments aren't very different. After all, this is a defensive fort. In reality, it's been abandoned for many years and was only temporarily activated."
"This time, we've gathered here to remind everyone of the original intentions of Soul Alliance's creation. We can also adjust everyone's tension and resolve everyone's conflicts."
Fang Jie saw that Gu Zheng didn't seem to understand this place at all, so he just explained it to him. As he spoke, he brought Gu Zheng to the second level.
What he said was something everyone here knew. What he didn't know, he didn't know either.
As he spoke, they had already reached the second level from the stone stairs. They still had to pass through most of the area to reach the third level.
As soon as he entered, this place seemed to be a different world from the first floor. Although it was also a monotonous stone house, most of them were already occupied. At least it was much cleaner than the first floor. The sounds of chatter, laughter, and quarreling could be heard. It seemed to be bustling with noise.
However, despite the quarrels, no one dared to make a move. Even if they pointed at each other's noses with red faces and were about to fight, they were still very restrained. After all, most of the people here were very powerful. They were the elites of the city lords. If they really fought, the destruction caused would be very serious.
There was a strict order here, and no fighting was allowed.
Moreover, Gu Zheng also realized that there were quite a number of Demon Souls in this group of people. Although they were in human form, the aura on their bodies could be recognized by anyone.
These were the smarter ones among the demonic souls. They had snuck over from the other side. After all, demonic souls were not puppets. It was impossible for them to listen to everything the other side said.
"It is impossible for a fight to break out here. Anyone who dares to make a move will die for sure. However, the fourth floor above is an arena for people to settle their grudges. It is also the place where everyone will fight," Fang Jie said as he pointed to the side.
Just as he was speaking, the two people who were arguing seemed to have reached a consensus and walked away angrily. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared.
"Fighting in private like this won't kill anyone. At most, they'll just vent their anger. They're not even allowed to be seriously injured. This is a rule set by the higher-ups." Fang Jie pointed at the two people and said.
Gu Zheng nodded silently. Then, he followed the other party and headed in another direction.
Although the space here was narrow, the area was very large. After walking for a long distance, they came to a different place.
This was the bottom of an empty space. Countless white crystals illuminated this place. It was much brighter than the previous space that was only illuminated by the yellow light. The light seemed to have a special effect. Anyone who tried to approach this place while invisible would not be able to avoid the light.
There was a stone staircase that was almost at a right angle. There were only some dents on it that were enough for the tip of one's foot. It was convenient for those with weaker cultivation to climb up.
There were a few guards standing at the side. The leader was a red-haired demonic soul. His cultivation was at the early stage of the Zenith Heaven Realm. No one knew why he was here. There were four peak Jin Xian Realm cultivators guarding this place together.
"Warrant!"
When the red-haired demonic soul saw Gu Zheng and the others, he did not waste any time and directly reached out his hand to them.
Fang Jie stepped forward and handed over a copper-colored thing that looked like a coin. The demonic soul checked it briefly and threw it back. At the same time, he made way for them.
He did not expect the warrant to be this token. It was really beyond Gu Zheng's expectation. It seemed that it would be extremely difficult for anyone to deceive them. There was no password at all. There was only one entrance to the third floor.
After coming up from below, the scene was different from below.
The whole space was many times larger than below. Even the height was more than a hundred feet high. The surroundings were not those dilapidated stone houses that could barely be lived in. There were spacious courtyards lined up in two rows. Although it was much smaller than the outside world, it seemed to have everything that should be there.
There were powerful auras in many courtyards. They were probably the various City Lords who had already arrived.
Gu Zheng believed that the living area of this place was definitely not big. The other places were the real purpose of this fortress. However, he was afraid that he would not be able to see it now.
On the other side, Fang Jie led Gu Zheng to the side with ease. This made Gu Zheng feel very relieved. If he came in himself, it would take a lot of time and effort to find Pan Xuan and the others.
After a few turns, they arrived outside a courtyard that looked similar from the outside. Fang Jie went up and knocked on the door. Soon, the door was opened and a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes poked his head out. When he saw Fang Jie and the others, he was very surprised.
"Didn't you go out on a mission? Why are you back so quickly? Who is this person?"
"There was an accident, but the mission was completed. This is Madam Xue's friend. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to come back. I want to see Madam Xue now," Fang Jie said with a wry smile.
"Come in quickly. Madam and the others are in the living room. I'll go inform them." After the man opened the door, he immediately ran inside.
"Come in. There's nowhere safer than here," Fang Jie said to Gu Zheng. Then, he turned to his sister and said.
"Fang Yu, you guys take them to rest first. I'll go to the living room with Senior Gu."
"Okay, I'll wait for you in the back." Fang Yu nodded and walked to the side with her companions.
At this time, in the largest living room of the house, Madam Xue was holding a sleeping child and sitting on a spacious chair. Next to her was Pan Xuan.
Opposite them was a handsome man. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, as if something was bothering him.
"What do we do? We're not prepared enough, and the enemy is coming." Pan Xuan looked across and pretended to be annoyed. "Even Mister Wind can't deal with this."
"Am I that weak? The sacrificial items are all prepared, but we're still missing something important. "Mister Wind rolled his eyes at Pan Xuan and said with annoyance.
"What is it? Why don't you tell me? If I can help, I'll do my best," Madam Xue said softly.
She now had full control of her husband's power, and the losses were minimal. It was all thanks to Pan Xuan and the others that they were able to achieve such great results. If it was just her alone, it would be good if she could control a third of it.
That third wasn't enough to keep her safe. Perhaps she would still be in high demand in the eyes of others. Though she knew that everything the enemy wanted to do would be useless once their plan succeeded, she didn't care.
The enemy had already promised her that not only would they treat her power well, but they wouldn't disband it. Instead, they would take care of her and let her take care of her child.
After all, with the strength of the shura species, Madam Xue's power was nothing in their eyes. In this period of time, Madam Xue was a huge help to Pan Xuan's side. Even if the enemy wanted to send her subordinates to their deaths to strengthen the blood sacrifice, she wouldn't hesitate to agree.
They were truly trusted subordinates. After hearing the order, they didn't hesitate and immediately went out, even if they knew they were going to die.
"If you could help, I would've asked already. However, your power isn't enough. If you could, the entire Soul Alliance added together would barely be enough." Mister Wind said bluntly.
"The entire Soul Alliance? That's something I can't do. Even the Alliance Master can't do it. After all, a third of Soul Alliance is demon souls. The enemy is also an independent entity. Perhaps only when they were first created could they do it. "Madam Xue shook her head.
At least he knew his own limitations. Not to mention the nearby area, he couldn't even fully control the race he had created on Wen Tianhou's side.
"Yes, that's why I said there wasn't enough time. According to the information I gathered, the enemy will soon use this opportunity to attack you. Unfortunately, most of you don't believe me." Mister Wind was deeply regretful and couldn't help but sigh.
"Why wasn't there enough time? Everything is already prepared. Once they send themselves to their deaths, we can summon many of our species. Then, we can start setting things up and slowly bring our own people back. Once we accumulate enough power, we can summon our seniors. When the old ancestor comes, there won't be any obstructions. Wasn't this the plan from the beginning? Why did something unexpected happen? "Pan Xuan asked confusedly.
Mister Wind had come here alone a few days ago to understand the situation and discuss a few measures. However, she didn't know the specifics. After all, they had only contacted each other through a single line. This was the first time they had met.
"You don't know this. Plans can't keep up with changes. Let me tell you in detail."
Mister Wind listened to Pan Xuan. That was their initial goal, but the situation had changed.
"You also know that if the old ancestor wants to force his way over, we must have enough power to open a path for him. We aren't like you who can use some conditions to temporarily summon the old ancestor's figure. Therefore, we must gather enough of our species."
Pan Xuan nodded. She had to admit that she had an enormous advantage. However, after summoning once, she probably wouldn't be able to use it again for tens of thousands of years.
"Then, we'll summon bit by bit, corrode, and continue summoning. This will take too long, and accidents can't be avoided. You have to know that the person here won't just watch as we fight over his territory. Although his method is too simple and crude, he can only occupy a small central area."
"If the opponent personally attacks, we'll be in too much danger. Even if there are other reasons, we can't personally attack. Facing the demon soul attacks, our energy will be greatly diverted, and we'll be easily defeated. Soul Alliance helped us attract their attention, so it's not a bad idea. At least we can last until we have enough strength to defend."
"But now, the opponent is about to attack Soul Alliance." Mister Wind stood up and looked outside the door. "These humans and Goblin that came here for unknown reasons, as well as the traitors in the demon souls that desire them, the opponent has already attacked. During the investigation, the opponent discovered our existence. However, they still mistakenly believe that we came from the depths of Black Prison."
"Once they discover our true identity, the opponent won't just leave us be. Without Soul Alliance, we won't be able to smoothly grow."
Towards the end, Mister Wind's tone became serious. As an outstanding member of the younger generation, he was valued by many people in their clan, including the old ancestor. He knew a lot of things.
The current great wilderness was no longer the great wilderness of the beginning. Moreover, the Shura clan's way of doing things in the past made them countless enemies. Because of this, the old ancestor rarely went out.
A pair of untainted weapons had been silent for an unknown amount of time for the Shura clan. Now, they had some hope of resolving their grudges in the great wilderness, allowing the Shura clan to live forever.
This was the lifelong wish of every Shura clan member, even if they had to pay with their lives.
They had seen too many powerful clans that were even more powerful than them. They had all disappeared in the long flow of time, and they were right at the mouth of this wave.
Their glorious days had passed. They had to hide and wait for the time that belonged to them to rise.
Now, the situation was different. If they really continued to walk step by step, there was a high chance of failure. They probably wouldn't have such a good opportunity again.
"Then is there a way?" Pan Xuan felt Mister Wind's helplessness and was shocked. It was as if this was the first time Mister Wind saw such a feeling of uncertainty.
"There is!" Mister Wind's spirit was roused, "That is to use a large amount of power to forcefully tear open a hole and let everyone gather over there. We can skip all the previous steps and go to the last step to gather power and invite the old ancestor. At that time, even if the other party tries to stop us, they won't be able to stop us."
"This time, the old ancestor will send a weapon in first. There is a clone of the old ancestor carved on it. Although it can only be used once and the price is very high, it will be enough to deter the other party." Mister Wind said word by word.
"But we can't gather such a large amount of power!" Pan Xuan recalled what she said before and instantly understood the problem. She couldn't help but say it out loud.
"Yes, and we can't use the ready-made power either." Mister Wind sat down heavily again and said, "These demon souls are still humans. Once they die, we can extract the power inside. The problem is, we don't have any magic treasures to collect this power. If we put our own blood pool here, we can, but even a blind person can see through our plan. What a pity."
This was the source of Mister Wind's frustration. Once the two sides fought, the dissipated power would be wasted. It was a pity that such a good opportunity would be wasted.
At this time, Madam Xue also understood something and said in surprise, "No way. My team didn't help you attract the other party's attention and eliminate the enemy that caught your attention first?"
She really thought that Mister Wind had sent her people to their deaths and then gave the other party an address so that they could gather and kill them all in one fell swoop.
"Of course not. If I'm not wrong, you should think of a way to let the other party get the letter. There's no need to ask anything else." Mister Wind looked at her strangely, not knowing what she was talking about.
After all, the other party's investigation gave him some pressure. If they found out something and reported it, it would be a disaster. At the same time, the other party would become the cornerstone of the first reinforcements.
"So that's how it is. I didn't understand clearly and got them killed."
Madam Xue knew that Mister Wind wouldn't lie about this. Thinking back to what Mister Wind had told her, it seemed to be the same. It was just that she had misunderstood him and said sadly.
This team was her trusted subordinates, and she really couldn't bear to lose them.
However, she didn't know that it was because they had risked their lives to protect the letter that the other side didn't suspect anything.
Pan Xuan and Mister Wind were also stunned. They understood what she meant, but they didn't expect her to do this. Before they could say anything, a servant came outside and shouted.
"Madam Xue, Fang Jie and the others have returned."
"Hm?"
This time, it was the three of them who were puzzled. They all felt that the other party had failed their mission.
"Come in. I have something to ask him." Although it was a good thing that the other party didn't die, the most important thing was whether the mission had been completed or not.
The attendant went down and quickly approached the place from the outside with two steps.
Pan Xuan casually looked towards the door, wanting to see what the other party had brought and what had happened. However, the moment she looked over, she was stunned and subconsciously stood up.
Mister Wind glanced over and saw a familiar figure. He didn't have any other thoughts.
He had received personal instructions from the ancestor and knew that Gu Zheng had become an outsider. This was the key. To him, Gu Zheng was just a friend he could use. After the mission was over, Gu Zheng had left on his own accord.
"Mister Gu, I didn't expect you to come so quickly. I was just about to arrange for people to wait for you at the door. Why are you two together?" Madam Xue was also surprised to see Gu Zheng.
"Madam Xue, it's quite a coincidence. On my way here, I happened to see them being chased by someone, so I helped them chase the other party away. Speaking of which, the other party was really bold to attack so close to us."
Gu Zheng first glanced at Pan Xuan and shook his head slightly at her. Then he looked at Young Master Feng. This was the first time he had seen him, and he was indeed a man of striking appearance. He was only slightly inferior to Gu Zheng himself. Seeing the other's arrogant attitude, Gu Zheng's gaze shifted to Madam Xue. He glanced at the child in her arms before replying.
"If it wasn't for Senior Gu, we really would have died this time. Even so, Si Ruo has already been sacrificed. But our mission has been completed." Fang Jie said guiltily.
"Don't stand at the door. Come in first." Madam Xue understood. Although sacrificing one person was better than all of them dying, she invited the other party in first.
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