Cultivation: But Not a Game-Chapter 242 - 153: The Disintegration of the Thousand Feather Sect

Chapter 242: Chapter 153: The Disintegration of the Thousand Feather Sect

Several minutes later, Su Yu appeared above Li Shui Town and immediately saw a large fleet with guild flags docked outside the town on Chensha River.

Two Tier Six Giant Wood Divine Ships, five Tier Five Furious Whale Ships, and twelve Tier Four Wave-piercing Ships.

"Have they developed this well?"

Su Yu remembered that when he left, their fleet only seemed to have one Tier Five Battleship and four Tier Four Battleships.

However, as he got closer to Li Shui Town, he realized he might have overthought it. The players gathered in the town were clearly from more than just one fleet.

"Could it be that other fleets’ bases were destroyed, and they’ve all come here?"

Su Yu scratched his chin and sent a message to Gu Zhiqiu:

"I’m back."

He received a reply from Gu Zhiqiu in less than three seconds:

"Boss, you’re finally back. If you were any later, we would have had to flee."

"Hurry to Li Shui Town, Mr. Chu and the others are all here."

"All the main fleet from the second group is at Li Shui Town?"

"Yes."

"What about Chensha Town?"

"That’s complicated to explain. Come here for a face-to-face meeting first."

"Alright, I’ll be there soon."

Two minutes later, Su Yu met Gu Zhiqiu at the town mayor’s residence.

Giving him a hug, he sincerely said:

"Thank you for your hard work during this period."

Gu Zhiqiu rubbed his temples, looking exhausted, and complained:

"So you know it was tough, huh? You’ve been quite the hands-off manager. Didn’t you say you’d be back in a year? It’s been two more months."

"Haha, I went on a long journey and got delayed on the way."

It was evident he had a lot of grievances, and Su Yu, feeling guilty, spoke in a subdued tone.

"So, what’s the situation with the guild now? How many guilds have joined forces, and has Chensha Town been taken over?"

Gu Zhiqiu nodded gravely and said:

"There are a total of three and a half guilds, led by the Celestial God Association, allied with the local Frostfire Guild, Sword Spirit Pavilion, and Thunder Eagle Association. Chensha Town was..."

"Hold on."

Su Yu interrupted him and asked in confusion:

"How is this related to the Celestial God Association? Is it the Celestial God Association from the Endless Forest?"

Gu Zhiqiu nodded and said:

"Yes, it’s led by the Celestial God Association from the Endless Forest, allied with local guilds."

"What a coincidence?"

"What coincidence?"

"I’ve heard of this guild."

Su Yu waved his hand, thinking he might be overthinking it. This was something brought on by Ding Lingyu and had nothing to do with him.

He and the Celestial God Association had at least superficially reconciled, so they couldn’t be targeting his guild because of this.

"This means someone from the Celestial God Association has also joined the Bright Unity sect and is competing for this town’s heritage."

"What a stroke of bad luck."

Su Yu shook his head inwardly and gestured for him to continue.

Gu Zhiqiu took a sip of water and continued:

"Now our second group’s Chensha Town and outside resource areas are all lost. The main force of the second group is now all staying in Li Shui Town. The Poisonous Mist Swamp originally occupied by the third group is also lost, and the bases of various mid-sized groups within our power range were taken over by nearby guilds one by one."

"Now the guild only has its headquarters and a few nearby large bases left. The three major guilds, after defeating us, are surrounding us but not attacking, continuously applying pressure and poaching our members."

"The affiliated teams, merchants, and studios have mostly left. The three main regiments have been heavily poached, and more than a third of our second group’s main force has already left."

"At the peak, the guild had 74 independent mid-sized groups. Before this, 42 had clearly left, some leaving the area and some joining other guilds."

"Most of the remaining ones are hesitant, and I estimate it won’t be long before they’re all poached away."

Gu Zhiqiu lamented:

"Unless a powerful external force intervenes, or a top expert mediates, the guild’s disintegration is imminent."

Su Yu listened in silence, also unable to offer a solution to the situation.

At this point, even if the Celestial God Association stopped, it wouldn’t help; the three guilds would not stop.

"By the way, what’s Mr. Chu’s take on this? Where is the second group heading?"

Gu Zhiqiu shrugged:

"How would I know? She’s made no statement. But you’re back now; go ask her."

"I’ll ask later."

Gu Zhiqiu sighed in relief and said with some annoyance:

"It’s great timing that you’re back. I’ll notify everyone that you’re back now, and you can handle this mess yourself. I can’t manage it."

Su Yu laughed and patted him on the shoulder:

"Thank you for your hard work."

Gu Zhiqiu rolled his eyes:

"Just a verbal thanks? Is there any compensation for the hard work?"

"Yes."

Su Yu immediately took out a disposable storage bag he had long prepared and handed it to him.

"What’s inside?"

Gu Zhiqiu took the storage bag, opening it with curiosity.

As soon as he opened it, he saw three millennia-old red fruits, a batch of Five-Colored Spirit Fish that could enhance physique and power by 1,000 points, and two sixth-grade spirit essences. His eyes immediately lit up, and he beamed:

"You’ve been thoughtful."

After storing the items, he waved and said:

"You go find Mr. Chu, I’m going to refine these items."

"Alright, see you later."

Waving his hand and watching Gu Zhiqiu leave, he sent a message to Chu Xinyue:

"Leader, I’m back."

After a while, Chu Xinyue replied:

"Where are you?"

"In Li Shui Town."

"Come to the second floor of the base."

"I’ll be right there."

Coming out of the mayor’s residence, the base was right behind. At the entrance, he saw Chu Xiaoyu waiting there, who greeted him with a beaming smile:

"You’re finally back. If you were any later, we’d have to leave."

Su Yu smiled and cupped his hands:

"Long time no see, Xiaoyu, you’re as beautiful as ever."

"You and your sweet talk, now go on in, the lady is waiting for you."

Su Yu casually handed over a storage bag:

"Just a small gift."

"Oh, you’ve made some progress."

Chu Xiaoyu laughed, thinking it was just a small token, and didn’t pay much attention as she took it.

After Su Yu went inside, she glanced at the storage bag and was surprised to see three crimson fruits and a batch of Five-Colored Spirit Fish inside. She then laughed:

"You’ve really made progress, knowing how to give gifts now."

At the base, on the second floor, Su Yu gently knocked on the door, and a familiar voice came from inside:

"Come in."

He pushed the door open and was momentarily stunned by the figures in the hall.

Besides Chu Xinyue, there were two women and a man. One of them was Xiao Qingli, and the other man and woman he didn’t recognize, but they seemed familiar, as if they were friends, and all four were Loose Immortals above level one hundred.

The four seemed to be in conversation, but stopped when they saw Su Yu enter. Four pairs of eyes were now on him.

"Leader, Fairy Xiao, I’m back."

Su Yu solemnly greeted the two beautiful women and cupped his hands towards the other two.

Chu Xinyue nodded and gestured for him to sit down, saying:

"You’re not late. We’re currently discussing what to do next. As the captain of the third team, you’re qualified to give your opinion."

Su Yu immediately asked:

"What did the leader have in mind previously?"

"There are two ideas: one is to merge with the strongest guild, the Sword Spirit Pavilion. The Sword Spirit Pavilion has already promised that I can take the team to form a new main team with treatment equivalent to Thousand Feather Association."

"The other idea is to leave here and develop elsewhere, but we haven’t decided where to go yet. Moreover, it’s hard to leave the homeland, and not everyone is willing to leave a place they’ve lived for decades. Many might not want to leave."

"Which does the leader prefer?"

Chu Xinyue raised an eyebrow and said:

"Let’s hear your thoughts first."

Su Yu thought for a moment and held up one finger:

"I think the first option is good."

"Merging with the Sword Spirit Pavilion means we don’t have to leave here and won’t waste time and effort starting over. Also, the Sword Spirit Pavilion is stronger than Thousand Feather, offering more stability."

Chu Xinyue murmured:

"You also think staying with the Sword Spirit Pavilion is good?"

"Uh."

Su Yu paused, noticing Chu Xinyue’s expression suggesting she might not agree with this path and quickly asked:

"Leader, do you not want to stay here?"

She nodded:

"I initially thought the same as you. If there aren’t major changes, merging with the Sword Spirit Pavilion isn’t bad, but....."

Her brow furrowed as if she found it hard to say.

At this moment, the man among the four spoke:

"The vice president of Sword Spirit Pavilion has indecent intentions towards Xinyue."

"???"

Su Yu was speechless for a moment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the indignant Sword Immortal Xiao Qingli and vociferously criticized:

"That’s truly wishful thinking. For such a person to be the vice president, the Sword Spirit Pavilion isn’t impressive. Even if they invite us, we shouldn’t go."

After a pause, he continued:

"Besides the Sword Spirit Pavilion, the Frostfire Guild isn’t as strong as Thousand Feather, and their activity area is in the Chensha River. Upstream is the more powerful Star Forging Guild, and downstream, the former Thousand Feather headquarters will probably be occupied by the Sword Spirit Pavilion. Being in between isn’t easy, not an ideal ally."

"The Thunder Eagle Association is downstream of the Yuanjiang River and their strength is comparable to Thousand Feather. Joining them might allow us to barely contend with the Sword Spirit Pavilion."

"But that said, we want to join them mainly to have fewer troubles. Thunder Eagle Association isn’t strong enough. I fear we won’t have peace upon joining."

He looked at Chu Xinyue, who also looked over with a frown and asked:

"None of the three guilds work, should we consider the Celestial God Association?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

Su Yu touched his forehead and honestly said:

"I have a grudge against the Celestial God Association."

"A severe one, they’re still secretly offering a bounty on me."

"A bounty? What did you do?"

"Nothing much, just sabotaged one of their major guild operations, causing them great losses."

The others were puzzled, but Xiao Qingli was surprised and asked:

"Could it be the failed operation in the Demon Ape Demon Country half a year ago?"

"It should be that."

Xiao Qingli looked at him with newfound respect, arousing everyone’s curiosity, and the male Loose Immortal asked out of curiosity:

"Tell us about it, what exactly happened?"

Xiao Qingli explained:

"About half a year ago, the Celestial God Association mobilized tens of thousands of members and their Tier Eight Celestial Strike Battleship to destroy the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons, but the operation failed disastrously. It’s said that someone sabotaged it, and the Celestial God Association issued a series of warrants and bounties."

"Later, for unknown reasons, the warrants were lifted, but the bounty remains. The reward is now 10,000 taels of gold per capture."

"It’s just that after almost half a year, no one has managed to claim the bounty."