Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible-Chapter 136: Is The Demonic Sect In The Room With Us?

"Pine Town? Never heard of it."

"There has never been any town with that name around here, young man."

"Are you sure you got the name right? Because I’ve been living here for two decades and never heard of a place called Pine Town."

Those were the standard answers they got from the townsfolk and villagers living close to Pine Town’s location.

It was as if they were the only ones who remembered the existence of the small town adjacent to the woods. The implications were horrific, to say the least. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Among the three of them, the only one who didn’t look shaken out of wit was Xuanyuan Zhou. But her calmness didn’t strike Han Xuhan as odd. He had grown used to her perfect poker face over time.

Truth be told, he felt that Xuanyuan Zhou only expressed her emotions when she wanted to gain something out of it. Manipulative as it was, Han Xuhan felt a sense of camaraderie with her in that aspect.

He himself was a bit too quick to give in to his emotions in his current, younger body. But the old him, the politician Hans Schwann on Earth, was just as jaded to the ups and downs in life. He had to build up that same mental fortitude once more in this life as well. But that also made him wonder...

He, a transmigrator, wasn’t able to keep his nerves under control when this young lady looked so calm. What was she relying on that gave her so much confidence?

Shaking the meaningless speculations out of his head, he focused on the present issue. The absolute erasure of a whole human settlement... It was truly crazy to think about. The more people they interrogated, the more intimidated he felt.

Seeing Mu Ran and Xuanyuan Zhou discussing deeper investigation methods, he almost wanted to shout at them.

’Quit courting death! Stop the investigation! Run for the shelter, bitch!’

Han Xuhan wasn’t particularly scared of a face-to-face battle against strong opponents of his realm, or even a duel of wits and resourcefulness; but this?

The unknown is always the scariest—this particular ancient saying was proving itself to be true in the most pronounced manner. And he did not like this frightening feeling, this insecurity one bit.

It reminded him of how vast and mysterious this world of cultivation truly was; that he was nothing but an ant-like being that had just gained the wisdom to comprehend his own insignificance.

So, despite Xuanyuan Zhou’s insistence on further investigations, Han Xuhan covertly convinced Mu Ran to head back.

Sitting on the deck of the small private boat that they had reserved for the journey back to the sect, Xuanyuan Zhou tried to connect the dots in a hushed discussion.

"If all the people who should have been familiar with the town have forgotten its existence, then why do WE remember it? That, I think, is the most important question right now. We are likely to be the last humans who came in contact with them. Perhaps that makes us special, somehow?

"Or have we unknowingly become a target for ’erasure’ as well?" Han Xuhan said, deliberately fearmongering.

"Maybe the only reason our memories are still intact is because we were inside the Holy Land of Laws, and thus evaded the power that erased the existence of the town? What’s to say that now that we’re out, we won’t be attacked on the way? Or even forget our memories of the town by the time we return to the sect to report the details of the mission?"

"In that case, it’s a good thing that we are already on our way to return to the sect. If we hurry, we might be able to avoid being inflicted by such a memory erasure curse." Mu Ran seemed relieved.

"Exactly." Han Xuhan didn’t want to end up being cursed or memory-wiped. Whoever was behind this erasure could not be a part of the righteous orthodoxies. Moreover, there was one major issue Xuanyuan Zhou had forgotten to add to the bucket list.

"My lady, don’t forget to include Shen Kai’s agenda," he said, making Mu Ran’s eyes light up in a realization. Xuanyuan Zhou looked rather confused for a second.

"Shen Kai? Your scapegoat? He’s too weak to be behind such a massive incident." She dismissed the suggestion immediately.

"Why not? He might be weak. But he’s most likely to be a member of some secret demonic sect—"

"There are no secret demonic sects on our continent, Attendant Xuhan. Using my access to the royal archives of my kingdom, I have studied the rise and fall of numerous sects across the last five hundred years. I think the historians and the powerful old monsters interviewed for such information would be able to tell if such a foe of the righteous faction existed."

"...." Han Xuhan couldn’t understand why she was so adamant about not accepting the notion of demonic cultivators.

A small voice of suspicion rose in his heart. Does Xuanyuan Zhou perhaps have a strong guess about how the erasure of Pine Town took place? The way she seemed hell-bent on digging out clues about it, such a possibility wasn’t out of the question!

"Martial Sister Zhou, underling Xuhan’s words carry some merit. Just think about it. Shen Kai could have been using the Town Chief’s identity and shelter to ward off strong investigators and ambush the weaker ones. The disappearances in the town might have also been his handiwork.

"All those monstrous undeads we came across inside the Holy Land, where could they have come from if that place was hidden from the public for so long? Shen Kai, and whatever organization was backing him, must have kidnapped the mortals and weak cultivators to explore that world fragment recently!"

Mu Ran’s theory was something that Han Xuhan also agreed with, partially of course. The flaw in it was too big, and Xuanyuan Zhou identified it within seconds.

"If demonic cultivators were exploring that world fragment, how come we never met any of them throughout our journey? We pretty much scoured both the second and the third stage, didn’t we?"

Mu Ran shrugged. "You’ve seen the laws that surround the peripheral regions. Nobody particularly powerful can get in. And those who get in have to solve the puzzles inside the red orbs and learn the language.

"And why are you so sure that we didn’t meet any demonic cultivators in the second and the third stages? We enslaved plenty of people. Anyone among them could have been a demonic art practitioner in disguise. It’s not like they’d have the words tattooed on their foreheads."

Xuanyuan Zhou looked like she had a very good retort against the argument, but she opened and closed her mouth like a huffing fish a few times before deciding not to say it.

"If we’re talking about the demonic cultivators, then Shen Kai is the least of our worries right now," Han Xuhan muttered gloomily.

Xuanyuan Zhou’s eyes suddenly widened as realization washed over her.

"Ah, I think my lady has caught up to what I’m trying to say. Pine Town actually does not exist, or has ceased to exist due to the intervention of some greater powers that we are unable to fathom at the moment.

"This can assure us of one clue. Within the last couple of days, the cultivators who arranged for the erasure of the town visited this place. But this is our sect’s territory, and Crimson Snow Sect is no small organization. What kind of power would dare to come and do something so terrible right under our nose?"

This time Mu Ran’s expression contorted in horror as well.

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