The Regressor of Mount Hua-Chapter 346. To Appear And Disappear Unpredictably Like A Ghost (1)

Chapter 346. To Appear And Disappear Unpredictably Like A Ghost (1)

"Whew..." Blessed Existence exhaled after taking a deep breath. "Say it again."

"We were completely defeated at the Guizhou Front..."

"Shit!"

Bang!

Blessed Existence couldn't hold it in any longer and kicked the table in front of him. Startled, the Seven Star Division soldiers belonging to the Vast Gate Star shut their mouths as sweat dripped from the skin above their masks.

Let's keep quiet.

The brain of the Dark Heavens, Blessed Existence, wouldn't kill his subordinates for personal reasons, so it would be fine if they kept their mouth shut.

After finishing his report, he put aside his curiosity and waited.

"Potala Palace? Why would the Potala Palace help the Righteous and Evil Alliance?!"

It was an absurd report.

The Western Highlands murim once looked down on the Central Plains murim, so there had never been a case of the Western Highlands murim providing them any aid.

Moreover, their relationship with the Ming Dynasty wasn't completely understood. It was a completely ununderstandable situation.

"That's... well, Zhou Xuchuan—"

"Bastard!!" Blessed Existence glared, grabbing the back of his neck. "When did that brat go to the Western Frontier again?"

"I-it seems he traveled there during his cultivation journey."

Whenever a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect came of age, they would enter the gangho and roam around for five years. That was the so-called "cultivation journey."

However, Zhou Xuchuan's early activities and his cultivation journey weren't really public. He was careful not to stand out and had not been known as a notable talent until the Plum Blossom Order Sword's era.

The only thing that gave him even the slightest reputation during his cultivation journey was the betting incident with Tang Hui from the Sichuan Tang Family.

Yes, before visiting the Great Snowy Mountains, he visited Mount Ailao—known as the Poisonous Valley—and helped the Seventh Young Master of Diancang hunt the Seven-Horned Serpent, but it wasn't made public due to his request to keep his involvement a secret.

Since Zhou Xuchuan was so good at hiding, his whereabouts before the Seven Swords War were unclear and couldn't be confirmed at all.

"Zhou Xuchuan! Zhou Xuchuan!" Blessed Existence gnashed his teeth. Just hearing the name made his blood pressure soar and his teeth chatter. "When the murim falls into the hands of the Dark Heavens, I'm going to find everyone with the same name as Zhou Xuchuan and slaughter them all."

He was serious.

"And Destructive Soldier?"

"He fell at the hands of Zhou Xuchuan..."

"Then what about the Black Iron Armor and the Flame Point Spear?!"

"We failed to recover—"

"Damn it!"

Blessed Existence kicked the overturned table again. The tip of his foot was sore, but his anger completely overwhelmed the pain, leaving him completely numb to it.

"It's not that I didn't expect defeat, but to be completely defeated like so..." As expected of Blessed Existence, he calmed down quickly. He looked like he had lost his composure and was furious, but he was actually composed.

After all, they were in the middle of a war.

"Hmph!"

It wasn't that he hadn't expected defeat on the Guizhou Front.

Blessed Existence would always anticipate the worst.

However, he hadn't expected such an abysmal result.

About two thousand people had died not even at the hands of martial artists, but at the hands of a mechanism. The rest had either been captured or killed.

On the other hand, the total strength of the Righteous and Evil Alliance's Guizhou forces was about three thousand and five hundred. Aside from the initial damage that they had taken, their loss was practically nonexistent, leaving Blessed Existence extremely upset.

"Li Yicai, Zhuge Shengji..."

He had received reports of what had happened in Guizhou through his spies.

Li Yicai had bought the grudges of the Evil Faction through money, while Zhuge Shengji had won a great victory for them without suffering any losses through his mechanisms.

At this moment, both Li Yicai and Zhuge Shengji became the Dark Heavens' chief enemies right after Zhou Xuchuan. Blessed Existence gnashed his teeth as his blood pressure soared to the skies.

I thought that Zhou Xuchuan managed to escape the attack on the hidden branch through his cultivation base. However, it seems that it was all because of the Mechanism Freak—no, the Mechanism Dragon.

It wasn't that he hadn't known about Zhuge Shengji. Since the boy was someone who stayed around Zhou Xuchuan, he had naturally marked him as someone to watch out for.

Moreover, hadn't he been the only one who could use the dead art of mechanisms? If he weren't careful of the boy's talents, he would be a fool.

However, that boy wasn't supposed to be a genius of this level.

The Dark Heavens Association, or rather Blessed Existence, didn't actually have any skilled talents in the art of mechanisms. They simply reused relics and old mechanisms.

In fact, it wasn't that Blessed Existence's knowledge in the art of mechanisms was lacking.

Zhuge Shengji's level of knowledge was just abnormally high.

Blessed Existence was still unaware of the details, as he had yet to receive the map of the excavated Lake and Earth Formation, but it was still definitely not easy to wipe out two thousand people in a single move.

It was an achievement for the history books.

Moreover, who could have ever imagined that the treasure chest for talents known as the Valley of Phantoms would mobilize for simple labor work?

"Increase the number of informants and assassins in Shandong."

"We have received your order."

The Vast Gate Star retreated.

The Potala Palace has to watch out for the Ming Dynasty's reaction anyway, so it won't be able to help anymore. There's no need to be concerned about them.

Blessed Existence barely managed to suppress his anger.

"Don't be too happy about just winning once. A bigger disaster will befall you."

Blessed Existence's eyes were blazing with anger and the desire for revenge.

"Zhou Xuchuan, I'll make you regret going to Guizhou."

***

Anhui, Hefei...

Martial Alliance Headquarters...

Huang Gou raised his arms and cheered. "Long live!"

The Martial Alliance was in a celebratory mood after their victory.

When they heard that the Sword God had retreated despite being present during the first clash, they wondered about what they were going to do, but their worry turned out to be a needless one.

In the end, the Martial Alliance won a complete victory.

Zhuge Shengji...

Zhuge Xiang smiled. While he felt extremely proud as a Strategist, his joy as a brother was incomparably greater. His brother, who had been persecuted by the murim and by the family itself, was finally acknowledged by their family—no, by the entire murim.

He had been studying a subject that the family was neglecting, not to mention order. Through his efforts, he managed to shine.

He truly is amazing. Zhuge Xiang hadn't actually believed in his brother. He couldn't understand why the boy had been holding on to something uncertain to the point of risking persecution by those around him.

However, his one and only little brother, who had studied and polished a dead art to obtain deep knowledge about it on his own, was finally acknowledged by the murim.

His talent was extraordinary, but his tenacity, mental strength, and willpower were simply unparalleled.

"You have a great younger brother."

"How impressive, Strategist."

"The Zhuge Family is blessed!"

The elders around him expressed their gratitude with admiration. There was envy in their voices. The Zhuge Family had produced not one, not two, but three of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes in the same generation.

Even if this was only within the Righteous Faction, it still wasn't an easy feat.

They were truly a family that only produced geniuses.

The Mount Hua Sect was famous for being at the forefront of just about anything, and the Zhuge Family was now keeping up with them with their extraordinary geniuses.

The Zhuge Family was bustling with visitors trying to deepen their relationship with the family.

"By the way, the aid from the Potala Palace was unexpected."

"I heard that the Sword God asked the Potala Palace for help... what exactly is their relationship?"

The relationship between the Central Plains murim and the Western Highlands murim wasn't that deep, but after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, they became even more distant from each other.

The elders' surprise and curiosity weren't strange.

"A few years ago, the Sword God was traveling the gangho on his cultivation journey and accidentally saved the life of the Ganden Tripa of the Potala Palace.

"As a favor, the Ganden Tripa promised to help the Central Plains murim the next time they were in danger," Huang Gou answered that question.

"Oho! So does that mean that we can receive support from over a thousand lamas in the future?" Peng Junping smiled brightly and asked.

"Hmm..."

However, the reactions of Hui Lu from the Shaolin Temple and Jingren Shitai from the Emei Sect were subtle. They hadn't said anything, but they seemed to be unhappy.

That was understandable, as the Buddhism of the Central Plains and the Buddhism of the Western Highlands had different doctrines and weren't really on good terms.

Putting all other things aside, Lama Buddhism affirmed the cultivation method of Tantric Unity between men and women, which became the excuse for the monks of the Yuan Dynasty to become promiscuous. It was problematic in many ways.

From the perspective of the Shaolin Temple and the Emei Sect, which strongly avoided sexual desire, they were no different from the practitioners of the Evil Path.

In addition, there were times when Lama Buddhism, which became the national religion during the Yuan Dynasty, used its power to suppress other religions.

It was said that a divide had arisen within Lama Buddhism. The Gelug Branch had apparently appeared, changing it gradually. However, this was just the beginning, and there was no way to know the veracity of the matter.

If the person who had asked the Potala Palace for help hadn't been one of the Six Empyrean Overlords, there would have been strong opposition from both sides.

"The Potala Palace? Aren't they the main body of the Yuan Dynasty's state religion, Lama Buddhism? I'm worried that the imperial government will intervene."

Wu Bai pointed out the problem with concern. Hui Lu and Jingren Shitai suddenly looked delighted, and they soon realized that their worries were unfounded.

"You don't have to worry about that. I already heard that they will soon return to Xizhang from Guizhou for that very reason."

Huang Gou licked his lips regretfully.

The lamas of the Potala Palace, and a thousand of them at that...

Considering that they had come all the way to the Central Plains, their cultivation had to have been high on average. It was a shame to send them away like this.

"It would have been better if they had left fifteen or so experts..."

"No. On the contrary, if even one person is left, it will be problematic later on," Zhuge Xiang replied before Hui Lu and Jingren Shitai could say anything.

"The Strategist is right."

The new Martial Alliance Leader, Yun Guang, also agreed.

Becoming the Martial Alliance Leader meant that he had to pay attention to the relationship between the murim and the imperial government.

"Ugh, I know."

Huang Gou wasn't stupid, so he decided not to be stubborn.

"But—"

Boom!!

The door was opened roughly during the meeting.

***

Guizhou, Weng'an...

Tsongkhapa and Gedun Drupa...

Leaving behind their regret, Zhou Xuchuan had no choice but to say goodbye to the Lamas of the Gelug Branch.

As the national religion of the Yuan Dynasty, they knew that they were a sensitive subject to the Ming Dynasty, and thus couldn't stay for a long time.

If Zhou Xuchuan had the freedom to do what he wanted, he would have asked them to help the Righteous and Evil Alliance to the very end. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do under these circumstances.

Afterward, the Guizhou Army retreated, soaking in their victory.

The injured were divided into seriously injured and lightly injured, and it was decided that they were to receive treatment and leave the front lines, while the dead were returned to their families.

The remaining troops of the Dark Heavens Army, including Zhongli Daojun, who had surrendered, were taken prisoner and interrogated to obtain information about the enemy.

"Y-you're not really planning on torturing me, are you?!" Zhongli Daojeon threatened the executives of the Guizhou Army. After all, hadn't the Martial Alliance caused controversy not long ago due to the Black Shadow Division affair?

Zhongli Daojun aimed for that point.

"Yes, we are, you bastard."

Zhu Meng slapped Zhongli Daojun's cheek.

"Ugh! H-hyungnim!"

Zhongli Daojun cried with his teeth broken.

Even if the Martial Alliance couldn't get involved, the Evil Valley had no such qualms.

The Evil Faction was willing to do all sorts of rough things for the sake of profit, so there was no need for them to hesitate. As long as they didn't cross the line to the point of becoming demonic cultivators, there weren't really any problems.

"It seems like the interrogation will take some time," Shen Daoyun said, looking tired.

"We will interrogate those who may have some information, but all of them have lips heavier than iron. While Zhongli Daojun won't take that long, the others are the problem."

"...More than seventy percent of Destructive Soldier's entourage aren't martial artists but are originally from the imperial army. They are loyal to their superiors, and they value camaraderie more than you can imagine."

Zhuge Xiuluan expressed her opinion.

"It is as you said, Strategist. Moreover, they went through all the trouble to cut ties with the imperial government, so they must be afraid of getting involved again if they say something wrong. Above all, the Seven Stars Division soldiers are all tenacious."

Zhou Xuchuan confirmed Zhuge Xiuluan's words.

The Seven Stars Division soldiers were so tenacious that he could feel his teeth tremble from his past experience with them.

They were different from those who had betrayed the Righteous and Evil Alliance for personal gain, like Zhongli Daojun.

They truly were not ordinary.

While their subordinates weren't much different from ordinary martial artists, the aides of the Destructive Soldier were on a different level.

"It seems like it will take some time. Can I ask the Guizhou Front Commander to handle the rest?"

"I think you'd better ask Meng Chuhe or Zhu Meng rather than me," Shen Daoyun said, mustering up his courage to refuse with his eyes wide open.

The eyes of Meng Chuhe and Zu Meng, who were sitting in the conference room, flashed with the light of success.

Guizhou Front Commander!

They had won the first clash here, becoming famous throughout the world. Since it was a familiar place, they couldn't help but feel happy.

"I'm old now, so it's hard for me to swing my sword even once."

In the fierce battle of Guizhou, Shen Daoyun had not only shown his terrifying commanding skills, but he had also demonstrated outstanding martial arts. He even helped Meng Chuhe and Zhu Meng by finding their shortcomings.

There was indeed a reason he spent ten years on the frontlines as the Branch Manager.

"Then, how about helping them for the time being? I mean, while you're training your successors?"

"Of course!"

Shen Daoyun smiled brightly, feeling like dancing.

He hadn't expected to leave Guizhou right away.

The important facts were the official retirement and the branch change.

"But if it's not rude, can I ask where the dispatched troops are going?"

"That's—" Zhuge Xiuluan started.

BOOM!

The door was opened violently, and a messenger rushed in.

"Urgent news!"

"What's going on?"

Shen Daoyun's smile faded. A piece of news so urgent that the messenger had to interrupt a meeting was usually bad news.

"The Martial Alliance headquarters was attacked by the Dark Heavens Association!"

"What?"

The atmosphere in the conference room instantly sank.

"No, just what do they think they've decided to attack?"

"Is the information reliable..."

Just as the questions were about to pour down like rain.

The messenger's next words made those questions disappear.

"The vanguard is the Dark Heavens Association Lord! He's claiming to be the Dark Heavens Association Lord!"

"...!"

"The Dark Heavens Association Lord has appeared in Hefei!"