Chapter 640 - Towering Palace’s Rise to Power
In the next half a month or so, Happy stayed at Sky Demon Branch and obtained a drop of Fire Qilin Blood or a small Fire Qilin Scale every time he went into Sky Demon Secret Cave. Even though he only had one chance to enter every day, Sky Demon Orders were rapidly reducing in number. During the later stage of their raids, even if they killed some evil cult elders, the chances of them dropping Sky Demon Orders became lower.
They raided Sky Demon Secret Cave for more than twenty days before finishing up all their Sky Demon Orders.
The other sects welcomed spring at that moment.
However, during the days Mu Clan monopolized Sky Demon Secret Cave, they collected eight Fire Qilin Scales and twelve drops of Fire Qilin Blood. They also obtained more than one hundred Moksha Realm martial art manuals and more than thirty demon vessels.
During that period of time, Mu Clan devoted themselves to developing their strategy in Sky Demon Secret Cave and ignored everything else. They just focused on raiding the dungeon.
Class One Hall, in the meantime, had a stable foothold over the north, just like usual.
Even though Chivalry Sect's status was very stable, they were engaged in endless conflicts with local sects, and even if Wind Void as well as Lin Xiao boldly chased away groups who loved causing trouble, some of their branches still faced the dual trouble of their members not being a united front as well as the local sects attacking them. The loss of their members and resources was very great.
However, since Mu Clan was in most of the regions where Chivalry Sect resided, as long as Mu Clan came out to mediate the situation, they could still stabilize it. Hence, even though unrest exploded from within and its impact was incredibly great, Chivalry Sect did not reach a point where everyone's spirits would be crushed and fall apart. Compared to their situation in Happy's previous life, the trouble they faced was very minor.
Because of what was going on, the three great leaders of Chivalry Sect learned from Mu Clan. They governed their sect and branches based on regions, and the three leaders each served as garrison over one of them. They cultivated their own higher-ups and in time stabilized the situation in the south, albeit slowly.
Since they had the advantage of occupying the coastal area, Towering Palace's contact with the various forces of power from foreign countries increased day by day, and they formed quite close ties as well as relationsh.i.p.s with a large number of powerful players from other countries!
Towering Palace served as a middleman when the locals traded with foreign martial artists. They sold martial art manuals, weapons, and equipment from different regions to the foreigners and obtained tens of billions from it.
Also, through the astonishing resources from the sea, Clear Music and Musical Note brought a group of martial artists whose strength did not lose to that of Merciless Saber and Loving Sword into the palace. Gradually, they grew stronger in the coastal area.
Some foreign guilds surged into the Chinese server at the time, and they were even more complicated than the Chinese guilds.
Many of the players who came from countries with great unrest chose to play the game in a risky and exciting manner. They were like assassins in the dark!
They were ready to give up on everything for the sake of wealth!
In their eyes, many of the martial artists in China were moving treasure c.h.e.s.ts. Third-echelon masterpieces and weapons were incredibly dazzling existences, and they were very expensive in other countries.
Hence, theft, robbery, murder, ambushes, poison, arrows, and all other methods were used.
The coastal area became the most chaotic region in China, and the game also entered its darkest period. All sorts of malicious thefts became the trend in the world of martial arts.
However, the foreign players were very particular when it came to where they would attack. They did not attract the imperial court's attention, and they kept themselves well hidden.
Every single time they committed a crime, they would stir up a large scale hunt, so they would take a ship to hide in an island before they quickly headed to another city. They were very flexible in their tactics.
All sorts of complaints rose, and during this time, quite a number of sects publicly cried out saying that they wanted to chase the foreign guilds away, but under Towering Palace's might, they could not launch many of their operations.
If they chased away thee foreign guilds and elites, they would cut off Towering Palace's path to riches.
Selling equipment to different countries had already become a way for Towering Palace to get rich quick. At that moment, if anyone chased away the foreign elites, it would be the same as them cutting off Towering Palace's money-making path, and they would become Towering Palace's enemy.
After a few sects were destroyed by Towering Palace, its authority in the coastal areas grew to the point that it carried a heavy weight. The foreign players and guilds also obtained very good land for their sects!
Because of that, a group of powerful foreign players even joined Towering Palace, and it received the good favor of many foreign guilds. The contact between them and Towering Palace increased day by day.
As the foreign organizations and powerful players gained their footing in the Chinese server, some foreign players who were dressed in the attire of Chinese martial artists could occasionally be seen moving through the streets.
There were some from China who scolded Towering Palace, but there were also some who supported them.
However, Towering Palace's increasing strength became incredibly obvious. In terms of reputation, they were already showing faint signs of overtaking Class One Hall and standing together with Mu Clan!
Over that period of time, many eye-catching new and powerful players appeared in the game.
As the plot for Twin of Brothers spread through the game, the disciples from the eight evil cults increased day by day. Some of them even approached Myth Realm, like Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan. Their strength increased by leaps and bounds, and they shot straight to become top-class elites like Vast Heaven, making many players incredibly jealous. They went to perform the quests with a greater frenzy in hopes that they would be able to soar in the sky and become one of the greats one day as well!
*****
At the ruins of Sky Demon Sect were a group of Mu Clan disciples. They guarded a spawn point in groups of three-five, and they either sat or stood as they waited for the appearance of Sky Demon Sect disciples.
Eleventh Crane was dressed in the normal attire of Mu Clan members. He hid in the crowd like a hunter with great experience. He watched the Mu Clan members ahead of him with wariness, and occasionally took a glance at the small forest behind him.
For some unknown reason, he felt that the atmosphere in the forest was a little strange.
Every day, one or two evil cult disciples would respawn there, and no one would ever notice it. But a few minutes ago, he clearly saw weapons shine in that spot in the forest.
Eleventh Crane said nothing, but after some time passed, he narrowed his eyes slightly. He looked as if he was nodding off, but a sharp look that was usually not there shone through the gap between his upper and lower eyelids.
"It should be about time."
The person in the lead was Rampaging Dragon!
Once he got close, he quickly noticed that something was wrong based on Eleventh Crane's expression. He tugged at the reins and looked around warily before he asked, "Big Brother Crane, how's the situation today?"
Eleventh Crane raised his chin without batting an eyelid and pointed at the forest across from him.
"We have a few guests, " he said and paused. "Where are Happy and Silver Wolf?"
He suddenly noticed that there were two people missing from Rampaging Dragon's team. Only Little North and a few unfamiliar faces he had never seen before were in the group. However, their qi seemed pretty strong, and they gave off a cold feeling, as if they were ice.
"Big Brothe
r Silver has some matters to attend to, and he can't come over today." Rampaging Dragon swept his gaze over the forest and narrowed his eyes slightly. He held back the killing intent in them.
"Happy perfected his Nine Yang Divine Skill yesterday, and his fight against One Emperor is around the corner. He should be wanting to prepare some things.
"He said that we are allowed to deal with any accidents that occur over this period of time! Now, right when the boss left, someone came over to cause trouble? Looks like they think that I'm very easy to deal with. Hmph!"
He spoke in a murderous voice and snorted at the end. Eleventh Crane's heart trembled when he heard it.
Chapter 641 - Escape Through the Ground!
"Look!"
"The people from Mu Clan are here."
"I knew it. Happy hid his tracks and left elsewhere. The person leading the team this time is Sky Demon Branch's master, Rampaging Dragon. Silver Wolf is also not in the team. This is good!"
There were around twenty men dressed up strangely in a small forest near Sky Demon Branch. Their faces were covered by black veils, hiding them. Many of them had one hand wrapped around a tree while they took a look at the people behind Rampaging Dragon from high above.
"Hmph."
"These people still dream about monopolizing Sky Demon Secret Cave even without Happy and Silver Wolf guarding them?" The person in black who was at the tree closest to the front snorted coldly. A fierce light shone in his eyes.
Right when he finished speaking, the people behind him quickly agreed to whatever he said. "Big brother, should we attack now or wait a little longer?"
The speaker's voice was sonorous, powerful, and determined. It held no signs of uneasiness even though their target was an entire party from Mu Clan.
"Don't be hasty." The leader made a gesture at the twenty or so party members behind him, telling them to remain calm and not be reckless. A cold glare shone through the black veil on his face. "Little North and Momo are both top-class elites of Mu Clan. Rampaging Dragon's equipment is worth cities, so he can somewhat be considered one of them too.
"They have three elites in their group, and one of them is All-powerful Medicinal Stone, whose Body Movement is more than two hundred. It'll be very difficult for us if we try to destroy all of them. Besides, there are still a lot of Mu Clan members outside. We'll take action after they enter Sky Demon Sect."
"Understood!"
The group behind him fell back into dead silence like they were logs.
When some time passed, one of them shouted out, "They entered!"
Rampaging Dragon and his group were outside for a few minutes before they dismounted and went into Sky Demon Sect in a single file.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A hole was quickly opened on the flat ground, and they quickly jumped inside.
A small hump was formed on the ground, and that hump quickly moved through the forest. It circled round the area where the Mu Clan members trained and headed to the entrance of Sky Demon Sect.
The men in black vanished without alerting anyone.
*****
Eleventh Crane, who had been monitoring the small forest in the distance, suddenly had an incredibly strange and uneasy feeling. The sensation of being watched had vanished without a warning.
"What's going on?" Eleventh Crane had a puzzled expression appear on his face. "Have they left?"
As he spoke, he frowned deeply. He could not believe that those people would choose to leave after monitoring them for so long.
However, the small forest was more than 656 feet away from Sky Demon Sect. There were also a few teams who were training on their way there. It was impossible for anyone to approach Sky Demon Sect without alerting any Mu Clan members.
"I'll go over and take a look."
Eleventh Crane had a very bad feeling.
Many great players and sects coveted Sky Demon Secret Cave. It was especially so when a few parties had taken the initiative to offer their Sky Demon Orders to party with Mu Clan. After going in together, they noticed that there was a hot and cold tunnel in Sky Demon Secret Cave, and many players were determined to learn their secrets.
Happy and Silver Wolf's departure had led to the appearance of the mysterious surveillants.
With a keen mind, Eleventh Crane linked all those factors together, and a hint of unease rose in his heart!
As time passed, the feeling that he was being watched no longer appeared, and the uneasiness in Eleventh Crane's heart grew stronger. In the end, he could no longer hold it in. He stood up, turned his head around, and said, "Two of you, come here. Follow me into the forest to take a look."
When the people in the group heard Eleventh Crane's words, they said nothing but just stood up to surround him with their weapons drawn and ready for battle while they moved into the forest.
When they rushed into it, they examined the whole area.
The group finally gathered together around a strange freshly dug hole.
"What is this?"
Boom!
A tunnel that was dozens of feet long instantly collapsed, and he learned that it was headed to Sky Demon Sect.
The Mu Clan members looked at each other at a loss.
"This is bad!"
"They've dug a tunnel to enter Sky Demon Sect!"
While crying out in alarm, Eleventh Crane brought out a messenger pigeon. He did not dare to be slow or inattentive in this matter. He quickly wrote a letter and released it into the forest.
Once he did that, he shouted urgently, "Hurry! Gather our men!
"Send messenger pigeons to our members in other branches. Tell our friends in Sky Demon Branch to increase defense level to Class One! Don't let anyone get close to the branch!
"All members near Sky Demon Sect should now enter the cave with me!"
Once they learned that there was someone targeting Rampaging Dragon and his party, everyone became incredibly angry. Hundreds of elites quickly gathered together and surrounded the entrance of Sky Demon Sect.
When Eleventh Crane was prepared to lead the group into Sky Demon Sect, a snow-white messenger pigeon landed on his shoulder in front of everyone's eyes.
Silence fell among them.
Eleventh Crane quickly opened the letter and read it. The frown between his eyebrows swiftly vanished.
Rampaging Dragon had replied to him saying that he already knew. He also mentioned in the letter that they had enough power to handle any danger, so he told Eleventh Crane not to bring anyone inside so that nothing unexpected happened.
Eleventh Crane said nothing.
When he saw Rampaging Dragon's lively but illegible handwriting, even though Eleventh Crane was still a little worried, he quickly calmed down.
Rampaging Dragon was not a rash person.
Since he mentioned that he had made full preparations, it meant that he had made full preparations.
Besides, once Happy and Silver Wolf left the party, logically speaking, they should not be able to kill the evil cult's great elder. If they wanted to get rid of the two main powers, they should have added new members into it.
Eleventh Crane's mind moved very quickly. He swiftly recalled the unfamiliar faces in Rampaging Dragon's team. They were normal Mu Clan members, but they could join such a high-ranking mission… and it was even a mission that Eleventh Crane himself did not have the chance to join.
"Could it be them?"
Eleventh Crane was a little excited.
Recently, there were a lot of rumors online saying that Mu Clan might have expanded quickly, but the number of their top-class elites never increased. In comparison, when Towering Palace obtained a lot of resources, they also opened up many paths and took in a lot of powerful foreign players. They caught up to Mu Clan, and it was only a matter of time before they surpassed Mu Clan and became the strongest sect in China.
Many Mu Clan members were angry but also resigned to this.
But a few unfamiliar faces had suddenly appeared, which mad
e Eleventh Crane suddenly realize that Happy had given a set of valuable equipment to Rampaging Dragon and the others recently, and he linked it up with his act of dividing a few major regions.
It made him come to the conclusion that Happy was setting up something right in front of everyone, but no one was seeing it.
Chapter 642 - Wind and Rain Alliance
There was a city in the coastal area to the south. In the evening, a built man sat quietly alone by a window on the first floor of Snow Splash Tower. He had a pot of wine and a wine cup in his hands, but he did not move even after a long time had passed. His gaze was solemn, and there was a frown on his face, as if there was a gloomy shadow hanging over him that just would not go away.
Thud, thud, thud.
Powerful footsteps came from the stairs. Judging by the sound, quite a number of people came.
Night Rain Follows Wind sighed deeply. He slowly poured wine into his cup. At the same time, he redirected his gaze to a young man full of smiles. He was the person who entered with five guards behind him.
"Big Brother Wind!"
When the newcomer saw the man sitting by the window, a complicated smile appeared on his face. He approached Night Rain Follows Wind with a greeting. "Sorry I'm late. I made you wait, didn't I?"
"Sit."
Night Rain Follows Wind cast a glance at the five unfamiliar faces behind the newcomer and calmly told him to sit down before speaking with an underlying meaning, "Young Xie, last time, whenever you had to see me, you would come over very quickly. Back then, we talked about everything."
The expressions of the young man known as Young Xie changed slightly.
Night Rain Follows Wind looked into his eyes before speaking again. "But ever since Wind and Rain Alliance was set up and you became the vice master of the alliance, and Abyss Tower grew under your lead, you come with guards whenever you have to see me. We seem to have become rather distant."
Young Xie was the second most important person behind the alliance of sects known as Wind and Rain Alliance, which was a very famous alliance that had recently risen to power in the south. He was its vice master—Xie Yi!
Sword Among Us c1-1268 Page 320
