Chapter 1794: Informing

In the secret room of the stronghold, Hu Dequan's voice echoed, "In the past few months, a new force seems to have emerged in this realm, targeting Saint Blood Peak everywhere. Several of Saint Blood Peak's operations have been disrupted, resulting in significant losses."

"Where did this force come from?" Yang Ling frowned. Hu Dequan usually handled external affairs. Yang Ling himself typically spent his days cultivating or sleeping to maintain his combat strength. As the strongest member of the Red Talisman Society, wielding two red talismans, he was essentially their trump card against Saint Blood Peak. In past Black Abyss contests, he had always been the one to confront Li Tian.

So, upon hearing Hu Dequan mention a new force emerging in their realm, Yang Ling was quite perplexed. For many years, this realm had been characterized by a standoff between two major powers, a situation they had long grown accustomed to. How could a third party suddenly appear?

Hu Dequan replied, "It seems to be organized by rogue cultivators from Black Prison Cliff."

"Rogue cultivators, organized?" Yang Ling was even more surprised. "Could they really cause trouble for Saint Blood Peak?"

Hu Dequan nodded. "That's why I'm also a bit confused about the situation." It wasn't that he underestimated those scattered cultivators. Undeniably, some of them possessed considerable strength. If they hadn't been corrupted by the blood rain and tainted with saintliness so early on, the Red Talisman Society would certainly have tried to recruit them. However, having suffered losses in the past due to this, the Red Talisman Society absolutely dared not accept cultivators imbued with saintliness. Yet, it was also inefficient to expend effort dealing with them, so they were left alone. However, Hu Dequan was the first to disbelieve that these individuals could truly cause Saint Blood Peak such losses. These scattered cultivators usually hadn't been in this realm for very long, so their saintliness was generally inferior to that of Saint Blood Peak cultivators. In any confrontation with Saint Blood Peak, they would certainly be at a disadvantage in terms of saintliness.

Yet, the intelligence he had gathered indicated precisely that.

Beside him, Meng Xu nodded. "I've heard about this too. Apparently, several of Saint Blood Peak's teams operating outside were completely wiped out, with only a handful of individuals escaping."

Yang Ling exclaimed with surprise, "These rogue cultivators... they're quite capable!" He then frowned. "But why are they doing this?"

Logically, the only viable path for these rogue cultivators would be to seek refuge with Saint Blood Peak, as the Red Talisman Society would certainly not accept them. Yet now, not only have they not sought allegiance, but they've banded together to target Saint Blood Peak. Is it because they're tired of living?

Hu Dequan mused, "I suspect someone might be trying to replace Li Tian!"

Yang Ling paused. "Among those rogue cultivators, someone has such ambition?" If so, they should have made their presence known much earlier, not just recently.

Meng Xu suddenly spoke up, "Do you two remember that young man?"

A young face immediately appeared in both of their minds. It had only been a few months, so how could they forget?

"The changes in this realm seem to have occurred only after this person's arrival. Could he be behind it?" Meng Xu speculated.

Yang Ling frowned. "He's only at the Moon Splendor mid-stage; how could he possess such ability? Among those rogue cultivators, there are several at the late-stage Moon Splendor. Even if he wields the deterrent power of a red talisman, how could he subdue these rogue cultivators? And furthermore, make them risk their lives against Saint Blood Peak for his sake?"

"But the timing is a bit too coincidental."

The timing was indeed very coincidental, but none of them believed that the young man could have unified the rogue cultivators to contend with Saint Blood Peak.

"I plan to find an opportunity to contact Black Prison Cliff and see what's going on," Hu Dequan stated. Although the Red Talisman Society couldn't accept cultivators tainted with saintliness, the enemy of an enemy could still be a potential ally. Black Prison Cliff and Saint Blood Peak already had an irreconcilable conflict. For the Red Talisman Society to make contact, even if there were no benefits, there would be no harm.

"That's certainly possible!" Meng Xu nodded. "But we still need to be careful. This might be a trick by Saint Blood Peak, and even if it's not, they might not share our aspirations."

"I'll be careful," Hu Dequan sighed. "In just over half a year, a new round of the Black Abyss contest will begin. I don't know if we'll be able to hold out this time."

In the Black Abyss contests between the two major factions, Saint Blood Peak had always held the advantage. The Red Talisman Society had managed to endure solely through the power of its red talismans. However, over the years, these talismans had diminished with each use. Currently, only a few red talismans remained available. Once they were depleted, the Red Talisman Society would have no power left to resist.

To merely survive, they would need Mount Fangcun to send more personnel and bring new red talismans.

Discussing the Black Abyss contest, everyone present wore expressions of helplessness, truly uncertain when such days would end.

In the silence, a voice suddenly drifted down from above. Though somewhat ethereal due to the thick layers of earth that muffled it, it still reached their ears clearly: "Would the esteemed Daoist brothers please show yourselves?"

Hu Dequan and the others' expressions all changed. They exchanged glances, realizing the gravity of the situation.

This fundamental stronghold of the Red Talisman Society... had been exposed!

This undoubtedly terrified them, but to their relief, it wasn't Saint Blood Peak that had found them, but a somewhat familiar voice.

It was precisely the young man they had just been discussing.

After only a brief hesitation, the three made a decision. Since the other party had already found their way to them, hiding was no longer an option. They needed to find out how this young man knew the exact location of the stronghold and understand his intentions. If possible, it would be best to keep him there, otherwise, the stronghold's location might inevitably be revealed to Saint Blood Peak one day.

A moment later, in a concealed mountain cave, energy surged and a grand formation hummed. Hu Dequan's figure appeared.

They normally traveled to and from the stronghold using teleportation arrays, and there was more than one such array.

Hu Dequan appearing alone was undoubtedly intended to lower Lu Ye's guard. The other cultivators of the Red Talisman Society would emerge from different arrays to surround Lu Ye.

The Red Talisman Society's plan seemed flawless, but when Hu Dequan arrived at Lu Ye's location, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Because, looking around, Lu Ye was not alone.

With him at the forefront, more than a dozen figures stood behind him. Most of them looked very familiar; even if they hadn't interacted directly, they had been seen from a distance. They were clearly the rogue cultivators.

Could these rogue cultivators really have been unified by him? If so, had Lu Ye also orchestrated the recent actions against Saint Blood Peak?

Even though Hu Dequan had entertained the thought before, he was still astonished upon seeing it firsthand.

He didn't know what methods Lu Ye possessed to integrate such a force in such a short time, and judging by the demeanor of those rogue cultivators, they seemed quite respectful towards him...

This was going to be difficult!

They had originally thought Lu Ye came alone and had planned to detain him. However, with over ten people on the other side, including four late-stage Moon Splendor cultivators, how could the Red Talisman Society possibly detain them?

It wasn't that they couldn't detain them, but forcibly acting would only result in a mutual loss. Furthermore, if the commotion became too great, attracting the attention of Saint Blood Peak cultivators, the consequences would be far more severe. With this thought, Hu Dequan quickly activated a sound talisman, sending a message to Yang Ling and Meng Xu, who were already converging from other routes, to stand down.

He detected no hostility from Lu Ye, so he decided to first understand his intentions.

"Daoist brother, we meet again," Lu Ye said, looking at Hu Dequan.

Hu Dequan's expression was complex, and he sighed faintly, "What kind of play is this, young brother?"

Bringing this group of people so suddenly and directly finding the Red Talisman Society's most secluded stronghold certainly seemed like an unfriendly visit. Yet, the other party displayed no hostility, which left Hu Dequan utterly bewildered.

"I only came to warn you, Daoist brothers," Lu Ye said, looking at him sincerely. "Your stronghold has been exposed. Cultivators from Saint Blood Peak are on their way to surround and annihilate you, so you'd best pack up and leave here."

It had to be said that this Red Talisman Society stronghold was very well hidden, remaining undiscovered for years and providing sustained strength to the Red Talisman Society cultivators. However, Saint Blood Peak was no pushover. Li Tian had always sought to find this stronghold, expending unknown amounts of energy and resources, and finally made a discovery a few days prior.

Lu Ye's knowledge of this matter naturally came from his informants within Saint Blood Peak. Otherwise, with his limited foundation in this realm, it would have been impossible for him to find this place.

Hearing this, Hu Dequan's expression abruptly changed. "Where did you get this information?"

Lu Ye looked at him, offering no explanation. "Since I could find this place, don't you understand, Daoist brother?"

Hu Dequan's expression flickered between uncertainty and gloom. His first instinct was that Lu Ye had tipped off Saint Blood Peak, but upon further thought, it seemed unlikely. The two factions had been fiercely clashing for months, and Saint Blood Peak had suffered several unilateral losses. Lu Ye wouldn't do something like this.

Furthermore, it made no sense for Lu Ye to warn Saint Blood Peak and then come to alert them.

"Daoist brother, I understand your rules for recruiting personnel, but sometimes adhering strictly to tradition isn't beneficial. Against a common enemy, forming an alliance is the only way forward. I've said all I need to say. Farewell!"

With that, Lu Ye turned to leave.

Hu Dequan's expression shifted. He was alarmed by the news he'd received and conflicted by Lu Ye's words. Suddenly, he raised a hand. "Wait."

Lu Ye stopped and turned his head to look at him.

Hu Dequan said, "Shall we exchange sound talisman imprints?" He had previously intended to contact these rogue cultivators at Black Prison Cliff. Now that they had actively come to him, it was only natural to go with the flow.

"Alright!" Lu Ye flicked his finger, and a sound talisman flew out.

A moment later, after they had exchanged sound talisman imprints, Lu Ye led his followers, transforming into a sea of blood, and swept away into the distance.

Black Prison Cliff was no longer safe. While Saint Blood Peak moved against this location, they had also dispatched many cultivators towards Black Prison Cliff.

Saint Blood Peak had been deeply established in this realm for many years, possessing highly effective intelligence channels. Over the past few months, Black Prison Cliff had launched several severe attacks against them. Saint Blood Peak could not have been unaware and had already pinpointed the source of the problem.

The Blood Moon was approaching, which would significantly enhance the strength of the primordial bloodkin. Saint Blood Peak clearly intended to seize this opportunity to simultaneously strike the Red Talisman Society's stronghold and crush Black Prison Cliff, eliminating both major threats in one swift move.

(End of chapter)