Chapter 276: Forces That Cannot Be Provoked

Inside a secret room on the top floor of the Duojin Trading Company, two people were present: an old man and a young woman.

The young woman, Qu Qinger, watched the crowds outside gradually disperse and couldn't help but ask, "Elder Jin, how did you know these people wouldn't actually fight?"

The old man chuckled, "I didn't."

"Then why didn't you intervene? How could you calmly watch them cause trouble right in front of our trading company?"

"It wasn't that I wouldn't, but that I couldn't."

"Why?" Qu Qinger asked, puzzled. "They even smashed our gold emblem. If we just let them off like this, won't it make us seem very..."

Elder Jin gave a wry smile and raised a hand to stop her from continuing.

To be honest, if anyone else had dared to cause such a commotion in front of the Duojin Trading Company, they would have been driven away within moments. If they had lingered, the formidable power of the Duojin Trading Company, one of the top ten trading companies on the continent, would surely have been unleashed.

But...

Elder Jin sighed, "Qinger, do you know about 'Ghost Beasts'?"

"Ghost Beasts?"

Qu Qinger shifted her gaze from the window back to the old man. "I've heard of them, but... what do they have to do with those people?"

Elder Jin smiled, "Under the protection of the older generation, you younger ones have largely forgotten how terrifying Ghost Beasts are. Decades ago, the Sacred Temple issued a blood decree, and nearly all remaining Ghost Beasts in the world were exterminated. This naturally brought several years of peace. If these creatures never reappeared, that would be ideal. Whether due to the deterrence of the Sacred Temple or a genuine intention to remain hidden from the world, it essentially amounts to the same thing: they wouldn't dare to show themselves. But it's different now. They've come."

Qu Qinger asked, bewildered, "Ghost Beasts?"

"Yes." Elder Jin nodded. "Ghost Beasts have arrived! Aren't you curious about what Xu Xiaoshou was holding?"

Qu Qinger's eyes lit up. The question of how holding seemingly empty air could subdue those two seemingly extraordinary individuals had troubled her for a long time.

"It wasn't air..." Elder Jin knew what she was thinking and said, "What that young man was holding was likely a Ghost Beast."

Qu Qinger was stunned. "Likely... so even you, Elder Jin, aren't certain?"

"Indeed." Elder Jin nodded. "Ghost Beasts originate from other dimensions. Even though they are detested by the Sacred Temple, for some unknown reason, they seem to be favored by the Heavenly Dao of their original space, making them inherently invisible. Such entities cannot be detected by spiritual senses; they seem not to exist in this world at all. Weaker ones can still be seen with the naked eye, but some of the stronger ones can stand right in front of you, and you wouldn't even know they were there!"

Qu Qinger exclaimed, "But if even you, Elder Jin, can't see them, how is that possible?" If even Throne-level experts can't see Ghost Beasts, how could they be exterminated? Could it be that all those who exterminated Ghost Beasts were beings even more powerful than Elder Jin? She recalled Elder Jin's earlier statement about the Sacred Temple's blood decree, which eradicated almost all Ghost Beasts remaining in the world, and her heart immediately tightened.

So this is... the Sacred Temple, the continent's foremost power? How different it was from the image she had of the Sacred Temple!

"So, Elder Jin, your meaning is that those two strangely dressed individuals came seeking Ghost Beasts, but a Ghost Beast took an interest in Xu Xiaoshou instead?" As Qu Qinger finished speaking, she quickly realized something was wrong and asked, aghast, "A Ghost Beast that even you, Elder Jin, couldn't see, that young man could see?"

Elder Jin smiled. "Not just Xu Xiaoshou; the swordsman holding the famous sword in the arena earlier could also see it. Being able to see such a creature indicates that their spiritual power, or soul power, is many times greater than that of ordinary people, far beyond what a regular Spirit Cultivator can achieve. As you know, this ability cannot be cultivated; it's an innate talent. Therefore, you can deduce that such individuals possess extraordinary talent and have limitless futures!"

Qu Qinger said with interest, "So, Elder Jin, you mean I can try to befriend these people?"

"No!" Elder Jin refuted, his expression serious. "That's precisely what I wanted to tell you: you must never approach these people!"

"Why?" Qu Qinger asked, curious.

Elder Jin sighed. "This world has many rules, and even the Heavenly Dao will gradually reveal itself once you reach the Throne realm. These rules, or rather, this established order, both restrict you and protect you well. Just like the Sacred Temple I mentioned earlier, as the continent's foremost power, it envelops and protects everyone in the world. But is this truly a good thing? In the unseen shadows, Ghost Beasts still exist, and we don't know how much they may have secretly developed. And you, who have lost a clear understanding of Ghost Beasts... just imagine, what if one day this power retaliates?"

Qu Qinger was stunned. "But isn't there still the Sacred Temple?"

Elder Jin shook his head. "I'm talking about the 'what if'! Even if that probability is truly low, so low as to be completely impossible, what if that 'what if' actually happens? Even if, as you think, that 'what if' doesn't occur, what about other similar forces? There are many organizations suppressed by the Sacred Temple!"

Qu Qinger lowered her head in thought. She seemed to grasp the unspoken meaning in the old man's words, and a look of shock appeared on her face. "Elder Jin, do you mean that our Duojin Trading Company also intends to rebel..."

"You're overthinking it!" Elder Jin interrupted her directly. "The Sacred Temple's title as the continent's foremost power is no exaggeration. Even though many forces have tried to resist, throughout history, who has ever succeeded?"

"Then..." Qu Qinger was confused. If their own trading company didn't harbor such intentions, what exactly was the old man trying to convey by saying all this?

Elder Jin stroked his beard with a smile. "I merely wanted to tell you that great chaos is approaching. In this world, there are many things you can get involved in, but there are certain forces you must never touch."

"Which forces?"

"The 'Xuyue Gray Palace' and the 'Holy Slaves'!"

Qu Qinger frowned. To be honest, she had barely heard of these two forces! What was there to fear about organizations with such low profiles that even someone like her, who handles intelligence, had only vaguely heard of them? There were far more powerful organizations on the continent, so why be wary of these two specifically? Qu Qinger glanced at Elder Jin again, wanting to ask more questions, but seeing him with his eyes closed, she knew he did not wish to elaborate further.

"Xuyue Gray Palace, Holy Slaves?" Qu Qinger pondered. According to Elder Jin, these two organizations were probably not as simple as they appeared to the world. It was even possible that they were the entities the old man referred to, those attempting to overthrow the Sacred Temple.

But... was that even possible? That was the Sacred Temple, an existence that had stood strong for ten thousand years!

"Holy Slaves..." Qu Qinger chewed on the word. If her intelligence was correct, this organization had recently been active in Tiansang City, and there were even rumors that they had attacked the Tiansang Spiritual Palace.