Chapter 943 – Full of Doubts
Ye Qingyu was already used to Hu Bugui's casual way of greeting.
Ye Qingyu was naturally overcome with different emotions when he saw his old friend who had fought alongside him. He saw Hu Bugui's unshaven beard and noticed that several parts of his patched-up robes were slashed with faint traces of bloodstains on it. Nonetheless, Hu Bugui's yuan qi was still abundant and he was in high spirits as though he hadn't sustained any injuries at all. Ye Qingyu couldn't hold back a laugh at that sight and said, "Brother Hu Bugui, don't be too jealous. I just happened to be lucky. You might not know this but there were a couple of times where I almost died. If it were you, I'm sure you would have gained more from it after several near-death experiences."
Before he arrived at Hundred Flowers Valley, he could already sense that Hu Bugui's and Nan Tieyi's strength had increased greatly over the past two to three years. With the resources they had and their good fortune, he was sure that they would definitely become top experts sometime in the future.
"That sounds dangerous and exciting. Ha ha ha, it's been such a long while, so we must definitely find a place to drink and share our stories tonight."
Ye Qingyu was already used to his manner of speech so he nodded in assent, then turned to Nan Tieyi, "Brother Nan Tieyi."
Nan Tieyi did not look a disheveled as Hu Bugui but his complexion was still rather pale. The wounds on his body had already healed so only the sword slash marks on his brocade robe could be seen.
He nodded with a smile.
Nan Tieyi couldn’t rein in his excitement at the sight of his old friend, Ye Qingyu. At the same time, he became slightly emotional.
He could already tell how powerful Ye Qingyu had become when he watched him battle against the master of Heaven Desire Demon Sect. This was not something that either himself or Hu Bugui could hold themselves up against. He still remembered that when they first met this youth from Heaven Wasteland Domain, Ye Qingyu had only been a young boy from an unknown domain. In a matter of two to three years, he was now the formidable newly promoted expert on the Road of Chaos. Their destinies had diverged drastically.
He truly felt happy when he saw how prominent Ye Qingyu's rise had been throughout the myriad domains.
"Oh right, Brother Ye Qingyu, why did you suddenly rush over to Hundred Spirits Sect?" Nan Tieyi asked as he recalled something.
They had been unable to request aid from others because of how sudden the attack on the Hundred Spirits Sect had been and how quickly Heaven Desire Demon Sect had besieged the surrounding hundred-kilometers around the Hundred Flowers Valley.
"After I arrived at Clear River Domain, I went to Flowing Light City. I heard about the Heaven Desire Demon Sect's attack from a storyteller at the South Facing Inn and immediately rushed over." Ye Qingyu replied.
"You've already been to Flowing Light City? Sigh… this must mean that you've probably heard about what happened… Cheng Zhengliang and the rest… it is such a pity." Nan Tieyi sighed softly, his eyes sorrowful at the thought of the deaths of Cheng Zhengliang and the others. "It was too late by the time the Immortal God Emperor Sect received news of this. We missed the golden opportunity to help them and while we were on our way, we were ambushed by the Greater One Sect, losing many heroic men as a result."
Ye Qingyu was stunned by Nan Tieyi's words.
He sighed, then nodded, "You're right. I went to the South Facing Inn after entering the city and gained a brief understanding of the overall situation. Cheng Zhengliang, Leng Xiaoran, and the others died tragically… I also heard about how Brother Hu Bugui rescued Madam Leng. I initially wanted to exact vengeance on behalf of Cheng Zhenglinang and the rest but when I heard about the situation at Hundred Spirits Sect, I didn't dare to dally and rushed over at the first instance."
The atmosphere turned a little grave.
"Pfft! These bastards of the Greater One Sect are extremely cruel and violent. They killed the innocent everywhere they went in order to quash the opposition. They are goddamn inhumane!" Hu Bugui couldn't hold back his curses, ignoring the fact that those around him were all women.
However, the disciples of Hundred Spirits Sect were all martial artists and after barely escaping from the jaws of death, countless had been killed or injured. Their state of mind was no longer like an average lady and the hatred they bore toward Heaven Desire Demon Sect was no less than Hu Bugui. They were only not able to curse and swear to their heart's content due to their upbringing under sect rules.
The group of women secretly agreed with Hu Bugui's words and their hatred was clearly reflected on their faces. They didn't judge him for his crass words earlier.
"It was only a matter of two to three years, so how could Clear River Domain change so drastically? How did the Greater One Sect manage to rise from the ashes to become this powerful?" Ye Qingyu looked at Nan Tieyi in confusion.
Amongst the group, the Immortal God Emperor Sect once held the greatest power and their information channels ran throughout Clear River Domain. Thus, Nan Tieyi would know best if there were any news.
Unfortunately, Nan Tieyi shook his head a little helplessly as he said, "The world is unpredictable. After the fierce battle previously, the Greater One Sect took a serious hit and it was true that they were not able to recover from the setback. Up until more than a year ago, there were only a few bedraggled soldiers to guard and seal the mountain. Their sect master, Greater One Immortal and several masters of the remaining peaks were rumored to have already left Clear River Domain. It could be said that the Greater One Sect was nothing but an empty shell and no longer wielded any influence or authority in Clear River Domain. Therefore, the Immortal God Emperor Sect didn't annihilate them since we were both Human Race sects. We stopped attacking them but instead placed all our efforts on re-establishing an alliance with the major Human Race sects throughout Clear River Domain to oppress the foreign races and stopped paying them much attention. However, a few months ago, there was a strange turn of events and the Greater One Sect suddenly grew more powerful. With a surge of unbelievable strength, they led their disciples and armies to launch surprise attacks on various sects. Several branches of the Immortal God Emperor Sect were also caught unawares and suffered great losses. One misstep brought about this calamity. Now we are forced to go on extreme reactive mode and it would be extremely difficult for us to have the upper hand again."
"That's right. Hundreds and thousands of Human Race sects have been attacked by the Greater One Sect during this period and they have all been completely destroyed with almost no survivors. The power of the Human Race across Clear River Domain has been greatly depleted." Master Cheng said with her brows tightly knotted and a flash of worry in her eyes. "The Greater One Sect is an embarrassment to the Human Race. It is completely understandable if they wanted to reclaim the power and status they enjoyed once before but why did they attack their fellow Humans instead of killing those cruel foreign races? Peace had only lasted for less than four years at Clear River Domain before war broke out again. The peace and stability that the Immortal God Emperor Sect had put so much effort to achieve has now been destroyed by the Greater One Immortal and his wretched ambitious cronies."
She was so angry that her whole body trembled in rage by the time she finished speaking.
"Damn it, I thought that the Greater One Sect was like an old eagle with its wings broken. There was no way they would be able to become such a threat based on their previous strength. Who would have expected that… I think that old man Greater One Fool must have formed an alliance with a major force from a foreign domain. They must have garnered the support of a foreign force in order to stage such a powerful comeback," Hu Bugui said angrily.
Nan Tieyi's expression was grave and he nodded, then added, "Yes, I support Brother Hu Bugui's theory. This should be the reason why. According to the news I've gathered earlier, the Greater One Sect seems to have obtained the support of a super force from a foreign higher domain. This was how they managed to become so powerful in such a short period of time. Furthermore, they received the support of the armies and many super warships. Their motive is to crush everyone who opposes them and become the true ruler of Clear River Domain. I don't know what price they paid in order to obtain the support of this foreign force but it would definitely mean nothing good to the Human Race of Clear River Domain."
"I think the Greater One Sect is ultimately still a pawn. The force hiding behind them is the one with true designs on Clear River Domain!" Master Cheng's beautiful eyes flashed with hatred. The Heaven Desire Demon Sect might have been the one to attack today, causing such devastating losses, but even a fool could tell that the Heaven Desire Demon Sect had the support of the Greater One Sect.
Ye Qingyu looked contemplative after he heard everyone speak. He thought for a moment and said, "Brother Nan Tieyi, your information channels have always been quick and reliable. Could you secretly investigate who is the force behind the Greater One Sect?"
If they could dig to the root of the problem and find out what the background of the forces supporting the Greater One Sect is, based on his current status as the third deputy spokesperson of the Human Race, Ye Qingyu shouldn't have much of a problem handling this.
Nan Tieyi, Hu Bugui and the others from Hundred Spirits Sect all shook their heads.
"The force behind the Greater One Sect is extremely mysterious. I'm afraid no one throughout the Clear River Domain knows their origin and true identity," Nan Tieyi said honestly and told them everything he knew. "We've only formed a vague understanding of them. They are indeed very mysterious and we have yet to see them unleash all of their true power. They might secretly have something up their sleeves. As for the soldiers of their army, their martial way is of a kind that we've never seen before. We can't identify it at all."
"I've exchanged blows with these soldiers and found that the armies of this force were a few thousand times stronger than the Demon Spider Army. If not for my precious treasure, I wouldn't be standing here in front of you, Little Ye Qingyu," Hu Bugui said with a shudder.
Hu Bugui was obviously referring to that half a piece of tile and Ye Qingyu had also seen this tile before. It was very peculiar and contained a wisp of Emperor qi. This should have been a remnant piece left behind after some Emperor weapon had been destroyed. He didn't know how Hu Bugui came across this tile but the fact that this broken tile had managed to save Hu Bugui time and time again from the jaws of death showed how incredibly powerful this tile was.
As they spoke, a series of barks rang out from the Void. Then, a round and white figure appeared in front of them.
"Woof… Master, there are far too few of these people to satiate me!" The white figure shrank to return to the mini-sized silly dog Little Nine. Its belly was now round and protruding and it smacked its lips, then jumped up to sit onto Ye Qingyu's shoulder. Its eyes were narrowed and a satisfied expression spread across its face.
"Ha ha ha… It's been a few years but why are you still so gluttonous, you little white dog?" Hu Bugui burst out laughing as he pointed at the silly dog.
"Well, if it isn't the chief bandit. I can't believe you're still alive," Little Nine said rudely.
