The sea of clouds stirred violently.
A golden carriage broke through the sea of clouds and flew towards the Stone Hall.
A pegasus pulled the golden carriage, which was gleaming like a miniature sun.
An old man in a brocade robe stepped out of the carriage, kept it away, and walked into the stone hall.
In the hall, numerous gazes swept over in unison.
Dozens of people were already sitting in the hall. Most of them were old men and women, and the youngest among them was about fifty years old. They all wore different clothes and had different temperaments.
The only thing they had in common was their qi auras.
They were all in the middle to the latter period of the State of the Nascent Soul, and they were the strongest people in the Ninth Continent.
“Ha! All of you are here! Oh? The people from the southern region and the northern wilderness are here too!”
The old man in the brocade robe looked around and smiled.
“Hurry up and sit down, Treasure Collector. We’ll just have to wait for a few more before we can start.”
The person who spoke was the sect leader of Primeval Mountain.
“How lively!”
The old man in the brocade robe muttered and sighed.
All the major forces of the Ninth Continent were gathered there. Each of them wielded considerable influence, but they were all gathered together for the sake of a kid.
They dared not meet in the Void Realm in case someone might leak the news.
They came from all over the continent to discuss how to deal with that kid.
They were already at their wit’s end after searching for so long. They could not find a clue, and it was as though the kid had vanished into thin air.
They had no choice but to ally.
It was the first time that had happened in the Ninth Continent.
An hour later, more people arrived and took their seats.
“Let’s begin!”
The patriarch of the Di family said.
Those who had been resting opened their eyes.
The group of people looked at each other, but no one spoke first.
“Damn! Are you all mute?”
A rugged-looking middle-aged man with a green tattoo on his forehead slammed the table and said.
He was Fengbo Ye, the leader of the Rainmaker Tribe.
“This is ridiculous! How can a mere kid force our hands?” The leader of the Hillrazer Sect shook his head and sighed.
The other people seemed unhappy when they heard that.
They were all the most powerful figures in the Ninth Continent, but they could not do anything to a young kid. It was really disgraceful.
“What do you mean, a mere kid? He’s not a mere kid, he’s a freak. The Void Realm has considered him as an eternal hero. It’s not shameful at all for us to do this,” Fengbo Ye said in a low voice.
“Alright, let’s discuss how we can find that kid,” the Primeval Mountain sect leader said, “Don’t you all want to?”
Everyone laughed drily. All of them had dreamed of finding that kid!
That kid had too many treasures on him: A Shard of the Great Path, a divine bone, a ball of elemental fire, the Fleetfoot Stride, and the Nirvana Sutra…
Anyone who managed to capture him would have struck the jackpot.
“How are we going to find him? We’ve been searching for so long, but we still haven’t found any clues.”
“That’s right! That kid hid himself too well!”
They all complained.
“I have an idea!”
Suddenly, Gu Jianzi, the Broken Sword Mountain sect leader, spoke.
In an instant, everyone fell silent, and they all looked at him.
GuJjianzi said coldly, “That kid… is abnormally cunning, and he didn’t accidentally reveal his identity. If he doesn’t show himself again, we won’t be able to find him.
“If he doesn’t show himself, we’ll lure him out.”
“Lure him out?” Everyone was stunned.
“That’s right. The first time he showed up, he snatched the divine bone. The second time, he took the elemental fire. He would show himself as long as there’s a treasure,” Gu Jianzi said, “We can set up a trap and use a treasure as bait.”
Everyone immediately understood his plan.
“Well… I’ve had that idea too, but actually carrying it out is still a problem. You’ve already said that that kid is exceptionally cunning. Once he discovers that something is amiss, he will run away or simply not come.”
Someone frowned and said.
“That’s right!” Everyone nodded.
Gu Jianzi sneered and said, “He won’t come? Then we’ll give him a treasure that he can’t refuse.”
“For example?”
“For example, the sublime fruit! “Gu Jianzi enunciated each syllable coldly.
“Sublime fruit? Oh, right, that one over there is almost ready for harvest. That kid has unsealed nine chakras. If he wants to cultivate a sublime golden core, he’ll need the sublime fruit.”
“Wonderful! That kid will not be able to resist the temptation.”
Everyone discussed.
Gu Jianzi grimaced, and his expression became more and more sinister.
“He might resist the temptation of the sublime fruit. After all, so much time has passed, and he might already have been in the State of the Golden Core. We’ll add another treasure to make it more tempting.”
“Oh?”
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
“We’ll add in another epiphany tree. Didn’t he get a Shard of the Great Path? When I wandered in the First Continent in my younger days, I’ve heard that the shard contains knowledge of the Great Path. That’s a very rare treasure.
“However, it’s extremely difficult to comprehend it. He needs something like the epiphany tree to help him. Do you think that he’ll be able to resist the temptation?”
Everyone pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
“Good idea. He won’t be able to resist the allure of both treasures.”
“But how do we let him know?”
The Martial Mountain sect leader raised his hand and said, “That’s simple. Recently, there’s a new invention in the southern region. It’s called a newspaper. Almost everyone in the southern region reads the newspaper. If we publish the news about the treasures, he’ll definitely see it.”
As he spoke, he took out a few copies of newspapers and passed them around.
As the people read the newspapers, they could not help but click their tongues in wonderment.
“So how should we deal with that kid? Are we going to fight him?”
“No, we can’t reveal ourselves. That kid will bail once he senses that something is amiss. We’ll have to rely on the prodigies in our sects,” Gu Jianzi said.
“He has a supreme treasure, so we’ll give our prodigies supreme treasures. If we work together, we’ll definitely be able to take down that kid.
“Once we catch him, that kid’s life will be mine to claim!”
Gu Jianzi’s face twitched as he said that.
“Alright! Let’s do it!”
The Primeval Mountain sect leader slapped the table and said.
The others agreed to the plan.
Then, they began to discuss the details.
A few days later, an article appeared in the Southern Daily. It said that the prodigies from the Yue family and Martial Mountain were heading north to participate in the Sublime Harvest.
The article described the Sublime Festival in detail and also made a passing mention of the epiphany tree.
Tang Hao held the newspaper and pondered for a long time.
“Sublime fruit, epiphany tree..”
As he muttered to himself, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He had a vague feeling that something was amiss.
It was too much of a coincidence. He needed both of the items.
He found Taoist Master Qian Ji and asked him about it. From the Taoist master, Tang Hao found out that the news was leaked to the paper by one of the elders of Martial Mountain. It was obvious that it was a trap.
“Heh! Do you think that I’ll fall for it?” Tang hao sneered. “Fine, I’ll go and meet you guys for a while.”
He made some preparations and headed north.
