Chapter 676: Chapter 18 Lu Qingshan Must Die!_2

Guard Tower, here it comes!

……

In the seventh year of Tianyuan, Sky Dome Heaven was in unprecedented chaos.

Following the major defeat of the Netherworld in the Southern Territory by Guard Tower, other territories’ Netherworld branches likewise suffered losses, though not as devastating as that of the Southern Territory.

This sudden strike infuriated the Netherworld.

It disrupted their plans and plunged them into an unprecedented turmoil, causing everyone to fear for their safety.

…

At a hidden location.

Several vague shadows gathered together.

“Over in my Central Martial Domain, a state-level branch hall was discovered by Guard Tower just yesterday,” said Ji Kang, the Mansion Master of the Central Martial Domain’s Netherworld, “As of now, all six branches, with the exception of the Central Spirit Domain’s Main Palace lineage, have suffered precise strikes by Guard Tower to varying degrees, with the Southern Territory incurring especially heavy losses.”

“Detestable,” Mansion Master Zhou Qi from the Central Heavenly Realm spoke with an undertone of uncontrollable fury, “This Lu Qingshan is truly detestable!”

The six branches’ Mansion Masters had always been at odds with each other.

The reason they were now gathered amicably was entirely because of the shared animosity towards Lu Qingshan.

“Who could have thought, having infiltrated the Human Race for so many years without issue from Guard Tower, it would be a minor Lu Qingshan, a Void Refining Cultivator, who would bring us to such a state?”

Zi Ren, the Mansion Master who suffered the heaviest losses, mocked himself, “My Southern Territory branch has taken the worst fall this time. It will take at least a century to recover to our former condition…”

Following the Southern Territory Netherworld’s incident, a crucial branch hall of his Western Domain lineage was also exposed by Guard Tower.

Having seen the example set by the Southern Territory, he hesitated for a moment and eventually chose to painfully sever connections and swiftly withdrew from the other major branch halls, making a sacrifice to mitigate further loss.

As it turned out, aside from the Southern Territory, the other five regions’ losses were confined to one or two branch halls–He had simply frightened himself, creating his own obstacles.

A great embarrassment.

He was sure that the other Mansion Masters, despite saying nothing overtly, were most likely ridiculing him behind his back.

Just thinking about it made Yu Lei’s resentment towards Lu Qingshan even deeper.

“Our formation is now in disarray, and we’ve lost the initiative. Guard Tower is seizing the opportunity to pursue their victory and expand their gains,” said Zhang Heng, Mansion Master of the Northern Domain, gravely, “No matter how great the losses, those are things of the past. We need not dwell on them too much. The most important things now are twofold…”

“First, we need to stabilize our position and prevent further chaos. We must ensure the losses do not continue,”

Zhang Heng spoke steadily and unhurriedly, “The second great war will not be delayed for long. Once the Demon Lord finishes the last of his preparations, the war will escalate in full.”

“By then, as the spikes driven into the belly of the Human Race, our most important task will be to hinder the Human Race, to cause significant internal turmoil to impact the overall war effort.”

“However, if the current situation persists, not only will we be unable to pose a strong threat to the Human Race when the time comes, but we may also not even be able to gather a respectable number of hands!”

The others were silent but nodded in agreement.

In recent years, they had indeed become overly bold.

This lesson had reminded them that their advantage over the Human Race was never due to their strength, but rather because they, the Netherworld, were the “rats”.

Rats can be a headache and loathed by humans because they steal human food.

But could rats ever defeat humans?

Impossible.

“Second,” continued Zhang Heng, pausing deliberately, “Lu Qingshan must die, he must!”

Even he revealed a trace of grinding teeth when saying that name.

“Whether it’s the instigation of the Sword Sect or the hints from Xia Daoyun, since his fingerprints are everywhere, he must die,” Zhang Heng’s eyes darkened, “Furthermore, I even suspect that these messages might very well be from him himself…”

“How could that be?!” Yu Lei objected instinctively, “He’s just a Void Refining Cultivator, how could he know these secret messages?”

“Then tell me, why would either the Sword Sect or Xia Daoyun communicate the Netherworld’s information to Guard Tower through Lu Qingshan?

Do they have some issue with contacting Guard Tower directly?” Zhang Heng analyzed calmly, “What significance does it serve them to arbitrarily introduce a Lu Qingshan into the equation?”

“Furthermore, intelligence indicates that since the Zhenjiang Corpse Puppet Chaos, there has been a trace of Lu Qingshan. Keep in mind, at that time, he had not yet entered the Sword Sect nor did he know Xia Daoyun. So at that time, who was providing him with information?”

“You all, because of his Void Refining cultivation, have underestimated him, assuming he’s just a puppet with someone more powerful behind him,” Zhang Heng raised his voice, “But if you just calm down and think carefully, you’ll see this conjecture is full of logical inconsistencies…”

Zhang Heng’s words plunged the others into silence.

After deeply reflecting, they could not help but admit that Zhang Heng was speaking the rational truth; they had fallen into flawed thinking.