Leaving Taoist Qing Ye on assignment at the Taoist Research Institute, Gu Zhao led the rest of the group back to the Daluo Palace. There, he saw Changyi and Yangshuo, who had also returned. Yangshuo was injured, his Divine Soul weak—it was obvious his Sea of Consciousness had suffered a Spiritual Attack.
"What happened?" Gu Zhao’s eyes narrowed.
Although this world was filled with numerous experts and great dangers, not to mention an Outer Celestial Demon eyeing them like a tiger watching its prey, injuries among the Daoists were rare. This was due to their cautious nature, the ability of their Taoist True Qi to fight above their level, and their capability to call for backup via the Thunder Seeds. Especially since Yangshuo had just recently broken through to five hundred years of Dao Practice and had Changyi by his side. Who could possibly hurt him?
"It was a Ghost God in Shanzhou," Changyi answered. "But this Ghost God isn’t native to Shanzhou. He came from the Western Divine Country. He’s a Divine King of a nation, and also the lover of that Lady of Illusion."
Listening to Changyi and Yangshuo’s explanation, Gu Zhao finally understood the origins of this Ghost God. To the west of the Central Plains Court lay many plains of varying sizes, separated by rivers and mountains. The geography was no inferior to the Central Plains, yet it hadn’t formed a unified government; instead, it was carved up by multiple countries. Furthermore, the rulers of these lands were not humans, but gods who ruled directly. Thus, they were known as the Western Divine Country.
Unlike the Central Plains, which boasted a unified ruling power along with national sects like the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court, the Western Divine Country was splintered into many nations, each with its own National Guardian Divine Sect. These divine countries and sects varied in size and morality. They cooperated and competed, constantly scheming against one another. Although their overall strength was formidable, their internal friction prevented them from unleashing their full potential.
The numerous gods of the Western Divine Country required Incense and human souls, leading to a perpetually tense relationship with the Central Plains Court—at least far more strained than the Central Plains’ relationship with the Southern Border Mountains. As a result, the Central Plains Court’s military presence on the western border far exceeded that on the southern border. This was why Taoist Jing Feng, after discovering demonic traces in the border province of Lezhou, was able to locate his target so quickly and swiftly eradicate it with the help of the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court.
It was only because Shanzhou was located in Wanling Jiangnan. If it had been in Wanling Jiangbei, this god from the Western Divine Country might not have dared to enter the Central Plains, given the lingering prestige and deterrence of the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court. And this god who entered Shanzhou was the Divine King of a relatively small nation in the west. He had ties with the Lady of Illusion Flower from Shanzhou’s Illusory Flower Hall. Upon learning that the Lady of Illusion Flower had died at the hands of the Daluo Palace, he had stayed in Shanzhou to oppose them.
He had suffered a loss at the hands of Taoist Gao Yue and the others last time and fled back west. Unbeknownst to them, he had returned at some point to resume his attacks on the disciples of the Daluo Palace. After their breakthroughs, Changyi and Yangshuo had gone to Shanzhou to help. Because of their youth, they were mistaken for junior disciples of the Daluo Palace and happened to be targeted by him.
This Ghost God had no sense of martial honor. He launched a sneak attack, injuring an off-guard Yangshuo. The two Daoists then teamed up to stall him while waiting for Taoist Gao Yue to rescue them, but unfortunately, they failed to hold him back.
"Wutou Country, Wutou Divine Sect, King of Wutou." Gu Zhao was speechless. "What kind of names are these?"
"Because he literally has a black head, which is exactly what ’Wutou’ means!" Changyi grumbled. "Furthermore, that black head harbors countless resentful thoughts capable of affecting the Divine Soul. Yangshuo and I almost couldn’t hold on."
Yangshuo nodded and said in a low voice, "The King of Wutou has murdered an unknown number of innocents. The Evil Qi radiating from him can’t be hidden at all."
Gu Zhao pondered for a moment. "If the Western Divine Country is filled with Demon Fierce Ghosts like this, we should strike back. What did Martial Uncle Gao Yue say?"
"Martial Uncle said it will be soon," Changyi replied. "Previously, Shanzhou was still unstable. Among its treacherous mountains and wicked waters, there were still many Demons and Ghosts harming the commoners. Even though they weren’t powerful and didn’t have as much Evil Qi as the King of Wutou, they posed a massive threat to the people.
"Since we’ve entered Shanzhou and established a branch of the Daluo Palace there, we must punish evil, promote good, and focus on Exorcising Demons and Evil Spirits to create a safe environment for the locals.
"Therefore, Martial Uncle Gao Yue and the others decided to stabilize Shanzhou first before attacking the west. Moreover, although the eighty-eight nations of the Western Divine Country constantly scheme against one another, they often unite when faced with an invasion from the Central Plains.
"Once we pacify Shanzhou, we’ll not only secure our rear but also accumulate Evil Qi to improve our Cultivation, increasing our chances of winning against those western ghosts and monsters."
"Indeed, Martial Uncle Gao Yue and the others are speaking from a place of mature prudence," Gu Zhao nodded. "It seems the Great Mountain Dharma King and the Iron King Mountain Master of Shanzhou haven’t made any moves."
"That’s right," Changyi nodded. "We’ve become friends with the Red Lantern Sect, and Martial Uncle Gao Yue even went to visit the Zang Yue Monarch."
The Red Lamp Sect Leader and the Zang Yue Monarch were the other two Ghost Gods in Shanzhou, ranked alongside the likes of Yun Fei’ang and the Lady of Illusion Flower.
"So, how many experts do we currently have in Shanzhou?" Gu Zhao asked. As he recruited more and more Daoists, they avoided contacting him frequently via the Thunder Seeds unless there were special circumstances or important matters, so as not to disturb his Cultivation.
"Martial Uncle Gao Yue and Martial Uncle Xu Xing from Zhenwu Mountain, along with the four martial uncles from Lao Mountain," Changyi answered.
"Previously, Martial Uncle Jing Chun and Martial Uncle Yan Qi were traveling in Yuezhou. After I got injured, they also headed north to Shanzhou," Yangshuo added.
Gu Zhao understood and then calculated the number of experts in the Daluo Palace. Taoist Yan Song, Taoist Yi Hong, and six others had gone north to Wanling Jiangbei. Taoist Yan Ling, Taoist Yu Zhang, and six others had gone south to the Southern Border Mountains. Now, there were also eight Daoists stationed in Shanzhou.
The remaining experts included Taoist Ming Chong, who spent his days traversing high mountains and lofty peaks, the newly returned Yunyang, Taoist Ling Ya, Taoist Yu Hua, and Taoist Chong Xuan of Feiyun Mountain, as well as Taoist Xi Ning and Taoist Miao Zhen of the West Mountain. Of course, there were also the recently broken-through Taoist Qing Ye, Taoist Fang De, and Taoist Wu Zhi, along with Changyi and Yangshuo who were standing right in front of him.
Good heavens, Gu Zhao counted. The number of Daoists in the Daluo Palace who had broken through five hundred years of Dao Practice had reached thirty-six! Had they formed another perfect set of thirty-six Heavenly Dippers? This was excellent. At the very least, they now had enough manpower to hold the fort in Shanzhou and launch an attack on the Western Divine Country.
The King of Wutou possessed extremely high Dao Practice. Taoist Gao Yue and the others were no match for him in a one-on-one fight. As for teaming up, the Ghost God had learned his lesson after suffering a minor injury and refused to engage in direct confrontation. Consequently, Gu Zhao mobilized the three elder Daoists from Feiyun Mountain, the two from the West Mountain, along with Taoist Fang De and Taoist Wu Zhi—seven people in total—to head to Shanzhou with him.
"We’ll eradicate that King of Wutou first. Then, we will advance and occupy Wutou Country to establish a branch of the Daluo Palace," Gu Zhao transmitted his voice.
The five elder Daoists from Feiyun Mountain and the West Mountain had previously been traveling in Yongzhou and Yazhou. Upon hearing Gu Zhao’s deployment order, they immediately returned to Cuiluo Mountain.
Half a day later, everyone gathered together.
Gu Zhao wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he asked them to first instruct the newly arrived Daoists as well as Zhang Chengguang and his grandson. "Everyone, rest for the night. We will welcome our newly arrived martial uncles, and then first thing tomorrow morning, we set off for Shanzhou!"