Chapter 457
"""Not just that; they might also be seeking help or looking to form an alliance.""
Zheng Fa nodded quietly at Sister Zhang's words.
With the disappearance of the Blood Banner, the most likely suspects were the seven great saints of the demon clan, or perhaps the Youming Xian (Underworld Immortal).
From what Zheng Fa knew, Cheng Kong, the Master, and Ming De, the Head Elder, had been in contact with the seven great saints, trying to uncover the truth behind the matter. He never expected that the Qingyun Great Saint would come directly to the mountain—after all, there were eight or nine sects of transformation at Tongming Mountain!
For the Qingyun Great Saint to come alone this time, he was either incredibly bold or truly had no other choice.
As Zheng Fa led Sister Zhang toward the main hall of Tongming Mountain, they encountered many disciples of the Baixian Alliance along the way.
Things had changed.
Just a few days ago, when he returned from Donghai County, the atmosphere within the Baixian Alliance had been jubilant.
Even those below the Yuanying stage who couldn't attend the celebration feast were naturally swept up in the festive spirit.
Especially the disciples of Tongming Mountain, who had been all smiles, unable to contain their joy day after day.
But now, as they ascended the mountain again, everyone wore a gloomy expression.
Zheng Fa quickly understood—though the news of the Blood Banner's loss hadn't fully spread, the actions of the various sects on Tongming Mountain were undeniably strange.
On one hand, the mood among the transformation masters was low; these cultivators weren't blind—who couldn't see that?
On the other hand, and most crucially, the disciples of the Baixian Alliance, along with many from other sects, were being sent daily to search for traces of the Da Zizai Demon Sect.
Who could fail to notice that something was amiss?
The Da Zizai Demon Sect had been wiped out; what were they even searching for?
Cheng Kong and the others had no choice but to worry that blood sacrifices might reappear in the mortal realm, so they had to keep these cultivators on watch.
The problem was... there was nothing to find.
Countless disciples had been dispatched, yet they had not discovered any traces of the Da Zizai Demon Sect's cultivators.
Passing through the sorrowful and bewildered disciples of Tongming Mountain, Zheng Fa and Sister Zhang entered the main hall.
Inside, the five sects' transformation masters were present, and the Qingyun Great Saint stood in the center.
As soon as Zheng Fa stepped through the door, he felt an atmosphere even more tense and heavy than outside.
The faces of the five transformation masters were grim, and the once poised Qingyun Great Saint now appeared flustered and anxious.
Zheng Fa sat beside Cheng Kong and silently inquired with his eyes about what had happened.
Cheng Kong shook his head, merely gazing at the Qingyun Great Saint.
""I swear by the sun and moon, our loyalty to the Immortal Sects is beyond doubt; we could never have taken the Blood Banner!""
Zheng Fa couldn't help but smirk—loyalty? If anyone in this hall believed that, they might as well think the transformation masters were sent by heaven!
However, the Head Elder Ming De slowly nodded and asked directly, ""If it wasn't you, then do you know who took the Blood Banner?""
""I don't know...""
The Qingyun Great Saint shook his head, but his next words made Zheng Fa understand why everyone looked so grim. ""But, Head Elder, what I said earlier is true; someone must be refining the fifth Blood Banner!""
Zheng Fa pinched the bridge of his nose.
This news was dire.
""How do you know this?""
Head Elder Ming De seemed to have already digested the information and asked coldly.
""Head Elder, please understand,"" the Qingyun Great Saint replied softly. ""Since we received news from your sect, we were also suspicious. We first conducted a thorough investigation of the Seven Saints' Heaven to see if there were any remnants of the Da Zizai.""
""There are no cultivators of the Da Zizai Demon Art left in the Seven Saints' Heaven.""
Everyone understood the implication of the Qingyun Great Saint's words—it truly wasn't the seven great saints who were behind this.
""And then?""
""Then we thought to investigate the sea regions.""
""The sea regions?""
""Yes, we contacted many great demons and asked them to check the human populations on the islands within their domains.""
Now, everyone understood.
According to the Blood River Ancestor, refining the Blood Banner required a vast amount of human blood.
Whether it was the Youming Xian or Jiao Wuji and his ilk, their chaos in the Eastern Continent was essentially for this purpose.
Thus, upon hearing that the Blood Banner had been lost, Ming De and the others not only monitored the population under the Baixian Alliance but also sent messages within the sect to inquire if other immortal sects had reported any large-scale disappearances of mortals.
The four sects of the Xuanwei Alliance jointly ordered that, at least in the mortal realm of the Eastern Continent, there were hardly any blind spots left—one couldn't say they weren't thorough.
The problem was... there were humans at sea!
""The Blood Banner requires so many human lives!"" Ming De exclaimed angrily. ""Can the humans on the islands provide that?""
The sea was the territory of the demon clan, and thus, the human population in the sea regions was sparse. Jiao Wuji and his group had wanted to come ashore precisely because collecting mortals island by island was far too slow and fraught with danger.
""Thousands of humans from hundreds of islands have disappeared...""
The Qingyun Great Saint's voice was filled with bitterness.
""Thousands of islands? Are you demons blind?"" Ming De could no longer contain himself. ""You didn't notice anything at all?""
""This..."" The Qingyun Great Saint sighed. ""Our demon clan has never cared much for those mortals. Moreover, there are some great demons that have been sleeping at the bottom of the sea for hundreds of years; it's quite normal for us to discover things a bit late.""
""But surely you must have noticed something?""
Cheng Kong couldn't help but interject.
""We investigated later and found that those who abducted the mortals were extremely skilled in concealment. Some great demons in our clan are not weaker than you, Head Elder, but... they completely failed to notice anything.""
Ming De's expression darkened, and he softly uttered a phrase: ""Could it really be that wretched disciple?""
Zheng Fa and Sister Zhang exchanged glances, knowing that Ming De was referring to the Youming Xian, Qin Mu. It was well-known that Ming De had a special sensing method for the Youming Xian, and now, after searching for nearly a month, he had found nothing.
Hearing the Qingyun Great Saint mention that the person was adept at concealment, Zheng Fa naturally connected it to Qin Mu employing some extraordinary secret technique to completely sever the connection.
Beside them, Xie Qingxue frowned and said, ""If that's the case, we should search the sea regions again... Since they only dare to hide in the sea, their strength might not be as formidable as we think. If we can find them, it might not be too late!""
""Qingyun Great Saint, contact the sea demons and scour every inch of the ocean; you must find the Youming Xian and the others!""
The others perked up, feeling that this suggestion had some merit.
Zheng Fa gently shook his head and asked the Qingyun Great Saint a question: ""How many people did they abduct? When was the last batch reported missing?""
""At least eighty to ninety thousand people; we estimate it could be over a million,"" the Qingyun Great Saint replied after some thought. ""The last disappearance was... half a month ago.""
""A million people, half a month..."" Zheng Fa lowered his gaze and sighed, ""It's too late.""
""According to Jiao Wuji and Blood River, the time and number of these mortals are already enough to refine another Blood Banner.""
(End of this chapter)
---
**Chapter 365: Two Iron Rules, Eager for Talent**
As Zheng Fa's words fell, the hall fell into silence.
Confusion was etched on everyone's faces; clearly, this news was as dire as it could get.
""It was my wishful thinking.""
Xie Qingxue sighed softly, bringing Ming De back to his senses. He shook his head, his tone filled with bitterness: ""We all had our hopes.""
The Qingyun Great Saint's face was ashen; he murmured, ""If that's the case, then Qin Mu must be in the sea, guiding the resurrection of the Da Zizai Demon Ancestor?""
The likelihood of this speculation was extremely high.
The Qingyun Great Saint continued, ""That Demon Ancestor wouldn't be the first to deal with us, would he?""
Zheng Fa understood that when the Qingyun Great Saint said ""us,"" he meant the seven great saints, or even the entire demon clan.
Seeing the panic on the Qingyun Great Saint's face, Zheng Fa felt a twinge of sympathy—after all, the seven great saints had already rebelled quite late. They had watched as the transformation masters of the Da Zizai Demon Sect fell one by one, and they had seen Jiao Wuji and his group captured, possibly even anticipating the demise of the Youming Xian.
One couldn't say they weren't cautious.
But if the Da Zizai Demon Ancestor were to resurrect, he likely wouldn't show any sympathy for those who had held out until the end...
The Qingyun Great Saint was aware of this as well, appearing more helpless than anyone else in the hall. He looked at Ming De, his expression almost tearful. ""Head Elder, what... what should we do?""
Ming De stared at him, frowning in silence, seemingly not fully trusting the man.
This was understandable; the current behavior of the seven great saints did not resemble that of thieves who had stolen the Blood Banner.
But no one could guarantee the true situation; Ming De still held a degree of suspicion toward him, which was only rational.
Moreover, how loyal could the seven great saints be to the Immortal Sects if they had betrayed the Da Zizai Demon Sect?
The Xuanwei Five Sects would likely never consider the demon clan as their own.
Even if Ming De had a method to deal with the Da Zizai Demon Ancestor, he wouldn't reveal it in front of this man.
Seeing the situation, the Qingyun Great Saint looked around the hall, noticing that no one was speaking up for him. His expression grew even more sorrowful. He sighed softly, suppressing his anxiety, and said, ""I know everyone thinks the seven great saints are indecisive...""
""But without us, the demon clan wouldn't have survived to this day."""
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