Demon Sword Sect's Undercover

Tugongwang and his group were not a bunch of honest men; they differed from those real Hell Star offenders. They entered the Jinxiu Continent with a purpose; unfortunately, thirty years had passed with scant results, and they achieved nothing, instead losing many brothers along the way.

Seafaring days were boring and provided no help to Jinxiu's future changes. Realizing this, it became inevitable for the group to find opportunities to return to the continent.

Some joined the Jinxiu Daoist establishment, others wandered aimlessly, and of course, some still looked out for opportunities. Their greatest failure lay in not securing a Daoist sect as their base, not for lack of ability, but because the Daoists and Buddhists were subtly suppressing them. Wherever Anchor Chain cultivators appeared to vie for influence, these guys would show up.

The closest they came to success was in the Northern Territory, where Dutian's Miao Long had already successfully taken over a small country's Dao establishment, but then it fell apart due to overconfidence and haste. Without careful planning, they rashly invaded the grasslands, only to be thoroughly overrun by the Sword Sect.

At that time, the others were still at sea, helpless upon hearing the news, regretting it all too late; later, there were thoughts of revenge against the Sword Sect, but after the human-demon wars, they dismissed the idea entirely due to deep apprehension about the Sword Sect's powerful combat strength.

In recent years, sensing opportunities inland, they returned once more, seeking to change strategies and forge alliances, but the continent's Dao establishments were already set, leaving them with even fewer chances.

That was until a few days ago, when someone found them, asking them to deal with a former acquaintance.

"The world is unpredictable; who would have thought that Junior Sister Shui would lose herself in the Mortal World and become some kind of Queen? Does she lack fortune and fame?" A cultivator was perplexed; he did not understand. A cultivator seeking asceticism has numerous paths, so why lower herself to this? Isn't it disgraceful to the Anchor Chain?

Tugongwang saw it differently, "Don't be prejudiced. The Daoists approached us simply to use us, but with no good intentions; they just wish to avoid tangling with causality. I can't quite figure out Junior Sister Shui's actions right now, so let's not rush. A single mistake can be beyond repair."

Du Shenxing was sharp, "Senior Brother, you mean Junior Sister Shui's actions might also be a path?"

They had always been searching for an Anchor Chain's point of entry on Jinxiu Continent, but to no avail; those upper realm visitors held a tight grip on the continent's Dao regulations, forming a kind of circle, competing with each other but excluding the Anchor Chain.

The lack of ambition among the Anchor Chain people was also to blame; those thousands of Hell Star offenders paid no regard for the Anchor Chain's interests. Why should they serve a star system that imprisoned them?

With no access to cultivation sects, perhaps living a mortal's life could be a path—who knows?

Quite a few Anchor Chain cultivators accepted this mission, though with little connection between them, they mostly acted independently, like the two who arrived before them.

Seeing these two with ashen faces, Tugongwang and his group couldn't help but relish in the spectacle.

Du Shenxing was cautious, "Big Brother, let's go. Junior Sister Shui isn't an outsider; we can talk to her."

... Inside Yin'an Hall, the two silently awaited battle. Hou Niao asked, "Are there many Sword Cultivators in the Anchor Chain Star System?"

Fairy Shui shook her head, "How could there be many? Each of the Anchor Chain Eight Main Stars has its mainstream Dao establishment, very exclusive to outsiders, not allowing non-mainstream sects to survive. These Sword Cultivators are all from scattered Sword Sects outside Anchor Chain Main Stars, with fragmented inheritances, unable to form a united front, always stirring trouble, so they're frequent visitors to Hell Stars."

"Where do their inheritances come from?"

"Uncertain, with differing accounts, but certainly not from the Qingkong Inheritance."

Hou Niao remained silent; actually, these Sword Cultivators were not weak. Without Qingkong Inheritance's boost, his Quanzhen Sect wouldn't even hold a candle to them. Yet he recalled hearing from Senior Sister Yue Duo that while the Universe Sword Vein was relatively sparse, its absolute numbers were quite sizeable. Among those comparable to the Qingkong Sword Vein were a few, among which Wei Sword Mountain excelled at the Sword Box Style of external sword technique.

In the previous fight, he went easy and spared this Sword Cultivator's life, not out of admiration but as an instinctive act.

In the dark of night, not long passed before five cultivators arrived together, annoying Fairy Shui to no end. The leader shouted aloud:

"It's been thirty years, how have you been, Junior Sister Shui?"

Fairy Shui calmly replied, "What is Senior Brother's intention in coming here?"

Tugongwang's words were laden with meaning, "Dare not claim intentions; came just to meet."

Fairy Shui was silent for a long time before transmitting a message through Divine Sense to someone inside Yin'an Hall, "Sir Hou, I need to step out for a meeting."

Hou Niao did not stop her but simply sighed. She had to take this step; she couldn't imprison herself in the Imperial Palace, inside Yin'an Hall, forever.

Looking for a collaboration with these Anchor Chain cultivators was unexpected yet reasonable; he originally thought it would be the Yinfu Sect... He had said he wouldn't participate, and he truly won't. Everyone has their own path, and until the end, no one knows the results.

Fairy Shui walked out of Yin'an Hall and engaged in whispered conversations with Tugongwang and the others; they had shared origins and were naturally predisposed to establish trust, which was most important.

Fairy Shui needed some assistance, and Tugongwang and his team needed a path—pure and simple.

Even before the initiation of the Heaven Creation of Jinxiu, some things had mysteriously begun to stir. The Phoenix Infant List, human-demon wars, the unification of the Southeast... It was as if some force was inexplicably pushing everyone forward, beyond their control.

Each event seemed isolated, unrelated to each other, but if you measured them against the framework of a myth, they seemed so familiar.

An absurd, rambling story was turning into reality; it was hard to imagine such an illogical tale happening in real life, yet it did occur, with few deviations.

A fact was that Fairy Shui could sense changes within her Purple Mansion, something she hadn't achieved in thirty years of diligent cultivation, yet now abruptly appeared. What did this imply?

Resonance, truly incredible.

The guests from afar were all resonating, but what about the natives of Jinxiu? As for himself, he hadn't felt any change, or perhaps it happened so long ago that he had gotten used to it.

Gazing at those outside Yin'an Hall who were getting increasingly enthusiastic in their talks, he fell into deep thought.

What was the ultimate aim?

The gods and deities? Impossible! They couldn't reach that pinnacle tier, not in a million years.

The characters of Jinxiu? Hardly worthwhile! A bunch of scrap metal, unnecessarily tarnishing the list's reputation.

What else could it be?

He couldn't help but think of another path, the one Senior Sister and the others took.

Is that how it is?