When Bei Xinghan and Canghai Zhenren decided to cooperate, they first needed to communicate and understand the situation.
Canghai Zhenren unreservedly shared his accumulated experience with Bei Xinghan in a few words.
Simply put, Batian Zhenren's understanding of the sword dao had reached the peak of perfection.
A slender twig in her hand could transform into a peerless treasure sword.
If they were willing to patiently hone their sword skills within this secret realm, they might have a chance.
However, defeating Batian Zhenren in a short period was almost impossible.
Therefore, they had to find another way.
Bei Xinghan and Canghai Zhenren exchanged glances, and coincidentally set their sights on the twig in Batian Zhenren's hand.
If a sword cultivator lost their sword, their combat power would undoubtedly be greatly reduced.
Batian Zhenren's swordsmanship was flawless, her only weakness being the twig in her hand.
As long as they could find an opportunity to destroy the twig in Batian Zhenren's hand, they would have a chance to leave this place.
The two exchanged glances discreetly, tacitly agreeing to this plan.
Batian Zhenren continued to sit quietly on the reef, not casting a single glance at them.
She was also indifferent to their joint effort.
She was like an immortal detached from worldly desires, undisturbed by secular matters, acting as she pleased, drifting beyond the heavens.
The Wave-Splitting Secret Realm.
Xu Yi stood on a reef, gazing at the surroundings.
To the south was the sea, to the north were mountains, and in between was a chaotic expanse of reefs.
The scenery was beautiful, but there was nothing unusual.
Xu Yi felt the sea breeze blowing against him, his brow slightly furrowed.
Bei Xinghan's last appearance here – was it a chance encounter, or did this place hold a deeper mystery?
Xu Yi asked, "Elder Zuizue, is there anything special about this place?"
Elder Zuizue pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly, "There is nothing special."
After speaking, Elder Zuizue seemed to recall something and added, "Oh, I remember this place was supposedly created by Patriarch Batian based on the seaside where he first comprehended the Wave-Splitting Art. It is also said to be Patriarch Batian's favorite place."
Xu Yi's eyes lit up.
Usually, such places must have some special features that outsiders are unaware of.
Xu Yi immediately decided to stay here and investigate carefully.
Xu Yi was the leader of this expedition, and since he had made up his mind, Elder Zuizue naturally would not object.
The two chose a spot on the reef to serve as their temporary resting place.
Elder Zuizue originally intended to take out his palace artifact so that Xu Yi could rest well, but Xu Yi refused.
Xu Yi said, "Staying in a room is not conducive to observation. We can just rest here on the reefs."
After speaking, Xu Yi took out a meditation cushion from his storage ring and threw it onto the reef. He was about to get another one for Elder Zuizue, but the exasperated Elder Zuizue politely declined.
Xu Yi didn't mind. He sat cross-legged on the cushion, facing the sea, lost in thought.
What was she thinking when Bei Xinghan was here?
If Bei Xinghan were here, he would tell Xu Yi with absolute certainty that he was thinking of nothing.
Bei Xinghan had passed by this place, looked at the azure sea, and suddenly felt an impulse to stop and watch the sea.
Yes, just watching the sea.
He sat on the reef, watching the waves rise and fall, listening to the rustling sound of the waves crashing against the rocks, his mind devoid of distractions.
Then, when he opened his eyes again, he had fallen into the space.
Even he did not know what mechanism he had triggered to achieve this result.
Xu Yi, oblivious to all this, was still trying to find clues by thinking from Bei Xinghan's perspective.
Bei Xinghan and Xu Yi, one within the secret realm, the other outside, seemed close at hand, but were in fact separated by thousands of miles.
...
Xu Yi's current predicament was how to find the missing Bei Xinghan.
Ji Buwang's predicament was how to establish a vast intelligence network to enable rapid message transmission among the sects that joined the Kyushu Alliance.
Of course, relying solely on the Xuanji Gate was not enough to build an intelligence network.
Ji Buwang had been communicating with the other four sect leaders during this time, and some progress had finally been made.
Once the intelligence network was fully operational, it would be extremely difficult for the demon race to send spies to gather information.
Before Ji Buwang could even sit down for a cup of tea, Elder Qingfeng rushed in from outside, his expression anxious.
Ji Buwang's brow twitched. Before he could ask, Elder Qingfeng said quickly, "Sect Leader, something has happened!"
"What happened?"
"Those spies we captured in the sect's main hall a few days ago all died violently today, their deaths gruesome."
Elder Qingfeng's face was grim.
They had gone to great lengths to capture those spies alive.
They had originally planned to keep them for a few days before interrogating them thoroughly, but unexpectedly, a disciple guarding the dungeon suddenly reported that all the spies were dead, and their deaths were extremely strange.
After receiving the news, Elder Qingfeng went to investigate first and was also startled by the state of the spies' deaths.
After much deliberation, he decided to invite the Sect Leader to the dungeon himself to see for himself.
"Let's go to the dungeon."
Ji Buwang didn't say anything, got up, and headed straight for the dungeon, his eyes slightly deep.
The dungeon was located in the central area of the back mountain of the Xuanji Gate, and was specially set up to imprison these spies.
Apart from the captured demon spies, no one else was imprisoned in the dungeon.
When Ji Buwang and Elder Qingfeng arrived, Elder Su, who was in charge of the Law Enforcement Hall, was already guarding the dungeon.
When the disciples guarding the dungeon discovered the death of the demon spies, they first reported it to Elder Su, who then informed Elder Qingfeng.
Later, after Elder Qingfeng investigated and went to invite Ji Buwang, Elder Su stayed there to prevent anyone from leaving.
"Sect Leader."
After greeting Ji Buwang, Elder Su led Ji Buwang and Elder Qingfeng towards the dungeon, saying, "Within the time Elder Qingfeng left, the corpses of those demon spies were decaying at an extremely rapid pace. They are now unrecognizable, leaving only a pile of rotten flesh and bones."
Following Elder Su's narration, Ji Buwang could already smell the pervasive stench in the air.
He remained silent, following Elder Su along the winding mountain path.
After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Ji Buwang saw the entrance to the dungeon.
Outside the entrance, two disciples with panicked expressions were waiting anxiously. Upon seeing Elder Su and his group, they hurried forward to bow, their hearts growing increasingly uneasy.
The dungeon was a task specifically assigned to the two of them by Elder Su. They dared not slack off and would enter the dungeon to check every hour.
It was all normal at first. Even an hour ago, when they entered, the demon spies had shown no abnormalities and had even cursed them and their ancestors.
But shortly before, they suddenly heard a series of short screams from within. By the time they realized something was wrong and went to check, they found that all the demon spies were dead, and not a single one had survived.
The two immediately panicked. They had failed to guard them properly and did not know if they would be punished.