The fact that the higher echelons had convened the forty-seven of us here alone allowed me to make some inferences.
But it wasn't long before I heard the sect leader, True Person Cangsong, seated in the place of honor, speak:
"All those present are the cream of the crop among the younger generation of our Dao Alliance.
In their respective sects, and across various regions, their cultivation is also outstanding.
Now, the Demonic Cult is wreaking havoc, and our Dao Alliance acts on behalf of heaven.
I, along with my fellow Daoists, have deliberated.
We have decided to select you all to form a secret squad."
Upon these words, discussions erupted instantly among those present.
My eyes narrowed slightly. I had guessed correctly.
"Old Qin, this is exciting! To be with so many masters, just thinking about it makes my blood boil," Old Mo exclaimed excitedly.
I ignored him, merely signaling for him to continue listening.
True Person Cangsong raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to quiet down.
Then he continued:
"Forty-seven individuals, acting in unison. Elder Bai Daozi of Mount Mao will lead you."
As he spoke, an old man stood up.
I had seen him before; he was the one who commanded the battle at Black Demon Palace.
"Esteemed young friends, I hope we can eliminate the Demonic Cult smoothly this time," his voice was somewhat hoarse, but his expression was benevolent.
Everyone present bowed in greeting.
The sect leader continued:
"Your mission this time is arduous. You are to infiltrate the Misty Marsh, pass through it safely, and reach the entrance of Black Demon Gorge.
There lies a Yin Gathering Terrace.
You must destroy it with the speed of lightning.
This will cut off the energy supply to the Eastern, Western, and Northern routes of evil.
Thus, we can open these three paths to Black Demon Gorge with minimal cost.
If successful, it will greatly reduce the casualties and sacrifices of the Dao Alliance.
To facilitate the execution of orders, you may form your own squads, with eight people per squad.
You will depart tonight at eleven o'clock."
As soon as the words fell, the crowd began to murmur again.
They exchanged glances.
"How do we divide?"
"Brother Li, shall we team up?"
"Senior Brother Zhang, Junior Sister Liu, let's form a team!"
"..."
Everyone became restless, starting to form teams.
Including the leader Elder Bai Daozi, there were exactly forty-eight people, enough to form six small squads.
Old Mo and I would undoubtedly be a team, but who else should we team up with?
"Old Qin, how should we form our team?"
"Let's see first!"
Just as I finished speaking, the Yun Long and Yun Hu brothers ran over from the front.
"Brother Qin, Brother Mo, shall we team up? We're old partners."
Indeed, we had been in the same squad during the Black Demon Palace incident.
"Of course! We have two people here, and we need four more."
I agreed, indicating we were open to others joining.
But the next moment, another voice rang out:
"Add us three!"
As he spoke, Gu Qian Yue and his two friends, the Meng You and Meng Fang brothers, walked over.
"Welcome!" I said with a smile.
These three were very strong, especially Gu Qian Yue, who looked like a little loli. However, during the battle at the foot of the mountain, his swordsmanship had been exceptionally sharp and fierce, very formidable.
Now, we only needed one more person.
The first person I thought of was Xia Qiu Xi.
After all, as an elite disciple of the Qingcheng Sect, she had naturally been summoned to the great hall.
But then I reconsidered; it might not be feasible.
Since several disciples from the Qingcheng Sect had come, Qiu Xi, as a disciple of Qingcheng Sect, would likely team up with her fellow disciples.
I scanned the crowd and saw Qiu Xi talking with Wu Ke Hang and other Qingcheng Sect disciples. It seemed they had already formed their team.
Old Mo beside me was still saying, "We're still short one person. Old Qin, let's find Qiu Xi!"
I shook my head: "No need. You've seen that each sect has already formed their own teams in the hall. Let's not make things difficult for Qiu Xi."
I stated.
Old Mo also glanced at Qiu Xi not far away, then nodded: "Alright."
At this moment, a young man in black approached us.
"Fellow Daoists, or rather, my cousins, are you short a person for your team?"
Hearing this, we all turned to look.
The newcomer was quite handsome, but his accent from Guangxi was very strong. It was none other than Li Cong from the Xiao Yue Guan in Guangxi. Although he hadn't performed outstandingly at the alliance meeting, his strength was evident.
We were precisely one person short, and everyone subconsciously looked at me.
Without hesitation, I nodded directly: "We are exactly one person short."
Upon hearing this, Li Cong's face lit up with joy: "That's great, my cousins, ah, Daoists. I'll treat you to 'suo fen' next time."
"'Suo fen'?" Gu Qian Yue and the others were taken aback.
Li Cong chuckled: "It's eating luosifen noodles, they're so delicious."
However, upon hearing this, Gu Qian Yue waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, I really can't eat that stuff!"
At this, all of us burst into laughter.
And so, our squad of eight was complete.
Me, Old Mo, Yun Long, Yun Hu, Gu Qian Yue, Meng You, Meng Fang, and Li Cong.
Except for Yun Long and Yun Hu, the rest of us were not very familiar with each other.
Therefore, we took the opportunity to get to know one another.
Meanwhile, all the other factions had also completed their team formations.
The combinations were generally based around major sects.
For example, Qingcheng Sect, Wudang Sect, Mount Mao, Longhu Mountain, and Shaolin.
Our team was the only one composed entirely of unaffiliated cultivators...