Chapter 577 - The Six Major Sects Besiege the Undead Cult (Part 2)

On the high platform of the hall, a handsome young man around thirty years old was giving a speech. His appearance was like an exquisitely carved jade statue. He was tall and upright, like an ancient pine that had weathered storms.

Below him, six Epic-Legendary beastmasters sat in the front row. They were all very old, none younger than sixty years. They were clearly leading figures in the beastmaster field. However, these grandmasters showed no airs when facing the young man, solely because this youth was the first super prodigy in the empire’s thousands of years of history to step into the Mythical realm.

Among the present Epic-Legendary experts, several had already become his stepping stones, defeated by him. Further down were dozens of Legendary beastmasters, their ages varied. Some were also elderly, while the younger ones, like Lu Ran, appeared to be only in their twenties.

Further back was probably a group of support-type beastmasters assisting the Legendary figures. Due to their status, they also qualified to attend this meeting.

“The Undead Cult was established in the late empire period. Its founder was the Legendary necromancer, Los! Initially, under Los’ management, although the Undead Cult committed many evils, most members still retained some humanity. They only joined the Undead Cult, hoping to resurrect their familiars who died in battle.

“Later, Los broke through to the Epic-Legendary level, and the Undead Cult continued to grow. By the time the empire fell, it had become the leader of the demonic factions on the Stellar Moon Continent!

“Several years ago, unknown changes occurred within the Undead Cult. Cult members acted more recklessly on the continent, sacrificing innocent people, and were suspected of colluding with the Evil God faction and imprisoning the remnant souls of talents from major sects. They have crossed the bottom line of my Beastmaster Lodge!

Ji Yuan said solemnly, “I presume many sects present have also suffered persecution from the Undead Cult.’

Bang!

After Ji Yuan finished, an Epic-Legendary old man slammed the table angrily, saying, “A Superior-Overlord dragon I prepared for my grandson was hunted. Its soul was extracted by an Undead Cult scheme. My grandson has been in a coma for years because of this. I will definitely have revenge.”

“The Undead Cult’s crimes are immense. An elder of it performed a city-wide soul sacrifice on a city under my Li family’s jurisdiction, sacrificing over a million people. If I don’t avenge this, I, Li Aotian, am unworthy of being the Li family head,” a Legendary beastmaster said, his face ashen.

The hall instantly became noisy. It seemed many sect forces had been persecuted by the Undead Cult. Lu Ran listened silently. Those present didn’t know the secrets, but Lu Ran had heard some from the Ghost Mother.

When his necromancer master, Los, managed the Undead Cult, although its practices weren’t great, overall, it hadn’t done anything particularly heinous. After all, his necromancer master’s idea was actually to find a new path for humanity and resist the beast gods suppressing humanity.

However, his necromancer master’s talent was indeed a bit lacking. Even long after breaking through to the Epic-Legendary level, his level hadn’t progressed. Thus, he made a decision to enter closed-door training, risking death to reach the Mythical level.

It was during this period that the empire fell, the Evil God factions’ invasion of the Stellar Moon Continent intensified, and many elders temporarily managing the Undead Cult were deceived by the Evil God faction. From then on, the Undead Cult began to use any means to increase its power, offending many forces.

If not for fearing the Epic-Legendary necromancer Los, the numerous Legendary elders in the Undead Cult, and its suspected collusion with the Evil God faction, these forces would have already destroyed the Undead Cult 100 times over.

A woman in a yellow dress stood up. “Mythical Ji, you have reached the Mythical level. Even if the Undead Cult has that great demon, Los, guarding it, with you taking action, destroying them shouldn’t be a problem, right? If you can destroy the Undead Cult, my Hundred Butterfly Valley is willing to join the Beastmaster Lodge and become a subordinate force!”

Ji Yuan nodded.

Your Valley Master is already my wife, so of course.

“Everyone, listen to me. The human situation is not optimistic now. The overlord of the overseas Evil God faction is already nearing Primary-Divine level. Its seven kin are also Legendary. If it weren’t for other Legendary forces restraining the Evil God faction, humanity’s situation would be even more difficult.

“These ten years have made me realize that for humanity to gain a foothold on this continent, there must be a unified force that combines all of humanity’s limited strength. Only then can we resist those foreign tribes eyeing humanity greedily!

“To expel the outsiders, one must first secure the inside. Currently, the Undead Cult is the number one internal enemy hindering the development of our major beastmaster forces. No, the Undead Cult is suspected of colluding with the Evil God faction; it might have already become traitors to humanity. It is a target we must eliminate first.

“This time, I will lead everyone to besiege the Undead Cult. Those with grudges can seek revenge, and those with grievances can air them. However, from what I know, the Undead Cult’s headquarters is built within the secret realm world of a very powerful death creature.

“It’s suspected to have many trump cards, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. It might even have trump cards with Legendary power. However, everyone, rest assured. I can handle all of that. You just need to strictly follow my commands. This operation will definitely destroy the Undead Cult! Does anyone have any other questions?”

The hall became lively again. Lu Ran watched the drama the whole time, even hearing someone discuss him.

“Which family’s disciple is that young man? Why doesn’t he speak at all?”

“No, I heard he’s like a wild beastmaster. He supposedly trained in the mountains with his master since childhood and only came out after his master died.”

“

Ah?

He trained in the mountains and still reached Legendary? Is his background reliable?”

“Definitely reliable. Are you afraid he’s a spy from the Undead Cult? You know what aura those Undead Cult beastmasters have, right? They're neither human nor ghost. This one is comparable to Mythical Ji Yuan’s. I heard he responded immediately upon hearing the Beastmaster Lodge was organizing a crusade against the cult.”

“Set your mind at ease. The Beastmaster Lodge has already verified his identity. What are you worried about?”

“It’s not that I’m worried. Since he’s a wild beastmaster, he probably lacks a warm home. My daughter is sixteen, and she seems very compatible with this prodigy.”

“In your dreams. Talents like this will be directly targeted by the six major sects!”

The current six major beastmaster forces on the Stellar Moon Continent were the Beastmaster Lodge, Dragon Gate, Hundred Butterfly Valley, the Lin Clan, the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, and the Spiritual Beast Chamber of Commerce. Each had at least one Epic-Legendary beastmaster overseeing it.

After the discussions concluded, the Beastmaster Alliance marched together towards the Undead Cult’s headquarters.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lu Ran yawned, following the large group while planning to first mess up the ascension mission before figuring out how to deal with the Evil God.

***

For this expedition, everyone rode their own flying familiars. Since Lu Ran’s flying familiar was too conspicuous, he followed along by riding in the Spiritual Beast Chamber of Commerce’s Nine Dragon Chariot.

Nine flood dragons pulled several carriages flying in the air, providing transport for beastmasters who didn’t want to exert themselves.

Lu Ran closed his eyes in meditation inside the carriage, nurturing the soul clones within his Beastmaster Space.

This was until a soft voice sounded, the curtain was pulled aside, and a woman with a face like the moon, delicate and graceful, entered carrying a pot of tea, saying, “Young master, the journey is long. This is our Spiritual Beast Chamber of Commerce’s precious Linglong tea, to quench your thirst, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Lu Ran thanked her, but after opening his eyes, his eyes couldn’t leave her face. It wasn’t that she was exceptionally beautiful, but her appearance instantly reminded Lu Ran of his first time entering an ascension realm.

He was working as an apprentice at a place called Frost Moon House. The manager there, Manager Long, provided Lu Ran with much help, introducing him to concepts like Culinary Intent. Lu Ran vaguely felt that this woman before him bore a seven or eight out of ten resemblance to Manager Long.

“What’s your name?” Lu Ran asked subconsciously.

“I am Ling Wan’er, daughter of Ling Feng, vice president of the Spiritual Beast Chamber of Commerce. I'm a Level 6 beastmaster...” the woman answered softly, ripples stirring in her heart.

If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn’t qualify for her to serve tea. However, Lu Ran’s temporary identity in this ascension realm was that of a young Legendary, so of course, he received special treatment.

“

Oh?

I see, so your surname is Ling, not Long. Right, so much time has passed.” Lu Ran shook his head.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. I just recalled an old acquaintance who looked very much like you. Do you have an ancestor surnamed Long?” Lu Ran, who was bored, continued asking.

“May I ask how far back an ancestor you refer to?” Ling Wan’er looked at Lu Ran curiously, not understanding why Lu Ran, appearing in his early twenties, claimed to be an acquaintance of her ancestor.

“Probably dating back to around the reign of the third emperor. Shortly after Emperor Yan passed away, the culinary path flourished. In the Beastmaster Empire’s Heavenly Tide Province, in the Ningchuan area, there was a restaurant called Frost Moon House. The manager there was surnamed Long.

“I was just an apprentice beastmaster then—not even level 1. I happened to learn cooking at Frost Moon House. Manager Long helped me a lot. I never thought I’d meet someone resembling her thousands of years later. I suspect you might be her descendant.” Lu Ran sighed.

Ling Wan’er was flabbergasted.

Third emperor’s period? Thousands of years ago?

She was stunned, staring dumbfounded at Lu Ran, her brain momentarily unable to process what she heard.

“What... you... What are you talking about? How could you have been an apprentice in a restaurant thousands of years ago?”

Lu Ran showed a smile and said, “What you see isn’t necessarily real. Want some?”

He pulled out a stick of candied hawthorn from his spatial equipment. Meeting the descendant of an old acquaintance after over a year, or technically thousands of years, Lu Ran felt quite emotional.

This feeling... is time?

“No, thank you... You’re good at jokes. If there’s nothing else, I will take my leave now.”

The woman named Ling Wan’er walked out of the carriage, standing in the sky. Her delicate and graceful aura shifted as she frowned.

She really wanted to dismiss Lu Ran’s ramblings as a joke, but judging by Lu Ran’s serious, reminiscent expression, it didn’t seem like one.

What is this person’s background? I just wanted to approach him, seeing that he's a wild Legendary talent...

“I must report this to father.”

Meanwhile, inside the dragon carriage, Lu Ran looked at the candied hawthorn, shook his head, took out a Treasure amplification card, and slapped it onto the treat.

“No wonder she didn’t eat it. I forgot to use the card.”

Polishing off two sticks of candied hawthorn in one go, Lu Ran’s eyes narrowed as he looked towards the Undead Cult’s direction. “I remember that the Ghost Mother said that the Evil God’s kin responsible for deceiving the Undead Cult were the Lust Evil God and the Gluttony Evil God, right?

“The Lust Evil God, having successfully formed the Witch Council before, targeted the Undead Cult this time. And the Gluttony Evil God was responsible for enhancing the undead creatures’ craving for souls... Well, now, the Holy Son has arrived.”