Chapter 943: Calling in a Substitute

Li Han stood in silence for a moment before taking out a transmission talisman.

He needed to inform Ye Guan so he'd be prepared. The Second Hall Master's strength and intelligence were far higher than the Third Hall Master's.

***

Instead of leaving the Ascension World, Qiu Baiyi ascended to the Nine Heavens. Looking up at the stone door, Qiu Baiyi smiled and said, "Old friend, long time no see."

After a moment, the Existing Dao responded, "I didn’t expect you to come in person."

The Existing Dao's aged voice carried a hint of complexity.

Qiu Baiyi chuckled. "The Hall Masters of the Evil Dao Alliance have been dying one after another. How can I not come in person to investigate their deaths?"

"What do you want from me? Let me be clear, I have no interest in the grievances between you and them."

"I know you're not interested, but what if someone asked you to help me?"

The Existing Dao replied firmly, "I'm not going to help you, anyway. I'm not that lady's match, after all."

Qiu Baiyi quietly opened his palm, revealing an ancient jade pendant.

"You!"

A middle-aged man rushed out from the stone door, and he stared intently at the jade pendant in Qiu Baiyi's hand. After confirming its authenticity, his expression turned from excitement and reverence to a deep complexity.

After a long silence, he looked up at Qiu Baiyi and asked, "Where is she?"

"In a very distant place, but she has agreed to assist my Evil Dao Alliance."

"Why would my master agree to help you?"

"The Evil Dao Alliance made a deal with her."

The Existing Dao remained silent for a moment before saying, "That lady in the plain skirt is unfathomably powerful; I'm definitely no match for her. Not only that, but Ye Guan's father is also immensely strong. The two of them..."

Qiu Baiyi put away the jade pendant and said, "I know. But I'm not asking you to deal with her."

The Existing Dao looked at Qiu Baiyi with some confusion.

Qiu Baiyi smirked. "Someone else will handle her."

"Who?"

"I don't know yet."

The Existing Dao angrily retorted, "Are you messing with me?"

Qiu Baiyi smiled bitterly. "That lady is too strong, so I need to find someone willing to fight her. I already have someone in mind, but I'm not sure if they're willing to take the job. However, if the price is right, it should be fine."

The Existing Dao's expression darkened, but he remained silent.

Qiu Baiyi continued, "Three swordsmen appeared on that day. Besides the lady in the plain skirt, there was also a swordsman in white and another in blue. How strong are they?"

The Existing Dao's face grew even darker. After a long silence, he said, "I don't know the strength of the blue-robed swordsman, but I'm familiar with the white-robed swordsman. I encountered him a long, long time ago.

"However, his strength was already unfathomable back then, and I haven't been able to gauge his limits. One thing is for sure, though—he can definitely kill me."

Qiu Baiyi fell into deep contemplation before saying, "Out of them, choose one."

“I'll choose Ye Guan."

Qiu Baiyi rolled his eyes. "That's no fun."

The Existing Dao's expression turned grim. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "I don't know why my master has agreed to help you, but I honestly don't want to become enemies with them.

"I know that you’re not to be underestimated. After all, your Evil Dao Alliance was the only one that could stand toe-to-toe with the Tianxing Civilization back in the day.

"The First Hall Master and

that

Evil Dao is also unfathomable, but..."

The Existing Dao shook his head.

Qiu Baiyi nodded slightly. "I understand your concerns, but you must choose one. You don't even need to kill them; just stall them."

The Existing Dao remained silent.

Qiu Baiyi raised the jade pendant in his hand. "If you want to betray your master, just say the word, and I'll leave immediately without bothering you again."

The Existing Dao revealed an extremely troubled look. After a moment of silence, he finally made a difficult choice. "Then I'll choose the blue-robed man."

Qiu Baiyi put away the jade pendant and nodded. "Alright."

The Existing Dao quickly reminded him, "The Tianxing Civilization is backing him."

"

Pfft!

" Qiu Baiyi laughed. "The Tianxing Civilization is not going to help him."

The Existing Dao was puzzled.

"To be honest, we've started negotiations with the Tianxing Civilization." Qiu Baiyi revealed.

The Existing Dao was even more puzzled. "They're willing to do that?"

"Yes," Qiu Baiyi said, chuckling. "It's because they've encountered a problem."

"What problem?"

"It's too complicated to explain briefly. In short, the Tianxing Civilization won't help him. Moreover, he has a complicated relationship with a certain young lady who likes to play with fire. He is in a lot of trouble because the Tianxing Civilization treats people from other civilizations as if they were dogs!"

The Existing Dao fell silent. He knew a bit about the Tianxing Civilization, and he was aware of their extreme arrogance. But then again, they had the strength to back up their arrogance.

"When the time comes, I'll leave the blue-robed man to you," Qiu Baiyi said. He then turned around to leave.

The Existing Dao suddenly asked, "Who will handle the lady in the plain skirt?"

Qiu Baiyi smiled. "I'm still looking."

The Existing Dao said in a deep voice. "You must find someone extremely, extremely powerful, all right?"

"Of course." Qiu Baiyi nodded. Then, he turned around and disappeared.

The Existing Dao was left frowning deeply, and he couldn't help but recall the blue-robed man's face. When the blue-robed man appeared, he hadn't made any moves. Since he was just a bystander, he couldn't be anything special...

Ye Guan's backers... not all of them are invincible, right? There has to be at least a couple of weaklings, no?

With these thoughts in mind, the Existing Dao’s frown gradually loosened.

***

After leaving the Ascension World, Qiu Baiyi headed to the True Universe. He glanced at the Tribulation World from afar and turned around to leave after a mere glance.

It was time to find help! Lots and lots of help! The Evil Dao Alliance had no shortage of money. Whenever there was a high enough reward, there would be men willing to risk their lives for it.

***

Ye Guan followed Tian Qing to a desolate land. As soon as he set foot onto the barren land, Ye Guan's brows furrowed. His lifespan was decreasing for some reason.

Ye Guan turned to Tian Qing beside him. Tian Qing said solemnly, "This is the Old Dao Land; this is a forbidden zone that drains the life of anyone."

Ye Guan asked, "Anyone?"

Tian Qing nodded.

Ye Guan took out the Qingxuan Sword.

Hum!

The sword vibrated slightly, and Ye Guan's lifespan ceased to decrease.

Tian Qing’s expression stiffened.

Why is Young Master Ye showing off to me?

"Senior, lead the way."

Tian Qing shook off his thoughts and nodded slightly before leading the way.

"Senior, was the battle back then very intense?"

"Extremely." Tian Qing nodded. "Tens of thousands of Path Creation Realm cultivators died on both sides..."

Tian Qing's eyes flashed with a complicated light. Only a few cultivators on the Old Dao's side managed to survive that battle.

Ye Guan asked, "Senior, did the Existing Dao manage to steal any treasures from the Old Dao?"

Tian Qing replied, "We're heading to a place where the Old Master used to train, so I don’t know how many treasures are out there.”

Ye Guan's face darkened.

Tian Qing smiled apologetically. "Young Master Ye, I didn't mean to deceive you. Don't worry; there are definitely some treasures there."

Ye Guan nodded. "Let's take a look at it first."

Tian Qing and Ye Guan quickened their pace. Soon, they arrived at a cliff. Tian Qing pressed his right hand against the cliff, but a terrifying aura suddenly burst out of it.

Boom!

Tian Qing was blasted hundreds of meters away.

"Young Master Ye, there’s an array here," Tian Qing said with a solemn face.

Ye Guan looked at the cliff and saw a stream of golden light emitting a powerful aura.

Ye Guan walked up to the wall and opened his palm.

The Qingxuan Sword flew out.

Boom!

The stream of golden light shattered.

Then, the wall parted, revealing a narrow stone path.

Ye Guan said, "Let's go in."

Tian Qing nodded.

They followed the stone path deep into the mountain and eventually stumbled upon a stone door.

Ye Guan approached the door and pushed it open by pressing the tip of the Qingxuan Sword against the door.

Creak!

The stone door opened, and a golden light dazzled both Tian Qing and Ye Guan.

Tian Qing stared at Ye Guan in astonishment.

The arrays and seals in this place were left behind by Old Dao, and even Path Creation Realm couldn’t break them. Despite that, Ye Guan had just shattered them effortlessly with the sword in his hand. What a terrifying sight!

A vast cavern was behind the stone door, and there was an arched bridge over a clear river up ahead. The river flowed gently from left to right.

There was a lone meditation cushion in the distance. Curious, Ye Guan walked over and surveyed the area, but there seemed to be nothing else of interest.

Just then, Jing An and Yi Nian appeared by his side, leaving him a bit puzzled.

Jing An’s eyes lit up with excitement.

"It’s really here!" she exclaimed.

Yi Nian was just as thrilled as her.

The confused Ye Guan was about to ask when Jing An opened her palm and pressed down gently.

The spacetime around them trembled violently, and an overwhelming deluge of spiritual energy rushed toward Jing An's palm. The concentration of spiritual energy in the air increased a hundredfold in an instant, leaving Ye Guan and Tian Qing completely stunned.

Soon, an independent space appeared before them, and it contained a golden spiritual vein.

Tian Qing gasped in shock. "An Eternal Vein!"

"

Hahaha!

" Jing An exclaimed, "I can’t believe that there's an Eternal Crystal Mine here!"

Jing An eagerly took out a golden storage ring and was about to collect it.

However, Yi Nian acted swiftly and summoned the tiny pagoda.

"Master Pagoda, collect it, quick!"

The tiny pagoda emitted a golden light, and the Eternal Crystal Mine disappeared.

Jing An’s face fell, and she turned to Yi Nian in dismay.

Yi Nian calmly said, "That belongs to our family."

Fuming, Jing An stomped and exclaimed, "You’re putting love before friendship!"

Yi Nian pouted and pulled out a stick of hawthorn candy, offering it to Jing An.

Jing An turned away, refusing it. "I don’t want it."

Yi Nian shrugged slightly. "It’s just an Eternal Crystal Mine. Once I've become the Divine Lord of Tianxing, I’ll make you the Chief Enforcement Officer and Chief Treasurer! By then, the coffers of our Tianxing Civilization will be yours to manage!"

Jing An’s anger melted away, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Really?"

Yi Nian nodded. "

Really.

"

Jing An pondered briefly over Yi Nian's words before sighing. "But you can’t defeat the Divine Lord, and I can’t beat the incumbent Chief Enforcement Officer."

Yi Nian frowned slightly and asked, "Who said that we have to fight them ourselves?"

Jing An looked at her, puzzled.

Yi Nian calmly explained, "We can just get someone to fight for us!"

Little Pagoda had no idea what to say.

Ye Guan was rendered speechless.