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Around Cang Mountain, countless individuals were hidden, with almost every Major Force sending their strongest teams. The Holy Dynasty Emperor, Sect Leaders, and the strongest guards from the Merchant Guild were present. Among the Ninth-Rank Powers, each faction had an average of over a hundred members concealed in the mountains surrounding Cang Mountain. Some capable Eighth-Rank Forces also had strong individuals joining, but they were integrated into their respective Ninth-Rank Power teams.
The entire Central Domain's powerhouses had gathered around Cang Mountain. In other parts of the Central Domain, there were hardly any strong figures to be found; even within the headquarters of those Ninth-Rank Powers, only a few strong individuals remained behind as the last line of defense.
Those above the Earth Soul Realm had almost all converged at Cang Mountain.
The outcome of Wei Chen's negotiations with Thunderstorm made it more advantageous for those strong individuals to guard around Cang Mountain. When the Soul Palace Army arrived, they could launch a collective attack rather than passively resist within the formations of Cang Mountain.
The plan was to let the Soul Palace Army expend their energy on the formations first; once they were sufficiently worn out, the teams of strong individuals would surge forward to confront the Soul Palace.
Wei Chen finally understood why Thunderstorm had sent Master Jin to assist in establishing the Formation System when their relationship was still tenuous. Master Jin's identity as a spy for the Soul Palace nearly caused a major incident, something Thunderstorm had not anticipated.
Thunderstorm had long planned to rely on Cang Mountain's terrain and formations to counter the Soul Palace.
The Soul Palace aimed to deal with Wei Chen by using him and Peach Blossom Sect as bait to lure them in for a decisive strike.
The Fire Sect's Warship was stationed atop Cang Mountain. Wei Chen quietly probed with his divine sense several times but was rebuffed each time. He suspected that the Warship concealed the Fire Sect's most formidable power.
It was impossible for Thunderstorm to be alone at Cang Mountain. His aides, including various elders from the Fire Sect and Soul Warriors above the Earth Soul Realm, along with that powerful individual from the Thunder Clan in the lower realm, were all inside the Warship, waiting patiently for the arrival of the Soul Palace.
However, time passed without any sign of movement from the Soul Palace. The anticipated battle did not occur; there wasn't even a hint of external friction. Typically, at least those from the Soul Palace's branches would make some moves, and members of the Evil Dragon Path Assassin Organization would also be active.
Yet in recent months, the Soul Palace had been unusually quiet, not appearing anywhere or making any noise. Even after a month since their provocations beneath Cang Mountain, it was as if they had vanished without a trace.
Among the Major Forces in the Central Domain, there were no longer any battles; the entire Central Domain was eerily silent.
But those strong individuals inside and around Cang Mountain knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.
Once the Soul Palace appeared, an army would inevitably descend under the leadership of two Upper Realm powerhouses, launching a grand battle against Cang Mountain's forces.
Thunderstorm revealed to Wei Chen a message from an Upper Realm source: there had been disputes between Thunder Clan and Soul Clan over control of Soul World. They ultimately agreed that neither side could send individuals to descend into lower realms and decided to maintain their current strengths in Soul World for a decisive battle to determine its ownership.
Thunderstorm bore a heavy burden on his shoulders; he repeatedly sought closeness with Wei Chen, showing signs of flattery and ingratiation.
He couldn't find anyone to help him; the Supreme Being behind Wei Chen was his only hope.
There were two messengers from the Soul Palace in the Upper Realm, but only one fierce warrior from the Fire Sect in the Upper Realm.
This was why Thunderstorm had to curry favor with Wei Chen.
He knew that to achieve victory, the Supreme Being behind Wei Chen had to intervene; that was their only hope.
But wasn't Wei Chen also in need of assistance from everyone in the Fire Sect? The Soul Palace was targeting Thunderstorm, and even more so, it was coming for his Peach Blossom Sect!
The Peach Blossom Sect was a foundation that Wei Chen had built himself, and he would not allow anyone to destroy it.
The atmosphere in the Central Domain was extremely oppressive. Those with keen minds and high-ranking members of the Major Forces all sensed what was about to happen. Yet, ordinary people continued to revel in festivities, eating and drinking, oppressing the weak while being oppressed themselves; everything remained unchanged.
At the foot of Cang Mountain, the higher-ups of the Peach Blossom Sect were working overtime, selecting disciples. Musa, Han Mang, Han Che, Ginger Tooth, and others were personally overseeing this process. They were not only assessing strength and talent but also the loyalty of candidates to the Peach Blossom Sect, which was a crucial aspect.
When the Peach Blossom Sect was first established, many of those individuals had grown accustomed to leisure. In reality, loyalty was difficult to evaluate and could not be overly demanded.
Having just joined and not yet reaped any benefits—merely sketching a brilliant blueprint—how could they possess much loyalty?
What they were truly assessing was not loyalty but identity.
Breaking into the Peach Blossom Sect from the outside was exceedingly difficult. Even a powerful force like the Soul Palace sought to create chaos through the Evil Dragon Path Assassin Organization to disrupt their Formation System and invade directly. A typical Ninth-Rank Power could not breach the Peach Blossom Sect's formations. To deal with the Peach Blossom Sect, internal infiltration was the best option. History had shown that many formidable forces were undermined by enemy spies from within. The disintegration of top-tier forces often began with internal chaos, providing external enemies with opportunities.
That kind of situation was something everyone in the Peach Blossom Sect wanted to avoid.
The loyalty assessment could eliminate potential spies to a certain extent, especially those from the Soul Palace.
As for the evaluation criteria, Wei Chen and the senior members of the Peach Blossom Sect pondered for a long time before coming up with them.
The first criterion was a blood test; those with Soul Clan bloodlines would show a dark color rather than red. This would help exclude elite spies from the Soul Palace and prevent any members of the Soul Palace from infiltrating high-ranking positions within the Peach Blossom Sect in the future. Master Jin served as a cautionary tale; having learned from past mistakes, Wei Chen would never allow a situation like Master Jin's to occur again.
The second item was a questionnaire listing various potential crises that might arise in the future, allowing participants to fill it out. Through this questionnaire, some insincere individuals could be filtered out; those who boldly claimed they would immediately sacrifice their lives for the Peach Blossom Sect were eliminated.
Perhaps they were indeed extreme fanatics of the Peach Blossom Sect, but more likely they were spies. When it was impossible to distinguish, a blanket approach had to be taken.
The third item involved estimating the future development of the Peach Blossom Sect. Those who openly stated that the Blazing Fire Sect would become the dominant force were also disqualified.
In short, flattering words, insincere individuals, and blindly optimistic people were all excluded.
Moreover, since it required strength above the Spirit Realm or decent cultivation talent to join, the recruitment rate of the Peach Blossom Sect was extremely slow. Only a few dozen people were accepted at a time. Although progress was slow, Wei Chen was quite satisfied; slow work produces fine products, and those who entered the Peach Blossom Sect could be considered elite.
Wei Chen increasingly recognized the shortcomings of the Peach Blossom Sect. Given the current situation, there was top-tier power that could rival even the Blazing Fire Sect. However, what did the Peach Blossom Sect have in terms of mid-tier strength? Wei Chen deeply understood that there was not a single one in that regard.
The so-called mid-tier strength referred to individuals in their thirties or forties with abilities ranging from Human Soul Realm to Earth Soul Realm. If one had to count, there was only Ginger Tooth.
What worried Wei Chen most was what would happen after he left with his team; without top-tier power and lacking mid-tier strength, how would the Peach Blossom Sect survive?
That worry could not be alleviated. Wei Chen pondered over it but found no good solutions. He could only place his hopes on Musa, who had unlimited Dragon Blood supply from Gu Yuehong. He wondered if Musa could elevate himself to a high level in the Soul Realm within about a year. At the very least, he needed to reach mid-level in the Soul Realm to carry the banner of the Peach Blossom Sect.
“Musa has been making rapid progress in his Soul Power Realm lately; he has already reached the sixth level of Earth Soul Realm and has even surpassed me…”
“He relies on Dragon Blood to boost his strength; his body has essentially transformed into that of a dragon. There’s no need for any Three Trials, which is quite good news.”
“The strength he gained through Dragon Blood is somewhat different from what one achieves through personal cultivation. However, Musa's innate talent isn't strong; if he were to cultivate on his own, he would likely only reach Peak Soul Realm in this lifetime. There’s no choice but to force growth.”
“At this rate, reaching mid-level in Soul Realm won’t take too long. By then, his adaptability and attack power compared to other Soul Warriors at the same level will still fall short. However, his physical resilience is close to that of dragons and can withstand considerable punishment. As long as he can hold onto Cang Mountain’s foundation without needing him to lead attacks for territory expansion, that would be satisfactory.”
Wei Chen's expectations for Musa were neither high nor low. The rapid rise of the Peach Blossom Sect meant that while he was present, maintaining its foundation would be completely manageable. However, what would happen when he left? No one could say for certain. The alliance between the Peach Blossom Sect and Fire Sect was built on Wei Chen and Thunderstorm's foundation; once Thunderstorm departed and Wei Chen left as well, how long could that alliance last?
Thunderstorm had ordered that powerful individuals from Central Domain wait around Cang Mountain for the arrival of Soul Palace, yet the Soul Palace Army seemed uninterested in Cang Mountain and had not made an appearance.
Thunderstorm received instructions from Upper Realm to initiate a grand battle; Soul Palace also received directives from Upper Realm to seize control of Soul World. Therefore, a grand battle was inevitable; now it came down to which side—Cang Mountain or Soul Palace—had greater patience.
Fortunately, Thunderstorm had long instructed everyone to prepare for a protracted battle. The Major Forces stationed near Cang Mountain were not in a hurry.
What was meant to come would eventually arrive; there was no use in rushing.
On Cang Mountain, Wei Chen found Thunderstorm. The Soul Palace had not yet arrived, and he had important matters to discuss with Thunderstorm regarding the alliance between the Fire Sect and the Peach Blossom Sect.
"Brother Wei Chen, is there something you need?" Thunderstorm asked. He had gained many benefits from Wei Chen, with over twenty bottles of Dragon Blood alone. The more he interacted with Wei Chen, the more he appreciated him; it was quite pleasant. Every time Wei Chen sought him out, he received considerable advantages.
This time would surely be no exception.
"Thunder Sovereign, have you ever considered what will happen to the alliance between the Fire Sect and the Peach Blossom Sect once you leave the Soul World for the Upper Realm and I depart as well?" Wei Chen spoke frankly.
Thunderstorm furrowed his brow. "I haven't thought about that. Do you have any good suggestions?"
Thunderstorm did not take the matter of the alliance very seriously. To put it bluntly, what he valued was Wei Chen and the powerful figures behind him, rather than the Peach Blossom Sect itself. Once he left, and Wei Chen followed suit, the affairs between the Fire Sect and the Peach Blossom Sect would be handled by future generations; he had no desire to meddle in those matters. He hadn't even emphasized who would succeed him within the Fire Sect or how they should interact with the Peach Blossom Sect after his departure.
Future generations would take care of their own concerns.
The union with the Peach Blossom Sect was essentially just a means to an end. The Peach Blossom Sect leveraged the reputation of the Fire Sect, while the Fire Sect utilized the strength of the Peach Blossom Sect; both sides benefited from each other.
However, what Wei Chen wanted was not merely that but a true alliance.
"Thunder Sovereign, I heard you have an unmarried daughter who is eighteen years old. Is that true?" Wei Chen asked with a peculiar smile, fixing his gaze on Thunderstorm.
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