Chapter 27: Twenty Forces

Under Yun Zhouzi’s orders, the leaders of the eighteen refining mountain peaks of Tongzhou Hall began to take action. The recruitment of new disciples was launched on a large scale, with disciples from each of the eighteen peaks sent to major cities across the True Flame Continent to find promising newcomers. Since Yun Zhouzi had given the go-ahead, Tongzhou Hall could use its accumulated wealth to train new disciples, so naturally, the leaders of each peak wanted to recruit as many as possible.

At the same time, Zhen Nantian also reported the array preparation method at the Human Soul Immortal level to Yun Zhouzi, and naturally, the leaders of the other seventeen peaks learned of it as well.

As for the third order—having the peaks select capable disciples to establish bases on other planets—that posed a challenge for the leaders. At that moment, Zhen Nantian, the leader of the Juehuo Peak, was in his own leadership pavilion, resting his head in his hands in distress.

“Fire Venerable, you’re here,” he said.

“Fatty, I’m here,” Fire Venerable replied with a smile as he stepped in.

Zhen Nantian responded vaguely, still looking worried and devoid of energy. Fire Venerable ignored him, found a chair to sit on, and said lightly, “Fatty, find me a few Six-Star Human Soul Immortals. I’ll take them to Fangyang Star to expand Tongzhou Hall’s influence there.”

It turned out that Fire Venerable had come just to give this instruction.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Nantian sat up straight immediately, his eyes filled with surprise. “Fire Venerable, you don’t even want a Human Soul Immortal? You’re just taking Human Soul Immortals to Fangyang Star? Oh, right—why do you want to go directly to Fangyang Star? Is there something special about it?” He voiced his doubts right away.

Zhen Nantian was aware of the four planets visited by the Zhu family—Jubian Star, Fangyang Star, Anyang Star, and Xiulei Star—and had studied them in depth. He found that Fangyang Star was the most complex of the four, with two continents, each having three factions. There were eight Earth Immortals on the entire planet, making it extremely difficult for forces from other planets to enter.

So, during these days of distress, Fangyang Star had already been ruled out by Zhen Nantian. Now, hearing that Fire Venerable wanted to go to Fangyang Star without even taking a Human Soul Immortal along, he was undoubtedly shocked.

Fire Lord smiled faintly before slowly saying, “Fat guy, I like places that present challenges. Fangyang Star is perfect for me. Moreover, when people from Tongzhou Hall enter Fangyang Star, we certainly can’t start by becoming Human Soul Immortals right away—that would mean directly challenging the existing forces there, and they’ll surely resist. I plan to first establish a foothold on Fangyang Star using the power of Human Soul Immortals, and then send in Human Soul Immortals afterward.”
Zhen Nantian nodded upon hearing this, finding Fire Lord’s analysis quite reasonable.
“Fire Lord, you’re currently the most valued disciple in Tongzhou Hall. Do you really intend to go to Fangyang Star? I don’t think the hall master will necessarily allow it,” Zhen Nantian said hesitantly.
After all, since Fire Lord had developed such an extraordinary refining method as the pre-set formation technique, the people of Tongzhou Hall naturally didn’t want him to leave, fearing he might fall into the hands of other factions.
Fire Lord pressed his lips together, stared at Zhen Nantian, and smiled faintly, “Fat guy, it depends on your ability. This is all I can say. If I’m not allowed to go to Fangyang Star, then I’ll have no choice but to leave Tongzhou Hall.”
Ah!
Zhen Nantian’s mouth hung open, his body frozen as fear gripped him.
“Fire Lord, you can’t do that! You can’t leave Tongzhou Hall. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely persuade the hall master to let you lead people to Fangyang Star,” Zhen Nantian hurriedly assured him.
Fire Lord smiled faintly, then turned to leave, saying, “There’s no rush. I give you a year. A year from now, I’ll lead people to Fangyang Star.”
With that, Fire Lord left the Peak Master Pavilion.
Zhen Nantian kept pounding his head, realizing now just how tricky the situation was. He couldn’t disappoint Fire Lord, and at the same time, he had to persuade the hall master to let him go—either way, it was a huge hassle for him.
※※※
Fangyang Star, Xiyang Continent, Haifeng Mountain Range.
Three days had passed since Zhu Yu, along with nine members of the Zhu family, totaling ten people, arrived at the Zhu family’s stronghold on Fangyang Star.
At this moment, everyone from the Zhu family gathered in a place called “Yangxing Hall” for a meeting.
They sat down in order of their cultivation levels.
Zhu Yu sat in the center on a dragon-tiger leather chair, calmly scanning the crowd before speaking, “Our arrival of ten people must have already caught the attention of the various forces on Fangyang Star. Especially the Yuwen family, which has direct conflicts of interest with us and is right nearby, will surely keep watching us and try to disrupt our actions at any time.”
The crowd was surprised at first but quickly calmed down.
“Elder, the people of the Yuwen family haven’t stopped watching us for a single moment,” said Zhu Jiang, the leader of the Human Soul Immortals, loudly.

“Elder, it’s the Yuwen family. If they want to spy on us, let them. If they dare to confront our Zhu family head-on, then we’ll fight them,” Zhu Jun said with a cold gaze.

“Yes, Elder. With our ancestors’ support behind us, why should our Zhu family fear the Yuwen family?” Zhu Bao said angrily.

All the members of the Zhu family present showed a fearless attitude, radiating determination.

Zhu Yu waved his hand and smiled, “Everyone, calm down. After all, we are guests here, come to Fangyang Star to compete for business. The Yuwen family hasn’t been too difficult on us before. If we start fighting immediately, our Zhu family’s reputation will be damaged, which is not good for our development. So, we need to take it slow and compete with the Yuwen family step by step. Only if they take action against us will it be time for a real confrontation.”

Hearing this, everyone sighed in relief and nodded in agreement, thinking Zhu Yu’s words made sense. Only in this way could the Zhu family truly establish itself on Fangyang Star.

Seeing everyone’s reaction, Zhu Yu smiled again and said, “Actually, I’ve already done some secret investigations. Right now, the Yuwen family has only sent two Soul Immortals near us. That Yuwen Qitian thinks two Soul Immortals are enough to spy on us, not realizing this gives us an opportunity. If we send three or more Soul Immortals at once, each to a different direction, the Yuwen family won’t be able to keep track of us.”

Everyone immediately understood Zhu Yu’s plan and showed delighted expressions.

If the ten Soul Immortals sent by the Zhu family sent three of them to three different directions at once, the two Soul Immortals of the Yuwen family could only follow two of them, while the third Zhu family Soul Immortal could operate freely across the Xiyang Continent.

“An excellent plan, Elder!” everyone praised sincerely.

Zhu Yu raised his hand to calm the crowd, then smiled and said, “If our Zhu family wants to establish itself firmly on Fangyang Star, we can’t offend all factions. Right now, we’re only involved with the Yuwen family, and we can handle that. Next, our people will reach out to various small factions on the Xiyang Continent, negotiate cooperation with them, and form an alliance if necessary. Once we unite our forces, the Yuwen family won’t be able to act recklessly.”

In fact, Zhu Yu hadn’t yet mentioned the second step: once the Zhu family allied with other forces to form a coalition, they could have Zhu Li, a Earth Immortal, serve as the leader of the coalition. As long as this leadership position remained stable, it would be time to absorb other forces, allowing the Zhu family to become the fourth most powerful force on the Xiyang Continent and settle there firmly. This strategic plan required a long time, so Zhu Yu naturally wouldn’t reveal it outright right away but would take action step by step.

“Elder, which forces do we need to contact now?” Zhu Bao asked excitedly.

Zhu Yu nodded with a smile and then took out twenty jade slips, saying, “These twenty jade slips contain information about the various small factions on the Xiyang Continent. We need to send twenty people to twenty different locations on the continent to negotiate with these factions and establish connections with them.”

First, establish connections, and then negotiations for cooperation can follow.

Everyone looked at Zhu Yu, clearly eager to reach out to various factions, as no one wanted to appear cowardly. Zhu Yu smiled happily, but then his tone turned solemn as he said, “Among these twenty factions, one is particularly special—the Yuanxing Sect. They are a beast-taming sect that has always maintained a neutral stance, so it will be difficult to win them over. Who wants to take on this task?”

At this moment, Zhu Yu wanted someone to volunteer for the task.

After hearing his words, everyone’s excited expressions immediately turned worried. They remained silent, refusing to take on the task.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Zhu Bao also intended to stay silent, but suddenly he heard Qu Yi’s telepathic message: “Zhu Bao, it’s your turn.”

Since Qu Yi had spoken, Zhu Bao, whose soul was under control, didn’t dare refuse. He immediately said, “Elder, I’m willing to take on this task.”

Everyone was surprised to see Zhu Bao do so. He was merely a mid-level Human Soul Immortal who had just been promoted, yet he was already boldly accepting tasks, leaving everyone puzzled.

Zhu Yu glanced around and saw that no one else wanted to take on the task. Moreover, the Yuanxing Sect was a stubborn faction with little hope of being won over. Since Zhu Bao wanted to try, he would do so.

“Good, Zhu Bao. You’ll be in charge of contacting the Yuanxing Sect,” Zhu Yu said, flying a jade slip at him with a smile.

Zhu Bao took the jade slips. With a sweep of his immortal awareness, he knew the contents were all about Emperor Yuanxing. Immediately afterward, the other nineteen jade slips were distributed one by one. All the Human Soul Immortals received a task, and ten Human Spirit Immortals also got tasks. Seeing that the task distribution was complete, Zhu Yu stood up and said with a smile, “Everyone, let’s set off right away. Go and contact a faction each. If anyone is followed by a Human Soul Immortal from the Yuwen family, don’t rush. Return to the canyon immediately and look for another chance to make contact later.” “Yes, Elder,” replied those who had received tasks, smiling together. In a moment, twenty figures rushed into the air from the canyon.