At the very center of Haotian City stands the Harmony Light Hall, nad with the aning of blending in harmony with the dust.
If Haotian City is the central hub of Bingzhou's Haotian Alliance, then Harmony Light Hall is the core of that hub, as it's where the Elder Council resides.
Usually, whenever sothing significant occurs in Bingzhou, the Elder Council convenes for a eting to discuss and handle it. The number of elders in the council isn't fixed, sotis more, sotis fewer, because so hold the title but aren't often present in Haotian City.
Like the sect master back then.
If not for the future of the disciples, the sect master wouldn't have co to the Harmony Light Hall at such an age to exhaust himself.
Though elders like the sect master are few, there are still several.
On ordinary days, except for one or two elders on duty, Harmony Light Hall is mostly empty, and no one disturbs them; there are various departnts within the Haotian Alliance, and if anything arises, the departnts can handle it.
The Elder Council doesn't have many specific responsibilities, rely overseeing major directions.
However, Harmony Light Hall does have lively monts, with a minor eting every three months and a major eting annually, gathering the upper echelons of Bingzhou Haotian Alliance.
Attendance at minor etings isn't too high, but during major etings, almost every elder of the council and every Departnt Chief who is available attends because this major eting essentially determines the operational direction for the coming year.
Today happens to be the scheduled ti for the annual major eting, from just before 9 am, powerful cultivators arrive from various places and enter the Harmony Light Hall. Most of these cultivators are elderly, so middle-aged, but none are young.
By just before 11 am, the entire hall is filled with nearly thirty people, each holding significant positions within Bingzhou's elite sects. Aside from many elders of the council, all the Departnt Chiefs of Haotian City have arrived.
At the headseat, Pang Zhen slowly opens his eyes and speaks, "Is everyone here?"
He is the Vice Alliance Hierarch of Haotian Alliance, the Vice Sect Leader of Righteousness Sect, and the Chief Elder of Haotian City's Elder Council. He's the usual host of these major etings; it is customary.
Soone replies, "Anyone who could co should be here."
There are still so vacant seats, but not appearing at this mont likely ans they were bound by other matters, a common occurrence.
Pang Zhen nods slightly, about to speak, then suddenly looks outside. Simultaneously, others also sense a powerful aura rapidly approaching.
Monts later, a Dao bone figure strides in, none other than the sect master Tang Yifeng of Righteous Blood Sect, looking travel-worn, his return from an unknown place. Sample from My Virtual Library Empire—read more on M&VLEMPY&R.
"Exploring ground fissures, I ca late and have kept you waiting," the sect master speaks as he seeks his seat.
"Veteran Thang worked hard." Pang Zhen nods slightly, glancing around, continuing, "Most people are here, let's not wait any longer and begin the discussions."
No one objects.
The topics discussed include various changes occurring in Bingzhou over the past year, including troop deploynts, personnel casualties, the spread of insect plague, etc. The Nine Provinces now face complex situations, and those present have imasurably more issues to deal with than before.
New topics continuously arise, with everyone discussing and deciding on solutions. Being strong cultivators at Divine Sea Level 9, they naturally don't bicker like ordinary people and can quickly make decisions.
Each topic gets resolved, leading to discussions about the ground fissures.
The insect plague stems from deep underground, a challenging problem for Nine Provinces cultivators since the deeper you go, the denser the origin magnetic field becos, significantly hindering the cultivators' power.
Therefore, to fundantally solve the insect plague, it requires delving into the fissures to locate the Insect Race's insect hive for a permanent solution.
The Divine Sea Realm cultivators present have practically all explored the ground fissures, and like the sect master Tang Yifeng, have been searching for safe avenues deeper underground recently, unfortunately without substantive results.
The recent outings of Qian Wudang were also to personally investigate certain major ground fissures.
Currently, all anyone can do is explore as many ground fissures as possible, then consolidate all findings to see if a solution to the insect plague might be discerned.
Various ssages are reported, but none offer any striking discoveries, making it quite helpless, yet this is the reality.
Every cultivator present possesses great strength, yet even so, feels insufficient against such a disaster sweeping across their domain.
"Junior Brother Pang, has anything been discovered in other provincial states?" an elder from the council asks.
Pang Zhen shakes his head, "Communicated with the Vice Alliance Leaders of the other provincial states the day before, and they haven't found anything either."
The elder sighs, "This world, when will it ever end?"
Another elder spoke, "The insect disaster has raged for two years now. While it is significant for us cultivators, we can still hold on. However, for the mortals, it's an unbearable pain. If this situation persists for another three to five years, the very foundation of the Nine Provinces cultivation world will surely be shaken."
Under the sweep of the insect disaster, all aspects of mortal life have been severely impacted. Unlike cultivators with profound cultivation, mortals need food, and so do cultivators with lesser cultivation. They cannot use spirit force to supplent their needs. Yet, many fertile lands across the Nine Provinces have been destroyed, with many places having no harvests for two years, relying solely on previous years' stored grains to survive. While cultivators can guard the cities from being overwheld by the Insect Race, scenes of mortals starving to death have already erged in many cities.
Cultivators are closely tied to mortals. If there are too many mortal casualties, it will undoubtedly have an imasurable impact on the Nine Provinces cultivation world.
This is also one of the reasons that the Haotian Alliance and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge have tacitly stopped conflicts in the past two years. Compared to the future of the entire cultivation world, the confrontation that has lasted for thousands of years seems less significant.
"We still need to find a way to safely delve deep underground."
"There's an origin magnetic field underground; the deeper one goes, the weaker a cultivator's power becos. This is an unresolved dilemma."
"Veteran Thang, have you discovered anything this ti?" Pang Zhen looked at the sect master.
The sect master shook his head, "This ti, I ventured ten thousand ters underground. I saw the Insect Race but not the insect hive." At ten thousand ters depth, the sect master's cultivation was suppressed to seventy percent, and there were many Divine Sea Realm insects below. Although many were slain, the insects seed endless, compelling a forced retreat.
"Then let's keep searching. Heaven always leaves a path; the Nine Provinces cultivation world cannot end with our generation."
The sect master nodded and was about to leave. Generally, when the grand eting reaches this point, it should end. Having received news a month ago that his most promising disciple returned safely, he had long wanted to see him.
But what surprised the sect master was that the people who were supposed to disperse remained seated, not moving at all.
The sect master also paused, sensing that there might still be matters needing discussion.
A month had passed, so there was no rush at this mont, so he stayed to observe quietly.
A bizarre scene unfolded; everyone sat silently, with not even Pang Zhen at the head speaking.
What happened? Doubts arose in the sect master's mind.
"Is everyone holding back?" soone suddenly spoke. The sect master looked up and saw it was Chief Chow from the Military Supplies Departnt.
The sect master was greatly surprised because that departnt rarely spoke at etings. Their job was managing military supplies, simply needing to perform their duties. Usually, others sought them out, and they rarely made requests, whether in the mortal or cultivation world. Those who managed money and resources were always in high demand, so it was unexpected what the Military Supplies Departnt had to say today.
"Fine, if you're all holding back like mute people, then I'll start!" Chow Ye said, brushing the table with his hand, causing several objects resembling array discs to appear on the table.
Everyone imdiately looked over, and the sect master keenly noticed their gazes beca sowhat fervent, like hungry wolves seeing prey.
"Recently, so array discs like these appeared in Bingzhou. Heh, I reckon many of you have already heard of them."
So who hadn't heard of them, due to the discs' limited ergence a month ago and scant circulation, asked, "Chief Chow, what is the use of these array discs?"
"Can't you just see for yourself?" Chow Ye smiled slightly.
That speaker raised a hand to pick up an array disc, while others unaware also each took one. The sect master wanted one but was too late as the discs were all taken.
The Divine Sea Realm cultivators who got the discs infused them with spirit force, and next mont, a slight humming sound arose, releasing a layer of halo.
The range of one disc's coverage was ten ters square. Several discs positioned differently encompassed everyone present.
Those who understood knew their expressions didn't change, but those witnessing the function of these discs for the first ti raised their eyebrows, feeling the mysterious power within.
"What kind of array disc is this, so remarkable?" exclaid the first Divine Sea Realm cultivator who spoke, though it was their first experience, they imdiately perceived many miraculous uses of the disc.
Thoughts swirled in their minds, almost envisioning their side's cultivators wreaking havoc on the battlefield with such discs.
"This is the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc, containing the As-Close-As-Siblings Spirit Runes," Chow Ye explained. "Among you here, knowledgeable and widely experienced, is there anyone who has heard of such a spirit rune in the world?"
Everyone shook their head. Before these array discs appeared, no one had heard of such a mystical spirit rune.
"Only can say that talent appears in every era; the younger generation is formidable," Chow Ye sighed with admiration.
"Chief Chow, were these array discs refined by your Military Supplies Departnt?" If so, they could be widely promoted, potentially bolstering their side's cultivators' power significantly, which would be imnsely important given the current situation.
"How could my Military Supplies Departnt possess such talent," Chow Ye replied sowhat sarcastically, glancing suggestively at Qian Wudang not far away.
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