Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 558 Take the initiative
Yun Yang immediately informed Gu Zhao of this idea.

Gu Zhao was speechless. "You just provoked the foreigners with the lunar base, and you're not satisfied yet? Planning to try something even more exciting?"

"As the saying goes, only those who can fight can stop war. Only those with strategic weapons are qualified to love peace. I am here to help all countries calm down and wholeheartedly pursue peace," Yun Yang argued.

Gu Zhao clicked his tongue, "Isn't it a bit excessive to build our territory right on the other side?"

Yun Yang blinked. "I didn't say to just do it like that!"

Gu Zhao, “…”

Yun Yang, "..."

"So, which of us is the radical?" Yun Yang asked speechlessly.

Gu Zhao chuckled, "If you hadn't told me, would I have thought of that?"

Yun Yang continued to ask, "Just tell me if it's okay or not!"

"You don't need to ask me for permission for such a small matter. If you want to do it, go and contact the office yourself and have them come up with a plan to do it step by step. Don't try to do it by yourself, or you won't be able to keep up with the follow-up and it will be a waste of effort," Gu Zhao reminded him.

"Okay!" Yun Yang agreed and excitedly dialed the number in Yandu.

……

As the sun rises and sets, and the clouds drift and disperse, time gradually passes, and a year flies by.

Winter has arrived on Blue Star, and Changping Prefecture has experienced its first snowfall of the season. The world is covered in white, and apart from the area around Daluo Palace which remains green, the entire Cuiluo Mountain is blanketed in snow.

But the difficult roads did not deter the ordinary people of Jiangzhou from their yearning for the Tao. Cuishan Town remained bustling and lively, and the road leading to Daluo Palace was crowded with people.

The sun was shining brightly, the air was fresh, and Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan strolled hand in hand. They saw that the Daluo Palace was bustling with worshippers, but his mood was not relaxed.

In fact, progress in Jiangbei and Nanjiang was going very smoothly. Although no more demonic traces were found, the old Taoist priests did good deeds and eliminated evil, killing many evil demons and monsters, and providing Gu Zhao with a large amount of evil energy and lightning seeds.

The same was true in the West. After Master Jingchun stabilized the Jueyin Heavenly Kingdom, everyone joined forces to destroy the Three Saints Sect and annex the Three Saints Kingdom. In addition, the leader of the Enchantment Sect fled alone, and the Heqing Kingdom was also swallowed up.

However, this reached the limit of the Absolute Yin Heavenly Kingdom, and things stabilized for the time being.

At the same time, many inner disciples and outer elders of the Daluo Palace who had reached a bottleneck in their cultivation and were willing to travel around scattered with the encouragement and support of the Daluo Palace, establishing strongholds in various parts of Jiangnan, and even in Jiangbei and the southern border.

Yunxia Temple, Wansong Temple, Linghe Temple, Pinghu Temple, Feixiao Temple, Mingyue Temple...

Celestial Master's Mansion, Shangqing Sect, Lingbao Sect, Longmen Sect, Chunyang Sect, Wenshi Sect...

In just a few months, Taoist sects and temples flourished across the alien land, their incense burning brightly, and the names of the Three Pure Ones and the Jade Emperor spread far and wide among ordinary people.

“But you seem to have something on your mind.” Zhuo Qingyan took Gu Zhao’s hand and walked through the Vermilion Bird Forest, where snow covered the ground on one side and flowers bloomed on the other.

"Because for the past few months, no trace of the demon has been found," Gu Zhao said.

They first discovered the demonic traces when the Lord of the Netherfire Sect took notice of them, prompting them to launch an attack. Then came the Ink Dragon of Ink Lake, the Palace Master of Cloud Heaven, and later the Old Man of Ancient Pine in Jiangbei, the Lord of the Moon Devouring Sect, and Mohe Divine Lord, the eldest disciple of the Six Divine Lords of Southern Xinjiang.

But right after Daoist Yansong and the others killed the Heavenly Star Dharma King of Pingzhou in Jiangbei, it was as if all the powerful masters who practiced demonic arts in the world had vanished without a trace.

Although the old Taoist priests also discovered some demonic cultivators during their travels, they were only practicing the demonic arts that had been scattered by the Heavenly Demons ten thousand years ago, and they were not very powerful.

These demonic cultivators have been the mainstream of demonic cultivators in this world for the past ten thousand years. Their cultivation is insufficient and their potential is not high. Even if they kill a little, they will almost always go mad and die in the end.

Before the Demon Ancestor awakened, these demonic cultivators were nothing to worry about and could not pose a threat to the experts of the time. Their killing power was not even comparable to that of some vicious demons and monsters.

But now that the Demon Ancestor has awakened, luring powerful figures into demonic possession and creating a demonic realm within the earth's veins, things are different. This is a situation that could pose a threat to this world.

From the Lord of the Netherfire to the Heavenly Star Dharma King, it has been proven that the Demon Ancestor's plan has been launched. He manipulates various great demons and ghosts as pawns, using the Earth Vein Demon Realm as a node, attempting to change the world and transform this world into the Demon Realm.

Logically speaking, those demonic cultivators, in order to cultivate demonic arts and expand their demonic domain, should have transformed their spirits into demons and killed people to refine their demonic power. Therefore, the Taoist sects would have discovered their secrets and tracked them down.

However, several months have passed since the death of the Heavenly Star Dharma King, and no powerful demons have appeared in the world, as if they have all disappeared.

They could never disappear; they could only hide.

"Either the commotion they caused in various places was too great, alarming these demons, or they received a message from the Demon Ancestor and collectively concealed their auras, ceasing all actions."

“But in any case, this is not a good sign,” Gu Zhao said in a deep voice. “It means that those demons have begun to act in unison, or at least have a unified plan.”

These demonic cultivators, the weakest of whom was the Netherfire Cult Master, had nearly three thousand years of cultivation, while the strongest, the Heavenly Star Dharma King, had six thousand years of cultivation. Each of them was a renowned figure.

These people are fine working alone, but once they form an organization, let alone dozens, even just a few, it becomes a significant event.

"Then what should we do?" Zhuo Qingyan asked.

“We can’t keep searching aimlessly; we should take the initiative,” Gu Zhao said thoughtfully. “To be noticed by the Demon Ancestor and lured into the demon realm, one must have at least two thousand years of cultivation, be able to reign supreme in a region, and establish a demon domain.”

While there are many such people, they are actually quite few, and there wouldn't be many in a single state. However, these individuals generally live in seclusion or hold their positions in their own strongholds, rarely appearing in public.

“Now that they’ve taken the initiative, let’s take the initiative and go visit them!” Gu Zhao said with a frown. “As long as we can meet them up close, we can tell whether they are demonic cultivators or not.”

"But what if they disappear?" Zhuo Qingyan asked.

“If we don’t find it, at least we’ve narrowed down the search area. We can then try other methods to investigate,” Gu Zhao said. “For example, we can use earth-遁法 (earth-遁法, a technique that allows one to infiltrate the earth’s veins) to detect clues, even if the other party has protective barriers.”

"But whoever strikes first will reveal a weakness." Zhuo Qingyan was somewhat worried. "Will the elders be in danger?"

"Yes," Gu Zhao nodded, "but the risk is worth taking."

Don't be fooled by the fact that those demonic cultivators are being wiped out one by one, and that the Great Luo Palace and the Central Plains court are in the lead on the surface. But once the Demon Ancestor is born, or if all the demonic cultivators launch a collective attack, they will definitely be overwhelmed and many civilians will suffer as a result.

“All the elders know the art of earth-遁 (earth-遁术, a type of magic that allows one to escape from the earth), so as long as they are not trapped by the formation, they are generally not in great danger,” Gu Zhao said.

(End of this chapter)