445: Chapter 444 We Have an Undercover Agent Among Us

"The top priority is to continue searching for the 'heavenly dao fragment'."

Qin Changsheng opened his eyes, a flicker of contemplation flashing through his pupils.

He knew full well the terrifying nature of Heavenly Dao Traits.

Whether it was Cultivation or [Heavenly Dao: Ancestor of Ten Thousand Arrays], both had helped him turn the tide several times.

And the "heavenly dao fragment" possessed the power to turn decay into magic, capable of forcibly sublimating and refining the [Golden Trait] on him into a supreme Heavenly Dao Trait!

"The [Spiritual Root] [Golden Trait] I drew now, while it can provide triple the Spiritual Qi absorption Speed and a 10% probability of breaking through the realm, if I could use a heavenly dao fragment to elevate it to the Heavenly Dao level... its effects would undergo a heaven-defying transformation!"

"At that time, the probability of a Nascent Soul Breakthrough would likely skyrocket to an unimaginable level, and it might even forge the legendary supreme Dharma Aspect for me."

It was just that heavenly dao fragments were rare and hard to come by, often sealed in some ancient ruins or places of heaven and earth anomalies; he had to secretly collect such Intelligence in the coming time.

"Secondly, I must find the remaining medicinal herbs for the 'Nascent Soul Pill' as soon as possible."

Qin Changsheng waved his hand and took out several Jade Boxes. In one of them lay a "water spirit fruit" quietly, emanating rich water-attribute Spiritual Qi; this was one of the main ingredients for the Nascent Soul Pill he had obtained previously.

"The Nascent Soul Pill is an auxiliary sacred medicine for shattering the core to form the Nascent Soul, capable of protecting the heart meridians and Divine Soul. Although I have the 10% probability bonus from [Spiritual Root], the path of Cultivation allows for no Luck; it must be foolproof. The water spirit fruit and thousand-year black ice lotus are already in hand."

"But I still lack the Red Flame Dragon Ganoderma, Nether Soul Crystal, and Primordial Spirit Marrow, which are equally rare auxiliary medicinal materials."

Finally, Qin Changsheng turned his head to look outside the Immortal Cave, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of mountains to look toward the Yao Race base.

"The most critical thing... is to guard against the counterattack of the Yao Race and the impending 'Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth'."

Although the Southern Region had been calm on the surface for the past three years, Qin Changsheng had already vaguely sensed the abnormal fluctuations of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi through various clues.

Ancient records stated that every few thousand years, this world would face a "Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth" where the Laws were turbulent.

At that time, the barriers of the world would weaken, Evil Qi would surge, and the ferocity within the Yao Beasts would be infinitely magnified, forming a terrifying beast tide that would sweep across the entire Human Race territory.

"Shen Bing, the Empress, and the others have been dormant in Yaoling City for three years without leaving; they are definitely not giving up on revenge, but waiting for this one chance to turn the tables."

Qin Changsheng's eyes were slightly cold.

Once the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth erupts, the Human Race defense line will be in chaos, and the elite of the Yao Race hidden in the shadows will inevitably swarm out, joining the endless beast tide to completely tear the Human Race apart.

"Hoo..."

After planning, Qin Changsheng slowly stood up.

The next moment, Qin Changsheng summoned the Heavenly Dao Entry Intelligence.

[heavenly dao fragment: Special treasure, capable of upgrading a Golden Trait to a Heavenly Dao Trait!]

[Holder: Gou Feng!]

[Location: Yaoling City]

Looking at the prompt given on the attribute panel, Qin Changsheng also fell into deep thought.

...

Yaoling City.

Inside the towering and hideous Yao Race main hall, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

On the main seat sat a female immortal with snow-white feathered robes, possessing a stunning appearance but an extremely cold temperament.

She was the former "Fairy Qingling" of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and also the supreme Empress of the Yao Race today.

Below the main hall, a group of Yao Race powerhouses stood solemnly.

Shen Bing's face was pale, her eyes filled with deep-seated hatred; Gou Feng and Shen Hu stood on both sides with sinister expressions;

And in a remote corner of the crowd, the Incarnation of Qin Changsheng, under the alias "Liu Feng", was keeping a low profile, restraining his aura and watching coldly.

That crushing defeat three years ago was still a shadow hanging over the hearts of all the high-level members of the Yao Race.

"Regarding the matter from three years ago, I do not wish to pursue who was right or wrong anymore."

Empress Fairy Qingling spoke slowly, her voice as cold as jade clashing against jade, yet carrying undeniable majesty: "But I want an explanation. The 'Ten Thousand Demon Soul-Devouring Array' that our race planned for hundreds of years, why did it become the very thing that slaughtered us at the most critical moment?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the demons in the hall lowered their heads, their faces showing shame and resentment.

The Empress's cold gaze shifted and finally landed on an old man in black robes standing in the front row: "Master Wang, as the person in charge of the Great Array, have you found the cause over these past three years?"

The Formation Master known as Master Wang trembled all over and hurriedly bowed to step out.

The failure three years ago almost caused him to be torn apart alive by the furious Yao Race; for these three years, he had been studying and improving the Formation, almost forgetting to eat or sleep.

"Reporting to the Empress!"

Master Wang took a deep breath, a near-fanatical confidence appearing on his face: "This old subject has been deducing day and night for the past three years and finally discovered the clues. Three years ago, there must have been a hidden expert among the Human Race who was proficient in ancient Formations, using the tiny loopholes in our race's Formation runes to use secret arts to forcibly seize control!"

"However, please rest assured, Empress!" Master Wang proudly raised his head, his tone rising, "Over these three years, I have completely reconstructed the core runes of the Great Array, incorporating our race's unique Bloodline locking Restriction! With the current Great Array, apart from those with our royal Bloodline, anyone else who tries to touch the control will be instantly backlashed by the Formation, their Divine Soul destroyed!"

"With the current 'New Ten Thousand Demon Soul-Devouring Array', it is absolutely impossible for the Human Race to crack it!"

Listening to Master Wang's sworn guarantee, "Liu Feng" standing in the corner twitched the corner of his mouth obscurely, laughing to himself.

Bloodline locking?

In front of [Heavenly Dao: Ancestor of Ten Thousand Arrays], there is no Formation in the world that does not have loopholes.

As long as his main body is willing, he can turn this so-called "New Great Array" into their guillotine again in front of this group of Yao Race at any time.

However, now is not the time to be exposed.

"Very good."

The Empress nodded slightly, the frost on her face melting a little.

She turned to look at Gou Feng on the side and asked in a deep voice: "How is the monitoring of the Seal nodes of the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth going? How much longer until the Great Calamity is fully formed?"

Gou Feng took a deep breath, slowly stepped forward, bowed respectfully to the Empress above, and replied in a deep voice:

"Reporting to the Empress, according to the deductions of the priests and Formation Masters under my command, if it follows the Laws of heaven, the Seal nodes of the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth will take about ten years to completely collapse, at which point the Great Calamity will be fully formed."

"Ten years?"

Empress Fairy Qingling frowned slightly, a flash of coldness and impatience in her eyes.

She slowly stood up, her white feathered robes moving without wind, and an invisible royal Pressure permeated the hall.

"Ten years is too long! In that battle three years ago, our race lost all its elites, and our Luck plummeted. Now the Human Race is pressing step by step, and our living space has been compressed by more than three thousand miles. If we wait another ten years, before the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth arrives, our race's Luck will likely be completely wiped out, and even if the Great Calamity arrives then, we will be powerless to change anything!"

The Empress's voice echoed in the hall, carrying a heavy sense of oppression. She stared fixedly at Gou Feng, cold light flashing in her phoenix eyes: "Gou Feng, you have always been cunning. I ask you, is there any secret art that can bypass the operation of the Heavenly Dao and trigger this Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth in advance?"

Hearing the Empress's questioning, Gou Feng's body bowed even lower, a sinister and crazy smile appearing on his face:

"Reporting to the Empress, the subordinate does know an ancient blood sacrifice method that can forcibly corrode the Seal nodes and trigger the Great Calamity of Heaven and Earth in advance. It's just... this method is harmful to the harmony of heaven and requires an extremely vast amount of living blood as a primer. If you want to advance the Great Calamity by several years, the amount of blood required will be an astronomical figure!"

"Blood?" The Empress was slightly startled.

"Exactly!" Gou Feng raised his head, his eyes full of cruelty, "And the blood of ordinary beasts is useless; it must be Human Race Cultivators with spiritual power, or Human Race Mortals with vigorous vitality. Human Race Mortals would require the slaughter of millions, and Human Race Cultivators... would require at least the Essence Blood of tens of thousands to succeed!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a low intake of breath sounded in the hall.

Slaughtering millions of Mortals, plus tens of thousands of Cultivators! This is simply to set off a monstrous bloodbath in the Human Race territory.

Once exposed, it will inevitably lead to the crazy retaliation of the major Sects of the Human Race.

Empress Fairy Qingling also fell into a long silence upon hearing this.

Her stunningly beautiful face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see her expression.

As the former "Fairy Qingling" of the Heavenly Sword Sect, she should have felt disgust and anger at such a cruel blood sacrifice; but at this moment, the Yao Race royal Bloodline flowing in her body, and her deep-seated hatred for the Human Race, were constantly devouring her last bit of humanity.

The hall was silent, and one could hear a pin drop.

Qin Changsheng's Incarnation "Liu Feng", standing in the corner, watched this scene coldly, his heart feeling completely cold. The Yao Race is indeed the Yao Race; to achieve their goals, they truly treat human lives as grass.

After a full cup of tea's time, the Empress slowly raised her head, the struggle in her eyes had disappeared, replaced by endless coldness and decisiveness.

"In the struggle for Luck, winners are kings and losers are bandits; there is no other way."

The Empress looked coldly at Gou Feng and issued a cruel decree: "Gou Feng, I order you to secretly select the elites of the race to form the 'Blood Slaughter Guard'. You will lead the team personally, secretly infiltrate the remote towns and small Sects on the border of the Human Race Southern Region, and secretly slaughter them to collect blood!"

"Remember, keep the movement small, and do not alarm Late Stage Golden Core Cultivators like Sect Leader Xuanyangzi. Once enough blood is collected, return immediately to open the Great Calamity!"

"Understood! This subordinate will definitely not fail the mission!" Gou Feng showed a wild joy and bloodthirsty smile on his face and accepted the order loudly.

On the main seat, the Empress waved her hand, signaling everyone to retreat and prepare.

And Qin Changsheng's Incarnation standing at the back of the crowd, a cold murderous intent flashed in his lowered eyes.

"Secretly collecting blood? Want to trigger the Great Calamity in advance?"

Qin Changsheng sneered in his heart.

This Gou Feng taking the initiative to deliver himself to the door is actually an excellent opportunity.

He can not only stop the Yao Race's blood sacrifice by intercepting and killing Gou Feng and the others, but also seize the heavenly dao fragment on Gou Feng!

A hunting plan targeting the Yao Race's secret operation quietly took shape in Qin Changsheng's mind.

As the heavy hall doors slowly closed, the messy footsteps faded away, and the once noisy hall instantly became quiet.

At this time, only Empress Fairy Qingling on the main seat and Shen Bing standing under the steps remained in the hall.

The Empress looked in the direction of the hall door, her eyes deep and cold, and she did not speak for a long time.

"Your Majesty, you kept this subordinate behind alone, is there any urgent instruction?" Shen Bing stepped forward and broke the silence in a low voice.

The blow of losing her father three years ago made her temperament become more cold and introverted.

The Empress slowly withdrew her gaze and landed on Shen Bing, her cold voice ringing in the empty hall: "Bing'er, I want you to secretly leave Yaoling City and also go to collect Human Race blood."

Shen Bing was slightly stunned, a trace of doubt flashing in her eyes: "Your Majesty, didn't you just let Gou Feng take people to do that? Gou Feng is meticulous, powerful, and took away the elites of the race; why do you need this subordinate to do it again?"

The Empress stood up from the dragon chair and walked down the steps slowly. The cold temperament on her body seemed particularly unfathomable at this moment.

"Do it again?"

The Empress sneered, her eyes flashing with wise and dangerous light: "Bing'er, have you never thought about why our Yao Race's plans have failed repeatedly over the past decade or so? Three years ago, the Ten Thousand Demon Soul-Devouring Array was our biggest trump card, and the Formation runes were personally supervised by Master Wang, extremely confidential, but what was the result?"

"As a result, the Human Race not only made preparations in advance, but at the most critical moment, they instantly seized control of the Great Array and countered us!"

The Empress walked to Shen Bing, looked directly into her eyes, and said word by word: "In this world, there are absolutely no coincidences without reason. The only explanation is — among us, there must be a mole of the Human Race!"

"What? A mole?!"

Shen Bing's delicate body shook violently, her pupils contracted suddenly, and her face was full of horror and disbelief.

She never expected that a spy of the Human Race was lurking among the core high-level members of the Yao Race!

"Your Majesty, this... how is this possible? Those who can come into contact with the core of the Great Array are all the core high-level members of our race, or confidants who have followed our race for many years; how could they..." Shen Bing's voice trembled slightly.

"The human heart is difficult to measure, let alone those guys who can sell everything for profit." The Empress snorted coldly, her tone firm, "This mole is hidden very deep, and I have not ferreted him out yet. Therefore, Gou Feng's action this time is highly unlikely to succeed."

Shen Bing was clever, instantly understood the Empress's intention, and gasped: "You mean... Gou Feng and the others are just bait to attract the mole's attention?"

"Exactly."

The Empress nodded slightly, a cruel cold light flashing in her eyes: "Gou Feng takes people there openly, and once the mole gets the news, he will inevitably secretly notify the Human Race powerhouses to go and encircle them. By then, the attention of the Human Race will be attracted to Gou Feng."

"And you, take this opportunity to hide your whereabouts and secretly go to the hinterland of the Human Race to collect blood. Remember, except for you and me, no one else can know about this, not even Shen Hu, Master Wang, Liu Feng, or the Third Elder; you absolutely cannot reveal a single word!"

After hearing the Empress's plan, Shen Bing only felt a chill down her spine.

She looked at the Empress in front of her who had once been a Fairy among the Human Race, and a strong sense of awe and fear rose in her heart.

"This subordinate... obeys!"

Shen Bing took a deep breath, suppressed the horror in her heart, and bowed in salute.

"Go, be careful in everything. The future of our Yao Race is tied to you." The Empress waved her hand gently.

Shen Bing said no more, turned around, and left the hall in a hurry with a heavy and complex mood.

In the hall, deathly silence returned.

Empress Fairy Qingling stood alone under the ghost fire, not knowing what she was thinking.