141: Undercurrents

Green Edge and Iron Pincer moved extremely fast; in just half a day, several small squads had already quietly departed from Qianjiao Cliff.

These squads were not composed entirely of Demon Soldiers—some were Human Cultivators who had been recruited and submitted to Gao De over the years. They were responsible for observation and basic intelligence transmission in areas closer to human activity. Meanwhile, squads purely composed of aquatic elites, who excelled most at concealment and rapid escape, focused on infiltrating underwater and remote paths.

All squads carried "Mirage Mist Talismans" personally refined by Gao De to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Turtle Three Thousand also took action immediately. He allocated a large number of Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills, and purchased a batch of Talismans and Magical Artifacts through secret channels.

These Spirit Stones and treasures were sent in batches to different hidden agents to exchange for various news regarding the Secret Realm, striving to leave no obvious traces.

Gao De sat in his Water Mansion, piecing together the distant landscape of shifting winds and clouds through the increasingly dense information sent back from the front.

The Sword Boats of the Heavenly Sword Sect arrived first, their Aura magnificent.

But as Gao De expected, the Sect did not come out in full force. Aside from that Old Ancestor at the Peak of Core Formation, whose Aura was like a scorching sun hanging in the sky, only one Elder at the Early Stage of Core Formation and a large number of elite Disciples followed on the surface.

Another Grand Elder at the Middle Stage of Core Formation would inevitably stay behind to guard the Sect gates against any accidents.

The forces from the Wu and Yue regions arrived one after another, creating a complex lineup.

The sworn enemies of the Chu State, the Yue State and the Wu State, both had Sects and noble families present. There were both old grudges and temporary cooperation between them; facing the dominance of the Heavenly Sword Sect, they quickly formed a loose offensive and defensive Alliance.

It was worth noting that, according to reports, at least two outside Loose Cultivators in the Core Formation stage, who did not belong to any known Sect or family, seemed to have accepted high-priced employment from the Wu-Yue Alliance and joined their camp. This ensured that the top-tier combat power of the Wu-Yue side was not too far behind.

Loose Cultivators and other small to medium-sized forces gathered further out like a school of carp crossing a river, and among them were many experts who had hidden their Auras.

Sure enough, shortly after the official fluctuations of the Secret Realm intensified, the first to strike out and test the waters was not a Wu-Yue family, but a hot-tempered, solitary Early Stage Core Formation Cultivator!

This person rode a streak of black light and brazenly bypassed the patrolling sword Formation on the outskirts of the Heavenly Sword Sect's Sword Boat. Although he was quickly repelled by that Early Stage Core Formation Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect, he caused the Sword Boat's protective radiance to flicker violently, triggering an uproar among the peripheral Loose Cultivators and many more restless gazes.

Although this Loose Cultivator was repelled, he managed to retreat unscathed, demonstrating his impressive strength. More importantly, it was like throwing a stone to ask the way, testing out some of the Heavenly Sword Sect's reactions and bottom lines.

"Now this is more like it," Gao De looked at the intelligence and nodded slightly.

It was normal for major powers to maintain restraint in the Early Stages, letting these lawless, desperate Loose Cultivator experts go first to clear the mines and create chaos.

A few days later, a Qianjiao Cliff squad, disguised as Human Cultivators and mixed among the crowds of Loose Cultivators, sent back a thought-provoking message: at a private trade fair among Loose Cultivators, they noticed several Cultivators who looked like Loose Cultivators but acted somewhat out of place.

These people seemed to have little interest in the Secret Realm itself. Instead, they frequently inquired about the specific deployments and personnel compositions of various forces, paying particular attention to the defense details of the Heavenly Sword Sect's Sword Boat and the activity patterns of the several Core Formation Cultivators.

They spent generously, using Spirit Stones of excellent quality, yet they knew very little about common resources used by Loose Cultivators.

At almost the same time, Iron Pincer personally brought back a secret image scouted by a "Water Louse" disguised as a Demon Soldier in a very deep underwater crack.

In the image, several figures dressed in strange gray scale armor, moving silently, were driving black stone pillars covered in twisted runes into hidden water vein nodes.

Their Demonic Qi was pure yet leaked a weird, eerie coldness, quite different from the usual methods of the Yao Race in Yunmeng Marsh. Once finished, they vanished like ghosts, their tracks difficult to find.

"There are hidden stakes on both land and water, and they act with such mystery; they are definitely not up to any good." Combining the two pieces of intelligence, the gravity on Turtle Three Thousand's aged face deepened.

He accessed the vast and chaotic stream of information he had monitored and recorded over the years through the heavenly secret mirror, carefully comparing the patterns of the gray scale armor and the styles of the twisted runes in the image.

After a long while, he looked up, his tone carrying uncertainty and deep caution: "Master, based on the information I've noted from all directions through the heavenly secret mirror, I have occasionally seen some strange rumors circulating from the Yangzhou side.

The scale armor design in the image, especially that sense of evil and frenzy coexisting in the runes... bears quite a few similarities to the characteristics described for a cult organization known as the 'Heavenly Demon Cult'!"

"Heavenly Demon Cult? A Yangzhou cult?" Gao De's gaze sharpened. Although the information in the heavenly secret mirror was vast and difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, Turtle Three Thousand was always cautious; if he raised this possibility, he must have found a significant degree of consistency.

"Indeed," Turtle Three Thousand nodded. "According to those scattered bits of information, this cult worships the so-called Heavenly Demon. They act with mystery and ruthlessness, and are skilled at bewitching and controlling Yao Beasts and even Cultivators. Their core members often use secret techniques to obtain mutated Demonic Power, and features like scale armor or bone spurs will appear on their bodies.

Their range of activity is mainly in Yangzhou, but they occasionally infiltrate outwards. Whenever they appear, it is often accompanied by blood sacrifices and plundering. Their targets are aimed directly at ancient ruins or places where Spiritual Qi converges. Their methods are cruel and feared by all parties."

He pointed at the stone pillars in the image: "If it really is them, laying out such a Formation here, I'm afraid their goal is far from a simple exploration. These stone pillars are very likely the base pillars for some kind of large-scale evil Formation. Their purpose is nothing more than gathering blood qi, summoning evil entities, or... forcibly polluting and seizing the Secret Realm's Origin!"

Purple Lightning flickered in Gao De's eyes. A cult from distant Yangzhou had actually stretched its tentacles to Yunmeng Marsh, and just happened to appear when the winds and clouds were gathering at this Secret Realm!

This was much more troublesome than having one or two more hidden local forces. Cults often acted without any scruples, did not follow common sense, and were extremely destructive.

"Continue monitoring, but be sure to be doubly careful. I'd rather you lose track than be exposed!"

Gao De gave the order in a deep voice, "Focus on finding out their approximate scale of infiltration, their strength levels, and the complete range of the stone pillar deployment.

At the same time, find a way to leak word of 'suspected outside province cult infiltration' to the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce, or... leak it to some well-informed intelligence forum in the Heavenly Secret Realm of the three-state region."

He needed to use others' strength against them; he absolutely could not let his own men face this group of crazy cultists alone.

Letting the local powers catch a scent of this danger from another province beforehand could both disrupt the situation and make the Heavenly Demon Cult a target for everyone, at least pinning down some of their energy.

A few days later, the aquatic elites under Iron Pincer's command discovered more mysterious Yao Race figures dressed in gray scale armor and arranging eerie stone pillars in deeper waters.

They acted even more cautiously, seemingly adjusting the stone pillar Formation they had previously laid out.

"Two undercurrents... one among 'men', one under 'water'."

Gao De lightly tapped the armrest of his throne, "Both are gathering intelligence, both are secretly laying out plans. It seems those interested in this Secret Realm are far more than just these few families on the surface."

He ordered higher-difficulty tracking and investigation of both parties, but the core principle remained concealment first.