Chapter 1893
Using the land exchange system, the Freedom Alliance began to reshuffle the territories in the Northern and Eastern Orthodox Provinces. The Black Tiger Gang also participated in the exchanges to increase their territory once more. And once Zhao Hai takes control over the Western Demon Province, the Black Tiger Gang’s territory would be as large as the original Myriad Demons Sect. This was a huge area.
Zhao Hai was also aware of the changes to the Black Tiger Gang. The Black Tiger Gang wants control over all four northern provinces. Although there were plenty of vacant lands in the provinces, Zhao Hai wasn’t planning to have the Black Tiger Gang occupy them. They can open branch halls in these places, but the sect cannot occupy a large domain. They would mainly operate in the Northern Divergent Province.
In the eyes of some sects, the Northern Divergent Province was a place of barren mountains and untamed rivers. However, Zhao Hai wants the Black Tiger Gang to continue developing in the province.
The resources of the Northern Divergent Province might not be richer than the other provinces, but there were still enough to go around. And the more remote the province, the more likely that nobody would want to covet it. As long as the Black Tiger Gang continues to grow well in the Northern Divergent Province, the Freedom Alliance would continue to survive. Therefore, Zhao Hai didn’t let Zhang Feng and the others expand to the other provinces. The sect doesn’t need to.
Meanwhile, the nine super sects have been silent recently. This was within Zhao Hai’s expectations. The nine super sects have suffered successive losses in his hands. If they didn’t stop, then they would truly be stupid.
Most importantly, the review of the Soaring Dragon Realm was about to happen. Even if the nine super sects want to do something, they would have to wait until the inspection ends. Unfortunately for them, this period of time would allow Zhao Hai to digest the four northern provinces.
Besides the initial resistance in the Northern Orthodox Province, the cleanup of the four northern provinces went quite smoothly. The Eastern Orthodox Province and the Western Demon Province didn’t resist as much. The sects from these provinces knew that it would be impossible for them to stop the Freedom Alliance. If they resisted, they would just be courting death.
By this point, no sect dared to set conditions with the Freedom Alliance. They have learned their lesson from the sects that Zhao Hai wiped out. Zhao Hai’s ruthless methods have shocked everyone. In addition to the sects in the Northern Orthodox Province, Western Demon Province and the Eastern Orthodox Province, the people from the original Freedom Alliance were also shocked. These people also learned to behave themselves. The schemes that they have come up had been thrown into the trash.
Most of the sects in the Western Demon Province have already contacted Zhang Feng in advance. They were now members of the Freedom Alliance. This caused Zhao Hai to use less force when he arrived.
However, Zhao Hai still has to show his strength to the people of the Western Demon Province. This would remove any crooked thoughts inside their minds.
Although Zhao Hai was looking at the scenery of the Western Demon Province, his mind was in another place. He was currently thinking about the Soaring Dragon Realm’s inspection.
Li Kuangge stood beside Zhao Hai and kept silent. However, once in a while, he would turn to Zhao Hai with a look of worship in his face.
At this moment, Zhao Hai suddenly said, “Kuangge, how long until we reach the Jade Belt River?”
Li Kuangge made some calculations and said, “It should take an hour or so. Brother Hai, the four northern provinces now belong to the Freedom Alliance. What are you worried about?”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly, then he shook his head and said, “I’m just thinking about the inspection of the Soaring Dragon Realm. I still don’t know what it would be like.”
Li Kuangge nodded, “I heard from the eldest that the inspection is very simple. People from the Soaring Dragon Realm would sweep the realm with their spiritual force. Then they would decide whether a realm is qualified or not.”
Zhao Hai stared, then he knitted his brows and said, “Sweep with their spiritual force? The Great Realm of Cultivation is so big. Can they see everything with just their spiritual force?”
Li Kuangge shook his head and said, “I don’t know. I heard that the people in charge of the Soaring Dragon Realm are very powerful. Maybe they have special methods.”
Zhao Hai nodded, then he said, “That might be the case. Right, Kuangge, is there a sect in front of us?”
Li Kuangge thought for a moment and then nodded, “There is. The sect is called the Hundred Ghosts Sect. I heard that the sect doesn’t have a good relationship with the Wonderful Sound Pavilion. They say that the sect was quite prosperous in the past, with strength no less than the nine super sects. Later on, it was suppressed by the Wonderful Sound Pavilion and was turned into a weak sect that could only guard its own headquarters.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “This Hundred Ghosts Sect, did they join the Freedom Alliance?”
Li Kuangge nodded and said, “They have. Moreover, they’re one of the first sects in the Western Demon Province to join. Their sect headquarters should be on the Hundred Ghost Mountain. I heard that it’s rich in yin qi, which made it suitable for the sect’s cultivation method.”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “We should support sects like these. Once we’re done, I’ll inform the alliance leader. When we dealt with the Wandering Soul Group, we were able to get our hands on their methods. If the Hundred Ghosts Sect needs it, we might give them some.”
Li Kuangge stared, then he looked at Zhao Hai in confusion and asked, “Brother, why should we support them? These ghost cultivators are vile. They don’t appear to be good.”
Zhao Hai looked at Li Kuangge and said, “Kuangge, you shouldn’t think like this. There are countless dao in this universe. Each cultivator has their own path. The ghost dao is just one of these paths. Just because they follow a very different path than us, we cannot look down on them. And since they are now part of the Freedom Alliance, we should give them benefits.”
Hearing this, Li Kuangge couldn’t help but get embarrassed. He lowered his head and said, “Yes, Brother. Thank you for reminding me.”
Zhao Hai patted Li Kuangge’s shoulder and said, “It’s fine. I just told you these words to appear good on the outside. My real purpose isn’t to embarrass you. Your status in the Giant Axe Sect isn’t low. You will encounter all kinds of things in the future. You shouldn’t be deceived by what you see on the outside.”
Li Kuangge stared. Then he asked, “Brother, what do you mean? The words you said are for the outside? Then what’s your real purpose?”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Did you notice something from the location of the Hundred Ghosts Sect?”
Li Kuangge thought about it and said, “The Hundred Ghost Mountain is very close to the Jade Belt River. Because of the strange rocks of the mountain, there would be howling sounds heard all the time. There are also several yin qi rich caverns in the mountain. There’s nothing special about them.”
Zhao Hai replied, “I didn’t mean the mountain itself. Think about the location of the mountain itself.”
Li Kuangge asked, “It’s close to the Jade Belt River. Is that it?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Correct. It’s very close to the Jade Belt River. Moreover, as you said, the Hundred Ghosts Sect has a grudge with the Wonderful Sound Pavilion. And this grudge should have extended to the nine super sects. The Hundred Ghosts Sect is located right next to the Jade Belt River, and right on the other side is the territory of the nine super sects. If an army crosses the river, the Hundred Ghosts Sect would certainly find out. As long as we support the sect, the Hundred Ghost Sect would be loyal to the Freedom Alliance. We can make the sect into our outpost in the Jade Belt River. Therefore, winning the sect over to our side would be good for the future of the alliance.”
Hearing this, Li Kuangge finally understood. He nodded and said, “I understand.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “Let’s go to the Hundred Ghosts Sect and then take a rest.” Li Kuangge nodded.
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In a cavern of the Hundred Ghosts Sect sat an old man. This old man looked over a hundred years old. His hair and beard were all white and there were spots on his face. He was very thin and he wore black cultivator robes. The old man’s robes were embroidered with silver ghost patterns. This old man was the sect master of the Hundred Ghosts Sect, Zhong Wuhun.
A few cultivators stood opposite Zhong Wuhun. These cultivators looked relatively younger and they were at the transcending tribulation stage. They were looking at Zhong Wuhun with respect. These talents held high status in the sect, but all of them respected Zhong Wuhun.
In fact, in the Hundred Ghosts Sect, there were very few people who didn’t respect Zhong Wuhun. This was because Zhong Wuhun had done so much for the sect. When Zhong Wuhun was still young, he was a famed genius of the Hundred Ghosts Sect. He was able to reach the transcending tribulation stage at a very young age. He was considered to be a genius among geniuses. The sect was grooming him to become an immortal expert as soon as possible.
But not soon after his breakthrough, the Hundred Ghosts Sect was suppressed by the Wonderful Sound Pavilion. The sect master of the Hundred Ghost Sect has been plotted against and was killed by the pavilion. This caused the Hundred Ghosts Sect to become a headless dragon. It wouldn’t take long before it would be eliminated by the Wonderful Sound Pavilion.
During that period, the position of sect master fell into Zhong Wuhun’s hands. After he got the position, Zhong Wuhun gave up any ideas of fighting back against the pavilion. He paid every price he could to save the sect from extinction and he succeeded. Through multiple painful sacrifices, the Hundred Ghosts Sect was able to keep its position among the sects in the Western Demon Province.
But because of this, Zhong Wuhun’s cultivation has stagnated. When he was done saving the sect from ruin, his best period of cultivation already passed. It has become impossible for him to become an immortal expert. For this reason, although Zhong Wuhun was still at the transcending tribulation stage, nobody in the Hundred Ghosts Sect dared to look down on him. Even the sect’s immortal elder was respectful towards him.