NOVPUB"I have retreated! Quickly request Immortal Ascension assistance!"
"I have retreated! Quickly request Immortal Ascension assistance!"
"I have retreated! Quickly request..."
These words repeated continuously within the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone.
The cultivators present all wore solemn expressions in an instant.
Tang Ji said with a grave expression,
"This is the transmission from the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone I received not long ago. I tried to contact them again, but I couldn’t get through. It must have been sealed away again."
Upon hearing this, Li Yingfu couldn’t help but express his confusion,
"Why would Master Song seal the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone at a time like this?"
Tang Ji slightly furrowed his eyebrows, pondering,
"He must have not been discovered yet, worrying that the existence of the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone might draw attention, so he continues to seal it. But the situation is probably not good otherwise, he wouldn’t have specifically sent us such a message for help."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and rescue him!"
Enforcer Bao said anxiously, looking at Enforcer Jiang.
Those brought by Song Dongyang would either be of exceptional ability or close to him, and clearly, Enforcer Bao was the latter.
Upon hearing this, Enforcer Jiang subconsciously looked at Wang Ba.
Not just him, Tang Ji also turned to look at Wang Ba with a solemn face, and said,
"Right Enforcer, what do you think?"
In front of everyone, he naturally couldn’t continue to converse with the propriety due to seniors and juniors.
But as soon as he spoke, everyone other than Enforcers Jiang and Li couldn’t help but glance sideways,
Looking at Wang Ba and Tang Ji with surprise and incomprehension.
They had not expected Tang Ji to seek the opinion of a Golden Core Craftsman.
After all, even though Wang Ba was the Right Enforcer, his realm was clear for all to see; taking care of some miscellaneous matters was one thing, but involving oneself in major Sect affairs seemed a bit premature.
Yet when Wang Ba heard the question, he had no time for modesty and said thoughtfully,
"May I ask my Martial Uncle, is it possible for someone else to use this Spirit Rhinoceros Stone?"
When Nascent Soul Cultivators started to seriously contemplate, their reactions were quite fast. Tang Ji was the first to grasp what Wang Ba implied, his expression somber:
"Are you suggesting, Master Song might have been possessed by someone?"
The surrounding cultivators were shocked to hear this.
Wang Ba shook his head slightly, "That’s just a possibility. Whether it’s Spirit Possession or the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone falling into others’ hands by accident, the key question is whether the information from the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone could be fabricated."
"Impossible! Master Song’s strength is formidable; he has few rivals in the Nascent Soul Realm. To possess him, I’m afraid only an Evil God himself would have any chance!"
Enforcer Bao couldn’t help but retort.
Wang Ba didn’t get angry but calmly said, "Considering the situation more thoroughly might be more beneficial to Master Song."
At this moment, Xi Wushang, who was practically invisible among the Nascent Soul Cultivators, suddenly spoke up in a soft voice,
"It shouldn’t be possible; once a cultivator refines the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone, it transmits the cultivator’s thoughts and not something that could be imitated or fabricated through possession."
Hearing Xi Wushang’s words, Tang Ji immediately nodded in agreement, "He’s right, the effect of the Spirit Rhinoceros Stone is indeed such that if there were a possession, the voice from the stone would no longer belong to him."
Wang Ba continued to question,
"Then what if someone used mind-confusing arts or Illusion Technique to delude Master Song? Could that be a possibility?"
"It’s highly unlikely."
Tang Ji immediately said,
"Vice Hall Masters have extremely high positions; if strangers target them, the dangers posed by possession or control by special Dharma are immeasurable. Hence, every generation of Nascent Soul Realm Vice Hall Masters is guarded by a Protecting SoulSpell personally cast by Immortal Ascension Elders of Taihe Palace."
"Unless someone is more powerful than the Immortal Ascension Elder, it would be impossible to silently control a Vice Hall Master."
"The Evil Gods of the Kingdom of Immortals, even if they were capable, would surely alarm the Elders within the Sect."
Hearing this, Wang Ba immediately nodded,
"As Guardian Tang states, then we can rule out the message being forged... so, what exactly makes him believe that only an Immortal Ascension Elder could handle the situation?"
Tang Ji’s mind immediately leaped to a possible answer:
"The Evil God has appeared on the other side?!"
A cultivator said, "No, it’s also possible that there’s a large number of Nascent Souls!"
"Or perhaps, Master Song has discovered an astonishingly valuable batch of resources, and he’s somewhat worried."
Wang Ba nodded quickly, "Right, normally speaking, those are the few possibilities… So, assuming an Evil God has appeared, is it possible for Master Song to go undetected?"
"Impossible!"
This time, Enforcer Bao shook his head, "I’ve seen some news from the Kingdom of Immortals within the Sect, and generally, an Evil God whose power is comparable to Immortal Ascension has a soul much stronger than that of ordinary cultivators. A Nascent Soul cultivator would inevitably be exposed if within their range of perception."
Wang Ba nodded rapidly, "That means, the likelihood of Master Song encountering someone at the Immortal Ascension is rather low, which also means, he might have encountered a large number of Nascent Souls, or he has obtained too much and is overly worried…"
"Overly worried shouldn’t be the case either. After all, Master Song is the Vice Hall Master of a hall, and he has handled countless resources. Even if Qi has quite a lot of materials, compared to our Wanxiang Sect, there is still a big difference…"
Li Yingfu couldn’t help but interject.
Wang Ba laid out his reasoning clearly:
"So, the situation is quite clear now. There’s a great likelihood that Master Song is surrounded by a large number of Nascent Souls, but hasn’t been exposed. There’s a very small chance that he has encountered an Evil God... Guardian Tang, you have been guarding Chen State for many years, do you know which of the former four states—Qiao, Wei, Lao, and Shi—has more Nascent Soul cultivators recently?"
Listening to Wang Ba’s step-by-step analysis, which was logical and well-founded, everyone still had some doubts but also felt inadvertently convinced.
Even Enforcer Bao, who had been questioning earlier, now kept silent.
"Which small state has more Nascent Soul cultivators of the Incense Fire Dao?"
Tang Ji was startled, then frowned and said:
"Qiao State is separated from us by Song State. There are cultivators guarding the border, and there are quite a few of them."
"Wei State is considered to be inside the Kingdom of Immortals, so there shouldn’t be many guardians. As for Shi State, it’s adjacent to the capital of Qi State, so it’s hard to say. Lao State, neighboring Yan State and its subordinate Yan, Dai, and Xiang States, is likely to have the most Nascent Soul cultivators."
Wang Ba swiftly reviewed the geomantic maps of the various states of Fenglin Continent he had seen before in his mind, becoming even more certain:
"Lao State? Approximately how many Nascent Soul cultivators are there?"
"I’m not entirely sure, but no less than forty!"
Tang Ji said without hesitation.
"Master Song also has five mid-stage Nascent Soul Enforcers by his side."
Wang Ba quickly calculated in his mind, then looked towards Tang Ji:
"Guardian Tang, do we have a Teleportation Array at the border between Lao State and Shi State?"
"The border of Lao State and Shi State?"
Tang Ji quickly shook his head, then his expression turned serious:
"You mean, Master Song is at the border of Lao State and Shi State? There is indeed a Teleportation Array towards Lao State, near Hutou Pass."
Wang Ba neither nodded nor shook his head, "That’s a possibility."
Enforcer Bao, who had been holding back his words, finally couldn’t help questioning:
"Right Enforcer, the place you mentioned is extremely close to the former capital of Qi State. How could Master Song be so unwise as to go there?"
This time, Wang Ba did not respond to him, his brow furrowed tightly:
"Hutou Pass, how far is it from the closest border between Shi and Lao States?"
"Not too far, Lao State is long from north to south and narrower from east to west. For a Nascent Soul Cultivator, it’s only a half shichen’s journey."
Tang Ji hurriedly replied.
"Right Enforcer, did you hear what I said! Whether it’s an Evil God or a large number of incense fire Nascent Soul cultivators, do you really think we could stop them?! Stop analyzing and promptly request assistance from the Sect, ask for an Immortal Ascension cultivator to come!"
Enforcer Bao spoke anxiously and with anger.
Yet Wang Ba slightly shook his head, "There may not be enough time."
And just at that moment.
The Spirit Rhinoceros Stone in Tang Ji’s hand suddenly vibrated.
The anxious voice of Song Dongyang rang out:
"We’ve been discovered! At the border between Shi State and Lao State! More than thirty Nascent Souls are heading our way! Quickly request an Immortal Ascension cultivator to intervene! Hurry!"
At that moment, hearing the voice, Enforcer Bao suddenly froze, looking at Wang Ba in disbelief!
And the others also widened their eyes as if they had seen a Void Refining cultivator.
