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Chapter 638: Chapter 644: Take Action
When the rumors first began to spread, they attracted the attention of various forces, especially the Devil Race, which had arranged for several fourth-order Great Devils to wait in the frontier regions.
Once a Divine Transformation Thunder Tribulation truly appeared, they could quickly disseminate the news and even attempt to intervene to obstruct the Tribulation Transcendence.
However, as time passed day by day without any sign of the Thunder Tribulation, most of the fourth-order Great Devils had already returned to their lairs, no longer lingering in the wilderness to brave the bone-chilling wind.
"King Bai, we should leave too."
But in the end, only that rough-looking female devil remained behind.
In fact, she too suspected that the Profound Ice Sect might have deliberately spread false information, but to return now would be to admit her previous mistake, wouldn’t it? She would surely be mocked by that sly fox, preferring to stay in the cold wind rather than face its ridicule.
But later, her tribe encountered problems that forced her to return to resolve them.
Not long after, the news that the entire Devil Race had withdrawn was known to the higher echelons of the Profound Ice Sect.
"Sect Leader brother, isn’t it time to spread the second round of rumors?"
The Sect Leader shook his head, looking as if he held all the wisdom of the world, and said, "No rush, this sort of thing is better done slowly rather than hastily. Let’s wait a few more months, just when people are about to forget, then we’ll add fuel to the fire."
"At the same time, the Sect can’t be without actions this time. We need to make it look like something is really happening, clearing out the spies, the traitors, and informants near the Sect entrance, as a drill and preparation for the eventual, and true, Tribulation Transcendence!"
"Sect Leader is truly brilliant! We are nowhere near your level," exclaimed an Elder with a face full of admiration.
"Indeed, only under the Sect Leader’s guidance can our Profound Ice Sect look forward to better and greater development!"
"I believe it won’t be long before our Sect becomes the sole ruler of the far east, and all this will be completed under the wise leadership of the Sect Leader!"
Endless flattering words poured out from the mouths of the Elders without cost.
Although the final result had yet to come, when the time came to curry favor, it would be too late!
And even if this plan ultimately failed, the main responsibility would not fall on them, wasn’t it all done by the Sect Leader alone?
——
"Elder Ancestor, it’s very likely that the previous rumors about the birth of a Divine Transformation ancestor in the Profound Ice Sect were false, as there has been no movement so far," Li Darong said, visibly more relaxed.
One should know that just over a month ago, the news that a Divine Transformation ancestor would be born in the Profound Ice Sect had spread far and wide, causing him great anxiety and concern.
And now, how much time had passed? The news had scattered, and most importantly, the Profound Ice Sect internally had severely curtailed the spread of the rumors.
Since hearing about the Profound Ice Sect’s affairs, Li Zhirui adjusted his cultivation schedule so he could make timely decisions when the event actually occurred.
Li Zhirui was also relieved, but his intuition kept nagging at him that something was not quite right, so he did not completely let go of the matter and ordered,
"There’s no smoke without fire. Have our clansmen be cautious, gather more intelligence, all kinds are fine. If they sense something amiss, evacuate Profound Ice State immediately!"
"Yes! I will specially emphasize this point!" Li Darong immediately took this matter to heart.
Since the other aspects of the family’s development were doing well and did not require Li Zhirui’s attention, he left after discussing the matter.
"What exactly is the Profound Ice Sect doing?"
Li Zhirui had always trusted his Spirit Sense, as it had saved him from countless dangers, and he did not intend for this time to be an exception.
However, for the next half year, he heard no news from the Profound Ice Sect, which made Li Zhirui doubt his own Spirit Sense for a moment.
"That’s not right! Logically, the higher the cultivation, the more accurate the Spirit Sense should be. Why does it seem to be the other way around with me?"
But since there was no trouble, there was nothing more he could say, resulting in Li Darong no longer taking this matter as seriously as before.
But just a few days later, the situation took a sudden turn!
The Profound Ice Sect began a major sweep of the undercover agents sent by various forces, and their informants were caught off guard, causing heavy losses to all factions.
At the same time, they tightened the control over Profound Ice Immortal City, requiring registration for entry and exit, and goods were subject to meticulous inspection.
By the time the Li family received the news, several more days had passed.
Li Darong reported the matter to Li Zhirui with frantic unease, his round, chubby face streaming with cold sweat, looking like he had just been fished out of water.
"How many people did the clan lose?"
"At least fifteen," Li Darong said, his throat dry and his voice hoarse and grating.
All of them were apprehended and then executed in Profound Ice Immortal City! There were no issues in other areas of Profound Ice State, but then again, there weren’t many individuals arranged by the Li family in those places.
Li Zhirui’s expression grew increasingly stern, yet he knew that this matter was not the fault of Li Darong’s oversight, since even he had not been closely monitoring the Profound Ice Sect’s situation, let alone the busy Clan Leader?
"Huff!"
He exhaled a long, murky breath and asked, "Have the remaining clan members safely left?"
"They have all left, and are en route to Wanxian Island, they should arrive by this evening."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhirui frowned and said, "From where are they returning? I’ll go and meet them on the road."
His primary concern was that they might be ambushed on the way. If such an incident occurred, they would all be clueless about what exactly had happened at the Profound Ice Sect.
After all, the situation had been urgent prior to this, and very little information could be transmitted back. Even the number of casualties was only known to Li Darong through the number of shattered Life Tokens.
Li Darong hastily produced a positioning device, "Ancestor, they are coming from the sea, and you can use this magic artifact to locate them."
"Good." Taking the magic artifact, Li Zhirui immediately rose and flew up into the sky.
Li Darong prayed earnestly, "I hope nothing bad happens!"
Spirit Light dashed through, piercing through layers of clouds and fog.
Li Zhirui, holding the magic artifact in his right hand, tracked down the whereabouts of the clan members who were fleeing.
"Found them!"
After determining their location, Li Zhirui pushed his speed to the limit.
To the naked eye, there would only be a flash of Spirit Light, making one think they’d seen a trick of the eye.
"Hold on! Just hold on a bit longer! The clan will definitely send someone to pick us up!" cried a desperate voice from someone aboard a Spirit Boat.
"Cough cough!"
Three clan members, each with a huge wound on their body, lay collapsed on the deck, their breaths weak.
They had sensed something ominous as soon as the Profound Ice Sect made its move, and they retreated immediately.
But it turned out to be too late!
After losing more than a dozen clan members, they had managed to escape.
And now, they had run out of healing Spirit Pills, and could only watch helplessly as the three wounded members in front of them were losing their vitality.
