A Night of Desperation

Chapter 313: Reputation 1

The operation ended.

While Cheng Shu went back to recover from his injuries, Yu Hong also returned to his residence, casually ordered takeout, and after having dinner, he sat in the courtyard, basking in the sunset’s red glow, feeling the evening breeze, and smelling the aromatic smoke of someone else’s cooking.

With a single lift of his hand.

Instantly, a vague halo of white light appeared at his fingertips.

Within the halo, silver continuously flowed.

This was Spirit Light, a completely different special kind of halo from the Cosmic Divine Light.

"It’s difficult to detect; it seems afterwards, I should consider making a Universal Detector. Otherwise, many energy levels can’t be quantified, which makes it inconvenient to determine strength."

He felt the amplification of the Spirit Light.

’My physique has slightly increased, very weakly. It’s like wearing a layer of bulletproof protective clothing around me, somewhat thick, much stronger than before. It seems the Cultivators in Hope City are really going all out... their progress is also very fast. These are truly people who have experienced grim darkness!’

’Once the Cultivation Technique I’m integrating comes out, I might try using Spirit Light...’

Suddenly, his expression paused.

It seemed he discovered something extraordinary.

’Wait... this Spirit Light...’

With a gentle flick, the strand of Spirit Light at his fingertip actually flew out, landing on a sparrow not far away in the blink of an eye.

The sparrow trembled, its eyes clearly gaining a touch of silver.

It looked around, then continued to peck at stones on the ground.

But this time, the stones, which it couldn’t move just earlier.

Pop.

Were instantly pecked apart by it.

The sparrow panicked, flapping its wings to take off.

Swoosh!!

In a blink, it soared into the sky like a skylark, nearly flying out with a sharp breaking sound into the air.

"...." Seeing this, Yu Hong gained a new understanding of the uses of Spirit Light.

"So, it turns out, this Spirit Light can be lent out...."

He had a thought, and his fingers retracted.

Suddenly, a strand of white light shot back from the sky, entering his fingertip and disappearing.

Yu Hong clearly felt that this strand of Spirit Light was a bit stronger than before it was lent out.

Although it was just a very subtle increase, he still felt it.

Thump.

Something suddenly crashed down from mid-air.

That thing fell stiffly to the ground, splattering blood all around.

Yu Hong’s expression tightened, and upon closer examination, he found that it was the very sparrow he had imbued with Spirit Light earlier.

’This Spirit Light... there’s something wrong with it...’

Yu Hong suddenly remembered, this Spirit Light came from the integration of the Spirit-controlling Decision from Wuji Palace, and Wuji Palace had previously been marked by the Black Mark as the Infinite Demon Palace in the user manual....

He pondered for a moment, closing his eyes to sense the condition of the Spirit Light.

Suddenly he spread his hand, and a strand of white Spirit Light rose again in his palm, containing silver threads.

As his thoughts moved, the silver threads in the Spirit Light slightly transformed; though just lines, they were actually composed of countless tiny silver runes.

At this moment, if one looked closely, one could discover that these tiny silver runes were undergoing some unknown transformation.

After a short time, the transformation ended.

Yu Hong looked at the sparrows approaching again around him.

A row of little sparrows stood on the wall, hopping and chirping merrily.

"Go." He flicked his hand.

Immediately, the Spirit Light in his hand flew out, instantly attaching itself to a brown sparrow.

The sparrow, oblivious, hopped a few times and still stood chirping on the wall.

Yu Hong raised his hand again and emitted a strand of Inner Qi.

Bam!!

The Inner Qi struck the brown sparrow hard, making it cry out miserably and get knocked back a great distance.

But quickly, the sparrow returned chirping and cursing, completely unharmed.

Yu Hong narrowed his eyes and, with the same force, flicked towards the wall.

Bang!

Immediately, a fist-sized dent appeared in the wall.

’As expected... the effects of Spirit Light can be adjusted. When I shifted it to enhance protection entirely, the protective aspect was greatly enhanced.’

Yu Hong had a clear understanding.

This way, he could completely customize for different people, filling in their defects. In a way, it substantially enhances their strength.

This discovery gave him a new appreciation for the value contained within the Infinite Demon Palace and also brought him new thoughts about the forces of Wild Mages and Loose Cultivators.

*

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*

Yasong Taoist Sect Ancestor Court—Yunshu Mountain.

Deep in the mountains, a somewhat old gray Taoist Palace is situated.

A main hall, three auxiliary halls, and a row of connecting rooms on each side, enclosing a large stone plaza at the center.

This is Yunshu Taoist Palace.

At this moment, on the gray-white stone plaza, which is roughly the size of a soccer field, stands sparsely a crowd of male and female Taoists in robes of various colors.

Among the Taoists, each holds a sign with different place names written on them: Wushan, Thunder Lion, Xuzhou, Songzhou, etc.

"Please, representatives of the Taoist Sect, enter the hall; the meeting has essentially concluded," a voice booms from an old Taoist stepping out from the main hall.

The teams glance at each other and file into the main hall one by one.

Inside the chilly, spacious hall, a giant Taoist Lord statue made of pure gold, holding a horsetail whisk, wearing a complicated purple gold crown, calmly sits with a serene expression at the center.

Behind the statue, a circular light emanates a faint silver color, as if there’s a self-illuminating light bulb installed inside.

Beneath it lies a small garden, where countless tiny animal, human, and Taoist statues are freely positioned.

To the right of the Taoist Lord statue, on an open space, numerous cushions are laid out with representatives from various provinces of the Taoist Sect seated on them.

Among them are people from the Nine Sects.

"The Seven Evil Alliance has acted swiftly, causing over two hundred billion in various damages in just three days. The authorities are very concerned and demand that we absolutely stabilize the situation within a week," states an old Taoist seated in the principal seat, the only one of his kind, with white hair and beard grown down to his chest.

The old Taoist is dressed in a pure white Daoist robe, holding a gold-handled silver-threaded horsetail whisk. His face is thin, eyes dark and bright, and even the mere squinting can convey a fierce and menacing feeling.

This person is the most prominent figure in today’s Taoist Sect, the head of the Upper Primordial Heavenly Master Mansion, one of the two great Heavenly Masters of the current era—Wu Ran Taoist, Zuo Yunfeng.

"Why doesn’t Zuo Heavenly Master delegate more responsibilities to Xu Heavenly Master? Our sect is full of talented individuals; it seems unnecessary to burden the old Heavenly Master so heavily," a muscular and rugged man with disheveled red hair, gently laughing, holding a jade cup, speaks from the old Taoist’s left.

"It’s amusing that Mo Temple Master, who can’t even manage his own temple, has the leisure to meddle in the affairs of the Heavenly Master Mansion," retorts a Red Robed Taoist coldly from the side.

"Not at all, the troubles of Jinxiao Temple are nothing compared to those of Yunshen Temple," Mo Temple Master responds with a chuckle.

"Enough, let’s speak less. Zuo Heavenly Master has been governing the world for decades, growing stronger with age. Even Xu Heavenly Master himself holds Zuo Heavenly Master in higher regard to preside over the grand scheme. Such remarks should better be reserved for later," a handsome middle-aged Taoist seated to the right softly speaks.

This man is Ku Chan’s biological father, the current Palace Master of Zihe Palace, Yu Qin Taoist.

In his youth, he was famously handsome within the Taoist Sect, with numerous admirers. Among them, he chose a woman of ordinary looks and background as his partner.

At that time, the marriage was a topic of amusement. However, it stunned everyone eventually.

The seemingly ordinary woman, after marriage, not only bore Yu Qin a peerlessly talented son, Ku Chan, but also helped her husband manage the Taoist Palace to prosper. She even operated businesses externally, and within just twenty years, propelled Zihe Palace from the fifth rank directly to the third, only behind the two great Heavenly Master Mansions.

Since then, the reputation of Yu Qin Taoist marrying a wise wife spread, and his fame soared.

But outside, although he had a great reputation, within the Taoist Sect, he was quite a famous good person.

"Enough about that, the battle reports from each province have been delivered, compiled here, everyone can take a look first."

Yu Qin the Taoist spoke seriously, he was responsible for the summary work from various places, in the Taoist Sect, he was akin to the office director. Administering the internal structure and job transfer of the Taoist Sect’s Ancestor Court.

He clapped his hands, and a Daoist boy behind him came forward with a stack of printed papers, distributing them to representatives of the Nine Sects.

The other eight each took a sheet and looked down to read carefully.

"The Seven Evil Alliance’s actions this time are huge, they simultaneously detonated their various ambushes that had been lying dormant for many years, with astonishing effects, leaving Yunan Province and Fucang Province in dire situations, necessitating the support of experts," explained Yu Qin.

"If I remember correctly, these two places should be under the jurisdiction of Qingxia Palace, right?" Mo, the Temple Master of Jinxiao Temple, chuckled twice.

"It is my poor duty. Inside, there was some trouble," said an old white-haired Taoist nun sitting at the end of the left side, sighing.

"Two core Dao Seeds betraying the sect and joining the Seven Evil Alliance, this is not a small trouble..." Mo’s laughter turned cold.

The old Taoist nun remained silent, only lowering her head with a somber expression.

"If I remember correctly, one of the defectors is the biological daughter of Sister Su Ling, right?" the Red Robed Taoist of Yunshen Temple asked, frowning.

"Yes," replied the old Taoist nun Su Ling.

Everyone was suddenly speechless, not knowing what to say.

"Let’s dispatch support as soon as possible. Assigning two teams from the permanents here in the Ancestor Court should be able to suppress them," said the Left Heavenly Master indifferently.

"Yes."

The rest agreed in unison.

"Apart from the two most critical provinces, there are also many small sects on the edge of the Taoist Sect that have been annihilated. The all-out attack strategy by the Seven Evil Alliance has put us in a difficult, very passive position," continued Yu Qin, "In desperation, I have already dispatched my son Ku Chan to extinguish fires everywhere, alleviating many local troubles."

"Zihe Palace has done great good with this matter, and it should be noted, even if it is on the edge of the Taoist Sect, we ought to assist," nodded the Left Heavenly Master approvingly.

"Now I will report a summary of the specific damages and losses from various places, please provide your corrections," said Yu Qin.

Yu Qin took out a list, cleared his throat, and began to read it word for word.

Minutes later, after finishing the list, he continued.

"Apart from the losses, the sudden attack by the Seven Evil Alliance also presents a rare opportunity, allowing many talents who previously showed average performance to shine. I have also compiled a list of talented individuals from the Taoist Sect, totaling forty-nine people."

He switched to another printed paper, signaling the Daoist boy to distribute the rest.

After receiving the new printed papers, the nine individuals carefully examined them.

"Of these forty-nine individuals, most are still under thirty years old. It can be said that they are the future supporting force of our Taoist Sect. I suggest rewarding these forty-nine individuals based on their specific performances," Yu Qin continued.

"It’s feasible. The annual grand competition is approaching, and these rewards can be arranged right after the competition," proposed the Red Robed Taoist of Yunshen Temple.

"Agreed," nodded the Left Heavenly Master, putting down the printed paper, letting it rest on the flat ground in front of him.

Printed on the paper were lines of text.

Near the end, one line struck out clearly: Taizhou Qingchen Temple’s Zheng Rou — within a few days, successively eradicated eight strongholds of the Seven Evil Alliance, directly defeated the Seven Evils Alliance’s cadre, and pursued the escaping criminal Illusion Soldier Guo Chengfei.