Sui Xiaohang had just walked onto the plaza in front of the Thunder Emperor Hall when he saw Qi Manyao rushing over.
"How is it? Is Wan Lei really dead? Did they start arguing inside? What are they arguing about?"
Qi Manyao pulled Sui Xiaohang, bombarding him with questions.
The news released by the demon race was known throughout the world, and Qi Manyao naturally knew it as well.
However, she was just a minor guard captain, with no authority to enter the main hall, and could only pace anxiously outside.
"They've gone completely mad in there. Without Wan Lei in charge, everyone has become unruly, not knowing their own place.
Right now, there are mainly two factions inside, no, three.
One faction suggests electing a new alliance leader, headed by Fang Guling, Qu Tianlei, and others. That old man, Fang Hui, sits there saying nothing, letting others fight for him while he tries to appear reserved, playing the game of 'three times declining the sacred position'.
The second faction is Huo Feng and the other two. They state they will only obey Wan Lei and no one else, prioritizing the protection of the Thunder Emperor Hall.
The last faction is observing. In reality, these people are already timid and likely want to surrender, but saying so would earn them immense scorn."
"Oh dear, with such a crisis, why are these powerful individuals causing chaos amongst themselves?!"
Qi Manyao stomped her foot in anger. Suddenly, she said,
"Wan Lei is definitely not dead..."
However, Sui Xiaohang showed no surprise. He simply made a shushing gesture and flicked his head, signaling Qi Manyao to follow him.
Qi Manyao understood, and the two of them flew towards Sui Xiaohang's alchemy room.
Upon reaching the alchemy room, Sui Xiaohang ordered everyone to withdraw.
"I suspect we have a spy in our Thunder Emperor Hall."
Sui Xiaohang's brows were tightly furrowed.
"Of course there is. We've expanded so rapidly; the enemy is bound to infiltrate us."
"No, I mean, there's an enemy agent among the tribulation transcending powerhouses."
"Tribulation transcending powerhouses? How is that possible? There are so few of them!"
"Think about it. Before Wan Lei went to the secret realm, he summoned all the tribulation transcending powerhouses for a meeting.
Even we didn't know he was going to the secret realm; we only found out from the demon race's news.
Yet, the demon race accurately sent over a dozen demon marshals to kill him. Wan Lei disguised himself so well, yet he was found. What does that imply? It implies the demon race was 100% certain Wan Lei went to the secret realm.
Otherwise, how could they have dispatched so many powerhouses to the secret realm? Aren't they afraid we'll counterattack while they are depleted?
If the demon marshals happened to die in there, their losses would be immense.
That's why I'm 100% suspicious that there's an enemy agent among the tribulation transcending powerhouses, which is why I called you here to talk.
Right now, I trust no one, especially not the people in the main hall. The only ones I can trust are those of us from Qishan Commandery."
"Alas, you can know a person's face but not their heart. Who would want to harm Wan Lei to death!"
Qi Manyao's eyes were red, filled with worry.
"By the way, you said Wan Lei is definitely not dead. Do you have any proof?"
"Of course. You haven't been to the harem often. I am often there. I am very close with Huo Feng and the other two. The three of them, along with Chief Steward Xi Ren, are actually in a master-servant relationship with Wan Lei, bound by a soul contract.
If Wan Lei were dead, they would also die. But they are still alive and well."
"Alright, as long as they are alive, that's good. Now, let's think of a way to rescue Wan Lei."
"How do we rescue him? Do you have a way to find them? Can you break the demon race's death curse?"
Man Yaoyao's eyes were wide open, looking at Sui Xiaohang with anticipation.
"The body's irreversible decay leaves no room for recovery. Any elixirs taken can at most serve to slow it down. Therefore, we must treat the root cause of this decaying death curse.
Its characteristic is to decay the body and seize life force. To break it, we need elixirs with extreme vitality and restorative capabilities."
"Do we have any?"
"We don't. But legend has it, there's an elixir that can bring the dead back to life and mend flesh and bone. Of course, that's an exaggeration, but as long as a person is still breathing, it can provide them with powerful vitality, break all dark, deathly powers, and directly revive them."
"A legendary elixir? What elixir?"
"Do you remember why Master brought me from Qishan Commandery to the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion? He saw the heavenly dao aura on me, which can be used to refine an elixir called the Heavenly Dao Myriad Life Elixir.
This elixir's formula was found by the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion in a secret realm many years ago, originating from the immortal realm. However, they have been unable to refine it due to the lack of an alchemist with a heavenly dao aura."
"Can this elixir save Wan Lei? You have the heavenly dao aura, right? Refine it quickly."
"In the one or two years since I became a Heavenly Alchemist, I've also attempted to refine this elixir, but always failed. After that, I stopped trying.
The materials are too precious, and the primary ingredient we used was thousand-year-old Phoebe zhennan wood. Its vitality was insufficient to support the medicinal properties. I believe this was the main reason for my failure.
Now, I have no choice but to refine it. For Wan Lei's sake, I can only try my best."
"Wait a moment. You said, if we used ten-thousand-year-old Phoebe zhennan wood, wouldn't the success rate of the elixir be higher?"
"Not just higher, it would be infinitely higher.
But there's only one ten-thousand-year-old Phoebe zhennan wood in the world, and it was given by Wan Lei to the Old Madam of the Fang family."
"Yes, let's go ask for it. That Old Madam should not be a spy. The Old Madam is old and desires nothing; she has no reason to be a spy."
"Why not just find the Fang Clan Leader directly? Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu are the daughter and son-in-law of the Fang Clan Leader. He wouldn't harm them, would he?"
"There are too many eyes and ears in the main hall now. How can I find him? Let's wait. When he comes out, I'll find him privately."
"Okay."
Just as Qi Manyao nodded, the sound of a bell suddenly rang from outside the main hall of the Thunder Emperor Hall.
"What's going on? Why is the bell for battle ringing now? Isn't it suicide to go to war with the demon race at this time?"
"No, it's three bell rings; an enemy has invaded!"
"Quick, let's go see!"
The two of them immediately flew out of the alchemy room. Before they had flown far, they heard someone shouting,
"Yin Yang Sect is under invasion by millions of enemy troops! Requesting reinforcements!"
Upon hearing this, the hall erupted in an uproar.
The sect master immediately took out his communication jade slip, looked at it for a moment, and his expression changed drastically.
"The demon race has come out in full force! This time, over thirty demon marshals have arrived, along with over two hundred thousand demon soldiers. Coupled with the millions of troops from the Liu family, Huo family, and Kai Tian Sword Sect, and their seven tribulation transcending powerhouses, they have all been deployed to invade our Yin Yang Sect!"
"Are they going for a decisive battle?"
"They must be trying to take advantage of our alliance leader's recent sacrifice and our internal chaos to annihilate us in one fell swoop!"