The two walked to a secluded corner.
Before Chen Jinzhao could speak, Li Buyan raised his hand to stop him. "I know you have many questions, but let's talk about you first. How are you feeling now? Can you still hold on?"
"Elder Li, I can still hold on. I'm fine for now," Chen Jinzhao replied.
"Sir, what is going on with all of this? Why do I see so many powerful figures in Taoist robes appearing here?"
Li Buyan stood with his hands behind his back, silent for a long time.
Chen Jinzhao waited patiently. After a while, Li Buyan smiled bitterly. "I really didn't expect you to show up here. You've probably already guessed it. Anything about meteorites from outer space or life crystals were all rumors I fabricated. It was just to set this trap and lure all the major organizations and forces from around the world to this place, so we could round them all up."
"We've had quite a haul this time, directly capturing the elites of the Black Blood Group's Asia-Pacific region. In the next five years, the Black Blood Group will likely be unable to invade our China. As for the Rossi family and the military from Miterli, many of their people were captured, leaving them severely weakened."
"It's just as I suspected," Chen Jinzhao murmured.
When he discovered that the two red-marked locations on the map were both set up as kill zones, he had already realized it was a trap designed to lure various heroes into it. It could be said that if Ding Ling hadn't stepped forward at the crucial moment, Chen Jinzhao would have already become a pile of flesh.
"Then, who are these people like Ding Ling? I've never heard of such formidable individuals in China," Chen Jinzhao asked hesitantly.
Li Buyan said, "Ding Ling is not one of ours."
"They merely reached a cooperation agreement with us. They can help us deal with these S-class warriors, and we can reduce our own costs."
"Then they are..." Chen Jinzhao wanted to probe further.
Li Buyan turned to look at Chen Jinzhao and said faintly, "Have you heard of hidden families? Some families are isolated from the secular world, enduring for thousands of years without falling. During times of war throughout the dynasties, they would relocate to deep mountains and old forests, living in seclusion."
Chen Jinzhao exclaimed in surprise, "They are from hidden families?"
"No."
Chen Jinzhao: "..."
"But it's close. They are from the Xuan Tian Daoist Temple in the far north. Ding Ling, whom you met, is also the next master of the Xuan Tian Temple. These reclusive forces, much like hidden families, rarely concern themselves with worldly affairs. If we hadn't reached a certain agreement with them, it would have been difficult to get them to come out," Li Buyan said with a wry smile.
"The agreement you mentioned, Elder Li, must be to hand over those S-class captives to the Xuan Tian Temple for disposal, right?" Chen Jinzhao retorted.
Li Buyan burst into laughter, giving an affirmative answer.
"However..."
He changed his tone. "I don't know what these people need S-class captives for. They did promise me that these individuals would never appear in the world again."
Chen Jinzhao suddenly understood.
He still had one lingering doubt: how many other forces like the Xuan Tian Temple were there?
Li Buyan seemed to sense Chen Jinzhao's concern and smiled. "In this era, it's as difficult as reaching the heavens to remain hidden. Through our investigations over the years, we've found about seven or eight hidden families, and around nine reclusive forces like the Xuan Tian Temple."
"I also know what you're worried about. Are you concerned that the number of people like Ding Ling is too great and could affect the safety of the nation?"
Chen Jinzhao nodded.
It was fortunate that Ding Ling was allied with them this time. If he were an enemy, Chen Jinzhao would have lost his life by now.
"As far as I know, people like Ding Ling are among the top tier within these reclusive forces. The Xuan Tian Temple can also be considered the most powerful reclusive force. We have an agreement with these reclusive forces, stating that we will not arbitrarily cross each other's boundaries. If the reclusive forces dare to cause chaos in the country, our planes and cannons are not to be trifled with," Li Buyan snorted, exuding an extremely domineering aura.
"That would naturally be for the best. I'm just afraid these people won't abide by the rules. However, I still have one question: why did the Xuan Tian Temple take these S-class captives?" Chen Jinzhao hoped to get an answer from Li Buyan, but even Li Buyan was unclear on this point.
"Alright," Li Buyan turned and patted Chen Jinzhao's shoulder.
"I've explained the mystery of this matter to you. It's best not to speak of it to anyone. Let's talk about you first. Why did you come to the far north for no reason? If I hadn't known in advance, you might have died under our missiles," Li Buyan asked.
Chen Jinzhao hesitated to speak.
He couldn't let Li Buyan know about the situation with his body yet.
"The situation was urgent, and I had to act quickly to avoid alerting the enemy. I didn't expect so many forces to get involved in the competition for the meteorite from outer space," Chen Jinzhao fabricated a seemingly logical excuse, and Li Buyan didn't suspect anything.
"In that case, let's go back. Meng Zhi is very worried about you," Li Buyan said.
Chen Jinzhao agreed. "Then, please arrange for someone to send this Li Xiaoning back."
Li Buyan nodded repeatedly.
In front of this old man, Chen Jinzhao was quite sensible.
As they were about to board the helicopter, Chen Jinzhao suddenly asked, "Sir, do life crystals actually exist?"
Li Buyan said indifferently, "It was fabricated out of thin air. There are no so-called life crystals."
The helicopter lifted off, and Chen Jinzhao's gaze shifted to the window, where he saw a massive meteorite crater in the icy wilderness.
Suddenly.
He realized something, his pupils constricting.
Life crystals most likely exist!
Burke Rossi and Ling Nan, among others, had deep ties with the official Miterli government. These super powers would definitely not act on mere rumors. The reason they traveled thousands of miles to China was because they knew life crystals truly existed!
Otherwise, why would the Black Blood Group take such a huge risk?
Only then did it make sense.
Chen Jinzhao wanted to tell Li Buyan his speculation, but then he wondered if Li Buyan already knew the truth and simply hadn't told him?
Thinking of this.
Chen Jinzhao took a breath and didn't dwell on the matter.
Two hours later.
In the continuous mountains of the far north, Ding Ling led his people back to a valley, which was covered in snow.
"Hey, where exactly are you taking us?" Burke Rossi demanded.
Ding Ling said calmly, "We've arrived."
Everyone was stunned and looked around.
It was clearly just a valley, with no buildings in sight.
The next moment.
A young man beside Ding Ling walked to the mountainside and gently moved a rock at the foot of the mountain. To everyone's astonishment, the snow on the mountainside began to fall, and then a ten-meter-high iron gate appeared in their sight.
"Look, there are three ancient Chinese characters written above the gate."
"It looks like..."
"Xuan, Tian, Guan!"