Chapter 486 - Chu Kuangren’s Little Scheme, The Changes In Purgatory Forest

At the Longevity Hall.

Chu Kuangren was settling some of the sect’s affairs. His workload has increased tremendously because Elder Ruyan and the rest were all in closed-door meditation.

Additionally, those disciples who filled in for them were still quite green, so they were not as efficient as Elder Ruyan and the others.

“Horizon Wing Sect intends to send a delegation here for a cultivation insights exchange session. Yes, I know they’re just an affiliated force, but back when Black Heaven Sect urgently needed help, they were generous to lend us a hand. Hence, we shall not delay this matter any further. Send Nangong Huang and a few other disciples over to have a proper exchange with them.”

“The Thirty-Six Oceanic Islands are rebuilding, and they have invited us to attend their grand reopening ceremony. Are they trying to make peace with us? It’s too late for them to make amends now. We’re not going.”

“There have been strange occurrences of demonic qi spikes in Blackwind Prefecture and Blackwater Prefecture recently. The cause behind it is unknown… It is quite odd, but as we’re in the Era of Great Battles, the whole world has rushed forth to join in the fun.”

Chu Kuangren watched as memorials piled up in front of his desk. The sudden increase in workload made him feel extremely helpless.

This made him think of Gu Linglong, who was currently far away in the Royal Azure Dynasty. She had to deal with affairs of the royal dynasty, so she should be much busier than him.

“This is so frustrating. Why not I throw away my responsibilities and go into closed-door meditation too?”

Chu Kuangren complained to Lan Yu beside him as he stretched his body.

“That won’t do. If people were to hear the great Sect Leader himself say such a thing, it would surely tarnish your reputation.”

Just then, a voice was heard outside Longevity Hall.

Dressed in a white robe, Elder Ruyan elegantly walked in. She stared at Chu Kuangren and rolled her eyes. “I thought you could handle all of this as a Sect Leader. But I didn’t expect that you’re already considering laying down your responsibilities in just two days after my departure.”

Chu Kuangren smiled back at her rather awkwardly. “Elder Ruyan, aren’t you supposed to be in closed-door meditation? Why are you back here so soon?”

“I must say, it is all thanks to those tea leaves that you’ve given me, Sect Leader. In fact, what sort of tea leaves are those? They allowed me to break through into the Sage Realm in just two days and saved me several dozen years of effort.” Elder Ruyan was still rather amazed when she remembered the wonders of those tea leaves.

That kind of treasure was way too scarce. It was definitely an Emperor-grade, but it was not just any Emperor-grade treasure.

“Those were Dao Enlightening Tea, a treasure I got my hands on a while back. I had used up some, but there were some extra, so I asked Lan Yu to bring them over to you.”

Chu Kuangren smiled gently.

Apart from Fairfrost Sage and the few other Sages, who were currently cultivating with the Dao Enlightening Tea, no other people in the Black Heaven Sect knew of it.

“This is an extraordinary item. It’s way too precious, but thank you, Sect Leader.”

“Elder Ruyan, you’ve given so much for our community. You deserved it.”

“Now that I’ve broken through the Sage Realm, I won’t need to meditate anymore. Since I have free time, I might as well come back here and help you deal with those minor matters.”

“Really? That’s incredible news.”

“Sect Leader, stop pretending. Isn’t this part of your scheme?”

“Heh, whatever it is, having you back in my assistance is something worth celebrating.”

Chu Kuangren chuckled. He had indeed arranged for Lan Yu to send those Dao Enlightenment Tea over on purpose. On one hand, it was to return her favor. On the other hand, he secretly wanted Elder Ruyan to break through the Sage Realm quickly, so she could come back here and help him manage the Black Heaven Sect’s tremendous workload.

“Sigh, it seems that I’m destined for a hectic work life.” Elder Ruyan sighed.

With Elder Ruyan’s help, Chu Kuangren finished up the rest of the sect’s matters in no time.

He stretched his back and thanked her. “It’s great to have you back, Elder Ruyan. You’ve saved me a huge amount of time. We really have to rely on you from now on.”

“I hope I can be of great help in the days to come, Sect Leader.”

….

From then on, the Black Heaven Sect developed swiftly in an organized manner.

Besides Elder Ruyan, the few other disciples, who had been selected to replace the elders, had gained astonishing progress too. In just a few months’ time, they were able to adapt to their respective duties seamlessly. This made Chu Kuangren extremely relieved and delighted. His days were finally freeing up now that everything was in order.

That was when he recalled the Acheron Stele that he got from Acheron Manor. He wished to go into closed-door meditation, so he could spend some time gaining insight into it.

While Chu Kuangren was in closed-door meditation, gaining insights from the Acheron Stele, the outside world was in chaos.

Purgatory Forest, one of the Ten Great Forbidden Areas.

Purgatory Forest resembled an Ashuran Hell as it had dried corpses scattered all over its land, thus earning it this name.

Today, a group of people suddenly arrived outside Purgatory Forest.

These people all had ominous demonic qi emanating from their bodies. Their leader was a sky-pride on the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard, Touba.

This person may be listed on the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard, but he seldom revealed his power, so his true strength remained a mystery. Nonetheless, the fact that the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard listed this person in the top ten was enough to prove his extraordinary prowess.

“This is Purgatory Forest, a territory of the Ashura Tribe. This view really does fit the characteristics of that group of people.”

A demon, with yellow eyes and a horn on his forehead, grinned and kicked one of the skulls on the ground.

“Young Master, this Purgatory Forest has eighteen levels of prohibitory seals set up. These eighteen seals overlap with each other heavily, so it won’t be easy to get in there.”

A white-robed old man beside Touba said. He was holding a black compass in his hand.

Numerous mysterious light patterns glowed on top of that compass, and it emitted waves after waves of invisible energy fluctuations. It seemed like it was peering into the Purgatory Forest’s landscape and characteristics.

“Of course, I know it’s not easy to get into the Purgatory Forest. Otherwise, this place wouldn’t have been deemed as one of the Ten Great Forbidden Areas. This is also the reason I wanted you here, Elder Luo. You are the most skillful Formation Master in our Demonic Realm. This Black Demon Formation Compass in your hand is said to be able to break thousands of formations in this world. It is even ranked third among the Demonic Realm’s Thirty-Three Sacred Weapons. With you by my side, I don’t think I need to be concerned about these eighteen prohibitory seals.”

Touba smiled at the old man. His tone was full of respect.

The old man, too, seemed like he was carried away with all that compliment. There was a smug look on his face. “Don’t worry, Young Master. You were the one who broke the seal I was cursed with and saved me. I will do everything to open up these eighteen prohibitory seals even if it costs me my life.”

“Appreciate it, Elder Luo.”

“Young Master, seals can be broken, but the Ashura Tribe is still full of powerful elites. They even have a Boundary Emperor garrisoning them. You should formulate an appropriate plan for that, Young Master.”

“Everybody, rest assured that our journey here this time is not to go head to head with the Ashura Tribe. My target is to destroy the Great Acheron Formation. Based on what I’ve gathered, the Great Acheron Formation’s core has been lost for many years. Now, it relies on a few Boundary Emperors to keep it running, so these Boundary Emperors won’t be able to leave their duties and fight with us. Conversely, as long as we can destroy the mega formation, it will not only open up the portal to the Demonic Realm, but it will also deal a massive amount of damage to those few Boundary Emperors. By then, even if they’re not dead, they will be crippled at least.”

“Haha, that’s great news then.”

“Elder Luo, it’s all down to you now.” Touba glanced at Elder Luo, who was holding the compass, and said.

“For the greater good of the Demonic Realm, an old soul like me will be duly obliged.”

Elder Luo said in a resolute tone, then walked into the eighteen prohibitory seals of Purgatory Forest.

Time passed by quickly.

One half of a day had gone by.

Suddenly, the entire Purgatory Forest began to quake.

The eighteen prohibitory seals were slowly dissipating away. The hellish landscape in front of everyone’s eyes vanished, and in its place stood a mere ordinary forest.

“So all of that earlier was only an illusory realm.”

“We did it. Elder Luo has successfully broken the eighteen prohibitory seals. Folks, let’s get on with our plan.”

Touba rushed inside Purgatory Forest the moment he finished his sentence.