Chapter 766: A Sudden Contact at the Conference

The conference continued. Although things had improved slightly now that the discussion was steered in the right direction, no one was truly delving into profound topics. Most of the debate was carried on by Duality Disciples and cultivators at the Three Talents rank.

Among the sea of disciples present, a great many had let their minds wander. Zhang Deming, like most of them, was also completely zoned out.

This continued until about the midway point. Suddenly, the zoned-out Zhang Deming froze. He glanced around before his Heart Spirit entered his Spirit Nurturing Space.

Inside, the Surveillance Elf in the sky was flashing relentlessly. When Zhang Deming saw the cause of the alarm, he was slightly taken aback.

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About a month ago, while providing disaster relief in Pann City, Zhang Deming had a chance encounter with Dang Rushuang, Dang Ketao, and their group. He had discovered the Geng Metal Secret Realm Core, and just as its Teleportation Gate was about to close, he had casually tossed a Spirit Species through it for reconnaissance.

Time had been tight, so he paid it no mind after tossing it through. Afterward, once the situation was resolved and he had some free time, he tried to sense the Spirit Species but got no response.

He had assumed that either the Spirit Species had been discovered and destroyed, or there was a special Dao Mark Sealing array on the other side of the Teleportation Gate, which was why he lost the connection.

Therefore, after several fruitless attempts, Zhang Deming had stopped paying attention to the matter, merely assigning a detection task to his Surveillance Elf just in case.

He never expected that he would suddenly be able to sense the Spirit Species again today, and that the connection would be re-established.

Zhang Deming glanced at the flashing Surveillance Elf, withdrew his Heart Spirit from the Spirit Nurturing Space, and looked around. He saw that the conference below was proceeding as usual.

He lightly tapped a Light Screen, activating a Sound Insulation Array between them. “Senior Brother Yuee,” he said, “by the looks of things, this will just be a routine two-day discussion. I’m not going to stick around for the rest of it.”

The three of them paused. Yuee Mengsheng asked, “Did something come up?”

Zhang Deming nodded. “Yes, something’s come up that I need to handle immediately, so I won’t be staying.”

“Is it very urgent? Do you need any of us to help?” Gan Zili asked.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to go take a look to find out.” Zhang Deming paused, then added, “It’s rather urgent, so I can’t get into the details.”

With that, Zhang Deming’s body flickered. In his place at the low table, only a seemingly tangible illusion of a Grand Array remained. He himself had already descended from the array platform.

The dozen or so people nearby, all of them Great Cultivators of the Three Talents rank or higher, naturally noticed such an obvious change and turned to look in unison.

Seeing that an illusion had taken Zhang Deming’s place, they frowned slightly.

After a quick glance, Supreme Elder Dang Xiangjun looked at Yuee Mengsheng and the other two and asked, “Leaving so hastily… did something urgent come up?”

Yuee Mengsheng nodded. “From what Junior Brother Zhang implied, it does seem to be something, and it sounds quite urgent.”

Dang Xiangjun paused. “And he went off to handle it alone again?”

Yuee Mengsheng nodded. “Yes. That’s just his personality. He keeps everything bottled up. Forget asking the Sect for help, he rarely even asks the few of us for assistance.”

“By the time he comes to us, the matter is usually already solved, and he’s just notifying the Sect to come and collect the spoils. It was the same for the last two Daoist Collections.”

“It makes it seem less like he’s affiliated with the Sect and more like he owes the Sect—or us—some kind of debt that he’s constantly running around to repay.”

Dang Xiangjun’s brow furrowed slightly. “While it saves us a lot of trouble and he has a likable personality, it’s a bad habit. He needs to be reminded to work on it.”

Yuee Mengsheng nodded and said, “It is indeed a significant flaw. It’s probably a habit he developed ‘back when’ he was a Loose Cultivator from a Noble Family.”

Dang Xiangjun looked at Yuee Mengsheng and his companions. “Perhaps I should have the Secret Group assign a Spirit Guard to stay with him for a while. After he develops a sense of teamwork, he shouldn’t be acting alone so often. He’ll learn to approach the Sect first when he runs into trouble.”

Yuee Mengsheng and the others paused. Before Yuee Mengsheng could reply, Gan Zili immediately chuckled. “Oh, that won’t be necessary. There’s no need to trouble our brothers from the Secret Group. They’re already extremely busy.”

“It’s not a major issue, just a minor quirk, really. It’s something our own peak can handle.”

“However, we are still grateful for your concern, Martial Uncle. Thank you for being so mindful of our safety!”

Guk Liancai’s lips twitched. He looked at Dang Xiangjun but, in the end, kept his thoughts to himself.

Yuee Mengsheng also smiled faintly and said, “There’s no rush. I’ll have a talk with Junior Brother Zhang when I have a moment.”

“Besides, even if we were to assign someone to protect him, we should at least inform him first, shouldn’t we? To just send someone over without a word to shadow his every move… given Junior Brother Zhang’s temperament, he would probably find it anything but pleasant.”

Hearing this, Dang Xiangjun nodded thoughtfully and said, “Just see that you remember. After all, it’s rare for the Sect to produce a Law-Level Spirit Nurturer, especially one with such a low Cultivation. You should be more worried about him than I am.”

The three of them nodded. “We understand.”

With that, the group ceased their idle chatter and turned their gazes back to the doctrinal debate below. The Floating Island fell silent.

However, Yuee Mengsheng had been calm for only a moment before he stiffened. His brows knitted together as he flipped his hand over, producing a specially made Array Card.

He lightly tapped the Array Card, causing a Light Screen to appear. As Yuee Mengsheng read the information on the screen, his whole body went rigid, and his expression froze completely.

Gan Zili and Guk Liancai beside him noticed his strange reaction simultaneously. They both turned to look at him, and Gan Zili asked, “Senior Brother, what is it?”