“Nirvana Master?”

Fang Qiu’s brows furrowed and he was immediately drawn to the story from Li Ji.

“Yes.”

Li Ji went on. “Nirvana Master was said to be a top genius back then. Later, he unearthed an ancient relic. That was the beginning of the Nirvana Organization and it expanded rapidly. Meanwhile, Nirvana Master’s strength underwent an earthshaking change – it grew at a frightening speed.”

“Could an ancient ruin alter everything?”

Fang Qiu was amazed.

“Absolutely!”

Li Ji said with certainty.

Enlightenment suddenly dawned on Fang Qiu after he heard such an affirmative answer.

No wonder all Wulin forces became so worked up about the ancient ruin, after hearing about the rumor of this ancient ruin.

“Who is Nirvana Master? Do you have any information about him?” asked Fang Qiu.

“No, I don’t.”

Li Ji shook his head and said, “I don’t know much about Nirvana Master. His background is strictly confidential. Besides the little bit of a rumor about him, I know nothing else.”

“I see…”

Fang Qiu nodded knowingly.

“Highly confidential?

“Even Li Ji could only pick up a smattering of his history. Nirvana Master seems to be an extraordinary figure!”

“Do your men really have a formation?”

Li Ji asked.

“Yes.”

With an affirmative nod, Fang Qiu said, “But it’s just a Combined Attack Sword Formation. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the formation of the ancient ruin in the secret land. After all, I might be the cause of Ma Chunyu’s downfall. Maybe he just wanted to find an excuse to take revenge on me and the Peace Faction, though what he said sounded authentic.”

“Whether it’s true or not, the higher-ups hope you can go for it.”

Li Ji paused for a moment and said, “At present, the only person we can count on in Wulin is you. And you would very likely have a headstart in this matter. All in all, leaders at the top are asking you to make a move and get the ancient relic. After all, peace does not come easily. If the ancient relic exists and is seized by someone with evil intentions, it will destroy the peace.”

“Hum…”

Fang Qiu pondered in complete silence for a while and responded, “I’ll do all I can to prevent another Nirvana Master from coming out!”

…

“Ha-ha.”

Somewhere in Huaxia, on a high-speed train that traveled at a speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour, Ma Chunyu was checking the situation on the Wulin online forum on his phone. When he saw that everyone in Wulin went crazy over the news about the ancient ruin, he finally burst out laughing.

When the high-speed train stopped at the station, Ma Chunyu went to the carriage’s entrance and flung his phone far away. It landed on the roof of another high-speed train that had just set off. Then he returned to the carriage and headed towards the next train stop.

…

After searching for several days, no one was able to find any traces of Ma Chunyu.

Led by the four clans, all the other Wulin forces of different sizes came to the Peace Faction. It was the first time in Wulin that the four clans visited a place together.

And notably…

All the forces that arrived here brought with them some people of considerable strength!

They all claimed that this was only a casual visit.

But in fact, everyone understood the purpose of these forces, but none was willing to step forward and state their actual intention even though they all shared the same objective.

Under the circumstances, Lin Qingyi, as the Peace Faction’s leader, could only suppress his anger and greet each force arriving at his gate cordially. He welcomed the heads of all the clans, factions, and sects as they walked into the reception hall.

The disciples of the forces were all gathered in the Peace Faction’s square. At a glance, they greatly outnumbered the disciples from Peace Faction.

The square was a sea of people.

Everyone from the Peace Faction watched them grimly!

“All of you have traveled thousands of miles to call on us. It’s an honor for the entire Peace Faction. I, Lin Qingyi, thank you all for your concern.”

In the reception hall, Lin Qingyi received everyone with great courtesy.

“Faction Leader Lin.”

Patriarch Qian said, “An honest man is not deceitful. I will not beat around the bush as I have always been open and straightforward. The main purpose of my visit today is to find out the specific details of the secret land. I’d also like to pay a visit to the site.”

In the hall, everyone couldn’t help but be stunned.

Nobody had thought Patriarch Qian would speak so bluntly as soon as he started.

In the whole hall, except for Diwu Mingchuan, Xi Fengling, and Elder Zhan, the others looked a little embarrassed.

The four patriarchs didn’t seem to feel awkward at all.

“Sect Leader Lin.”

Xi Fengling rose to her feet and said with a smile, “You need not worry. It seems that the one who is able to get the ancient relic is predetermined by fate. It has been several years since you got the news of the ancient relic, but you still can’t open it. It proves that you have no luck to get it. Maybe you can enter there after some more time. But obviously, you can’t wait that long because news about this secret land has already been exposed.”

“Since the news was disclosed, the fight for this antiquity won’t cease!”

“Even if you refuse to say anything about it, my Xi family wouldn’t attack your Peace Faction.”

“However, Zangjiang is not a large area. It’s not difficult for us to scrutinize every inch of land in our quest to find the site. You know, there are so many masters in Wulin. Even if you refuse to tell us, the location of the secret place in Zangjiang will eventually be exposed.”

Speaking of this, Xi Fengling cracked a smile, saying, “Telling us the truth will make a difference. It will save us a lot of trouble and bring peace to Wulin. But if you keep the secret to yourself, you’ll be seen as the troublemaker in our eyes. Though the other forces have no reason to attack the Peace Faction, you and your people will inevitably be marginalized and even become our enemies after we find the secret land. As the faction leader, I think you… Faction Leader Lin, you must be well aware of the advantages and disadvantages, right?”

When Lin Qingyi heard this, his face changed dramatically.

The people of other forces in the hall nodded with approval.

Their eyes were filled with respect and admiration when they gazed at Xi Fengling

She proved herself worthy to be the great patriarch of the Xi family indeed.

Xi Fengling played a decisive role in building a well-connected network all over the world for the Xi family and making it one of the four great Wulin families.

After showing their admiration for Xi Fengling, everyone in the hall turned to look at Lin Qingyi.

At this critical moment, Lin Qingyi was as silent as the grave.

He had heard every word Xi Fengling said.

Sure enough!

First and foremost, he was a faction leader and then a Wulin master!

If he continued to hold back the information, could he even obtain the ancient relic?

No way!

At least, he couldn’t get it in a short time.

By the time he had the skills to get it, the masters in Wulin might have already found the ancient ruin.

Then, what was the point of keeping the secret?

“Phew…”

Thinking of this, Lin Qingyi heaved a long sigh and said, “The secret land in Zangjiang is real!”

His affirmative answer made everyone’s eyes light up!

The four patriarchs exchanged glances and nodded, smiling with satisfaction.

Though Xi Fengling mentioned it casually, they would not let Lin Qingyi off so easily since they would never return without accomplishing anything. It would be best to let Lin Qingyi say it on his own without their having to force him.

“Faction Leader Lin.”

Elder Zhan smirked and said, “Thank you for sharing this news with the Wulin people, but we don’t know much about the details. I hope you can tell us more. Then we will rely on our strength to compete for it. Of course, when we meet people from the Peace Faction, we will give you the respect that you deserve.” Elder Zhan promised.

He was the patriarch of the Zhan family and enjoyed a great reputation in Wulin.

As he made a promise on behalf of the Wulin people, the others would more or less show some respect to the Peace Faction and would consider their feelings if they met in the future.

“All right.”

Standing in front of the host’s seat, Lin Qingyi took a deep breath and said, “The Peace Faction has always kept a low profile and never participated in any Wulin disputes, let alone actively provoke a conflict. We had indeed concealed the news about the secret land in Zangjiang for some time. For one thing, we wanted to develop and grow the Peace Faction. For another, the ancient ruin simply cannot fall into the hands of those with evil intentions. Now that the news has been spread out and you’re eager to find out, I won’t hide it anymore. I hope my honest deed won’t bring disaster to Wulin!”

While saying this, Lin Qingyi gradually relaxed as if a great weight had been lifted from him. He glanced at everyone present without any trace of worry and said, “The secret land in Jiangjiang does exist. I discovered it when I went there a few years ago, but I don’t know what is in the secret land. Maybe it is really a legendary ancient ruin.”

“The secret place is under the protection of a powerful formation. In the past few years, the Peace Faction has spent a lot of effort trying to break it, but we haven’t made much progress.”

Speaking of this, Lin Qingyi stopped.

“Then, the formation of John Doe’s men?”

One of them asked.

“I have not seen it myself.”

Lin Qingyi shook his head and continued, “Ma Chunyu told me that John Doe’s men knew a formation, which looked similar to the formation above the secret place. But I have never seen it with my own eyes, so I’m in no position to verify it. It is also possible that Ma Chunyu faked it for my protection. Since the matter has been blown into a major controversy and John Doe didn’t clarify the issue, it may be true.”

All of a sudden, the crowd started discussing this matter among themselves in hushed tones.

“John Doe didn’t deny it. It seems that this formation is possible.”

“In that case, John Doe might have come across an ancient relic. Otherwise, he couldn’t have obtained so many brilliant achievements in only two years after he entered Wulin!”

“Nowadays, no one in Wulin understands formations. Beyond any doubt, the ancient formation has been lost for a long time. Even if some people can make one, their formations must be the most basic and simple ones. Since John Doe’s formation is similar to the ancient formation in the secret land, it must be extraordinary, which might be found in another ancient relic!”

Everybody here was talking about the matter. After some discussions, they were even more convinced that the online rumors were justifiable.

When all the facts, including Lin Qingyi’s words, were taken together, they thought that it was highly likely that John Doe had obtained an ancient relic!