"I think the most important thing for us right now is to figure out what the hell is in that valley, then we can subdue it as fast as possible!"

"Bullshit. Just based on the skills we’ve honed over the years catching those spirits and Evil Spirits, even if the thing in that valley is unbelievable, it still won’t escape our grasp.

The thing we should be doing most is guarding against other people trying to swoop in and reap the benefits. Don’t let us charge in at the front, fighting tooth and nail.

Only for some outsider to take advantage in the end. By then, we’d be the real joke!"

"Someone already went into the valley earlier. That valley is the center where Heavenly Thunder struck.

The chance that guy survived is basically negligible, but we still need to figure out who he is, and why he could get in there..."

Everyone was discussing this based on their own best interests; it seemed like they wouldn’t be coming to a conclusion anytime soon.

The Little Paperman went to another place where people were gathered.

Very quickly it eavesdropped on all kinds of thoughts from these people, then quietly slipped back to Xuan Chu’s side.

At the beginning, Xuan Chu moved around alone. The other Dark Masters didn’t take it too seriously.

Some even saw Xuan Chu’s deathly pale face and didn’t take him seriously at all, just thinking this guy had no sense of propriety.

Already injured, yet still thinking of coming here to grab a share of the loot—really pretty laughable.

But as more and more people arrived.

Others who, like Xuan Chu, had rushed over alone had finally waited for their companions to show up.

Only Xuan Chu was still by himself, and that really stood out.

Xuan Chu had actually thought about slapping some Ignore Talismans on himself, but once you stick an Ignore Talisman on, your Mystic Power fluctuations get suppressed.

He needed to use Heavenly Dao Village’s secret technique to set up an Array here. Even if he stuck Ignore Talismans on himself, it’d be useless.

"Fellow Daoist, why are you here alone? I’ve seen you pacing back and forth here several times already. What are you doing?"

There aren’t any idiots among those who can become Dark Masters. Even if they didn’t notice anything off at first.

As time went on, Xuan Chu’s abnormal behavior was still impossible to hide.

Now, being questioned in such a guarded tone, Xuan Chu didn’t panic.

"I’m looking for someone."

As he spoke, Xuan Chu took out from his body the Pass Token they’d been given after he went to the General Association.

The General Association isn’t a place just anyone can wander around in.

Even people who’d been invited there couldn’t just roam as they pleased, so those people had given Xuan Chu and the Dragon Spirit a Token for moving around.

The Token was yellow, counted as the lowest level of authority in the General Association; the places it allowed entry to were limited.

But right now, this Token was more than enough.

The person questioning Xuan Chu saw the Token in his hand, and his expression instantly turned friendly.

These people didn’t have much direct dealing with the General Association, but that didn’t mean they knew nothing about its Tokens.

"So you’re from the General Association. Ha, like floodwaters rushing into the Dragon King Temple—family not recognizing family.

I don’t know who this Fellow Daoist is looking for, but I’ve got a lot of people with me. We can help you look."

Xuan Chu calmly put the Token away and refused, "No need. You mind your own business. My mission is top secret."

Hearing the words "top secret," the person who had been questioning Xuan Chu could only leave regretfully.

Watching the man’s back as he walked away, Xuan Chu thought for a moment, then finally hung that yellow Token on his own belt.

This way, even if others still kept an eye on him, they wouldn’t keep coming over to question and probe.

At night, that streak of red at the horizon didn’t fade. Most people still followed their normal rest routine and went to sleep.

A small number stayed behind on guard duty, checking the surroundings. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Xuan Chu, on the other hand, was wide awake, continuing to set up the Array.

Watching the Demon Cores he’d treasured for so long being completely consumed as the energy for the Array Source, he didn’t feel the slightest heartache.

When he laid down the final part, Xuan Chu looked at the Little Paperman. "Inject a bit of Heavenly Thunder into here."

With Heavenly Thunder’s Electric Flower as the primer, once this Array was activated—

Not only would it cause most of those Dark Masters’ methods to fail, it would also, while Heavenly Thunder was striking Er Dan and the others, make this Array even more solid.

In the end, Xuan Chu had set up this Array to use it to absorb part of Heavenly Thunder’s attack.

That way, he could both help Yun Ran and make this Array unbreakable. Two birds with one stone.

"Pfft~"

Right as the Little Paperman injected Heavenly Thunder Flower into the final Array Eye and the Array formed, Xuan Chu directly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

This scared the Little Paperman half to death. It hurriedly hoisted Xuan Chu up and flew out of the Array.

Then it frantically started feeding Xuan Chu medicine. "Don’t you die!!!"

Xuan Chu forced himself to swallow the medicine the Little Paperman fed him, then looked at it, a bit speechless.

He spoke weakly, "No matter who dies, it won’t be me. That filthy little mouth of yours—if you don’t know how to talk, then just don’t~"

The Little Paperman sniffled, clearly scared witless by the sight of Xuan Chu, who was covered in blood like a gourd.

"You didn’t tell me that secret technique of your Heavenly Dao Village was this terrifying. Look at you, your little life is almost gone."

Xuan Chu wanted to wave his hand and give the Little Paperman a big slap.

But his hand really didn’t have much strength left right now.

"The Array is complete. This is just backlash, no big deal. Right now this Array looks fragile as hell, but that’s only because the most important energy for it hasn’t arrived yet..."

The bitter helplessness on Xuan Chu’s face was actually mixed with great satisfaction.

The Heavenly Dao of this world wanted to use Heavenly Thunder to chop Er Dan to death, but it would never dream that when it sent down Heavenly Thunder—

This Array would be injected with endless energy, then activate the strongest Spirit Locking Array.

Those Dark Masters trapped inside would be no different from ordinary people.

Even if more people arrived one after another later, as long as they approached this Array, their abilities would be cut by more than half.

And people like that would be more than enough for the Little Paperman to deal with.

Having finally completed a huge task, Xuan Chu could finally relax. He lay down calmly inside the temporary tent the Little Paperman had set up for him.

Even though his eyes were tired, they were still bright and sharp.

"By the way, when you and your master rushed here earlier, did you pass through the Ghost World?"

The Little Paperman didn’t know why Xuan Chu was asking this, but at this moment, Xuan Chu’s status in its heart was infinitely close to that of its master.

Aside from its master’s secrets, it wouldn’t hide anything Xuan Chu asked.