Having all the key individuals gathered near the edge of the crater, Jiu Sheng sweeps her eyes over them with an expression of fatigue on her face.
"Listen up, and listen well. This is the third time today that we've had to explain this."
"Leave questions for after we've explained everything."
"Well, this seems serious…"
"Let's hear it."
...…
In response to what Jiu Sheng and Xu Tian Kun have to say—regarding weapon spirits and practitioners, along with how all the denizens of this world used to be practitioners as well, the reactions of those who had been gathered varied from person to person.
Those that were slow to process the information had a look of confusion on their faces, while those that were quick to process everything responded with shock.
"…"
"…"
Different from the others, Zhou Chen and Yang Ning didn't show any changes on their faces, to which, Xu Tian Kun asks—
"…I assume you two are already aware of everything?"
Simultaneously, everyone directs their attention towards the two generals, to which, Zhou Chen and Yang Ning reply—
"Ever since the previous excavation."
"Our memories came back to us at that time."
Staring at Zhou Chen specifically, Jiu Sheng says—
"General Zhou, you should know what it is that I intend to ask. I need an answer, but not right now. Right now, we need to talk about that practitioner that you guys fought against."
Immediately, everyone returns their focus onto Jiu Sheng, who says—
"That practitioner… He isn't a Ling Yuan family clansman. He's… Ai…"
Taking over for Jiu Sheng, Xu Tian Kun says—
"That venomous snake, he comes from a world outside of the Everlasting Spirit Realm. We… We struck a deal with him—before this excavation started."
Taking a step forward at the same time, every person—outside of the knowing circle, glares at the two women with an incredulous look on their faces.
Drawing in a deep breath of air, Yang Ning says—
"You two…- You best have a good explanation for this."
Turning to Yang Ning, Jiu Sheng asks—
"General Yang…- Hengxing Zi, do you recall Hope City?"
"…?"
Seeing Yang Ning's expression, which is one of uncertainty, Jiu Sheng shakes her head, and says—
"All you need to know is, it's a place with a vast reservoir of Spirit Extracts. During its construction, we designed the entirety of the city to be a colossal mechanism—that can be used to fire off this reservoir of Spirit Extracts into the entirety of the Leng Bing Realm."
Opening and closing his mouth, a vague piece of memory appears in Yang Ning's head, and eventually, he replies—
"…I seem to recall that place being in the inner domain."
"Ruins are all remnants of the old world; the entire city drifting over to the outer domain over time, it isn't anything unusual at this point. Point is, it's directly beneath us right now."
Turning to Jiu Sheng, Zhou Chen asks—
"You mean to activate this city's mechanics, and to shower the entirety of this world in Spirit Extracts?"
Nodding to this, Xu Tian Kun says—
"Once that happens, all weapon spirits will receive a boost to their current abilities, whereas those that have yet to awaken to their Relics will be forced to do so."
Realizing this to be their most effective means to raise their world's combat strength, Shao Tianming asks—
"Then what are we waiting for? Shouldn't we be headed there right now?"
Putting a damper on the mood, Yang Ning replies—
"The mechanics can't be activated without spirit Qi. When we were at our prime, we designed it that way—because we didn't have much time left on our hands."
"Ah…"
Realizing the answer to the original question, Qing Yue remarks—
"That's why you two made a deal with that practitioner."
Raising a sigh at the same time, Jiu Sheng and Xu Tian Kun reply—
"Correct. He's the only one that we could have asked to do this. In exchange, he asked for a wood elemental magic treasure."
"The mechanic, it should drain him of all his spirit Qi—once that happens, we plan to gang up on him, and end him once and for all."
Blinking her eyes, Zhui Yun asks—
"But?"
"…But that venomous snake saw through our plans right from the get-go."
Exchanging a glance with Ning Qiu Heng, Lan Shan asks—
"Does that mean that he's called off the deal?"
"No, it's still active. But… Ai, try to maintain your composure after hearing this."
Saying this, Jiu Sheng begins to explain the practitioner's plan, and upon hearing the latter's insidious ploy, every one turns beet red with rage.
"What an ass!"
"I've never seen or heard of someone so shameless!"
"Son of a bitch!"
"He's screwing this entire world over for such a selfish reason!"
For an entire minute, the group cusses at the practitioner aloud, and while doing so, they have completely disregarded the aftermath issue that will be brought upon—as a result of activating Hope City's mechanics.
The issue being, the amount of panic that will be caused by the weapon spirits—who have been forcefully awakened to their Relics, and how this situation will flip the entirety of the non-Sinner focused society onto its head.
...…
"Ah…"
Holding back a sneeze, Long Hua remarks—
"I sense a great deal of people cussing at me."
Towards this remark, Wu Xiao replies—
"Nothing to be surprised by."
Nodding to this, Bai Wen adds—
"Those two weapon spirits that you've made a deal with, they've most likely gathered their finest fighters together—to gang up on you later, Lao Long."
"Heh."
Taking out a spirit herb cigar, Long Hua puffs a smoke, and replies—
"They're welcome to try it. Especially those capable of manipulating the fire element."