‘Just a little bit more and I’m out…’

Zhang Dong was able to make his way out of the hidden headquarters. His Dao of Darkness which allowed him to blend with any shadow and even create some of his own, was too strong. Everything went well as no one was able to discover his presence and now he was in one of the tunnels heading above ground.

‘Usually, something goes wrong when I do these stealth missions, I guess it will be possible for me to switch to a stealth build now, should I start learning some of those techniques?’

The dark arts he was using were working so well that he was actually thinking about learning them to a higher degree. Inside his system’s library, there were a few good techniques that could be combined with others to create something better. At the moment he was just using the Darkness Dao without any main technique but he could see it expanding into something better.

It was a very nice art for sneaking around and solo missions as he would have probably been able to reach the hidden boss in that underwater palace before anyone spotted him there. However, with many of his sect members in danger he needed to look at the bigger picture. Now that they were all out, it was time to find a way toward the volcanic region.

“We greet the Patriarch.”

“Senior Brother, we came as you wanted.”

“Good.”

Finally, after following a path given to him by his mapping function he was back in the initial resort where Zhang Zhi and Huo Qiang were having their fun. Both of them had arrived a few minutes before him and were now giving him a little salute. After nodding at the sect members that he wasn’t familiar with he gave a little nod to both Zhang Jin and Huo Qiang.

“Elder Qiang and Jin will join me for a talk, the rest of you stay here and keep watch.”

“Yes, Patriarch!”

The small group of cultivators stood up at attention and quickly bowed. He could see the reverence in their eyes, they really thought that he was something special. That look of blind faith and loyalty didn’t go unnoticed. It was something that still continued to add to the stress of living in this world. Everyone trusted in his judgment and decisions, and for the time being, he was able to somehow plow through all of the problems that lay before him. Contrary to their belief he was not so sure if he was making all the right choices.

Even now perhaps it was better to have blasted the underwater palace with one of his greater attacks. At that time they had no idea that he was there but by now the kitchen area might have been looked over. It could be the case that someone would go after them but it could also be the reverse.

“How can we help?”

“First, do you recall the place where you first appeared? I need the exact place.”

“The exact place? Hm… it shouldn’t be a problem, it wasn't that far from this place.”

“Good job Elder, I didn’t really pay attention that much… I do remember a large rock near that place though, but I’m not sure…”

Zhang Jin answered while Huo Qiang nodded. The two arrived together with the other core formation experts being spread around the whole pocket dimension. Luckily Zhang Jin took note of where they were before the mermaids appeared to entice them away. Huo Qiang on the other hand wasn’t that sure. He started listing a few rocks and trees that he noticed but there was nothing clear to go off.

“It’s fine Young Qiang, I left a little of my spiritual imprint at the location, it won’t be hard to find it.”

“Well, at least there is one of you that doesn’t only think with your other head.”

“Haha, it’s just the basics of surviving, this old man didn’t survive for this long without learning a thing or two!”

Zhang Jin started laughing at Huo Qiang that was frowning. Luckily for them, the old man knew how to survive in a world filled with treacherous cultivators and powerful beasts. It was an old tactic to mark the initial point after initializing a teleportation trap. Usually, a person would lose their bearings and get lost, this was a good way to realize if a person was going in circles or not.

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“But why do you want to go there, Senior Brother?”

“The area that you arrived at could have a clue, a trace of spiritual energy that we could perhaps follow to the exit. If not, then perhaps I could pinpoint where you came from and assemble a teleportation array to the spot the original trap triggered.”

“Are you capable of doing that?”

“Perhaps…”

“That’s why you’re my Senior Brother!”

“Don’t get your hopes up, I won’t know what I can do until we get there.”

After coming back to the area where the core formation experts were hanging out all of them departed. Time was of the essence so instead of letting them use their flying swords Zhang Dong decided to surround the group with his golden aura. All of them looked quite happy to be taxied around by their Patriarch, perhaps when they got back to the palace they would see it as a badge of honor and tell their friends.

“It’s around here, yes we appeared between those two large rocks…”

“I knew that I remembered that rock!”

Huo Qiang pointed to a large boulder in the distance but Zhang Jin just shook his head around.

“It wasn’t that one, the two on the other side.”

“Oh…”

Everyone laughed a bit, even the core formation experts were having a good time. It was a stark contrast to the way some sects operated. It was rare to have the core formation experts act this nonchalantly when around nascent soul masters. Yet this sect was built up like this, it was meant to have a more familiar feeling where people actually worked together with each other. In other factions, it was usually a rat race to the top.

Limited resources, masters that wanted the best potential disciples, and everything needed to be fought for. In the United Element’s sect on the other hand, with the merit system around even the worst cultivator had ways of getting stronger. There was an environment of camaraderie instead of the usual competitiveness that could be found in other sects. Thanks to this, they weren’t as afraid to speak up when next to nascent soul masters. The way to this level wasn’t that outlandish and even some people they knew had made it there through some help from their Patriarch. Nevertheless, they would still act accordingly to their standing and in a formal way as the old ways would take some more time to be eroded.

“So this is it?”

‘Bob, start scanning, there should be some type of residue from the teleportation trap, if we can pinpoint the coordinates then it should be possible to get out of here.’

‘Scanning… found teleportation signature… analyzing… unable to complete the quarry, need more data.’

“Damn…”

“What is it, Dong’er?”

“It’s not enough, the residual energy has faded away, I need more of it to complete the formation.”

“Hm, that’s a shame… how about we ask the juniors? They had been scattered through the entire place just like us, maybe if we find enough of those locations, it might be enough?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

There were almost thirty people that were stuck in this place. Some of them appeared in pairs while others were alone. This meant that there were other locations just like this one, if they were fast enough then it was possible for Bob to complete the data analysis. The ones that he saved from the underwater palace had started to wake up as well, it was time to let them out and make them be of use.

“The area that I arrived in shouldn’t be that far…”

“I’m sorry Patriarch, I don’t recall…”

“I left a slither of my Qi in the location, let me guide you there, Patriarch, it will be an honor!”

While some of the core formation experts had no idea where they arrived, some others were more useful. A few were smart enough to leave a trace amount of their Qi behind just like Zhang Jin and those places they would go to first.

“Good, Gramps. Give the ones that left their Qi behind some merit points when we get back, they did a fine job.”

“You hear that? Some of you will get rewarded!”

The ones that would get rewards for their smart thinking rejoiced while the others that didn’t think looked ashamed. This was a big chance to show their skills to their Patriarch and they blew it. He could see the horror in their eyes and only hoped that they wouldn’t take it too harshly. Yet he couldn’t let anyone be rewarded, the ones that didn’t use their head needed to be reprimanded as it could help them not do the same mistake again.

So the search for the trace amounts of teleportation energy started. Some had more than others and Bob was quick to analyze them. Luck was on their side as after the fifth location they had enough data to triangulate the location. Now, what was left for him to do was to build a teleportation array and send everyone back to the volcanic area they came from.

“The Patriarch is really amazing, he can do everything.”

“That is true, we were the ones supposed to rescue him but instead he was the one that saved us.”

People started murmuring while he was working. While he didn’t want to eavesdrop on the hidden messages about him, curiosity got the better of him. Even though she should be above things like praise, being someone that people relied on wasn’t all that bad. At least he was shown respect and given praise for his achievements and it gave him the needed motivation to move on. But then there were some parts of the conversations that he wished he never heard either.

“The Patriarch is so dreamy, think he would take me in as a mistress?”

“Do you wish to die? Elder Liena would not let it be, your whole family would be in danger.”

“You really think so? The Elder Jin has many wives, I’m sure the Patriarch has similar tendencies.”

‘Do I really look like that pervert?’

Some of the women from the group started gossiping while trying not to make it too obvious. He could feel their eyes focusing on his back while he was trying to assemble the teleportation array that would take them to the rest of the sect.

‘Let’s do this before something else goes wrong, it shouldn’t take more than an hour, I have all the materials that I need…’