"Besides, if those damn monks from the Buddhist Sect find out, all hope will be lost."
Guann Zhenzhen's brow furrowed upon hearing this. She said, "What about the Celestial Heart Treasure Box? Without it, we can't take that final step, even if everything else goes smoothly."
Qu Wenbai paused for a moment. "This is my fault," he said. "I'll take responsibility for it. However, we don't need the Celestial Heart Treasure Box in the initial stages. Let's start the preparations for now. As for the box, I'll find another way to get it.
"If it comes to that, once we begin the sacrifice, we'll make the Celestial Spirit Sect our first target. In any case, the three surrounding sects all need to be eliminated early on."
"What are the Fire Separation Lu Family and the Wu Earth Official Family thinking?" Guann Zhenzhen asked after a moment of thought.
"The ancestors of both the Fire Separation and Geng Metal families have been completely replaced. The previous two old-timers were nearly dead anyway. Hmm, in the case of the Geng Metal Duan Family, one of them is still half-around.
"Because they've spent many years in the secular world and have all converted to Martial Artists, their lifespans aren't very long. The two families have already joined forces.
"I contacted them previously, and they said they'll wait and see what we do before making a move. As for the Wu Earth Official Family, I'm not sure about their situation.
"When I contacted them, they said they would follow our lead, but I haven't gotten any specific information about their family at all. I'm completely in the dark about their circumstances.
"However, they've contributed the most to the daily sacrifices, so they must be developing quite well."
"So you're saying those other families want us to make the first move?" Guann Zhenzhen asked, her brow furrowed.
"The Fire Separation Lu Family's ancestor is gone. Aside from preparing their share for the sacrifice, they're only responsible for the public opinion phase. Besides, since they've all become Martial Artists, they can't handle the early stages.
"In the initial sacrifice stage, they will handle the final part. At that time, our four families will help them conduct their sacrifice.
"The Geng Metal Duan Family is in a similar situation. Plus, with that Outer Realm Demon taking on the job of guarding their ancestral Celestial Heart Altar, I doubt they'll want to be the first to act in this initial stage.
"As for the Wu Earth Official Family, they've been the main contributors all these years and are so secretive. What more can you expect from them?
"Given my current condition and the state of your Cyan Wood Guann Family, if we don't take the lead and start the sacrifice, can we really afford to say no?" Qu Wenbai said coldly.
Guann Zhenzhen was left speechless by his retort. After a long moment, she asked, "Then when do we make our move?"
"Let's wait a while. Even though we need to move up the schedule, we still need some time to prepare. Rushing into this will cause prob—"
Before he could finish speaking, both of them froze. Qu Wenbai reached out and tapped his finger in the air. An illusory metal sphere materialized before them. As it flickered, a mechanical voice sounded out.
"There's trouble in the ancestral land. The Celestial Heart Altar is in danger. Act at once."
Along with the words came a scene of Zhang Deming in battle.
Watching the scene, the expressions of both Guann Zhenzhen and Qu Wenbai changed. "Is that the little brat?" they said in astonishment. "Why does he have Three Talents Cultivation?"
Zhang Deming was using his real face, which both of them had seen before. Coupled with the incredibly deep impression he had left on them, they recognized him at a single glance.
Guann Zhenzhen's expression turned grim. "I've thought he was unnervingly strange from the very beginning," she said. "With the sacrifice so close, I didn't want to get involved with him."
Qu Wenbai looked at Guann Zhenzhen in confusion. She paused for a moment before continuing, "When I first met him, it was a junior disciple of yours who asked for my help in luring him out.
"At the time, I was told he was at the Apprentice level, but when I saw him, he had Tai Chi Cultivation.
"What's even more suspicious is my Extreme Charm Path. Because I've integrated the Devouring Essence Path into it, I can attract many people, men and women alike, even when I'm not actively using my charm.
"For someone with Tai Chi Cultivation to be completely immune to the passive charm of my aura was one thing, but he remained immune even after I actively tried to charm him.
"Later, when he was fighting that junior of yours, he unleashed an aura at the level of Duality Cultivation. That's why I didn't act rashly. Instead, I fled immediately without waiting for the fight to end.
"The next time I saw him, he was already at Three Lives Tai Chi. His cultivation was advancing at a speed that rivaled our own Devouring Dao.
"But the guy's energy is incredibly refined and pure, and his cultivation base is exceptionally solid, as if he built it up bit by bit. He's so... clean, it's tempting.
"Then you told me he had some kind of backer and had even brought in a Blessed Fortune Dao Cultivator. And now it seems he's also hiding the Transformation Dao, or perhaps a backer from the Transformation Dao.
"From what I've seen alone, there's the Form-Shaping Dao, Summoning Path, Sword Dao, Vine Path, Speech Dao, Transformation Dao... all sorts of things. I've lost count of everything he's had hidden up his sleeve over time.
"How can you even call him a single cultivator? It's like he's carrying an entire family on his back! How can one person minor in so many Daos? No Spirit Root in existence should allow for that, right?
"And that's not even mentioning his backers. Just at the Three Talents level, we've already seen someone from the Transformation Dao and someone from the Blessed Fortune Dao. Who knows how many more there are.
"When you put it all together, it's just too bizarre. I'm worried this person has some kind of heaven-defying background.
"The Celestial Heart Treasure Box is in his hands now. I'm worried you won't be able to get it back!
"In any case, I want absolutely nothing to do with him. My Extreme Charm is useless against him, and I have no desire to face him with only my charm and summoning abilities."
After Guann Zhenzhen finished speaking, Qu Wenbai's expression also grew grim. "Even so," he said, "we absolutely must get the Celestial Heart Treasure Box back. The success of my Celestial Heart Sacrifice depends on it."
"So what do we do now?" Guann Zhenzhen asked.
Qu Wenbai looked at Guann Zhenzhen and said, "We have to act at once. The discovery of the Turtle Water Secret Realm before was clearly his doing, too."
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