Chapter 203: The Vessel

Surprise surprise. Who would've thought that this is actually the only remaining settlement in the Middle Plane. I, for one, didn't think that such a thing was possible. If it were in the Lower Plane, it would've been more likely to happen but in the Middle Plane where everyone has a cultivation level beyond the Transcendence Realm, that seems like a far-fetched dream.

But judging on the stern expressions on everyone's faces, one could tell that they were telling the cold hard truth. I have no idea how they were able to verify such a thing, but they believed it was so. And if that's the case, then it wouldn't hurt if I were to assume the worst-case scenario as well.

"How did you come to that conclusion? How can you be so sure that this is the last settlement in the Middle Plane?"

"About that, Yongrui, this settlement is actually a mixture of all the settlements in our region. We are the strongest region in the Middle Plane and if we couldn't survive, we know that the weaker regions don't stand a chance as well." White answered, trying to simplify the situation as much as possible but he wasn't doing a good job at it.

After seeing my confused and dumbfounded expression, he let out a sigh and made another attempt in explaining everything.

"Six years ago— " White began.

'So we're starting from there, huh. In any case, please go ahead.' I said in my head.

"Six years ago, a year before the outbreak started, every Sect in this region waged war against each other. I already told you how it came about but all of those were just the tip of the iceberg. You see, our region is the most powerful region in the world. And because of that, no one dared offend us. But things took a turn for the worse when other Sects in this region started getting greedy, trying to take over the lands of other sects."

Luxor cleared his throat. "They said that it was all for a good cause, that they were attacking the other Sects to remove the weakest Sects in the most powerful region. Of course, some of the Sects agreed and the others disagreed. In the end, our region was separated into factions, those who are neutral, those who favor attacking the weaker sects, and those who are not in favor. Well, you know what ensued next. An all-out war that left the whole region defenseless."

"Then the Black Spirit Sect entered the scene. They just appeared out of nowhere and started manipulating the rabid humans. We later found out that they were behind the outbreak." This time, it was White who continued on with the topic. "Since the war just ended, the Sects didn't have time to regroup. In the end, every Sect has fallen on the hands of the Black Spirit Sect. Only a few of us managed to escape and hastily build a settlement in this valley."

So...

Based on what they said, doesn't that mean that the other sects had a higher chance of survival than every sect in this region combined? They just came out of a war, surely they won't stand a chance if they were attacked by another stronger sect.

In that case, that means that there's also a greater chance that this is not the only standing settlement in the Middle Plane. These fools, they're thinking rather shallowly.

"Yongrui, you shouldn't judge them. They probably escaped from the clutches of the Black Spirit Sect by the skin of their teeth." Hui-ying reasoned. "They're probably disoriented since then. And also, I do think that their mindset is not that far-off. Even if the strongest region was weakened due to war, they'd still be more formidable than the weaker regions or sects. There's a good chance that the other weaker sects didn't stand a chance against the Black Spirit Sect."

"I get it, but still, it's way too early to assume that not a single sect survived." I returned.

"It's been five years, Yongrui. This settlement probably hasn't heard anything from other sects, that's why they assumed the worst-case scenario."

"Right! It's been five years! How could I forget that! I digress, I guess my thinking was more 'off' than them."

After having a short debate with Hui-ying and getting my mind cleared up, I turned towards Luxor and White to address them. "So, what do you plan on doing, Settlement Leader Luxor? Do you have a plan to remove the Black Spirit Sect out of the picture? Since all of you are convinced that this is the last settlement in your world, that means you're prepared to fight to the death in order to regain your freedom, right?"

It's been four years... and the Black Spirit Sect hasn't attacked this settlement during those years. We figured that it'd be best if we just stay in the clear; if we just stay in hiding until we get stronger, then we'll stand a chance against the Black Spirit Sect. But right now, there are only at least a hundred or so of us who could fight head to head with zombies out there. You saw how they are, right? Even those Meatpiles that looked like garbage is more powerful than us." Luxor sighed dejectedly. "That's why I sent my son to the Lower Plane in search of this ancient power that we recently discovered. We figured that as soon as we had that, we'd stand a chance against the Black Spirit Sect. Yongrui, can't you do anything about this? You do have the ancient power in you, right?"

I shut my lips tight. In one way or another, I'd have to answer this question. First, it's because White has proven firsthand that I'm connected to the ancient power (that time at the Void Tower). And second, his dad is pretty much convinced that I'm the vessel to the ancient power. I have no idea where he got that assumption from but I could tell that his perception is at an entirely higher level. That's also why he was able to detect the multiple Qi Cores in my body. He could probably detect Hui-ying and the System in my head.

"While I do have the ancient power, it's only recently that I came to discover it. That's why, even though I have the ancient power within me, I can't really use it yet." I struggled to come up with a valid reason that would put me in the clear but fortunately, I cooked up an acceptable reason... barely.

"How recent are you talking about?"

"About three weeks ago," I told Luxor with a straight face. "Once I discovered that the ancient power is within me, I realized that I can't disclose it to anyone. That's because someone might try stealing the ancient power from me. I later found out that it's impossible to extract it from me. That's because, as you said Luxor, I'm the vessel of this ancient power. If someone were to forcefully remove this power from me, I'll die and the ancient power will die along with me. And because of that, I started being more open about this power. Of course, I wouldn't speak about it to the enemy. That would just be plain stupid."

"I see, so you're the only one who could use the ancient power. And yes, the legend did speak about something like that. You can't extract the ancient power once someone got ahold of it." Luxor muttered. "But is it really true that you only discovered it a few weeks ago? If that's the case, then can you really help us in getting rid of the Black Spirit Sect?"

"That's up to you to decide, Settlement Leader. But let me tell you this. Black Spirit Sect has given me a hard time back at the Lower Plane, there's no way I'll just sit idly by when I'm aware that they're conquering one Plane after another. Even if I'm not strong enough to be a part of your army, I can still be of help. For one, I have plenty of resources that would help bolster the cultivators under you. I also have enough knowledge about the Lower Plane where the Black Spirit Sect originated. And to top it all off, I'm confident in getting out of any sticky situations alive. If push comes to shove, I can defeat anyone here in this settlement, one-on-one, in a fair fight."

The lengthy explanation made Luxor close his eyes. I could just guess that he was intently listening to my explanation— that or he was incredibly pissed that I was eating away at his time by speaking too long. Whichever it is, I could only wonder.

"White, is what he said true? Can he really take down anyone in this settlement?" Luxor asked, turning at his son with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, dad. Aside from you, he can defeat anyone in this settlement even though he's at a lower cultivation level. I've seen him fight and he's better than most. Not only that, he's also proficient in controlling his Qi Energy."

'I can already see where this is going.' I told myself as I tried to suppress the sweat dripping off my forehead. It didn't work, of course.

"Great, I'll arrange a few things and we'll test it out. Let's see what you got, vessel." Luxor glanced at me as he wore a smirk. "But before that, is anyone hungry?"