Chapter 421 New destination
"Senior, when will the emperors come back?", Zhan Chen asked.
"I can't say for sure but they will come back after ensuring the safe retreat of the imperial army", Ying Chao replied.
"Zhan Chen, are you intersted in leading our sect disciples once again?", Ying Chao asked. His face was slightly serious. So, Zhan Chen realized that this matter most be of great importance.
"Senior, to be frank, leading a group is quite a heavy burden. I will conside doing it only if there is some good reward in return", Zhan Chen spoke.
"Well, there are many good rewards this time. But there are also too many dangers. Compared to the battle of the Yellow stone city, this mission is multiple times more dangerous. I wonder, whether you are bold enough to accept such a mission?", Ying Chao asked. He squinted his eyes and waited to see Zhan Chen's response.
"Senior, stop egging me in. I am not lacking in confidence but I am not a suicidal fool. I want to hear the details of the mission before giving any opinion", Zhan Chen calmly replied.
Ying Chao scratched his head in embarassment after seeing the calm in Zhan Chen's eyes. "It is really difficult to get ahead of you. In that case, there is no point in keeping you in dark. Let me tell you the biggest development occured when all of us are busy fighting the devils in the Yellow stone city", Ying Chao spoke.
"The imperial family has come up with the proposal of an alliance. All the major and small powers in the continent has agreed to join the alliance. Few forces were hesitating but they agreed to join the alliance after the news came from the Spirit palace", Ying Chao informed.
"Spirit palace? Do they have something to do with the alliance?", Zhan Chen asked with a curious expression. According to the information he had received, the spirit palace had never participated in the turmoils of the Northern desert continent since it's inception. They always stayed aloof no matter how chaotic the situation in the Northern desert continent was. Now that they had something to do with a newly formed alliance, it piqued his interest.
"Yes, this time Spirit palace has decided to send forces. The name of the alliance is suggested by the Spirit palace itself", Ying Chao spoke.
"Oh! What is the name of the alliance?", Zhan Chen asked with a look of interest in his eyes.
The involvement of the Spirit palace was a major development. He had visited them physically after the Grand sect competition. So, he knew how formidable, the Spirit palace actually was. The alliance would be very powerful with the addition of forces from the Spirit palace. So, he was now very curious about this newly formed alliance.
"The name is Sky dragon alliance. Xie emperor will personally act as the alliance chief", Ying Chao informed.
"Xie emperor! What is the purpose of this alliance? Are they simply trying to fight with the devils or is there other ulterior motives involved?", Zhan Chen muttered with a doubtful expression.
Ying Chao felt surprised after hearing Zhan Chen's words. He had never seen a youngster with such a meticulous thought prowess. He had already seen Zhan Chen's miraculous abilities but this time he witnessed his intellect which could be compared to an experienced person.
"You are right. No force will take action without any benefit. The show of benevolence is only matter of convenience. The true reason for such a cooperation is the upcoming opening of the Archaic palace", Ying Chao spoke slowly.
"Archaic palace?", Zhan Chen feigned ignorance in open but inwardly he was shocked. Because imperial family tried to conceal information regarding the Archaic palace at first but now situation seemed to have altered. An elder from the Xuantian sect now knew about the Archaic palace. It only meant either imperial family or the secretive Spirit palace had revealed information about the imminent opening of the Archaic palace.
"Yes, the true motive behind this alliance to secure entry to the Archaic palace. The devils are invading the Northern desert continent for this very reason. Now the forces in the Northern desert continent have also banded together to fight for this very reason. Everything is driven out of interest. It is shameful that our Xuantian sect couldn't see through the true motive behind the devils' action and we have to lose many of our inner court disciples", Ying Chao spoke with self mocking tone. Zhan Chen could see that he was really sad because of the death of so many inner court disciples.
"Senior, you can tell me about the mission. I will give you an answer after weighing all the risks and rewards", Zhan Chen spoke.
"Zhan Chen, you should forget about what we have just talked now. The information regarding Archaic palace is secretive and I am sure that many core disciples of other forces are not yet aware about it. To realise the ultimate goal of the alliance, our Northern desert continent has to drive away the devil forces. This way all the ordinary inhabitants can be saved from the devils' claws and the forces of the Northern desert continent will benefit. Everyone's interest aligned together here. We should focus on battling the devils. It has to be done whether for survival or to acheive our interest", Ying Chao spoke.
"Senior, I understand. We should co-operate with other powers to drive away the devils. Removing the devils will serve the interest of our Xuantian sect perfectly", Zhan Chen spoke.
"Good, let's not speak about the Archaic palace for now. Even my information is very limited. I want you to give priority to the sect's mission", Ying Chao spoke.
"Senior, please tell me the details", Zhan Chen spoke.
"The alliance will be fare to all. Each devil you kill will be counted as your military merit. There are various ranks in the alliance and you will rise through the ranks, the more you slaughter the devils. You are free to choose your group. You will be responsible for carrying out the missions in Xuantian sect's behalf. You have to work under one of our inner court elder but he will not restrict your movement. You are free to move in the battlefield. All we need is how much devils you slaughter. The better our sect disciple's perform, the more our Sect can rise in the alliance. You can exchange your military contribution points for anything you need. Cultivation sources, refining materials, slaves, land, country, you can obtain anything you want as long as you have enough contribution points", Ying Chao spoke.