After half an hour, all the disciples boarded the ship.

Driven by a large-scale spiritual formation array, the seven heavenly ships burst out with dazzling brilliance and rose into the sky, then turned towards the southeast horizon and sped away.

Due to the effect of the spatial formation array, the internal space of the heavenly ships appeared much larger than it seemed from the outside. Each ship could accommodate tens of thousands of people for living, daily cultivation, and almost equivalent to the size of a small city.

There were about seven thousand disciples and over four hundred elders of different levels who joined the expedition. There were also over two hundred thousand puppet soldiers for battle, as well as a large amount of logistical supplies. They were personally led by Senior Sister Xuebing Xuan.

Inside the ship, in the spacious corridor, Qi Yalan, who was radiant and elegant, walked briskly with her head held high, and the disciples on duty along the way saluted one after another.

Xuebing Xuan’s temporary residence was a separate courtyard, which was not only spacious but also well-equipped with areas such as alchemy room, study room, bedroom, cultivation room, and reception hall. There was also a large group of maids and servants ready to be summoned at any time.

This was the privilege of the core disciples of the sect, and Qi Yalan was also the same. Of course, Qing Muling did not have this privilege. The two beautiful senior sisters, for the sake of safety, reasonably allowed him to live in the same courtyard, making it convenient for them to guide his cultivation and check his progress.

As a result, those inner and outer disciples who wanted to find excuses to visit Qing Muling, explore his background, and make friends had to give up. After all, Senior Sister Xuebing Xuan had a high prestige in the sect, and those with insufficient status and position would not dare to disturb her casually.

In the conference hall, Xuebing Xuan was discussing the situation on the front lines with the elders, and Qing Muling was listening on the side.

A huge projection of mana sand table was placed in the center of the hall, showing a landmass with a radius of over three hundred thousand miles. The overall image had a dark red tone, and the terrain and topography of the landmass were detailed, even showing some subtle details.

Qi Yalan quietly approached Qing Muling and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, silently using her divine sense to inform him of the origin of the Abyss of Soul Demons battlefield.

Over ten thousand years ago, this landmass in the void was called “Linzhou” and was an important territory within the influence of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace. It had a superior environment, abundant resources, and a dense population of mortals. Valuable resources were produced here every year.

The so-called Abyss of Soul Demons was the core area located in the middle of this landmass. On the surface, it appeared as if the towering mountains suddenly collapsed under an unknown force, revealing a super deep sinkhole with a diameter of over a thousand miles and a bottomless depth.

Many landmasses in the void had huge spaces formed by natural evolution underground, and this landmass was no exception. From the surface to thousands of miles below, there was a vast and dark underground world inhabited by some mysterious and brutal savage races. In the long years before the appearance of the sinkhole, their living space was basically limited to the dark underground, and only a few individuals were lucky enough to run out to the surface.

Later, at some unknown time, the population of these underground races grew larger, and many individuals awakened their power and began to practice cultivation. The situation gradually changed.

In order to find more resources and expand their living space, the strong individuals among the underground races launched attacks and embarked on arduous explorations in the underground world, paying countless costs. Finally, they found cracks leading to the surface world.

After that, it was simple. The vanguard legions selected from them rushed up to the surface through the exits. With their strong adaptability, they hunted and devoured all the creatures they saw, and established strongholds and cities, gradually expanding their influence.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. The news of the appearance of the mysterious races on the surface reached the higher-ups of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace. Many experts arrived with precious treasures and launched a large-scale extermination.

After an almost overwhelming battle, the underground races, who suffered heavy losses, were completely driven back to the underground world. They licked their wounds in their nests and waited for the opportunity to return.

In this way, tens of thousands of years passed, and the strength of the underground races gradually recovered. The size of their population surpassed the past, and more powerful individuals were born.

Ten thousand years ago, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace suddenly encountered a great disaster, and the elite members of the sect suffered heavy losses. The overall strength was greatly weakened, and they were no longer able to suppress those brutal races in the underground world.

There was no need to say more about what happened later. The passage reopened, and the underground races launched a large-scale invasion. The high-level members of the sect who fought hard eventually decided to abandon this territory and move all the disciples and some mortals who stayed here to other landmasses in the void.

“…Doesn’t this make sense?”

Qing Muling turned his head and looked at the flawless side profile of his third senior sister. He asked with his divine sense, “Are there any powerhouses among them who can surpass the Elders? If not, how could the sect possibly lose?”Qi Yalan sighed, “Your thoughts are not wrong. The key issue is that during those unbearable years, the situation our sect faced was too dire. It wasn’t just this territory, there were many incidents within our sphere of influence. We needed strength everywhere to put out fires, we simply couldn’t manage it all, so…”

Thousands of years ago, the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace was in a state of chaos. The vast territory was engulfed in war, with celestial disasters, monster tribes causing havoc, and unknown plagues ravaging many worldly dynasties. The number of casualties was staggering, and there were also some rival sects taking advantage of the chaos… It was as if all troubles had converged at once.

However, this was not the most fatal. Despite the turbulent times, the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, with its substantial foundation accumulated over many years, could still survive as long as it recuperated and handled things carefully. There would always be a day when they could pull through.

The problem was that at this critical time, a young and compassionate Sect Master took charge of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace. Her decisions, both internally and externally, were full of blunders, and major mistakes were made one after another. Many decisions that could have been better were completely ruined by her.

That woman, apart from her decent cultivation, was not suitable to be the highest decision-maker of a super Dao Lineage. She just happened to be in the right place at the right time and got the position, which turned into a disaster for the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.

During those dark years, even the staunch allies of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace were chilled by the woman’s endless foolish actions and chose to stand by and watch.

When the elders who were in seclusion in the sect’s secret realm could no longer bear it and deposed this naive and foolish Sect Master, most of the sect’s resources had been squandered by her. The sphere of influence that could be controlled had greatly shrunk, and a large number of vassal forces had declared independence, breaking away from the sect’s control to seek their own paths.

Now, the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace’s bases on this piece of void land are only a few cities in the peripheral areas, and they are barely holding on. They could be breached by those alien races at any time.

“…What kind of karma did the elder disciples of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace create in their previous lives to end up with such a terrible Sect Master?”

Qing Muling sighed. At first thought, it seemed incredible. How could such an idiotic and useless leader be born in a superpower?

But thinking about his previous life, the super empire in the north that made the whole world tremble, collapsed and disappeared in just a few years. Wasn’t it also because of a bizarre and brainless leader? It seems that the evolution and development of many things in the real world are completely illogical.

“…How many rival forces are laying out their plans?”

Qing Muling was silent for a moment, continuing to communicate with his senior sister through divine sense. He didn’t believe that things could be so coincidentally exaggerated. Even with the factor of that terrible Sect Master, there must be some superpowers secretly making moves behind the scenes, setting traps for the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.

“Junior Brother, you’re quite quick to react!”

Qi Yalan smiled slightly, “This matter is a bit complicated, I’ll explain it to you slowly when we have the chance. But for now, we must hurry over and repel the attack from those underground races first.”