Chapter 54: The Ordeal of Return, The Corporation Deploys

About two hours later...

Xia Ye and his group set out almost simultaneously with Zhang Lingyu and his senior brother. One group started from Zhejiang while the other was in Jiangxi, and since the two provinces neighbor each other, it was foreseeable that their arrival times would be nearly identical.

Naturally, neither side was aware of this. After all, this event was never touched upon in the original manga's plot, and the Celestial Master's Mansion would never imagine that anyone would intentionally go to watch the fun during such a calamity, which was practically tantamount to seeking death.

Of course, this matter was of great significance, and they would certainly not be the only two parties involved. The moment Zhang Lingyu and the others left the mountain, the Old Celestial Master made a phone call to Chairman Zhao of the Company. Knowing about such matters in advance allowed for early preparations, which could also minimize the impact to the greatest extent possible.

"Alright, I understand. I will make arrangements immediately. Thank you very much, Old Celestial Master."

In the capital, inside the chairman's office on the top floor of the headquarters building of The Company, Zhao Fangxu wore a grateful expression as he replied, and then hung up the phone.

"The Tribulation of Return..."

Putting down the phone, Zhao Fangxu leaned forward, resting his chin on his crossed hands. Light reflected off his glasses as he fell into a contemplative posture.

In his memory, this was the first time the Company had encountered such an event since its establishment. In the past, he had only heard legends of it, but had never truly witnessed it.

Everyone in the world knew that there was a collective of "immortals" in the Northeast, headed by the five clans of Hu (fox), Huang (weasel), Liu (snake), Hui (hedgehog), and Bai (hedgehog/rat). All of them were animals that had attained the Dao through cultivation, capable of embarking on the path of spiritual practice in animal form.

Compared to human supernatural beings, the cultivation speed of these immortals was much slower, but their lifespans were dozens of times that of ordinary practitioners. This was because they were closer to "nature" than humans, and the depletion rate of the "先天之炁" (Innate Qi) within their bodies was correspondingly much slower.

Furthermore, ever since ancient Shamanism was introduced to China over a thousand years ago and subsequently rooted itself and integrated into the "witchcraft and gu poison lineages," the various immortal clans successively began recruiting human followers. By cultivating through the faith of their believers, the rate at which their cultivation grew accelerated considerably, and their strength gradually increased.

By around the 1910s, the Shamanic path gradually transformed into the "Chumaxian lineage" (immortal-summoning lineage). In this tradition, supernatural practitioners established altars to worship the immortals, extracting power from them while repaying them with the incense of faith. When needed, they could even invite the spirits of the immortals to possess their bodies, allowing the immortals to descend in person.

To this day, almost any renowned supernatural being in the Northeast was a "disciple-mount" to one of the immortal clans. The "Guan family," represented by Guan Shihua—one of the Ten Elders—and the "Gao family"—one of the "Four Great Families"—were both typical examples of this tradition.

After so many years of cultivation, the oldest among these immortals had lived for tens of thousands of years, and the rest who held any seniority were at least several thousand years old. Having undergone thousands of years of practice, one could only imagine how terrifying their cultivation levels were.

As for the so-called "Tribulation of Return," it was a great tribulation unique to this group of immortals. Although their lifespans were long, they could not be endless, and once every thousand years they would undergo a trial of life and death, surviving which would prolong their lives.

Even after surviving the tribulation, it merely further delayed the depletion of the "Innate Qi" within their bodies. Coupled with the fact that each tribulation would be stronger than the last, unless one could truly attain enlightenment and ascend, sooner or later they would face the arrival of the "Return."

At that time, the immortals who could no longer withstand the tribulation would disintegrate under the might of the heavens. Their souls and physical bodies would shatter and scatter, dissolving in an extremely short period into the purest Qi of heaven and earth, returning everything they had accumulated over the past tens of thousands of years back to the cosmos.

However, no matter how fast this process was, it still took some time, which would inevitably attract the covetous eyes of surrounding living beings and even other immortals. To them, the flesh and spirit undergoing this disintegration were the finest "precious medicines," which could greatly enhance their cultivation and strength.

Because of this, an unwritten rule had formed among the various immortal clans in the Northeast: once a senior member underwent the "Return," all the immortals were free to come and contend for this fortuitous encounter. This was a kind of inheritance filled with primitive wildness, and it also meant passing the possibility of reaching the heavens into the hands of the younger generation.

When that time truly arrived, the mountain wilderness would inevitably be "surrounded by a host of immortals," and the immortal about to undergo the "Return" would not offer the slightest resistance. For the sake of their own opportunities, though the various immortals would not slaughter one another to the death, pulling out all the stops was considered excusable.

In the past, everyone completely understood this situation. This was an internal affair of the immortal clans, and the various factions in the supernatural world had no grounds to say much, so peace had been maintained until now.

However, in today's society of rapid development, the entire world had undergone heaven-shaking changes within a mere century. Since the establishment of the Company, such large-scale contention inevitably harbored enormous "risks."

"Hmm..."

At this thought, Zhao Fangxu immediately made a decision and directly called Gao Lian. This fellow was the current head of the Gao family, one of the prominent immortal-summoning families, and also a core backbone of the Company in charge of the Northeast Region.

"Hello, little Gao. I just received a call from the Old Celestial Master, saying that an immortal in your region is about to undergo the 'Return.' Is this true?"

"Your news is certainly fast, Chairman. I just received word from the immortals on my end as well. It's the senior member of the Liu family."

As soon as his voice trailed off, a response came from the other end of the line.

"What are your instructions? How should I handle this on my end?"

"Hmm..."

Zhao Fangxu thought for a moment.

"We must take this matter seriously. How about this: first, arrange personnel to blockade the area where that senior member's cavern dwelling is located, and ensure that no one can force their way in."

He issued his orders immediately.

"In addition, I have already communicated with the Old Celestial Master. He has sent Master Rongshan and Master Lingyu over. They are carrying talismans requested from the Old Celestial Master, which can complete the disintegration of the immortal's remains in the shortest possible time and gather the resulting Qi of heaven and earth. Since this is precisely what the other immortals want, you should know what to do now, right?"

"Understood. At that time, we will first cooperate with the two Daoist priests to hold off the various immortals. Once they finish gathering the Qi of heaven and earth, we will hand it over to the immortals, which can prevent a large-scale chaotic brawl," Gao Lian immediately grasped the intent.

"Good, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Rest assured, Chairman!"

Afterward, Zhao Fangxu gave a few more simple instructions and hung up the phone. It was evident that he had not yet relaxed; his expression remained deep and solemn.

He was not worried about Gao Lian's or the Gao family's "loyalty" and "awareness," but he also knew that the disciples of the immortal-summoning lineage held a steadfast "faith" towards the immortals. When it came to issues involving the immortals, he could not entirely rely on them.

After pondering over and over, Zhao Fangxu made another decision and dialed the head of the Northwest Region, Hua Feng:

"Hello, little Hua. The new temporary worker you have over there is named Lao Meng, right? If I recall correctly, his ability is a variant of the 'Beastmaster'?"

"That's correct. Do you have new instructions?"

"Yes, there is a new task for him. Have him head to the Northeast immediately. I'll send you the details of the mission shortly. Oh, and keep it from little Gao and the others; this is top secret..."

Although he knew that this phone call of his would most likely not escape the eavesdropping of that girl Er Zhang, he had long since made a private agreement with her. The moment he uttered those four words—"top secret"—...

She would definitely keep it confidential.