Elder Zhang's sudden words caused Elder Liu and the others to change their expressions.
Who was Elder Zhang? One of the Ten Grandmasters of Bureau 749, and an old grandmaster of the Maoshan Sect. His status was significant, whether in Bureau 749, the Maoshan Sect, or even in the entire Great Xia.
For him to refer to someone as "Ancestor", even if they didn't know who the person was, they could tell that their strength and status were extremely high.
At that moment, not a single person dared to remain seated. Following Elder Zhang, they all stood up.
At the same time, Elder Zhang quickly walked forward, his expression openly surprised yet delighted. He spoke excitedly, "Ancestor, didn't you go to meet King of the Night for a reunion? Why have you come here? Are you here to help? That's wonderful! With you here, even if it's the Great Tiger…"
Before Elder Zhang could finish his sentence, he saw Ling Hanguang, the old Daoist, lightly shake his head. A smile appeared on his aged face.
"I came here because I was entrusted by someone."
Elder Zhang and the others were stunned. Elder Zhang looked at Ling Hanguang, the old Daoist.
"Ancestor, when you say you were entrusted by someone, you don't mean us?"
"No."
"Then who?" Seeing the curious gazes of Elder Zhang and the others, Ling Hanguang gently waved his horsetail whisk and smiled.
"It was King of the Night who asked me to come here to help deal with the situation in Changbai Mountain."
At this point, Ling Hanguang swept his eyes over everyone. Seeing their astonishment, he anticipated their questions and preemptively spoke slowly.
"When I went to meet King of the Night and chatted with him, I mentioned the death of Old Master Hu San."
"King of the Night was worried that Changbai Mountain might fall into turmoil because of it. Without Old Master Hu San to keep things in check, the ancient great demons would begin to stir. He did not want to see the people suffer, so he asked me to come and handle the situation in Changbai Mountain."
After finishing, Ling Hanguang flicked his horsetail whisk. He did not tell Elder Zhang and the others the real reason Qin Ye had asked him to come. Instead, he casually made up an excuse.
Because he knew that Elder Zhang and the others would inevitably be curious and ask questions. After all, why would King of the Night suddenly decide to help?
To prevent Bureau 749 from overthinking things and worsening their impression of King of the Night, and because he knew Qin Ye disliked unnecessary disturbances, he came up with an appropriate reason—repaying an old favor from the Northern Song era.
"Back then, you credited the Maoshan Sect's achievements to me. This time, I'll return the favor to you."
Ling Hanguang chuckled to himself.
At this moment, Elder Zhang and the others were stunned upon hearing this. Elder Zhang exchanged glances with the two elderly Maoshan Daoists, and they saw the astonishment in each other's eyes.
"Ancestor, are you really here at King of the Night's request?" The rough-voiced Maoshan Daoist was shocked.
"So, it was King of the Night… He actually…" Elder Zhang's expression was complex. He muttered to himself, then continued in a low voice, "I always thought King of the Night was someone who preferred seclusion and low profile, someone who disliked being disturbed. After all, I had never heard of him before. But I was wrong… He actually cares so much about the people."
Regarding King of the Night, after hearing about this person from Ling Hanguang, Bureau 749 had created a file on him.
However, the file contained very little information—just that there was someone known as King of the Night. His gender, age, and other details were all unknown.
But now, Elder Zhang thought to himself, 'Later, I must report this to the bureau and have them update King of the Night's file. They should note that King of the Night has a heart for the people, a hidden benevolent figure.'
With this thought in mind, Elder Zhang spoke up. "It's great that the Ancestor is here. With you present, our efforts to suppress Changbai Mountain will surely go smoothly…"
However, before he could finish his sentence, Ling Hanguang interrupted him. "That might not be the case. The ancient great demons stirring in Changbai Mountain are not just from the Great Tiger lineage."
As Elder Zhang and the others turned to look at him, only now did they realize, in their excitement over Ling Hanguang's arrival, they had almost forgotten something crucial. Earlier, when Ling Hanguang appeared, he had mentioned that the intelligence gathered by the Northeast Five Immortals was insufficient.
Then without keeping them in suspense, Ling Hanguang swept his gaze over the crowd.
"I came to Changbai Mountain at King of the Night's request, so before coming to find you, I first visited the mountain. If that ancient great demon, who has cultivated for two thousand years, is a 'Mortal Dust Immortal'…"
"Then including it, there are at least a few more with the aura of Mortal Dust Immortals. They have all gathered together."
Elder Zhang's heart pounded wildly upon hearing this. They knew the term "Mortal Dust Immortal."
It was an ancient title given to cultivators who had reached an extremely high level of strength. In modern terms, for Bureau 749, these were the Grandmasters—more than just ordinary Grandmasters.
In other words, Changbai Mountain had at least several Grandmaster-level great demons gathering, waiting for an opportunity to act.
At this moment, the Out-Horse Immortals present finally understood why Ling Hanguang had said their intelligence was lacking.
It wasn't just lacking, their information was completely wrong. They had thought there was only one ancient great demon. Now, it turned out there were several. And…
They looked at Ling Hanguang, who had not yet finished speaking, clearly implying there was more to say.
Sure enough, Ling Hanguang stroked his horsetail whisk and continued slowly. "This is just the aura I sensed gathering together. Besides these, there are also several other auras that are faint… They seem to be on the verge of awakening."
With these words, Ling Hanguang sighed.
"The situation is worse than you imagined. Even I must take this seriously. If things continue to deteriorate, I might even have to…"
Suddenly, his words came to an abrupt halt. Before he could finish, Ling Hanguang abruptly turned to look in the direction of Changbai Mountain.
Less than half a second later, Elder Zhang's face changed dramatically.
Then came the two Maoshan Daoists, and then several Out-Horse Immortals—one after another, they all turned toward Changbai Mountain.
"Did we just speak of trouble and summon it?" The rough-voiced Maoshan Daoist's face darkened.
At this moment, from the direction of Changbai Mountain—more precisely, from deep within the mountain— even though they were far away, they could sense a terrifying demonic aura spreading.
No. It was surging into the sky.
When they emerged from the underground chamber and reached the village entrance, with their supernatural vision, they could see that in the distance, once a magnificent landscape, now no longer forming a beautiful scene with the blue sky. Instead, from deep within the mountain, demonic energy surged skyward, staining the azure heavens.
The creatures of the forest sensed terror. Large flocks of birds took flight, darkening the sky like a wave. Beasts fled in panic from the woods.
From time to time, deep within the mountain, terrifying roars echoed.
Tiger growls.
Wolf howls.
Shrill cries of birds clashing…
As if something terrifying was emerging from the mountain.
Ling Hanguang's aged eyes gazed forward, and he flicked his horsetail whisk.
"The ancient great demon is coming out. This mission is going to be more troublesome than I expected."
"What we feared has arrived." Elder Zhang's face was grim, his walnut beads unknowingly clenched tightly in his hand. Without delay, he commanded, "Contact your family elders—tell them to come as quickly as possible."
Seeing the Out-Horse Immortals beginning to cast spells to notify their elders, he added,"If possible, have all of them come. We must prepare for the worst."
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