Chapter 280: Chapter 224: Secret Lore: All Strife Is for Longevity (Part 2)

As time passed, the West pioneered the Industrial Revolution, ushering human society into a new era of unimaginably rapid development. Even the Ancient Ones had not anticipated that in less than three hundred years, human technology would advance to a point where they, even at the height of their power, would have to be wary and act with caution.

This gave these Secret Organizations a sense of crisis, but they also sensed an opportunity. Thus, they became more active than ever before, risking exposure to gradually extend their influence from the shadows into the open, all to harness the power of human society and explore the world’s deepest secrets.

The Pioneer Group is the most typical example.

On one hand, they used the Earth Immortal Remains collected by their backing Ancient Ones, casting aside all morality to conduct human experiments. They even went so far as to capture Saint Experts from across the globe for this purpose.

On the other hand, they leveraged industrial power to unearth the world’s hidden secrets, seeking to acquire more ancient information and Earth Immortal Remains.

All of this was to pave the way for them to enter a higher realm of power and achieve Longevity.

For a moment, an incredibly clear picture of modern society and its hidden undercurrents formed in Yi Beidou’s mind, giving him a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

However, this brought with it a deeper mystery.

’These so-called "Earth Immortal Remains"... where did they actually come from?’

’A prehistoric civilization? A Myth? Or even extraterrestrial life?’

In truth, there were many inexplicable things throughout human history.

There were the legends of ancient civilizations and their highly advanced technologies, and certain ancient texts whose origins could not be traced and whose contents could not be verified...

In a way, even though modern human civilization was highly advanced, one still couldn’t say that all of Earth’s secrets had been uncovered.

"These organizations seeking Longevity... are you sure their members are human? Not some other life-form? And why are they called ’Earth Immortals’?"

Yi Beidou continued to ask.

"We’re certain they’re human. According to our intelligence, the most complete piece of the Earth Immortal Remains in the Pioneer Group’s possession is a human finger."

"As for the name ’Earth Immortal,’ other parts of the world might call them something different, but the name we know has been passed down through the generations."

Yuna explained.

"Passed down through the generations?"

Hearing this, Yi Beidou’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

’This organization called Dark Vine... it seems to have quite a history. To be dedicated to fighting the Ancient Ones, its leadership must possess power at least on par with them, and have a history to match.’

He was very interested in the truths buried deep within the world and the secrets hidden in the dust of history.

"Mr. Yi, this is all the information we can give you. The rest involves our organization’s internal secrets. Even if we knew more, we wouldn’t be at liberty to divulge it. This is already the greatest sincerity we can offer."

Cheng Zhihong said, looking at Yi Beidou with a sincere gaze.

Yi Beidou nodded slightly at his words and didn’t press them.

’He had always been the type to treat others as they treated him. Although these two were being secretive while probing him, their attitude seemed sincere enough for now. He wouldn’t force them to do something they didn’t want to do.’

"So, you said you came to Japan to cooperate with me? What kind of cooperation do you have in mind?"

Yi Beidou asked.

"To fight against the Ancient Ones and the Secret Organizations, of course. In recent years, more and more Secret Organizations have surfaced, their influence on the Mortal World growing ever greater. This is especially true for groups like the Pioneer Group, which will stop at nothing to achieve its goals. Once they truly obtain the ultimate mystery, it will spell disaster for the world. Every contemporary civilization will be overturned, humanity will be ruled by a select few, and our entire species will lose any hope for advancement."

"To that end, we need powerful allies to face increasingly formidable opponents. We can provide you with intelligence on the Pioneer Group and other Secret Organizations. In return, when we need it, we hope you will be willing to lend us your aid."

Cheng Zhihong said.

"That sounds like a fair trade. In that case, give me all the intelligence you have on the ’Domain Lord’ behind this country. As an Ancient One and an important member of the Pioneer Group, he must be one of the targets you want to deal with, right?"

Yi Beidou said.

’If what they said was true, he didn’t mind cooperating for mutual benefit. After all, he was on his own, and obtaining this kind of intelligence would be extremely difficult for him.’

’Take his current situation in Japan, for example. Even though he had already turned the country upside down, the one hiding in the shadows remained patient, revealing no weaknesses whatsoever.’

’The stronger he became, the more the world would hide from him.’

’In the eyes of the Ancient Ones, powerful as he was, he was still just a mortal with a single lifespan of a hundred years or so. As long as there were no fundamental conflicts of interest, what did it matter if they let him run rampant?’

’Even if their interests did clash, as long as he didn’t touch their core concerns, those wily old foxes could just hide in the shadows and wait him out. For them, patience was a virtue.’

’But now, he knew some of their secrets. He knew the fundamental desire of these Ancient Ones. As long as he used this organization as an entry point to get involved and threatened their core interests, they could no longer hide from him or ignore him.’

"Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend you go looking for trouble with him. He has been entrenched in Japan for many years and is hidden extremely deep. For someone who can become a ’Domain Lord,’ their power within their own territory reaches an unfathomable level. The saying ’A Secret Realm is like a Divine Realm’ is no empty boast. It’s also the reason he almost never leaves Japan."

Cheng Zhihong said in a low voice.

’The current global situation was unsettling. Many Ancient Ones seemed to be on the move, and their own leader and several important executives had vanished as a result. Yet this Domain Lord, a veteran Ancient One, remained in Japan. That alone spoke volumes.’

’Rashly barging into another’s lair was not a wise choice.’

’Even other Ancient Ones wouldn’t dare to do something so reckless.’

’Otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained entrenched and unshaken in Japan for so many years.’

"That’s my business. Now that I’ve come to this country, it’s not in my nature to start something and not see it through. Let’s consider this our first transaction. I need to determine if your intelligence is valuable to me, and you can observe if I’m worth your investment. It kills two birds with one stone, doesn’t it?"

Yi Beidou’s expression was calm, completely unmoved.

He was a man of his word.

He had come to Japan for two reasons: one was to test the mettle of the nation’s Martial Arts Dao, and the other was to deal with the Pioneer Group’s branch and the Ancient One.

Now, Japan’s Martial Arts Dao had no fight left in it, and even the Japanese government had been forced to bow to him. Only this final objective remained.

"You should reconsider. Things are not as simple as you think..."

Yuna wanted to say more. She felt that perhaps Yi Beidou’s smooth sailing in Japan had made him a bit too arrogant.

’No matter how big the waves he caused, everything he had done was still just a disturbance in the Mortal World.’

’The Mortal World and the Hidden Realm were as different as the mortal plane and the Celestial Realm.’

But before she could finish, Cheng Zhihong stopped her.

Cheng Zhihong shot her a look, signaling her to be quiet and let him handle it.

’He could already see that Yi Beidou had a domineering personality. If he refused, any chance of cooperation would likely vanish.’

’It was better to let him try. Leaving aside whether he could even find that deeply hidden individual, even if they did run into trouble, with the combined strength of the three of them, escaping shouldn’t be a problem.’

’He was willing to take a few risks for this incredibly powerful young man.’

"We do know quite a bit about the Domain Lord of Japan. He began using his power to influence the Mortal World a very long time ago, so he has always been one of our targets."

"We don’t currently know the specific year he achieved his Dao or how long he has existed, but we do know he has deep ties to the bloodline of the Japanese Imperial Family. We speculate that his true identity is closely related to the Qin Dynasty Alchemist, Xu Fu, who sailed east to Japan."

"He is most likely a descendant born from the union of Xu Fu and a member of the early Japanese Imperial Family. We cannot even rule out the possibility that he is Xu Fu himself."

Cheng Zhihong said in a low voice.