Zhao Hai had become famous this time — genuinely famous! Among those rogue cultivators in particular, Zhao Hai had already become the stuff of legend.
Word of Zhao Hai's exploits had spread throughout the entire Void Realm, and every rogue cultivator there now knew his name and what he had done.
To be honest, rogue cultivators in the Cultivation World had always led rather pitiful lives. Setting other things aside, in any other plane, once your strength reached the Teleportation Realm, regardless of whether you still had potential, you could land some kind of position in a major sect. Even if you couldn't advance further, it was more than enough for a comfortable retirement.
But in the Cultivation World, there were far too many rogue cultivators at the Teleportation Realm. They were still scrambling to make a living, and whether they could join one of the major powers depended entirely on luck — those organizations simply weren't short of people.
As for those who came to the Void Realm from other planes, most had no desire to return. The resources in the Void Realm surpassed those of any other plane, and for cultivators, the Void Realm was simply superior. Why would they want to go back?
Yet in the Void Realm, being a rogue cultivator was the most miserable and most dangerous way to exist. You might be a Teleportation Realm cultivator, but there were so many Teleportation Realm rogue cultivators that anyone could end up targeted at any moment. Leave the safety of a city and you might never make it back alive. That was why everyone in the Void Realm wanted to join a major power — even a minor one would do — anything for a measure of security.
Zhao Hai's meteoric rise had given those rogue cultivators something that looked like hope. He himself had come from the ranks of the unaffiliated. When he founded the Four Virtues Society, it was specifically so that rogue cultivators would no longer be bullied. Before this, his fame had been limited — not many had heard of the Four Virtues Society. But the great battle had changed all that. Now everyone remembered the Four Virtues Society and the name Zhao Hai.
The rogue cultivators had been looking for a faction to join, and now suddenly there was one founded by a former rogue cultivator — one that didn't just tolerate unaffiliated cultivators joining but actually welcomed them. The requirements were almost nonexistent: loyalty to the society was all that was asked. For those rogue cultivators, it was as simple a condition as anyone could hope for. Their hearts were stirred, and they all wanted to join the Four Virtues Society.
However, not many people knew about the Ruins Fortress, so the rogue cultivators naturally couldn't find their way there. Instead, they all converged on Cuiwei Mountain, requesting to join the Four Virtues Society.
In less than a month after the great battle, nearly three hundred thousand rogue cultivators had arrived at Cuiwei Mountain — and the vast majority of them were Teleportation Realm cultivators.
For the Four Virtues Society, this was unquestionably excellent news. Three hundred thousand Teleportation Realm cultivators constituted a formidable force anywhere. With these people joining, the Four Virtues Society's strength would be further reinforced. From now on, even the great families would have to think long and hard before making any move against them.
Zhao Hai, naturally, had no intention of turning anyone away. He accepted them all without exception, and even told them that if they had family members, they could bring them to the Ruins Fortress as well. If they had good friends, they were welcome to refer them too.
The Four Virtues Society had caused such an enormous stir that the great families couldn't possibly remain unaware. In fact, among those three hundred thousand people, quite a few were already operatives planted by those very families. They had joined the Four Virtues Society with the intention of spying on its inner workings.
The reason Zhao Hai had dared to take them all in was that he had long since thought of how to deal with them. Joining the Four Virtues Society was perfectly fine — he would even let you enter the Ruins Fortress directly. But once you arrived at the Fortress, you were no longer the one making decisions. No communication with the outside world was possible, and once you entered, you couldn't leave for several years. All the cultivation resources you needed would be provided by the Four Virtues Society, but leaving was simply out of the question.
Those cultivators who harbored no ill intentions had no objection to this arrangement. For them, there was nothing to complain about — staying inside for a few years was no different from seclusion training, and they wouldn't even lack cultivation resources. For such cultivators, this was genuinely wonderful news.
The great families of the Void Realm had now turned their attention to the Four Virtues Society. They had no choice — the Society's development under Zhao Hai was too rapid to ignore. But as of yet, they still knew nothing about the Ruins Fortress, because Zhao Hai's security measures were simply too thorough.
The cultivators who had joined the Four Virtues Society initially didn't know that communication with the outside world was forbidden. When they used the teleportation arrays to send messages out, every single one was intercepted by Zhao Hai. If the messages were ordinary — inviting friends to come join the Four Virtues Society — Zhao Hai naturally let them through. But if any of them tried to leak information about the Ruins Fortress, not a single message made it out. And every person who sent such messages would be secretly executed by Zhao Hai, transformed into an undead.
While everyone in the Void Realm was focused on Zhao Hai, Zhao Hai himself was watching developments in the False Form Realm and the Staff Possession Realm. His expansion in the False Form Realm had hit some snags. He had already conquered all the minor sects there, as well as the weaker mid-tier sects. But he hadn't found a good way to deal with the stronger mid-tier sects — in those organizations, all core disciples and elder-level figures had soul tablets kept in their sect halls. If Zhao Hai killed them, the tablets would shatter, and everyone would know they were dead. If he then returned in his original form unscathed, suspicion would immediately follow.
One could say that Zhao Hai now controlled the majority of power in the False Form Realm. The only ones he couldn't move against were the stronger high-level mid-tier sects and the more powerful mid-tier sects. In other words, any sect that kept soul tablets was off-limits, and any sect that didn't had already been subjugated.
Meanwhile, development in the Staff Possession Realm was proceeding relatively smoothly. Most of the minor sects had been brought under control, and he was preparing to move on to the mid-tier sects.
But Zhao Hai knew that the Staff Possession Realm would likely follow the same pattern as the False Form Realm. Once he reached the stronger mid-tier sects, assassination methods would probably no longer work.
Zhao Hai sat in his room, frowning as he studied the spatial map of the False Form Realm. Although he now controlled the majority of power there, he was genuinely reluctant to launch an open assault. If information leaked, it would draw everyone's attention, and if anyone managed to trace his involvement, things would become very complicated.
Laura and the others sat beside Zhao Hai, studying the situation in the False Form Realm, all of them wearing frowns. They knew exactly what was troubling him. Honestly, they didn't want anyone to know they were behind this either. Ideally, no one would ever learn that they had taken control of the False Form Realm — that was what they wanted most of all.
After a long silence, Laura suddenly spoke up. "Hai-ge, it looks like there's no option other than a direct assault. But before we launch it, I think we need to make some preparations."
Zhao Hai nodded. "We do need to prepare. Does anyone have suggestions?"
Laura's voice was grave. "Seal off the False Form Realm entirely, then act from within. That way, no information will leak to the outside world. The seal should allow entry but no exit — that would be even more perfect."
Zhao Hai nodded. That was a viable approach, but it would require a new type of formation. And figuring out how to deploy those formations across the territory was no small problem.
Cai'er spoke up in a serious tone. "Deployment isn't an issue. Once the formation is designed, I just need to memorize its shape and all the runes. Then Julie and I can lay it down beneath the False Form Realm's surface — we can make it as large as we want, and no one will detect it. After that, we can strike."
Zhao Hai's eyes lit up when he heard this. "That's a great idea. Laura, contact Grandpa Green right away and ask if they already have a formation like this. If they do, that saves us a lot of trouble. If not, we'll need to develop one."
Laura acknowledged the order, then looked at Zhao Hai. "Hai-ge, the Four Virtues Society has developed this well here in the Void Realm. What's our next step?"
Zhao Hai considered for a moment. "In the Void Realm, we now have territory and manpower. But the various great families have been making overtures to rogue cultivators specifically to counter us, so recruiting new members won't be as easy as it was before. You could say the Four Virtues Society's expansion has reached a bottleneck. What we need to do now is fully consolidate everything we've gained, and only then plan our next move."
Laura nodded. "That's right. The Four Virtues Society looks impressive from the outside, but outsiders don't really know our true strength. And internally, the members aren't unified — they're still like a heap of loose sand. If we don't consolidate properly, it will be very detrimental to the Society's future development."
Zhao Hai agreed. "Exactly. You have to be strong yourself before you can do anything else. Right now we're the ones who are a heap of loose sand, so there's no point trying to take on anything else."
Laura nodded gravely. "This process could take some time. During that period, we should keep our true capabilities hidden from outsiders — otherwise there will be trouble. Right now the Society is already full of spies. If the other families learn the Four Virtues Society's real strength, they'll stop at nothing to uncover our hidden cards."
Zhao Hai nodded, then sighed. "If it weren't for the Earth Clan incident, I would have wanted to use the Four Virtues Society's name to move against those other planes. But with what's happened now, any action would trigger a chain reaction — pull one thread and the entire web moves. So now is not the time to act in the Four Virtues Society's name. And as for further development here in the Void Realm, that's also difficult. The five great families won't sit by while we unite the Void Realm — it's against their interests. So for now, we can only wait. Wait for the right opportunity. I have a feeling that the Void Realm won't stay this quiet for long. I can always sense undercurrents stirring beneath the surface."