Currently, all the sects are ready to depart and should arrive at the territory of the God of Slaughter Sect in the next few days.

"That's good too. Our sect won't have to travel long distances to other sects' territories," Qi Zhiheng said nonchalantly.

Que Hanhai found Qi Zhiheng's idea somewhat peculiar. This back-and-forth trip wouldn't actually take much time. Indeed! For cultivators whose lifespan is measured in centuries, a few days or even tens of days are merely "brief moments." Therefore, setting that aside, he inquired about the detailed events of those days.

Qi Zhiheng also described what had happened at Wuchen Temple these past few days, and mentioned that Xu Yuanzhou had indeed said he would bring people to the Lushen Sect.

Que Hanhai said, "If we're going to pin the blame on our Lu Shen Sect, it's probably not enough to just confirm that the Demonic Qi Mushrooms are in the territory of other sects. The cultivation range of Demonic Qi Mushrooms is so wide, and our sect has the most of them. We can also refute that the originator of the Demonic Qi Mushrooms was specifically targeting the Lu Shen Sect. They must have other leverage over us."

Qi Zhiheng had considered this question as well, but he hadn't been in the sect for some time and hadn't found any relevant information: "Sect Master, did you find any useful information?"

The sect leader stroked his beard and said seriously, "No."

Qi Zhiheng: "..."

Qi Zhiheng: "Sect Master, why do I feel like we're lacking confidence? We haven't found any leverage over each other?"

Que Hanhai: "Our sect has acted uprightly and honestly! We haven't done anything wrong, so how can you expect our people to find evidence to overthrow the sect?"

Qi Zhiheng: "...That makes sense."

"So let's just see how things go," Que Hanhai said, sounding rather shameless.

Qi Zhiheng didn't care. There was really no way to find out more, and Qi Zhiheng himself didn't want to go out and investigate. He just waited for the other party to use whatever tricks they had up their sleeve.

Qi Zhiheng sighed, recalling some things, and said, "Xu Yuanzhou seems very confident, believing that the Lushen Sect cannot deal with the Netherworld Fungus. From this point of view, I suspect that their Tianyuan Sect may not have a way to solve the Netherworld Fungus."

"They dare to spread this thing on a large scale without a solution? Don't they also have Netherworld Fungus on their Tianyuan Sect's territory?" Que Hanhai couldn't quite believe such a statement. After all, if they didn't find a solution and Tianyuan Sect couldn't deal with the Netherworld Fungus, then the Netherworld Fungus would become a terrible disaster in Nanzhou.

Even though the Netherworld Fungus isn't particularly lethal, long-term growth in its territory can contaminate the air with demonic energy! At that point, Southern Continent might no longer be suitable for cultivators, but instead become a paradise for demonic cultivators!

Thinking of this, Que Hanhai's expression became very solemn.

Qi Zhiheng said, "I'm quite curious about where these Netherworld Fungi came from. If this situation existed in Nanzhou, then the Netherworld Fungi should have already spread throughout Nanzhou. But there is no Netherworld Land in Nanzhou, so how could there be Netherworld Fungi? Could this thing have been brought from other places?"

After pondering for a while, Que Hanhai said, "Do you think the Tianyuan Sect has the ability to obtain something like this?"

"I don't know, there's no evidence to say for sure, but if we're talking about who has that ability, I think cultivators from the Central Continent are very likely to be among them." Although Qi Zhiheng was guessing, he had already pieced together about 70-80% of the truth of the matter.

Que Hanhai frowned: "Do you think this matter is related to the people of Zhongzhou?"

Qi Zhiheng nodded and said, "It's just some speculation."

After exchanging information, Que Hanhai contacted some sects with whom he had previously been on good terms, asking them to come along with cultivators from other sects.

The Netherworld Fungus that appeared in the territories of these sects has been completely eradicated; any Netherworld Fungus still visible in the open is counterfeit. Therefore, having resolved their own sect's crisis, they are now essentially tied to Que Hanhai.

A few days later, all forces gathered in the territory of the God of Slaughter Sect.

Que Hanhai was free to move around in his own territory, so he personally went to negotiate with Tianyuan Sect and others.

Xu Yan is the leader of the Tianyuan Sect and the person in charge of this matter. Since they are on the territory of the Lushen Sect, it is natural to have a Nascent Soul stage cultivator in charge. Xu Yan had no choice but to come.

The location is on the outskirts of a forest within the territory of the God Slaughtering Sect. Disciples often train here, and there are many demonic beasts, spirit beasts, and other spiritual creatures. Because the spiritual energy here is good, it is also very suitable for the growth of Netherworld Fungus.

The growth habits of the Netherworld Fungus are also somewhat strange. Logically speaking, since the Netherworld Fungus itself contains demonic energy, it should rely on demonic energy to grow. However, the way the Netherworld Fungus grows is to absorb spiritual energy and convert it into demonic energy. Over time, this will affect the concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding area. If the demonic energy of the Netherworld Fungus leaks out, it will also cause pollution of spiritual energy, turning the Southern Continent into a demonic realm.

The group stood on the outer edge of the area, since the forest had taken up space and only the plains could accommodate so many people.

There are many forces in Nanzhou, but not everyone is qualified to attend this gathering of forces.

More than fifty sects arrived, mostly those ranked in the top seventy. Some sects had not found any trace of the Netherworld Fungus in their territory and therefore had no interest in getting involved, so the later sects filled in.

Each sect sent about two thousand people. With a total of over one hundred thousand people standing in the forest, it was inconvenient for them to talk. That's why they arranged to meet on the plains at the edge of the forest.

The plains and mountains had just been occupied, with various factions each taking their own territory.

Que Hanhai brought tens of thousands of sect disciples with him. Since it was his own territory, he naturally couldn't let himself be outnumbered.

The leaders of each faction, each with about ten men, stepped forward and went to the space left in the middle to discuss the next steps.

Que Hanhai stepped forward first and said, "Gentlemen, you have come uninvited. I wonder what brings you here?" He naturally knew the reason, but this was just an opening remark.

As the initiator of this event, Xu Yan naturally stepped forward: "Sect Leader Que, how have you been?"

"Fellow Daoist Xu, you've gone to such great lengths to bring so many people into the territory of my Lu Shen Sect. Could it be that you're here as a guest?" Que Hanhai spoke first, his tone forceful and clear, quite unlike his casual conversation with Qi Zhiheng.

Qi Zhiheng stood aside, inwardly criticizing the sect leader's two-faced nature.

Xu Yan cut to the chase: "Sect Leader Que, there's no need to hide anything. We already know what your Slaughter God Sect has done, so there's no need to waste time here! I'll just ask you one more question: Does your Slaughter God Sect admit that the Netherworld Fungus was the work of the Slaughter God Sect?"

Que Hanhai scoffed, "Fellow Daoist Xu is quite the joker. You claim the Netherworld Fungus is the work of my Lu Shen Sect without any evidence! Does that mean I can also casually claim that the Netherworld Fungus is the work of your Tian Yuan Sect?"

"No need to argue. The territory of your God Slaughtering Sect has the largest number of Netherworld Fungus. After investigation, it is clearly the place of origin of Netherworld Fungus. I dare to guess that the origin of Netherworld Fungus is your God Slaughtering Sect!" Xu Yan put his hands behind his back, intending to pin this crime on him first.

Que Hanhai scoffed, "The Netherworld Fungus has infected so many places, so what makes you think it originated in the God Slaughtering Sect?"

Xu Yan calmly raised his hand and pointed to a dense forest, saying, "Of course there is evidence, and the evidence lies within this forest. The origin is inside!"

Que Hanhai narrowed his eyes: "You mean, the origin of the Netherworld Fungus is in this forest?"

Xu Yan said, "That's right. I wonder if Sect Master Que dares to let us in to investigate!"

Qi Zhiheng looked into the woods in the direction Xu Yan pointed, thinking to himself that Tianyuan Sect had already placed the "evidence" in this forest.

Que Hanhai said, "Our Lu Shen Sect is upright and has nothing to fear! There's no reason for us to be afraid! Since Fellow Daoist Xu says the evidence is inside, let's go in and see what this so-called evidence is. It just so happens that I'm also quite curious!"

Que Hanhai was the most powerful cultivator among those present. He put his hands behind his back and, without waiting for them to speak, led the ten people into the forest.

Other sects followed suit one after another.

Xu Yan hadn't expected Que Hanhai to agree so readily! Did this man really think that if the Slaughter God Sect hadn't done it, there wouldn't be any evidence to prove it? He thought to himself, the people of the Slaughter God Sect are still so brainless.

Que Hanhai said to Xu Yan, who was walking behind, "Fellow Daoist Xu, since you are the one looking for evidence, then walk in front and lead the way. Do you expect my Lu Shen Sect to lead the way for you if you walk behind? I have no idea where this so-called 'evidence' is."

Que Hanhai's sarcasm successfully amused many people, who found it somewhat ridiculous that the "culprit" had to wait for the "whistleblower" to find "evidence."

Xu Yan's face darkened, but he quickly concealed it and said to Que Hanhai, "Indeed, it is I, Xu, who should lead the way. If we let Sect Master Que lead the way, I'm afraid we don't know where he will lead us."

Due to the terrain in the forest, each sect only brought a few people, who followed Xu Yan into the forest.

This group was quite large, and their aura was relatively strong. There were no demonic beasts or spirit beasts that would dare to risk their lives to stop them in the presence of so many cultivators.

The group quickly discovered the Netherworld Fungus growing on the ground. Xu Yan exclaimed, "This is the Netherworld Fungus!" He then looked at Que Hanhai.

Que Hanhai said, "It's not surprising; there are quite a few other sects doing the same."

Xu Yan said, "There are indeed many Netherworld Fungi in the territories of other sects, but there are some things that only your God Slaughtering Sect has." After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and told people to continue on their way.

Que Hanhai said, "I am also very curious about what exactly is something that only our Lu Shen Sect possesses."

Xu Yan just smiled and led his men to continue their journey.