It must be because of that Land God incense burner.

The Land God incense burner that Xiao Mu brought back was one that could accept offerings, absorb Incense Fire, and increase strength.

The fact that the True Master of the Five Elements went so far as to build a temple, taking on the risk of exposing his tracks, just to snatch that incense burner, showed the importance he placed on it.

The Great Leader Wu Jie nodded slightly.

"Xiao Mu, who is Xiao Mu?"

"How come I've never heard of this person?"

The scene once again descended into chaos as many people did not recognize Xiao Mu and couldn't help but start discussing.

All those who knew Xiao Mu, whether it was Zhou Pudu, Chen Fengshen, or Cui Yan, had strange expressions on their faces, at a loss for words.

This guy named Xiao Mu really had a knack for getting into trouble!

The Great Leader Wu Jie continued, "Let's put Xiao Mu's issue aside for the moment and talk about internal arrangements first."

"The actions of the True Master of the Five Elements have drawn the attention of the Life and Death Sect and the Curse Gate. Now, the Curse Gate, Life and Death Sect, and the Five Elements Sect have all begun to take action, seemingly with the intent to take advantage of the chaos."

"We must strengthen the vigilance of the Great Tang Ruins."

"Mei Jun, Gu Hui, Xu Qianwu, Fang Ying, how are your injuries? How much of your strength has recovered?"

Great Leader Wu Jie's gaze finally settled on the four elders of the Great Tang Ruins.

Besides the three great leaders, the Great Tang Ruins had six elders, all Divine Spirits realm powerhouses. Two were away, leaving four including Mei Jun at the ruins.

The Great Tang Ruins faced the possibility of battle with the Evil Absurdity at any given moment. Smaller conflicts were handled by task groups like those led by Xiao Mu, while larger battles fell to these elders of the ruins.

The reason why Xiao Mu and his group only encountered Extraterrestrial Evil Beings that weren't very strong, with no exceptionally formidable experts, was because these extremely powerful foes were held back by the elders.

Otherwise, the appearance of just one Divine Spirits realm powerhouse could easily decimate their task force.

But due to the sheer frequency and intensity of the battles, these elders also suffered injuries and great exhaustion.

Among the four elders, Mei Jun was a tall, thin man with a huge scar on his face. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his left hand was actually made of energy.

This person had the appearance of a Land God, no doubt a holder of the Earth God Rank, yet in comparison to Second Leader Zhou Pudu's intact Earth God Rank, Mei Jun's seemed incomplete. The left side of his body was covered in Golden Light while the right side lurked in shadows.

But Mei Jun said, "Great Leader, my injuries have healed, but the damage to my Divine Spirits Rank can't be repaired for the moment, and my strength is unlikely to improve in the short term."

"Also, due to the incompleteness of my Divine Spirits Rank, I will be suppressed if I encounter an enemy with an intact rank."

Wu Jie asked, "I remember your Divine Spirits Rank was damaged in a battle with the Five Elements Sect, right?"

"You are right, Great Leader. My Divine Spirits Rank was destroyed during the battle with the True Master of the Five Elements, and he took away the other half."

Mei Jun spoke with a voice filled with resentment when mentioning the True Master of the Five Elements.

Wu Jie promised, "The Ruins will do everything possible to help you reclaim the other half of your Divine Spirits Rank."

"I hope so!" Mei Jun's response to Wu Jie's promise clearly lacked optimism.

The Great Leader was merely offering consolation. If it were really possible to reclaim it, it would have been done by now. Was the True Master of the Five Elements a dead man who would easily let someone from the human world take back his half of the rank?

Not to mention, he didn't even know where the True Master of the Five Elements had placed the other half of the rank.

"With the Five Elements Sect taking sudden drastic action, how about you go and defend the Northeastern Four Regions?"

Great Leader Wu Jie inquired.

The Northeastern Four Regions included the Thunder Shock Domain northeast of the Great Tang Ruins, the Five Immortals Domain east of the Thunder Shock Domain, the largest area among the Eighteen Domains—the Ancient River Area—and the recently conquered Tianmen Domain.

The Five Elements Sect had always been particularly active within the Northeastern Four Regions, which was the main reason why Great Leader Wu Jie wanted to dispatch Mei Jun to oversee their defense.

Mei Jun, who had lost his Divine Spirits Rank to the Five Elements Sect and bore a deep grudge, was expected to take up the responsibility of defending the Northeastern Four Regions with even greater commitment.

"Great Leader."

Mei Jun furrowed his brows with worry and said, "With my current strength, if I were to guard the Northeast Four Regions, I'm afraid I'm not up to the task. Should the True Monarch of the Five Elements attack, I'm no match for him."

"If because of me the Northeast Four Regions were to fall, I'm afraid I cannot bear such responsibility..."

Although Mei Jun did not refuse Wu Jie's suggestion, he tactfully presented his difficulties.

Wu Jie said kindly, "Don't worry, once the True Monarch of the Five Elements appears, I, the Second Leader, and the Third Leader will all come to support you in time."

"Alright, if that's the case, I have nothing more to say," Mei Jun nodded, "I am a member of the Alliance, it is only right for me to do my utmost. I just hope that the support from the three leaders will be timely."

Wu Yan sensed a tone of grievance in Mei Jun's voice but understood his perspective internally.

The reason why Mei Jun was injured and his Divine Spirit Position was incomplete was because, during the last encounter with the True Monarch of the Five Elements, the support was not timely enough, and he had to face the True Monarch of the Five Elements alone, resulting in severe injuries and a near-death experience.

Great Leader Wu Jie then turned to another elder, Xu Qianwu, and said amiably, "Qianwu, I would like to ask you to guard the South Five Regions, what do you think?"

The other elder, Xu Qianwu, appeared to be a hot-tempered old man, with white beard and eyebrows, and even his mustache was white, looking like an irascible longevity star.

Like Mei Jun, Xu Qianwu was also injured, but his Rank was intact; one could tell at a glance that it was the Mountain God Rank.

However, this Mountain God Rank did not shimmer with golden light but was enveloped in layers of black light, vague and dim as if cursed, its divine power suppressed and unable to display its true form.

"Not so good. Great Leader, please don't put me in danger!"

Xu Qianwu's temperament was fiery, and as soon as he opened his mouth it was like he was picking a fight, "The South Five Regions, that's the turf where Curse Gate is active."

"Although the Curse Son of the Curse Gate is my sworn enemy, I am truly not his opponent, otherwise my Divine Spirit Rank would not have been suppressed all this time."

The South Five Regions mentioned by the two men included the Cuiyun Mountain Region, Leihe Region, Object Transformation Domain, Nanhua Domain, and the Black Water Domain.

Within the eighteen domains of the Great Tang Ruins, the total area of the South Five Regions was not large, but the terrain was complex and extremely perilous. Coupled with the frequent activities of the Curse Gate in the domain, it could be said to be the most dangerous place in the entire Great Tang Ruins.

Elder Xu Qianwu had once encountered the Curse Son of the Curse Gate, undergoing an intense battle.

Clearly, Xu Qianwu was no match for the Curse Son, and his Mountain God Rank had been cursed by his adversary, yet to recover.

As a result, Xu Qianwu harbored wariness towards the Curse Son, not wishing to confront him directly unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he doubted whether he could survive another encounter.

Great Leader Wu Jie fell into contemplation.

What Xu Qianwu said made sense, and his reluctance to guard the South Five Regions also had sufficient reason.

However, it was absolutely necessary to have a powerful figure guarding the South Five Regions.

If no strong person were to guard it, the ordinary Mutated Beings within the domain, members of the task groups, and ordinary humans would be slaughtered immediately.

After thinking for a moment, Great Leader Wu Jie swept his gaze over the only female elder among the four, Fang Ying, "How about this, I'll have Fang Ying join you in guarding the South Five Regions, supporting each other, what do you say? Fang Ying, what about you?"

"Forget it!"

Xu Qianwu waved his hand dismissively and turned to Fang Ying.

Being assigned by the Great Leader to guard, it wasn't possible not to go. With Fang Ying's assistance, the Curse Son wouldn't be as terrifying.

Even if they couldn't defeat him, with Fang Ying joining forces, the two of them could still find a way to escape.

The only female elder, Fang Ying, had attained her Dao as a Yin Spirit during the Song Dynasty, and even though she looked to be just a young lady, she was actually over a thousand years old.

Like Xu Qianwu and Mei Jun, she was also injured, bearing the Judge Position, yet her entire body seemed transparent, a result of losing her own Judge Pen associated with her Rank and suffering damage to her divine spirit.

"I follow the Great Leader's assignment," Fang Ying's demeanor proved to be much more gentle as she calmly agreed to Wu Jie's proposal.

"Gu Hui, what about you? I remember your son's Yin Spirit was taken by the Life and Death Sect, any news?"

Satisfied, Great Leader Wu Jie nodded to Fang Ying, then followed by looking at the last of the four elders—Gu Hui.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.