<h4>Chapter 1142: The 73 Immortals</h4>


    All of the nation''s most advanced Yin spirit resistance weapons and most powerful cultivators were gathered in the Special Investigations Department branch of the capital city. However, no one was in the mood to make any small talk.


    Everyone in the building was wearing crisp, yellow uniforms that were simr to military uniforms from the republic era. After close to 20 years of development, particrly the several reforms that the Special Investigations Department had gone through, the uniforms were no longer restricted to just camouge designs.


    Among all of the people present, even the lowest-ranking ones were wearing major general epaulets.


    As the door was closed, the elderly man that was seated at the head of the table, resting with his eyes closed, finally opened his eyes. He was clearly quite advanced in age, but he certainly wasn''t disying much frailty, and despite his thin figure, he stood as straight and resolute as a strong tree. The stars of the general epaulets on his shoulders were giving off a cold gleam, further contributing to his authoritative aura, which was naturally permeating throughout the entire conference hall.


    He gently tapped the table, then wasted no time in cutting to the chase. "Let''s begin the meeting. Firstly, I must make something clear: during the Ghost Encounter Hour tonight, Ghost King Zhao of Hell will be entering our capital city. At 12 AM, Yin soldiers of Hell will be arriving in our realm, and tomorrow night, Yanluo Qin and the Reincarnation King will arrive in the capital city together. This information was provided directly to me by Ksitigarbha and the city god."


    He swept his gaze around the room, then continued, "ording to our reports, a being above the Yama-King level is currently lurking in our capital city, and it''s suspected to be closely rted to the Yiguandao."


    Many of the older people present immediately raised their heads upon hearing mention of the Yiguandao, and a cold look appeared in their eyes.


    Most of the younger generation had only heard of the Falun Gong, but only those who had experienced the republic era knew just how powerful the Yiguandao had be during its heyday.


    "I never thought I would hear that name again..." an elderly lieutenant general sighed. "Having said that, it''s only to be expected that there are still some residual remnants from what was once such a powerful organization."


    As soon as his voice trailed off, the lieutenant general turned to the side, and an assistant immediately opened a file. "Many years ago, the leader of the Yiguandao, Zheng Guangbi, fled to Lotus City, then died from illness. After that, the Yiguandao was split, dividing into the Master Branch and the Mistress Branch. This was a key reason behind why we were able to strike down the Yiguandao in one fell swoop during the 1950s. After close to 20 years of intense investigation carried out by the Special Investigations Department, it was confirmed that there are supernatural forces present in the Yiguandao, and that both the Master Branch and the Mistress Branch revere a single figure known as the Many-faced God. In the underworld, it is referred to as the inner demon. ording to our historical records, the most recent entity rted to the inner demon was the White Lotus Sect, a cult from the republic era. Their godmother, the virgin mother, was also known as the Many-faced God. ording to our investigation, that being was at least above the Yama-King level!"


    No one said anything.


    The thought of a being above the Yama-King level lurking in the mortal realm was an extremely disturbing one.


    After a long silence, the general said, "There shouldn''t be much of their forces left behind. Most of their followers were arrested or killed, and there are historical reasons for the rise of the Yiguandao. At the time, the average education standard for the poption was quiteckluster, and if you ask me, the Yiguandao would struggle to attract many followers in the present day."


    What he was implying here was that it was perhaps overkill for Hell to be sending out a being above the Yama-King level and two Yama-Kings.


    If a battle were to ensue between the three of them, the entire capital city would most likely instantly be reduced to a city of death, and no one could afford to take that risk!


    The mayor and municipal partymittee secretary of the capital city, who were also present, were both silent with grim looks on their faces.


    The assistant turned over the page, then hesitated momentarily before pulling out a stack of papers.


    There were probably several dozen sheets of paper in total, all of which were yellow with age. He ced the stack respectfully down onto the table, then quickly backed away.


    Before the general had even reached out, the municipal partymittee secretary, Zhang Junliang, had already grabbed them. As he cast his gaze toward the sheet of paper in front of him, he was greeted by the sight of an image that he couldn''t understand, beneath which were the words "White Phoenix Immortal" written in blood-red text.


    It was clearly apletely unremarkable image, yet the more Zhang Junliang looked at it, the more his blood was beginning to churn, and he felt as if his soul were leaving his own body.


    It was impossible to describe this sensation... It was as if all of his emotions had been stimted at once, forming a chaotic cocktail that spilled through his mind. It was as if he had experienced all of the emotions that the human body had to offer in the span of just an instant.


    By the time he set down the sheet of paper, he had a smile on his face, yet tears were also flowing incessantly.


    "What the hell is this?" He tossed the piece of paper onto the table as if he had been electrocuted. "Is it a curse?"


    "No," a major general from the Special Investigations Department said with a grim expression as he cast his gaze toward the piece of paper. "It''s... a name."


    He swept his gaze around the room as he continued, "There was a certain incident recorded in file S0000 of the Special Investigations Department''s S-rank archives. For all those who were around during the republic era, do you recall why the national government was so insistent on weeding out the Yiguandao?"


    "It''s because its existence didn''t make sense," the general replied.


    "I''m not referring to that, what I''m asking is what made the government finally make up its mind to strike at the Yiguandao?" the major general said in a grim voice. "Does anyone still remember the poem verse ''smoke billows from the drum tower, tears fall from the stone lion, chaotic times will soon arrive''?"


    "I do." The one who spoke on this asion was another elderly general. There wasn''t much room for the younger generation to contribute during this meeting.


    "This was a verse from a poem written by the Yiguandao, implying that our party wouldn''t be able to maintain a stable hold over Cathay. What a joke that was!" The elderly general had a scar on his face, and hepletely ignored the "Smoke Free" signs in the hall as he pulled out a cigarette before lighting it. "Smoke did indeed billow out of the drum tower, but it was verified that this ''smoke'' was actually a swarm of insects that gathered at the top of the building. Why do you mention this now? Has the Special Investigations Department discovered something else?"


    The major general from the Special Investigations Department also lit a cigarette before taking a deep draw of it.


    "I wish it was as simple as that. This poem was written back when the Mistress Sun Suzhen of the Yiguandao''s Mistress Branch came to the capital city to summon immortals. Do you know how many immortals she summoned at the time?"


    At this point, everyone had already realized something, and their smiles had all faded. The general was looking at the major general with a grim expression as he asked, "How many?"


    "73," the major general replied as he snuffed out his cigarette. "All of those immortals are drawn on these sheets of paper. To be honest, even I wouldn''t have been able to recall them if I hadn''t seen these drawings."


    Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, and he took a deep breath before continuing, "At the time, the only things left behind at the site were these pieces of paper... Also, all of the things at the sites where the immortals were summoned disappeared!"


    Everyone continued to remain silent, but everyone had suddenly been beset by a bone-chilling sensation.


    A pronounced sense of foreboding had welled up in everyone''s hearts, and the general at the head of the table gulped slightly before asking, "Can you tell us the specific details?"


    "It was too long ago, so I can''t recall exactly what happened. At the time, I was only a section chief under Director Lei," the major general replied with a wry smile. "However, I do recall the changes that took ce in the areas near ours. In our area, we had an incense maiden temple. It wasn''t veryrge, nor had it been constructed by a renowned organization. After the summoning of the immortals, the incense maiden worshiped in the temple inexplicably disappeared. In the nearby areas, most of the things that disappeared were other statues or some other types of ancient artifacts. At the time, the Special Investigation Department had set up a designated section to investigate this case. Do you know what the oue of the investigation was?"


    A hint of lingering fear appeared in his eyes as he concluded, "Those statues... had gone off on their own!"


    Zhang Junliang''s lighter slipped out of his hand before ttering onto the table. It wasn''t a very loud sound, but it was enough to make everyone jump in their seats a little.


    It was like feeling a caress on the back in the inky-ck night, and one couldn''t help but be struck by an inexplicable sense of fear.


    "They went off on their own?" Zhang Junliang asked for confirmation.


    "That''s right." The major general''s expression showed that he was dead serious, and he looked into everyone''s eyes as he continued, "There were clear footprints on the ground, and there were no signs of this Sun Suzhen, even during the coup of the Yiguandao in 1950. Those who disappeared alongside her included the Senior Disciple Brother, Zhang Wufu, and the Master, Ye Xianzu, who is also the very same person as the Ye Xianguo who appeared at the Lin Family Mansion."


    That begged the question of whether the Senior Disciple Brother, the Master, and the Mistress of the Yiguandao were truly dead.


    If not, then where had they gone?


    Everyone was silent for a long while before the general finally spoke again. "Yanluo Qin has stayed in the Special Investigations Department in the past, and he should''ve seen these records at the time. After all, those case records are made publicly avable to those in the Special Investigations Department. Perhaps it''s exactly because of this that he decided to bring along two of the most powerful beings of Hell with him."


    Also, the three of them were visiting the capital city in person, so did this mean that the Many-faced God, the inner demon, was also in this city?


    If that were the case, then would those 73 immortals emerge from the mysterious folds of history once again?


    Had the remnants of the Yiguandao also gathered here?


    Zhang Junliang massaged his own temples vigorously. Never did he think that such a major event would take ce under his watch!


    If both the Yiguandao and Hell were involved, then if anything were to go wrong, the entire city could be at risk!


    However, as the municipal partymittee secretary of the capital city, he certainly wasn''tcking in courage and decisiveness. He gritted his teeth as he turned tomunicate wordlessly with the city''s mayor, then mustered up his determination as he said in a serious voice, "All of the city''s police and military forces will ensure that the city is sufficiently defended."


    As soon as his voice trailed off, the mayor immediately said, "We''ll be holding a standingmittee meeting, and over the next two days, we''ll do our best to prohibit the citizens of the city from leaving their homes. At the same time, we''ll be entering an urgent state of war readiness."


    For the capital city, the financial heart of the nation, it would be extremely costly to have it cease to function for an entire day, but they had no choice but to do this.


    This was the biggest challenge that the mortal realm was going to face since the supernatural disasters.


    "Good." The general rose to his feet and said, "This meeting was held to inform everyone of the ongoing situation. Everyone must be united and work as one for us to weather this storm. Director Zheng Shuguo will be arriving tonight, and when the timees, I hope everyone will remain vignt at their posts. Director Zheng Shuguo has extensive experience inbating supernatural forces, and he was rmended as sessor by the former director, Lei Jun, so he''s definitely capable and worthy of our trust."


    This was a prophctic meeting designed to put everyone on the same page. During the next two days, the power hierarchy had to be clearly established, with Zheng Shuguo holding paramount power in the capital city. Only then would they be able to avoid issues caused by a confusion in leadership roles.


    Thus, the meeting was concluded.


    Everyone departed one after another, and Zhang Junliang and the mayor, Ji Changqing, were walking along the corridor in silence.


    They were the two top dogs of the capital city, and they definitely couldn''t allow anything to go wrong under their watch.


    "Changqing, I request that you gather the municipal standingmittee right away to hold an emergency meeting!" Zhang Junliang said.


    "Alright, I''ll prepare that right away." Ji Changqing didn''t waste any time with words and immediately departed.


    Thus, Zhang Junliang was left on his own in the corridor, and he stood on the spot for a while in silence, then suddenly turned toward another direction.