At the very center of Haotian City stands the Harmony Light Hall, named with the meaning of blending in harmony with the dust.

If Haotian City is the central hub of Bingzhou's Haotian Alliance, then Harmony Light Hall is the core of that hub, as it's where the Elder Council resides.

Usually, whenever something significant occurs in Bingzhou, the Elder Council convenes for a meeting to discuss and handle it. The number of elders in the council isn't fixed, sometimes more, sometimes fewer, because some hold the title but aren't often present in Haotian City.

Like the sect master back then.

If not for the future of the disciples, the sect master wouldn't have come to the Harmony Light Hall at such an age to exhaust himself.

Though elders like the sect master are few, there are still several.

On ordinary days, except for one or two elders on duty, Harmony Light Hall is mostly empty, and no one disturbs them; there are various departments within the Haotian Alliance, and if anything arises, the departments can handle it.

The Elder Council doesn't have many specific responsibilities, merely overseeing major directions.

However, Harmony Light Hall does have lively moments, with a minor meeting every three months and a major meeting annually, gathering the upper echelons of Bingzhou Haotian Alliance.

Attendance at minor meetings isn't too high, but during major meetings, almost every elder of the council and every Department Chief who is available attends because this major meeting essentially determines the operational direction for the coming year.

Today happens to be the scheduled time for the annual major meeting, from just before 9 am, powerful cultivators arrive from various places and enter the Harmony Light Hall. Most of these cultivators are elderly, some middle-aged, but none are young.

By just before 11 am, the entire hall is filled with nearly thirty people, each holding significant positions within Bingzhou's elite sects. Aside from many elders of the council, all the Department Chiefs of Haotian City have arrived.

At the headseat, Pang Zhen slowly opens his eyes and speaks, "Is everyone here?"

He is the Vice Alliance Hierarch of Haotian Alliance, the Vice Sect Leader of Righteousness Sect, and the Chief Elder of Haotian City's Elder Council. He's the usual host of these major meetings; it is customary.

Someone replies, "Anyone who could come should be here."

There are still some vacant seats, but not appearing at this moment likely means they were bound by other matters, a common occurrence.

Pang Zhen nods slightly, about to speak, then suddenly looks outside. Simultaneously, others also sense a powerful aura rapidly approaching.

Moments later, a Dao bone figure strides in, none other than the sect master Tang Yifeng of Righteous Blood Sect, looking travel-worn, his return from an unknown place. Sample from My Virtual Library Empire—read more on M&VLEMPY&R.

"Exploring ground fissures, I came late and have kept you waiting," the sect master speaks as he seeks his seat.

"Veteran Thang worked hard." Pang Zhen nods slightly, glancing around, continuing, "Most people are here, let's not wait any longer and begin the discussions."

No one objects.

The topics discussed include various changes occurring in Bingzhou over the past year, including troop deployments, personnel casualties, the spread of insect plague, etc. The Nine Provinces now face complex situations, and those present have immeasurably more issues to deal with than before.

New topics continuously arise, with everyone discussing and deciding on solutions. Being strong cultivators at Divine Sea Level 9, they naturally don't bicker like ordinary people and can quickly make decisions.

Each topic gets resolved, leading to discussions about the ground fissures.

The insect plague stems from deep underground, a challenging problem for Nine Provinces cultivators since the deeper you go, the denser the origin magnetic field becomes, significantly hindering the cultivators' power.

Therefore, to fundamentally solve the insect plague, it requires delving into the fissures to locate the Insect Race's insect hive for a permanent solution.

The Divine Sea Realm cultivators present have practically all explored the ground fissures, and like the sect master Tang Yifeng, have been searching for safe avenues deeper underground recently, unfortunately without substantive results.

The recent outings of Qian Wudang were also to personally investigate certain major ground fissures.

Currently, all anyone can do is explore as many ground fissures as possible, then consolidate all findings to see if a solution to the insect plague might be discerned.

Various messages are reported, but none offer any striking discoveries, making it quite helpless, yet this is the reality.

Every cultivator present possesses great strength, yet even so, feels insufficient against such a disaster sweeping across their domain.

"Junior Brother Pang, has anything been discovered in other provincial states?" an elder from the council asks.

Pang Zhen shakes his head, "Communicated with the Vice Alliance Leaders of the other provincial states the day before, and they haven't found anything either."

The elder sighs, "This world, when will it ever end?"

Another elder spoke, "The insect disaster has raged for two years now. While it is significant for us cultivators, we can still hold on. However, for the mortals, it's an unbearable pain. If this situation persists for another three to five years, the very foundation of the Nine Provinces cultivation world will surely be shaken."

Under the sweep of the insect disaster, all aspects of mortal life have been severely impacted. Unlike cultivators with profound cultivation, mortals need food, and so do cultivators with lesser cultivation. They cannot use spirit force to supplement their needs. Yet, many fertile lands across the Nine Provinces have been destroyed, with many places having no harvests for two years, relying solely on previous years' stored grains to survive. While cultivators can guard the cities from being overwhelmed by the Insect Race, scenes of mortals starving to death have already emerged in many cities.

Cultivators are closely tied to mortals. If there are too many mortal casualties, it will undoubtedly have an immeasurable impact on the Nine Provinces cultivation world.

This is also one of the reasons that the Haotian Alliance and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge have tacitly stopped conflicts in the past two years. Compared to the future of the entire cultivation world, the confrontation that has lasted for thousands of years seems less significant.

"We still need to find a way to safely delve deep underground."

"There's an origin magnetic field underground; the deeper one goes, the weaker a cultivator's power becomes. This is an unresolved dilemma."

"Veteran Thang, have you discovered anything this time?" Pang Zhen looked at the sect master.

The sect master shook his head, "This time, I ventured ten thousand meters underground. I saw the Insect Race but not the insect hive." At ten thousand meters depth, the sect master's cultivation was suppressed to seventy percent, and there were many Divine Sea Realm insects below. Although many were slain, the insects seemed endless, compelling a forced retreat.

"Then let's keep searching. Heaven always leaves a path; the Nine Provinces cultivation world cannot end with our generation."

The sect master nodded and was about to leave. Generally, when the grand meeting reaches this point, it should end. Having received news a month ago that his most promising disciple returned safely, he had long wanted to see him.

But what surprised the sect master was that the people who were supposed to disperse remained seated, not moving at all.

The sect master also paused, sensing that there might still be matters needing discussion.

A month had passed, so there was no rush at this moment, so he stayed to observe quietly.

A bizarre scene unfolded; everyone sat silently, with not even Pang Zhen at the head speaking.

What happened? Doubts arose in the sect master's mind.

"Is everyone holding back?" someone suddenly spoke. The sect master looked up and saw it was Chief Chow from the Military Supplies Department.

The sect master was greatly surprised because that department rarely spoke at meetings. Their job was managing military supplies, simply needing to perform their duties. Usually, others sought them out, and they rarely made requests, whether in the mortal or cultivation world. Those who managed money and resources were always in high demand, so it was unexpected what the Military Supplies Department had to say today.

"Fine, if you're all holding back like mute people, then I'll start!" Chow Ye said, brushing the table with his hand, causing several objects resembling array discs to appear on the table.

Everyone immediately looked over, and the sect master keenly noticed their gazes became somewhat fervent, like hungry wolves seeing prey.

"Recently, some array discs like these appeared in Bingzhou. Heh, I reckon many of you have already heard of them."

Some who hadn't heard of them, due to the discs' limited emergence a month ago and scant circulation, asked, "Chief Chow, what is the use of these array discs?"

"Can't you just see for yourself?" Chow Ye smiled slightly.

That speaker raised a hand to pick up an array disc, while others unaware also each took one. The sect master wanted one but was too late as the discs were all taken.

The Divine Sea Realm cultivators who got the discs infused them with spirit force, and next moment, a slight humming sound arose, releasing a layer of halo.

The range of one disc's coverage was ten meters square. Several discs positioned differently encompassed everyone present.

Those who understood knew their expressions didn't change, but those witnessing the function of these discs for the first time raised their eyebrows, feeling the mysterious power within.

"What kind of array disc is this, so remarkable?" exclaimed the first Divine Sea Realm cultivator who spoke, though it was their first experience, they immediately perceived many miraculous uses of the disc.

Thoughts swirled in their minds, almost envisioning their side's cultivators wreaking havoc on the battlefield with such discs.

"This is the As-Close-As-Siblings Array Disc, containing the As-Close-As-Siblings Spirit Runes," Chow Ye explained. "Among you here, knowledgeable and widely experienced, is there anyone who has heard of such a spirit rune in the world?"

Everyone shook their head. Before these array discs appeared, no one had heard of such a mystical spirit rune.

"Only can say that talent appears in every era; the younger generation is formidable," Chow Ye sighed with admiration.

"Chief Chow, were these array discs refined by your Military Supplies Department?" If so, they could be widely promoted, potentially bolstering their side's cultivators' power significantly, which would be immensely important given the current situation.

"How could my Military Supplies Department possess such talent," Chow Ye replied somewhat sarcastically, glancing suggestively at Qian Wudang not far away.