They both had a good relationship with Liang Yi; Zhou Wudao had once been saved by Liang Yi, and Zhou Zuixi also owed Liang Yi a great deal of favor from their time in the Blood Demon Secret Realm.

"Master Liang, Master Su, how have you been lately?"

Following Zhou Wudao and Zhou Zuixi was Zen's Hui Zhi, who clasped his hands together, smiled at Liang Yi and Su Youyi, and slightly bowed in a Buddhist salute.

"The three of you look in good spirits, thank you for looking after Youyi previously."

Liang Yi smiled and nodded in response.

The central battlefield against the Abyss was mainly supported by the Xuanzhou Immortal Dynasty and Zen. During Su Youyi's year-long training there, she was well-cared for by Zhou Wudao and Zhou Zuixi, with many dangerous situations resolved by the timely arrival of the great cultivators from Xuanzhou Immortal Dynasty and Zen.

Later, Su Youyi found out that it was Zhou Wudao and Hui Zhi who had specifically instructed this, as a way to repay Liang Yi.

"There were a few times when I indeed fell into enemy traps due to my oversight, thank you all for sending help."

Su Youyi recalled the aid from Zhou Wudao and Hui Zhi, sincerely expressing her gratitude.

Though those dangers did not threaten her life, since they had extended their help, Su Youyi naturally wouldn't complain about their kindness.

"Master Su, you are too kind, but I didn't expect that in the end, Master Liang and Zhiqing would still be a step ahead..."

Hui Zhi sighed with a hint of regret on his face, feeling somewhat unwilling, but he genuinely accepted that the two had reached the Eighth Realm before them.

"Little Master Hui Zhi, it doesn't look like you're too far off now, right?"

Liang Yi sensed Hui Zhi's aura and found his Buddhist aura concealed yet profound, every movement and stillness was like a deep ocean, even just standing there doing nothing gave off an aura of a grand Buddha lightly smiling while holding a flower.

"It's rumored that Hui Zhi was born with a Buddhistic heart and bones, accompanied by falling heavenly flowers during his birth, and the Zen's thousand bells tolled mysteriously, truly extraordinary!"

Liang Yi inwardly pondered; Zen, like the Xuanzhou Immortal Dynasty, mainly focused on body cultivation— not to say that their offensive power is weak, but indeed, they lean more towards defense.

With his current strength, even with an overwhelming realm advantage, it would be challenging to breach Hui Zhi's defense during a sparring session. That turtle shell was extremely tough; even his master had praised it without end. If truly cultivated to completion, it might even rival the Black Tortoise.

But if it were a matter of life and death, he was confident in breaking Hui Zhi's boundless golden body within three strikes!

"Although that realm is within reach, stepping into it still requires a bit of opportunity."

Hui Zhi clasped his hands together, a trace of bitterness on his face.

He had a premonition that if he wanted to break through, it would inevitably be like He Zhiqing— facing an Abyss Cultivator of substantial weight, powerful enough to challenge life and death, seeking that critical spiritual insight.

But fate does not always follow one's wishes; just as he had found a suitable target and was about to make his move, the Abyss forces disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Hui Zhi couldn't even catch up.

"Perhaps this is destiny."

Hui Zhi calmed the slight upheaval in his heart, accepting the good with the bad. Besides, with his talents, even if he temporarily lost that opportunity, he could still break the shackles with his own strength in the near future.

"Bodhi, your disciple does have a commendable temperament! Why don't you let him"

Seeing Hui Zhi's demeanor, Zhou Zhukong, the Immortal Emperor of Xuanzhou, suddenly made a jesting remark toward Master Bodhi, the leader of Zen.

"Amitabha! Master Zhou, are you suggesting to try your Imperial Dragon Fist against this old man's six-foot golden body?"

Master Bodhi's thick white beard quivered, as if he wanted to say some crude words, but fortunately, his strong disposition prevailed, and he smoothed his emotions with a chant of the Buddha's name. Although he didn't curse out loud, his attitude made his feelings clear.

Hui Zhi was an exceptional Buddhist disciple, a once-in-a-millennium talent for Zen. Now that Zen had faced great turmoil, and the Northern Desert sects had been forced to abandon their posts, to say that it hadn't impacted the sect's strength was nonsensical, the effect was, in fact, significant.

As the powers on the Mystical Mechanism Continent developed vigorously, many first-class forces had their eyes on the position of a Super Force. If Zen showed signs of weak performance or severe weakening in strength, others wouldn't be courteous and would definitely take the first opportunity to pull Zen down from the position of a Super Force.

However, fortunately, Zen's millennia of heritage weren't for naught; even though the Northern Desert was occupied by the Abyss, impacting them significantly, at most, they'd lost some resources.

Whether it was the legacy of Zen or its disciples, these remained intact to this day.

Moreover, the reason Bodhi was not panicking was precisely because of Hui Zhi. As long as Hui Zhi continued to grow, even if Zen fell from the position of a Super Force, it could certainly regain it in the future.

Zhou Zhukong seems to be joking, but he probably has really taken a fancy to Hui Zhi. After all, being able to practice Zen cultivation techniques certainly complements the Body Cultivation Technique of Xuanzhou.

Both Prince Zhou Wudao and Zhou Zuixi make no attempt to hide their reluctance to inherit the imperial throne, infuriating Zhou Zhukong so much that he itches to expel these rebellious sons from Xuanzhou at once.

But doing so would just fulfill these rebellious sons' wishes, as they would probably be more than happy to be driven away and then lead carefree and unburdened lives.

Thus, it goes without saying how envious Zhou Zhukong feels when he sees a well-mannered and obedient disciple like Hui Zhi.

Among the heirs of the eight Super Forces, the only ones who could satisfy everyone with their personality were He Zhiqing and Hui Zhi; the others had more or less some issues with their personalities.

"Ha ha, just kidding. Do you think that's the kind of person I am?"

Zhou Zhukong's hearty laughter echoed throughout the grand hall, sounding very robust.

Hearing this, Chen Hua, Fang Zhi, and Zhou Yuzhi simultaneously rolled their eyes. As an emperor of the Immortal Dynasty, Zhou Zhukong had to have a thick skin to sit in that position, so it was clear to everyone how much truth was mixed into his previous words.

"Master, did you specifically keep us behind to discuss something privately?"

Liang Yi watched the conversation drift further off-topic; whenever these people gathered, it completely turned into an old folks' chat, and he suspected that during the previous conversation behind the light screen, this group might just have been chatting.

Having no other choice, Liang Yi felt obliged to steer the conversation back on track.

"Oh yes, indeed, keeping you here does involve another matter."

Chen Hua snapped back to reality, annoyed smacking his forehead, as he felt his intelligence drop in the company of this group and was contemplating leaving the group to preserve his IQ.

As serious matters were mentioned, everyone stopped joking and turned solemn.

"Before I explain what it is, there are some situations you need to be aware of."

Chen Hua focused his gaze particularly on the Prince Zhou Wudao and Zhou Zuixi, alongside Hui Zhi, the thoughtful He Zhiqing, and Yu Gejing.

Liang Yi, Su Youyi, and Yue Bai tensed up, guessing what Chen Hua was about to reveal.

Sure enough, Chen Hua painstakingly recounted the changes and reasons that had occurred in the Abyss, even emphasizing the consequences when the Abyss continually grew stronger.

Upon hearing this news, aside from He Zhiqing and Yu Gejing, who had been previously shocked by Liang Yi's narrative, the other three people were profoundly stunned.

"The Abyss has found a way to grow stronger, and the Heavenly Dao hasn't yet?"

"The sudden defensive move of the Abyss Army is due to this reason, and not something else?"

"I can't believe the situation has become so dire already!"

Prince Zhou Wudao, Zhou Zuixi, and Hui Zhi wore heavy expressions, digesting the news that could overturn the destiny of Xuanzhou.

They had thought the situation was still within controllable limits, but it turned out to be a bolt from the blue, striking them like a heart attack.

The current situation was like an unbridled wild horse, sliding step by step towards a bottomless abyss.

"You two already heard about this from Liang Yi?"

Seeing the "as expected" expression on He Zhiqing and Yu Gejing's faces, Chen Hua guessed that they probably had already been informed about this by Liang Yi.

"Yes, the junior just learned about it."

"The junior was also shocked when I first heard it..."

He Zhiqing and Yu Gejing looked at the disconsolate expressions of Prince Zhou Wudao and the others, and couldn't help but think of their own initial reactions.

"Now that you know the truth, I'll tell you specifically what I wanted to tell you alone."

Chen Hua nodded and didn't give Zhou Wudao and the others more time to digest, wearing a serious expression as he continued.