Chapter 844: Chapter 844

Although Gui Zhen was astonishingly powerful in battle, he still did not want to openly oppose the military.

Even if your martial artist's cultivation defies the heavens, no matter how powerful, it absolutely cannot match the might of tanks and missiles that could wipe out your whole sect with a single missile.

Therefore, Gui Zhen chose to flee at this time.

Watching Gui Zhen disappear on the spot, Ding Fan's body weakened and he collapsed directly onto the ground.

The combat strength of Gui Zhen was simply too shocking; after two head-on confrontations, Ding Fan had reached his limit. If there were to be another strike of inner strength like the previous ones, then Ding Fan would undoubtedly be unable to defend himself and would be directly obliterated by his opponent.

Ding Fan immediately sat down cross-legged and began calming the rampant True Qi inside his body.

Before long, Ding Fan's location was filled with soldiers and six armored vehicles.

"Ding Fan... how are you?"

Ding Fan recognized this voice as very familiar, and he slowly ended his cultivation practice and opened his eyes.

The person standing before Ding Fan was none other than Shen Wanqing, Elder Shen, the team leader of Team 3567.

"Elder Shen? How did you get here?" Ding Fan was somewhat puzzled.

Shen Wanqing did not answer Ding Fan's question, and after sizing him up, he said to Ding Fan, "You kid did well, clashing head-on with someone from the Hidden Sects and still surviving."

Upon hearing this term, Ding Fan was slightly taken aback, as it was the first time he'd heard this term.

"What is that?" Ding Fan asked.

"Ding Fan, this isn't the place to talk—we should find a quiet place first," Elder Shen suggested to Ding Fan.

Ding Fan nodded his head.

Elder Shen then left a subordinate to handle the situation here, while he and Ding Fan entered a small grove near the epidemic zone.

It was already dark, and the grove was very quiet, with nobody around.

"Elder Shen, how come you are here?" Ding Fan asked.

"Last time when you mentioned that the epidemic was man-made, we already took it very seriously. Recently, we received some information, so I wanted to come and discuss it with you. But when I went to your place, your disciple said you had just left. I felt that something was wrong, and when continuous booming sounds erupted here, I brought the troops stationed nearby..." Elder Shen elaborated.

Ding Fan nodded his head. "Elder Shen, what you just mentioned about the Hidden Sects, what is that?"

This was the first time Ding Fan had encountered this term.

Elder Shen explained, "This is some information we just found out, and precisely what I wanted to discuss with you."

Elder Shen paused for a moment, then continued. "Actually, the Ancient Martial World has always been divided into Inner Hidden Sects and Outer Hidden Sects. Inner Hidden Sects have their own forbidden lands, remained isolated from the outer world, and pursued self-cultivation without worldly concerns... You must remember 'The Peach Blossom Spring' essay."

Ding Fan nodded. 'The Peach Blossom Spring' tells of a person who got lost and entered a brand new world where the inhabitants were unaware of the outside world. It was a place of peace and thriving prosperity.

"That 'Peach Blossom Spring' exists, but it was just inadvertently discovered by ancient people," Elder Shen continued.

Ding Fan nodded, having considered this theory before.

"So how are the Inner and Outer Hidden Sects divided?" Ding Fan asked.

Elder Shen explained, "Outer Hidden Sects generally refer to those that communicate with the Secular World; these Outer Hidden Sects are more like gang forces. Currently, the most powerful Outer Hidden Sects are the Upper Xuan Sect and the Myriad Poison Sect..."

Ding Fan nodded in understanding, having previously considered Upper Xuan Sect and Myriad Poison Sect to be very formidable Great Gate Sects. However, since the appearance of the Immortal Sect and Ghost Sect, Ding Fan felt that these two sects were incomparable to the Hidden Sects...

Without waiting for Ding Fan to ask further, Elder Shen continued directly, "And the so-called Inner Hidden Sects, they have their own independent worlds, cultures, even distinct governance structures... We currently know of only three families in the Inner Hidden Sects: Immortal Sect, Spirit Sect, and Ghost Sect!"

Ding Fan had previously heard Ruan Yuan mention that their ancestors had hidden away from wars and then lived outside the world, so Elder Shen's words were quite easy for Ding Fan to accept.

"Now we have also investigated and found out that this epidemic was indeed man-made, and moreover, it was the doing of the Ghost Sect," Elder Shen stated.

At this point, Ding Fan began to admire Elder Shen's ability to investigate the Hidden Sects. But, considering the power of the national machinery and advanced technology, it wasn't surprising.

"Ding Fan, you are really bold to dare clash with people from Ghost Sect..." Elder Shen said this and couldn't help but give a wry smile and shake his head.

The people from the Hidden Sects were extraordinarily strong—they were fierce characters who could devastate heaven and earth.

And yet Ding Fan had managed to clash with someone from Ghost Sect and still survived; looking at it this way, it was incredibly unbelievable...

"Now that we know it was the doing of Ghost Sect's people, how do you plan to handle it?" Ding Fan asked at that moment.

"We still have some contacts with people from Spirit Sect among the Inner Hidden Sects, and now we can only communicate with Ghost Sect through people from Spirit Sect, asking them not to continue their evil deeds..." Elder Shen sighed somewhat helplessly at this time.

The fact that it has been proved to be the work of Ghost Sect means that those involved should be captured and subject to strict discipline.

But the current situation is such that the military does not want to rashly go to war with Ghost Sect people, as once a war starts the impact could be too significant, potentially plunging the entire Huaxia Country into disaster.

Therefore, now they can only resort to appeasement.

After listening to Elder Shen's words, Ding Fan nodded his head. What surprised Ding Fan was that Elder Shen could actually make contact with people from the Spirit Sect.

"Elder Shen, could you let me meet someone from Spirit Sect when you have the time?" Ding Fan asked.

Elder Shen looked at Ding Fan unexpectedly. Seeing Ding Fan's sincere face, Elder Shen nodded. "I'll try to arrange it, but the people from the Hidden Sects are quite peculiar..."

Ding Fan wanted to meet someone from the Spirit Sect to fulfill Wen Yizhou's last wish.

"However, Ding Fan, there's significant international attention on this mutated Black Death virus, and we're under a lot of pressure from the outside world. The leaders all hope for a quick resolution to this epidemic," Elder Shen said.

Previously, the Black Death virus claimed the lives of tens of millions on Earth, so naturally, its mutated resurgence has garnered significant international attention...

"Ding Fan, we still need your help with this," Elder Shen said.

Elder Shen was aware of Ding Fan's level of proficiency in alchemy, and it seemed that currently, only Ding Fan's intervention could help. After all, it was Ding Fan who had healed the Number Five Leader.

Ding Fan and Elder Shen chatted about some other less important matters, and then the two of them returned to the hospital together.

When Ding Fan returned to his tent, Sun Qi was still there, working on developing Pills to control the mutated Black Death virus. Because Ding Fan had helped find the White Lotus Root, making the Pills wasn't such a difficult task.

Having been injured in the battle with Gui Zhen, Ding Fan didn't pay attention to other things and immediately sat cross-legged to heal his injuries through cultivation.

The night passed without incident, and when Ding Fan opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.

Just as Ding Fan opened his eyes, he smelled a very fragrant scent.

Ding Fan looked towards it and saw the fragrance was coming from the Pills being refined by Sun Qi in the tent.

At that moment, Sun Qi's eyes were filled with tension. Read complete versıon only at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩

Ding Fan used his Divine Sense to check the inside of the Pill Furnace.

The Pills within this Pill Furnace were nearly formed. In Ding Fan's view, if these Pills were successful, they would be the main Medicine Pills to combat the mutated Black Death virus.

Yesterday, Ding Fan had explained how to control the flames to Sun Qi, so now Sun Qi was quite skilled in managing the fire.

It was precisely because of the controlled flame size and temperature that the quality of the Pills in the Pill Furnace had improved significantly.

At that moment, Ding Fan suddenly realized that Sun Qi was trying to increase the flames.

Ding Fan hesitated; he used his Divine Sense to investigate and found that the Qi inside the Pill Furnace was accumulating. Sun Qi's intention was probably to use a large flame to promote the movement of the Qi in the furnace, thereby reducing the pressure inside.

However, this would alter the quality of the Pills inside the Furnace.

"Steady the flame, keep your focus not on the pressure inside the furnace but on controlling the fire... The flames must be steady and small," Ding Fan said urgently.

Seeing Ding Fan speak, Sun Qi didn't dare to continue fanning the flames with his Inner Strength, instead he carefully followed Ding Fan's instructions to maintain the fire's stability.

"Use your Inner Strength to steady the Pill Furnace's crucible, and prevent the pressure from blowing it off," Ding Fan spoke again.

Immediately, Sun Qi followed Ding Fan's guidance, using his Inner Strength to control the crucible of the Pill Furnace.

As the pressure inside the Pill Furnace grew, so did the pressure on the crucible. Ultimately, if not for Sun Qi's Inner Strength protecting the crucible, it would have been blown off by the internal pressure.

Although Sun Qi had controlled it, he was finding it very strenuous.

First, he had to stabilize the flame and then the crucible. Sun Qi felt somewhat overwhelmed.

"Calm your mind, let your heart settle down, and the flames will steady with your emotions," Ding Fan said, reminding him.

Sun Qi looked at the flames under the crucible, indeed the flames began to flicker unstably. It was clear that the flame was affected by his anxious mood, as he struggled to maintain control.

At that moment, Sun Qi managed to calm his mind, and the flickering flames began to stabilize...

As time passed, another twenty minutes went by...

By now, Sun Qi was covered in sweat, his clothes soaked through.

"Alright, quench the flame... focus all your attention on the crucible and gradually release the pressure inside the Pill Furnace," Ding Fan reminded him.

Sun Qi raised his right hand, and the flame beneath the Pill Furnace was immediately extinguished, then he focused all his attention on the crucible.

Ssss... The pressure in the Pill Furnace escaped through a small crack, continuously rushing out.

It was now the most critical moment, so at this time, Sun Qi dared not be careless...

After about five or six minutes, Sun Qi had finally removed all the pressure inside the Pill Furnace.

"Open the furnace," Ding Fan said.

Very cautiously, Sun Qi opened the Pill Furnace, and as soon as it was opened, a clear fragrance filled the inside of the tent.

Then, Sun Qi carefully took out the Pills that had been refined inside the Pill Furnace.

When Sun Qi saw the refined Pills, his eyes widened.

"I... I actually... managed to refine Second Grade Pills..."...