My construction materials are weird

"Is this how you arranged things?"

Within the Merit Hall, a different scene unfolded.

Sun Tong was in a furious rage, unleashing a barrage of criticism upon the representatives of the Four Great Sects and Eight Houses.

"It was our mistake."

After Sun Tong finished speaking, Yan Lai stepped forward and said.

"We underestimated the methods of the foreign sacred beings. We initially thought they were using spirit masters to deploy them, but it seems they are using disposable, self-detonating units. We did not anticipate this."

Sun Tong remained noncommittal; his earlier scolding of the crowd was merely a matter of routine.

As the Grand Manager, if those below didn't perform well, even if it wasn't entirely their fault, criticism was necessary.

Before the Xuan Master went into seclusion, he had entrusted Qingyun Mountain to her management. How could she not be angry at such a major incident?

"Stop with the useless talk. How do you plan to compensate?" Sun Tong asked.

"Grand Manager, there are many ways to compensate. The reason for this unexpected incident is purely because we didn't expect the foreign sacred beings to be so ruthless, using this method of deployment. Now that we know the deployment method, we will change our previous plan, focusing on suppression rather than attack."

"We have already issued new instructions to the experts going to provide support, as well as to the teleportation hubs that haven't been deployed to yet, prioritizing suppression after the monsters appear."

Sun Tong nodded and asked, "How will you suppress them? The cultivation levels of these monsters aren't weak. Although they lack intelligence, they can still self-destruct upon deployment."

"That is indeed the case, but we have also come up with a solution. They are not afraid of consumption, so we can only consume them in kind. They are consuming monsters, and we are consuming storage bags," Yan Lai said.

Upon hearing this, Sun Tong understood.

It was simply a matter of collecting the descending monsters into storage bags.

However, storage bags, especially the most common type, cannot contain living beings.

Monsters are also living beings, and entering would cause the storage space of the storage bag to be unable to bear the load and explode.

But there was a benefit: the explosion doesn't happen in reality, but in the spatial currents.

It's as if the explosion occurs in the turbulent layers of space, posing no harm to reality.

The only loss is the waste of a storage bag.

It can only be said that this method is very clever.

It utilizes the storage bag's inability to contain living things, where containing living things will cause it to explode due to overload.

This was the best solution they could think of in a very short time.

From the news coming from various places about the heavy losses, it can be seen that these monsters have a one or two-second delay after appearing.

They speculated that this delay was a characteristic of puppets.

The person behind the scenes controls these monster puppets, causing them to self-destruct upon descent.

But after all, they are puppets, and they need a certain amount of time to receive instructions and initiate self-destruction, which is the key point.

Taking advantage of this short time, they collect the descending monsters into storage bags.

Then they don't care anymore; whether it explodes or not, as long as it doesn't damage the teleportation array.

"Not bad, it's a temporary solution, but not a long-term one. We still need to think of new methods," Sun Tong accepted this answer and asked, "Are the experts you sent to support implementing this opportunity?"

"Grand Manager, not exactly. This method was conceived by Sect Leader Zong of the Weapon Refinement Alliance, but we thought it was very good, so we immediately passed the message through the identity token. Currently, the experts rushing to the teleportation points all know about it."

"Sect Leader Zong's idea is good, worthy of encouragement."

Sun Tong looked at Zong Qicheng and gave his affirmation.

As expected, there were specialists in every field. Storage bags could also be considered a type of weapon, and the professionals were more knowledgeable about weapon refinement.

The fact that Zong Qicheng was the first to think of this obvious method was due to his long-term contact with weapon refinement.

"Thank you for the Grand Manager's praise."

Zong Qicheng hurriedly stepped forward to express his gratitude.

Sun Tong nodded, signaling Zong Qicheng.

She then said, "However, this is not a solution, especially if the array teleportation is damaged. Have you thought about how to restore it?"

"Reporting to the Grand Manager!" Yan Lai said again, "We have also thought about it. To restore the teleportation array as quickly as possible, we need to first clear the infected field, which requires the use of the treasure, the Ghost Ship, bestowed by the Xuan Master. We have already asked Alliance Leader Sun Hui to rush to these teleportation sites."

Sure enough, among the four great leaders present, only Yan Lai and Jiutong were present; Minghui and Sun Hui were not.

The two had already gone together.

"This...?" Yan Lai hesitated for a moment, "Junior Brother Yuan, why don't you explain it, Sect Leader Yuan."

Yan Lai turned his gaze to Yuan Tianchun.

Yuan Tianchun didn't hesitate and immediately stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Grand Manager, we have already stabilized the core at Qingyun Mountain, but because the estimate was wrong, we thought the pollution source was deployed by spirit masters. We didn't expect it to be deployed by self-detonating monsters. Their self-detonation disrupted the field of the mountains and rivers, causing our previous plan to be disrupted..."

The cultivators thought the pollution was deployed by spirit masters.

Such deployment of pollution sources would not truly pollute the mountains and rivers.

Because the cores of various places are connected to Qingyun Mountain, they would be suppressed and digested by Qingyun Mountain as the core.

However, the self-detonating deployment method directly disrupted this plan.

The entire mountain and river field was almost broken by the self-detonation impact, and the previously established connections were naturally shaken and broken.

This was the main reason.

It was as if the previous plan had been rendered useless.

"I understand."

Sun Tong indicated that she understood.

"What about the casualties?"

Now that the cause had been found and a new plan had been formulated, she was relieved.

She began to inquire about the casualties.

"The losses are not small, mainly the casualties among the entry-level cultivators in the teleportation arrays are heavy. The guards we prepared suffered fewer deaths and injuries due to being well-prepared."

Yan Lai said solemnly.

"Alright, handle the aftermath properly. I don't want to hear any complaints, understand?" Sun Tong said.

This was telling them to handle the aftermath properly, compensating those who died or were injured, and handling the funeral arrangements.

After all, these teleportation arrays were built by major forces, and they had benefited from the establishment of the teleportation arrays.

They had also secretly suppressed and acquired some teleportation arrays established by individuals and small forces at their own expense, which was already a form of monopoly.

It's just that this monopoly was not devoured by one family alone, but divided by major and minor forces according to their power.

When something happened, they naturally needed to provide compensation.

The entry-level cultivators spent points to go to the teleportation arrays you built, and they needed to bear the losses.

"Yes, Grand Manager, I will personally preside over the compensation and aftermath work, and do my best to be fair, and there will never be any bad comments," Yan Lai said.

With his statement, Sun Tong was relieved.

This was a guarantee to herself, a guarantee to the Merit Hall, and a guarantee to the Xuan Master through the Merit Hall.

"Through this lesson, you should have realized that this enemy is extraordinary, an existence that cannot be measured by our previous thinking. They will definitely not let this go. First, it was the desolate mountains, then the teleportation array, and next, it will be the bustling cities of the human world. You must be prepared and not repeat this mistake."

She added, "If such losses occur again, and I'm not threatening you, I'll make it clear in front of everyone that if such an accident happens again, I will definitely tell the Xuan Master about your incompetence after he finishes his seclusion."

This was a direct threat, a face-to-face output.

But her position destined her to be such a 'bad guy'.

To be the whip in the Xuan Master's hand, spurring everyone to improve.

After these words, everyone was drenched in cold sweat, feeling immense pressure.

"Humph, don't tell me you're under great pressure, that there are many enemies, that your attention is distracted, and other such reasons. I want to tell you that if you feel too much pressure and can't bear it, you can withdraw from Qingyun Mountain and not shoulder this burden.

As a rogue cultivator, I certainly won't trouble you. Since you've accepted the benefits brought by fortune, you must also bear the pressure brought by fortune. You are all smart people, so I don't need to say more."

"Yes, Chief Manager, we will certainly live up to our expectations!"

This time, it wasn't just Yan Lai answering alone, but all the senior executives present had to express their positions.

Without missing a word, from beginning to end!

"Think about the Xuan Master. Do you think you are the only ones under pressure? Doesn't the Xuan Master have to bear pressure? The pressure we all add up to is not as much as the Xuan Master bears alone. Even so, the Xuan Master is still striving forward, secluding himself to break through while surrounded by enemies, leading the cultivation world to develop despite our burdens. Your little bit of pressure…"

In the end, she held back and showed mercy, not saying things too harshly.

However, this was enough. Through this lesson and her scolding, the cultivators would be able to calm down for a long time.

"Handle it according to your plan… Furthermore…"

Sun Tong announced the adjournment of the meeting, letting them handle this trouble.

But in the end, she said meaningfully:

"Sometimes, you can't bite off more than you can chew. You must learn to let go when you should. Remember, whether we are cultivators, divine cultivators, or spirit beasts, we are all disciples of the Xuan Master. We are inseparable. The methods are different, but the Dao is the same. Overeating will have after-effects, and you'll become bloated and ugly."

After speaking, she left before anyone could respond.

This last sentence was very meaningful.

Yan Lai and Jiu Tong understood instantly. Wu Gang and Grandmaster Jin Guang thought for a moment and seemed to vaguely understand the situation.

Obviously, it was about the spirit beasts, about whom there had been little news recently.

Or rather, the spirit beast army after the Tushan Fox Queen took over.

The cultivators had been treating them differently. For example, in some battles, even if they were short of manpower, they would not seek the participation of spirit beasts.

The most direct example was the current three major battlefields.

Originally, the Tushan Fox Queen intended to lead the spirit beast army to guard one of them.

The third battlefield, the Kirin Battlefield, was originally the target, but it was rejected by the four major leading forces.

Even to win over the entire cultivator group, they gave the task of guarding the third battlefield to rogue cultivators and people from the Divine-Devil World. Ji Mingyue was on the third battlefield for this reason.

In short, the four major forces felt the threat posed by the spirit beasts and intentionally or unintentionally began to exclude them.

Before, none of the four major forces cared about the spirit beast realm led by the Black Cat. Lord Black Cat… how should I put it?

He wasn't up to the task, acting like a child with small-scale troubles.

The Tushan Fox Queen was different. She was truly an old fox who needed to be taken seriously.

Not to mention that her cultivation was so high, so high that even Senior Ji Zhongfu and the others combined were no match for her.

It was said that she was at the peak of the Second Order, which was too terrifying.

There was still hope of catching up to the Second Order, but wanting to catch up to the peak of the Second Order would take a very, very long time, not to mention that the Tushan Fox Queen would also improve herself.

Under these premises, it was a normal choice to be wary of the spirit beasts.

To be honest, if the divine cultivators hadn't been instructed by Xuan Huang to develop Xinjiang Province, the current divine cultivators would also be attacked by the true cultivators.

This was not a difference between good and bad, nor a difference between right and wrong.

But it was bound to happen.

When you are weak, what harm is there in letting you have your way?

But after you become a threat, not to mention letting you have your way, they can't wait to get rid of you.

Sun Tong's last sentence meant this.

If everything was fine, she wouldn't be able to say it, but now it just so happened that the part responsible for the cultivators had suffered huge losses.

This was the best moment.

To knock them down a peg, to let go of what should be let go. You have a lot of manpower, but it's not enough to cope with so many enemies now.

For example, giving a battlefield to the spirit beasts would allow for a large number of detours.

These people can be assigned to more needed places. Now there is a shortage of people everywhere.

The three major battlefields are short of people, the development teams in various places are also short of people, the cultivators dealing with the weird are short of people, and the guardian cultivators protecting the big cities are also short of people.

Not to mention that the teleportation array is short of people, and the planned release of pollution sources in the city is also short of people.

Yan Lai and Jiu Tong frowned. To be honest, Sun Tong's scolding just now was not as serious as this sentence.

The previous scolding would only be avoided if they did well.

But to bluntly say that they were 'bloated' and 'couldn't bite off more than they could chew' was very serious.

"Let's talk about it after dealing with this incident, at least after Fellow Daoist Sun Hui and Fellow Daoist Minghui return," Yan Lai said.

"Yes!" Jiu Tong and the others nodded.

"In addition, have people keep an eye on Lord Tushan Fox Queen, to see what this lord has been doing recently, whether she has complained to Chief Manager Sun," Yan Lai added.

The three nodded in agreement.

The four major forces all had their own secret lines. The meaning of this sentence was that you should all investigate carefully after you go back.

"Alas, troubled times. Still, the immediate matter is important. According to the previous plan, Fellow Daoist Jiu Tong and I will also take action."

"That's right, one thing at a time. Let's start by solving this disaster first. Fellow Daoist Minghui and Sun Hui went to the north. According to the plan, the two of us will go to the south," Jiu Tong said.

"I have already explained everything. I can leave now. It's better to be early than to rush. How about you, Fellow Daoist?" Yan Lai asked.

"I have also explained everything before. We can leave now," Jiu Tong said.

"…"

Both had explained everything. After attending this warning meeting, they immediately went to various teleportation locations to resolve the situation.

"Let's go," Yan Lai said.

After speaking, he said to Wu Gang and Jin Guang, "The two fellow Daoists will be stationed at Qingyun Mountain. Pay attention!"

He said meaningfully, paying attention to what could not be said.

"Don't worry, Headmaster Yan Lai!"

Wu Gang understood.

After that, the two left in a hurry.

Although the teleportation array could not be used, there was a more expensive geomantic array talisman.

It was a higher-level method researched by Yuan Tianchun.

Fortunately, there was still this, so that after the teleportation array was temporarily unusable, everyone would not be cut off.

… (End of this chapter)