A bearded middle-aged man said, "Alliance Leader Shen, this matter is probably not simple. Let's go inside and talk."
This man was Rovik, also a half-Dan cultivator, considered the top expert in Europe and the Vice President of the Earth Federation.
Following Rovik were three others: Tom Hsueh, the Executive Secretary-General of the Earth Federation and a half-Dan cultivator; Wadi, the President of the Free Alliance in the Americas and a half-Dan cultivator; and Malik, a half-Dan cultivator from Africa.
It could be said that more than half of the top martial experts on this planet had gathered here.
Tom Hsueh also noticed that Zoe Shen seemed somewhat distracted, and he silently prayed that nothing would happen to her.
Zoe Shen’s cultivation was the strongest. She devoted herself to martial arts and disliked power struggles. When fiend beasts erupted on Earth, Zoe Shen played a crucial role.
Fiend beasts and dire beasts were not something ordinary firearms could destroy. Moreover, some top-tier fiend beasts could sense when missiles locked onto them and would immediately find a way to escape.
As for nuclear weapons, no one dared to use them yet. At least for now, the dire beasts on Earth were still within controllable limits. If such destructive weapons were used, it might not be just the fiend beasts that would be wiped out in the end.
Although Tom Hsueh was also a half-Dan cultivator, compared to Zoe Shen, the gap was more than just a little. Back when a vicious high-level fiend beast appeared in Antarctica, it was only under Zoe Shen’s leadership, at the cost of seventeen warriors’ lives, that the top-tier fiend beast was finally slain.
So in Tom Hsueh’s heart, he truly hoped nothing would happen to Zoe Shen.
"Yes, yes, please come in, everyone." Zoe Shen composed herself.
Although Zoe Shen’s residence was in Swampsea Woods, the place was quite spacious. Not only did it have a courtyard of over three acres, but also a tea pavilion.
After leading everyone to the tea pavilion and serving tea, Zoe Shen apologized, "I've been troubled by some matters these past few days and haven’t recovered yet. Please forgive me."
"Alliance Leader Shen, do you need our help?" Tom Hsueh asked with concern.
Zoe Shen shook her head. "It’s fine. I’ll deal with it myself in the future. What happened at South Pill Mountain? I remember the ones who went were Frank Lim, Dale, and Dennis. With their strength, even if something happened, at least one or two should have made it back."
Zoe Shen’s mind was much clearer now. There would never be another person like Joe Di. Besides, Joe Di himself said he had just returned to Earth. That meant it was nearly impossible for anyone on Earth to be stronger than him.
"Tom, you tell it." Rovik glanced at Tom Hsueh.
Chinese was now the most widely used language on Earth, but learning it was troublesome. Rovik could speak it, but his articulation was nowhere near as clear as Tom Hsueh’s.
Tom Hsueh nodded, his expression grave. "At the time, we thought it was just some thunder caused by terrain issues and didn’t pay much attention. But when Frank Lim arrived, we kept a record of his journey. As soon as Frank Lim reached South Pill Mountain, his signal suddenly cut off. We heard a beast’s roar and saw this scene..."
At this point, Tom Hsueh gestured to Malik. Malik took out a small projector, and when it was turned on, a giant claw appeared on the white wall, reaching for Frank Lim and the others. Under the massive claw, the three had no power to resist. After they were taken, all contact was lost, and the signal never returned.
"Is that a top-tier fiend beast?" Zoe Shen’s expression changed. After battling fiend beasts for so many years, she naturally knew this was the most powerful fiend beast on Earth.
Rovik and the others nodded gravely, clearly aware that this was indeed a top-tier fiend beast.
"I suspect this fiend beast is at least fourth rank. A fourth-rank fiend beast is likely far beyond our capabilities. Maybe..." Tom Hsueh sighed, but ultimately didn’t finish his thought.
Fourth-rank fiend beasts—aside from using nuclear weapons, humanity has no other means of dealing with them. But then again, can nuclear weapons even destroy a fourth-rank fiend beast?
If it couldn’t be destroyed, that fourth-rank fiend beast would rampage across the entire Earth. Even if it was destroyed, the resulting pollution would be something no one wanted to see.
Zoe Shen took a deep breath and said softly, "I understand now. The thunder at South Pill Mountain before was probably this fiend beast undergoing its tribulation..."
None of them could handle this, and even if it was handed over to the government, it would still be impossible to resolve.
"Alliance Leader Shen, last time in Antarctica you led us to defeat the dire wolf. Why not lead us again? If we gather more people, I believe we can take it down." Rovik suggested.
Zoe Shen shook her head. "Actually, we may not have killed that dire wolf last time. We only seriously wounded it."
"But that dire wolf was clearly dead!" Wadi, the tall white man, said in confusion.
Zoe Shen explained, "The fatal wound on the dire wolf was caused by burning, but none of us used fire attacks. I suspect that after we seriously wounded it, the dire wolf encountered a powerful expert who killed it, but that expert didn’t take the corpse. The beast in the image just now seems even stronger than the Antarctic dire wolf. Even if we go with more people, it may still be futile."
"What should we do?" Tom Hsueh looked at Zoe Shen, completely at a loss.
Zoe Shen sighed. "We don’t need to resort to such extreme weapons. There is someone who can defeat this fiend beast, but..."
Hearing Zoe Shen’s words, the other four immediately stood up, all looking at her with excitement. Was there really someone who could defeat such a top-tier fiend beast?
Is there really such an expert left on Earth?
"Alliance Leader Shen, is it the expert who killed the dire wolf in Antarctica?" Tom Hsueh asked excitedly.
Zoe Shen shook her head. "Not that person. I saw this one just a few days ago—he lives at Lethe Temple. At that time, Maximus Shan had just entered the half-Dan realm..."
"Ah, Maximus Shan reached half-Dan?" Tom Hsueh exclaimed, his eyes turning serious.
Zoe Shen gave a self-deprecating smile. "That person offended Maximus Shan, so after Maximus Shan entered the half-Dan realm, he invited many people to deal with him. I was among those invited."
Tom Hsueh snorted, "The Shan Family has gone too far these years. As martial artists, we cultivate not to break the law, but to uphold peace."
Zoe Shen knew Tom Hsueh disliked the Shan Family. She said calmly, "Maximus Shan didn’t even have a chance to act before that man killed him with a True Essence Hand Seal."
To kill a half-Dan expert with a True Essence Hand Seal?
Tom Hsueh, Rovik, and the others looked at each other in shock. This was simply unbelievable.
"Alliance Leader Shen, please take us to meet that senior," Tom Hsueh said excitedly.
Zoe Shen sighed again. "He’s just married..."
Tom Hsueh quickly said, "Since that senior has cultivated to such a level, he hasn’t abused his power and even killed Maximus Shan. That shows he’s a sincere person. As long as we tell him that if the fiend beast isn’t killed, once it leaves South Pill Mountain, it will be a disaster for the whole Earth..."
If that fiend beast rushed into a city, even nuclear weapons wouldn’t be able to handle it easily.
"Whew..." Joe Di let out a breath. After several days of effort, he finally managed to strip away the Toxic Rune from his body.
He didn’t know who the Toxic Rune hidden in the Worldbreaker Talisman was meant for, but it nearly killed him. He wouldn’t let the culprit get away.
Although the Toxic Rune had caused him much suffering, Joe Di still gained something from it—his Dao Heart became even more refined, and he mastered the law behind this rune.
In other words, if he were afflicted by such a Toxic Rune again, he could strip it away in an instant. He could even directly dissolve it without needing to strip it away.
Joe Di looked at Nora Xiu, who was cultivating diligently. He felt a sense of warmth. He had already engraved everything she needed to learn into her mind. Moreover, he used the Ninth Prime Law to open up the Stellar Meridian for her.
This was because the Ninth Prime Law completely obeyed him. His understanding of the laws of heaven and earth had reached the peak of this realm. Otherwise, he could only have opened the Star River Meridian.
By opening the Stellar Meridian and with so much spiritual energy available, Nora Xiu’s cultivation advanced rapidly.
After stripping away the Toxic Rune, Joe Di’s first priority was to search for the Reincarnation Bridge. His only purpose in coming to Earth was to find the Reincarnation Bridge.
Once he found the Reincarnation Bridge, Joe Di didn’t plan to leave Earth immediately. He felt his Dao was nearly perfected. At this point, refining a Ninth-Grade Immortal Pill shouldn’t be a problem. As long as he succeeded, he could aim for the Immortal Emperor realm.