The secret meeting concluded, and Tong Weishun watched the chief director disappear, instantly suppressing his impulse to follow.
While the connection remained unbroken, they were all powerless in the face of their true existence.
In person, the true existence needed only a thought to strip him of everything and transmit it back to the true self.
No matter what needed to be done, it would have to wait until the connection was severed.
Tong Weishun moved fast, taking just three days to contact another Ninth Tier incarnation.
In truth, he didn't know if the other was an incarnation.
But he used a crude method given to him by Yu Ziqing.
In a very short time, he quietly visited seven or eight major forces in Dali, similar in standing to the Tong Family.
When meeting face-to-face, confirming whether the other party was an incarnation like himself was too easy.
There was no need for a Compass, a simple conversation was enough to probe, any inconsequential remark, if spoken to another incarnation, would naturally reveal the issue.
As for persuading them, that was also simple, just recite Yu Ziqing's words verbatim, adjust them slightly to fit the actual situation, and that was enough.
Because these Ninth Tier incarnations were almost always prominent figures within a major force.
No matter their true nature, none would, like Tong Weishun, willingly march to their deaths.
In fact, the more selfish and scheming they were, the less they wished to die.
Having found the first one, Tong Weishun, along with them, continued to expand the search.
A Ninth Tier Strong, if they wanted to do something stealthily, it was truly easier than for a spy from the Shadow Department.
With enough strength, anything they did, backed by power, they could take the path of suppressing all opposition with overwhelming force, achieving a dimensional strike.
Time passed by, and Tong Weishun only connected with other Ninth Tier entities.
Those incarnations below the Ninth Tier, how many there were, he did not know, nor did he know their identities; it was far too difficult to find them.
But for the Ninth Tier, those in the limelight were so few in number you could count them one by one.
They could only seek out those who were in the open.
Days later, a somewhat unfamiliar face approached Tong Weishun.
This eunuch was the Old Eunuch stationed at the ancestral grounds of the Imperial Family of Dali.
He never appeared in public, and no one knew how long he had been there, but it was at least a thousand years.
Only when the Old Eunuch revealed his identity did Tong Weishun vaguely remember that over a thousand years ago, during a grand ceremony, Emperor Li indeed dispatched many eunuchs to the ancestral grounds to serve as guardians, responsible for the routine cleaning and incense offerings.
This was a stand-in thrown out by the chief director.
Tong Weishun felt a chill in his heart, so far, the chief director had five or six Ninth Tier incarnations.
And he was all too aware of how many resources and how much effort it took for one to advance to the Ninth Tier, not to mention needing talent, for even a slim chance of succeeding.
If one was not destined for the Ninth Tier, their incarnation would be reclaimed and replanted to start over.
He could not fathom how many times they had failed before succeeding with the five or six Ninth Tier incarnations.
And all those who ultimately could not advance to the Ninth Tier, even at the Eighth-Tier Peak, were considered failures.
The resources consumed by the chief director's incarnations lodged in multiple places, combined, likely amounted to more than all the wealth that had passed through the hands of the Tong Family over thousands of years.
With the current resources of the Tong Family, thirty such families could not support such a substantial resource expenditure.
The failures probably numbered in the thousands, if not tens of thousands.
Tong Weishun did not rashly say anything to the Old Eunuch.
He dared to trust another, the Sect Master of the Yangming Sect, because his own experience was similar to that of the Sect Master.
The Yangming Sect's plight was worse than the Tong Family, even suffering a period of a gap in the Ninth Tier lineage.
The Master of the current Sect Master raised him like his own son from a young age, and he hadn't advanced to the Ninth Tier by the time of the old Sect Master's death.
During those challenging times for the Yangming Sect, surrounded by wolves and even as the Sect poured all their resources into him, even the low-tier cultivators willingly gave all their low-tier resources to the Sect Master.
They united as one to aid his advancement to the Ninth Tier.
Having weathered such hardships, if one were to speak of their devotion to their Sect, it was much stronger than Tong Weishun's to the Tong Family.
Tong Weishun hardly needed to say anything, and Sect Master Liao resolutely decided to stake everything in a desperate gamble.
As he was leaving, Sect Master Liao had already made arrangements for his affairs in secret, claiming to others he was going into seclusion.
Several days later, Tong Weishun and the Old Eunuch arrived at a location along the border of Dali and the Wilderness.
Upon their arrival, the surrounding area was suddenly enveloped.
Phantasmal talismans linked one after another, forming chains that instantly bound the Old Eunuch.
A Black Robed Man stood aloft, fingers forming a Seal.
Tong Weishun was somewhat shocked by the newcomer, as was the Old Eunuch.
Zhong Shouzheng rose into the air, chuckling.
"Don't bother struggling; you came to die. By not resisting immediately and pretending to be controlled, you've lost your chance to fight back.
I am just here to lend a hand, and in return, I get to watch a never-before-seen grand spectacle.
This show hasn't even started yet, so you better ensure I get my payment."
Yu Ziqing had asked him for help with the promise of watching a grand spectacle as payment.
At first, he thought Yu Ziqing was out of his mind.
Later, Yu Ziqing explained that obtaining Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures was easy; just ask those high-level figures for it, and he guaranteed they'd be willing to dig deep into their pockets.
With this promise, Zhong Shouzheng agreed to help.
Of course, money was not important.
What mattered was, ever since he helped Yu Ziqing, he noticed that the impending death crisis had gradually weakened.