The Sky Serpent Sect was a highly unusual organization. So sects were founded by grand cultivators who had used divine abilities to transform themselves into demons.
Although those grand cultivators assud demonic forms for the sake of longevity, they were ultimately human. The Sky Serpent Sect was different.
The sect's founder, the Sky Serpent, began as an ordinary snake of unknown origin and cultivated its way up step by step. Many snake demons pursued the innate bloodline cultivation path, tracing their origins back to dragon species.
This path was relatively easy to walk, and taking it naturally led to finding an organization to join. For example, the Hidden Dragon Abbey in Wunan and the Biluo Spring in the Cyan Plains were both excellent destinations for dragon species.
Factions built around dragon species were plentiful across the Four Seas, Five Domains, and Eight Desolates. Yet, the Sky Serpent stubbornly cultivated its snake bloodline to the absolute extre, establishing the Sky Serpent Sect, which shook Wunan with its fa.
Even on the Gathering Immortals Platform, it shalessly played the fool to extort other Immortal Venerables. With such a founder, the Sky Serpent Sect naturally had no shortage of elders from various demonic races.
The Mountain-Overturning Flood Dragon, who recently had half its body severed by Mang Xiang, was one. True Person Gua, contacted by the Red Lantern Illumination mole Jinxian, was another.
"Those elders of Red Lantern Illumination love to put on a sanctimonious, serious front, but their bellies are always full of endless dirty tricks. If you want to talk about who the worst people are, it has to be those hypocrites!
"Candlelight Immortal Venerable is so powerful, why doesn't he take action himself? Asking us to trample the Middle Front might just be a trap.
"True Person Gua, you absolutely must not be deceived by those people!"
Gushen Qingyuan, the sect master of the Valley Spirit Sect, pleaded bitterly, hoping that True Person Gua wouldn't fall into Red Lantern Illumination's trap.
Could a position held by a cuckold like Gushen Qingyuan be any good? Huang Qiusheng only seed to wield great power because Mang Xiang needed him and supported him.
"Qingyuan, just arrange the personnel," True Person Gua spoke, riding atop a silver-backed oriole. This Demon King was only the size of a baby's fist, but a Demon King's strength was never judged by physical size.
The Demon King Black Dragon, invited by Shen Guang to lead a team to smash the West Sea, was also incredibly small. Did that hinder his ability to run rampant across the West Sea?
Whether True Person Gua was strong or not could be seen just from his mount. He had the sa setup as Immortal Venerable Mangxiang—a Purple Palace cultivator riding a Purple Palace mount.
That silver-backed oriole could probably slaughter Li Haikuo on its own! Faced with True Person Gua's order, Gushen Qingyuan didn't dare voice any further warnings.
Ultimately, he had only risen to his position because of the backing of several True Persons from the Valley Spirit Sect. Now that Red Lantern Illumination and the Sky Serpent Sect had gone to war, his initiative as sect master was further diminished.
"True Person, arranging people isn't hard, but sending too few won't be of much use, and sending too many will inevitably be noticed by Red Lantern Illumination. To crush the Middle Front, we need true experts.
"You see..."
The powerful seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivators within the Sky Serpent Sect were not people Gushen Qingyuan could mobilize.
In theory, as the sect master, he could issue a sect master's decree, and those who received it would be forced to obey. In reality, if Gushen Qingyuan dared to do that, the first to settle scores with him would be the ancestor of the Gushen family—much like how Qiu Mile squeezed Qiu Lianpu until he exploded in the middle of the street.
Wang Yulou had done plenty of things in Mang Xiang's na, but he was always very clear that an ancestor's favor was not sothing disciples could abuse indiscriminately. Therefore, he always acted with extre caution.
True Person Gua didn't answer. Instead, he lightly opened his mouth.
"Croak~"
Atop the silver-backed oriole, the tiny frog rely gave a light cry and then fell silent.
Gushen Qingyuan didn't feel any particular change.
"Alright, I have already notified the relevant personnel," True Person Gua said. "There will be over a hundred Peak Foundation Establishnt cultivators participating in this operation. Qingyuan, do a good job.
"The Purple Palace promises Mang Xiang painted for his disciples are fake, but the opportunity for two new Purple Palaces promised by the Immortal Venerable is real."
As it turned out, True Person Gua cultivated the Dao of Sound, and an extrely brilliant Dao of Sound at that.
That seemingly unexceptional cry had already spread throughout the inner and outer areas of the Sky Serpent Sect. Everyone who needed to know had been appropriately notified.
Faced with the rosy picture painted by True Person Gua, Gushen Qingyuan was naturally happy to swallow the bait.
"I, Qingyuan, will definitely do my utmost and fight to spread the prestige of our Sky Serpent Sect!"
Riding the silver-backed oriole, which was also at the Demon King realm, True Person Gua departed.
Gushen Qingyuan, who had been kneeling on the ground, finally stood up. His face flushed with excitent, he threw himself back into his high-pressure work as sect master, a role where he constantly caught flak from both sides. However, he was perfectly clear in his heart: the Gushen family already had two Purple Palace cultivators.
The two Immortal Venerables of the Sky Serpent Sect would never allow a third to erge from the Gushen family. That beast Mang Xiang had blocked off many people's paths.
Immortal Venerable Mangxiang was formidable. Three Purple Palace cultivators in one lineage wasn't enough for him; he had also supported Li Haikuo in reaching the Purple Palace realm.
Even that wasn't enough, as he had also taken in Zhou Bojiao. Three Purple Palaces instantly beca five.
Upon seeing this, Zhuzhao wanted to curse his eighteen generations of ancestors. The Immortal Venerables of the Gathering Immortals Platform would not allow such a lesson to be repeated.
Why was it a lesson? With the sa cake, an extra Foundation Establishnt cultivator taking a bite had no real impact.
An extra Purple Palace cultivator taking a bite started to have an impact. But an extra Immortal Venerable taking a bite—that impact was far, far too great.
—
While the conspiracy between Jinxian and the Sky Serpent Sect brewed, Wang Yulou, completely ignorant of it all, was refining spiritual artifacts inside Yuque Palace. His current workspace could no longer be described as a re artifact refining room.
It should be called Zhuhuo Palace. As one of Red Lantern Illumination's most prominent figures on the two-sect front lines, Wang Yulou currently lacked no subordinates.
Although most of them had been shoved in due to factional compromises within the sect, once they entered Yuque Palace, they had to listen to Fellow Daoist Yuque's orders.
For example, right now, four master artificers—whose attainnts in the artificing path allowed them to easily refine dium-grade spiritual artifacts—were personally assisting Wang Yulou. Yet, their duties were rely to help him process materials and control the spirit fire.
Spiritual artifacts were different from magical artifacts. Even low-grade magical artifacts held value, but low-grade spiritual artifacts were essentially worthless.
Or rather, their value was frighteningly low. Often, no matter how perfectly they were refined, it was difficult to even recoup the cost of materials.
The reason was simple: Foundation Establishnt cultivators had incredibly long lifespans, and their numbers were relatively low. Powerful Foundation Establishnt artificers could acquire the ability to easily refine dium-grade spiritual artifacts after investing a sufficiently high cost.
As the primary demographic demanding spiritual artifacts, Foundation Establishnt cultivators were rarely strapped for spirit stones—at least, not in a state of absolute destitution like bottom-tier Qi Induction or Qi Refining cultivators. Therefore, they tended to be more extravagant when choosing their Dao-protecting treasures.
Under such supply and demand dynamics, low-grade spiritual artifacts could only stand out through niche utility. For example, the spirit artifact talisman brush once used as a reward in the Talisman Master Competition was a pri example of a functional low-grade spiritual artifact.
This dynamic also crushed the hopes of cultivators who vainly wished to change their fate through artificing. Simply put, the learning curve and material costs required to refine spiritual artifacts were far too steep.
Artificers who could already craft dium- and high-grade spiritual artifacts completely monopolized the market, blocking the path for latecors.
Of course, if one could be like Wang Yulou—sprinting to improve their artificing path attainnts without any regard for cost, manpower, or material loss—there was still a chance to beco a high-level Foundation Establishnt artificer.
Carefully tracing restrictions inside the material, then ticulously linking the different restrictions together, and then...
"Bang!"
Expressionless, Wang Yulou casually gathered the dregs from the artifact refining furnace and pushed them toward one of the four assisting artificers. This particular artificer was proficient in material restoration and separation, capable of salvaging thirty percent of the original cost.
"Continue," Wang Yulou said calmly, and the others hurriedly resud their work.
How should one put it... Fellow Daoist Yuque's level in the artificing path was actually quite high.
Although he still hadn't successfully refined a single spiritual artifact, the average ti before an explosion had at least grown longer. In the beginning, Wang Yulou's creations would explode during the spiritual resonance matching phase.
Later, they exploded during the restriction carving phase. Now, he had reached the phase of linking restrictions. He was on the verge of a breakthrough.
Of course, when compared to the loss of two hundred thousand spirit stones, this progress could hardly be considered excellent. But Wang Yulou sought speed, not frugality; wasting spirit stones was harmless in the grand sche of things.
Moreover, a major reason why Wang Yulou's refining went so poorly was that he had completely skipped the stage of crafting low-grade spiritual artifacts, directly starting his practice with dium-grade spiritual artifacts.
High cost, high investnt, fast results, and high returns—this brutal thod of progression was utterly unique in the entire world. Wang Yulou had his own reasons for choosing this path.
The front-line Special rit Hall had been opened by him, and he alone determined how the spiritual artifacts on its shelves were arranged.
By attaining the ability to refine dium-grade spiritual artifacts sooner, Wang Yulou could leverage the Special rit Hall on the front lines—a market that was practically infinite for him right now—to forcefully boost his artificing path cultivation base.
However, no matter how high his artificing path cultivation base beca, it couldn't directly solve the hurdles on his path to Dao completion.
However, when Mang Xiang drew his sword, plunging countless cultivators into a two-sect war to be sent to their deaths, and when Wang Rongyuan died silently on the front lines without a proper burial, Wang Yulou realized one thing.
In this cultivation world, if he wanted to control his own fate, he needed to ride the coattails of Mang Xiang—a grand cultivator on the verge of achieving his Dao—in the short term. But over a longer tiline, Wang Yulou would eventually have to face Mang Xiang.
Mang Xiang—the grand cultivator served by the Wang Clan, the man whose machinations terrified everyone in Red Lantern Illumination, the one who stirred up stormy seas in Wunan and even the Immortal Alliance, an old monster who had cultivated for thousands, if not ten thousand, years.
He was a man within the cage of the Immortal Alliance, preparing to rely on his strength to tear through its restrictions and attain Golden Core. How was Wang Yulou supposed to overco soone like Mang Xiang?
The Dharma Treasure Bearing Dao Purple Palace thod was weak.
Extrely weak. Among the seven Purple Palace cultivation thods Shen Guang had given him, only two were weaker: the Heaven-Man Resonance Purple Palace thod and the Palace-Transforming Dao-Seizing Purple Palace thod.
But the Dharma Treasure Bearing Dao Purple Palace thod was fast. It was fast to cultivate and fast to take shape.
As long as one found a magic treasure suited to the spirit root, endownt, cultivation thod, and aptitude of the person wishing to open a Purple Palace, they could raise their upper limit after breaking through.
This ant that if Wang Yulou's attainnts on the artificing path were high enough, not only could he mass-produce Purple Palace cultivators, but he could also use his talent to further empower his subordinates' natal magic treasures, raising the upper limit of their strength!
Compared to such a future, were the two hundred thousand spirit stones Wang Yulou had invested in his artificing path expensive? How could they be considered expensive?
It was simply the most cost-effective deal possible! An early start ant maintaining a lead every step of the way.
Wang Yulou was currently not even sixty years old. Every single year of his future would benefit from the investnt he made today.
However, his peaceful artifact refining ti did not last long. Guo Chengtai arrived, guided by Li Changming, and waited at the entrance of Zhuhuo Palace.
"Let's stop here. That's all for today. You've worked hard, senior martial brothers."
Cursing Wang Yulou as a bastard in their hearts, the four n smiled and bid their farewells one by one. They had been sent to the Special rit Hall out of consideration for the sect's factional interests—to take a slice of the cake Wang Yulou had baked.
Instead, they had been corralled into acting as Wang Yulou's beasts of burden. It would be strange if they weren't resentful.
"Why are you here? Did sothing happen at Fragrant Bamboo Market?"
As the town guard stationed at Fragrant Bamboo Market in Wang Yulou's stead, Guo Chengtai shouldn't have co without a reason. Although Fragrant Bamboo Market was close to the front lines, it was ultimately a rear-line market, firmly situated within Red Lantern Illumination's hinterland.
As long as the Purple Palace grand cultivators did not take action, both fronts in the two-sect war had Foundation Establishnt cultivators manning the nodes to form defensive lines. Therefore, the rear-line Fragrant Bamboo Market should not have been troubled by the war.
Because of this, Wang Yulou felt a sense of unease regarding Guo Chengtai's arrival. Old Guo cast his eyes down, remaining silent with a look of sha on his face, clearly struggling to speak.
Wang Yulou shook his head and said, "There is nothing that cannot be said. Speak!"
The two-sect war was deadlocked, infighting within the sect was fierce, and chaos was gradually rising in the Immortal Alliance. The current situation was already incredibly difficult.
Wang Yulou didn't believe there was anything else that could bring him down.
"Immortal Alliance Steward Lian Chengxian led a team and captured Junior Martial Sister Lin outside the Northern Front's Defense Pass. Senior Martial Brother Konggu is currently leading people to stall Lian Chengxian. I worried he wouldn't notify you imdiately, so the mont I received the news, I ca here personally to inform you."
Lin Ying was only at the Qi Refining stage, but she was Wang Yulou's Dao Companion, which was why Guo Chengtai, despite his seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivation base, addressed her as Junior Martial Sister Lin. But none of this mattered. Seeing Wang Yulou standing there in stern silence, seemingly brewing a nascent thunderstorm waiting for an outlet, Guo Chengtai uneasily added, "I have already sent two-thirds of the Foundation Establishnt cultivators from Fragrant Bamboo Market to support Senior Martial Brother Konggu."
Wang Yulou was about to say there was no need, that the woman wasn't important. Just like when he had told Yan Keyi that Uncle Rongyuan wasn't important.
But in the end, his lips moved soundlessly, and he found he couldn't utter a single word. Lian Chengxian, Lian Chengxian—truly a monuntal idiot.
Compared to him, even Yuan Wu looked like a true qilin. In the face of all his various difficulties, Lian Chengxian capturing Lin Ying was only a minor issue; it wouldn't even have a major impact on the overall situation.
But Wang Yulou's heart would not allow him to utter those insincere lies again. Lies were useful tools, but he couldn't deceive himself.
Senior Martial Sister Lin had followed Yulou for many years and had never enjoyed any luxury or ease. Their relationship, for much of that ti, had even been sowhat plain.
Little Lin didn't understand romance, and Wang Yulou's love was far from pure. But over the years, how could he not have invested true emotion?
Feelings didn't co with a progress bar or a nurical value, but Wang Yulou knew that he could not sit by and watch Lin Ying be hard by that idiot Lian Chengxian.
"Let's go!" he said tersely.
Without the slightest hesitation, three spirit artifact-grade command talismans shot out from his hand. Vaulting onto the Black Dragon Steed, Wang Yulou headed straight north with Old Guo leading the way.
The three special spirit artifact command talismans had been sent out: one to Yan Keyi, one to Wang Jingyi, and one to True Person Xuanzhuan within the sect. It was a willful move, but Wang Yulou didn't regret it.
Cultivating immortality, cultivating immortality—if he was so cowardly that he had to endure even his Dao Companion being captured, then what was the point of cultivating? To be a cuckold immortal?
A cowardly lackey immortal? Forget it, Wang Yulou couldn't accept that!
anwhile, within Red Lantern Illumination on Candlelight Mountain, Yi Zouri lay on a couch cultivating while Zou Tianxing paced excitedly around the hall, offering an impassioned analysis.
"From his ti in Clear Stream Market to his experiences in Dripdrop Cave and the West Sea, I've studied them dozens of tis. Every single one of his orders, every single one of his decisions, I have ticulously analyzed with my people.
"Senior Martial Brother, I am absolutely certain. This person, Wang Yuque, is a hypocrite!"
The competition Wang Yulou faced ant that everything he did would be watched and analyzed by others. The vast amount of resources in Yi Zouri's hands allowed him to easily accomplish this. He targeted Wang Yulou so intensely because Wang Yulou held too many resources and occupied a critical position. The benefits were glaringly obvious; Wang Yulou couldn't simply kneel down and beg others not to stare at him. If he couldn't withstand the pressure, he really would be crushed.
Zou Tianxing turned his head, looked at Yi Zouri on the couch, and added, "Why say he is a hypocrite? It can be seen from three points. First, he created 'blind boxes' in Clear Stream Market but didn't actually earn that many spirit stones. Many shops that followed his trend earned more than he did. This highlights his hypocrisy. He clearly found a way to harvest wealth from bottom-tier cultivators, but he stubbornly refused to use it properly, instead making it almost like offering a five percent discount.
"Second, in Dripdrop Cave, he once engaged in magical combat with a low-level Qi Refining cultivator over a struggle for power. That person was only at the third layer of Qi Refining, but..."
Yi Zouri couldn't hold back anymore.
He raised his hand to signal Zou Tianxing to stop, confirming with a trace of doubt, "You said that person was at the third layer of Qi Refining, and Wang Yulou struggled for power with a third layer Qi Refining cultivator?"
Zou Tianxing smiled disdainfully—disdain for Wang Yulou. "Correct.
"And the most absurd part is, he apparently didn't even win the struggle. In the end, he had to kill the person to solve the problem.
"If you ask , Wang Yulou could have just killed that person from the very beginning, but he stubbornly insisted on a struggle, only resorting to killing when he couldn't win. The contradiction in his actions from start to finish is as laughable as a toddler's!
"When he arrived in the West Sea to execute the purge of Shen Guang's remnants, he put his hypocrisy on full display. Did you know, in the cells of the Punishnt Court, Wang Yulou encountered his friend, Xihai Hu?
"Xihai Hu had been captured along with Xihai Longhu and tortured severely. Seeing Wang Yulou arrive, he begged for help.
"And guess what? Wang Yulou actually let Xihai Hu off the hook!"
Yi Zouri's eyes instantly lit up. "Are you saying Wang Yulou colluded with Shen Guang's toxic remnants?"
Oh, my senior martial brother, even if Wang Yulou's purge was ineffective, it would be up to Mang Xiang and Xuanzhuan to deal with him. What are you getting so excited for?
It could only be said that with Wang Yuque making such a splash on the two-sect front lines, Yi Zouri had long since been unable to sit still.
Zou Tianxing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "No, no, no.
"The reason Wang Yulou is a hypocrite is because he rely stopped the jailers from continuing to torture and interrogate Xihai Hu. And then, he still sat by and watched Xihai Hu get purged!
"If that isn't hypocrisy, what is?"
Yi Zouri nodded, agreeing deeply. "Yes. There's another matter: Wang Yulou let those Qi Refining cultivators of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance off the hook and sent them to the front lines. Being purged ans death, and going to the front lines also ultimately ans death. Wang Yulou seemingly gave them hope, but the vast majority of people will never see that hope realized; they will only die on the path chasing it. That is also hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is practically custom-made for Wang Yulou. False, fake benevolence and fake righteousness. Looking at it from this point, using Lian Chengxian as a pawn was the right move."
Using the orthodox to guard and the unorthodox to attack. Jinxian colluding with the Sky Serpent Sect to directly sell out Red Lantern Illumination was the 'orthodox' move—the results were fast.
And Yi Zouri mobilizing the idiot Lian Chengxian to harm Wang Yulou's Dao Companion was the 'unorthodox' move. This tactic was tailored specifically to Wang Yulou's character traits.
"To destroy him, first drive him mad. Wang Yulou is mad enough already; it is ti for him to die.
"Confuse his mind. As long as he cannot abandon his hypocritical nature, he will definitely step into this trap!"
Zou Tianxing spoke with brimming confidence. However, the "hypocritical" Wang Yulou they spoke of had climbed up from the absolute bottom, step by step. How could he be sumd up by a single word like "hypocritical"? Their excessive arrogance simply blinded them to his extraordinary traits. Born into prominent clans, they inherently enjoyed the luxuries of their station, easily obtaining resources that most people couldn't even imagine. They could never understand what kind of person Wang Yulou truly was. Or rather, no one could truly know the Wang Yulou hidden behind layers upon layers of disguises. Lian Chengxian inexplicably appearing on the Northern Front and capturing Lin Ying—could Wang Yulou possibly not know there was a problem with this? But just as ceding land to appease the State of Qin could never yield a good result, Wang Yulou could not retreat, even knowing it was a trap. The only purpose of sacrificing a pawn to save the chariot was survival. Wang Yulou faced no imdiate, obvious danger, so what did he have to fear? If he shrank back from even this, he might as well stop cultivating. This was nothing.
It was rely magical combat between mid-level Foundation Establishnt cultivators from large factions. At the level of the Purple Palace realm or even Immortal Venerables, the struggles were even more rciless. Death wasn't necessarily the worst outco. The greater the benefits, the greater the conflicts that accompanied them. Even under the rule of the Immortal Alliance, the tendency for these conflicts to escalate to extres had already been heavily suppressed. If he didn't protect Lin Ying and showed cowardice to the enemy, his foes would only advance another ten steps—ten steps, not just one. Seventy miles southeast of the Northern Front's Defense Pass, Immortal Alliance Steward Lian Chengxian and five Immortal Alliance Emissaries found themselves tightly surrounded by over thirty Foundation Establishnt cultivators. Konggu, his face dark as he suppressed his anger, spoke in a placating tone to persuade Lian Chengxian. "Junior Martial Brother Chengxian, why go so far? It's really not necessary, truly not necessary. Whether she has a problem or not, wouldn't I know? We're all in the sa boat; why make things difficult for a Qi Refining stage female cultivator?"
The reason Konggu hadn't sent a ssage to Wang Yulou wasn't out of any ill intent; it was simply because this situation was too absurd, too humiliating. Wang Yulou had sent his Dao companion to the Northern Front.
Although she acted as an inspector, she didn't interfere with anything, which gave Konggu an enormous amount of face. Yet under Konggu's watch, Lin Ying had been forcefully seized by an Immortal Alliance Steward.
Konggu didn't know how to deliver that news to Wang Yulou.
'Junior Martial Brother Yulou, a little problem ca up.
I'm a piece of trash and let younger sister-in-law get snatched away by that idiot Lian Chengxian.' No.
Just thinking about saying that made Konggu feel numb from the roots of his hair to his toes.
'Junior Martial Brother Yulou, I did my best, but Lian Chengxian ca in aggressively...'
Forget it. He really couldn't afford to lose that much face.
Anyone who understood Wang Yulou knew exactly what level Lian Chengxian was at. Konggu naturally hadn't studied Wang Yulou any less than the others had, so he couldn't bring himself to utter words that even he found disgusting.
Because of this, Konggu hadn't notified Wang Yulou. Of course, this didn't an Konggu was just sitting idly by and doing nothing.
He had brought over thirty Foundation Establishnt cultivators to block them precisely to snatch Lin Ying back. However...
"Make things difficult? Immortal Alliance Emissaries and Immortal Alliance Stewards answer only to the Immortal Alliance.
"It's not the place of a re Foundation Establishnt cultivator from Wondrous Peak Mountain to interfere! For many years, Lin Ying has chronically evaded paying taxes to the Immortal Alliance during her transactions.
"She has violated the laws of the Immortal Alliance. I have co this ti precisely to arrest her and bring her to justice!"
There were thousands upon thousands of Immortal Alliance laws, and not many cultivators completely understood them all. As long as you did anything other than breathe and eat, you might potentially violate a law. There were always countless accusations waiting to be pinned on you. As for Konggu, he just felt like a pile of shit had been sared all over his face. Looking at the utterly disdainful Lian Chengxian, Northern Front Town Guard Konggu couldn't suppress a dark urge from rising in his heart. He really wanted to butcher the man! Thinking about it was fine, but he couldn't actually do it. Lian Chengxian was a clansman of Immortal Venerable Lianpeng's family. Lian Chengxian would be easy to kill. With Konggu's cultivation base, three moves taking only half a breath would turn the newly ascended Foundation Establishnt Lian Chengxian into at paste. But... explaining it to Immortal Venerable Lianpeng's lineage would be difficult. When Wang Yulou hurried over, what he saw was Lin Ying tied up by an Immortal Alliance Emissary, sitting to the side with a frightened expression. Lian Chengxian stood with his hands behind his back, completely unafraid. However, the Immortal Alliance Emissaries at his side were already starting to grumble inwardly. They were perfectly fine Immortal Alliance Emissaries and Immortal Alliance Stewards, yet here they were acting like kidnappers demanding a ransom. Absurd! From afar, Konggu noticed the aura of the Great Demon Black Dragon Steed. The Black Dragon Steed's speed was incredibly fast; like a bolt of black lightning drawn across the sky, it flew from over ten miles away to arrive before everyone in the blink of an eye. "Fellow Daoist Yuque..."
Konggu greeted him, stamring, his face full of helplessness and embarrassnt. What a ss this was!
"Wang Yulou, did you co here to rescue this little Dao companion of yours?" Without answering the idiot's question, Wang Yulou first said to Lin Ying, "Rest assured. The lack of support from any Immortal Alliance Purple Palace cultivators proves that he's acting blindly after being used by soone. You'll be fine."
As for who was using Lian Chengxian, Wang Yulou couldn't be bothered to guess. He couldn't guess it anyway; he had far too many enemies now.
The Illuminating Faction and Fuyan Faction were broad categorizations. The forces within the Red Lantern Illumination Sect were the grand cultivators representing the fifteen spiritual mountains—fifteen factions in total.
Wang Yulou had currently offended about ten of them... That was the situation.
It was frustrating, but Wang Yulou had, after all, comfortably gorged himself on the front-line profits, so he was more than happy to shoulder the pressure and charge forward. It was just that, looking at it now, Senior Martial Sister Lin had been affected by his actions, turning into a pawn for others to attack him with—no, a pawn to disgust him with.
A piece of trash like Lian Chengxian couldn't make any huge waves, but because he ca from a high-born family, he could perfectly achieve the effect of absolute disgust. This unorthodox move by Yi Zouri had the flavor of a serendipitous masterstroke, leaving no traces behind.
It might not directly harm Wang Yulou's interests, but it caused a trendous feeling of disgust—after all, it was like having shit sared on his face.
"Fellow Daoist Chengxian, we've dragged this out for so long, and the immortal city hasn't sent anyone to support you. Why don't we drop it? I'll make the call; we'll treat it as a misunderstanding, as if nothing happened."
Konggu took a deep breath, trying once again to advise Lian Chengxian, while secretly transmitting a ssage to Wang Yulou.
'Fellow Daoist Yuque, one hundred thousand spirit stones.
How about it?' Tis had changed.
The current purchasing power of one hundred thousand spirit stones was about two and a half tis what it was before the spirit stone crisis, equivalent to two hundred and fifty thousand. This Konggu was a straightforward person.
Of course, Wang Yulou also hadn't skimped on giving him leeway and opportunities to rake in profits.
'Acceptable.
But if Lian Chengxian doesn't agree, I'll step forward to distract him with words, and you lead your people to snatch her back!' Wang Yulou pondered for a mont and eventually bowed his head to the one hundred thousand spirit stones.
He had to collect this 'friendship maintenance fee.' Right now, one hundred thousand spirit stones were enough to nurture a cultivator with a five-attribute spirit root all the way to the Foundation Establishnt stage.
Even if he made things difficult for himself, he couldn't make things difficult for spirit stones, right? "Wang Yulou, you are nothing but a petty man who relied on a woman to climb the ranks.
"What right do you have to obstruct Immortal Alliance law enforcent here? Whether there's support or not isn't important.
"Do you really dare to kill here?"
Lian Chengxian sneered. He just wanted to disgust Wang Yulou. The power the Immortal Alliance gave him was ant to be used. He had never considered being accountable to the Immortal Alliance that granted him that power. Seeing this fellow acting so rampantly even now, Wang Yulou furrowed his brows tightly. He walked forward a few paces, stopping five zhang away from Lian Chengxian. "Lian Chengxian, isn't it a bit excessive for you, a Foundation Establishnt cultivator, to bully a Qi Refining one?"
"She violated Immortal Alliance laws. I dealt with her according to Immortal Alliance rules. How can that be considered excessive?"
"Tax evasion, I know. We will pay it back, double the amount!"
"Impossible—what do you think you're doing?"
Halfway through his sentence, Lian Chengxian realized Wang Yulou was rely distracting him. Behind him, four Peak Foundation Establishnt cultivators from Wondrous Peak Mountain had already crept over.
Konggu didn't hide anymore either. In an instant, using an escape art, he dashed straight for Lin Ying.
With his strength, he had full confidence that an all-out sprint would save her. He hadn't done this earlier primarily out of fear that an accident would happen, leaving him to take the bla.
After all, even if Lian Chengxian took Lin Ying away, he might not kill her directly. But if Konggu provoked this idiot and got Lin Ying killed, it would be his responsibility—even though Lin Ying's capture was already his responsibility to begin with.
What Konggu feared was his share of the bla growing even larger. But now that he had Wang Yulou's word, if he acted and sothing went wrong, the bla wouldn't fall entirely on him.
Logically speaking, whatever happened to Lin Ying was because she had 'broken the law.' But practically speaking, Lin Ying being taken away by a suddenly appearing Lian Chengxian was Konggu's failure.
Wang Yulou had sent his Dao companion to the Northern Front, only for her to be seized by an Immortal Alliance Steward. If Konggu didn't take the bla, who would?
Faced with a swarm of Foundation Establishnt cultivators charging forward like wolves and tigers, Lian Chengxian frantically tried to pull Lin Ying toward him. However, no matter how fast he was, he had only just reached Foundation Establishnt.
How could he possibly compare to the veteran Foundation Establishnt cultivator, Konggu? Yi Zouri's mistake had finally surfaced.
Finding soone to study Wang Yulou's behavior was brilliant. Targeting his weakest link—his Dao Companion—purely to disgust him was also brilliant.
Manipulating a monuntal, high-born idiot like Lian Chengxian into doing the dirty work was equally brilliant. However, success and failure both hinged entirely on Lian Chengxian.
Because Lian Chengxian was stupid enough, he had actually co to capture Lin Ying. And because he was stupid enough, he beca the weakest link in Yi Zouri's entire plan.
The unity of opposites and the shifting nature of contradictions revealed their power once again. In the face of such massive contradictions, even the slightest overflowing risk could suffocate anyone caught in the middle.
Wanted to achieve the Dao? Too bad. It was a single-log bridge that only the most outstanding, ruthless, and brilliant heavenly geniuses among a million cultivators were qualified to cross.
Were you ready? Yi Zouri was ready.
Wang Yulou was ready. But was Lian Chengxian?
Of course not. Watching Lin Ying being swept away by Konggu's magical power, Lian Chengxian's face flushed the color of pig liver.
"Konggu, how dare you snatch soone from my hands! I am an Immortal Alliance Steward! I am from the Immortal Alliance! Wang Yulou, you have a lot of nerve! I'm going to report this to the immortal city! I'm going to report this to the Immortal Venerable!"
It was incompetent fury, but not entirely baseless—Lian Chengxian's identity and background were real. Those two points had to be respected. However... there was a fact that high-born scions like Yi Zouri and Lian Chengxian simply couldn't grasp. Power and influence did not naturally stem from strength alone, and the conversion rate of strength into influence varied from person to person. Lian Chengxian had a profound background, and the title of Immortal Alliance Steward carried significant weight—enough to disgust Konggu and Wang Yulou as thoroughly as having shit sared on their faces. But that didn't an he could do whatever he wanted.
Konggu was the Northern Front town guard, and Wang Yulou was a steward of the rit Hall. They didn't lack powerful backing either. As long as Lin Ying was in Lian Chengxian's custody, Wang Yulou had to give him so face. Now that the beauty had returned to his arms, he naturally had no more need for reservations.
"Go ahead and report it. Lian Chengxian, even after reaching Foundation Establishnt, you still haven't recognized what kind of person you truly are. Report it properly, so you can see yourself clearly sooner. Rember, if your surna wasn't Lian, you'd already be dead!" Wang Yulou held Lin Ying in his arms, gently wiping away his senior martial sister's tears as he unscrupulously threatened Lian Chengxian.
"You!"
Lian Chengxian never expected Wang Yulou to be so arrogant. Back in the West Sea, Wang Yulou had rely gathered anyone with above-average intelligence to secretly isolate him. Now, Wang Yulou was directly humiliating him to his face.
"You what? Lian Chengxian, go back and properly thank the person who sent you here to cross . He has gifted you a great fortune. This matter is not over." Wang Yulou turned his gaze. "Konggu, are you just going to stand there and watch? And Old Guo, you Seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivators, attack him together. Break all four of his limbs for ! No, all five limbs!"
Guo Chengtai was still sowhat hesitant, but Konggu understood the situation clearly. He naturally knew that Lian Chengxian would not et a good end. He was a functional idiot of a major clan—but being an idiot to Lian Chengxian's degree ant his damage far outweighed his function. The very value of his existence had been destroyed by his own hand after joining this plot against Wang Yulou. What was there to fear from a functional idiot with no value? How could Purple Mansion True Persons and Gold Core Immortal Venerables possibly stick their necks out for a fool like Lian Chengxian? Qiu Mile squeezing Qiu Lianpu until he exploded was the actual optimal solution for grand cultivators dealing with the trash within their own clans.
"Five limbs? Who are you calling ignorant? I am not ignorant, you are the ignorant ones! If you strike an Immortal Alliance Steward, you'll all be captured and sent to the Immortal-Locking Platform to rot in prison!" Lian Chengxian shrieked.
Lin Ying, who had been crying a shower of tears like pear blossoms in the rain, couldn't hold it back and burst into laughter, comically blowing a snot bubble that stuck directly onto Wang Yulou's Ten Thousand Nights Everbright Robe.
"You'll know what the fifth limb is soon enough!"
Konggu sneered hideously as he pinned Lian Chengxian down. He didn't use incantations, nor did he even use magical power; he simply kicked him.
With just one kick, he crumpled Lian Chengxian's face like a bitter lon.
"Wang Yulou, I won't let you—"
Wearing the Ten Thousand Nights Everbright Robe, Wang Yulou waved his sleeve and sneered. "It is I who will not let you off. The battle between the Red Lantern Illumination Sect and the Sky Serpent Sect is currently raging fiercely, yet you—an Immortal Alliance Steward—and the Immortal Alliance Emissary from Lotus Immortal City ca to our Northern Front to arrest soone. I will report this matter to the sect, to Immortal Venerable Qingrui, and to Immortal Venerable Mangxiang. Lian Chengxian, do you think you'll survive this?"
Whether this matter was placed on the scale or not, it was heavy. And Wang Yulou had decided to place it on several scales at once! His target was no longer Lian Chengxian, but the person who had goaded Lian Chengxian into coming here to harm and disgust him. If a piece of trash like Lian Chengxian had actually dragged Lin Ying away or killed her, Lian Chengxian would die, but it was highly likely that Wang Yulou's condition and Dao Heart would be severely affected. This kind of malicious deed was twisted yet ticulous, even managing to mobilize an idiot like Lian Chengxian. In short, the mastermind behind it was not simple.
Wang Yulou characterized Lian Chengxian's act of detaining Lin Ying as 'the Immortal Alliance showing partiality to the Sky Serpent Sect in the two-sect war.' It was unknown whether Lian Chengxian understood the gravity of this accusation, but even if he did, it was useless. Lian Chengxian could no longer speak; red, bloody froth was bubbling from the corners of his mouth.
"Are you satisfied?" Casually using his priceless Ten Thousand Nights Everbright Robe to wipe away the beauty's tears, Wang Yulou asked softly.
"Maybe you should stop them, Husband. He is, after all, soone under the tutelage of Immortal Venerable Lianpeng," Lin Ying whispered.
His senior martial sister was still the sa senior martial sister—always considering the big picture, so sensible that it made one's heart ache for her.
"It doesn't matter. The Immortal Venerable isn't lacking one idiotic junior," Wang Yulou replied calmly, dismissing Lin Ying's suggestion. He then issued another instruction. "Keep hitting! Shatter all five limbs!"
"Husband!"
Lin Ying imdiately grew anxious. She had always been like this, entirely focused on considering what was best for Wang Yulou. Back then, when Wang Yulou had insisted on buying her an expensive magical robe, she hadn't been willing to accept it either.
'Hit him harder. If we can't investigate any further, it will at least give the other side a reason to negotiate with ,' Wang Yulou sent a transmitted ssage explaining his intent. Lin Ying imdiately understood.
Beating Lian Chengxian into a cripple to hand the opponent a bargaining chip was part of his strategic design. This was Wang Yulou's current level of scheming.
In the two-sect war, the winds were high and the waves were fierce. Without enough thods at one's disposal, there was simply no way to survive here!
Gushen Qingyuan was astonished to discover that True Person Gua had personally appeared at the staging ground for the first wave of the general offensive. Refraining from fielding Purple Palace cultivators was the final unspoken rule the Red Lantern Illumination Sect and the Sky Serpent Sect used to control the intensity of the war.
But now that True Person Gua had arrived behind the front lines, the implications made Gushen Qingyuan shudder. Thinking about it, it made sense. Mang Xiang was strong, but when had the Sky Serpent Sect ever been weak? Did the Sky Serpent truly fear Mang Xiang?
No, the Sky Serpent didn't fear any grand cultivator. Without imnse strength, on what basis would they dare to act so arrogantly?
It was known that the Sky Serpent was arrogant to the point of casually extorting Immortal Venerables on the Gathering Immortals Platform. Of course, no one actually gave in—Yuehua had promised to give it a ninth-grade spiritual object, but that gesture was practically an insult.
With the Sky Serpent holding down the fort, the Sky Serpent Sect taking the initiative to escalate the war could be seen as a brilliant move to seize the upper hand.
"Croak~ There's a change of plans. We are still attacking the Middle Front, but our goal is to push the front lines forward by three hundred miles in one fell swoop. I will take the lead in charging the formation, using a Dao of Sound thod to launch an indiscriminate attack across six hundred miles of the core section of the Middle Front.
"After the attack ends, the silver-backed oriole will lead you to match my pace. We will charge forward three hundred miles and directly drop the great formation array.
"Afterwards, we will stubbornly defend from within the formation array, waiting until the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's defense line behind us is completely swallowed up by our sect!"
Gushen Qingyuan had always known that Purple Palace cultivators were incredibly strong. But this was his first ti realizing that True Person Gua was powerful enough to simultaneously attack all living beings within a six-hundred-mile radius. This was no longer just fearso; it was terrifying.
"Croak~ Are there any other questions?" True Person Gua, currently in the shape of a small frog, croaked and asked again.
At this mont, a Seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivator from the Sky Serpent Sect stepped forward.
"True Person, escalating the war is not a good thing. We are not currently suffering any losses, so there is no need to dramatically raise the stakes. It's too dangerous."
True Person Gua didn't answer. He simply opened his mouth, and a streak of pink light flashed.
The Foundation Establishnt cultivator who had voiced his opposition was instantly swallowed into True Person Gua's belly.
"Croak~ Disturbing military morale deserves execution! These days, the sect's Foundation Establishnt cultivators understand the rules less and less. When I ask if there are any questions, it's for you to check for omissions and fill in the gaps, not for you to oppose !"
True Person Gua couldn't comprehend the thought process of that Foundation Establishnt cultivator. Wait, you're actually offering opposing opinions? He only felt that the quality of the Sky Serpent Sect's disciples was worsening year by year.
"Are there any other questions?"
The crowd exchanged glances, eventually turning their eyes toward Gushen Qingyuan. The cuckolded man trembled as he spoke.
"No questions. We respectfully obey the True Person's Sacred Decree!"
The crowd hurriedly followed suit.
"No questions. We respectfully obey the True Person's Sacred Decree!"
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