Directly Swat Away~

Chu Xingchen put away the jade token in his hand.

The Tianyan Sect had always kept people stationed in the direction of Li Junzi, so the news they had received was the freshest available.

This was the first time Yunxiao had seen Chu Xingchen lose his composure even slightly. His probing gaze immediately turned toward him. After all, anything capable of unsettling even Chu Xingchen was naturally no small matter.

Seeing this, Chen Baiqing shifted slightly closer to Chu Xingchen, blocking Yunxiao’s inquisitive gaze. Since she had read the message, she naturally understood the importance of the matter as well.

If Li Junzi could become a Confucian Sage, then all the problems they currently faced would be nothing more than rootless duckweed.

No amount of doubt could withstand a single sentence from Li Junzi:

“Chu Xingchen is a good person.”

A Confucian Sage might not be a match for a cultivator’s methods, but when it came to reputation, anyone he cursed would truly have terrible luck.

Chen Baiqing had also keenly grasped this point. She spoke softly:

“Why don’t you let me handle this matter?”

Chu Xingchen hesitated slightly, then gently shook his head.

“No need.”

Chen Baiqing assumed that her master had yet to let go of what she had done last time. She lowered her head slightly and spoke in a soft, almost apologetic tone:

“What I did last time was not as prudent as it should have been. This time, I’ll listen to you without question. At the critical moment, I can also be of some help.”

Chu Xingchen looked up and chuckled.

“What I mean is that I trust her. After everything that has happened, her perspective is higher than ours. Sometimes, I don’t even understand what she’s thinking, yet she has already decided how to proceed.”

“If we go, we may not necessarily be helping. So trusting her is the greatest support we can give her.”

Chen Baiqing nodded lightly.

“I understand.”

She naturally believed the explanation her master had given her.

Northern Reed Continent, Cloud Dream Marsh.

Within the Cloud Dream Grotto-Heaven’s council hall.

Yunze sat in a corner like a frightened quail. The lowest-ranking people seated in the council hall were all elders of the Cloud Dream Pavilion who had reached the Great Ascension Realm.

The Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader sat in the central seat, while the two Tribulation Transcendence elders occupied the foremost seats to his left and right.

In the next row, Cui Hao and Zheng Zhaoling sat side by side.

At the very center of the council hall, the Black Crow Lord, Zhao Xuan, knelt on the floor. More than a dozen Tribulation Transcendence techniques bound his body.

The Black Crow Lord had already been kneeling there for more than two months. With his cultivation at the peak of the Body Integration Realm, he was indeed capable of enduring such treatment.

But while the Black Crow Lord could endure it, Cui Hao was beginning to lose patience.

After the Black Crow Lord was captured, he was immediately brought to the Cloud Dream Marsh and bound inside the council hall. The Cloud Dream Pavilion neither dealt with him nor offered any explanation.

Cui Hao had naturally asked about it, but the Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader had brushed him off with the vague response that the time was not yet right.

Now, however, the Incense Gods and the Evil Spirit Cult were locked in fierce combat.

The Incense Gods were using this opportunity to purge the newly risen faction.

The new faction had long been dissatisfied with the old faction’s monopolization of nearly all the incense offerings. The old faction had forcibly severed the path of the monsters, leaving them like rootless duckweed.

At present, the old-faction Incense Gods were using the major cause of resisting the Evil Spirit Cult as a pretext to deal with the newly emerging Incense Gods, both openly and covertly.

After more than two months of silence, the momentum of the new faction had already been broken.

The Cloud Dream Pavilion naturally understood the key benefits and risks involved. It was also obvious which side they had chosen.

The decisions of the Eighteen Immortal Sects would not always change simply because of Chu Xingchen or Cui Hao’s choices.

Moreover, Cui Hao truly had not expected the Cloud Dream Pavilion’s choice to be sheltering the old-faction Incense Gods.

Cui Hao’s gaze swept over the Black Crow Lord before he looked directly at the Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader and spoke firmly:

“Now that the Black Crow Lord has been captured, this should be the time to wipe out the Evil Spirit Cult. Yet the Pavilion Leader has deliberately concealed the news, allowing the Evil Spirit Cult to continue sweeping through the Cangxi Kingdom under the command of its Vice Leader. With countless lives suffering amid the devastation, is their fate not now determined by a single thought from you?”

The Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader shifted his gaze toward Yunze at the very bottom and spoke calmly:

“The situation in the Northern Reed Continent is complicated. It cannot be resolved simply by wiping out the Evil Spirit Cult.”

“The internal pressure among the Incense Gods has also been building for a long time. If the matter is handled improperly and the Incense Gods turn on one another, the result will be widespread devastation.”

“The God of Yunze of previous generations signed an alliance with my Cloud Dream Pavilion. Aside from maintaining stability in the Northern Reed Continent, the agreement was also meant to preserve peace in the Cloud Dream Marsh.”

“The Cloud Dream Marsh has been deeply rooted in the influence of the various sects and their Incense Gods for a thousand years. If the new faction rises everywhere, the Cloud Dream Marsh will inevitably be affected.”

“It is naturally the Cloud Dream Pavilion’s duty to eliminate the Evil Spirit Cult. But once the matter involves the internal affairs of the Incense Gods, the Cloud Dream Pavilion will have little justification to intervene.”

“When that time comes, whether I take charge of the Cloud Dream Marsh or leave it alone will both be problems.”

Upon hearing this, the God of Yunze slightly raised her gaze. She naturally understood that these words had been directed at her.

Only when the God of Yunze looked toward him did the Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader turn his attention back to Cui Hao.

“Your master assigned you the task of pacifying the Evil Spirit Cult. Now that the situation within the Evil Spirit Cult is clearly abnormal, you still refuse to withdraw even slightly. There must be some interesting reason behind that, but the Evil Spirit Cult is already nothing more than a rotting corpse.”

“Dealing with a rotting corpse is no longer difficult, but matters must still be handled properly. I imagine maintaining stability in the Northern Reed Continent is also what your master wishes to see.”

“You cannot seriously want to watch these Incense Gods and monsters continue slaughtering one another…”

The Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader paused, then asked in a somewhat peculiar tone:

“Besides, you should have seen the situation clearly yourself. Your master’s disciple, Yun Li, is still cultivating here beneath the blessings of this place. Maintaining the stability of the Cloud Dream Marsh ought to be an urgent matter for you as well.”

“If the Cloud Dream Marsh is thrown into turmoil, and its blessings disperse, it will be no good for either the God of Yunze or your junior brother.”

At these words, Yunze’s gaze unconsciously turned toward Cui Hao.

The Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader’s implication was extremely obvious, as though he feared Yunze might not understand. He was suggesting that Cui Hao’s disregard for the Cloud Dream Marsh might actually be driven by greed for the true-dragon blessings within it.

Moreover, maintaining stability in the Northern Reed Continent and the Cloud Dream Marsh was naturally not a bad thing for Yunze.

The matter of the Incense Gods gathering to pay their respects had occurred only recently.

Looking at the Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader’s composed expression, Cui Hao sighed inwardly. He understood that all the plans he had previously considered would have to be abandoned.

He had originally thought that the Cloud Dream Pavilion would tacitly allow internal strife among the Incense Gods, then use the opportunity to tighten its control over the Incense Gods of the Northern Reed Continent.

Now, however…it seemed that was not the case.

Then what matter could the Cloud Dream Pavilion consider more important than continuing to control the Northern Reed Continent?

Zheng Zhaoling suddenly rose to his feet, cupped his hands toward the Cloud Dream Pavilion Leader, and spoke:

“This disciple believes that the matter of the Incense Gods should be resolved by the Incense Gods themselves. As for the Evil Spirit Cult, it concerns the great calamity. The Evil Spirit Cult knows full well that something is wrong, yet refuses to retreat even after the Black Crow Lord lost contact. This is clearly the work of the Heavenly Demon, deliberately driving them forward and delaying matters.”

“The former matter does not concern the Cloud Dream Pavilion. It should be handled by the Cloud Dream Marsh.”

“The latter does concern the Cloud Dream Pavilion, and no further delay should be permitted.”

“Matters of the world cannot be mishandled simply because of a minor issue in one place, thereby causing a major matter to go wrong.”

Upon hearing this, Cui Hao was instantly stunned. He hurriedly reached out and tugged at Zheng Zhaoling’s sleeve.

Big brother!

Those were not words a core disciple of the Cloud Dream Pavilion should be saying!

Zheng Zhaoling noticed Cui Hao’s movement.

Without hesitation, she smoothly raised her hand and slapped away the hand Cui Hao had lifted to warn her.