The Real Goal

"You said your plan was flawless and the place to hide things was impeccable, and I believed you."

"As a result, the [Two Realms] in the Southern Jambudvipa was raided. The one who took action was Bai Xuanling, and the Tianyan Sect collaborated with him. The action was accurate and on a large scale. I'd even believe there was an insider."

"You said you abandoned the Evil Spirit Cult in order to hold back Chu Xingchen and to stir up public opinion against him for future plans, and I also believed you."

"But now? After months of stalemate, the Yunmeng Pavilion didn't delay as you expected. Instead, they directly started to purge the entire Evil Spirit Cult. Our Mahayana vice - cult leader was shot through the head by a Tribulation - Transcending cultivator on the spot."

"Right, you even gave Linglong, an old heavenly demon, to Chu Xingchen for free. What's a Mahayana vice - cult leader anyway, right?"

"I understand that it's difficult to truly control the actions of a major sect. But now, do you know Li Junzi in the Southern Jambudvipa?"

"She scattered the national fortune of the Xuanwu Kingdom and blessed the scholars and warriors in power in the Xuanwu Kingdom."

"If Li Junzi manages to accomplish this, I think she's not far from becoming the Second Sage of the mortal world."

"By that time, what kind of public opinion can you use to argue with the Second Sage?"

"During this time, I don't know if Chu Xingchen has suffered any losses, but it seems that he's about to become truly invincible in his golden body."

In the Lotus Pond of the Eastern Purvavideha Continent.

Zhong Su looked at Polo, who still seemed calm and composed, with extreme distrust. The dissatisfaction in his words was obvious:

"You were confident about every single thing, but so far, what have you accomplished? What reason do we have to believe you?"

"Empty words mean nothing to me."

Meiyu's clone was also sitting beside them, calmly watching Polo sipping the tea brewed with lotus flowers.

Polo remained calm. He didn't react to these questions at all. He gently put down the teacup, smiled faintly, and replied:

"One should be confident when doing things. I won't waste my energy on things I don't believe I can accomplish."

"Folks, they say that cultivation is going against the heavens, and one has to go through all the hardships in life to become a true immortal."

"Of course, that's just a joke. There have been thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people who have ascended to become true immortals here."

"Going against the heavens is never that simple."

"But we're different. What we're doing is truly going against the heavens. We don't even know if we're the first ones to do so in the history of the ages."

"We've staked our lives on this not because we're sure this thing will succeed or go smoothly, but because we only see a glimmer of possibility."

"The Heavenly Dao is real, and the fortune of the world is real."

"If we rely on luck and just take chances, I believe we'll never win."

"All I want to do is fight for every possible chance."

"After all, things seemed to be going well before, but in the end, we still fell short."

"What we're trying to do is very difficult, and failure is always common."

After Polo finished speaking, he calmly looked at Meiyu's clone:

"If you ask me how I view these things, I can only say that I'll continue to clean up the mess and push forward with what I want to do. I won't doubt myself because of one failure."

"After all, if what I'm doing really made no sense, why would you believe in me?"

Zhong Su shifted his gaze and looked at Meiyu, who remained silent.

Meiyu was silent for a moment, then raised her eyes and said coldly:

"Should we solve the problem of Li Junzi first? Her actions have blazed a new trail. If she succeeds, she'll definitely qualify as the Second Sage."

"Warriors and cultivators are often restricted by their innate talents, but this path of national fortune blessing has completely broken this balance."

"The more one benefits the people and the higher the official position, the more national fortune blessings one will receive."

"Previously, great scholars had to study hard, and not many non - great scholars entered the court. But now that this new path is opened, it will be a general trend for scholars all over the world to enter the court to study."

"Scholars in the court are bound to the country because of the national fortune blessings, so they'll do their best to improve the national strength to get more blessings."

"The king distributes his blessings to the common people, and the common people support the king in return for the blessings."

"I'm afraid that in the future, there will be great changes in the mortal world, and a hundred flowers will bloom. It won't be just the cultivators who shine alone anymore."

"Whether it's Li Junzi's path or the future title of the Second Sage, she's just too much of an eyesore."

"Previously, both you and I underestimated Li Junzi."

After hearing these words, Zhong Su's expression darkened slightly. He sat down beside them, casually crossed his legs, and looked at Polo and Meiyu. He didn't hide his impatience at all.

Meiyu's words already indicated that she had chosen to continue believing in Polo.

People who are always hesitant when doing things are always easily moved by what seems to be sincere words from others.

Truth can sound reasonable no matter who says it. Even excuses can be made to sound reasonable.

For Zhong Su, facts are the only standard to judge everything.

Polo smiled faintly. He looked at Zhong Su but was answering Meiyu's question:

"Li Junzi already shows the potential to be the Second Sage. She also has a close relationship with Chu Xingchen. Anyone can see her value."

"At this time, there are probably Tribulation - Transcending cultivators secretly protecting her. We probably can't succeed without going there ourselves, but if we go, we might also get trapped."

"The talent of the Second Sage is, after all, a part of the Heavenly Dao, which we have to face anyway."

"Moreover, the power of the Second Sage lies in the name, not in strength. We're already notorious, so it doesn't matter much about a Second Sage."

Zhong Su raised his eyes and asked coldly:

"So, are we just going to let it go? Let Bai Xuanling raid the [Two Realms], let Li Junzi become the Second Sage, and let Chu Xingchen still stand high above?"

"The Yunmeng Pavilion has lost its momentum, and Li Junzi is about to become the Second Sage. Your plan of public opinion is going to be stillborn."

Hearing this, Polo sighed softly and showed a bit of a worried look on his face:

"Exactly. The fortune of the Heavenly Dao is really killing me. Nothing goes as planned."

"There's even more bad news. A girl named Lizhi under Chu Xingchen is investigating the line of the power of wishes I'm holding."

"Lizhi is stupid and won't be able to figure out anything, but she's just a nuisance and has wasted a lot of the power of wishes for no reason."

"Compared to Li Junzi, I'd rather deal with Lizhi first."

Zhong Su sneered and spoke very rudely:

"Then you should have died at sea back then, and let Linglong maintain the situation."

Hearing this, Polo slowly looked at Zhong Su:

"I understand. You're dissatisfied with everything I've done today. You think either I'm incompetent in handling affairs or I'm actually an insider trying to harm your lives."

Zhong Su neither responded nor denied it. He just sneered.

"I don't expect you to trust me, but I trust you." Polo said gently. "Then, according to what you think, what should we do now?"

Hearing this, Zhong Su glanced at Meiyu, with his eyes burning like fire.

Meiyu lowered her eyebrows slightly. She noticed the look but remained silent.

Polo stood up and looked at Zhong Su, saying:

"Just because some things haven't been accomplished doesn't mean they're useless."

"At least we've figured out what can be fought for and what can't."

"The Evil Spirit Cult in the Northern Jambu Continent and the Cloud Dream Pavilion have also bought us some time. Due to public opinion and the attitude of the Xiao Yun Hall, Chu Xingchen has no choice but to stay in the Eastern Superior Continent."

"It's true that the task wasn't accomplished, but these things are still of great use."

"I'm fully prepared. Giving away [Two Realms] for free doesn't matter at all."

"I understand that you feel it's humiliating and frustrating to do these things, but don't I feel the same way?"

"I'm fully prepared. Having more is just the icing on the cake. So, I only have one thing to entrust you with."

"If it succeeds, we can set off to kill Chu Xingchen tomorrow."

Zhong Su coldly asked, "What is it?"

Bolo still had a gentle smile on his face:

"I've found Heaven-Demon Hengwang. It's willing to join hands with me. All that's lacking is Heaven-Demon Yuanqiong. If it doesn't come, nothing can be done."

"It trusts you the most. I won't pry into the reason."

"All you need to do is persuade it."

"Naturally, you won't be the only one doing the persuading."

As Bolo said, he took out a piece of black leather paper emitting the power of the origin and gently placed it on the table:

"This is the joint signature of the Heaven-Demons. If you're willing to sign jointly, inject your power of the origin. If you're not willing, you can still use it to persuade."

Zhong Su reached out and took it. After a quick glance, he let out a cold laugh.

On this piece of black leather paper, except for his own name and Linglong's, all the other names were there.

Even Bai Bo, who had just been promoted, had signed.

Today... Bolo's real target was himself.