Small Purpose

The carriage moved steadily along the official road.

Gu Chengyin sat in the main seat of the carriage, leaning against a soft cushion, lost in thought.

Lin Qingyan sat to his left, maintaining her usual aloof and detached demeanor. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady, as if she had entered a state of deep meditation.

But Gu Chengyin knew that the divine sense of a Golden Core cultivator constantly enveloped the entire convoy.

Any abnormal movement would be instantly captured by her.

From the Divine Capital to the Qingjian Sect, according to the planned itinerary, they needed to pass through Luoshui Commandery, enter Luodu, then divert into Hongnong Commandery, and finally arrive at Qingjian City.

If there were no accidents along the way, they would arrive in three days.

Gu Chengyin was not too worried about the risks of this journey.

Right now, the title of Immortal Clan Inheritor was just an empty name that had not yet been fully confirmed. Once they arrived at the Qingjian Sect and it was completely solidified...

The risks he would face then would be far from as light as they were now.

And for this journey, aside from the ostensible sect inspection tour, Gu Chengyin also harbored a secret objective that no one knew about.

To take over the entire Qingjian Sect.

This idea sounded absurd, and in reality, it was indeed absurd.

A mere late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was actually trying to swallow an entire immortal cultivation sect whole.

Yet, Gu Chengyin had ample confidence.

Because his cultivation system was different from everyone else's.

Normal cultivators improved their realms through the accumulation of daily practice, the aid of spirit pills and miraculous medicines, and the sudden enlightenment brought by fortuitous encounters.

But Gu Chengyin was different.

His cultivation base was directly linked to his official rank and influence.

Stirring up storms in the royal court and raising his official rank would lead to a breakthrough in his realm.

Maneuvering among various factions in the Crown Prince's palace and increasing his influence would cause his cultivation to grow.

And once he broke through to the Golden Core realm, his subsequent cultivation improvements would need to be bound to a sect.

That is to say, Gu Chengyin needed a sect.

A sect that belonged entirely to him.

And rather than starting from scratch to create a new sect, it was better to use his current power and status to seize a ready-made one.

The Qingjian Sect was the best choice.

The only trouble was the murderous intent from other cultivation sects.

However, although the risk was great, the reward was worth it.

Once he returned to the Divine Capital, as long as he pushed his official rank up a bit more, he could directly enter the Golden Core realm.

At that time, it would be hard to say who truly called the shots in Great Luo.

Before reaching the Golden Core realm, if Emperor Luo messed with him, he wouldn't hold it against Emperor Luo.

But if Emperor Luo still messed with him after he reached the Golden Core realm...

Wouldn't he have formed his Golden Core for nothing?

"Junior Preceptor Gu."

Just then, a woman's voice came from outside the carriage, interrupting Gu Chengyin's thoughts.

It was Jiang Jianli.

Gu Chengyin looked at Lin Qingyan on his left.

The latter had opened her eyes at some unknown point and was looking at him calmly, giving a slight nod.

After receiving Lin Qingyan's approval, Gu Chengyin spoke:

"Come in."

The carriage curtain was lifted.

Jiang Jianli bent down and walked in, followed by Jiang Qingzheng.

Although the inspection convoy was still moving, this was not a difficult feat for these two.

And coming over so suddenly obviously meant they had something to report.

"Lord Jingzhe, Junior Preceptor Gu."

After entering the carriage, Jiang Jianli and Jiang Qingzheng cupped their hands in greeting.

"Have a seat."

Gu Chengyin motioned for them to sit down.

The space in this carriage was very large, more than enough to seat seven or eight people with room to spare.

Jiang Jianli and Jiang Qingzheng sat down on the right side of the carriage, forming a diagonal with Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan.

The carriage suddenly fell quiet.

There was only the sound of wheels rolling over the road surface, and the occasional neighing of horses from outside.

Jiang Jianli glanced at Jiang Qingzheng, who nodded slightly, signaling her to speak.

"Lord Jingzhe, Junior Preceptor Gu."

Jiang Jianli then began:

"We just received news from the sect."

"Yang Yifei, the Alliance Leader of the Haoqi Alliance, and Lu Weilou, the Valley Master of the Valley of Villains, are currently guests at our Qingjian Sect."

Hearing this, Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow.

Haoqi Alliance.

Valley of Villains.

He naturally knew these two names.

In Great Luo, there were hundreds of immortal cultivation sects, and the large and small factions were intricately intertwined.

But there were only two that could truly be called factions.

The Haoqi Alliance, representing the righteous path, and the Valley of Villains, representing the demonic path.

It sounded simple: good versus evil, black and white clearly defined.

In reality, that was not the case at all.

Although the Haoqi Alliance and the Valley of Villains were completely opposed, it did not represent good and bad.

Just like the partisan struggles in the imperial court, where the pure stream faction scolded the muddy stream faction for ruining the country and its people, while the muddy stream faction scolded the pure stream faction for fishing for fame and compliments.

In truth, there were corrupt officials who perverted the law within the pure stream faction, and there were also people who genuinely wanted to get things done within the muddy stream faction.

The cultivation world was the same.

In the Haoqi Alliance, there were righteous cultivators who cared for the world, but there were also hypocrites who shouted about everlasting noble spirit while committing acts of oppression and plunder.

In the Valley of Villains, there were murderous demons, but there were also rogue cultivators who simply did not want to be bound by sects and only sought freedom and ease.

And the most subtle part was...

In many sects, among martial brothers, one might be in the Haoqi Alliance and the other in the Valley of Villains.

This led to a situation where disciples of the same sect might be slaughtering each other in opposing factions the next second.

And disciples of rival sects might be fighting side by side in the same faction the next second.

Their members were thoroughly intermingled with one another.

Exactly because of this, a bizarre stability emerged in the cultivation world of Great Luo.

The Haoqi Alliance and the Valley of Villains checked and balanced each other; neither could destroy the other, and neither could overwhelm the other.

However, they would frequently launch faction wars in fixed, remote areas that did not endanger ordinary people.

And through extremely lucrative resource rewards, they dragged all the major sects into the fray.

If ordinary rogue cultivators wanted to make a name for themselves, faction wars were the ultimate choice.

However, this was limited to the younger generation. The Heavenly Master Mansion of Great Luo had explicitly issued directives limiting the participation age and cultivation level for faction wars.

Over time, it became the proving ground where major cultivation sects tested their own disciples.

And as for why this situation was created.

Gu Chengyin didn't even need to think to know that it was inevitably the handiwork of Emperor Luo.

Aside from this monarch, who else could play the game of power balance to such a masterful degree?

And now, Jiang Jianli said that both the Haoqi Alliance and the Valley of Villains had sent people to the Qingjian Sect.

Without a doubt, they had definitely come for him, the inheritor of the Immortal Clan.

Jiang Qingzheng chimed in at the right moment:

"Junior Preceptor Gu, regarding your identity, quite a few demonic sects have currently expressed interest."

"Meanwhile, the righteous sects hold an ambiguous attitude."

"So they have pushed forward their respective representatives, namely the Haoqi Alliance and the Valley of Villains."

"They want to first determine whether your identity is true or false before making a decision."

Jiang Jianli nodded, a trace of gravity flashing in her eyes:

"Therefore, Elder Qingzheng and I believe that you are safe before your identity is confirmed."

"But once your identity as the Immortal Clan inheritor is confirmed by the two major factions and then spreads..."

Gu Chengyin nodded. He wasn't surprised by this development; in fact, it was well within his expectations.

So what he cared about was not the overall situation, but another question:

"This Yang Yifei and that Lu Weilou."

"What did they do before this?"