Chapter 2692

"Mu Guo and Cang Yan's goals are both to weaken Bekka as much as possible before the gods descend. After the Lingxu Zhong descend to the mortal realm, they still need to exert their influence on humanity through Bekka, so weakening Bekka is also weakening their power." Mu Di stood up and paced a few steps, "This is the foundation of our strategy. I don't believe the clever minds in the Fu Tai Ge can't see this clearly, but they all have people behind them and vested interests."

The emperor flew into a rage, and You Huan dared not respond.

But Mu Di quickly returned to his normal composure: "Go on, you know what to say to them."

"Yes."

After You Huan left, Mu Di took a small clump of cotton-like white silk threads from the lattice cabinet under the table, kneaded it a few times casually, and threw it into the inkstone.

With a rustling sound, the silk threads dissolved upon contact with water, bubbling up endlessly, and then a mass of water vapor rose up, hovering in the air without dispersing.

Mu Di did not close the window; the wind blowing in from the garden was strong, but this mass of water vapor remained unmoved.

In the blink of an eye, the water vapor condensed into a face.

The face was somewhat long, gaunt, with a goat beard.

Immediately after, an aged voice sounded: "What is it?"

In the present age, probably few would dare to be so impatient with Mu Di.

"Lingyun Daozun, I heard that Sharili Tian recently took the initiative to approach Lingshan, discussing cooperation after the descent?"

Mu Di was conversing with someone from Lingshan, and the person opposite was no ordinary figure, but the renowned True Immortal, Lingyun Dao Ren.

Lingyun Dao Ren is also one of the stewards of Lingshan, and according to the convention of the past few thousand years, he should be in seclusion now.

The person on duty during this period should have been Qianhuan True Person, but he had already perished in the Battle of the Inverted Sea, leaving Lingshan with only one steward, Xiao Hanzi, who, amidst the great turmoil, has an overwhelming workload, so Lingyun Dao Ren has also come out of seclusion.

Fortunately, spiritual energy has surged over the past decade or so, so his emergence from seclusion is not without gain, though he still cannot freely walk the mortal realm.

"Your information is quite well-informed," Lingyun Dao Ren said, "Sharili Tian has already fragmented, and many of its core members are on the Lingxu Shengzun's descent list."

"Can Lingxu Shengzun grant them precious quotas to descend?" Mu Di shook his head, "I don't hold out hope."

"Although Sharili Tian has long been in conflict with the Lingxu Zhong, many demons still firmly believe in Lingxu Shengzun's promises. On one hand, the Lingxu Shengzun's list includes many other demons; to reduce resistance to the gods' descent plan, the Lingxu Zhong have no choice but to let them descend. On the other hand, since the era of the Three Holy Gods, Lingxu Shengzun has enjoyed an impeccable reputation, never having broken faith even with enemies, so both friends and foes trust him deeply."

Lingyun Dao Ren continued, "In short, after descending, Sharili Tian's strength will naturally be far inferior to that of the Lingxu Zhong. They wish to ally with Lingshan to secure a foothold in the world after the gods descend."

"Did you agree?"

"What's wrong with that?" Lingyun Dao Ren smiled, "That's a matter for the future, and it causes no loss to Lingshan."

"The other side must have some conditions, right?" Mu Di, having lived in the mortal world for many years, views things differently from other immortals.

"They do. In recent years, many small states and tribes oppressed by Bekka's demon vassal state worship Sharili Tian and other idle gods. Given Sharili Tian and Naraka Tian's current situation, they are unable to provide aid to the descent, so they have asked for our help." Lingyun Xianren said, "Lingshan has always taken Mu Guo as the lead in this matter—you'll just help out as well."

"Taking over Sharili Tian's influence in the mortal realm for security?" What a good buddy—Sharili Tian is basically asking Lingshan to be their bodyguard?

Mu Di has lived long enough to pride himself on his broad experience, but the development of relations between the two realms to this point has also made him sigh at the unpredictability of worldly affairs.

"Does this include Shen Guo?"

"Yes, Shen Guo is actually the key point." Lingyun Dao Ren spoke plainly, "Sharili Tian's influence in the mortal realm is strongest in Shen Guo. Naraka Tian has no bandwidth to attend to it, so it has been taken over by Jieli Tian."

"Jieli Tian is my old enemy." Mu Di pressed his temples, "In ancient times, I fought Jieli Tian until the heavens and earth were darkened, and he slew many of my disciples."

What kind of world is this, where even my old enemy needs my help?

"All that is just old yellow calendar now—humanity has withered for three thousand years, and even countless sect cultivators have turned to yellow earth." Time is the only true weapon to dilute hatred, "But if you truly feel uneasy, I can send someone else to contact Shen Guo. The Shen Wang is the father of Jiu You; if Shen Guo has trouble, I suspect Jiu You will also come to you for help. He doesn't know about your history with Jieli Tian."

"Then send someone." Mu Di frowned, "As for Sharili Tian's affairs, let Lingshan handle them. I still don't believe in Sharili Tian's descent—I fear you're just busy for nothing."

"Your tone is very much like Naraka Tian's." Lingyun Dao Ren smiled, "I've heard a rumor in the heavenly realm that Naraka Tian seems unwilling to descend."

"If he wanted to descend, he wouldn't keep opposing the Lingxu Zhong, making Lingxu Shengzun want to get rid of him as soon as possible." Mu Di exhaled, "Perhaps he has simply seen through Lingxu Shengzun and that clique of demons. Frankly, if I must cooperate with Sharili Tian, I'd rather face Naraka Tian. At least he is resolute in opposing Lingxu Shengzun."

Lingyun Dao Ren said nothing.

Having said this, Mu Di immediately followed up: "Are you secretly making deals with the Lingxu Zhong again?"

That "again" sounded somewhat jarring. Lingyun Dao Ren flared up: "What good is it to cut ties with enemies like Cang Yan? Maintaining communication with the Lingxu Zhong lets us anticipate their next move."

Whether Jiu You or Cang Yan, both appear to swear eternal enmity toward the demons.

Mu Di frowned tightly: "Have you already begun discussing post-descent matters with the Lingxu Zhong?"

Lingyun Dao Ren pondered for a moment before saying: "According to Lingxu Shengzun's gods' descent plan, it currently appears unstoppable. Lingshan must prepare to face tens of thousands of demons."

According to Lingxu Shengzun, the first wave will see over ten thousand demons descend, followed by second and third waves, with hundreds of thousands flooding the mortal realm—enough to make mortal immortals hesitate. Not to mention, they also have over a dozen true gods.

How many true immortals are there in the world? For the past few thousand years, true immortals have been barely surviving in their minor cave heavens; the spiritual energy they painstakingly gathered is barely enough to sustain themselves—let alone make progress. Meanwhile, true gods enjoy ample demonic energy in the heavenly realm, and their cultivation can grow exponentially within three thousand years.

One's gain is another's loss.

Whether true gods/true immortals or demons/immortals, on these two levels, humanity is clearly at a disadvantage.

Lingshan must do everything possible to ensure its survival—aside from wholehearted combat, of course, it will employ any means necessary.

In times of great heavenly and earthly upheaval, survival does not necessarily favor the strongest, but it is very likely to favor the most adaptable.