Chapter 399: Let the brothers perform, shall we?

Wan Zhushi heard Nangong Fei's words and understood their implication in his heart, but he didn't care either.

After Qingkun caused such a commotion at the scene, although he lost face, he managed to ease the anger of the strong cultivators from the four major sects considerably.

"Nangong Daoist is joking; the young man's blood and qi are just beginning to stir.

He doesn't know how dangerous the Universe Cultivation World is—not all powerful cultivators can tolerate his bad temper.

Thank you, fellow Daoists, for giving Wan a thin face."

Wan Zhushi swept his gaze across the faces of the four major sect leaders one by one, then, after bowing with clasped hands, he spoke.

"Hmph.

Don't play dumb.

Will the remaining twenty thousand cultivators of Tianji Pavilion participate in the great war or not?

If you don't give an answer, the disciples of Tianlong Gate will immediately withdraw from the battlefield."

Long Xiu'ao stood with his hands behind his back, adopting a firm and resolute demeanor as he pressed for an answer.

Whoever's child it is, their family feels the pain.

The cultivators from Tianlong Gate who joined the war are outstanding young elites from the core of Huanyu; they entered the Primordial Spirit Realm for training and happened to encounter the eradication of the Shangqing Sect, so they gathered temporarily.

Under the Blazing Heaven Great Array, the five-headed, eight-winged horned fire lizard burns the earth and boils the heavens with Blazing Heaven flames, indiscriminately destroying all cultivators in the battlefield; if Tianji Pavilion retains its strength at this time, they too must preserve it.

Otherwise, after the great war, our sect's cultivators would all perish, leaving only Tianji Pavilion's cultivators to sneak into Shangqing Sect to seize resources.

"Long Daoist, you must not—without the disciples of various sects entangling the enemy,

the members of the Shaoguai Sect and Shangqing Sect will surely escape the battlefield.

The Blazing Heaven Great Array consumes enormous energy; we absolutely cannot allow the occupying side that is gaining the upper hand to suffer a reversal."

Wan Zhushi, upon hearing this, suddenly opened his eyes wide, his face drastically changing as he urged.

"Tianji Pavilion is truly scheming.

Using minimal force to gain maximal benefit.

The penguin jade slip of Shangqing Sect mainly affects Tianji Pavilion's business, not the ten major orthodox paths of Huanyu.

The lives of the cultivators from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion are lives, but the lives of the cultivators from the four sects are not lives.

Are the lives of Tianji Pavilion cultivators not lives, while those of the four sects' cultivators are?"

Fu Yang Sect Leader Feng Heavenly Flower's mouth curled into a cold smile as he spoke with dissatisfaction.

Upon hearing this, the other strong cultivators from all sects also let out a cold snort toward Wan Zhushi, their faces dark with anger as they glared at the Tianji Pavilion crowd.

Wan Zhushi gripped his beard tightly, restraining the urge to lash out.

He could not miss the implied meaning in Feng Heavenly Flower's words—the four major sects wanted to take advantage of the situation to extract benefits from him.

"As long as you don't drag the battlefield disciples into this, I can accomplish it within my capabilities.

If you have any conditions, feel free to propose them." Wan Zhushi took two deep breaths, suppressed his anger, and spoke.

After hearing this, the leaders of the four major sects exchanged glances, communicated via voice transmission, and then Lei Shangkuang, the leader of Fenglei Pavilion, had eyes filled with frenzy and hope.

"We four sects now demand the Tianji Purple Order." Lei Shangkuang spoke in an unyielding tone.

This is no longer the lion opening its mouth wide—it's outright robbery. Wu Feng, standing beside Wan Zhushi, upon hearing this, instinctively retorted.

This isn't just a lion opening wide—it's outright robbery." Wu Feng, standing beside Wan Zhushi, hearing this, instinctively retorted.

Tianji Pavilion conducts business in the Universe Cultivation World, issuing Tianji Orders to win over many supreme cultivators.

Cultivators of Huanyu who possess a Tianji Order gain advantages in purchasing and selling goods over those without one, making it extremely convenient and favorable.

Therefore, Tianji Orders are divided into nine levels: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white. When purchasing Tianji Pavilion's items, holders receive discounts in sequence—one fold, two folds, up to nine folds. When selling items through Tianji Pavilion, after retaining the original price, they can gain additional chips equivalent to ninety percent, eighty percent, or one percent.

Especially during Tianji Pavilion's annual auctions, holders of Tianji Orders enjoy priority purchasing rights for the final treasures.

The four major sects of Huanyu are major powers; likewise, under their sects, they also operate commercial houses.

If Tianji Pavilion hands over the Tianji Purple Order, simply purchasing goods from the four major sects each year would cause them to lose thirty percent of their profits.

"You all surely don't truly believe that eliminating the Shaoguai Sect and Shangqing Sect requires the assistance of the four sects.

The Tianji Purple Order is of great significance—even though the Wan family has served Tianji Pavilion for thousands of years, they have only obtained one such order.

You merely formed an alliance for a single anti-enemy operation, yet you seek to obtain Tianji Pavilion's Tianji Purple Order.

This is still far from enough." Wan Zhushi spoke with a grim face, involuntarily twitching the corner of his eye; his gaze at the four sects' strong cultivators gradually turned cold.

"Wan Zhushi.

When the eight sects formed an alliance, Tianji Pavilion once promised.

The benefits obtained later from Shangqing Sect's penguin jade slip would be equally divided among the eight sects, but now Taiyin Shengdi, Zifu, and Lu Yan Valley have already left the battlefield.

The benefits from Shangqing Sect's penguin jade slip should therefore be equally divided among the four sects.

Our disciples have risked their lives for Tianji Pavilion's future business; demanding the Tianji Purple Order is both reasonable and justified." Lei Shangkuang, leader of Fenglei Pavilion, showed no weakness, pressing his argument with firm words.

"Exactly.

Under the Blazing Heaven Great Array, the disciples of the four major sects all went forth, all burned to death by the Blazing Heaven flames.

We must give an explanation to the main sect of Huanyu.

How so?

Do you want to treat the strong cultivators of the four sects like monkeys to play with?" Long Xiu'ao's eyes suddenly narrowed, his mouth curling into a cold smile as he spoke.

He stepped forward, leading the strong cultivators of Tianlong Gate to hover above the Tianji Pavilion cultivators, implying that if Tianji Pavilion refused, they would forcibly throw the twenty thousand Tianji Pavilion cultivators into the Blazing Heaven Great Array.

"Tianlong Gate Daoist, don't act impulsively—we are still in the midst of proper discussion!"

Wu Feng saw this and, as a reflex, stepped forward to dissuade Long Xiu'ao.

Currently, the Blazing Heaven Great Array is controlled by Feng Yuxiang, Chu Mengji, Long Zhan Tian, Zi Tian Du, and Lei Ze; the five-headed, eight-winged horned fire lizard stands in the Blazing Heaven fire sea, stirring up the power to burn the heavens and boil the earth; if the twenty thousand Tianji Pavilion cultivators were thrown into the array, it would be a complete waste.

Wan Zhushi saw that the strong cultivators of the four major sects were all tense and ready to draw their swords, his whole body trembling violently with anger.

The emergence of the Blazing Heaven Great Array reversed the entire battlefield situation; he had just been happy for a moment, but then the four major sects came to him like this, and upon leaving, Lu Yan Valley, Taiyin Shengdi, and Zifu turned against him from within.

If the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets does not grant benefits to the four sects, the four sects will certainly do whatever they can.

You should know that the Heavenly Secret Purple Edict is issued by the Huanyu headquarters; I have no authority from below.

However, I can promise you all: if the four sects assist the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets in eliminating the Qingxu Sect, I can send each sect a Heavenly Secret Black Edict.

This is already the maximum authority I possess!

Wan Zhushi's eyes were bloodshot, his face full of anger and frustration as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, the powerhouses of Tianlongmen, Fuyang Sect, Bibo Palace, and Fenglei Pavilion exchanged glances and all nodded in agreement.

The Heavenly Secret Black Edict is still acceptable.

However, we need to obtain the token first.

Otherwise, we will order all cultivators in our sects to cease fighting.

Nangong Fei, the steward of Bibo Palace, stared at Wan Zhushi, his face full of resolve as he spoke.

Impossible.

We must wait until after the matter is settled to fulfill it; otherwise, if you renege, how can the Heavenly Secret Black Edict be reclaimed?

Wan Zhushi immediately refused, speaking directly to rebut.

The greatest impact of the Shangqing Sect's penguin jade slip is on the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's Huanyu business.

The greatest impact of the Qingxu Sect's penguin jade slip is on the Huanyu business of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.

You've painted a big pie, yet you expect tens of thousands of sect disciples to work for the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.

What are you thinking?

If the war fails and tens of thousands of sect cultivators are destroyed,

shall we apologize to the sect with our deaths?

If the Heavenly Secret Black Edict is not handed over, the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets shows no sincerity in cooperating with the four great sects of Huanyu.

For our lives, we might as well abandon the interests of the Qingxu Sect.

Long Xiu'ao's eyes flashed with cold light, his face extremely gloomy as he spoke.

The four sect stewards have already discussed this: to prevent variables in attacking the Qingxu Sect, we must first obtain the Heavenly Secret Black Edict; once the alliance cultivators' great battle against the Qingxu Sect fails, at the very least the Heavenly Secret Black Edict can be reported to our sect.

Even if the sect blames us, handing over the Heavenly Secret Black Edict to the sect will not cost us our lives.

Wan Zhushi watched the four great sects pressing in tightly, actually wanting to pull each other away from the battlefield, so angry he nearly cried.

He had no choice but to finally choose compromise.

Wan Zhushi reluctantly handed over the four Heavenly Secret Black Edicts to the stewards of Fuyang Sect, Bibo Palace, Fenglei Pavilion, and Tianlongmen; in his heart, he had thoroughly scolded the stewards of the four great sects.

Just as the cultivators of the four great sects received the Heavenly Secret Black Edicts and were feeling smug, suddenly an angry questioning voice came from the sky.

Where have the cultivators of the Purple Mansion gone?

On the crimson sky blazing with the crimson fire sea, one of the heads of the five-headed, eight-winged horned fire lizard emitted the questioning voice; upon hearing it, all the high-level strongers of the various sects present felt their hearts jolt violently.

They exchanged glances, their faces showing ominous expressions, even the alliance cultivators fighting the Slaughter Ghost Sect and Qingxu Sect in the Jin Tian Great Array had faces showing dire omens.

Each sect had been solely focused on extorting Wan Zhushi of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, forgetting the Purple Heaven Capital who presided over the Jin Tian Great Array; upon hearing the Purple Heaven Capital's words, they snapped back to reality, all thinking how to respond to the Purple Heaven Capital.

If we speak the truth, the Purple Heaven Capital will surely go mad and break free from control of the Jin Tian Great Array.

The Fengyu Elephant, Chumeng Ji, Purple Heaven Capital, Long Zhantian, and Leize—these five entities jointly presiding over the Jin Tian Great Array as true spirits—losing one controller will certainly cause the array spirit of the Jin Tian Great Array to automatically disintegrate.

Then there will be no need to easily turn the battlefield situation; it will instantly tilt toward the Slaughter Ghost Sect and Qingxu Sect.

The cultivators of the Purple Mansion were already killed or driven away by the alliance cultivators, yet you still foolishly fight to the death for the alliance cultivators.

If the steward of the Purple Mansion, Zihuaoyue, knew this, he would be so angry as to slash his own neck and commit suicide." Zhang Berong, hovering outside the battlefield, seized the opportunity to mock, and the faces of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and the four sect cultivators instantly changed.

"Purple Heaven Daoist, do not listen to the enemy's sowing discord.

The alliance cultivators have some misunderstanding about the Purple Mansion; after this matter, I will personally visit the Purple Mansion." Wan Zhushi of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets spoke with a solemn gaze.

You've driven the Purple Mansion away, and still you won't let them be.

The Purple Mansion has been driven away by you, yet you still won't let up?

To settle accounts, you must force it to the Purple Mansion's base.

Purple Heaven Capital, if I were you, I would avenge the fallen Purple Mansion cultivators.

Seizing control of the Jin Tian Great Array, slaughter the alliance cultivators to seek justice for the lives lost in the Purple Mansion's fall." The Golden Peng King arrived beside Zhang Berong, speaking with yin-yang strangeness, his face full of disdain.

"What they say is truly so!"

Upon hearing this, the Purple Heaven Capital instantly had his hair stand on end with rage, the entire Jin Tian fire sea violently shaking; the Jin Tian true spirit of the five-headed, eight-winged horned fire lizard roared to the heavens, and one head suddenly reversed its attack direction.

"Purple Heaven Daoist, if you have something to say, speak well; do not act in regret, beguiled by the enemy." Leize's heart involuntarily tightened, and he urgently urged.

"Purple Heaven Daoist, after eliminating the Qingxu Sect, then handle this.

There must be a great misunderstanding."

Long Zhantian of Tianlongmen harbored dissatisfaction in his heart but did not speak it, similarly speaking to stabilize the Purple Heaven Capital's emotions.

"Purple Heaven Daoist, do not get angry; once the Qingxu Sect is destroyed, the alliance cultivators will absolutely not swallow the Purple Mansion's share of resources."

Wan Zhushi of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had his eyes bloodshot, with crystal essence forming within.

The Jin Tian Great Array emerged; after great difficulty shifting the battlefield, the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets was then extorted by the four sect stewarts leading sect elders to take the Heavenly Secret Black Edicts.

One matter just settled, another arises; the Purple Heaven Capital discovered that all Purple Mansion cultivators had left, and in the beast heads of the Jin Tian Great Array, he directly went berserk.

The array spirit of the Jin Tian Great Array, the five-headed, eight-winged horned fire lizard, as the Purple Heaven Capital struggled, one attack head began to change, now aiming directly at all high-level strongers of the alliance forces present.

"Nonsense; if I do not kill you dogs and scum,

I would not be worthy of the Purple Mansion steward, nor worthy of the tens of thousands of fallen Purple Mansion disciples." The Purple Heaven Capital's angry voice rang out in the sky.

The Jin Tian fire sea violently shook; as the beast head he controlled spewed fire waves, the sky-filling fire rain reversed direction and straightly slaughtered toward all high-level alliance cultivators.

The other four beast mouths were also affected, all spewing Jin Tian fire.

In an instant, the might of the Jin Tian Burning Heaven enveloped and surrounded all high-level alliance cultivators.

"Fellow Daoists of Tiandu, please do not be agitated.

Speak calmly; the alliance cultivators present are all innocent."

Leize's flustered voice rang out in the air, yet he gradually relinquished his control over the beast head, allowing the five-headed, eight-winged ox-horned fire salamander's control to subtly shift toward Zitiandu.

Feng Yuxiang, Chumeng Ji, and Long Zhan Tian, upon hearing this, likewise did the same.

While uttering urgent pleas with their mouths, their bodies acted in direct opposition.

"Burn well, burn to death those hypocrites of the orthodox path."

The Golden Peng King watched as the alliance cultivators' senior members were all engulfed by the Heaven-Burning Great Array, elatedly waving his arms and kicking his legs.

Feng Yuxiang, Chumeng Ji, Long Zhan Tian, Leize, and Zitiandu had long been converted by earth cultivators and now serve as spies for their faction among the major powers of Huanyu.

Under the indiscriminate toll of the Heaven-Burning Great Array, nearly all cultivators of the Shaogui Sect's Huanyu headquarters, the Shangqing Sect's cultivator-operated mechanical puppets, and the orthodox Five Sects Alliance have fallen.

Those less than one-tenth of the Shaogui Sect's headquarters cultivators may be dealt with by the Shangqing Sect as they see fit; as for the destroyed mechanical puppets, if their brain crystals remain intact, they can be reassembled and reused.

Upon receiving the Golden Peng King's mental transmission, Zitiandu began to act on the battlefield.

He claimed that the orthodox alliance cultivators had forced him out of the battlefield due to his Zi Fu, and seized the opportunity to strike at the alliance's senior members using the power of the Heaven-Burning Great Array.

Once the battle concludes, even if the Five Sects approach Zi Fu to demand accountability, Zitiandu will not be suspected.

"Leize, Chumeng Ji, Feng Yuxiang, Long Zhan Tian—hurry and stop Zitiandu's actions."

The Wan Zhu Shi of Tianji Pavilion cried out in alarm.

The remaining twenty thousand cultivators of Tianji Pavilion surrounding them were afflicted by the flames of the Heaven-Burning Great Array; many were ignited and reduced to ashes, causing him unbearable anguish, his heart feeling as if pierced by needles, dripping blood.

"It is not that we do not wish to control.

Indeed, the beast head of the five-headed, eight-winged ox-horned fire salamander controlled by Zitiandu is the true spirit's mastermind; even if we exert our utmost effort, we cannot stop Zitiandu's actions."

Long Zhan Tian shouted in panic and dismay, falling into chaos as if losing his mainstay.

"Fellow Daoists of Tianlongmen, be cautious."

Long Zhan Tian suddenly shouted loudly, yet it was already too late.

Numerous senior cultivators of Tianlongmen were ignited by the Heaven-Burning flames, exploding in midair; moreover, the Heaven-Burning flame is terrifyingly fierce—once its sparks fall upon other cultivators, they cling like bone-attached worms and cannot be shaken off, instantly plunging countless alliance senior experts into crisis.