Chapter 129: Heaven and Earth's Conscience, Charitable Welfare!

If the Heavenly Dao's problem isn't solved, the initiative to go to war won't be in the Wu Clan's hands.

They still need to patiently wait for the Twelve Ancestral Witches to unite and counter, eliminating external factors.

In the palace, the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

Each elite young Wu furrowed their brows, worried about the current situation.

"Really not possible..." Yuzhen suddenly spoke, he weighed his words: "Take it step by step?"

"For those oppressed peoples, since someone has come to us for help, asking us to uphold justice, we should go uphold justice... and do our best to aid them."

"If we help them down-to-earth and achieve some tangible results, that should be enough to silence the world's murmurs."

"Then we don't need to do anything else." Hougang shook his head, expressing opposition: "How many beings come seeking help? How many peoples do we want to liberate and save?"

"Not to mention the painful steps and severed profit chains behind this; just our manpower shortage means expenses exceed income." Hougang bluntly said, "Moreover, Yuzhen, you're putting the cart before the horse."

"Although we claim we're promoting the world's beautiful development, fundamentally we're pursuing victory!"

"No matter the propaganda slogan, it's merely a means to gain support."

"We Wu Clan are here to oppose the Demon Race, not to truly selflessly dedicate ourselves!"

"If you have a benevolent urge to vent, you must first finish the Wu-Yao Great War and reap the victory's fruits."

Hougang wasn't polite at all: "Our propaganda is just fooling outsiders... but don't let yourself be fooled lame."

Yuzhen gave an embarrassed laugh and said no more.

"Then should we use the Delay Word Tactic?" the painter beside him interjected abruptly: "Since doing nothing is inappropriate; putting heart into it is also not proper."

"So if we just put on a show, would that be okay?"

The painter stroked his chin, looking grave: "On the surface, we'll go all out, making the momentum grand; we'll issue public statements expressing shock and doubt at the world's cruelty, then conduct large-scale questionnaires and evidence gathering."

"With Kunlun Mountain this vast, I think dragging this investigation out for a thousand eight hundred years is no problem at all... lower our standards, even a hundred thousand years would do!"

"After the investigation ends, we'll then fool those onlookers, saying individual plans are short, collective plans long, sincerely rewarding others for offering ideas, to contribute our share to the world's beauty."

"For this solicitation of plans, humbly listening, I think using another eighty thousand years would also be quite normal."

The painter expounded his idea, leaving the young Wu around the round table looking at each other.

What an excellent Delay Word Tactic!

After all this fuss, everyone in Kunlun Mountain knows the Wu Clan's determination to save the bottom of the food chain, humanity's glory shines nonstop—but what's actually happening?

Nothing was done.

It's purely empty boasting.

Yet after such a performance, they also won over people's hearts.

The onlooking beings felt the Wu Clan was very earnest and doing its utmost.

"Often, those who can actually do things are not as good as those who can talk." The painter chuckled: "Because few people patiently seek the truth; they just repeat hearsay, listen to others' words, and think they understand the world."

"So we'll cater to their tastes, put on a show... all right?"

"You're deceiving." Qingxuan saw straight through.

"Right, I am deceiving." The painter nodded calmly: "Deceiving those with fleeting enthusiasm, making them believe we truly have a grand vow to save the humble and weak; deceiving those suffering beings, letting them feel light in darkness—even if that light is false."

"Only the relevant vested interests truly understand the truth... but will they speak it out?" The painter asked leisurely: "If there are any tactless ones, we don't mind eliminating one or two, giving a warning, drawing a red line."

"If we don't expose it, we're all fine; if we do, it's a case of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys... after doing it a few times, I suppose those people also become adept, knowing to maintain a tacit understanding."

The painter's head lifted slightly, sunlight streaming through the window fell on his face, giving a hazy, dreamlike feeling.

"We paint our pies, issue our grand vows, advocate so-called equality of all beings; those dark behind-the-scenes continue their bloodshed and brutality, silently reaping benefits... well water doesn't breach river water, isn't that wonderful?"

"In fact."

"Without that dark backdrop, how could we manifest our truth, goodness, and beauty?" The painter pinched a mandara petal, snorted: "Only with evil do people yearn for the righteous."

"Who knows, we could rely on empty talk to win a wave of hearts... in the end, those we deceive most deeply are not us, but themselves."

The painter smiled, fingertips exerting slight pressure as they rubbed, the petal turned into calamity ash, scattering into nothing: "How's my plan? It covers every aspect."

"If no one can think of anything better, you can follow my plan for execution."

He leisurely stretched, awaiting different voices to rise.

A long, long time.

The atmosphere here seemed to have sunk into utter stillness.

No one spoke a single word.

No one objected.

This amounted to tacit approval.

Although some Wu showed clear disapproval on their faces, considering reality, they wouldn't oppose just because they disagreed.

"Doesn't anyone have a more suitable plan?"

"If not, then let's treat it as everyone agreeing."

The painter looked left and right, full of pride and satisfaction.

But just as he was at his most pleased, a booming sound suddenly rang out—the palace's great door being pushed open.

A handsome, dignified, divine, transcendent man, hands behind his back, strode in calmly.

"I disagree."

As soon as the man entered, he spoke to refute the painter: "This plan is inadvisable."

"It can solve a temporary predicament, but not an eternal one; it can deceive beings for a moment, but not forever!"

Each word, resonant and forceful, shook the hall.

Upon seeing this person, many young Wu showed expressions of surprise.

Even someone like Hougang nearly rose to his feet!

Indeed, to them, this person's appearance was truly somewhat unbelievable.

——Fengxi!

This guy was taken away by the Grand Witch right under their noses just a few days ago, and it looked like he was headed for the 'a brave warrior goes and never returns' cold‑storage fate…… Yet only a short time has passed, and he's bounced back, alive and kicking?

「Tsk……Fengxi, you actually came out this quickly? Has the case of someone reporting you for taking kickbacks been settled? 」 The artist wasn't much embarrassed by being refuted; on the contrary, he was curious about Fengxi's experience.

The Demon Race's affairs can be put aside for now, but we can't ignore our teammates' gossip.

「Yeah, yeah! 」 Hougang also nodded repeatedly, 「I'm thinking, with the amount of kickback money you took, you should at least be locked up for hundreds of thousands of years…… How did you get released so quickly? 」"

「That makes no sense! 」

Hougang said it made no sense at all.

「You guys, do you have any comradeship at all? 」 Fengxi's forehead was full of black lines, 「I've come out, and you not cheering is fine, but you actually dare to question me? 」"

He was furious, 「My merit money has absolutely nothing to do with kickbacks; it's purely because of my good character and good luck, a windfall from heaven…… So I was released without guilt, what's there to find strange?! 」"

「Nothing could be more normal! 」

「You lot, each of you looking so shocked…… What the hell are you up to?! 」"

「Question my noble integrity? Question my honesty and fairness? 」"

「I'm at least your leader! Your superior! You all just want to overthrow me?! 」"

Fengxi was very angry.

This bunch has rebelled against heaven!

If they dare to question his conduct today, will they dare to play at empty schemes tomorrow?

When there's work, the leader does it; when there's a pot to carry, the leader carries it?

How unreasonable!

Fengxi spat furiously, his fingers jabbing wildly, delivering a stern critique.

However, the effect was not good.

The rising and falling boos were the most direct negation of Fengxi's words.

「Such a large sum of merit money…… you're talking about luck? 」 Someone muttered, 「What about your face? Do you still want it? 」"

With Fengxi's darkening face, the hall was instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Until, Fengxi began to activate the innate spiritual treasure, seemingly poised to launch a massive slaughter.

「All right, all right. 」 Yuchén stood up, smoothed things over, 「The ancestral witches have all approved Fengxi's interrogation, confirmed his innocence, so let's stop joking about this. 」"

「Otherwise, it would be seen as having objections to the ancestral witches' decisions, and also as having objections to the Lingbao Tianzun who caused all this…… The ancestral witches we can overlook, but the Lingbao Tianzun cannot be ignored. 」"

「After all, this is Kunlun Mountain. 」"

「I don't think anyone would want to step out one day and suddenly cross through a temporal gate straight into the presence of the Lingbao Tianzun, would they? 」"

Yuchén appeared to be playing the peacemaker, but in fact he was issuing a terrifying threat.

Meeting the Tianzun upon going out is basically opening the door to slaughter!

In an instant, those shameless little witches fell silent, obediently shut their mouths, watched their noses, noses watched their hearts, following the guidance of their spirits.

「Now that's more like it! 」"

Yuchén smiled satisfactorily.

Then he turned, looked at Fengxi, 「The past can be put to rest here…… What we need to do next is look toward the future. 」"

「You say you disagree with that approach, not taking delay and deceit as core—so you must have a better plan that can defuse the Demon Race's planned public‑relations counteroffensive? 」"

「Exactly! 」"

Fengxi calmed the fluctuations of the innate spiritual treasure, swaggered over to his seat, 「Just talk, do nothing—looks like a win‑win: it appeases the surging public opinion without stepping on the true vested interests' sore spots. 」"

「But this, in the end, isn't a long‑term solution. 」"

「We still need to do some concrete work——this is also why we were all sent here: to break open the situation, truly drive a nail into the Demon Race's heartland and tear apart their camp! 」"

「We want to transform those humble, struggling groups into our comrades…… no matter how weak their strength. 」"

「This requires us to put in genuine effort——at least a part of it. 」 Fengxi said slowly.

「But if we demand genuine effort, that means concrete resources and manpower…… whether the clan will support you going through all this trouble is one thing; the key is the imbalance between expenditure and gain. 」 Hougang shrugged, 「If things go badly, all the investment could go down the drain—it's not impossible…… By then the Demon Race's strategists might be laughing themselves to death. 」"

「Hah……」 Fengxi shook his head slightly, let out a light laugh, 「I'm a good person—I won't give them the chance to die laughing. 」"

「Because, I never planned to ask the clan for resource support; instead I'll transform things on the spot. Take from the Demon Race, use for the Demon Race, and meanwhile stir up some discord. 」"

「Thanks to the Demon Race's strategists. 」 Fengxi sighed emotionally, 「What great teammates! 」"

「They've personally handed us a legitimate excuse to intervene in the lower‑level groups, and even set up the momentum for us…… With the pose so proper, if I don't just slip in a thrust, I myself would feel uncomfortable. 」"

「Everyone! 」"

Fengxi spread his arms, as if embracing heaven and earth, 「Let's, after the training platform, go on to set up an institution! 」"

「A……charitable foundation! 」"

「A foundation dedicated to caring for the weak, poor Demon Race, brainwashing them to become loyal to our great Wu Clan, and to struggle lifelong to tear apart the Demon Race's bloody iron curtain! 」"

「This organization will link up the oppressed lower levels of the Demon Race, connect with sympathetic, compassionate elements who have betrayed their own stance…… All to strive for a better world's arrival, it is glorious! It is great! 」"

At this moment, Fengxi seemed to embody a great, sublime spiritual mentor, possessing an ineffable divinity…… and…… demonicity!"

「I understand the reasoning…… the problem is money? 」 Hougang asked interestedly, 「Without resources backing it, you can't set up this table. 」"

「As for money, I already said it…… take it from the Demon Race! 」 Fengxi curled the corner of his mouth into a smile, 「Tomorrow we will issue a statement: to care for and support the oppressed lower levels of the Demon Race, our great Wu Clan will raise funds for the Honghuang public welfare undertaking. 」"

「Facing all the beings of Kunlun, we will collect donations. 」"

「Nobody will buy it. 」 Hougang shook his head.

「I know. 」 Fengxi said calmly, 「So we need a more subtle way of guidance. 」"

「For example, every being who donates resources will have an opportunity. 」"

「A one‑in‑ten‑million chance to get a return of 2.5 million times the donated resources…… this is the Upper Heaven's reward for kind‑hearted people! 」"

As he spoke, Fengxi burst into laughter, 「What do you think of my plan like this…… how is it? 」"

"Not much." The painter master beside sighed, "I'm deceiving, but you're gambling... Compared to me, you're no better—your heart is pretty dirty."

"Eh... how do you talk?" Fengxi glanced at him, very dissatisfied, "Heaven can bear witness—I'm only using these trifling means for the sake of welfare; my heart is truly a great kindness!"

"Pfft!" Hougang snorted, "Using the name of welfare to carry out a scheme of exploiting people's greed for profit... Fengxi, I only just realized today, you're truly dark!"

The work is finally done; starting tomorrow I'll release a burst of updates!

(End of chapter)