Chapter 453: Plan

The lord's mansion at the very center of Hundred Mile City.

As the largest immortal city among the neighboring states, it not only bears the hub's duties but is also the largest market town in the surrounding area.

In such a territory, it is naturally impossible for any single faction to monopolize it.

Unless, like Four Lords City and Fengdu City, there exists an absolute powerhouse of late-stage Yuan Ying Great Cultivator or one comparable to a late-stage Yuan Ying Great Cultivator, plus several Yuan Ying cultivators, only then can true control be achieved.

Therefore, within Hundred Mile City, even without multiple factions retreating and holding out, it remains a bustling immortal city with a mixed populace.

And within Hundred Mile City, the faction originally holding the greatest influence was the Formless Sword Sect.

Compared to the Grand Mystery Orthodox Unity Sect, the Formless Sword Sect's mountain gate lies closer to the eastern coast, so its influence over the eastern coastal states is far greater than that of the Grand Mystery Orthodox Unity Sect or Black River Valley.

Although the Formless Sword Sect did not, like the Grand Mystery Orthodox Unity Sect, construct a vast 'Grand Mystery City' immortal city, it also built a magnificent lord's mansion within Hundred Mile City.

At this moment, within the lord's mansion of Hundred Mile City, many Yuan Ying cultivators have gathered.

Many of them are cultivators invited like Yunhe.

He slightly straightened his posture, as if finally regaining some of his spirit.

This person is actually the Yellow Springs Old Ancestor of Fengdu City!

"Huh?"

The two flew into the lord's mansion one after another.

The main tower of the Hundred Dawn Pavilion?

From his current appearance and posture, there is no sign of injury.

Inside the main hall of the lord's mansion.

Seeing so many Yuan Ying cultivators gathered here, Yunhe was somewhat surprised, yet he still smiled and cupped his fists toward the cultivators in the hall, saying:

"Greetings, fellow Daoists."

"Brother Yun, I have not failed the mission."

"You're too kind."

What is stored in the storage bag are precisely the rare materials that Yunhe previously commissioned Ji Liuyun to help gather, needed to refine the Wind-Devouring Beast's twin wings into the Ice Phoenix Wings.

"Here."

The cultivators below who seemed to be discussing something, upon hearing the words of the Formless Sword Sovereign and the Yellow Springs Old Ancestor, also fell silent and gazed in various expressions toward the hall's entrance.

Not much time has passed since his commission, yet I didn't expect Ji Liuyun to gather everything so quickly; it shows he is still very diligent, likely mobilizing considerable resources of the Hundred Dawn Pavilion.

The 'senior brother' he referred to is not Guang Chengzi, but the current 'Bai Xiao Sheng'.

"Hahaha—Yunhe, come sit here."

Upon hearing Yunhe's agreement, Ji Liuyun also relaxed slightly.

Two streaks of light flew into the hall.

After a brief consideration, Yunhe nodded.

"By the way, Brother Yun, if you have time after this matter is settled, please return to our Hundred Dawn Pavilion's main tower." Ji Liuyun added.

It was indeed Yunhe and Ji Liuyun.

Although it contains nothing especially rare or precious, its value is still considerable.

The speaker was the Formless Sword Sovereign, slumped in the chief seat with a wine gourd hanging.

The cultivators present also dared not be negligent; they hastily rose to return the salute, saying, "Greetings, Daoist Yun."

"Oh? Daoist Yun has arrived?"

Seeing this, Yunhe did not press further.

Looking at him, it seems his senior brother has encountered some trouble.

Ji Liuyun's expression grew somewhat solemn, with a hint of desolation flashing across it: "My senior brother wishes to meet you. However, due to certain special reasons, he cannot leave the main tower, so I must trouble you to make the trip."

It is said that this Bai Xiao Sheng already has little lifespan left; could it be that his time to pass away is near?

"Alright, I, Yun, understand."

Many people sat in the hall, with attendants moving among the tables and chairs.

"Thank you."

The Formless Sword Sovereign's hearty laugh came forth as he pointed to another seat beside him and said:

With Yunhe's divine sense, upon entering the hall he naturally had already noticed the situation inside.

Ji Liuyun reached out to stop Yunhe's motion to take something out, smiling as he said:

"Our Hundred Dawn Pavilion may not be as wealthy as the Four Great Merchant Alliances, but we can still afford these items."

Hum—

Among the cultivators present, there are not a few unfamiliar faces.

Seated beside him, an old man in a yellow robe raised his eyebrows and asked with a half-smile.

Isn't the purpose of Yuan Ying cultivators joining a faction to save time, have others help gather resources, and also receive offerings?

One should also go pay a visit.

He remains very interested in the Hundred Dawn Pavilion's 'Heavenly Expansion Compass,' and his interest is even greater in the 'Sheng Banzi' who has been missing for hundreds of years yet is still not dead.

Ji Liuyun, who flew together with Yunhe toward the lord's mansion, took out a storage bag from his sleeve.

For example, there is a mid-stage Yuan Ying cultivator holding an abacus, stout and smiling honestly; another middle-aged cultivator in a green robe holding a flute; and another cultivator in a purplish robe faintly exuding the scent of wine, etc.

Of course, there are also many familiar faces, even acquaintances.

The Purple-Robed True Lord of the Infinite Sword Sect, the King of Jinling of the Qing State, Guang Chengzi of the Hundred Dawn Pavilion, the Yellow Sand Old Monster of Fengdu City, etc.

Even including the Formless Sword Sovereign Bai Zhan seated in the chief seat and the Yellow Springs Old Ancestor seated to his right.

The seat indicated by the Formless Sword Sovereign is the vacant one to his left.

Quite evident.

That seat was reserved specifically for him.

However, anyone can see that these three seats belong to the Chief Seat, or rather are exclusive to late-stage Yuan Ying Great Cultivators.

Sitting in that seat means shifting from being the Human Cultivators' 'Executor' to becoming the 'Decision-maker'.

He now qualifies to participate in deciding the overall direction of the Human Cultivator Alliance.

Let him sit there?

Yunhe gave a faint smile.

Without saying a word, under everyone's gaze, he leapt onto that seat and sat down firmly.

Seeing this, the Formless Sword Lord showed surprise, glanced him up and down, then chuckled, 'Hey? You little brat, I thought you'd try to get out of it.'

'Wasn't it you, Senior, who told me to sit?' Yunhe put on a clueless expression.

The Formless Sword Lord was left speechless, opening and closing his mouth but unable to respond.

On the other side, the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor, smiling falsely, also spoke, 'Daoist Yun, you faced the Gorgeous Scale Long Wave head-on and even severely wounded your opponent, gaining great fame; just by taking this seat, who would dare not obey?'

Yunhe waved his hand without changing expression, saying, 'Just luck; Yellow Spring Old Ancestor, you overpraise me.'

'Overpraise me?' the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor swept his gaze over the crowd below, returning to the earlier discussion, and said lightly, 'I'm afraid it won't be long before we old-timers see Daoist Yun and have to take a detour.'

Hearing the hidden sting in his words, Yunhe's eyes narrowed slightly, and he soon broke into an even wider smile.

'Then I, Yun, will do my best not to disappoint the Old Ancestor.'

Before he finished speaking, the Formless Sword Lord showed a look of resignation, waved his hand, and said:

'Let's talk about it when we're both still alive then.'

At the same time, he sent a mental message to Yunhe via his divine sense:

'Yunhe, have you borne a grudge against Old Monster Xiao?'

'A grudge?'

Yunhe stopped speaking, no longer arguing with the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor, and fell into thought.

If one were to say he had any grudge against the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor, he truly does.

The Yellow Spring Old Ancestor's beloved son, Xiao Wuxian, died at his hand.

Although Xiao Wuxian was the one who first tried to harm him, and he only retaliated out of necessity, the fact remains that he died by his hand.

However, he handled it cleanly enough that even if the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor investigated afterward, he would likely find nothing.

But the incident was witnessed by the Heavenly Corpse Gu.

That was Yunhe's first encounter with the Heavenly Corpse Gu, which appeared in the form of a crow.

At that time, he made a deal with the Heavenly Corpse Gu: he helped it enter the Heavenly Insect Sect to search for something, and in return the Gu told him how to dispel the 'Yellow Spring Qi' and keep it secret.

'Could it be that the Heavenly Corpse Gu informed the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor that his son died at my hand?'

That is not impossible.

After all, their so-called cooperation and transaction have long existed only in name; mutual scheming is their current state.

Especially after Yunhe obtained that Gu cauldron, captured a strand of the Heavenly Corpse Gu's soul and most of its body, it was practically a broken face.

Thus, it is not impossible for the Heavenly Corpse Gu to inform the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor of this.

However.

Does the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor believe whatever the Heavenly Corpse Gu says?

'Two possibilities.'

One: the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor is uncertain, so he wants to seek him out to test the waters.

Another: there is a deeper connection between the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor and the Heavenly Corpse Gu, perhaps they had already reached some agreement.

'If it's the second case.'

Yunhe's heart sank slightly.

A single Heavenly Corpse Gu already makes him feel extraordinarily troublesome.

He chose to earn merit on the Sea Clan battlefield rather than the Abyss Clan battlefield, which, to some extent, is also to avoid the Heavenly Corpse Gu, after all, his own Corpse Soul Gu is trying to 'digest' the Heavenly Corpse Gu.

If you add the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor, that's at least two late-stage Yuan Ying entities, possibly more!

This puts considerable pressure on Yunhe.

Even though he now has some confidence facing late-stage Yuan Ying cultivators, his cultivation remains only mid-stage Yuan Ying, and there is still a gap between him and both the Heavenly Corpse Gu and the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor.

Moreover, the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor is a nearly thousand-year-old monster, and the Heavenly Corpse Gu's abilities are unfathomably tricky; neither is easy to deal with.

Nevertheless, despite the pressure, Yunhe replied via divine sense:

'None, right?'

The Formless Sword Lord didn't suspect him either, merely reminding:

'Forget it. Old Monster Xiao has never been broad-minded; his temperament is extremely fickle, so you'd best not provoke him.'

From his words, it's not hard to hear his apprehension toward the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor.

'Besides this person, in short, being cautious is never wrong.'

Yunhe naturally knows this.

Actually, what Yunhe fears most is the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor's external incarnation.

His 'external incarnation technique' comes from the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor's son, Xiao Wuxian; since Xiao Wuxian can possess such a secret art, there's no reason the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor wouldn't have it.

For Xiao Wuxian, finding a Yuan Ying cultivator to refine an external incarnation is no small feat, but for the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor, as long as he schemes, it's certainly possible.

Therefore, the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor surely has a hidden external incarnation.

Perhaps it is hidden in Fengdu City.

Perhaps it is hidden within some faction.

Or perhaps.

Yunhe's gaze fell upon the Yellow Sand Old Monster below.

Such a hidden identity is undoubtedly the most troublesome.

Moreover, it might not merely be an external incarnation of the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor; the Heaven Corpse Gu may have already infiltrated the Human Cultivator Alliance.

"You can rest assured." Seeing Yunhe not respond, Formless Sword Lord thought he felt pressure, so he comforted: "Old Monster Xiao and the Mysterious Void Daoist are at odds; if he really were hostile toward you, he wouldn't dare act rashly. You showed a bit of strength earlier, so the one under greater pressure now should be him."

"Oh? The Yellow Spring Old Ancestor and the Mysterious Void Daoist are at odds?"

Yunhe recalled that back in Supreme Mystery City, when the Human Cultivator Alliance first convened, the Mysterious Void Daoist's expression was indeed off upon seeing the uninvited Yellow Spring Old Ancestor.

In that case, the Yellow Spring Old Ancestor also has enemies.

"This is not exactly a secret."

As for this, Yunhe really hasn't looked into it.

Afterwards, the two didn't talk much more about this topic; instead, Formless Sword Lord began explaining to Yunhe the reason for convening this meeting and the content they discussed.

Without a doubt, the cultivators gathered here are precisely to deal with the Sea Clan.

After suffering the previous defeat, the human cultivator side also realized the Sea Clan's strength, thus no longer holding back; Yellow Spring Old Ancestor and many of the cultivators below are part of this 'support'.

Originally, this gathering should have been more covert, so as to give them a surprise when the Sea Clan next launches a large-scale attack.

Likewise, because Formless Sword Lord suspected there might be cultivators in the Martial Kingdom who had defected to the Sea Clan, he also hid himself along with them.

But unexpectedly, the Sea Clan seemingly didn't know through which channel they learned of the situation in Hundred Li City, so they chose to slow their advance.

This is also why only Qilin Changlan alone launched a surprise attack on the Ice Immortal Pavilion back then, which was likewise a probe of the human cultivator side.

Because once the Sea Clan makes any further move, traveling from Hundred Li City to the borders of the Martial Kingdom actually doesn't take much time for a Yuan Ying Cultivator.

However, neither Qilin Changlan nor the human cultivator side expected that Yunhe, relying solely on his own strength, would not only block Qilin Changlan but also wound him.

Otherwise, as long as Qilin Changlan dares to linger too long in the Martial Kingdom, Formless Sword Lord and the others will rush over.

"Originally I still had some worries, but now that you've come, I feel much more at ease." Formless Sword Lord sighed with a hint of relief.

Because of this discussion, their decision on how to deal with the Sea Clan turned out to be a surprise attack on the Sea Clan's rear!

The Boundless Sea is vast and boundless; as long as one's aura is concealed well enough, even the Sea Clan would find it hard to detect any human cultivators entering it.

The reason the Sea Clan dares to be so bold, pressing forward along the entire line, is because they consider their rear completely safe.

A surprise attack on the rear has many benefits.

First, it forces the Sea Clan to be restrained, making them dare not pour too much force into the front line.

Second, it allows us to avoid the Sea Clan's 'Dragon Fish Vast Sea Grand Formation'; for that formation, the human cultivator side currently has no good solution.

Third, since the Sea Clan has poured too much force into the front line, their rear is surely empty; sending just a few cultivators of solid strength will definitely inflict heavy damage on the Sea Clan!

However, infiltrating the Sea Clan's heartland to launch a surprise attack on their lair certainly carries considerable risk.

At the same time, we must guard against the Sea Clan's desperate counterattack; after their lair is attacked, they may go berserk and fiercely assault the Martial Kingdom and neighboring states, so the cultivators present have originally been arguing back and forth between conservative and aggressive strategies.

Until Yunhe wounded Qilin Changlan.

"First, let me make this clear." Yunhe said with a stern face, "As for this matter of launching a surprise attack on the Sea Clan's rear, I, Yun, will not go."

Formless Sword Lord blinked in surprise.

He then laughed and said, "Hahaha—don't worry, this surprise attack was proposed by me, so I will naturally take the lead."

(End of Chapter)