Chapter 791: Signs of Internal Strife in Xiqi

Facing the accusations of the crowd, Yin Qi did not offer a defense, but instead bowed to Ji Fa: "I ask the Marquis to punish me."

Jiang Ziya's expression was not pleasant.

Tai Dian and the others were pointing at his nose and cursing Yin Qi; were they not also cursing him as a Demon Daoist?

Ji Fa's expression was likewise unpleasant.

He did not mind his officials fighting amongst themselves; on the contrary, he was wary of them working together in harmony.

If you all work together, would I not be in danger?

Luring the snake out of its hole was a plan he had set, and Yin Qi had only ferreted out San Yisheng according to his requirements; there was no room for tampering throughout the entire process, so how could it be a frame-up?

Ji Fa's gaze was deep as he swept it across the officials.

He suddenly had a feeling: could it be that these people also harbored ulterior motives, which was why they were so agitated?

"Enough!"

Ji Fa barked sharply, his gaze piercing as he said sternly: "Very well, since you say that Daoist Jia framed San Yisheng, then where is the evidence?"

Tai Dian and the others faltered.

If they had evidence, they would have stood up to defend San Yisheng long ago.

Ji Fa said sternly: "Since there is no evidence, then on what grounds do you say it was Daoist Jia's doing? You say he is eliminating dissenters, then what is your current behavior?"

"Marquis!"

Tai Dian and the others were shocked and, at the same time, secretly disappointed.

Ji Fa would actually rather believe this outsider, the Daoist Jia Ren, than believe them?

Forming cliques to attack others has existed since ancient times.

In Xiqi, the Native Faction was originally the strongest, and the relationships among the officials were relatively harmonious.

But with the arrival of Jiang Ziya and 'Jia Ren' in Xiqi, and their respective appointments as Chief Secretary and Minister of the Secretariat, the power of the Foreign Faction expanded rapidly, even directly surpassing the Native Faction.

Because of the cultivation resources bestowed by Yuanshi Tianzun, Jiang Ziya possessed immense power of distribution.

Do not think that Jiang Ziya was selfless.

He also knew that to carry out his will in Xiqi, he certainly could not do without helpers, but he could not show it directly lest he be suspected by Ji Chang, so he could only have 'Jia Ren' handle it.

Yin Qi naturally understood Jiang Ziya's intentions, and thus promoted a large number of Foreign Faction officials through various means.

Naturally, it was inevitable that the conflict with the Native Faction became increasingly sharp.

It was just that under the current general environment, this sharp conflict had been suppressed.

It was not until today that it erupted completely because of the matter of San Yisheng.

Ji Fa's expression was cold and stern as he said in a deep voice: "Let this matter end here. Next, attacking Shang is the most important thing. Also, I do not wish for the incident with San Yisheng today to happen again. Otherwise, do not blame me for not remembering old ties."

Having said this, he stood up and left with a flick of his sleeves.

Yin Qi wore a look of sighing as he said to Tai Dian and the others: "Gentlemen, I have no choice but to execute the Marquis's orders; furthermore, the evidence is conclusive, so you cannot blame me."

Tai Dian was so angry he trembled, saying with rage and fury: "Cannot blame you? Demon Daoist, stop your hypocrisy here. In my view, you are the greatest traitor in our Xiqi. From now on, we will keep a close eye on you; you had best not make a mistake."

The others nodded one after another.

They did not say much more and left in a huff.

Soon, only Jiang Ziya and Yin Qi remained in the great hall.

Although the Foreign Faction was powerful, the time they had been operating was, after all, too short; apart from Yin Qi and Jiang Ziya, no one had yet squeezed into the upper echelons.

Yin Qi sighed: "Brother Dao, this group of people is somewhat unreasonable."

Jiang Ziya snorted coldly: "I know. This group relies on their seniority to oppose us at every turn, thinking we want to compete with them for power, little knowing that mere human power is not what we seek!"

Yin Qi chuckled: "I am reminded of an interesting fable."

"It is said there is a bird in the south named the Primordial Phoenix."

"The Primordial Phoenix sets out from the South Sea and flies to the North Sea; it will not rest except on the parasol tree, will not eat anything but the fruit of the bamboo, and will not drink anything but the sweet spring."

"Then an owl, having obtained a rotten rat, saw the Primordial Phoenix pass by, looked up, and said: 'Shoo!'"

Jiang Ziya could not help but laugh, saying: "Brother Dao is right. We are the Primordial Phoenix, with our hearts set on the Immortal Dao, longevity, and living as long as Heaven and Earth. Yet they are but a group of owls, actually worrying that we would compete with them for a rotten rat, haha."

... The death of San Yisheng was very secretive in Xiqi, and the outside world did not know of it.

But in the officialdom of Xiqi, there were undercurrents surging.

In order to retaliate against the Foreign Faction, Nangong Kuo, Tai Dian, and a group of the Native Faction tried every possible way to find trouble for the Foreign Faction.

Yin Qi was naturally happy to accept the challenge, utilizing his absolute control over the network and the intelligence network of the Tianluo Hall, which often left the Native Faction suffering losses after trying to gain an advantage.

And in the eyes of Ji Fa, it was as if the Native Faction were mad wild dogs, biting anyone they caught, only to end up with a mouthful of dog fur themselves.

Conversely, the Foreign Faction, including Yin Qi, behaved with great restraint.

This made him increasingly dissatisfied with Nangong Kuo and the others.

This group relied on their seniority and had less and less regard for him as their Marquis.

Utilizing the intelligence organization of the Tianluo Hall, Yin Qi secretly stirred up trouble everywhere, making the conflict between the Native Faction and the Foreign Faction increasingly sharp and overt, even developing into unprincipled mutual attacks.

Even Ji Fa was powerless.

He could only barely maintain the stability of the upper echelons on the surface; he had already given up on the infighting at the grassroots level.

Please... you.... bookmark 6... 9... book....!

……

Sishui Pass.

Yin Qi bowed with cupped hands: "Greetings, Brother Zhao, I trust you have been well. I presume this is Fellow Daoist Lv Yue; I have long admired your great name."

As expected of Shen Gongbao, in just five days, he had invited Zhao Gongming and Lv Yue.

Not only that, Zhao Gongming and Lv Yue had also brought their respective disciples.

Zhao Gongming's disciples were Chen Jiugong and Yao Shaosi; Lv Yue's disciples were Zhou Xin, Li Qi, Zhu Tianlin, and Yang Wenhui; they were all of Heavenly Immortal cultivation, and some were even at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm.

Zhao Gongming returned the greeting with a chuckle: "Greetings, Daoist brother."

Lv Yue grinned, his manner very hearty: "Daoist brother is too polite; I have long admired your great name. I hear this Mobile Phone was also invented by you, Daoist brother; everyone in the Jie Sect now has one in their hands."

Yin Qi said modestly: "I merely put in some effort; the creative idea was given by the Human Emperor."

Lv Yue first showed a look of surprise, then nodded and said: "I have also met the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, but I must say, the contemporary Human Emperor Yin Qi is the most outstanding Human Emperor I have ever met."

It is just a pity...

By the way, Daoist brother, I have always been curious: why can two of the lowest-grade Low-grade Spirit Tools connect even across an infinite distance?"

Zhao Gongming and the others all nodded one after another.

Everyone is familiar with Transmission Yuzhu, which have distance limitations.

To communicate freely within the scope of Honghuang, a Transmission Yuzhu must be at least a Top-grade Immortal Artifact.

Yin Qi shook his head and said: "In reality, all Mobile Phones do not connect directly to each other, but first connect to the Heavenly Dao Network, and then connect to other Mobile Phones through the Heavenly Dao Network."

And the Heavenly Dao Network covers every inch of space in Honghuang.

This is also the reason why a Mobile Phone at the level of a Low-grade Spirit Tool can connect to a Mobile Phone on the other end of Honghuang."

"Heavenly Dao Network?"

The crowd was puzzled; this was the first time they had heard this term.

Of course, Yin Qi would not tell them that he was the network provider, so he bluffed: "As for the Heavenly Dao Network, I do not actually understand it very well either; I only discovered this characteristic, which is why I invented the Mobile Phone."

"Oh, I see."

The crowd nodded one after another.

Yin Qi then said with a serious expression: "Two friends, according to reliable intelligence, Yuding Zhenren will head to Sanshan Pass, while Yunzhongzi will head to the Northern Territory. At the same time, there are two hundred Mysterious Immortals from the Chan Sect.

Sishui Pass is guarded by me.

I do not know which of you two Daoist friends will go to Sanshan Pass, and which will go to the Northern Territory?" (End of this chapter)