Chapter 300: The Ever-Changing Situation

The war reparations from the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects would take at least half a month to arrive; the reason they gave was that the volume of supplies was too large and required time to gather and transport...

Chilian and Song Yaocing, who were supposed to be sent to the Justice Alliance as war criminals, chose to defect on the very day the Seven Righteous Sects and Lin Bai reached their agreement.

The Poison Sect and the Blood Sect informed Lin Bai that it was the Heavenly Descended who leaked the information, leading to their escape; then, both sects issued half-hearted wanted posters, while simultaneously requesting the Justice Alliance to assist in capturing the traitors, stating that whoever caught the two of them must send them to the Justice Alliance to face punishment...

Both reasons were complete nonsense.

But neither Lin Bai nor Xu Longyun took this too seriously.

Xu Longyun did not want to make things too rigid, and besides, most people were accustomed to a single matter taking dozens of days, or even months, to complete.

As for Lin Bai, he thought that the current pace was so fast, with changes happening every day, that he might go and seize the resources himself at any moment, so whether they were delivered or not was completely irrelevant.

He rarely relied on his subordinates when fighting wars anyway.

Over the next few days, Lin Bai spent most of his time deploying the Magpie Bridge.

After all.

Activating the Magpie Bridge between lovers required him to take action personally.

Fortunately, the Magpie Bridge connected various cities, and the speed of travel was completed in an instant, so it would not delay much time.

During this period.

Lin Bai returned to the headquarters of the Justice Gate, which was the original Huilong Temple, and took a look; he found that the mountain gate had not changed much, and after the people from the Poison Sect retreated, the original Disciples had not been persecuted, and even the medicinal herbs he had planted were still there.

After catching bugs and weeding the medicinal herbs, and casting the Spring Breeze and Rain Art, Lin Bai finished a combo of his farming system and left the Justice Gate...

The Justice Gate headquarters was nothing more than a dilapidated mountain gate; he didn't even take it to heart himself, and it was likely impossible for enemies to come and attack it in the future.

Using it to farm Merit was probably not as easy as using his big brother to farm Luck...

As the Magpie Bridge was laid to Jiamu City, Lin Bai specifically went to see the family of Song Jinnan who were trapped in the Kitchen God Rice Divination.

After the Justice Alliance won, the Kitchen God Rice Divination reopened for business, with Beggar Sect Disciples taking over operations from the Luo Family; no one dared to have any opinions. *Justice Weekly* was a popular publication, and all sorts of characters came and went within the Kitchen God Rice Divination, mostly to view the place where Lin Bai started, to see if they could comprehend the Incomplete Dao from it.

The most discussed topic among those coming and going was Lin Bai; Xiao Apiao and his family naturally knew that the youth who had once swindled and bluffed had now become a great figure they looked up to. The troubles that had once plagued them were no longer troubles, and the promise Lin Bai made to them had actually come true.

Everything was like a dream.

The three ghosts were filled with immense emotion, having thought they would never have the hope of seeing Lin Bai again in this lifetime.

They never expected Lin Bai to suddenly appear before them.

Upon seeing Lin Bai, Xiao Apiao was overjoyed, rushing up to hug Lin Bai's arm while singing and dancing. Song Jinnan and his wife were even more grateful, declaring they would be beasts of burden for Lin Bai.

Lin Bai naturally did not need three ghosts as laborers; the Lingjie Fengxi was no longer a secret among players, and since it was not yet time for it to open, Lin Bai did not expect three ghosts without cultivation to be able to guard the Kitchen God Rice Divination. Seeing the good deed through to the end, he simply lifted the restrictions on the small shop and helped them regain their freedom.

However, there was no such thing as reincarnation in this world; Xiao Apiao and his family, having suddenly regained their freedom, actually did not know where to go, so they simply asked Lin Bai to remain at the Kitchen God Rice Divination to serve their benefactor.

Lin Bai did not force them, leaving behind the Soul-Nurturing Heart Method of Wanhun Valley, and let them stay at the Kitchen God Rice Divination to continue being mascots.

Every place Lin Bai went, *Justice Weekly* would report his whereabouts in real-time, leaving behind an image of him enjoying life with the people; this gave the Seven Righteous Sects the feeling that Lin Bai had truly settled down and intended to manage the Justice Alliance with all his might.

Consequently.

They also settled down, rearranging their operations against Lin Bai according to the players' plans.

On the other hand.

Xu Longyun dispatched experts above the Void Refinement Realm within the alliance to travel through the Magpie Bridge to various parts of the Taiyi Kingdom, visiting the sects left behind by the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects to invite them to join the Justice Alliance.

Previously.

The Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects were powerful, and these sects were terrified of being coerced by Lin Bai and unable to extricate themselves after joining the Justice Alliance, so they lived in fear and tried every possible way to stay away from the Justice Alliance...

Now.

The Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects both acknowledged that the Taiyi Kingdom was the territory of the Justice Alliance, and they had become abandoned pawns.

And Lin Bai had also proven his strength to the world, so their resistance instantly lost all meaning; they simply went with the flow, joined the Justice Alliance in a rush, and began cheering for Lin Bai.

At the same time.

The Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects seemed to have agreed upon it, holding press conferences one after another to announce a series of foreign policies.

Some were for the benefit of the people, some were diplomatic, and others concerned the recent movements of various sects, and so on and so forth.

The color printer snatched by the Blood Sect came in handy, and publications such as *Heavenly Dao Xing*, *Sword Sect*, *Qiwetian*, *Holy Journal*, and *Fozi Shuo* were published one issue after another.

Sect prodigies who had previously kept a low profile, such as the Dao Child, Jianxin, the Demon Child, and the Fozi, made their grand appearances, all gracing the covers of their respective weeklies and becoming spokespersons for their sects, aggressively snatching traffic from *Justice Weekly*.

News heard the previous moment became old news the next.

The entire world seemed to have entered a new era overnight, with all kinds of information pouring in:

One moment, the Dao was without thresholds, simple and easy to cultivate;

The next, the Dao was harmful to the country and the people, and immersing oneself in the Dao would lead to eternal damnation;

Either Lin Bai was going to specialize in the Heavenly Dao and would not allow people to proclaim him as the Love God;

Or the common people in a certain place had built a temple for Lin Bai, and after worshipping, they quickly found true love, only to be chosen by Lin Bai to become a Magpie Bridge Guardian, earning a fortune;

With the intervention of professionals among the players, public opinion clashed, and all kinds of news flew everywhere, leaving people dazzled and completely unable to tell who was correct...

"Master, there are Heavenly Descended causing chaos from within, and the situation has completely spiraled out of control." Xu Longyun found Lin Bai, holding a large stack of publications in her arms. "If we let them continue to confuse the public, not to mention whether the Fazhe Zhidao can be promoted, people from the Justice Alliance will be constrained everywhere once they leave the Taiyi Kingdom, and they won't even be able to guarantee their own safety!"

"How is the matter with the Love God going?" Lin Bai asked without looking up, as he was crafting the Binding Immortal rope with Zuo Lan of the Weapon Refinement Sect.

These days.

Besides setting up the Magpie Bridge, Lin Bai spent most of his time in the Weapon Refinement Department; only two of Old Man Moon's Red Ropes remained, and the Heavenly River did not have much restriction on the Great Vehicle Realm. Currently, the thing that could best improve his combat power was the Binding Immortal.

By making the Binding Immortal rope sturdier so it could not be broken free by the Great Vehicle Realm in a short time, and then coordinating with the thugs and cards by his side, it would be very easy to turn the opponent into his own Puppet.

Zuo Lan was a grandmaster of the Weapon Refinement Sect; the weapon refinement theories and techniques Lin Bai obtained through the system naturally could not be compared to his, but *Human Ergonomics*, *Materials Science*, and the Eye of Seeing Flaws still allowed Lin Bai to provide incisive suggestions on the Magic Tools Zuo Lan refined.

Zuo Lan offered no comment on Lin Bai's Weapon Refinement level, but he was awestruck by his eye for talent. After Lin Bai was always able to point out the flaws in his Weapon Refinement, his level improved by leaps and bounds. These past few days, the Binding Immortal ropes he crafted had become increasingly sturdy, and furthermore, fireproof and waterproof.

Even for those in the Great Vehicle Realm, it would take at least ten breaths to break free.

Ten breaths.

Theoretically, if the opponent's protective Dharma Treasure were broken, that would be enough for Lin Bai to turn them into a Puppet, whereas for a Void Refinement Realm cultivator, breaking such a rope would take at least the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn...

Glancing at the Purple-Clothed Ancestor and the Void Refinement Realm Cultivator who were hanging in the air, bound by the Binding Immortal ropes and struggling with all their might, Xu Longyun's face flushed slightly, and she said, "Justice Weekly and the Taiyi Kingdom are doing their utmost to demand that the public not promote the Dao of the Love God and not build temples for Master. They have even gone so far as to send troops to tear down the temples, but the effect has been counterproductive. The profits for the Magpie Bridge Guardian are too high; it is simply impossible to stop them from worshipping Master. The more they forbid it, the more temples are built..."

Lin Bai frowned slightly: "More and more are being built?"

"Yes, it has to do with the Seven Orthodox Sects stirring up trouble from within," Xu Longyun said. "They are encouraging the construction of more Love God temples, hoping that more couples can become Magpie Bridge Guardians in countries like Taichu and Taihao. Under the various rules and constraints of the Seven Orthodox Sects, we cannot interfere in matters outside the Taiyi Kingdom."

"The world is bustling, all for profit. As long as the Magpie Bridge exists, there is no way to stop them from building temples for Master. Moreover, rumors say that praying for a good marriage in Master's temple is truly efficacious. Many people are already saying that Master is the true Love God descended to the mortal world."

Lin Bai was overjoyed in his heart, but his brows furrowed even tighter. He let out a long sigh and said, "I once thought that the tribulation of cultivating the Heavenly Dao only came from the pressure of external enemies, but I didn't expect that more of it comes from within myself. If the hidden danger of the Love God is not resolved in time, I fear the Heavenly Dao will be hard to achieve!"

Zuo Lan's ears twitched slightly, and he continued to focus on Weapon Refinement, offering no opinion.

The ears of the Weapon Refinement Sect cultivators participating in the crafting all pricked up. The players whispered among themselves, expressing their own views on current events.

"Master, the Heavenly Dao provides no supernatural ability rewards, and there is no knowing when it will be achieved. Why not cultivate the Dao of the Love God first to increase your supernatural abilities, use the supernatural abilities of the Dao of the Love God to unify the Cultivation World, and then switch to cultivating the Heavenly Dao?" Xu Longyun suggested.

"I am just afraid that if I accidentally cultivate the Dao of the Love God to completion, there will be no room for turning back," Lin Bai shook his head with a bitter smile. "No one knows what one will eventually become after cultivating into a God of Law. What if I cultivate the Dao of the Love God and ascend to immortality? Who will resolve the coming catastrophe?"

"Ascend to immortality?" Xu Longyun was stunned. "Ascend to the Immortal World?"

"I don't know," Lin Bai said. "The Dao of Law is the will of the world; it should be above the Immortal World!"

"..." Xu Longyun was stunned.

"Let's not talk about this. If I can't control it, I won't worry about it for now. Let nature take its course!" Lin Bai sighed. "Is there anything else?"

Xu Longyun gathered her spirits and said, "The Heavenly Dao Sect and the others are imitating the Alliance's policy, using public opinion to influence the world's perception of the Dao of Law.

The Dao Child of the Heavenly Dao Sect almost suffered a cultivation deviation when he said that he was practicing 'words follow the law,' and only relied on his innate supernatural ability to survive the tribulation. They say that if ordinary people rashly cultivate the Heavenly Dao Laws, it is highly likely to cause madness..."

"Heavenly Dao Xing lists many cases of madness caused by Law Cultivation, though it is unknown if they are true or false. But when many people say the same thing, it becomes a 'golden' truth; many of the public have already been influenced by them to boycott the Dao of Law.

The influence of Justice Weekly is being restricted. If this continues, I fear we will lose the battleground of public opinion outside the Taiyi Kingdom. I suspect the Seven Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Five Sects want to use this to eliminate the influence of the Dao of Law and ultimately trap the Justice Alliance to death."

Restricted?

Lin Bai subconsciously looked at the players who were refining weapons over there, and then, he quickly knew the answer.

The Magpie Bridge has not yet been laid outside the Taiyi Kingdom; the spread of Justice Weekly relies entirely on players passing the content through live streams and forums, and then replicating it in other countries.

Now that financial groups have entered the game, throwing around large amounts of money has not only stunned the advertising alliance created by the Beggar Sect but also stunned the local natives. The influence of Justice Weekly has thus been trapped within the influence of the Magpie Bridge.

The financial resources of the Beggar Sect simply cannot compete with the financial groups, and because of the Beggar Sect's high profile in the early stages, they are not popular among the players.

And because of Lin Bai's low profile these past few days, advertisers are no longer looking for the Beggar Sect to invest.

These past few days, the Beggar Sect's financial revenue has also been a bit tight, relying almost entirely on living off their past savings.

Fortunately, the income from the Magpie Bridge is enough for them to eat, drink, and play in the game, and most players are busy leveling up, so there have been no large-scale defections.

However.

After the financial groups proved their strength to the Seven Orthodox Sects, they secured quite a few cultivation techniques and benefits for the players. Now, their levels are rising rapidly, quickly catching up to the Beggar Sect.

Moreover, they are numerous in number, and it won't be long before they surpass the Disciples of the Beggar Sect.

Once a group battle between players occurs, the Beggar Sect will likely be wiped out.

When all is said and done.

The resources on the side of the Justice Alliance are still too scarce, and the support from the Taiyi Kingdom is a drop in the bucket. The Taiyi Kingdom wants profit and will not help the Justice Alliance unconditionally.

Financial groups?

Public opinion is being restricted!

Lin Bai fell into deep thought. Sure enough, give players a little room, and they can really stir things up!

These guys are too cunning.

Opposing two worlds alone is too difficult; one cannot even catch their breath for a moment...

"How many Binding Immortal ropes have we crafted?" Lin Bai withdrew his scattered thoughts and asked Zuo Lan.

"About five hundred," Zuo Lan said. "Materials are limited, time is limited; we can't craft any more, nor can we craft any with higher strength."

"What about the slightly lower-grade ones?" Lin Bai asked.

"There are about three thousand that can trap a Void Refinement Realm cultivator for five breaths," Zuo Lan said. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Alliance Leader, are you going to take action against the Seven Orthodox Sects?"

"Their compensation still hasn't arrived!" Lin Bai sighed softly. "I must urge them. Besides, I also need to complete the Magpie Bridge orders for countries like Taichu and Taihao. Now that those two countries are controlled by the Seven Orthodox Sects and the others, having more Binding Immortal ropes can be used for self-defense.

The war criminals Chilian and Song Yaoqing are still at large. Relying on the Poison Sect and the Blood Sect, I fear we won't be able to catch them. We must take action ourselves; otherwise, if they keep dragging it out, even war criminals will escape punishment, and the world will likely look down on our Justice Alliance. 'Those who offend our Alliance, even if far away, must be punished' is not just empty talk."

"I will go and issue a news announcement," Xu Longyun understood. She looked at Lin Bai, "I will inform the Seven Orthodox Sects of Master's itinerary and demand their cooperation."

(End of chapter)