Chapter 653: Wallflower

Fire Lord, Yan Buji sent word, saying they suspect Hong Chengtao is at the Pure Spirit Pavilion.

Pure Spirit Pavilion? How could he.... oh, also right, only that place can make the most use of the Huang Tian Soul! A voice came from the other end of the formation, as if suddenly realizing.

But where is the Pure Spirit Pavilion? He Caifei wondered.

Don't worry about that; since we have a lead, finding that place won't be hard. Give him what we promised, and let him work for us peacefully from now on.

Yes... but Yan Buji seems to come from the Fa Tian Sect, his motives unknown—is this really a good idea?

He even qualifies to enter the Fa Tian Sect? He probably killed a Fa Tian Sect disciple and fled here. Besides, have you ever heard him admit he's a Fa Tian Sect cultivator?

He Caifei thought carefully, and indeed he hadn't.

Every time He Caifei asked about Yan Buji's background, he gave vague, ambiguous answers, leading He Caifei to mistakenly think the other party had a powerful background.

Upon hearing the Fire Lord say that, He Caifei suddenly realized: "Is he deliberately pretending?"

Hmph, the Fa Tian Sect only accepts female disciples—where would a male cultivator come from? Look into it yourself and it'll be clear—how foolish!

He Caifei's face twitched.

Is investigating something at the Hall of Sages really that easy?

He Caifei didn't dare say more: "Please forgive me, Elder."

Forget it—since Yan Buji is useful, we'll make good use of him. But since he's not a disciple of the Fa Tian Sect, how could he know about the existence of the Accumulation Device in the Pure Spirit Pavilion? He must have some connections. Get on good terms with him and inquire about his true origins.

Yes!

Soon after.

Yan Buji received his payment from He Caifei, but the speed was so fast it made him suspicious: "Have you found Hong Chengtao?"

"Then that's not our concern," He Caifei laughed.

Hmm, what does Elder Hong Shu say?

It seems although they are relatives, the connection is too distant, and Elder Hong is still investigating Feng Yue's cause of death, He Caifei said.

Yan Buji nodded.

Although they got a relatively important piece of news from the Youming Jie cultivators and the Great Sinful Sect, regarding Feng Yue's death, everything still seems to be in an unknown state.

Really not your doing? Yan Buji gave He Caifei a strange look.

Is it worth making such a fuss over just one Feng Yue? He Caifei gave Yan Buji a odd look: "Unless Feng Yue had something extraordinary on him, but it wouldn't be enough to blow up the entire Internal Affairs Hall to destroy the corpse and erase traces. It seems more like they're trying to push all the blame onto Yao Wen, just covering up."

Yan Buji thought carefully, then suddenly said: "What if Feng Yue isn't dead?"

"Not dead?" He Caifei froze: "I wasn't at the scene that day—what exactly happened?"

Yan Buji described the situation, and He Caifei also found it strange: "In that case, Elder Yao confirmed Feng Yue was dead, the people on site witnessed that, and then the explosion happened afterward?"

Not bad.

Oh no! He Caifei suddenly thought of something, stood up immediately: "Hall Master, we forgot something."

What? Yan Buji wondered.

If Feng Yue isn't dead and has teamed up with Yao Wen, what would happen?

Yan Buji looked strange: "Impossible? Even if that were possible, what would be their purpose in joining forces?"

He Caifei gritted his teeth, eyes turning: "Never mind that, I need to go find someone!"

Yan Buji was deeply doubtful, not knowing where He Caifei got that conclusion from.

Logically, Feng Yue and Yao Wen are sworn enemies; the only thing that could make them join forces is....

What schemes do the Inner Gate elders behind them have?

So why did Hong Shu and Pang Mingde come to the Outer Gate?

Yan Buji followed that line of thought and suddenly felt he might have missed a direction.

If the two Inner Gate elders had long sensed the abnormality in the Paolong Sacred Land and didn't want it to be replaced by the Great Sinful Sect, then their purpose would be to rebel against the Sect Master? Yan Buji was somewhat surprised at his own thought.

Just then, a message flew in from outside the gate.

Yan Buji reached out, took it, and opened it.

Is this Ye Lin's message? What does it mean?

Ye Lin's message said they went to the Forbidden Zone under the pretense of disciple trials, discovered someone had set up some kind of immortal formation there, but it had already been destroyed.

Accordingly, Ye Lin also sketched out part of the formation's patterns; Yan Buji examined them closely:

What formation is this?

Yan Buji knows a little about formations, but for now can't see what this formation does.

There's no skilled formation master around, so Yan Buji thought it over carefully.

If Feng Yue is faking his death, the goal is to stir the Outer Gate's conflict into the utmost chaos, forcing the Inner Gate to send someone to take charge. That way, these two Inner Gate elders, Hong Shu and Pang Mingde, would have an excuse to leave the Inner Gate.

And yet, for all these days they've been in the Outer Gate supposedly investigating Feng Yue's death, but no news has come up after so long—something's definitely off.

Thinking this through, Yan Buji also thought of He Caifei's Great Sinful Sect; it looks like they want to replace the Paolong Sacred Land, equivalent to putting a layer of sacred land skin over their sect to continue developing it.

And they seem to have already succeeded?

If some people in the sacred land don't want to see this scene, wouldn't they try every means to sabotage this result? So He Caifei's urgency is because he also sensed something wrong—then this matter....

This is just a power struggle among the high-ups of the Paolong Sacred Land, though it seems He Caifei and his group did foresee it—he once said some people might not want the Paolong Sacred Land to become the Great Sinful Sect and would leave, but if they don't intend to leave, instead they intend to fight them....

That would at least show that a considerable portion of the Inner Gate elders oppose the Great Sinful Sect, but if it really blew up, the whole Paolong Sacred Land would likely instantly fragment, so that's why it's stayed so unnaturally quiet? Yan Buji pondered for a while.

It seems the situation in the Paolong Sacred Land is getting more and more complicated.

If I keep wavering like this, no matter who ends up on top, they'll surely dislike me—what should I do?

Yan Buji thought it over; actually, their struggle means he can't really intervene—it's just a matter of choosing which side to lean toward now.

Picking a side is inherently dangerous; Yan Buji doesn't want to lose the identity he barely gained by picking the wrong side, nor does he want to be hated by the other side for choosing too early.

But upon reflection, with my status and strength I can't change the overall situation, nor will I be deliberately noticed, so as long as I keep my position in the Paolong Sacred Land, being a wallflower is the best choice. Yan Buji sighed.

Yan Buji isn't unwilling to be decisive; it's just that his own strength doesn't back him leaning either way.

Just as the resources he himself possesses cannot decide which way the Chaotic Paolong Sacred Land will turn, neither side will care about Yan Buji, this small figure.

Therefore, being a fence‑sitter is also a helpless choice, unless one can see a genuine victory for either side.