Read 50 Chapters Ahead On Patreon :D spatreon/zilawere
Chapter 422: Controlling the Storm, Imitating Evergreen
The next day, Lan Chang'an revealed his presence and entered the Feng Kingdom’s cultivation world. The aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator triggered the sensing formation.
Within the Righteous Dao Alliance, Lan Chang'an didn’t need to worry about ambushes or sches from Beast King Valley. That level of difficulty would be equivalent to entering Beast King Valley’s territory and killing a Nascent Soul powerhouse there.
Moreover, as a fourth-rank divination grandmaster, if he intentionally concealed himself, it would be nearly impossible for others to track his movents precisely.
“True Monarch Lan.”
With the sound of rushing wind, Yin Yuanhai arrived in a windmill-like vehicle to receive him.
Compared to his previously warm attitude, Yin Yuanhai now wore a solemn expression, showing no emotion.
After exchanging formal greetings, Lan Chang'an boarded the windmill and spoke in a low tone:
“I deeply regret what happened to your junior martial brother. I’ve co to the Feng Kingdom on behalf of Jin Yun Valley specifically to pay respects at Endless Palace.”
“Junior Brother Situ’s funeral was already held simply at Endless Palace. There’s no need for True Monarch Lan to attend personally, each sect has sent people to convey condolences.”
Surprisingly, Yin Yuanhai didn’t intend to take Lan Chang'an to Endless Palace.
Lan Chang'an silently reflected: this could either an Endless Palace held resentnt toward him and didn’t welco him, or they wished to handle things low-key, avoiding attention and giving others sothing to gossip about.
“True Monarch Lan ca at just the right ti. My master has recently invited the Righteous Dao Alliance leadership to the main headquarters to discuss important matters.”
Yin Yuanhai explained his reason for coming.
Lan Chang'an nodded slightly, so it was the second possibility.
Making a grand show of Situ Lan’s funeral and stirring up hatred would actually serve no purpose.
Doing so would elevate public expectations and put the Righteous Dao Alliance in the spotlight. If they failed to take strong action afterward, it would only make them seem loud but weak, tough in words but soft in reality.
Secondly, it would place Lan Chang'an in an awkward position.
After all, on the surface, Situ Lan had been killed because of Lan Chang'an, as part of Beast King Valley’s revenge.
Chu Tianfeng’s invitation to the Righteous Dao Alliance’s upper echelon was likely to discuss concrete counterasures—a practical move, not to turn his disciple’s death into a public argunt with Beast King Valley.
On the way, Yin Yuanhai added solemnly:
“My master asked to relay this ssage: Situ Lan’s death has nothing to do with True Monarch Lan, it was the sche of Beast King Valley. When we arrive at the main headquarters, there’s no need to bring up this matter again.”
“Alliance Leader Chu is truly magnanimous. I, Lan Chang'an, feel ashad.”
Lan Chang'an clasped his hands in apology, while inwardly feeling relieved.
On his way here, he had still been pondering how to speak to ease tensions with Endless Palace and the alliance leader.
He hadn’t expected Chu Tianfeng to quietly hold the funeral and take the initiative to dispel any resentnt.
This kind of calm and rational handling was easy to understand, but hard to practice.
If it were one’s own child, even the most composed parents would find it hard to stay level-headed.
In the cultivation world, bonds between master and disciple that had lasted for centuries could, in so cases, run deeper than blood ties.
...
Upon arriving at the Righteous Dao Alliance’s headquarters, a golden moon-like streak of Nascent Soul light appeared in the skies over the Feng Kingdom.
“Palace Master Golden Moon has arrived too.”
Yin Yuanhai and Lan Chang'an paused outside the headquarters to wait.
The Nascent Soul light descended before the two of them, revealing True Monarch Golden Moon, wearing a phoenix crown atop her head. After brief formalities, she addressed them.
“Fellow Daoist Yin, my condolences. Situ Lan had extraordinary talent and an innate Dao body. To fall victim to Beast King Valley’s retaliation is a great loss to the Righteous Dao Alliance.”
True Monarch Golden Moon sighed in sorrow and pity.
Then, turning her phoenix eyes toward Lan Chang'an, her gaze cold, she spoke bluntly:
“True Monarch Lan, if you had listened to this palace’s advice back then, the relationship between the two factions wouldn’t have deteriorated to this point. The demonic sects are known for repaying every slight, how could they possibly let this go?”
A few years ago, when Lan Chang'an had visited Proud Moon Palace, she had suggested a compromise:
Since the Black Heaven Wings weren’t sothing Lan Chang'an could fully utilize, it would be better for the Righteous Dao Alliance to purchase it from him, and then return it to Beast King Valley during negotiations to ease tensions between the two factions.
The current outco seed to confirm the “foresight” of True Monarch Golden Moon's suggestion at the ti.
“But now that things have co to this, there’s no point in discussing it further. My master has already made a firm decision, Junior Brother Situ’s death has nothing to do with True Monarch Lan.”
Yin Yuanhai spoke expressionlessly, brushing past the topic.
“Sigh, I cared too much about my personal interests, not as broad-minded as Fellow Daoist Golden Moon, who keeps the big picture in mind.”
“One day, if Beast King Valley makes even more excessive demands, I trust that Fellow Daoist Golden Moon and Proud Moon Palace will step forward, willing to sacrifice and contribute for the sake of the Righteous Dao Alliance.”
Lan Chang'an gave a light, sarcastic reply, not continuing the debate with True Monarch Golden Moon.
After all, he was planning to poach soone from Proud Moon Palace, naly, taking Fairy Xia as a concubine, so there was no need to get into a petty squabble with her now.
...
Upon entering the main hall of the headquarters city atop the mountain, Lan Chang'an saw that besides Chu Tianfeng sitting in the lead position, there were also the two elderly Nascent Soul cultivators who had lost their sects.
“My condolences, Alliance Leader Chu.”
After exchanging formal greetings, everyone took their seats in the grand hall.
Chu Tianfeng's expression remained calm, no sign of grief was visible. Only a slight weariness and traces of hardship could be seen etched on his face.
Since Chu Tianfeng had already made a prior statent on the matter, Lan Chang'an didn’t ntion any “responsibility” of his own, nor did he offer formulaic regrets or apologies.
After waiting for a little less than half a day, Six Sun True Monarch of the Golden Sun Sect and Li Hai of the Xuan Yin Sect arrived one after the other.
Jing Kingdom had only one Nascent Soul cultivator, who was currently stationed at the frontlines. Li Hai, a Core Formation cultivator, ca to mourn on behalf of the Xuan Yin Sect. He received the invitation midway and ca in his master’s place.
“Junior Li Hai greets True Monarch Lan.”
Li Hai was respectful in attitude, deliberately paying his respects to Lan Chang'an and presenting himself as a junior.
Lan Chang'an looked over at Li Hai.
Now appearing middle-aged, he wore a black robe and stood tall and sturdy, having reached the peak of Core Formation.
From his facial features, Lan Chang'an faintly recalled that hundreds of years ago in the Green Underworld Mysterious Realm of Liang Kingdom, this had been the once-sharp and high-spirited top disciple of the Xuan Yin Sect.
Li Hai was an earth spiritual root talent, actually even more gifted than his master. Unfortunately, due to the Xuan Yin Sect’s limited foundation over the years, they couldn’t produce a second set of Nascent Soul breakthrough resources during his generation. As a result, he missed the optimal age to form a Nascent Soul.
Once all the high-ranking representatives had arrived, Chu Tianfeng finally began the main discussion: how to respond to Beast King Valley’s counterattack.
It wasn’t only about Situ Lan’s assassination.
The Six Demonic Sects had been stirring significantly in recent years, with Nether Spring Sect now able to send support to the others.
Right at this juncture, Beast King Valley launched a hardline counterstrike.
“Situ Lan was killed by a newly risen Nascent Soul cultivator of Unseen Gate in recent decades, True Monarch Jue Ying.”
“Jue Ying is extraordinarily gifted and specializes in stealth and assassination. He’s mastered a shadow-based divine ability that allows him to remotely manipulate shadows to kill, a threat that borders on Nascent Soul level. For a lone Core Formation cultivator, it’s nearly impossible to resist such an attack.”
“During this assassination, Endless Palace uncovered an internal traitor among their core disciples. An Unseen Gate stronghold was raided in the Feng Kingdom, but their key mbers had already been relocated. Only a Fake Dan cultivator and several Foundation Establishnt mbers were captured.”
Chu Tianfeng first explained the internal details of the incident.
Had it not been for the intelligence leak and the backing of a Nascent Soul-level assassin from Unseen Gate, Situ Lan as Chu Tianfeng’s direct disciple, would not have been so easily taken down by a few Core Formation cultivators.
“True Monarch Jue Ying?”
Lan Chang'an murmured the na, recalling Xing Peng’s elder cousin, the forr Shadow Hall Master.
During the battle with True Monarch Shazhai back in the day, Unseen Gate had suffered heavy losses, and only the Shadow Hall Master had survived.
Out of regard for Xing Peng’s dying plea, Lan Chang'an had once spared the unconscious Shadow Hall Master, offering him a chance to live.
At the ti, Lan Chang'an was only at late Core Formation and had seen that this man’s fate was unusual, clearly a top talent favored by Unseen Gate’s upper echelons. He had so reservations.
So, under the alias “Daoist Tianji,” Lan Chang'an gave him healing pills and left him with only a na and a back view.
Now, a century later, the Shadow Hall Master had indeed achieved greatness, he had beco one of Unseen Gate’s major figures.
...
In the grand hall, there was a clear divide between pro-war and peace factions on how to respond to Beast King Valley’s counterstrike.
Six Sun True Monarch frowned in thought and said, “Alliance Leader Chu has already uncovered the traitor and struck at an Unseen Gate stronghold, that’s a decent result. In the next few years, the three nations of the Righteous Dao Alliance can intensify investigations, rooting out Unseen Gate’s infiltrators. Once enough is achieved, we’ll have an explanation for the public.”
“Eradicating Unseen Gate’s spies has always been standard practice. How can it be brushed off like this?”
“A demonic sect broke the unspoken rules and mobilized Nascent Soul-level power. We must respond with equal force, make them pay an equivalent price.”
So said True Monarch Wei, forrly of Blood Sword Valley, whose sect had been destroyed. The wrinkles on his leathery face deepened as his displeasure grew visible.
True Monarch Golden Moon sneered coldly:
“Beast King Valley only retaliated because they found a justifiable excuse. One of their Nascent Soul elders had his body destroyed, of course the demonic sects would respond.”
“This palace agrees with Fellow Daoist Six Sun. It’s best not to escalate the conflict. We must avoid the outbreak of a full-scale cultivation war. Just have a public response, that’s enough.”
Li Hai, still at Core Formation, spoke more cautiously:
“In my view, Beast King Valley’s actions are likely tied to the broader strategy of the Six Demonic Sects. Even without the incident with Black Feather True Monarch, they would’ve found another excuse.”
“This move may well be a test of our bottom line, an attempt to divide the Righteous Dao Alliance from within.”
Chu Tianfeng’s face remained unreadable, like an ancient well without ripples. Occasionally, a thoughtful look passed over him, but he gave no clear opinion.
“True Monarch Lan, do you have any suggestions?”
The Alliance Leader’s calm, deep gaze finally landed on Lan Chang'an.
With both his own strength and that of his spirit pet, Lan Chang'an represented the equivalent of two Nascent Soul-level forces, giving him significant influence in the Righteous Dao Alliance.
Lan Chang'an responded with composure, but his words were startling:
“I suggest the Righteous Dao Alliance use this incident as a pretext to mobilize troops along the border, deploy high-level cultivators, and station Nascent Soul True Monarchs. Let the alliance enter a semi-war-prepared state, putting real pressure on Beast King Valley.”
True Monarch Golden Moon’s expression turned cold, her voice stern:
“True Monarch Lan must be joking! For the sake of so-called pride, you’d reignite a cultivation war, plunging millions of cultivators into misery and bloodshed?”
“One reckless move, and we lose the room to maneuver, it may beco an abyss with no return! You would go down as a sinner across all the alliance’s nations for a thousand years!”
“Ahem… Fellow Daoist Golden Moon, that’s a bit harsh. My proposal isn’t about avenging Situ Lan’s death, nor simply a matter of face.”
Lan Chang'an couldn’t help but sweat a little, he hadn’t expected Golden Moon’s reaction to be this sharp.
Still, it was true. These Nascent Soul True Monarchs here each held imnse power. The fate of countless cultivators, of all living beings in this region, hung in their hands.
The other True Monarchs were surprised but fell into thoughtful silence.
Even Golden Moon seed to reconsider and eased her expression slightly.
“True Monarch Lan’s thinking aligns with mine.”
Chu Tianfeng’s face finally revealed a hint of approval, and he made his stance known:
“If the Righteous Dao Alliance remains passive, we won’t pose any deterrent. Beast King Valley may send one or two Nascent Soul elders, or even a fourth-rank beast war machine, to support the Blood Spirit Sect and Illusion Demon Palace.”
“If that happens, the Seven Kingdoms Alliance will be crushed from all sides, and the situation will collapse.”
“If the Seven Kingdoms Alliance is destroyed, the Righteous Dao Alliance will be next. At that point, we’ll have lost all bargaining power and beco at on the chopping block.”
These words sent chills through everyone present.
Even the peace faction couldn’t bear the thought of having no negotiating leverage, left to the rcy of their enemies.
“True Monarch Lan’s proposal is workable. It demonstrates a firm counterasure and pressures Beast King Valley, perhaps enough to stop them from sending aid to the demonic sects in the Seven Kingdoms Alliance.”
Six Sun True Monarch’s deep voice added support, even though he leaned pro-peace, he chose to agree.
With the Alliance Leader, Lan Chang'an, and Six Sun True Monarch all in agreent, the other cultivators naturally couldn’t object.
Soon after, the Righteous Dao Alliance would begin mobilizing major sects, entering a state of semi-war preparation.
This was Lan Chang'an’s first ti participating in a major strategic eting of the Righteous Dao Alliance, a mont where he rose to beco a master on the chessboard, influencing the grand fate of an entire cultivation region.
...
In the half-day that followed, the elders present discussed the personnel and resource allocations required for the state of war readiness.
Due to the complexity of the vested interests involved, only a general outline could be settled at first. Further detailed discussions and coordination among the various cultivation forces would be needed afterward.
After the eting concluded, the representatives from each faction left the Righteous Dao Alliance headquarters.
Lan Chang'an chose to stay behind alone.
As an elder of the Righteous Dao Alliance, during a ti of war preparation, it was perfectly reasonable for him to remain here and cultivate.
“I’ll trouble you, Alliance Leader Chu. I may stay at the alliance headquarters to cultivate for so ti,”
Lan Chang'an said with a smile.
Chu Tianfeng couldn’t help showing a trace of surprise.
He had thought Lan Chang'an was going to raise so important matter for discussion, he didn’t expect him to actually intend to linger for a while.
After all, Chu’s own personal disciple had been assassinated as part of retaliation connected to Lan Chang'an. At this mont, their relationship was subtly strained; one would normally avoid close contact.
“There are two matters that bring to stay at the alliance headquarters,”
Lan Chang'an said calmly:
“First, I’m willing to assist in exposing and eliminating any spies or hidden bases planted by Unseen Gate or Beast King Valley within our alliance. At the very least, we must root out mid-to-late True Dan cultivators from their upper ranks, only then will this match the scale of the demonic faction’s counterattack.”
“Unseen Gate excels at infiltration and concealnt. Does True Monarch Lan have confidence in succeeding?”
Chu Tianfeng stood with his hands behind his back, posture as imposing as a mountain peak, his temperant noble. His otherwise tranquil face now showed a hint of delight.
“I’d say there’s a 50–60% chance of success,”
Lan Chang'an said with a light chuckle, his tone relaxed.
As long as the Righteous Dao Alliance provided him with sufficient intelligence and leads, his fourth-rank divination grandmaster skills could be used to uncover upper-level demonic infiltrators beneath the Nascent Soul stage. The difficulty wasn’t too high.
The key was that Beast King Valley and Unseen Gate had no idea Lan Chang'an possessed fourth-rank divination abilities.
At most, they assud he was protected by fate or destiny, possibly shielded by the Heavenly Master’s blessing or a treasure that concealed his presence from divine calculations.
“These are intelligence reports the alliance has gathered.”
Chu Tianfeng, clearly trusting Lan Chang'an, took out a jade slip engraved with confidential information and handed it to him.
“There’s also a small matter I’d like to ask the alliance leader to assist with…”
Lan Chang'an then brought up the matter of taking a concubine.
“Now that we’re entering a warti readiness phase, transferring Xia Wenyue to a post here at the alliance headquarters wouldn’t be hard to arrange. However, if Fellow Daoist Golden Moon finds out afterward, she may take issue with it.”
After hearing the details of Lan Chang'an’s clearly freeloading plan, Chu Tianfeng was taken aback, his expression twitching ever so slightly.
Lan Chang'an could have simply paid a price and taken a concubine openly and honorably.
Of course, Chu could also see that Lan Chang'an and True Monarch Golden Moon did not get along, he clearly didn’t want to let her benefit from anything.
“Heh… If the Righteous Dao Alliance has the chance to produce another Nascent Soul cultivator, surely we can't align with Golden Moon’s peace faction and lean completely toward Proud Moon Palace, would we?”
Lan Chang'an laughed lightly.
“True Monarch Lan, could it be…?”
Chu Tianfeng was visibly moved. For the first ti, a hint of surprise appeared in his sharp eyes as he looked directly at Lan Chang'an.
Lan Chang'an gave a slight nod, confirming the implication.
“If that’s the case, then I will fully support it!”
Chu Tianfeng was overjoyed and imdiately agreed.
As the leader of the Righteous Dao Alliance, Chu Tianfeng had long been deeply concerned about the lack of high-end combat power within the alliance.
Out of sentint for his master-disciple relationship, he had given Situ Lan a chance, but the disciple still needed to secure part of the Nascent Soul formation resources himself.
Situ Lan failed, and the portion of resources he had prepared was taken by Unseen Gate after his death.
Though Chu Tianfeng was filled with grief, he had to maintain composure and handle matters impartially, without letting his emotions show.
Now, Lan Chang'an’s proposal was like a pillow arriving just when one needed sleep.
Beast King Valley had used a flimsy pretext to snuff out one of the alliance’s future Nascent Soul hopes. If the Righteous Dao Alliance could swiftly cultivate a new Nascent Soul, it would be the most powerful way to slap them back in the face.
Lan Chang'an, seeing that Chu Tianfeng had both the breadth of mind and the willingness to support talented cultivators outside his own sect, decided to confide in him about the plan.
...
Half a month later.
The Righteous Dao Alliance had officially entered a state of war preparation and strategic deploynt. Among the three cultivation nations, unease was inevitable, and various disruptions began to appear.
So low and mid-tier cultivators, unaware of the real situation, tried to flee after hearing rumors.
As a result, they were caught red-handed by law enforcent cultivators, who had already been prepared for such incidents.
These false mobilizations turned out to be incredibly effective in flushing out hidden issues, exactly as Lan Chang'an had predicted.
The cultivators caught trying to flee were, of course, subject to strict punishnt.
Among them, so tried to justify themselves, shouting:
“We’re not running away! We’re just following the example of Evergreen True Monarch! First, we protect ourselves, then, when our cultivation is complete, we’ll return to repay our holand!”
This imdiately stirred up a chorus of echoing voices:
“Exactly! Our spiritual power is too weak now. Our determination to resist the demonic path is reserved for the future!”
Smack! Smack!
A Fake Dan law enforcer imdiately responded with a few crisp slaps across their faces.
“You dare tarnish the na of Evergreen True Monarch? That’s an added offense!”
“Ah?!”
The cultivators who had just tried to ride on Evergreen’s na were stunned on the spot.
The sa thing Evergreen True Monarch could do but they couldn’t.
ntioning his na not only failed to earn them leniency, but it actually made their punishnt worse?
“Hmph! Ignorant juniors… You dare to dream of imitating the Legend of Changqing?”
The Fake Dan law enforcer sneered with disdain.
“Why not go and inquire where the strategy to capture so many of you runaways ca from?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)