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Chapter 110: Chapter 107 Chaos
Gu Jinlai traveled day and night at an extremely fast pace to return to Lingxiao City.
At the same time, he had Gu Chifeng constantly activate the "Red" Short Range Defense Cannon to scan for all Divine Thought fluctuations, ensuring they would not be ambushed en route.
Fortunately, just as Gu Jinlai had expected, the Meteor Star Guard and Dragon Sparrow Manor devoted all their time and energy to the upcoming grand assembly, unwilling to complicate matters further, which made Gu Jinlai’s return journey quite smooth.
...
In the carriage, Gu Chaoyang was counting their loot, unable to conceal the joy in his eyes, "Patriarch, the Heavenly Grass Pavilion truly lives up to its reputation as Star State’s largest elixir supplier. Among the items we captured, there are over a thousand Qi Refining Pills alone, which are highly valued on the market."
"Over a thousand Qi Refining Pills?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jinlai nodded.
Hugging Pill is the normal limit of cultivation for all martial artists.
Like in their world, where theoretically, everyone can earn a doctorate with diligent study, how many actually achieve this degree in the end?
And the Qi Refining Pills...
For cultivators, they are akin to having a professor’s individual guidance, providing hand-in-hand instructions in their studies, not only saving them from many detours but also significantly increasing their chances of reaching the doctoral level.
"Out of a thousand Qi Refining Pills, select a hundred people with better talents for focused cultivation. Use the remaining five hundred in the Gu family, especially in the Gang Condensation Realm, to help them reach Hugging Pill as soon as possible."
Gu Jinlai spoke, his gaze examining Gu Chaoyang for a moment, "You’ve also reached the Hugging Pill Realm. Take some Qi Refining Pills to reach the peak of Hugging Pill soon, and also consult Su Nanxing about his experience in nurturing Divine Thoughts. When you feel ready, I will use the Qiankun Talisman to exchange for Nourishing God Pills for you."
Thinking of the Qiankun Talisman, Gu Jinlai’s thoughts stirred.
"From the battle at Qiushan Mountain, three Great Demons perished by my hand, including Upper, Middle Position, and Lower Demons in the hundreds. Last time, worried about drawing too much attention by exchanging too many Nourishing God Pills at once, Su Nanxing took my Qiankun Talisman and only exchanged for two elixirs, making rounds to two places. But now..."
Gu Jinlai looked back at his three thousand elites.
"We now have enough power to deter any peeping challengers. If we exchange for enough Nourishing God Pills, Gu Changfeng might just become the second to breakthrough to the Refining God Realm after Su Nanxing."
With that thought, he gave the order, "Let the army change course, we head for Changjun City."
...
As Gu Jinlai was en route to Changjun City,
Within a courtyard in Starlight City,
Six shadows converged.
All four Divinity Transformation Cultivators from Dragon Sparrow Manor, including Sword Master Xue He, were among them.
Besides, there was Su Wen, the Director of the Star Patrol Department, and Zhang Wuliang, a Divinity Transformation Cultivator from the Military Department.
"The next step relies on everyone here."
Su Wen bowed slightly to the four, "Our main opponents are the four Divinity Transformation Cultivators from the Four Great Families, as well as Nie Shisan from the Nine Formulas Sword Sect and Ye Yiren from the Taihe Sword Sect."
The Director of the Star Patrol Department spoke gravely, "The Four Great Families are extensive and entrenched in Starlight City; they lack the courage to completely turn against us. As long as we can show sufficient strength and intimidate them with an overwhelming force, we can certainly keep these four Divinity Transformation Cultivators from acting rashly. And our target for intimidation... are the Nine Formulas Sword Sect and the Taihe Sword Sect."
To kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.
The two Divinity Transformation Cultivators from the Nine Formulas Sword Sect and the Taihe Sword Sect were the chosen chickens.
"Therefore, once the battle begins, I ask you all to eliminate these two Divinity Transformation Cultivators with an overwhelming force, and then make your presence known one by one to ensure that we control the situation."
Su Wen said.
"Agreed."
The four including Sword Master Xue He nodded.
The presence of three directors from Meteor Star Guard and the elite Zhang Wuliang from the Military Department, along with the Star State Governor Qi Zhongsheng and staff member Wen Rulong...
Meant their side was equivalent to ten Divinity Transformation Cultivators.
After the overwhelming force eliminates Sect Master Nie Shisan of the Nine Formulas Sword Sect and Ye Yiren of the Taihe Sword Sect, they would certainly deter the Divinity Transformation Cultivators of the Four Great Families who were already reluctant to break ties.
With the situation swept clean swiftly and every opposing force in Star State eradicated, seizing control of the cultivation world, the Four Great Families would then have no choice but to grudgingly accept the outcome.
At this moment, an elder suddenly spoke, "Originally, Xin Tianqi should have been coordinating this plan, but due to the pressure of the Yellow Sky Sect’s army northward, he had no choice but to head north to stop them. Coupled with the Purgatory Sect, the Cold Moon Sect, and the Netherworld Sect massing troops at the border, I have a bad feeling..."
"Yuntai Sword Master overthinks. The Purgatory Sect, the Cold Moon Sect, the Netherworld Sect, and the Yellow Sky Sect are only amassing troops at the border to deter us from acting rashly. But as long as we’re fast enough and stabilize the situation in a very short period, consolidating Star State into an iron fortress, relying on the power of our two houses, the Yellow Sky Sect, the Cold Moon Sect, the Netherworld Sect, and the Purgatory Sect won’t dare to make reckless moves," Su Wen said with a smile. "After all, they are never truly united."
After hearing this, the Yuntai Sword Master said nothing more, "Let’s make it a swift and decisive victory."
"Then, I will leave it to you four," Su Wen said with a slight bow. "I am now heading to Ten Miles Slope; the grand event is about to begin."
...
Meanwhile, at the Nine Formulas Sword Sect’s base,
Ye Yiren, a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, came in person to pay a visit.
Hosted by Sect Leader Yun Jiu, she soon met with the magic stabilizer of the Nine Formulas Sword Sect, Nie Shisan.
After a brief exchange, both parties revealed a piece of information to each other.
Suddenly, they looked at each other in mutual recognition.
"To kill the chicken to scare the monkeys."
Nie Shisan’s expression darkened, "We, grand Divinity Transformation Cultivators, have become the chickens to be slaughtered."
"What does Sect Master Nie believe we should do now?"
"The grand assembly is about to begin, and it’s too late to withdraw... Our best course of action now is to cooperate with those who wish to be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, and fight for our lives."
"By doing so, we’ll inevitably become pawns, unable to control our own life or death."
Ye Yiren said.
"Does Sect Leader Ye have any better ideas?"
"The forces involved in this grand assembly are intricate and complex, but strictly speaking, there are only four parties: the coalition of Star State and Dragon Sparrow Manor, us and the local forces such as the Four Great Families, those who wish to be the oriole behind, and the ones... who secretly informed us of this matter."
Ye Yiren’s expression was icy: "Even though we don’t know the intention of the one who informed us, the fact that the major sects wish to use us as sacrificial pawns, treating us as insignificant, is simply intolerable. We must act first to gain the upper hand."
"Act first to gain the upper hand? You mean to say..."
"What if we directly expose the Divinity Transformation Cultivators from Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, Yellow Sky Sect, and Netherworld Sect who have come in secret? What do you think Star State and Dragon Sparrow Manor will do?"
"Expose them in advance..."
Nie Shisan’s eyes lit up: "Either the two sides will be wary of each other, not daring to make rash moves, or... a great battle will erupt ahead of schedule, and by then, they won’t have enough strength to deal with us."
Having said this, he immediately added, "The leader of Fengyun Meeting and the representative of Yellow Sky Sect in Star State have a life-and-death grievance. I will plan in secret to force the Divinity Transformation Cultivator of Yellow Sky Sect to reveal himself!"
"Good, at that time, we simply claim to have allied with Yellow Sky Sect, forcing these sects’ Divinity Transformation Cultivators to take action."
...
The Nine Formulas Sword Sect acted with extreme efficiency.
As the grand assembly officially opened, and even the Star State Governor Qi Zhongsheng showed up to preside over the event, Fengyun Meeting and the True Man of the Yellow Sky Sect stationed there had a fierce encounter, and shortly after...
A massive battle between the two parties erupted.
In the fierce battle, a Hugging Pill cultivator for some reason barged into a courtyard.
When the formidable Gang Qi collapsed the attic of the courtyard, the figures of three Divinity Transformation Cultivators from Yellow Sky Sect were suddenly exposed.
The atmosphere in the arena momentarily froze.
The next instant, Nie Shisan and Ye Yiren from the Nine Formulas Sword Sect and Taihe Sword Sect called out the names of the Divinity Transformation Cultivators from Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, and Netherworld Sect, while they themselves directly drew their swords. Two flying swords tore through the void, accompanied by a deafening shrill, and charged towards the Star State Governor Qi Zhongsheng.
With the Divinity Transformation Cultivators of Yellow Sky Sect exposed, and the figures of those from Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, and Netherworld Sect called out, combined with the simultaneous assault from the Nine Formulas Sword Sect and Taihe Sword Sect on Qi Zhongsheng, the multitude of changes happened so swiftly it was difficult for anyone to keep up, causing confusion and disarray.
Similarly...
It left no time for the major sects to react.
The alliance of the major sects was only out of necessity, hence their communication with each other was understandably far from intimate.
The agreement among them was simple: as soon as one party acted, the other three must join in.
The time to act was when the battle between the State Lord Mansion, Dragon Sparrow Manor, the Four Great Families, and the two major sword sects was at its peak.
Now that the Nine Formulas Sword Sect and Taihe Sword Sect, under the guise of having allied with Yellow Sky Sect, made a move on State Governor Qi Zhongsheng, Cold Moon Sect, Purgatory Sect, and Netherworld Sect were misled into believing that Yellow Sky Sect had already subdued both sword sects and the Four Great Families.
Consequently, their side had as many as eighteen Divinity Transformation Cultivators.
With the three Divinity Transformation Cultivators of Yellow Sky Sect already revealed...
What were they waiting for?
The Divinity Transformation Cultivators from Cold Moon Sect, Purgatory Sect, and Netherworld Sect resolutely took action, their flying swords casting a fierce cold light that crisscrossed the sky and earth.
Now that these Divinity Transformation Cultivators had acted, could the experts from Dragon Sparrow Manor and the State Lord Mansion simply stand by and watch?
Fierce Sword Qi shot straight to the heavens once again.
For a moment, the clash of flying swords and the collision of Gang Qi pervaded the entire scene.
The battle quickly turned into a melee due to the numerous forces involved, the complexity, and the lack of communication.
The venue plunged into utter chaos.
...
By the time the news from Starlight City reached Gu Jinlai’s hands, they had already arrived outside of Changjun City.
"Star State Governor Qi Zhongsheng, having to preside over the grand assembly in Xin Tianqi’s stead due to his significant duties, actually died in the initial volley of attacks!? Aside from him, Cheng Wanli, the Director of Main Star Department of the Meteor Star Guard, didn’t survive either, and a Divinity Transformation Cultivator from Dragon Sparrow Manor also fell... When you add up the losses from the other sects... In this battle, seven Divinity Transformation Cultivators perished."
Gu Jinlai looked at the report, gasping in shock.
He knew Starlight City would become a powder keg that, once ignited, could blast anyone to smithereens, but he hadn’t expected...
The lethality to be so terrifying.
Qi Zhongsheng was dead.
Gu Jinlai looked at the report and sighed, "Star State is about to descend into chaos."
Since Star State was going to be in turmoil...
His eyes turned towards Changjun City.
The actions to come could be more audacious.
"If I remember correctly, my position as Star Master is taking over for Zhang Luu, and Changjun City, Lingxiao City, Sunset City, Baihe City... they’re all under Zhang Luu’s jurisdiction..."
