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Chapter 136: Chapter 133 Taihe City
"Yes... Yes, that’s right..." Gu Luochen awkwardly responded.
To think that his family patriarch spoke so confidently, he almost believed that Ye Yiren had indeed perished together with Tan Qingquan.
"In other words, the Taihe Sword Sect is now without a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator to hold the fort,"
Gu Jinlai twisted his neck and immediately said, "Gu Chaoyang, you stay and guard the city. Luo Chen, you come with me, and let’s make another trip to the Taihe Sword Sect."
"Going to the Taihe Sword Sect?"
Gu Luochen’s eyes widened as if he had thought of something.
"It is common courtesy to reciprocate! Our Purgatory Sect’s elder has been harmed by Ye Yiren of the Taihe Sword Sect. As a Purgatory Sect Elder, it is completely justified for me to attack the Taihe Sword Sect to avenge our elder."
As Gu Jinlai spoke, he waved his hand, "Let’s go."
"Patriarch, our manpower has already reached its limit just holding Baihe City. If we also take over Taihe City..."
Gu Chaoyang whispered.
"I have a plan,"
Gu Jinlai said. "I’m only going to pillage the Taihe Sword Sect. Besides, to ensure a foolproof plan, we’ll hand over Taihe City to the Purgatory Sect. They’ll have face and profit from it. Then, not only will they not oppose me, but they will also reward me for the contribution of presenting them the city."
"The patriarch is wise,"
Gu Chaoyang breathed a sigh of relief.
Lately, the Gu family had expanded too quickly.
When they first occupied Lingxiao City, they were ecstatic.
The Gu family finally had their own city and was bound to enjoy decades of rapid development.
When Gu Jinlai took Yuanhua City in one fell swoop, the joy doubled, to the point where they almost ignored the problem of stretching themselves too thin.
Fortunately, after nearly half a year of recovery, the Gu family finally rooted itself in Lingxiao City and Yuanhua City.
But then, less than a year later...
Sunset City had been taken, and Changjun City had also defected, further expanding their territory. Gu Chaoyang clearly felt overwhelmed.
The people of the Gu family...
Were not enough.
Now that they had also occupied Baihe City, he was stretching his resources thin to station troops there.
As for Taihe City...
That was truly beyond reach.
"Our foundation is really too shallow,"
Gu Chaoyang lamented.
"Then we must find a way,"
Gu Jinlai said. "A good idea, like the family head’s decision to absorb the Huang Family into our Gu family."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chaoyang had a thought: "Alliance... or rather, marriage..."
"That’s a good idea,"
Gu Jinlai nodded, "There are plenty of young men in the Gu family, especially you lot. Although you’re only at the Hugging Pill level, each of you is practically in charge of a city. With your status, whoever’s daughter you wish to propose to, no one could refuse you."
"Us?"
Gu Chaoyang was startled, but he didn’t have any aversion to the idea.
As scions of a great clan, they were naturally prepared to sacrifice for the family.
A mere marriage alliance was nothing much.
"I will keep an eye out."
"Mmhm,"
Gu Jinlai responded.
Soon, a team of over a hundred Divine Demon Warriors once again assembled and began their four hundred li journey to Taihe City.
...
The Taihe Sword Sect was named after its location within Taihe City.
Although this sect had not risen for long, it had no shortage of experts.
In addition to Ye Yiren, the Divinity Transformation Cultivator, there were four Refining God Elders.
And beyond that, hundreds more at the Hugging Pill, Gang Condensation, and Qi Refinement levels. Counting the Outer Disciples and servants, the sect boasted a population of over forty thousand.
Occupying Taihe City, they were already intertwined with the counties and clans in the vicinity of Taihe City, forming a massive community of shared interests.
However, this massive community of interests was clearly facing the biggest crisis since its establishment.
Baihe City was four hundred li away from Taihe City. When it fell under the control of the Purgatory Sect, they had already sent many agents into Baihe City.
Under these circumstances, the news that Gu Jinlai, relying on the power of his Slaughter Spirit Artifact, had counter-killed both Ye Yiren and Tan Qingquan in a joint ambush, quickly reached the Taihe Sword Sect.
Immediately, the members of the Taihe Sword Sect were in a state of panic, and Sect Leader Ye Longfei convened an emergency meeting with three elders without delay.
But before they could come up with a response to this big event that might shake the Taihe Sword Sect’s rule, news broke that Gu Jinlai, with a hundred Divine Demon Warriors, was rushing towards Taihe City at full speed.
It was predicted that with their speed, they would reach Taihe City within half a day.
Suddenly, chaos ensued within the Taihe Sword Sect. Protectors and local interest representatives who received the news all rushed to meet with the Sect Leader.
In less than an hour, this small closed-door meeting expanded to more than forty people.
With over forty voices noisily clamoring, the room was thrown into chaos.
...
"Why must Venerable Daoist Ye meddle in the affairs of the Purgatory Sect unprovoked? The Purgatory Sect is one of the Ten Great Demon Sects. Interfering with the internal strife of such a power is not something we can do lightly," someone said.
"Where on earth did Gu Jinlai spring from? We had never heard of this person before," another remarked.
"Although he was previously a Refining God Immortal, his fame was confined to the Red State territory occupied by the Purgatory Sect. It was only in the past two years, seemingly having received an incredible inheritance and switching to cultivating as a Heavenly Master, that he began to rise," someone explained.
"It’s not as simple as just rising," one commented. "He has soared to the heavens. In a little over a year, he first pacified the three great families in Lingxiao City, then exterminated hundreds of experts from the Red Blood Demon Sect, and even managed a counter-kill under the siege of Meteor Star Guard Star Master Zhang Luu, the Heavenly Gang Sect’s Supreme Elder, and others, establishing his domination. A few months ago, they even fended off an attack by the Great Cultivators White Elephant and Wuchenzi of the Cold Moon Sect. Such strength is undoubtedly that of a Peak Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator in battle."
All sorts of voices echoed back and forth in the meeting room.
Thousand faces for a thousand people.
Forty-some people had over forty different thoughts.
As a result, the Taihe Sword Sect Leader Ye Longfei and the three Refining God Elders had a hard time getting a word in at the moment.
Seeing the noisy, chaotic scene and worrying that they wouldn’t be able to come to a consensus by the time Gu Jinlai arrived, Ye Longfei couldn’t help but shout loudly, "Enough! Now is not the time to argue about these matters! We have gathered here to discuss how to resolve the issue!"
"Isn’t that what we’re doing?" someone retorted.
"What’s there to fear? No matter how powerful Gu Jinlai is, with so many of us here, we can overwhelm him with sheer numbers," another declared confidently.
"Overwhelm with what? Will you be the first to go? If Gu Jinlai were just an ordinary Refining God... even a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, under the leadership of several True Men, we would have the courage to fight him. But those two Slaughter Spirit Artifacts of his can completely negate our numerical advantage! They only need to wield the Slaughter Spirit Artifacts and keep retreating as they fight, and it won’t take long before they have killed us all clean!" someone pointed out.
Ye Longfei’s stern shout only brought order to the room for a moment, and then it quickly returned to its original state.
Dozens of people were speaking all at once, creating a jumble of noise.
Ultimately, it was because Ye Longfei lacked sufficient prestige.
He had only achieved Refining God four years ago, heavily relying on the Sect’s resources to get there.
His position as Sect Leader was also thanks to his status as the nephew of Venerable Daoist Ye Yiren, otherwise any of the elders would be more qualified than him.
Ye Longfei understood this as well.
For a moment, he had no choice but to turn his gaze toward an old man.
Ning Zhen.
Ning Zhen began cultivating at the age of twelve, took six years to complete Body Refining, and joined the Taihe Sword Sect after twenty years of roughing it outside. First as an Outer Disciple, and after a blood exchange, he was promoted to Inner Sect Disciple, then capitalized on a chance to develop his True Qi and became a True Disciple.
As a True Disciple, he also struggled for over a decade, until he reached the limit of a disciple’s age and transitioned to a Steward, a protector, and then step by step he broke through to Refining God and became an elder.
Today, he is 120 years old and is the most respected person in the room.
Sensing the Sect Leader’s pleading gaze, Ning Zhen sighed, "We cannot contend with Gu Jinlai."
Ye Longfei was stunned.
However, when Ning Zhen spoke, the room’s chatter quieted down somewhat.
Ning Zhen stood up and said, "Gu Jinlai’s might is built on two points: first, as a Heavenly Monarch who has crafted Slaughter Spirit Artifacts, the potency of which I need not elaborate; the second is his combat power."
He gravely continued, "Gu Jinlai has more than once openly displayed his absolute power. When he confronted Refining God Peak’s Zhang Luu, and in Changjun City, in the full view of the public, he punched to death Yun Guantian of Refining God Peak. All aspects indicate that in terms of combat power, he is as formidable as a Divinity Transformation Great Cultivator who has not cultivated Sword Control Technique."
"Elder Ning..." Ye Longfei said anxiously.
But Ning Zhen didn’t give him another chance to speak, saying directly, "Since we can’t beat him, why not step back for the time being?"
"Step back?"
"Gu Jinlai’s murder of Purgatory Sect Elder Tan Qingquan is an indisputable fact. In the aftermath, the Purgatory Sect won’t let the matter rest. Under such circumstances, we simply need to endure for a while, and he will naturally recede. When that time comes, Taihe City will still be our Taihe City," Ning Zhen said.
This plan immediately received everyone’s approval.
They were reluctant to confront the formidable Gu Jinlai in the first place, but out of concern for the attitudes of others, had not dared to be the first to voice this.
Now that the highly esteemed Ning Zhen had spoken, the response was immediate...
"Elder Ning is right. To preserve peace for a time is worth it, stepping back broadens the horizons. Since we can’t confront Gu Jinlai now, why not temporarily avoid the sharp edge?"
"Let him build his red towers and entertain his guests, and watch when the towers collapse. Even though Gu Jinlai is fierce for a time, once the Purgatory Sect is free to act, it will still be the day of his doom. Under such circumstances, why should we clash with a man who is bound to die?" someone else chimed in.
"I agree with Elder Ning’s opinion. Let’s go back and instruct our elite to take valuable treasures, disperse, and lie low. This way, there may be losses, but they will all be within an acceptable range," suggested another.
The meeting echoed with assents.
The protectors in the room responded one after another.
Hearing everyone’s words, Ye Longfei’s face turned shades of green and white.
They could hide, but what about him as the Leader of the Taihe Sword Sect?
Would Gu Jinlai let him off?
"You... do you think you can hide? Gu Jinlai is a monstrous figure from the Demon Path. What if, in his anger at not obtaining enough benefits, he slaughters the entire city of Taihe? You... all your family members will pay with their lives for your cowardly choices," Ye Longfei shouted angrily.
The eyes of several protectors dodged under his rebuke.
But this suggestion came from Ning Zhen, and with such an elder leading, they had little fear.
Some even said, "We can just give him some benefits to appease his anger, and be done with it..."
"Alright, we shouldn’t delay. Let’s quickly make arrangements," Ning Zhen said, standing up as if he had already decided to act on his own.
After this matter, he would be the biggest winner, and he might even take over the Taihe Sword Sect.
...
Under these circumstances, when Gu Jinlai led hundreds of Divine Demon Martial Artists to arrive at Taihe City, what he saw was a city with wide-open gates and no defenses at all.
This smoothness took even Gu Jinlai, who had been ready to flex his muscles, completely by surprise.
