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Chapter 152: Chapter 149: Invading Red State
"Starlight City, wait for me to claim it."
Gu Jinlai listened to what Jiang Chongshan had said.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled a breath.
There was both the palpitation that Xin Tianqi had infiltrated Lingxiao City for a month without his notice, and the respect for this Primordial Spirit True Monarch’s sense of the big picture.
"Indeed, one should not underestimate the people of the world."
Gu Jinlai warned himself internally.
Now, not to mention reaching the peak of Qiantian, he was still somewhat short of the peak south of Tianhe.
"With Star Lord Xin not making a move, the threats facing Heavenly Monarch Gu next will be much smaller."
Jiang Chongshan said.
Gu Jinlai nodded, "Barring any accidents, Star State will maintain a calm situation until the end of the Divine Sword Conference."
"That’s true, but the Heavenly Monarch still needs to be wary of Xue Yue. Under his command is also Zhang Wuliang, a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, and Wen Rulong, who has also allied with Qi Fenglei, making them effectively part of the same team with three Venerable God Transformation Practitioners."
Jiang Chongshan reminded him.
"I understand, but their power is sufficient for defense but not for offense. As long as we prevent them from joining forces with Dragon Sparrow Manor, the threat is not significant."
"As long as you are aware, that’s fine."
Jiang Chongshan responded.
After discussing the details with Gu Jinlai once more, he took his leave.
Once he was gone, Gu Jinlai pondered for a moment and decided to stick with the original plan.
He needed to strategize over the Devas, or rather, the Tendency Realm.
Only by fully understanding the Tendency Realm could he truly reverse the situation in Star State and take full control of it.
Otherwise, despite temporary peace, once the Three Great Demon Sects were free from the Divine Sword Conference, what awaited him would still be a thunderous strike.
"Throw one punch to avoid a hundred!"
Gu Jinlai slowly stood up, "Let’s see whether the Primordial Spirit True Monarch is stronger, or the Heavenly Sword hypersonic missile is more advantageous!"
...
Purgatory Sect.
Lin Xiao and the Monitoring Hall Master Chong Qianguang were hurrying toward the main hall.
While rushing, the Monitoring Hall Master said, "From what I understand, this time the Sect Master has called us, the ten hall masters, to discuss your secretly instructing Zhengyi Dao to act against Gu Jinlai. You’d better think carefully about how you’re going to respond to the Sect Master’s questioning."
"Hasn’t the sect already decided that once the Divine Sword Conference is over, we will ask the Supreme Elder to personally eliminate Gu Jinlai, take over the five cities under his control, and unite them with the three cities controlled by our Purgatory Sect to completely carve up the southwest of Star State? Why now... "
Lin Xiao looked somewhat uneasy.
Since Tan Qingquan’s death, he had kept a very low profile, trying to reduce his visibility in the sect as much as possible, so as not to let people know he was involved in this matter.
After a period of calm, he had thought the matter was over, but it seemed a new complication had arisen.
"You said it yourself, the sect has decided to wait until after the Divine Sword Conference to ask the Supreme Elder to take action. Before the start of the Divine Sword Conference, everything has to give way to the conference. At this time, our Purgatory Sect really should not continue to invest manpower and resources in Star State, especially against Gu Jinlai. Therefore, we must find a way to stabilize Gu Jinlai."
Chong Qianguang glanced at Lin Xiao, "You weren’t secretive enough in your actions, leaving clues behind. Now, the Zhengyi Dao Elder Bai Shu has been sent to the Purgatory Sect. We must give Gu Jinlai an explanation."
"The Divine Sword Conference is just over half a year away, why not just drag it out?"
"You think we don’t want to."
Chong Qianguang snorted coldly, "We’ve almost broken off relations with Gu Jinlai, obviously we’re not going to punish a Vice Sect Master for a mere Bai Shu, making those who are close suffer for the delight of those who hate us. A month ago when Gu Jinlai sent Bai Shu over, we had already decided to delay."
Saying this, a flash of anger crossed his eyes, "But Gu Jinlai clearly saw through our plan, letting Su Nanxing lead six thousand elite troops and ten thousand soldiers to the border, as if he won’t give us any peace unless we give him an explanation. Under these circumstances, if we remain indifferent, it would be hard to fob him off."
"Deploy troops to the border!?"
Lin Xiao looked incredulous, "He actually... dared to!"
"According to our investigation, Gu Jinlai’s dealings with Xuzhen Tower seem ambiguous. He must have gotten wind that our Purgatory Sect is focusing on the Divine Sword Conference, which is why he acts so brazenly."
Chong Qianguang narrowed his eyes.
"So shameless..."
Lin Xiao felt a chill in his heart.
Two years ago, Gu Jinlai was just a Refining God Elder whom he had forced to leave the sect unwillingly. But now...
He was bold enough to use troops against the Purgatory Sect!?
Had his power swelled to such an extent!?
For a moment, fear surged in his eyes.
Too fast.
Gu Jinlai had grown too quickly.
The black-clothed elder, whom he thought he could force into a corner with some effort, had now grown into a colossal presence for him, capable of causing him great disturbance with just a little movement.
...
Soon, Lin Xiao and Chong Qianguang arrived at the main hall.
The hall masters within the hall were also very dissatisfied with Gu Jinlai’s aggressive behavior.
After all, their Purgatory Demon Sect was one of the Ten Great Demon Sects.
Gu Jinlai?
What was he?
If it weren’t for several Supreme Elders adjusting their conditions, clarifying their Divine Thoughts, focusing on recognizing the owner of the Sky Extreme Sword, and being busy preparing for the Divine Sword Assembly, normally, any one of them could easily squash him to death. How could they allow him to run wild here?
In this atmosphere, Sect Master Lu Dengxian soon arrived at the scene.
After some pleasantries, the Sect Master got straight to the point, "Alright, Gu Jinlai has produced evidence from Elder Bai Shu of Zhengyi Dao accusing Lin Xiao of persecuting him, demanding the Sect to grant him justice. How shall we resolve this?"
"Sect Master."
As soon as Lu Dengxian finished speaking, Conquest Hall Master Luu Zhenbei stepped forward, bowing with his hands clasped, "Gu Jinlai hands over a Bai Shu to claim he was instructed by Sect Master Lin, does that mean he was really instructed by Sect Master Lin? Is right and wrong entirely based on his claims? In my opinion, this is nothing more than Gu Jinlai’s slander against Sect Master Lin, trying to extort benefits. Such a precedent must not be set, or where would the dignity of our Purgatory Sect stand?"
Vice Sect Master Qin Li glanced at Luu Zhenbei, knowing all too well that it was indeed very likely true that Lin Xiao used Bai Shu to target Gu Jinlai.
However...
Gu Jinlai’s approach to seeking justice was clearly flawed.
Moreover, since the Sect had already planned to deal with Gu Jinlai after the Divine Sword Assembly ended, even if they knew this accusation to be true, they would not likely surrender one of their own Vice Sect Masters for an enemy bound to be annihilated by them soon.
Therefore, he did not speak this time.
Luu Zhenbei’s words also won the approval of the others.
"Whether this matter is as Gu Jinlai claims still requires investigation. The Sect has responded similarly, surely we can’t just take his word for it, right? But while we clearly have not completed the investigation, Gu Jinlai stations troops at the border, adopting such an aggressive stance... Is he still our Purgatory Sect Elder? Is he attempting to betray our Purgatory Sect?"
Elder Hall Master Huo Changqing slowly said.
"This is pressuring our Purgatory Sect. How many years has it been since our Purgatory Sect faced such a threat?"
"It seems that the Sect has been very generous to Gu Jinlai recently, bestowing two scrolls of Secret Techniques, which has only made him more aggressive. This cannot continue; we must curb his sharpness."
The other hall masters echoed in agreement.
"So, Gu Jinlai’s leading disciple Su Nanxing is stationing troops at the border. Who will confront him?"
Lu Dengxian asked.
"Since this matter started because of Vice Sect Master Lin, I think let Vice Sect Master Lin handle it," proposed Dongzhen Hall Master Yuan Xizhi.
The others listened and nodded slightly.
Su Nanxing alone, with Lin Xiao’s capabilities, should be more than enough to handle him.
"Gu Jinlai deploying his disciple to station troops at the border is probably also to intimidate us into backing down. As for actually invading our Red State, he doesn’t have the guts, because he’s very clear about what it means to invade our Red State."
Luu Zhenbei slowly said.
The other hall masters also nodded in agreement.
They did not believe that Gu Jinlai would actually dare to let his disciples invade Red State.
Causing trouble within Star State was one thing, but if he dared to directly attack Red State itself, that amounted to a direct betrayal of the Purgatory Sect and a declaration of war against the Purgatory Sect. When that time came, even if the Supreme Elders were reluctant to make a move, they might have to stir and let him understand the price for angering the Purgatory Sect.
And Gu Jinlai...
Despite his outstanding performance, he could not escape the fact that he relied on external objects and his cultivation was insufficient. Once the Purgatory Sect deployed a Primordial Spirit True Monarch to get serious, what awaited him was merely death.
"Since that’s the case, let’s proceed this way,"
Lu Dengxian looked towards Lin Xiao, "Since Su Nanxing is threatening Linfeng City, you lead six thousand elites to join the defenders of Linfeng City and confront Su Nanxing, ensuring he doesn’t set foot inside our Red State territory." 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
"I comply with the Sect Master’s command."
Lin Xiao bowed deeply.
Now he might not have the courage to confront Gu Jinlai directly, but to deal with Gu Jinlai’s disciple Su Nanxing, a newly promoted Refining God from less than a year ago? That would be nothing difficult.
Moreover, he had the backing of the Sect.
Concerning the face of the Sect, the Purgatory Sect would not stand by and watch him perish at Gu Jinlai’s hands at this time.
Just as Lu Dengxian started to deploy troops and command officers, an Elder, regardless of the ongoing meeting in the hall, hurriedly arrived.
"Sect Master, things are grim. The latest message from Star State area came last night; Gu Jinlai led his demon guards to Yuanhua City, and early this morning, their army, personally led by him, has already crossed the Red State and Star State border, charging directly towards Linfeng City."
The moment this was said, Lu Dengxian, who had been arranging for personnel, froze on the spot.
Even the hall masters had their pupils widen.
Gu Jinlai was coming!?
He had reached Yuanhua City!?
And...
He had actually led the troops, crossed the border between Star State and Red State, and was charging directly towards Linfeng City!?
Just moments ago they thought that Gu Jinlai wouldn’t dare to let his disciples invade Red State, otherwise it would be declaring war against the Purgatory Sect, but in the blink of an eye...
Gu Jinlai personally led his forces into Red State territory, the slap to their faces coming unexpectedly fast.
