"Sect Master, what do you think are the chances that a conflict between two direct descendant disciples, no matter how irreconcilable, could actually lead to a full-scale war between two supreme orthodoxies?" Ling Xiao suddenly countered with a question of his own.
"Two direct descendant disciples..." A gloomy light flashed in Wan Rendí's eyes. When his own demon sect's young master was killed back then, he hadn't even dared to intervene.
Although the conflict between this Qin Clan young master and the Immortal Sect's true disciple was more complex now,even affecting the face of both great clans, in Wan Rendí's estimation, if neither side conceded, the most that would happen was both sides sending a few cannon-fodder forces to clash, making a big show of it, and then letting it fizzle out.
After all,whether it was Emperor Qin or the Cloud Millet Immortal Sect Master, they were all old foxes who had lived for centuries. How could they possibly fight to the mutual destruction over two disciples?
"Ah, Xiao'er, although I don't know if the methods you've set up will succeed... even if they do, I'm afraid it still won't shake the foundations of these two clans." Wan Rendí sighed, feeling a headache coming on.
He trusted Ling Xiao's courage and methods.
But he was still too young after all,and simply didn't understand how deep the thoughts of the leaders and patriarchs of supreme inheritances like them ran.
To use a common saying,which of those who lived to their age wasn't a thousand-year-old fox?
Achoo.
An old woman in Qingqiu sneezed for no reason.
"So, that's precisely the matter I wanted to discuss with the Sect Master and the Great Elder." Ling Xiao smiled faintly, his face the picture of calm composure.
Seeing this,Wan Rendí and the other man felt their hearts skip a beat.
So, our Young Master has already planned everything out?
"The fire has already been lit. No matter what, these two supreme orthodoxies won't admit fault this time. What we need to do is fan the flames from the sidelines, spreading the blaze." Ling Xiao gave a cold laugh. His starry eyes shone with demonic light, making him look very much like a great demon ready to kill.
"Fan the flames?" Wan Rendí instantly thought of something, a tremor of shock also overflowing from his eyes.
"You mean..."
"Sect Master, there must be quite a few of our Demon Sect's hidden agents within the Cloud Millet Immortal Sect, right?" Ling Xiao nodded with a smile. "Now is the time for them to give their all."
"But..."
"Sect Master, if we miss this opportunity, I'm afraid there won't be another. Since they became hidden agents, they should have long understood their own value." Ling Xiao's tone was indifferent.
"At the same time,I will also report to my father and have the informants he placed within the Qin Clan assist from the side, massacring the Qin Clan's vassal forces and disciples out on training missions. When that happens, the situation will spiral completely out of control."
On his way here, Ling Xiao had learned from his spies that the Cloud Millet Immortal Sect's Great Elder had gone to the Qin Clan and ultimately delivered a declaration of war.
The conflict between the two sects had clearly reached an irreconcilable point.
Any unusual movement from either side now would invite endless suspicion from the other.
"But if we do this, our Myriad Daos Demon Sect's century-long arrangements will be completely destroyed... What if we're exposed..." Yu Wenba was still clearly hesitant.
What Ling Xiao was doing,while something he himself had dreamed of for decades... the cost of this scheme would inevitably be rivers of blood and a sea of suffering!
The entire Sacred Dynasty seemed to have gone nearly a century without a collision between supreme orthodoxies.
"Great Elder, we must not have womanly benevolence at a time like this." Ling Xiao looked up at Wan Rendí on the dais, waiting quietly.
"Xiao'er, this matter is of great importance. Let me... think about it some more." Wan Rendí sighed, a lingering fear still on his face.
"Alright! However, Sect Master, you'd best give me an answer quickly. Otherwise, I won't be able to order action on the Ling Clan's side either." Ling Xiao nodded, then turned and walked out of the hall.
Left in the great hall, Wan Rendí and Yu Wenba looked at each other. It was a long moment before they secretly sighed. This young man... is truly formidable.
"Great Elder, what do you think..."
"It's feasible!At worst... we just make arrangements for another hundred years. It wouldn't be a huge loss to our sect's foundation."
"Then... give the order." Wan Rendí nodded, looking towards the world outside the hall.
At this moment,he seemed to see a blood-red cloud descending over the Eastern Territories.
The era of chaos is about to begin. Who will ultimately become the master of this world?
"Xiao'er, I'll do it!" Just then, Wan Rendí's voice suddenly sounded by Ling Xiao's ear.
A faint smile instantly curled on the former's lips.
Whoosh!
"Young Master!!Young Master!!!" Outside the great hall, countless disciple figures immediately swarmed towards Ling Xiao.
The latter was momentarily stunned, his figure instantly vanishing.
...
At the peak of the Myriad Daos Sacred Mountain, Ling Xiao sat cross-legged in his cave dwelling, eyes closed.
"Young Master." Xiao Tu's voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Ling Xiao opened his eyes, his expression calm. "Enter."
Xiao Tu had already been implanted with a soul mark by him, making him absolutely loyal.
But what slightly surprised Ling Xiao was that in the short few days since they last met,this guy's Luck Points had actually increased by 200, and his aura had completely stepped into the first level of the Breakthrough Realm!
"Have you had some unexpected encounter recently?" Ling Xiao didn't know the details of Xiao Tu's experiences.
But for a demon sect true disciple to willingly become a soul slave just for revenge,it must be a blood feud.
The Yuan Yue Holy Son...Although Ling Xiao didn't yet know the background of this Holy Son, for someone to become the Holy Son of a supreme orthodoxy, it would be strange if he didn't have some luck.
This chaotic era was chaotic precisely because freaks emerged in batches,and Sons of Destiny were everywhere.
And with the amount of luck Xiao Tu possessed,he probably wasn't a match for that Holy Son.
At most,he was a slightly larger stepping stone.
It seems I need to find a way to... lower that Holy Son's intelligence.
"Young Master sees all. A few days ago, while training in the mountains, I found a spirit fruit. After consuming it, my Soul Palace grew several dozen zhang taller." A flash of excitement passed through Xiao Tu's eyes.
Although his cultivation had reached the threshold of the Breakthrough Realm,it was said that the Yuan Yue Holy Son had already been in the Breakthrough Realm for some time.
Xiao Tu had no chance of winning against him.But now... his soul power had become a major reliance.
He had come today precisely to ask the Young Master for an opportunity.
Since the Young Master was skilled in soul imprint techniques,he must have mastered some soul-based art.
If the Young Master could give him some guidance,then, catching his enemy off guard, he might just be able to kill the Yuan Yue Holy Son by using a soul technique.
"Soul Palace? Soul power?" Ling Xiao raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding Xiao Tu's purpose.
"What a coincidence.I do happen to possess an ancient soul technique here." Ling Xiao smiled faintly. His hand clenched abruptly, and a black, round stone instantly appeared in his palm, emitting a faint soul light.
"This is..."
"It's a Soul Sword technique left behind by a Soul Venerable.However, this ancient technique is incomplete; it only has one form. But its power is quite terrifying. You can try cultivating it. If you master it, you can kill those at the first level of the Breakthrough Realm. If you can't master it..." Ling Xiao opened the System Mall, found the Soul Power Techniques section, and picked a relatively simpler soul technique for Xiao Tu.
You'll do. Spiral Spike Imprint."Open your divine consciousness."
"Yes! Young Master!" Xiao Tu's eyes narrowed, a hint of anticipation within them. Then, a ripple of energy instantly shot towards him, imprinting itself into his sea of consciousness.
Hum!
Space trembled,and Dao chimes reverberated.
At this moment,the gazes of all the experts in the Myriad Daos Demon Sect turned towards the mountain peak.
"What a terrifying fluctuation... What kind of Dao art is this?"