Everyone was eagerly anticipating.
Yet beneath this fervor, the covert struggles of the Imperial Court, Demon Sect, and Southern Border never ceased. If the True Martial Sect is counted in, it becomes a four-way struggle, but excluding Ning Qi, the True Martial Sect is negligible compared to the other three forces.
At the summit of a thousand-foot cliff.
Palaces stood layer upon layer, resplendent with gold and jade.
Powerful martial artists gathered here, all high-ranking figures of the Demon Sect and Southern Border.
The Demon Sect had all three Vice Sect Leaders present, but there was no sign of Qin Yun, while on the Southern Border side, besides the Southern Border Saintess and Snake Granny, there were two others standing on equal footing with the Saintess.
One was a bald middle-aged man, with muscles so robust they were intimidating, like a small mountain, with even his facial muscles bunched together.
The other was an elder with a silver crown, possessing a dignified demeanor, implicitly leading the Southern Border people.
However, at this moment, the atmosphere was somewhat silent.
Xiang Tianxing broke the stalemate, speaking in a deep voice:
"Gentlemen, we have gathered here today not to perform a silent act. We all clearly understand the situation. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to express them. What do you think, Lanhe Elder?"
Lanhe Elder, the silver-crowned elder, nodded slightly at Xiang Wentian’s words:
"Indeed. The Great Yan Imperial Court has already uncovered our plans, biting at our heels like mad dogs these days, greatly slowing our progress in cultivating the Blood King Gu. We must devise a counter-strategy."
Everyone wore expressions of fury.
Everything had been going well since the alliance was formed, but it was unknown where the leak occurred that drew the attention of the Great Yan Imperial Court.
"It’s all the damn True Martial Sect’s fault. I only regret not exterminating them a few years ago! When the Martial Saint emerges in the future, we must annihilate the entire True Martial sect to quell the fury in our hearts!" Ghost Mask said coldly.
He had been extremely aggrieved lately.
He had initially placed high hopes on Qin Yun, but Qin Yun wavered regarding the True Martial Sect matters, and now, the True Martial Sect had finally become a significant threat. Through informants, they knew that the information was leaked to the Imperial Court by the True Martial Sect.
The bald middle-aged man named Hei Yan spoke in a deep and muffled voice:
"But, how did the True Martial Sect come to know of our plans? Vice Sect Leaders, you must thoroughly investigate yourselves; this great undertaking allows no negligence."
Ghost Mask and Lin Xueshuang both turned pale, their expressions ugly.
Both the Southern Border and Demon Sect were powerful, their influence far-reaching, and they could uncover some traces. This involved Qin Yun and Lin Ruhua, though Hei Yan did not point it out directly, leaving them some face.
Xiang Tianxing was secretly pleased, but had to unite against the common enemy, so he smiled to ease the atmosphere:
"However, this might not be a bad thing."
Seeing the crowd’s gaze on him, he showed a confident smile: ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝕟𝕖𝕥
"Think carefully, with the Great Yan Imperial Court pressing this hard, doesn’t it show their bluff and bluster more? They’re afraid of us! They’re afraid we are about to have a Martial Saint born!"
"Thinking even deeper, doesn’t it suggest that the Great Yan Martial Saint is weaker than we imagined? We probed a hundred years ago, and he was far less formidable than two hundred years ago. Now another hundred years have passed, perhaps he’s become even more feeble!"
"Thus, if we endure through this time, once the Martial Saints of our two forces are born, the situation will swiftly change!"
Everyone nodded slowly.
This hypothesis had some reasonableness to it.
They were desperately seeking information on the Great Yan Martial Saint, but the Great Yan Imperial Court’s defenses were so tight they couldn’t gather a trace. But the tighter the defenses, the more it confirmed the Imperial Court’s trepidation.
The Southern Border Saintess Lan Yiyi’s eyes were cold:
"Yet if this continues, neither the Blood Emperor Gu nor your Holy Pills will know when they’ll be completed. The expected time might be delayed by more than double. Delays bring changes. What if the Great Yan Martial Saint recovers significantly during this time?"
"Remember, we are in a race against time."
Lanhe Elder nodded in agreement:
"Yes, we must come up with a feasible counter-plan."
The members of the Demon Sect’s eyes flickered slightly.
Breeding the Blood Emperor Gu requires the Blood King Gu, which needs to consume human blood essence. However, their Holy Pills require a large amount of exotic beast inner cores. Comparatively, under the pursuit of the Great Yan Imperial Court, the cultivation of the Blood Emperor Gu is more affected.
Ghost Mask slowly began to speak:
"How about this? You help us complete the Holy Pill refinement first, and when our Holy Sect’s Martial Saint is born, we’ll immediately assist you with full force to refine the Blood Emperor Gu. This way, we can achieve a win-win situation."
As his words fell, silence reigned within the hall.