Upon swiftly returning to the newly established Eternal Duality Valley, Wu Long's ladies, and the key representatives of the new Sect assembled for the general meeting, to discuss further plans.
"...thus it can be confirmed that while the Blood Demon's influence disappearing will contribute to the stabilization of that continent, the current state of affairs is likely to remain if no significant change is made", Old Yen finished the report from the investigation he did with Nie Guanting.
This investigation was spurred by the fact that upon entering the Forging Dao district in the Cloud Piercing Empire, Wu Long instantly could tell that there was a slightly different atmosphere there, and even the guards within the district were not belonging to the Imperial Army.
And his instinct did not fail him as Old Yen uncovered that the district was its own entity and mostly independent of the Empire it was located in, like a country within a country. It was completely walled off and regulated by its own laws and the authority of the Imperial Army within the district was dismal if not outright nonexistent.
Old Yen's investigation also showed that the district and the Empire held almost equal influence, not meddling in each others affairs, at least directly.
The Great Forge Hall, an organization that eerily resembled the Divine Forge Hall of the Seven Boundless Worlds was the one that controlled that entire district, and the one that was directly profiting from the wars on the continent as it supplied arms and armor to all warring nations.
It was the structure that the Blood Demon used to fuel the powers of the continent so that they remained in a subtle balance, thus neither side being able to prevail, while also controlling the Royal Houses and the Imperial Dynasty from the shadows to achieve that same effect.
This structure was so robust, and the system of incentives were so well-placed, that even after the death of Linghun Mo, the situation on the continent was not likely to change, as all parties that could make a difference would continue to make decisions pushing the five countries to more conflict, driven purely by their interests and no outside influence.
The only thing that could change was the ambition of the Imperial Family that was previously stifled by the Blood Demon, but then again all the other parties had their incentives to keep the status quo, and thus all that would happen is an increase in the internal struggles within the Empire.
"I can shed some light on that, as there used to be three more influential Transcendent cultivators, that governed that continent"
Madam Liang nodded, explaining the situation as she drew on her smoking pipe and puffed a cloud of herbal smoke into the air.
"One founded the Great Forge Hall, the other backed the Empire, and the most aloof of them backed the Cloud Piercing Sect.
The three of them were also key reasons that Gu Zhen was able to keep Senior Zhao at a distance, as their interests intersected.
Though they perished one after another due to their age"
She then added with an introspective expression, and then chuckled, a wry smile appearing on her face as her eyes shined with an emotion remotely resembling pity.
"Heh, those poor bastards were used by him as a shield and then discarded as Senior Zhao started losing his strength to age.
Gu Zhen likely already had the Blood Vitality Pill recipe by that time, but I guess they were not as convenient to rule as others, as while they supported him they still remained a separate power unlike those that followed him"
Madam Liang sighed, shaking her head, and then finished her explanation with...
"The Corrupt Path took over only after their passing, and turned that continent into their playground, but left the key structures intact as they were quite convenient"
"Hmm, I see. Thank you for the information, Madam Liang. But... those three governed the continent... with you there?", Wu Long turned a curious gaze to Fen Baihu who lazily sat on one of the soft armchairs in the meeting room.
Her presence of course got a lot of attention from everyone in the room, as she was easily the most powerful person in the entire Three Continents before Wu Long showed on the scene, and yet remained almost unknown.
"I generally didn't meddle in the affairs of humans, as long as no one disturbed the Northernmost tip of the continent", she shrugged her shoulders, revealing her attitude of almost no interest toward the worldly affairs, adding "I only explored dreams of some humans to deal with boredom from time to time, and if I sensed a particularly strong Soul"
"Haha, I guess that's something to be expected... well, it seems that...", Wu Long lightly chuckled, and then as he turned back to face the room and was going to go to the next topic, mostly losing interest in the previous one as all the questions he had were answered, Wei Lan's face entered his view, and his words halted.
She did not say anything, nor did her expression reveal any of her thoughts, but he could still tell.
"Hmm", Wu Long raised his hand to rest his chin on his fingers in thought.
"Boss?", Old Yen noticed the shift in Wu Long's attitude and carefully asked.
"No, it's just that to be honest our business here is done for the most part, and I was planning to start moving soon.
With Fen Baihu's cooperation we can move far more easily, and the logistics problem I was slightly agonizing before is now mostly solved without even needing that Forging Master.
He shook his head as he explained that nothing was wrong.
Initially, he was thinking of reforging Cao Xiang's fortress ship into a more powerful treasure.
One that would be able to move not only on sea, and also bear the harsh travel through the unstable link between the worlds.
This plan was a backup in case he could not get the cooperation of the Eight-Tailed Fox that he was not completely certain about.
Now, however, even if he did not find the Forging Master that he still was eager to recruit despite the changed circumstances, the logistics part of their travel was solved.
Seeing his hesitation despite seemingly all arrangements being done and every loose end on the Three Continents being tied, Wei Lan revealed a vexed expression as she now knew for certain that he noticed her thoughts.
"Wu Long...", she raised her voice, but Ye Ling standing next to her placed her hand on her shoulder, shaking her head from side to side.
"Haha, don't worry, Lan'er. I am not only delaying the decision because of you.
In truth, I also just recently received a confirmation that we likely do not need to even travel through the Boundless Mortal World, and can directly ascend to the Boundless Profound World instead"
Wu Long chuckled as well.