Gu Jinlai and Gu Chaoyang, weary from the road, hurried back.
"From the broad seas and sky we find in retreat, to meeting aggression with equal force and covering water with earth, to now having no choice but to counterattack."
Such relentless pressure had its limits.
"I’ve shown weakness and handed over the Meteor Star Guard to her. Must she really take an inch and then a mile, to completely control the situation?"
He sighed, "I even thought of the years spent in Changjun City. I took a step back, they took a step in. I took another step back, they stepped in further, until I was cornered with nowhere to go, and they only knew fear when I was forced to rise up and start killing."
Gu Chaoyang, though he didn’t want to question the Patriarch’s decision, still couldn’t help but ask, "In reality, do we have the strength to stabilize the situation in Lingxiao City and outmaneuver Su Tong?"
"It’s ultimately a difference in thinking."
Gu Jinlai said, "This world does not foster moderation, nor does it cherish peace; it only speaks of exclusive possession and life-and-death struggle."
Gu Chaoyang looked at Gu Jinlai with puzzlement, "On the path of the Great Dao, relentless progress is key. As cultivators standing between heaven and earth, we’re meant to contend with the heavens, the earth, and our fellow man. If there are good things that we don’t take for ourselves, aren’t we just handing them to others on a silver platter? Over time, if we don’t reap benefits, we will become weaker and weaker, while others grow stronger, until they can effortlessly annihilate us. By then, we’ll have no choice but to be slaughtered without any means to resist."
Gu Jinlai nodded his head.
His thinking was tainted by the mindset of the common folk.
Oftentimes, he couldn’t understand the actions of Su Tong, Fang Cai, or the Heavenly Grass Pavilion’s Bai Yang.
Didn’t their actions risk bringing down a catastrophic disaster upon themselves?
To use a common phrase, they were reckless!
Recklessly to the point of mindlessness.
Yet, this was the norm in this world.
One must struggle for the good things on one’s own.
By any means necessary.
Without relying on so-called justice from those above, nor on an orderly distribution.
The resources distributable within the rules are always those that the Upper ones have discarded.
Hence, everyone yearns to be among the Upper ones.
From his perspective, many of the tactics employed by countries on Blue Star seemed equally counterintuitive.
Yet, those seemingly irrational actions are those the countries must undertake.
Territory, resources, politics, economics...
If these countries don’t want to become just another face in the crowd, there’s too much at stake for them to compete for.
As long as the benefit outweighs the risk, or even if an individual’s profit is substantial, what’s stopping them from embracing collective irrationality?
The risks are borne by the collective.
If my gains are substantial enough, why fear a lack of ability to avoid risks?
"It’s like being presented with a choice where, by simply pressing a button, you can get ten million, but a random person will die as a result. Would you press it?"
Gu Jinlai was well aware.
No matter how noble anyone made their reasoning sound, if such an opportunity truly arose, they would press it without hesitation.
But what if the one who died was the son of a very important person?
Then, "you," the ordinary person, die under the retribution of that important person.
In the eyes of God, isn’t that the same as recklessly putting oneself in danger for ten million, without a thought for one’s own head?
Su Tong’s actions were no different from those of an ordinary person who would press the button for ten million.
"Patriarch, regarding Su Tong..."
Gu Chaoyang sought guidance.
"Let’s go, let’s meet with Yang Kan."
In this world, due to the particularity of the clustering effect, seldom would anyone live in remote mountains and wilderness.
Unless there was a reason to temporarily gather people in a place, the appearance of a recluse in the wilderness out of nowhere was certainly suspicious.
At this time, in a small county called Wutong.
Gu Jinlai met with the elder from the Purgatory Sect in another courtyard.
"Indeed, as a newly promoted Golden Robed Elder, getting an audience with you is no easy feat,"
Yang Kan said, his tone laced with a trace of sarcasm.
Gu Jinlai did not respond but instead looked over the three-section small courtyard with its garden: "This isn’t the place I arranged for Elder Yang, is it?"
"Do you need me to explain why? Could anyone actually live in the place you arranged?"
Yang Kan retorted with a cold laugh.
"What about the original owner of this courtyard?"
"Rest assured, everything has been taken care of, no one will notice anything,"
Yang Kan said nonchalantly.
Gu Jinlai observed the bright red karma surrounding him and had already guessed what kind of person this elder was.
But he had not anticipated...
"When this family doesn’t show up for a long time, it will inevitably attract the peeping of others, and then..."
"That’s your problem to solve."
Yang Kan waved his hand, interrupting Gu Jinlai’s words: "If you can’t even handle this trivial matter, how do you expect to hold onto the position of a Golden Robed Elder?"
"It’s not a question of whether I do it well or not, the current situation is that Elder Yang is making trouble for me,"
Gu Jinlai spoke slowly.
"You think that just by hiding in that courtyard I can rest easy without worries?"
"My men there have made ample disguises,"
Yang Kan chuckled coldly, shifting the topic: "But what’s more important now is to coordinate with Elder Xue’s actions. The elder might have already arrived at Lingxiao City and will discuss with us the strategy to seize Baihe City soon. He will probably summon Elder Gu before long."
"Elder Xue has arrived at Lingxiao City?"
Gu Jinlai’s eyebrows furrowed.
Unlike Yang Kan, Xue Wuqing...
He was a Red Robed Elder.
An existence at the Refining God Peak.
In his twenty years since becoming known, the Refining God experts who died by his hand were not few, and he had even slain a Great Demon face-to-face in the past.
This was an existence at the pinnacle of the Refining God Stage.
Even Zhang Luu, the Meteor Star Guard who was also at the Refining God Peak, was probably slightly inferior to him.
"You’d better gather your men. Elder Xue may need them,"
He sent a message to Xue Wuqing, wanting to use Xue Wuqing’s fame to force Gu Jinlai to make a decision, but...
"When did Elder Xue arrive?"
"Elder Xue moves in secrecy, how could I know? He’s probably already observing the situation in Lingxiao City from the shadows, waiting until the time is ripe to show himself,"
Yang Kan said, his gaze flickering slightly.
Gu Jinlai’s expression changed for a moment before he finally said, "I understand. I’ll gather my people right away, but they are all outside Lingxiao City hunting demons. It may take some time for them to come over. If the situation in Baihe City is indeed urgent, feel free to proceed without me."
A thought struck Yang Kan.
Connecting it to Gu Jinlai’s perceived helplessness when confronted aggressively by Su Tong in recent times, this might just be the crux of the matter.
He even speculated that the gunpowder-like substance that Gu Jinlai was developing might require demon blood for its creation.
Otherwise, the simple reason of hunting demon martial artists wouldn’t explain why Gu Jinlai put so much effort into that pursuit.
Thinking this, he subtly gave a subordinate a knowing glance.
The subordinate caught on and discreetly made a hand signal.
After a leisure discussion for a few more moments, Gu Jinlai excused himself and left.
Yang Kan feigned politeness in seeing him off.
But just as they exited the courtyard, a pill-cradling messenger hurried in from outside.
Seeing Yang Kan, the messenger reported with a panicked expression: "Elder, it’s not good. Su Tong has led her people into the county city, and it seems like they have a lead, heading straight to our Purgatory Sect protectors’ hiding place."