The Marquis of Jinghuan said quietly, "How the leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders does things is very similar to the Conservative Faction of the Great Void Sect. Even though he may react with harsh and tough measures at times, ultimately those are always secondary considerations for him. There are too many things that he has to think about."
"There’s a saying that goes: The longer you spend out in the world, the more timid you get." The Marquis of Jinghuan’s speech was controlled and his voice was like flowing water. "The bigger the Celestial Sect of Wonders gets and the further they expand, the more he has to consider and be wary of. The burdens he has to bear will increase voluminously, much like a steel chain locking him down."
The monk replied slowly, "I don’t quite agree. If the Great Void Sect perceives the leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders like you, they may not get what they want."
The Marquis of Jinghuan continued, "The Parasol Tree Wood Essence will be sent back to the Parasol Tree Forest in the end."
The monk within the ray of divine light smiled faintly and answered, "The Parasol Tree King has suppressed his injuries. From my perspective, we don’t stand to benefit at all. Rather, the method has changed, that’s it."
The Marquis of Jinghuan grunted in response. "You may not be affected much by it, but the troubles heaped upon myself have just begun."
The monk replied, "You don’t have to worry. Of course, I will not break my promise to you."
He raised his palm and waved it lightly in the air. A picture made of pure light illusions shot into the middle of The Marquis of Jinghuan’s brows. The Marquis of Jinghuan felt his body tremble and immediately closed his eyes.
"Good, good, good!" The Marquis of Jinghuan could feel his blood boiling in his veins, as if he were inside the core of the Earth. He returned to normal after a long while, and reopened his eyes as divine light shot out in all directions. "Wait, something’s wrong. This is but a remnant?"
He stared straight at the monk. The monk said plainly, "If it’s complete, what use will you be to the Great Void Sect or the Great Zhou Empire after they obtain it? What else can I do to protect you? If you wish to keep it for yourself, you’ll never hide that fact from them. Only with me will you be able to find protection."
The Marquis of Jinghuan’s gaze was trained on the monk for a long while. He nodded his head slowly but remained silent.
The monk laughed out loud and said, "With this as your foundation, the Great Void Sect and the Great Zhou Empire will have to forgive you for provoking the Phoenix Race, and support you as well. They may even value you even more."
"Furthermore, even if the Phoenix race returns to the demons completely, then it’s just a rebalance of the situation. If that happens, war will not break out in the near future."
The Marquis of Jinghuan asked, "Isn’t that what you want?"
Under the Great Void Sect’s effortful plan for balance and peace, the power of the world of cultivation inside the Divine Lands were superior to that of the Barren Expanses, which was perennially experiencing internal conflicts.
If a war was incited between the two worlds, then the humans had a greater chance of victory. The plans and efforts of many cultivators were already being executed and bearing fruit in the shadows.
The Divine Lands seemed peaceful and calm, but in reality people were stirring in the shadows.
The plan that the monk had in mind was increasing the strength of the demon races. However, it also delayed the instigation of war. Still, only he would know whether this was rooted in compassion or for some other reason.
"After this, we have to wait and see what the Great Void Sect and the Great Zhou Empire will do to placate the Phoenix race. If they handle it well, then the Phoenix race may not return under the wing of the demons. They may well change their initiative and intervene in a war between the two worlds. However, if the possibility is there then many people have to reconsider their options."
"If somebody insists on declaring war on the other party, then there are more measures that I can take to draw the Phoenix race back to us." The monk began to smile as he stated his opinions. "Isn’t it what you want as well, if the two worlds hold off on their declaration of war?"
The Marquis of Jinghuan did not dispute the statement, and nodded his head decisively. "Yes. There’s a lot more that I can dig and excavate potentially, but I need time. If the war does occur between the entire Divine Lands and the Barren Expanses, it will be calamitous and even the lives of immortal soul cultivators will be at risk."
"If a war breaks out now and I hide at the back, there’s nothing to be gained. If I take point then it’s easy to fall into others’ traps and malicious calculations and I’ll just become cannon fodder."
The Marquis of Jinghuan observed his pale hands that harbored immense power and said slowly, "But if I can get just a little more time, then I will become the dictator of everything. And when that happens, then the war between the two worlds shall be my stage upon the Grand Celestial World."
"I shall be the main character of this era, and the demon races will be sacrificed as part of my legacy for millennia to come. The Great Void Sect, the Great Zhou Empire and the Celestial Sect of Wonders will all simply become my sidekicks and heralds for my rise."
The monk chuckled. "The sidekicks and heralds that you are thinking of, or perhaps the future meritorious ‘sacrifices’– do they also include me inside?"
The Marquis of Jinghuan replied, "That will depend on the choice you make in the end."
The monk laughed and said, "I am actually considering killing you right here and now."
"I know you won’t." The Marquis of Jinghuan smiled faintly and continued, "At least, when you haven’t exhausted my value and when I am still of use to you, you will not murder me. In your eyes, you have absolute control over me and you can eliminate me whenever you want. If that’s the case, why not squeeze me dry?"
Everybody would want = to be the hero and main character of the era. Everyone would have their own calculations, and would have a rightful measure of self-confidence.
However, the person who would get the last laugh would depend on their individual capabilities.
The monk said noncommittally, "If you don’t put a filter on that mouth of yours then I may have to break my commandments and destroy you. My Buddhist mantras are not yet perfect anyway."
The Marquis of Jinghuan laughed and replied, "Please don’t crack jokes like that. I’m sure you have already completely understood the nature of people and what they’re thinking of."
The monk did not respond to his sentence and changed the topic. "You wish to give yourself more time, but do not forget that there are many others in the race along with you."
The Marquis of Jinghuan let out a shallow sigh. "Are you talking about the disciples under the Celestial Sect of Wonders and the other prodigies like Shi Tianyi? While it’s a real cause for concern, I still don’t think it’s a big deal."
"For example, let’s talk about Xiao Yan. I will find him sooner or later, and I will feed him until he’s like a pig, and when he’s fat enough I will slaughter him – this way I can reap the most benefits." The Marquis of Jinghuan laughed lightly and continued, "Three different primordial fires, heh heh, three different primordial fires… I wonder if he can handle a fourth? Can he obtain the Pure Yang Primordial Fire?"
The eyes of the monk sparkled a little. "Perhaps there will be more than four."
The Marquis of Jinghuan looked stunned for a moment. "Why do you say that?"
Xiao Yan, whom the Marquis of Jinghuan was so dearly concerned about, was not on his way through the Barren Expanses. He carried 林桐 along as they proceeded towards the Parasol Tree Forest.
On the other side, Lin Feng was sitting atop Mount Yujing as he began to contemplate. "Shi Tianyi has obtained the backing of the Radical Faction of the Great Void Sect. If he can enter Mount Baiyun for cultivation, then it can be assumed that the Conservative Faction of the Great Void Sect have agreed."
"Heh, that’s interesting. You think I’m on the same team as you? You should know that some things can be compromised, but there are some things that cannot be negotiated at all."
Lin Feng laughed coldly. "I wonder if the strange happenings in the Shi Family and the Yu Family have anything to do with this? Perhaps, with the backing of someone else they have miscalculated their own worth."
Ideas continued to spin in Lin Feng’s head and he voice-projected a message to Kang Nanhua. "Nanhua, do help me monitor and record the recent happenings within the Shi Family and the Yu Family. Do be meticulous and take note of all possible forms of information – don’t miss out a single thing out of the norm."
Kang Nanhua acknowledged and instantly ripped open the void and left Mount Yujing.
Lin Feng sent him off and his eyes began to sparkle. He shifted his gaze towards a stone cave on the mountain and said, "Is that the flaming fox?"
That location was Hu Yanyan’s residence. Lin Feng swept the area with his consciousness and saw that Hu Yanyan had discarded her human form within the cave and revealed her true form of the Flaming Fox.
Black flames flickered within her eyes. Behind her, seven fox tails flailed around and their tips were lit with black-colored Heavenly Apocalyptic Blazes.
Lin Feng perceived the scene and had a realization. "Seven fox tails now… Has she returned to the Demonic Lord intermediate stage?"
Hu Yanyan relied upon her own demonic powers and toiled to assimilate the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze into her body. From what could be seen, it looked like she wanted to tame the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze in one breath.
Lin Feng shrugged his shoulders. He pointed a finger into the sky and an immense streak of energy shot across the void and landed on top of Hu Yanyan’s head.
Dense purple energy began to flow into her body to help her assimilate and tame the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze.
At this point, Hu Yanyan’s progress in assimilating the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze had reached its final stages, and was only a tiny step away from success. However, this last step was the most difficult and the challenge was perhaps greater than everything before combined. With Lin Feng’s help, it felt like a walk in the park.
The seven tails behind her were huge, and they were like flames of a bonfire and another tail appeared in no time. It was like a tiny flame, except this ‘flame’ grew bigger with dazzling speed and became like the rest of her seven tails in no time.
She was well on her way in recovering back to her Eight-Tailed Fox Demon King status, to the Demonic Lord advanced stage. Once she had assimilated the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze, her strength would have gained another level and after another period of meditation and cultivation she would be able to break through to the Undying Demonic Soul stage.
However, in the process of her assimilation, Lin Feng unkindly extracted about half of the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze.
The calamitous black flames ruthlessly consumed everything around them that they could touch, and this did not even exclude Lin Feng’s mana. Lin Feng could only use the Fences of the Heavens spell to ward off the flames with the enacted barrier. Even then, the power of the boundary was continually being swallowed up by the black flames, and Lin Feng had to repeatedly replenish what was lost.
"Yes, no wonder it is as reputable as the Nefarious Spectral Primordial Fire." Lin Feng’s expression suddenly changed as he realized that there was something abnormal about the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze within his palms.
The center of the black flames was surprisingly mixed with a strand of insidious mana that was difficult to detect. It was clearly not of the same origin as the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze and was different by nature, but somehow it was obscure and hard to detect as it integrated with the former.
If not for the fact that Lin Feng was using the Fences of the Heavens technique to directly contact the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze, he would have been fooled as well.
This was just something that was uniquely Lin Feng. If it was somebody else that sealed the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze, they would have been unable to delve deeper within as their mana and consciousness would be consumed completely by the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze. Only with the power of the boundary created by the Fences of the Heavens spell could one interact with this demonic flame for a prolonged period, at the end of which would one only be able to detect the problems within.
This strand of mana was not of demonic origin. Rather, it was a strand of mana formed by human cultivation and was just lying dormant and quietly within the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze.
The corner of Lin Feng’s mouth curled into a strange smile. "Heh, so I was right."
From the first time that he saw Hu Yanyan, Lin Feng could already feel that the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze within her body was a little abnormal.
The power of the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze was extremely special. This type of primordial fire was the kind to consume everything around it to strengthen its own flames. It could not only consume cultivator mana and demonic mana, more often than not it could also consume the other six types of primordial fires.
However, the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze within hu Yanyan’s body was a little strange and mysterious and was in something like a "half-asleep" state.
The power of the primordial fire was always in a tug-of-war with Hu Yanyan’s personal demonic mana, but did not exhibit a single trace of the frightening unique quality of consuming everything in its path.
It seemed that Lin Feng had discovered the cause of the problem.
The strand of mana that was mixed with the Heavenly Apocalyptic Blaze was extremely unusual. When it materialized into solid matter, it took a form similar to the flames. It was hidden within the black fire and seemed like it integrated with the latter as one body, but in reality it had an independent existence.
Lin Feng’s eyes closed into slits. "How is it that this concept of power feels so familiar… Heh, I understand now. This is the Vairocana Glass Cleaning Fire made from the Vairocana Sutra!"