Chapter 407 - 313: The Thousand-Year Scheme
The people from the Great Zhou Academy had arrived. The crowd gathered outside the Lingliang Sect’s main gate could only crane their necks to watch. They were the ones the Nascent Soul Cultivator Ji Yulang had referred to as "irrelevant parties."
Among these "irrelevant parties," however, were several different mindsets. The members of the Pill Alliance and the Spirit Wood Alliance were quite indignant. The feeling was as agonizing as having a prize snatched from their very grasp.
Meanwhile, the eight Golden Core Sects, led by Yan Nanxing, were in high spirits. Seeing the people from the Great Zhou Academy arrive was like a wronged commoner finally seeing an incorruptible magistrate. Even though they were all Golden Core Cultivators forged in a Mountain of Corpses and a Sea of Blood, their reactions at this moment were hardly better than those of mortals.
As for Fang Qingyuan, Lechuan, and a few other sect leaders who had rushed over after hearing the news, they were simply here to watch the show. It wasn’t every day one got to see the Great Zhou Academy handle a case.
The Great Zhou Academy’s Round Disc Flying Shuttle descended into the Lingliang Sect’s grounds. It quickly extinguished the great fire within the sect and then subdued everyone.
The Lingliang Sect’s Mountain Protection Array was useless against a Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Great Zhou Academy. Besides, the cultivators managing the array wouldn’t dare to use it against the Academy’s flying shuttle.
Fang Qingyuan blended into the crowd, watching the Great Zhou Academy’s members at work from a distance. People continuously emerged from the Round Disc Flying Shuttle, and every cultivator was at least at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
There were quite a few Golden Core Cultivators as well. Fang Qingyuan sensed from afar, estimating there were about four or five of them. He also managed to get a clear look at the Nascent Soul Cultivator, Ji Yulang.
Ji Yulang had thick brows and deep-set eyes, and he was dressed as a scholar. Although his features were stern, age had a way of adding a touch of kindness to one’s appearance, regardless of their temperament. This softened the intimidating aura he had developed from years of enforcing the law. Of course, Ji Yulang no longer needed to put on a fierce face these days.
Fang Qingyuan only dared to watch from a distance with his eyes. He would never risk using his Mind Divine Techniques to envelop this man in his Mind Map. If Ji Yulang sensed it, he would be asking for trouble.
Fortunately, he had sent Jinbao into the Immortal Mansion before he arrived. It would have been troublesome if Ji Yulang had noticed it.
While the people from the Great Zhou Academy were investigating the case, the members of the Pill Alliance and the Spirit Wood Alliance started arguing again. Fang Qingyuan saw them square up, looking like they were about to come to blows.
Seeing the Pill Alliance and the Spirit Wood Alliance at each other’s throats again, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but ask Lechuan, who was beside him.
"The ancestors of both the Pill Alliance and the Spirit Wood Alliance cultivate on White Mountain. Logically, they should be like fellow disciples. Why can’t their sects down here be more amicable?"
Lechuan watched the two factions bicker and replied to Fang Qingyuan with a chuckle:
"We outsiders don’t know the situation on White Mountain. They’re strict about preventing information from getting out. However, judging by the actions of these White Mountain factions over the years, it’s not all peaceful up there either. Sometimes, when the sects below start fighting, the ancestors on the mountain don’t seem to care at all. It’s hard to say if they’re indifferent or just spread too thin.
As for why the Pill Alliance is always at odds with the Spirit Wood Alliance... Qingyuan, you must understand, the Pill Alliance is a newer power. The Fourth-rank Spiritual Land they occupy, Silver Elephant Mountain, was originally supposed to be given to the Spirit Wood Alliance. In return, the Spirit Wood Alliance was to give up Bo Wood or Bosen City as compensation to the Pill Alliance, hoping to keep most of their own Land Realm bordering the Barbaric Wilderness. But, well, you know what happened after that."
Right. Later, when the Great Zhou Academy was distributing rewards, they played a trick on the Spirit Wood Alliance, shattering their perfect plan. They didn’t get the territory bordering the Barbaric Wilderness. Even their original Land Realm was separated by nine Golden Core Sealed Sects arranged by the Great Zhou Academy. As a result, the Spirit Wood Alliance suffered a great loss.
So, in the thirty years following the pioneering war, the Spirit Wood Alliance first swallowed Kuai Tong’s Artifact Talisman City and spent a few years digesting it. Then they devoured Qi Wushuang’s Shandu, followed by another decade or so of peace. Now, it seems the Spirit Wood Alliance is hungry again.
’With the trouble now at Lingliang Sect, could this be the Spirit Wood Alliance’s hidden move to expand its territory?’
Fang Qingyuan had no way of knowing the answers to these questions. For now, it seemed his Qingyuan Sect was not in the Spirit Wood Alliance’s path of expansion.
In the end, the duel between the Pill Alliance and the Spirit Wood Alliance never happened. In just half a day, the people from the Great Zhou Academy had already finished their business.
"Xiao Xuan of Lingliang Sect died in an accident caused by cultivation deviation!"
"A Direct Disciple of Lingliang Sect, one Qian, for his own selfish reasons, became utterly depraved. When his Sect Leader suffered from cultivation deviation, not only did he fail to render aid, but he also controlled his master’s mind to secure the position of Sect Leader for himself..."
Ji Yulang’s voice was still booming when Chai Yi realized that the kid he supported had been exposed. He stopped pressing the matter and retreated with the people from the Spirit Wood Alliance.
The side supported by the Pill Alliance had won, but not through a duel. They felt it was a dishonorable victory. The leading Golden Core Cultivator shot a few glares at Yan Nanxing before being pulled aside by the Pill Alliance’s Vice Sect Leader, Elder Han Yan.
After announcing the investigation’s findings, Ji Yulang led the numerous scholar-robed cultivators single file into the Round Disc Flying Shuttle. Without a word to any of the cultivators present, he piloted the shuttle and departed directly.
Watching the Round Disc Flying Shuttle depart so quickly, Fang Qingyuan and Yan Nanxing wore the same expression: a hint of bewilderment.
’They finished the case that quickly? It feels like a bit of a waste. My Heaven-Reaching Order was so valuable... Senior Ji Yulang, aren’t you going to come down and say a few more words to me?’