Chapter 400 - 394: Preemptive Strike, Defeating the Slow with the Fast
Holding the jade slip, Su Ye’s Divine Sense stirred as he processed the information.
Based on the intelligence relayed by Phantom Zhenren, he pieced together the sequence of events that had transpired since his disappearance.
First, the story began from the beginning.
Su Ye was trapped in the Divine Kingdom, his fate unknown.
Then, not long after...
The Supreme Elder of the Spirit Control Sect, the Sun-Eating Demon Emperor Ziyuan, also vanished without a trace!
The Nanyaoguang Corporation had lost both of its Rank 4 combatants, one after the other!
’They were leaderless!’
In an instant, Hope Port was thrown into a panic.
However, at this chaotic moment, Phantom Zhenren, in her capacity as the governor of Hope Port, made the right decisions.
She demonstrated above-average competence and loyalty.
After the incident, she took advantage of her strategic location to dispatch search parties and gather information.
At the same time, she imposed a lockdown on the news to prevent panic and internal turmoil.
Furthermore, she sent this urgent news back to Weiyuan Immortal City as a secret message with the utmost speed!
Thanks to this, Su Ye’s core faction, centered around Weiyuan Immortal City and the Luo Family, was the first to receive this crucial intelligence, giving them a critical head start.
But Luo Qing’e knew that the truth couldn’t be hidden forever.
The news of Su Ye’s disappearance could be concealed for a few months at most before it leaked.
When that happened, without Su Ye’s suppressive power, their corporate faction would be at an absolute disadvantage against profound Golden Core sects like the Cyan Profound Sect and the Spirit Control Sect!
Once the news got out, the best-case scenario was that they would be stripped of their power, placed under house arrest, and reduced to puppets!
Therefore, Luo Qing’e made a decisive choice: launch a preemptive strike, using speed to overwhelm the enemy!
Acting in her capacity as Su Ye’s official wife, she gathered He Muyun, Luo Xiyin, and Bai Xiuying. She revealed the truth to them and explained her plan to build a consensus.
The most important opinion was He Muyun’s. She was a cultivator from the Cyan Profound Sect but leaned more toward the core faction.
And as the daughter of Tianhe, her opinion could influence his stance, which in turn... could sway the entire Cyan Profound Sect!
Luo Qing’e was rational. She knew that the core faction’s strength alone was not enough to deal with the Spirit Control Sect. In fact, they couldn’t even handle the Cyan Profound Sect, let alone the Spirit Control Sect!
Therefore, she had to borrow strength!
And the Cyan Profound Sect was the best possible ally!
This sect possessed the Emerald Ruyi, a share-based Rank 4 Spiritual Treasure. As long as a Crystal-stage cultivator wielded it, they could suppress and kill even a cultivator at Same Realm Perfection!
To persuade He Muyun, Luo Qing’e showed her sincerity. "The Nanyaoguang Corporation’s core faction is weak, with only a few Fake Core cultivators at our command... Therefore, our side is willing to honor the Cyan Profound Sect and co-govern the sea region, just as it was for the past three hundred years!"
"But the Spirit Control Sect has wolfish ambitions, and they have two Crystal Perfection cultivators. If we don’t eliminate them... not only will the Nanyaoguang Corporation and my husband’s legacy be in jeopardy, but the Cyan Profound Sect will also be in danger!"
"Who can guarantee that after overthrowing the corporation, the Spirit Control Sect won’t get ideas about unifying both sea regions?"
"For the sake of my husband’s legacy, and for the Cyan Profound Dao Lineage, Muyun, we must work together to nip this threat in the bud!"
One’s stance determines one’s thoughts.
He Muyun felt that what Luo Qing’e said was reasonable.
Thus, He Muyun agreed and used her influence to persuade Tianhe. In the end, she brought a powerful ally to the corporate faction’s side!
Qinghe!
Logically speaking, this Crystal Perfection cultivator was also a threat to the corporate faction!
However, Qinghe had a fatal flaw.
He was too old!
Although he was at Crystal Perfection, his lifespan was dwindling, and he was on the verge of death.
According to his own calculations, he only had a few years left before his life would end.
As one ages, the heart weakens, and a hero’s spirit wanes.
With so little time left, he no longer had the energy for grand schemes. People like Sima Yi, who remained vigorous in their old age, were a rarity.
After Liuyun and Tianhe, the two Crystal-stage cultivators of his sect, both made their stances clear, Qinghe also chose to agree for the sake of his descendants.
Luo Qing’e’s plan had succeeded!
Next, it was time to use speed against slowness and launch the plan with the force of a thunderbolt!
In Su Ye’s name, Luo Qing’e summoned three of the Four Spirit Shadows who were suspected of plotting a rebellion—the Crystal Zhenrens Jueying, Chengying, and Wuying—to the Immortal City for a meeting.
At the same time, He Muyun secretly returned to Jade Dew Island to retrieve the Emerald Ruyi.
Having reached a consensus, they handed it over to Qinghe and authorized him to use it!
Finally, several Blood Thunder Pearls were planted in the Council Hall. These Blood Thunder Pearls were actually the Ghostly Flood Dragon’s Blood Flame Plasma Bombs, reinforced with external arrays so they could be preserved long-term!
This was the result of Su Ye’s research. When He Muyun had previously traveled to the Day Flame Sea Region, he had given her a few Blood Thunder Pearls as protective treasures.
And so, when the three Crystal Zhenrens from the Spirit Control Sect stepped into the Council Hall...
The hall doors SLAMMED SHUT, sealing them in from all sides! Blood flames erupted from the floor, engulfing the three Crystal Zhenrens!
’Like shooting fish in a barrel!’
When the blood flames subsided, Qinghe, wielding the Emerald Ruyi, flew into the Council Hall with the other two Crystal-stage cultivators from the Cyan Profound Sect to clean up!
But things didn’t go exactly as planned.
Jueying and Chengying, the two Crystal Perfection cultivators, weren’t naive fools. They had already heard whispers about Su Ye’s disappearance.
Although they were still intimidated by Su Ye’s prestige and, half-believing and half-doubting, had suppressed their rebellious thoughts, they were naturally wary upon being summoned and had made preparations.
Before they came, they had opened the sect’s secret vault and retrieved a treasure!
The Chaotic Heaven Spider Shedding!
This item was a one-time-use secret treasure.
It had been left behind by a predecessor of the Spirit Control Sect, crafted from the shed skin of a Rank 4 great demon, the Chaotic Heaven Spider. It was inscribed with numerous array patterns and had been nurtured in a Spirit Vein for a long time.
Upon activation, the Chaotic Heaven Spider Shedding would instantly release a fraction of the Chaotic Heaven Spider’s power from when it was alive, forming a sturdy shield of shed skin that could block a single Rank 4 attack!
The existence of the Chaotic Heaven Spider Shedding meant the Blood Thunder Pearl ambush did not achieve its intended effect.
The three Crystal-stage cultivators from the Spirit Control Sect were left in near-peak condition!
In an instant, a great battle erupted in the Council Hall, and the core faction’s side was plunged into a bitter fight!
However, the Emerald Ruyi, a Rank 4 Spiritual Treasure, was truly exceptional. Wielding the Spiritual Treasure, Qinghe single-handedly suppressed the two Crystal Perfection cultivators and their bonded Spirit Spiders!
In the end, Jueying and Chengying, the two Crystal Perfection cultivators, were executed on the spot!
But as a price, Qinghe had overexerted himself while activating the Spiritual Treasure. After the battle, his lifespan was exhausted, and he passed away.
At the same time, the two Crystal Perfection cultivators from the Spirit Control Sect had also achieved some results.
They broke the array in the Council Hall and tied down Qinghe, creating an opportunity for Wuying to escape... The Mid-stage Crystal member of the Four Spirit Shadows fled with grievous injuries after his bonded Spirit Spider was killed in battle!
The battle left behind a loose end.
But overall, Luo Qing’e’s objective was still achieved.
Through a preemptive strike, she nipped the hidden threat in the bud, securing the core faction’s control over the Nanyaoguang Corporation as well as the Cyan Profound and Spirit Realm Sea Regions!