Harboring Their Own Designs

Two rice-grain-sized silhouettes flickered faintly high in the void. The wind at this altitude was fierce, howling past and whipping at their robes in eerie silence. On the distant horizon, perched atop sheer cliffs, the frontier fortress known as Zhenxi Manor loomed in and out of view. In the White Emperor's torch-like eyes lay a heavy, calculating scrutiny, while the stooped elder's eyes held only reminiscing and lamentation. In the silence, the stooped elder suddenly gave a faint sigh. "Back when the Dachao Turmoil came to an end, this old man made a special trip here. At that time, Thousand Gorges Pass was ravaged by war, and even that fortress stronghold was razed to the ground. In the span of a few decades, it has grown so prosperous once more." Hearing this, the White Emperor slowly withdrew his gaze and turned toward the wrinkled face of the elder beside him. "With a great battle at hand, you still have the leisure to wax nostalgic?" "As one grows old, words naturally come in greater numbers." A trace of desolation flickered in the stooped elder's lonely eyes before he let out a strange, rasping chuckle. "Though bringing up age before a thousand-year-old great demon like you... I must be getting muddled." With that, a thoughtful glint flashed through the stooped elder's eyes. Gazing at Zhenxi Prefectural City in the distance, he asked with a smile, "Tell me, White Emperor, when thousand-year-old great demons like you revisit places from your past, do you never lament the relentless passage of time and the shifting sands of the world?" "I used to." The White Emperor fell silent for a brief moment, not evading the question, his voice calm. "But having seen too much of it, one naturally grows numb—or rather, forces oneself to become numb." The stooped elder curled his lips into a smile. "It seems those illustrated storybooks I loved reading in my youth truly didn't deceive me. Even demons have feelings." "Save the nonsense." The White Emperor let out a cold snort. "If you want to wax poetic, you can wait until Zhenxi Prefectural City is destroyed." With that, the White Emperor's draconic eyes narrowed slightly, a murderous intent instantly radiating from around him. "Before we make our move, however, I want you to tell me how you managed to strike a deal with that bizarre family of three." The stooped elder stroked the white beard on his chin. Seeming to have anticipated this question, his tone remained ambiguous. "Well, that is quite a long story." The White Emperor gently raised his palm, where a terrifying speck of light that distorted the very air emerged between his fingers. "No matter. Before we strike, I have time to listen to you explain it in full. "Why was Qing'er lured to Hungry Ghost Chasm? Why did the offspring of that Insect Saint wound her so severely? "I hope you can provide a logically sound explanation." At this sight, a sharp glint flickered across the stooped elder's eyes, and he chuckled dryly. "Actually, there's nothing that can't be told. That Saint Tier yin ghost has traded with us several times before. This current transaction was simply this old man thickening his face to inquire about what they needed." The White Emperor asked, "And the matter regarding Qing'er?" The stooped elder smiled and replied, "Regarding the princess, this old man can swear that we had no idea of the relationship between that yin ghost and Mu Xingyi, much less that they had spawned an ominous infant. Had we known, there would have been no need to go through the trouble of capturing the Insect Saint just to obtain the whereabouts of Li Junwu and the Desert Divine Maiden." "..." The White Emperor clenched his dragon-scale-covered palm, and the terrifying speck of light instantly dissipated, signaling his acceptance of the answer. "What do they want?" "The man by the side of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's Saintess." "That Body Integration realm cultivator?" "Yes." "Why?" "For their child to be born, they must devour that man. However, as for what makes him so special, that couple did not disclose it to this old man." "..." After a brief silence, the White Emperor asked in an unhurried voice, "Which means that while breaching the city, we will also have to face that Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion?" "Theoretically, yes." Noticing the emperor's expression, the stooped elder's eyes grew serious as well. "Does that woman make you wary?" The White Emperor paused thoughtfully before speaking softly, "The qi dynamic around her is no weaker than that of the Sword Saint on that night in Di'an." "..." Hearing this assessment, the stooped elder's expression gradually grew peculiar. The Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion... When it came to their stance on the desert, they had long since reached an accord with the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion would provide intelligence backed by ten thousand years of heritage, which hidden immortal sects like theirs would then implement, culminating in the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion swallowing the Dachao Royal Court while the Qin family pulled off a covert takeover of the Zhenxi Marquis Manor. Now that things had reached this stage, what was the Saintess playing at? Thoughts spun rapidly through the stooped elder's mind, yet he still could not see through what that Pavilion Master of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion sought. Nonetheless, the ingrained habits of someone long accustomed to high station allowed him to detect an anomaly. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had no reason whatsoever to defect. Concealing the Saintess's true strength must serve some scheme, yet currently in the Western Desert, there was nothing extra for the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion to gain. Swallowing the Dachao Royal Court could rely on the special status of the Divine Maiden and the Linlang, but Zhenxi Manor could only rely on the Mu Family Chamber of Commerce. The late king's heart, which could control the Divine Maiden and the Linlang, had already been entrusted to that woman, the Pavilion Master, to receive personally, and control over the Mu Family Chamber of Commerce would hardly shift simply because of the Saintess's formidable strength. Viewed this way, could the Saintess's actions not be based on the interests of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion? Yet why would the Saintess act contrary to the Pavilion Master? Countless thoughts flashed through the stooped elder's mind in an instant. He found no answer, but neither did he reveal the slightest clue before the White Emperor. In this transaction, both Guyuan and the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion aimed for the Linlang, but an ancient beast like the Linlang could never be handed over to an alien race. According to the original plan between him and the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, the moment the dust settled would be the day they turned completely against the White Emperor. He and the Pavilion Master would take precautionary measures and launch a coordinated siege against the White Emperor, attempting to decapitate this lord of Guyuan to trigger internal turmoil within Guyuan—all to prevent Guyuan from seizing the opportunity to invade when civil war eventually broke out in Great Yan. In the midst of this silence, the White Emperor noticed the elder's peculiar expression and spoke softly: "Actually, you need not worry too much. When they entered the city just now, you must have seen it as well—that Saintess didn't sense our presence. Unleashing that level of strength likely carries certain constraints." Hearing this, the stooped elder's voice, raspy like rubbing tree bark, sounded faintly: "This old man is aware of that. What I am worried about is actually another matter." The White Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Chancellor's Manor?" "Naturally." The stooped old man sighed slightly. "The Chancellor's Manor holds the Boundary Void Stone. If that Sword Saint is teleported over, sheltered beneath the city-protecting array and joined by that Saintess... unexpected complications might well arise." The White Emperor glanced at Zhenxi Prefectural City hovering faintly in the azure sky, his expression serene as he asked, "Hasn't your Qin family already riddled Zhenxi Manor with spies like a sieve?" "That is a trump card to be played only as a last resort." The stooped elder's tone was equally grave. "If we break the array from within the city, once word is transmitted through a communication crystal, our position will instantly become precarious." "To gain something, one must give up something." Divine light glinted in the White Emperor's draconic eyes, his voice low with a touch of temptation: "If that Sword Saint dares teleport over alone... do you not wish to sever one of Xu Yinhe's arms right here?" With those words, the two looked at each other in silence. After a long while, "If possible, this old man truly wouldn't wish to be in such a hurry. The Desert Divine Maiden and Li Junwu have already been confirmed to be hiding within Zhenxi Prefectural City. Even if those two girls know that the Zhenxi Army is no longer reliable, a thorough search will inevitably ferret them out." The stooped elder sighed softly, turning his gaze toward the southwest. "It is just a pity that the war between the Marquis of Zhenxi and the Dachao Royal Court is nearly decided. In less than a month, across three large-scale army clashes, the Dachao have suffered defeat after defeat. If this continues, they will be utterly crippled once again. "A truly useless bunch of rabble. I wonder how a mighty ruler like Nalan Ting would feel up in heaven seeing his descendants reduced to such a state." With that, the stooped elder let out a sigh. Hopefully, that Pavilion Master of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion could arrive soon. With that thought in mind, a resolute, sharp glint emerged in the stooped elder's withered eyes. "White Emperor, if that Sword Saint truly dares to teleport over, this old man will see to it that our people break the array from within the city!"