Chapter 459: Chapter 177: Pot
"It should be so."
Elder Tianpeng stroked his palm, rose with his tall stature, and cast a vast shadow like that of a small mountain.
His menacing face was set in a black Xuan Crown, and as his majestic body moved, it pressed down in all directions with the overwhelming might of divine authority.
Of the Seven Halls of the Dinghu Sect, Yaoguang and Kaiyang were at the end, with Kaiyang Hall responsible for guarding the Outer Disciples, that is, the periphery of the Dinghu Sect, from within.
Yaoguang Hall, however, faced outward, and most of the tasks posted on the Po Jun List within were mainly combat-based.
As the leaders of the two halls, these two elders were the twin martial pillars of the Dinghu Sect.
Although together these two now wouldn’t stand a chance against Tianxuan...
"Hold on!"
Just as Elder Tianpeng was about to leave, a loud call suddenly came from outside the room.
Immediately after, a yellow light emerged, and a figure condensed from the Qi of the thick earth materialized, radiating brilliance; an imposing man appeared, dressed in bright yellow robes and wearing a Heavenly Crown.
The man appeared to be in his forties, with a broad face, a high forehead, and an air of grand solidity. Atop his head, Qi took form as a Yellow Dragon coiled in the clouds.
Such a Qi Shu undoubtedly identified him as King Shu.
As soon as King Shu appeared, he said, "Brother Tianpeng, it is not yet certain whether the statue of Emperor Yan has indeed been destroyed, and it may not necessarily be the work of the Taiping Sect. It could be a frame-up by others. I hope Brother Tianpeng can quell his thunderous wrath for now. I promise that I will thoroughly investigate and provide Brother Tianpeng with a proper explanation."
"Your words are of no use to me."
Elder Tianpeng scoffed coldly, yet his gaze fell on Jiang Li, "He is the current decision-maker of the Jiang family. If you want me to stay my hand, persuade him, and I will temporarily refrain."
As he spoke, Tianpeng waved his sleeve, pushing Jiang Li to the forefront, directly facing the newcomer.
This was to indicate the leading authority on the matter.
Although he was currently the strongest of the Divine Country’s Jiang family, he had long abandoned the Jiang family name. Without the legitimate right to speak, he was no more a representative than Jiang Li.
Moreover, there was also a sense of assessment in this action, to see how Jiang Li would handle the situation.
Jiang Li, pushed to the forefront, faced a Fourth-Grade Expert. His expression was momentarily taken aback, seemingly caught off-guard, but soon returned to calmness. The embodiment of the Divine Farmer’s appearance within him possessed no less dignity than that of King Shu, meeting the gaze of King Shu without showing the slightest sign of weakness.
"Prince, Jiang Li presents his respects."
He composed himself before speaking directly, "I dare to ask, Prince, if it had been the statue of the Yellow Emperor that was destroyed today, could the Prince quell his thunderous wrath?"
King Shu’s intended words of persuasion immediately halted.
The Yellow Emperor was his reverential ancestor, no different from Emperor Yan to Jiang Li. If it had been a statue of the Yellow Emperor that was destroyed, and King Shu dared not express his anger, he could expect to be accused of spinelessness and prepared to be nailed to the Ji Family’s pillar of shame.
As a descendant, he should be angry.
As a royal, he must also be irate.
The circumstances being identical, if Jiang Li dared to hold back his anger, he would receive the same treatment.
Although it was a world where power reigned supreme, it did not mean that reputation and prestige were useless, especially since Jiang Li had not yet reached a level of invincibility.
"I indeed could not," the King Shu admitted with a bitter smile, but still unwilling to concede, "Young Master Jiang, with the Devil God Sect currently invading and tormenting the people, the Taiping Sect, despite being cursed, also shows disloyalty at times, but after all, they are still a force we can utilize. Perhaps we could wait until we’ve crossed this dire strait..."
"I recall hearing a saying," Jiang Li interjected, "that when you weigh the pros and cons of a matter, it implies that the issue is not so important in your heart, at least it is dispensable. Prince, are you suggesting this matter is not important?"
King Shu found himself at a loss for words again.
He wanted to tell Jiang Li that there were priorities to be considered. Jiang Li, however, refused to discuss priorities, stating outright that this issue was of utmost importance, leaving King Shu with no rebuttal.
He had heard how this child of the Jiang family started with a minor branch and rose to power, gaining prominence to this day. Now, seeing him for himself, he found the praise was indeed well-deserved.
Without appearing obstinate, he discussed reasoning with you, yet still achieving the result of someone acting on a whim.
"Elder Tianpeng, please take action," Jiang Li said to Elder Tianpeng.
"No problem."
Tianpeng’s form changed; three phantom heads emerged around his neck, and his massive body sprouted six additional arms. In a flash, he transformed into a streak of Thunder Light, speeding straight toward the heavens.
"Boom!"
A thunderous roar resounded from the sky, shaking the very earth and heavens.
"Prince, I must take my leave."
Jiang Li nodded towards King Shu, then called out softly, "Xiao Tian."
The small red dog resting on his lap suddenly burst into a blaze of fire, enveloping Jiang Li in a flash, and the two disappeared into the curtain of rain.
Upon seeing both individuals departing directly, King Shu realized his attempt at persuasion had failed.
Yet he didn’t show any annoyance; instead, he just chuckled bitterly, "Gentlemen, this prince must prepare for the invasion of the Devil God Sect. Please excuse me."
With that, he transformed back into a thick earthen yellow glow and vanished into thin air.
With the Dinghu Sect at odds with the Taiping Sect, the Devil God Sect would certainly not miss this opportunity; the downpour seemed to be reaching its fiercest stage.
...
...
A red light tore through the sky, flying out of Jun City with incredible speed, arriving close to the Two Saints Temple near a hillside.
At that moment, electric snakes twisted and writhed across the sky, and a majestic phantom began to manifest—it was clear Elder Tianpeng had arrived first. However, Jiang Li wasn’t focused on the situation at hand; he flicked his finger and shot out a stream of Qi Mechanism.
In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a figure emerged from behind a large tree, with shifting light and shadow, a green silhouette appeared.
"I remember, I said I was going to move Emperor Yan’s statue," Jiang Li stated indifferently.
"Emperor Yan’s statue is worshipped with Incense Fire Thought Power, and the Taiping Sect also has the Magic Door to utilize this power. Perhaps it can be used for tracking. Rather than that, it may be more straightforward to just destroy it," the green silhouette said flatly, "do you really have such reverence for a stone sculpture? That would indeed be odd."
However, severing the Incense Fire Thought Power is no difficult task for you...
This thought turned over in Jiang Li’s mind, but he never vocalized it.
"You don’t understand," Jiang Li said flatly.
Despite being from different worlds, similar beings still held a place in Jiang Li’s heart, and he truly didn’t want to commit an offense unless absolutely necessary.
He didn’t want to take action, but the one doing the deed had not the slightest hesitation and went straight ahead to destroy the statue.
This left Jiang Li feeling quite helpless.
"Rather than concern yourself with the fate of the statue, you might think about how to pin this whole business squarely on the head of the Taiping Sect," Li Qinglian, garbed in green robes, seemed to disregard Jiang Li’s words and just said, "The Taiping Sect is not like the Desolate God Sect; they don’t have the habit of taking the blame willingly."
"There’s no need, the Taiping Sect’s past actions have already sealed their stance." Jiang Li shook his head.
When something becomes a fixed label, even the most glaring of lies can be accepted as the truth.
This wasn’t due to undue optimism on Jiang Li’s part, but simply the nature of people’s hearts.
There are many typical examples, like in Jiang Li’s previous life during the Spring and Autumn Period in Jin Country, there was a powerful minister named Zhao Dun who once used an assassin to eliminate a political enemy. As Jin Linggong and Zhao Dun became estranged, Jin Linggong tried every which way, overtly and covertly, to kill Zhao Dun, to no avail.
Yet Zhao Dun chose to exile himself, seeking refuge in another country. Before he even crossed the national border, his own disciple Zhao Chuan killed Jin Linggong.
Afterwards, everyone believed it was Zhao Dun who instigated Jin Linggong’s assassination, not an individual act by Zhao Chuan, despite Zhao Dun providing various pieces of evidence—even the history books recorded Zhao Dun as the regicide.
The current Taiping Sect is another Zhao Dun. Even if they have all sorts of evidence, nobody believes them. Although King Shu mentioned there were doubts about this incident, his actions suggested he was using it more as a stalling tactic than a genuine belief in the Taiping Sect’s innocence.
This is different from the Devil God Sect—though they are blamed for every major incident, many are aware they’re often made the scapegoat. But this time, nobody believes the Taiping Sect is being scapegoated; instead, they think the Taiping Sect is trying to shift the blame.
After all, it’s a fact that the Taiping Sect sealed off the Divine Farmer Hall and intended to dispose of the statues.
Thus, the blame is firmly fixed on the Taiping Sect.
’In that case, I don’t need to personally go to Yong Province, and I can start preparing against the Taiping Sect ahead of time.