"Fellow Daoist, since Qingfeng Villa is powerful and adheres to neutrality, my Immortal Sect will not force the issue.
This old man shall take his leave now."
"Hmmph~ Wait, weren't we told that every sect passing the neutrality assessment would receive a set of fourth-tier formations? Hand it over!"
"Yang Hong, have some shame!
You, of all people, already possess seventh-tier formations, and you're asking me for fourth-tier ones?
Can you be any more shameless?"
Upon hearing Yang Hong demand formations, Patriarch Chaoyang couldn't help but curse directly.
"Oh~ Daoist Chaoyang is offering me a set of seventh-tier formations?"
"You~ I'm leaving!"
Seeing Yang Hong's expectant gaze, Patriarch Chaoyang simply ignored him, instantly teleported back to the Immortal Sect's flying ship, and then vanished without a trace!
"Heh~ Such a poor sense of humor."
Watching the disappearing Immortal Sect flying ship, Yang Hong wore a playful smile.
He realized this Patriarch Chaoyang was not simple either. A lower realm cultivator who knew secrets of the upper realm must either be a resurrected old ghost who had undergone a夺舍 (duóshě - body snatching) or have an extraordinary master from the upper realm.
As it stood, the possibility of Patriarch Chaoyang being 夺舍 was zero.
However, his expression soon turned serious. His powerful divine sense swept out directly and unreservedly, instantly mapping everything within a hundred thousand li radius in his mind.
Jialuo Ye had disappeared. The Immortal Sect's flying ship was still flying west, and there was no power exceeding ninth-tier on board.
There was also no power exceeding ninth-tier within a hundred thousand li.
Only then did Yang Hong truly relax.
This round of alliances and recruitment by the Immortal Sect and Buddhist Sect had finally passed. Henceforth, apart from being wary of the Buddhist Sect's minor actions, he no longer had to worry about overt attacks.
Although the Buddhist Sect was rather shameless, they still adhered to certain rules.
After all, they wished to establish rules for more people to follow, so they were more adherent to overt rules than other cultivators.
Of course, their covert actions in the background would depend on individual cultivators' ability to discover and counter them.
As for covert actions?
Yang Hong was not very worried. He knew his luck was red-colored luck. Before ordinary schemes could affect him, his enemies would likely meet misfortune first.
"Alright, the crisis has passed. Everyone return to your positions and do what you need to do."
"Yes~"
At Yang Hong's command, the human cultivators and demon birds of Qingfeng Villa responded in unison with a loud "Yes," and the clouds in the sky were directly scattered by this unified reply!
...
Yang Hong first returned to Ziyu Mountain and burrowed underground, adding several more formations and restrictions to the outside of Li Lizhi's and her three companions' graves.
Honestly, Yang Hong was still a bit worried about Jialuo Ye, a Venerable-level monk, making a secret move against him.
If he were to target his disciples, even if a few died, Yang Hong wouldn't feel heartbroken. At worst, he would kill twice as many monks in revenge.
What he worried about was Jialuo Ye targeting his wives.
However, Zhu Yuyan and her two companions' luck had reached red-colored luck due to Yang Hong's influence. Generally, it wouldn't be easy to harm them even with curses.
Moreover, even if they were cursed, their luck color level would first decrease before an accident occurred.
And once the change in luck color appeared, Yang Hong would be able to detect it and take countermeasures.
Only Li Lizhi, Jia Yuanchun, Zhou Fengzhi, and Li Xuefeng, having already entered reincarnation, were in an unknown state and might face some danger.
Therefore, Yang Hong's first step in defense was to reinforce the defenses of the four graves with seventh-tier formations.
As for anything more, it would have to be passive defense.
It was just that Yang Hong didn't know that Venerable Jialuo Ye, after witnessing Yang Hong's terrifying merit, had never considered using karma spells to retaliate against Yang Hong.
He was sinister and sought revenge, but he wasn't a fool!
Revenge against Yang Hong was basically equivalent to seeking death, so he wouldn't do something like that.
Even when Monk Tongyuan informed Jialuo Ye that Yang Hong had several companions and many direct disciples, he still slapped Tongyuan Monk and did not consider retaliating against Yang Hong's associates.
However, he hadn't done nothing. After returning to Leiyin Temple in the Central Divine Continent, he had reported Yang Hong's existence to the Buddhist realm in the upper realm.
He didn't believe that with such immense merit, the powerful Bodhisattvas and Buddhas wouldn't be tempted.
Meanwhile, Yang Hong, unaware that he had been "sold" to the upper realm, spent a full year in Ziyu Mountain, meticulously setting up all six types of seventh-tier formations he had mastered within the underground graves before returning to the surface.
After a brief rest, he convened a meeting of the sect's management at Qingfeng Mountain.
"Has the Buddhist Sect caused any trouble this past year?"
Upon hearing Yang Hong's question, Ye Yudong, the Hall Master of the God of War Hall, stepped forward to reply.
"No. Everything has been peaceful. The cultivation world of Yurou Plain has completely made its choice.
A total of only four seventh-grade sects passed the neutrality assessment. Eighty percent of the other sects have defected to the Buddhist Sect, with just over twenty percent joining the Immortal Sect."
"Furthermore, the Buddhist Sect and Immortal Sect are selling a large amount of mid-to-low-tier cultivation resources at drastically reduced prices, and numerous Xuan-grade cultivation methods are being widely disseminated throughout the cultivation world, as if they intend to develop it vigorously."
"However, my investigation has revealed that almost all high-tier cultivation resources in the cultivation world are rapidly disappearing. It is suspected that the Immortal Sect and Buddhist Sect are consolidating resources to nurture high-tier cultivators."
"Based on this, I suspect that a major war will erupt in the cultivation world after some time."
After becoming the Hall Master of the God of War Hall, Ye Yudong brought his habit as an information broker with him. Every day, he dispatched disciples to form merchant caravans, traveling far and wide to collect intelligence.
This greatly pleased Yang Hong.
"Good. Keep a close watch on the situation in the cultivation world, especially the movements of the Buddhist Sect. Report any significant anomaly immediately."
Having addressed external matters, Yang Hong then thought about resources. Especially with the Immortal Sect and Buddhist Sect tightening their grip on high-tier cultivation resources, not only would his disciples' cultivation become troublesome, but even Zhu Yuyan and the others would face some inconveniences.
As for Yang Hong himself, as long as he planted spiritual plants, his cultivation could rapidly improve. He didn't need many cultivation resources, at most, he would only need to collect some high-end artifact refining materials.
"Zhang Zhengyan, how is the research on the Seven-Colored Plains progressing? Can you cultivate more Seven-Colored Plains according to the planting patterns I've established?"
Zhang Zhengyan immediately stepped forward and replied, "Please forgive me, Sect Leader! Your disciple is dull-witted and has not yet fully understood the Seven-Colored Plains.
However, if it's just about replicating the Seven-Colored Plains, I am confident I can do it."
"Good~ From now on, organize the disciples within the sect who are skilled in spiritual planting and make every effort to cultivate more Seven-Colored Plains, striving to grow as much as possible before the potential war arrives."
"Yes! Your disciple will go all out!"
Afterward, Yang Hong looked at Zhong Chengfeng and said, "From now on, all pill benefits within the sect will be doubled, and all magical artifacts will be equipped with top-grade magical artifacts corresponding to their cultivation level. Your Hundred Arts Department will have to work a bit harder."
"Sect Leader, rest assured. The Hundred Arts Department couldn't be happier. As long as there are sufficient resources, we can refine them until the end of time."
Zhong Chengfeng showed no reluctance; instead, he was extremely excited. Previously, the refining of pills, magical artifacts, and talismans at Qingfeng Villa was limited by materials.
Now that Yang Hong had lifted the restrictions, he was overjoyed.
Then, Yang Hong looked at Qiu Kun and Ke Ji Mei, merely telling them to maintain their development.
Qingfeng Villa entered a relatively quiet phase of development, so quiet that almost all cultivation sects envied it.