In the Situ family’s mansion, the banquet continued, though the atmosphere had grown somewhat subtle. “Enemies” in every sense of the word were now seated together, eating and drinking.

Only Mo Hua remained completely unconcerned.

Amidst this strange ambiance, everyone ate for a while, and it seemed they gradually grew accustomed to the incongruity.

At this point, Feng Zichen suddenly clapped his head as if remembering something. “Oh right, Bai Zisheng is here!”

Everyone looked at him, including Mo Hua, who had a puzzled expression.

Feng Zichen immediately said to Mo Hua, “We need to get the truth about the Great Wilderness Demonic Woman from Bai Zisheng.”

Mo Hua didn’t understand. “Ask what?”

Feng Zichen explained, “That Great Wilderness Demonic Woman is no ordinary person. She’s rumored to be the number one beauty of the Great Wilderness Royal Court, a ‘divine maiden’ of the shamanic tribe who worships the gods, and she controls the secrets of the Great Wilderness Dragon Pool… She must know the situation of the Great Wilderness Dragon Pool very well…”

“I suspect that Bai Zisheng… he must have gotten involved with that Great Wilderness Demonic Woman precisely for this reason…”

“Bai Zisheng couldn’t have just been infatuated. More likely, he’s using his good looks to seduce the Great Wilderness Demonic Woman to achieve his own goals.”

“If that’s the case, then the Great Wilderness Demonic Woman must have told Bai Zisheng some secrets about the Dragon Pool.”

The others all nodded in agreement.

Feng Zichen turned to Mo Hua again. “Mo Hua, go ask Bai Zisheng if that Great Wilderness Demonic Woman revealed anything to him, or if the Great Wilderness Dragon Pool harbors any other secrets…”

Mo Hua was speechless. “Bai Zisheng is sitting right next to you. Why are you asking me to ask?”

Feng Zichen secretly glanced at Bai Zisheng.

Bai Zisheng gave him a faint look.

Feng Zichen shivered, quickly turned his head away, and said to Mo Hua, “You ask. I’m not familiar with this Bai Zisheng.”

Mo Hua replied, “I’m not familiar with him either…”

Feng Zichen insisted, “You still have to ask. You’re different; you can keep him in check.”

Mo Hua, helpless, could only turn to Bai Zisheng, his expression serious.

“Bai Zisheng, confess honestly, what is your relationship with that Great Wilderness Demonic Woman?”

“Did you use your charm to seduce that Great Wilderness Demonic Woman?”

“Did that Great Wilderness Demonic Woman reveal the secrets of the Dragon Pool to you?”

Bai Zisheng gave Mo Hua a disdainful roll of his eyes.

Mo Hua looked at Feng Zichen and sighed. “He doesn’t give me face either… There’s nothing I can do.”

Feng Zichen suggested, “How about you beat him up, torture him?”

Mo Hua shook his head. “No, if you want to beat him up, you do it yourself.”

Feng Zichen glanced at Bai Zisheng, felt Bai Zisheng’s formidable presence, and silently shook his head.

How could he dare…

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then asked Feng Zichen, “Are you sure that Great Wilderness Demonic Woman knows about the Dragon Pool?”

Feng Zichen nodded. “Of course. Otherwise, everyone wouldn’t be so eager to besiege this Bai Zisheng.”

“That demonic woman, Bai Zisheng, the Dragon Pool, tempering, these are all connected.”

At the mention of this, Mo Hua suddenly remembered, “By the way, did you all know about the Dragon Pool and the demonic woman from the beginning? Even before you caught Bai Zisheng, did you all know everything?”

Feng Zichen nodded. “Of course.”

Mo Hua looked at Xiao Ruohan, Shi Tiangang, and the others. “You all knew too.”

Everyone nodded.

Mo Hua became unhappy, frowning. “Why did no one tell me any of this when I went with you to capture Bai Zisheng at the beginning?”

No one had mentioned the Dragon Pool or tempering to him at all.

If not for rescuing his junior martial brother, who let slip a few words, he would still be in the dark.

He wouldn’t know that there was a Dragon Pool in the Royal Court, that one could temper items in it, and that tempering could lead to forming a Golden Core.

Although their positions were different after the sword tournament, there was still some camaraderie. Yet, no one told him such important matters. That was truly against the rules of the jianghu.

Mo Hua was very displeased.

The group of Heaven’s Chosen were somewhat stunned, exchanging glances.

Feng Zichen frowned and said, “What are you talking about? You’re Mo Hua. How could you not know about this?”

“If you didn’t know, why were you meddling?”

“If you didn’t know, why were you capturing Bai Zisheng?”

“Are you still trying to act innocent with us?”

The others also nodded, convinced.

Mo Hua was momentarily stunned.

So, the reason these people didn’t say anything was because they thought he already knew everything.

Not only that, Feng Zichen actually suspected that Mo Hua knew more than them, but was keeping silent for some ulterior motive.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Sometimes, being too strong and knowing too much wasn’t always a good thing…

Mo Hua glanced at Bai Zisheng again.

He knew in his heart that his junior martial brother and that Great Wilderness Demonic Woman didn’t actually have an affair.

What a pity…

Otherwise, he might have been able to learn some secrets of the Dragon Pool in advance and make some preparations.

The Dragon Pool was a secret of the Great Wilderness.

As of now, the major aristocratic families only knew its general function.

As for the specific location of the Dragon Pool within the Royal Court, why it could “temper” items, its origin, and its special significance to the Great Wilderness Royal Court…

These secrets were all unknown.

Mo Hua frowned slightly.

Feng Zichen secretly glanced at Bai Zisheng, then shifted his seat a few zhang away before saying to Mo Hua, “How about we use severe torture on this Bai Zisheng again? If we all act together, he shouldn’t be able to resist. As long as we torture him, I don’t believe he won’t spit out clues about that demonic woman…”

Ao Zheng and the others also nodded slightly. “Currently, information about the Dragon Pool is too limited. To clarify, we can only ask this Bai Zisheng.”

“Torture him, interrogate him…”

Mo Hua was somewhat speechless.

Why did these people always like to torture his junior martial brother…

Mo Hua shook his head, repeating his earlier statement:

“If you want to interrogate him, do it yourselves. But be warned, don’t damage my Tai Xu Sect’s Tai Xu Five Elements Qiankun Lock. Damaging a treasure is a minor matter…”

Because it wasn’t really a treasure to begin with.

Mo Hua thought to himself, then said with a serious expression, “But if this Bai Zisheng breaks free and activates that abnormal Dragon Blood state to kill you all, then I can’t help you…”

“I can suppress him once, I can suppress him twice, but a third time might be a different story…”

Everyone exchanged glances upon hearing this.

Fear of Bai Zisheng ultimately overcame their desire.

Feng Zichen then said, “Alright then, you keep him suppressed. Don’t let him escape…”

Mo Hua nodded. “Don’t worry, with the Tai Xu Five Elements Lock, a mere Bai Zisheng cannot escape my grasp.”

Bai Zisheng gave Mo Hua a cold look.

Mo Hua raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly.

Bai Zisheng shook his head internally and continued to gnaw on his pig hock.

Mo Hua took a sip of wine and thought for a moment.

From the current situation, only by first breaking through the Royal Court would it be possible to enter the Dragon Pool and further cultivate Golden Cores and temper items.

However…

Mo Hua then asked Feng Zichen and the others, “By the way, what are the current battle arrangements for the Dao Court? Can the Royal Court be breached in a short time?”

For a long time, Mo Hua had been dedicated to the development of the Barren Lands, and he didn’t have a deep understanding of the Dao Court’s warfare or the front-line situation.

Zhuge Zhenren didn’t tell him either.

Huangfu and Shangguan, being in charge, could only speak vaguely about some matters, and they kept silent about the specific battle arrangements.

Therefore, he could only ask people like Feng Zichen about some things.

This war involved the interests of all parties and was closely related to every aristocratic family. These Qianxue Heaven’s Chosen had always been involved, so some of them surely knew more about the actual situation.

“Hard to say…” Feng Zichen ate a piece of meat, vaguely saying, “It could be as short as half a year, or as long as a year, or even, if circumstances are special, it could drag on for several more years.”

Ao Zheng, however, shook his head. “How could it drag on for so long?”

Feng Zichen replied, “That’s because you don’t understand. Breaking through the Royal Court is not that simple…”

Ao Zheng glanced at him. “You understand?”

“Of course,” Feng Zichen said. “My Feng family, and some elders of the Xiaoyao Sect, are skilled in movement techniques. In cultivation wars, those with fast movement techniques often serve as scouts or messengers. So my Feng family’s information is much more informed than others…”

At this point, Feng Zichen paused, suddenly realizing, why was he saying so much?

The tongue was most prone to causing trouble. It was better to speak less than more, and even better to say nothing at all.

Ao Zheng frowned. “Keep going…”

Everyone was looking at him.

Feng Zichen hesitated.

Seeing this, Mo Hua said, “The Feng family’s movement techniques are indeed formidable, no wonder they can gather so much information… But is it really going to take so long to conquer just one Royal Court?”

Feng Zichen instinctively felt a surge of joy when Mo Hua praised the Feng family’s movement techniques.

If someone else praised him, he would disdain it.

But Mo Hua was different. Although Mo Hua was annoying, his ability and insight were undeniable. If he praised, it meant he truly understood.

Yet, even Mo Hua was clearly unclear about this matter.

Feng Zichen couldn’t help but say, “I told you, you don’t understand. The Royal Court is not that easy to conquer…”

“Firstly, ‘Royal Court’ does not simply refer to the ‘Royal Court,’ but to the entire Great Fourth-grade Mountain Realm where the Great Wilderness Royal Court is located.”

“The entire Royal Court Mountain Realm is easy to defend and difficult to attack.”

“And the problem is, all the kingly lands around the Royal Court are Second-grade.”

“Second-grade directly connecting to Fourth-grade is a very peculiar terrain, almost non-existent in Jiuzhou.”

Shi Tiangang frowned and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with that?”

Feng Zichen said, “Don’t you understand? The state boundaries of Jiuzhou mostly increase in梯度遞增 (gradient). Second-grade, Third-grade, Fourth-grade, Fifth-grade are connected sequentially; there are no jumps in grade between state boundaries.”

“But here in the Royal Court, there is no Third-grade, directly jumping to Fourth-grade, which does not conform to the general principles of geomancy.”

“Some ancestors skilled in geomancy even speculate that the terrain of the Great Wilderness was artificially altered, that someone directly extracted the Third-grade realm from between the Second-grade and Fourth-grade, which formed the current situation of the Great Wilderness…”

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.

Mo Hua was also a bit surprised.

“Extracted the Third-grade realm…?”

“Really? Is that something a human can do?” someone asked in astonishment. “You’re not joking, are you…?”

Feng Zichen said, “I said it’s a speculation… a speculation, something that cannot be proven, can only be inferred based on general cultivation patterns.”

“And then?” Mo Hua asked.

“Then…” Feng Zichen thought for a moment and said, “This created a situation where the laws of the Heavenly Dao were misaligned.”

“Second-grade directly jumping to Fourth-grade means that this Second-grade mountain realm becomes a natural barrier. Even Golden Core cultivators dare not attack freely, let alone Feathered Ascendants.”

“As long as the powerful Great Wilderness demonic cavalry guard the Second-grade mountain realm, the Royal Court can rest easy.”

“This is also why the Great Wilderness Royal Court, despite numerous frictions with the Dao Court over the years, has never been truly breached. The terrain is too strange, too difficult…”

“To breach the Fourth-grade Royal Court, Feathered Ascendants must be deployed.”

“And for Feathered Ascendants to reach the Royal Court, they must pass through the Second-grade royal domain of Xiao Xuanwu Mountain.”

“The Great Wilderness Royal Court has a long history and some mysterious inheritances. If they set up insidious ambushes, karmic curses, and such in the royal domain, even a moment of carelessness for a Feathered Ascendant could lead to their demise…”

“And a Feathered Ascendant is a true immortal, already a very high realm even in Daozhou. For an ordinary family, losing one Feathered Ascendant is extremely tragic. Not to mention, a Feathered Ascendant could also be a future Void Transformation cultivator…”

“To breach the Royal Court, one Feathered Ascendant is not enough. The more people, the greater the risk.”

“So, the Royal Court is really not that easy to conquer…”

“But now, we have to attack, right? After all, they’ve rebelled…” Mo Hua said.

Feng Zichen nodded. “So, the Dao Soldier Department’s idea is to send a large number of Foundation Establishment Dao soldiers to completely pacify the royal domain first.”

“After pacification, use a large amount of manpower and resources to open up a path with formations, isolating some karmic curses.”

“Then use a large number of Dao soldiers to ‘escort’ Feathered Ascendant Zhenren through this path to reach the Fourth-grade Royal Court land.”

“Once the Feathered Ascendant Zhenren reaches the Royal Court land, they can act without reservation, unleashing their Zhenren Dao techniques to slaughter the barbarian soldiers of the Great Wilderness. This will force the Great Wilderness’s Feathered Ascendants to engage in battle.”

“The Feathered Ascendants from both sides will first decide the victor.”

“The Dao Court’s side will either kill the Great Wilderness’s Feathered Ascendants or severely wound and completely suppress them.”

“This way, with the Feathered Ascendants subdued, the remaining Golden Core and Foundation Establishment Dao soldiers can advance on a large scale, penetrate deep into the Royal Court, destroy the Great Wilderness Daoist lineage, slaughter all remaining Great Wilderness forces, exterminate the Great Wilderness royal family, and capture or kill the Great Wilderness imperial descendants on the spot…”

“Only then, with blood spilled and bloodlines severed, will this Great Wilderness rebellion be truly brought to an end.”

Mo Hua frowned deeply. “So, this will be a complete… war of annihilation?”

Feng Zichen nodded, solemnly saying, “They’ve already rebelled and fought to this extent. The Dao Court has suffered heavy losses, so they will definitely vent their anger, root out the problem, to demonstrate the Dao Court’s authority and deter all sides.”

“If those royal and imperial families of the Great Wilderness had surrendered earlier, it would have been fine. But if they stubbornly resist to the end, I’m afraid it really will be… the extermination of their race and kind…”

“This is war, bloody and brutal, lives are like grass, no joke.”

A cloud of gloom settled over Mo Hua’s heart as he furrowed his brows.

Inside the hall, the atmosphere also became somewhat solemn.

Feng Zichen’s tone softened a bit, saying, “Of course, this is just the plan. Strategically, it should be like this, but how the specific situation develops will depend on actual circumstances…”

Mo Hua nodded, but an inexplicable unease arose in his heart.

Because he knew better than anyone that things could never be that simple, as there were simply too many masters playing chess here.

And among them, there was also his most terrifying martial uncle.

(End of chapter)

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