Chapter 106: Winner
Above Tianxuan City, the gathered spiritual energy clouds were slowly dispersing.
"Did someone just form their Core!?"
Watching the dispersal of the Golden Core phenomenon, Lin Changan wore a solemn expression—this had completely exceeded the limits of his understanding.
Not only him, but all the drifting cultivators in Tianxuan City were equally full of doubt.
"Lu Turtle, Xuanyin Pavilion—you colluded with the remnants of the demonic sect! Absolutely shameless!"
From outside Tianxuan City came the furious roar of a Golden Core cultivator from the Lihuo Palace. Yet within the city, the wandering cultivators remained confused.
This chaotic Golden Core phenomenon left every cultivator within the city dumbfounded until dusk.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, doesn't this feel a bit off?"
The snow was still falling, but Chen Qing’s expression was filled with bewilderment.
Beside him, Lin Changan nodded gravely. "Indeed, something’s off. Judging from this situation, it seems that Master Lu has formed an alliance with Xuanyin Pavilion."
That one sentence from Lin Changan left Chen Qing in utter disbelief.
"This… Even the major sects are this… chaotic?"
Though Chen Qing found it hard to articulate, Lin Changan knew clearly in his heart: major powers had always acted shamelessly with confidence.
But now the political landscape of Yue Kingdom was set to change.
Master Lu forming an alliance with Xuanyin Pavilion, and Lihuo Palace teaming up with the Shensword Sect—what was this?
The weak band together, the strong join forces.
A great upheaval had taken place in Tianxuan City. The cultivators of Lihuo Palace had fled in panic, even True Treasure Pavilion was overtaken.
But such areas controlled by the great sects had little to do with these rogue cultivators.
"Tianxuan City and Xuanyin Pavilion colluded with demonic sect remnants!"
"Lihuo Palace and Shensword Sect were demonic sect remnants from the start!"
The two sides hurled accusations at each other, each calling the other remnants of the demonic sect.
Half a day later, boom! A powerful and solid Golden Core cultivator’s aura erupted from Xuanyin Peak.
This turmoil finally came to an end when a new Golden Core cultivator’s presence emanated from the mountain of Xuanyin Pavilion.
……
Until the next day.
Snow had blanketed Tianxuan City in silver frost, yet the situation within the city had changed dramatically.
Or rather, the entire political structure of Yue Kingdom had shifted.
"My heavens, who would have thought that the Fairy of Rainbow Skirt wasn’t an Earth-grade Spirit Root, but a Heaven-grade Spirit Root! Xuanyin Pavilion really hid that well—this is the first one in centuries for our Yue Kingdom."
"What do you know? It’s because Lihuo Palace and Shensword Sect, those demonic sect remnants, tried to seize Yue Kingdom. Xuanyin Pavilion had no choice but to ally with Master Lu."
At this moment, every alley and street echoed with tales of yesterday’s chaos.
Even Lin Changan, up in Gathering Immortals Tower, couldn’t help but shake his head.
"Lihuo Palace wasn’t trying to destroy things—they just wanted to drive Master Lu and Xuanyin Pavilion out. But little did they know, Master Lu had already set his sights on a stake of Yue Kingdom."
After careful consideration, Lin Changan reached a conclusion.
This Master Lu was the real winner behind the scenes.
Yue Kingdom had always been a game among the three great sects, but somehow Master Lu managed to wedge himself in and gain a foothold.
"Driving Lihuo Palace out of Tianxuan City, and now Xuanyin Pavilion, faced with the threat of two major sects, even with a new Heaven-grade Spirit Root Golden Core cultivator, had to rush into alliance with Master Lu."
"Xuanyin Pavilion would even prefer that Master Lu’s disciple form a Core, hoping their ally would grow stronger."
In this analysis, Lihuo Palace lost their control over Tianxuan City, Shensword Sect gained nothing.
Xuanyin Pavilion became the weakest, and had no choice but to acknowledge Master Lu as the ruler of Tianxuan City.
Only Master Lu—this outsider rogue cultivator—not only secured a foothold, but also gained an ally in Xuanyin Pavilion.
Thinking this far, Lin Changan gasped sharply, his heart full of astonishment.
"It’s easy to invite a god, hard to send one away. With one strategic move, Master Lu not only solidified his claim over Tianxuan City as the fourth major power of Yue Kingdom, but may even push Xuanyin Pavilion to retreat as a gesture of alliance."
Truly worthy of being the number one rogue cultivator—such great reputation couldn’t be earned through strength alone.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, great news!"
Chen Qing flew in on a flying sword, his face glowing with joy. He immediately downed a cup of spirit tea before excitedly announcing:
"Lihuo Palace has been driven out of Tianxuan City’s sphere of influence. Xuanyin Pavilion has acknowledged Master Lu as the Lord of Tianxuan City and has formally recognized Tianxuan City as the rogue cultivators’ city of Yue Kingdom.
They even volunteered to withdraw from Tianxuan City and form an eternal alliance with Master Lu to jointly resist the demonic sect remnants Lihuo Palace and Shensword Sect..."
Good heavens, such a barrage of news left Lin Changan speechless.
Now Lihuo Palace and Shensword Sect were labeled the remnants of the demonic sect.
"That really is a piece of fantastic news."
Even Lin Changan couldn’t help but nod in amazement.
Though it was likely that Master Lu had orchestrated everything behind the scenes, in the end, the more stable Tianxuan City became, the better it was for wandering cultivators like them.
"Brother Lin, don’t think I’m spouting nonsense—this is all true. Many female disciples of Lihuo Palace have defected, claiming that Master Huang of Lihuo Palace used female disciples of his sect as cauldrons to break through..."
Chen Qing’s words were well-supported. At present, there were already several female cultivators who had defected, putting the label of demonic sect squarely on Lihuo Palace.
"Using his own sect’s female disciples as cauldrons—what kind of conduct is that? Even the demonic sect wouldn’t go that far!"
Chen Qing raged as he spoke, and naturally, the Shensword Sect, allied with Lihuo Palace, couldn’t escape blame.
"Not only that, there are also rumors that Lihuo Palace has secretly used the demonic sect’s Foundation Snatching Technique over the years, covertly harming our rogue cultivators to strengthen their sect..."
Good heavens!
Listening to this, even Lin Changan couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his eye—of course, he only believed about thirty percent of it.
"Brother Lin, do you know? We rogue cultivators finally have a home! From now on, Tianxuan City is truly the city of rogue cultivators. With the two major sects gone, Master Lu has already issued an order.
He is inviting rogue cultivators from all over the world. The spiritual mines and veins previously occupied by the two major sects can now be granted to rogue cultivator families as their territories."
"Such boldness."
Though he had expected this, Lin Changan couldn’t help but admire it. This Master Lu had truly gained something from nothing.
In just eight years, he had secured an enormous foundation in Yue Kingdom.
He even suspected that from the moment Master Lu returned to Yue Kingdom, he had been planning this grand endeavor.
"If he truly seizes all the spiritual mines and veins within a thousand miles of Tianxuan City, that would be monumental."
Tianxuan City, discovered due to a spiritual vein in a secret realm, would surely yield even more mineral resources through that main vein.
This foundation alone could rival that of a major sect.
Previously, these resources had been occupied by Lihuo Palace and Xuanyin Pavilion, and hadn’t been fully excavated. After all, Master Lu was only invited to play the role of a mediator.
Who would’ve thought he’d actually pull off a gain-something-for-nothing maneuver.
The pioneering efforts of Lihuo Palace and Xuanyin Pavilion were all turned into a wedding robe for Master Lu.
That was exactly why Lin Changan couldn’t help but admire him.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, Master Lu is rewarding contributions—let’s go and take a look."
"Alright."
Lin Changan nodded. Now that the chaos had subsided, Tianxuan City was back on track. However, it was no longer governed jointly by three factions, but solely under the rule of Master Lu.
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Thanks to: Fellow Daoist ‘Gao Gao Refueling Station’ for the 100 Spirit Stones reward.