“...”
Zhou Jinyun remained silent.
She understood that simply capturing Chu Fan alone might not be nearly enough.
After all, what lay behind this could very well be a struggle between Imperial Law Elder Shang and some Grand Elder within the sect whose status was no less than his. Even if she had pieced together the truth behind the scenes through various clues, without concrete evidence, there was nothing she could do.
The other option was just as Chen Yan had described.
To let the citizens of this city—or even all the living beings within the four great secular dynasties—be slaughtered to the last, thereby gathering enough evidence before confronting Grand Elder Jing and the figure behind him.
Zhou Jinyun knew all too well which plan was more advantageous.
But even this single city of Dongzuo had over three million commoners.
“Immortal Master, Immortal Master!”
“Upper Immortal, bless us, I beg you to let my family eat their fill this winter...”
The crowd surged forward toward the floating stone platform a hundred zhang ahead. What they called out with their voices were the simplest, most sincere wishes.
The young man stood amidst the crowd, a clean gray robe adorning his frame, the Xun-Li Sword gifted by Chen Yan hanging at his waist.
Su Hongzhen had, of course, also heard the conversation between Zhou Jinyun and Chen Yan just now.
Zhou Jinyun hesitated, then slowly spoke:
“What if... we wait until all of this is over, and then act...”
She trailed off, as if she had more to say but held back.
“Have you decided?”
Chen Yan said:
“The lives of over three million people all hang on the choice of a single thought of yours.”
“I’m not going to kill them, it’s just...”
“Is there a difference?”
Chen Yan continued.
The tide of humanity still surged forward, their cheers and prayers merging into a roaring river. On the distant stone platform, the various Immortal Masters stood with robes fluttering, like True Immortals descending to earth.
“...”
Zhou Jinyun fell silent once more. Then, she parted her lips again:
“But the bigger picture...”
“Immortal Master Zhou.”
Su Hongzhen slowly turned his head to look in Zhou Jinyun’s direction. His voice was very soft:
“What... is the bigger picture?”
“Mirage Palace’s future is already hanging by a thread. Grand Elder Shang has entrusted this heavy responsibility to himself. I have to find a way to stop what’s about to happen.”
Zhou Jinyun said.
“I see.”
Su Hongzhen nodded, then fell silent again.
This actually surprised Zhou Jinyun greatly.
“What do you think I should choose?”
She asked in Little Su’s direction.
“Follow your heart, not the bigger picture, Immortal Master Zhou.”
Su Hongzhen just smiled.
Follow your heart...
Zhou Jinyun’s gaze drifted away.
It swept over those faces—pious, humble, brimming with desperate hope—over the mother cradling her sick child, over the old woman kowtowing until her forehead was raw... those individuals who were as light as dust beneath the weight of the “bigger picture.”
Her heart clenched violently.
The next moment, she took a deep breath. All hesitation in her eyes was utterly severed. She turned to Chen Yan, her voice clear and firm:
“I beg Senior Chen to act now.”
This answer had long been within Chen Yan’s expectations.
He knew well that this young woman was kind by nature.
If not for that, a year ago in Jiangdu Prefecture, she would never have saved Su Hongzhen from a street thug beating.
It was just that she was still young, suddenly burdened with an overwhelming sect mission, her eyes always fixed on the lofty, elusive “bigger picture.” It was all too easy to lose herself in the mist, forgetting to look down and see what kind of mountains, rivers, and mortal world lay beneath her feet.
...
Wei Yiming stood on the floating stone platform, his wide deep green robes stirring slightly in the wind.
This Martial Spring Realm cultivator gazed down at the six hundred thousand living beings below. Then he turned, glanced in Chu Fan’s direction, and broke into a smile.
All of these people would become “Chu Fan’s” nourishment.
Or rather, they would become a part of him.
One could say that bringing this young man named Chu Fan back from Moxu Mountain a year ago was by far the greatest gain for Mirage Palace at present.
Because he was simply too perfect.
This was not the first experiment Mirage Palace had conducted. Over the past several hundred years, Mirage Palace had secretly performed dozens of possession experiments in the shadows.
Kang Zongdan was merely a seed planted sixty years ago.
In truth, Mirage Palace had never held much hope for Kang Zongdan. Although his spiritual sense aptitude barely qualified him as an experimental subject, that was all it was—barely passable.
No one could have imagined that such an unpromising seed would actually develop to this extent.
The main reason was his third vessel.
Chu Fan.
In all of Mirage Palace’s previous experiments, every possession attempt had led to the gradual splitting and collapse of the spiritual sense over time.
This was because possession required a massive number of souls to be sacrificed.
And the lingering will of those sacrificed souls would, to a certain extent, influence the spiritual sense of the possessor.
Originally, after Kang Zongdan had possessed his son Kang Keyang, his spiritual sense had already shown signs of splitting and collapse.
But everything changed after he possessed Chu Fan.
Kang Zongdan’s spiritual sense actually began to merge into this physical body.
It wasn’t just Kang Zongdan. The same happened with the remnants of spiritual sense from the souls sacrificed at Moxu Mountain—they all began to gradually fuse into Chu Fan’s flesh.
This phenomenon filled Grand Elder Jing and the others with great joy.
It was precisely because of this that the higher-ups turned their attention to the four great secular dynasties neighboring Mirage Palace.
Nearly three hundred million living beings.
If all of these beings could also be fully sacrificed and fused with “Chu Fan,” then the taboo art currently being researched by the higher-ups might achieve an even more stunning breakthrough.
Wei Yiming, as a trusted subordinate of Elder Zheng Song, and Elder Zheng Song, in turn, as a confidant of Elder Shen Chuan, knew many hidden secrets even though he was merely a Martial Spring Realm manager disciple.
A certain figure within Mirage Palace, whose status far exceeded that of Grand Elder Jing of the Supreme Martial Pacification Court, was attempting to perfect the true forbidden art.
And that great figure, it seemed, had already caught the attention of the Supreme Imperial Law Court after Elder Shen Chuan’s suicide.
Therefore, that great figure was forced to accelerate the pace of perfecting the forbidden art.
And once that forbidden art was completed, it would mean that Mirage Palace—or the entire Chenping Continent—would be turned completely upside down.
Mirage Palace would no longer be just one of the Five Great Sects. It would become an existence far above the other four great sects.
Because the great figure hiding behind the scenes had long been preparing in secret.
The first thing to be done once the forbidden art was completed would be—
To possess the heavens themselves.