Chapter 36 Sorting out the Main Storyline, Taking Control of the Sect
The current Chen Guanshui has a total of five aliases, five storylines.
The first is Kunlun's Qiu Changtian, who is now patiently cultivating in Kunlun, striving to break through his Cultivation Realm as soon as possible.
Once he succeeds in forming his Nascent Infant, he is basically guaranteed to be the next Sect Leader's heir apparent, where he can undergo "Sect Leader training" with the Chi Song Immortal.
Then, he would have the opportunity to steal a fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone.
Fairly speaking, the Kunlun Taiqing Sect has not mistreated Qiu Changtian in any way; therefore, Qiu Changtian definitely cannot wait until he becomes the Sect Leader before betraying them, as that would deal too great a blow to Kunlun.
The second is Shushan's Ling Yunpo, who is also patiently cultivating in Shushan, working to improve his cultivation level and strength as soon as possible.
Unlike the wish-fulfilling Qiu Changtian of Kunlun, Ling Yunpo's situation in Shushan is somewhat awkward.
On one hand, both he and his senior sister, An Zhisu, have exhibited enough strength and potential to garner the attention of the sect;
On the other hand, due to Long Eyebrow Immortal's ambiguous stance, Shushan's treatment of the two is also rather unclear.
Sometimes they are treated fairly, while at other times subjected to petty and miserly behavior.
After many years in Shushan, Ling Yunpo has long ascertained that Long Eyebrow Immortal's disregard for them as senior sister and junior brother fundamentally stems from his dissatisfaction with Qi Sha True Person, Su Jian.
It is because Su Jian's swordsmanship talent was so extraordinary that Long Eyebrow Immortal had very high expectations for him.
However, Su Jian later switched to the Sentiment Inquiry Path, and due to his wife, stayed in the mundane world causing his cultivation to stagnate. Furthermore, for his daughter who suffered an ambush, he had no choice but to enter a life-preserving retreat at Qingluo Peak... All these disappointments made Long Eyebrow Immortal hold a considerable grudge against the Sentiment Inquiry Path.
If Su Jian were still out there and were scolded or even beaten by Long Eyebrow Immortal, then Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu would naturally be safe;
Unfortunately, with Su Jian in retreat and not appearing, Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu naturally became the targets for Long Eyebrow Immortal to vent his anger.
To put it plainly, everyone knows that "displacing anger" is not right, but who can truly claim they never displace their anger onto others?
He claimed to have formed a Third Grade Golden Core outwardly simply to avoid being too high-profile. For now, in Shushan, it's best to lay low and take it one day at a time. As for gaining high-level attention or seizing the opportunity to snatch the Heaven-Mending Stone, there's no point in thinking about that now. Long Eyebrow Immortal's attitude is what it is; it's better to figure out how to stay alive first.
The third is Penglai's Luo Yan, whose treatment lies between that of Qiu Changtian and Ling Yunpo.
The downside is that Elder Shi Ding is no more, and like Qingluo Peak in Shushan, they find themselves in an awkward situation without the support of elders, thereby severely affecting the Heavenly Craft Workshop as well.
The good news is that the Master of Xuan Du and Wan Xiang Immortal, in consideration of Elder Shi Ding's past relationship and due to the necessity of Luo Yan, now Master Jingyun, for the Sect Guardian Grand Formation, along with Shi Liuli's clever designs, are willing to extend some care to Luo Yan.
As long as Luo Yan can successfully form his Nascent Infant, his situation in Penglai will immediately improve and might even rival the status of Qiu Changtian in Kunlun—of course, for now, being stuck between Qiu Changtian and Ling Yunpo with no way up or down, he could only think of ways to stabilize the situation and get the Heavenly Craft Workshop back on track.
Let's not mention the Heaven-Mending Stone for now.
The fourth is Long Long from the Eastern Emperor Realm, with the fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone hanging around the little fox's neck. He just needs to send her to the Jiaolong clan of Beiming Fanyang to completely resolve the bloodline conflict.
The real trouble now is that the Azure Dragon Clan would not allow the two to go to Beiming Fanyang.
Ever since Emperor Ying Long left the Mortal Realm never to return, and with the decline of the Jiaolong clan, some, like Shi Yao, gave up their racial independence to seek refuge and integrate into the Azure Dragon Clan, while others, although still independent, have been confined to Beiming Fanyang, or to put it another way, trapped within, unable to leave.
As such, Long Long also acutely perceived the Azure Dragon Clan's different attitudes towards these two types of Jiaolong.
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Towards Jiaolong like Shi Yao, the attitude is naturally "all dragons under heaven are one family," "we must unite," and "let the dragon race be great again."
But towards the Jiaolong of Beiming Fanyang, the attitude is rather vague... Anyway, even though they haven't said much outright, it's definitely not a friendly attitude, otherwise, they would not stand by and watch them being trapped.
Therefore, for Long Long and Long Hu, if they would remain content within their clan, they would be considered good dragons like Shi Yao; if they showed any intention of heading to Beiming Fanyang, they would be deemed bad dragons.
As for the fate of bad dragons, it goes without saying.
In the Eastern State, it meant marrying into the Qin Family and being paired for breeding by Qin Ye; in the North State, it involved marrying into the Gui Family and being bred by Gui Ling'er... By that time, the title of Long Long would be useless and could no longer be demanded.
Therefore, they had to grow strong enough to break through the obstruction of the Azure Dragon Clan and Xuan Gui Clan and make their way to Beiming Fanyang independently, which meant focusing on cultivation as the main objective and causing trouble as a secondary plan, attacking on both fronts.
The last was Wei Dongliu of the Mortal Life Path.
If the other four lines were about cultivating and becoming stronger, then Wei Dongliu had the added task of seeking domination.
First, he had to unify the Mortal Life Path and take control of the three core sects.
Then, he had to clear out Mount Wutai, restoring the Mortal Life Path to its heyday strength.
Finally, he was to become the leader of the Demon Cult, the chief of the Six Paths, and contend with the Three Pure Orthodox Sect!
In doing so, he could smoothly gain the trust of the Hell Path, and then seize the opportunity to lay claim to the Heaven-Mending Stone...
It is embarrassing to say, but even though I'm already in the Golden Core Realm and have married several wives, I've yet to lay hands on a single Heaven-Mending Stone.
It seems I need to put in more effort.
Wei Dongliu, having received orders from the Blood Sea Ancestor, promptly proceeded to the sect residence in Lingxiu Mountain.
Jiang Lian, claiming he wanted to offer his body... scratch that, he volunteered enthusiastically to accompany Wei Dongliu.
When the two reached Lingxiu Mountain, they found the atmosphere within the sect to be extremely somber.
Of course, with the Sect Leader's sudden disappearance and his likely death, how could the disciples not be filled with trepidation and unease?
Wei Dongliu called together several Nascent Soul Elders of Lingxiu Mountain, planning to have an open and honest discussion... or rather, to convey the intentions of the Blood Sea Ancestor to them.
Even if you look down on me, you should consider the rage of the Blood Sea Ancestor. Can you afford to bear it?
Unexpectedly, these Nascent Soul Elders were quite amenable.
"Since it is the will of the Ancestor, we naturally dare not disobey."
"To tell the truth, with Xuandu Sect Leader's sudden passing, our sect is also in turmoil. If Sect Leader Wei is willing to step in to uphold justice, that truly would save Lingxiu Mountain from a desperate plight."
"The Mortal Life Path has been scattered for years, it should indeed be revived under the leadership of Sect Leader Wei!"
The elders chimed in one after another, quickly praising Wei Dongliu's takeover of Lingxiu Mountain as the popular will and an inevitable trend, to the point where even Wei Dongliu himself felt somewhat uncomfortable listening to them.
Jiang Lian stood by, smiling without a word.
"In that case, call all the Golden Core True Persons here first," Wei Dongliu began to issue orders. "I wish to meet the real talents of Lingxiu Mountain."
If there is any troublemaker who dares to step forward later, it will be a good opportunity for me to assert my authority;
If not, gather everyone together, then head to the other two sects of the Mortal Life Path!