Undercurrents

According to Ji Boying's plan, they continued washing their hands as usual.

Early in the morning, Liu Zhengfeng, dressed in a silk outfit, looked quite energetic and greeted his guests like a nouveau riche.

Daoist Master Tianmen and the others should have been seated in the chief seats.

However, because the Five Great Mountains Sword Sects formed an alliance, they could be considered as masters.

A group of people pushed and shoved each other, refusing to sit down, so they also helped Liu Zhengfeng entertain the guests in the inner hall.

Liu Zhengfeng's disciples led the guest inside.

Ordinary people in the martial arts world naturally know better than to go inside and just sit on the outside.

He was entertained by Liu Zhengfeng's relatives and accountant.

As for those with higher reputations, invite them inside to have tea and chat with the people from the Five Great Mountains Sword Sects. They don't need to wait with these martial arts figures for the banquet to begin; they can come out and take their seats at noon.

Guests arrived in a steady stream, and the one most deserving of hospitality was a man carrying a load on a shoulder pole. Liu Zhengfeng went out to greet him and respectfully invited the man inside to meet Yue Buqun and the others.

It was He Sanqi loved selling wontons.

Before long, Mr. Wen arrived and was invited to sit in the flower hall to rest, where he exchanged pleasantries with Yue Buqun.

Although the incidents involving Zuo Lengchan and the Demonic Cult made Abbess Dingyi of Daoist Master Tianmen lower her guard and agree to come out and entertain guests on behalf of Liu Zhengfeng, it was ultimately a matter of personality; she was not as warm and welcoming as Yue Buqun.

So even more people gathered around Yue Buqun, chatting and laughing, and constantly praising Yue Buqun for teaching such a good disciple, Ji Boying, whose name had already resounded throughout the southern martial arts world.

Once this conference is over, Ji Boying's reputation will officially spread throughout the country.

Seeing that it was already past 9 AM, Liu Zhengfeng stood at the gate and looked out a few times.

He then turned and went back to the inner hall.

Unbeknownst to him, there were many spies lurking in the shadows, pacing nervously back and forth.

"Elder Tong, when shall we make our move?"

Although there were many elders from the Sun Moon Divine Cult this time, they all had to respectfully address Tong Baixiong as Elder Tong.

Tong Baixiong was the most senior, being the Wind and Thunder Hall and having a deep friendship with Dongfang Bubai.

When Dongfang Bubai Sect Leader Ren of the sect, the Vermilion Bird Hall refused to accept it and was killed by Tong Baixiong with a single blow.

"No rush, let's wait a bit longer. It's best to let the Songshan Sect make the first move, and then we can be the ones to the Oriole."

Tong Baixiong was quite mature for his age.

"I never expected Qu Yang to do something like this, but that's really his personality. I thought that based on the leader's actions over the past two years, he would just ignore him and let him go."

Shangguan Yun sighed from the side.

One of the Incense Master Shi, Shi Xiangzhu, lamented, "It's a pity we found out about this too late. The sect leader was also hesitant, which wasted a lot of time. Otherwise, if we had prepared more explosives, we could have wiped them out in one fell swoop. Why would we need our brothers to come up here and kill them?"

They secretly observed the thousands of martial arts practitioners coming and going. There weren't many from the underworld, but quite a few from the legitimate world, and a considerable number from unorthodox paths.

"Incense Master Shi, do not speak ill of the cult leader."

Elder Wang Cheng sneered from the side.

Incense Master Shi's expression turned serious, and he dared not speak recklessly anymore.

The expressions of these incense masters and elders varied.

Quietly observing Tong Baixiong, Tong Baixiong expression remained unchanged.

Tong Baixiong only squinted at Mu Gaofeng as he sneaked past down the street, but his mind was not on Mu Gaofeng at all.

He also felt that today's operation was somewhat strange.

Wang Cheng's use of the Black Wood Token restrain himself also saddened Tong Baixiong.

He was Dongfang Bubai's old comrade, and Wang Cheng was one of the newly promoted ten elders.

Although Tong Baixiong was heartbroken, he was mostly excited.

Dongfang Bubai hasn't made such a big move in many years.

If this operation succeeds, it will deal a heavy blow to the righteous path of the martial arts world and greatly enhance the prestige of their Sun Moon Divine Cult.

This kind of thing is in line with the boldness of the Dongfang brothers.

Although their secret collusion with the Songshan Sect made the brothers slightly unhappy, they were, after all, the so-called "Demonic Cult" in other people's eyes, and they didn't hold onto such sectarian prejudices; they were more cunning and treacherous.

It was precisely because of his connection with the Songshan Sect that Tong Baixiong admired Dongfang Bubai even more.

It was precisely this unyielding spirit, this domineering and unconventional approach, that made him the same Dongfang brother he had known back then.

No matter what other shady dealings he was unaware of, Tong Baixiong was willing to make this happen.

"Don't get into any conflict with the Songshan Sect for now. First, complete the sect leader's instructions."

Tong Baixiong gave a word of advice.

Everyone obeyed the order.

"Senior brother, the Demonic Cult Sect is indeed cunning. They haven't made a move yet. It seems they won't act until they see the benefits."

Lu Bai, the Second Protector Immortal Crane Hand, was quite looking forward to today's grand show, but seeing that the Demonic Cult Sect had not made any move for a long time, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Zuo Lengchan sat calmly among his fellow disciples, his expression solemn.

He secretly used his methods to stir up the undercurrents of the martial arts world, capable of turning the tide at will, but at this moment there was no ease whatsoever.

Although today's fight is aimed at these few hundred martial arts practitioners, the conflict involves far more than several thousand people.

But everyone else is just a supporting character; the real target is only Ji Boying.

"We want to be the Oriole, but don't they want to be too?"

In order to set up this deadly trap, Zuo Lengchan made many preparations in advance, deliberately leaking Qu Yang's affairs to the people of the Sun Moon Demonic Sect to test their reaction.

The Demonic Cult has indeed been too well-behaved in recent years.

While probing, they also took matters into their own hands, capturing and interrogating several key figures of the Demonic Cult sect.

By pooling all their resources and combining the intelligence they had gathered, they learned that Yang Lianting was now in charge of the Demonic Cult.

Thus, Zuo Lengchan's tacit cooperation came about.

However, the two sides did not fully trust each other and never sat down for a proper discussion, maintaining only a tacit understanding.

Therefore, Zuo Lengchan also couldn't figure out Yang Lianting's specific plans.

When necessary, we may have to make some sacrifices on our own side.

Ding Mian stood to the side, feigning ease and smiling.

"The people of the Demonic Cult are cunning and treacherous, so it's not surprising that they reacted this way. If all else fails, I'll ask my senior brother to hold the line while I act as the mantis and lure them out."

Having personally placed himself in the vortex of this struggle involving multiple parties and thousands of martial arts practitioners, Ding Mian was prepared to make sacrifices.

Some of the people present were moved.

But Lu Bai nodded solemnly, no longer caring about his Second Senior Disciple Brother's life.

"My Second Senior Disciple Brother and I will go together to be the bait. As long as we succeed, some sacrifices will be worthwhile."

Zuo Lengchan was also quite moved, and stood up to pat his two junior brothers on the shoulders.

In fact, he had already made up his mind that he would not hesitate to sacrifice all Thirteen Taibao here.

"Why go to such lengths? We have plenty of people at our disposal."