"Chess piece?"
Wang Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, and his heart suddenly sank.
Though he had long suspected that he had fallen into Ji Mie Arhat's scheme.
Having it personally confirmed by Situ Lie, a Viscera Refining Realm Sect Master, still sent a chill down his spine.
The great hall was deathly silent, the atmosphere oppressive to the extreme.
Situ Lie's gaze was deep as he looked toward the vast mountains beyond the hall and slowly revealed a great secret buried for decades.
"Do you know the Temple of Boundless Beings?"
"That is not a Cloud Province force at all, but a Buddhist behemoth of Nether Province. It commands several Yin-Yang Grandmasters, possesses unfathomable foundations, and is the orthodox Buddhist lineage of the north!"
Elder Mu took over, his expression incomparably grave as he added slowly:
"The Great Yin Dynasty's Imperial Court has been building momentum for years, intending to sweep away the martial factions that divide the realm and unify the martial authority of its territories."
"The provincial warlords, sects, and lineages are all targets of the Imperial Court's purge."
"Nether Province and Cloud Province lie side by side."
"The Imperial Court's first step will be to seize Cloud Province completely!"
"Once Cloud Province is entirely under Imperial Court control, its great army will seal off the north-south thoroughfares."
"The Temple of Boundless Beings in Nether Province will immediately fall into a hopeless trap, surrounded from north and south with no aid in sight."
Wang Yuan listened intently, and the layers of fog in his heart gradually cleared.
Situ Lie said in a deep voice:
"Cloud Province is weak. Not a single Yin-Yang Grandmaster exists within its borders."
"The Four Great Sects and two great lineages are supported by old powerhouses whose foundations have decayed."
"Among the younger generation, no