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Great Capital · Heavenly Treasure Palace.

"The world, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of unity, tends to divide."

Yue Dewen stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the distant mountains.

"Just like these Great Ling religions. Many years ago, we attempted to accomplish this great task, but unfortunately, we failed."

This is the highest point of the Heavenly Treasure Palace, the Eternal Purity Gathering Tower.

Standing atop this second tallest tower after the one in the Turin, one can see the general outline of the capital city in the distance.

"Lao Yue, what are you trying to do?"

A tall figure, completely concealed within heavy black armor, slowly and silently emerged from behind.

"You should understand that now is not the time."

He was clearly wearing heavy armor, yet he made no sound at all when he moved.

It was as if he was wearing soft clothes rather than heavy metal armor.

"What can I do? What dare I do?" Yue Dewen said with a smile, pressing his fat hand against the wall to the side.

There was a map of the entire Great Ling on the wall.

His hand, which had just eaten Five-Spice Beef Leg, left a clear claw mark.

Yes, it just so happens to fall on the site of the main altars of the Western Sect and the True One Sect in Great Capital.

The thumb is at True Buddha Temple, and the little finger is at the Taiji Palace.

"You want to become the second Eastern Sect?" Azure Elder voice came from inside the black heavy armor.

"How could that be? The Eastern Sect has collapsed." Yue Dewen made an exaggerated expression, as if to say, "Are you kidding me?"

"Then what exactly are you trying to achieve by doing all this?" the heavily armored elder asked in a deep voice. "You should be very clear about His Majesty's meaning. The True One Sect and the Western Sect are not to be trifled with. If it weren't for us, Heavenly Treasure Palace wouldn't be able to withstand their attacks."

Yes, without the support of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion, Heavenly Treasure Palace would never be a match for the other two sects.

"Of course I know, so this is just a joke, isn't it?" Yue Dewen said with a smile.

A look of helplessness crossed his face. "Actually, I only think about it in my dreams. Don't you and I know the current situation? Our Great Dao Sect has ultimately declined."

The Armored Elder was speechless. Fine, if you say it's declined, then it's declined.

"Speaking of which, that kid Heaven and Earth is really good at hiding his abilities. His martial arts cultivation has increased so quickly, I wonder what kind of fertilizer he ate to grow up like that. Even pig intestines aren't this powerful, he's obviously not a normal person."

Yue Dewen touched his chubby face, squeezed it, and seemed to find the flesh on his chin quite pleasant to the touch, treating it like a stress-relieving toy.

"I've been to Citong and investigated." The heavily armored elder said in a solemn tone, "He has a high reputation there and is very capable of managing things. The newly arrived eminent monks from the Western Sect are not yet able to take control of the situation. It is unlikely that they will reach his previous level within the next few years."

"What about martial arts? That kid is obsessed with martial arts and can't extricate himself. He knows that once his Civilian Skill reach the late stage of Refining Spirit, he can Worship God the Spirit General and become a Spirit General, but he still wastes his time and energy on other things." Yue Dewen said with heartache, "If he could concentrate, he might have already reached the Nascent Soul Perfection. What a waste, such a waste."

"You're overthinking it. Cultivating Civilian Skill isn't that easy, especially in the later stages. By the way, it seems like True One making some moves lately, so be careful," the Armored Elder warned.

"Heh, this is Great Capital, no one dares to act recklessly here. If you're asking where the safest place in the entire Great Ling is, it's definitely here." Yue Dewen said dismissively.

"Furthermore, although I am old now, I am not without the power to resist, and I have you by my side. If there are no three experts of the same level, don't even think about it."

"That's what I mean. By the way, when Heaven and Earth came back this time, did you sense anything was off?"

"Yes, he's gotten taller. At this height, his physique is obviously stronger. Something's not right." Yue Dewen nodded, his expression finally returning to normal.

When his most cherished apprentice was involved, he no longer had the heart to crack jokes.

"I suspect he's secretly practicing the Golden Toad Skill. He also has traces of Indestructible Body after Minor Accomplishment Hard Skill. This doesn't make sense."

"Yes. In Hard Skill training, without tempering your bones and muscles from childhood and enduring more than ten years of hardship, it is impossible to catch up later and achieve anything worthwhile."

Therefore, the only explanation is that Heaven and Earth has been secretly practicing Hard Skill for a long time and has a very high talent for them.

"After arriving in Citong, thanks to the abundant supply of resources and money, they quickly achieved a breakthrough," the heavily armored elder explained.

"Yeah, that kid's talent is getting harder and harder to understand. I used to think his martial arts talent was just so-so, but now it seems pretty good?" Yue Dewen said thoughtfully.

"So you sent him to the Jade Void Palace to give it a try?" the heavily armored elder asked.

"Well, I'm not very good at teaching martial arts, so that person is more suitable. After all, my martial uncle was a prominent figure eighty years ago. Although he has some issues, his martial arts skills are truly exceptional." Yue Dewen nodded.

"Eighty years ago, he was ruthless and indulged in desires, but in the end, he failed because he didn't kill his younger sister. He never reached the complete Extreme Realm, only the Half Extreme Realm. After that, Worship God seclusion, disappearing from everyone's sight."

"I wonder what level that person has reached after hiding their strength for so long." The Armored Elder sighed.

"You definitely can't win. Anyway, my Great Dao Sect is relying on her to keep us going. Don't even think about it." Yue Dewen smiled.

*** True One Sect · Taiji Palace.

An extremely secluded, nameless teahouse, reserved only for important guests, stands quietly in a lush Lin Li.

There are no plaques, no opulent decorations, only gentleness, nature, tranquility, and harmony.

This teahouse is entirely built of bamboo, with a stream flowing alongside it. Birds and bamboo rats, round and plump, often drink water from the stream. They are not afraid of people at all.

At this moment, True One Sect Zhen Yunzi, One of Ming Mountain Five Sons, was dressed in a pure blue Daoist robe, his white hair tied high in Daoist Crown, holding a white chess piece in one hand and a black chess piece in the other, facing a bamboo chessboard and playing a game by himself.

Suddenly, the white piece in his hand paused and hovered in mid-air.

The person squinted slightly, listening intently.

The sounds of wind, water, birds, and the rustling of bamboo leaves swaying in the wind and rubbing against each other.

There was also an unusual heartbeat mixed in with it.

Zhen Yunzi smiled slightly and closed his eyes.

Three breaths later, he opened his eyes.

On the chessboard Prayer Mat opposite him, a tall, burly man in a black cloak was already sitting cross-legged.

The cloak concealed the head and face within the hood, revealing only a vague outline of a face covered in grotesque burn scars.

"I apologize for not greeting you properly with such a distinguished guest," Zhen Yunzi said with a smile. He picked up a teapot from the side and poured a cup of green tea for the guest in a Bamboo Tube cup.

The green tea had long since cooled down, and it seemed to have some kind of sweet mint added to it, giving it a faint sweet aroma.

"My plan has failed." The cloaked figure's voice was flat. "Man proposes, God disposes. Those fools under my command—I thought they'd just be scheming against each other again, not working together, not giving their all. But I never expected this..."

"I didn't expect it wasn't our fault, but rather that Daoist Daozi of the Great Dao Sect had some skill, right?" Zhen Yunzi laughed.

"Forget it, these are all things of the past. With so many experts lost, I've already decided to withdraw from the Great Capital region," the cloaked man said in a deep voice. "I was intercepted by a mysterious expert from the Heavenly Treasure Palace and was slightly injured. I need time to recuperate."

"Mister Demon Eagle True Qi. His disciple was killed, his plans were ruined, many of his skilled men died, his assets were seized, and even the planning of his grand scheme was delayed and halted. He was even injured himself. Tsk tsk tsk."

Zhen Yunzi's expression was calm, but his tone was sarcastic.

"What? You invited me here just to humiliate me?" The cloaked man's voice suddenly became even more subdued.

"Of course not." Zhen Yunzi shook his head. "Next month, Snow Rainbow Pavilion will be changing guards, and that person from the Heavenly Treasure Palace should also go back to handle Lineage matters as usual."

"So what?"

"Are you willing to accept this?" Zhen Yunzi laughed. "Yue Dewen, a fatso who only knows how to laugh all day, actually managed to make you suffer so miserably with just a few simple schemes. Are you willing to be forced to back down like this?"

"You mean?" The Demon Eagle paused slightly.

"Now, we have secretly reached an agreement with True Buddha Temple. The conflicts between us have now been investigated, and most of them were caused by someone secretly stirring up trouble. Therefore, no matter what problems exist between us, we plan to first remove those who are in the way," Zhen Yunzi said calmly.

"..." The Demon Eagle fell silent, seemingly pondering the feasibility of the idea.

"Don't worry this time, you don't need to make the first move. The Western Sect and we will take the lead. The origin of the Great Dao Sect is not in Great Capital, but they insist on setting up Heavenly Treasure Palace here and getting in the way."

It's time to send this guy back to his hometown.

Zhen Yunzi spoke casually, as if he were only dealing with a few insignificant people.

But the Demon Eagle understood.

Once they can take action, it will definitely be a coordinated operation against the thousands of people in the entire Heavenly Treasure Palace.

Its scale is beyond description.

If successful, it will likely completely change the distribution of religions across the entire Great Ling World.

"Heavenly Treasure Palace is highly valued by the Ling Ting. How should we deal with them?" Demon Eagle pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Now, it's not the past. Do you really think that the Ling Ting sent the experts from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion to protect the Heavenly Treasure Palace?" Zhen Yunzi said meaningfully.

"..." Demon Eagle was speechless. As a senior Great Grandmaster, he naturally understood the meaning behind Zhen Yunzi's words.

Now that the True One Sect and the Western Sect have been fighting for several years, they suddenly realize that they have unknowingly lost a lot of territory and experts.

On the contrary, the Great Dao Sect secretly seized a lot of territory during the peaceful process and became increasingly arrogant.

Now that both sides have realized what's happening, they've decided to teach the Great Dao Sect a lesson they'll never forget.

"Yue Dewen is no ordinary person; his strength is unfathomable," Demon Eagle said again.

"Even if it is unfathomable, it is already over ninety years old. He has not Worship God, so what is there to fear? Even Great Grandmaster at this time is already weakened by both qi and blood, and his strength is less than one-tenth of what it used to be."

"Furthermore," Zhen Yunzi laughed, "the Western Sect suffered heavy losses this time and is extremely angry, so they have decided to send two eminent monks of the Yuan Generation to assist in the operation."

"... Just Yue Dewen is not bad. The chances are great." Demon Eagle considered it carefully. Without the secret protection of the Great Grandmaster from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion, so many people attacking together...

With such a swift and decisive blow, the expulsion of the Heavenly Treasure Palace was almost inevitable.

Killing Yue Dewen, the nominal Grand Master, can be seen as giving the Great Dao Sect a thorough warning.

To prevent the madmen from Ze Province from going crazy again.

In fact, he did not believe that the cunning and shrewd Yue Dewen would actually lose his life because of this.

However, damaging it can significantly shorten its lifespan.

"If the opportunity arises, I will make my move." With that thought, Demon Eagle made a promise.

Yue Dewen was very capable when he was young, but now he is old.

His continued dancing in his old age made him realize that since he was old and frail, he should have the right to be a weakling.