The surroundings suddenly fell into silence, except for the faint crackling sound of the lamp wick on the hanging beam burning.
Zhang Huai stared at Xu Qingping, frowning, not knowing what this guy meant by only speaking half of his words.
Xu Qingping raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeves, met Zhang Huai's eyes, and finally sighed.
"Sir Deacon, the teleportation array Array Platform in the mansion is indeed intact. I won't lie to you, but now I don't have the authority to call it."
"The teleportation array in the city has been controlled by the elders of the Mortal Elder Pavilion. If the elders do not agree, there is nothing I can do."
"Pah!"
Hearing this, Zhang Huai slapped the rosewood tabletop with his right hand, causing the water in the tea cup to splash.
"When will it be Mortal Elder Pavilion's turn to take charge of the teleportation array?!"
Zhang Huai's voice turned cold and he questioned the palace master in front of him.
"Especially in a major city like Upper Harmony Prefectural City with a population of over 100 million, the teleportation array is the communication hub, and it should be managed by you and the people from the Dao-Guiding Hall!"
"Mortal Elder Pavilion's function is only to stabilize the secular order and supervise Rogue Cultivator and Lineage. Their actions have clearly exceeded their authority!"
After hearing what Zhang Huai said angrily, Xu Qingping did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze slightly and looked at the person next to him.
Those who got up Saint Hall Dao-Guiding Hall were from the branch.
The three body cultivators suddenly looked embarrassed.
They did not say anything, but lowered their heads again, staring at the floor, silent, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Xu Qingping Seeing that these people were embarrassed to say anything, they had no choice but to take the initiative to pick up the burden, sighed and shook their heads.
"Sir, let me talk about it as a lower official! All of this starts with the selection system of the Mortal Elder Pavilion Elder in Fucheng."
Xu Qingping paused and looked at Zhang Huai.
Zhang Huai nodded and asked him to continue.
"Saint Hall regulates that among the local branches, only Dao-Guiding Hall people are directly designated and appointed by the Saint Hall palace in each major region."
"As for the Mortal Elder Pavilion, it is left to the local secular forces to select themselves, and more powerful and respected older generation monks will be chosen as the pavilion elders."
Zhang Huai heard this, his expression softened slightly, and he nodded again in response.
"This has been the case for thousands of years. The original intention of the Saint Hall to establish Mortal Elder Pavilion is to allow local governments to supervise and supervise the rules of the mortal world on their own. What's wrong with this selection?"
Xu Qingping squeezed out a stiff, bitter smile on his face.
"Originally there was no problem, but about three hundred years ago, the forces of several major local families in Shanghe Fucheng began to jointly develop. Strong men from each family emerged in large numbers and became deeply rooted in Fucheng."
"A hundred years ago, these big Lineages completely controlled the election channels for cabinet ministers."
"There are now ten Mortal Elder Pavilion elders in the city, and eight of them are from Lineage."
"After these people took the position of elders, they took advantage of the loopholes in the Mortal Elder Pavilion's secular jurisdiction to monopolize Upper Harmony Prefectural City."
"All the profitable businesses and mineral veins were divided up by these four families. Later, they even set their sights on the large teleportation array in Fucheng."
"Under their secret operation, the activation hub of the Fucheng teleportation array has now been completely controlled by the Mortal Elder Pavilion."
"Why do they control the teleportation array?"
Zhang Huai's brows furrowed even deeper.
Upper Harmony Prefectural City Mortal Elder Pavilion's move is not only a public tool for private use, but also a rivalry between friends. It has seriously violated the original intention of the Saint Hall to establish Mortal Elder Pavilion.
But Zhang Huai is the deacon of the Dao-Guiding Hall. Dao-Guiding Hall and Mortal Elder Pavilion are equal rights institutions and do not belong to each other.
Although he, Zhang Huai, is the deacon of the Saint Hall's headquarters, according to the rules, he has no right to directly intervene in Upper Harmony Prefectural City Mortal Elder Pavilion's internal acts that exceed his authority.
At most, after returning to the Saint Hall headquarters, the shady story here should be reported to the elders or a higher level, and the senior management will issue an edict and make a decision.
"You three are the people in charge of the Dao-Guiding Hall here?"
Zhang Huai suppressed his thoughts and turned his head to look at the Dao-Guiding Hall people who had not spoken much since they entered the door.
Hearing the roll call from the deacon at the headquarters, the gray-robed monk at the front took a cautious step.
This man is a little older, has a very thin face, and has a goatee. At this time, his two long sleeves are folded in front of him, and his fingers are trembling slightly as he clasped his fists in salute.
"My subordinate's name is Wei Shu, and he is the leader of the Saint Hall Dao-Guiding Hall branch here."
Wei Shu's voice was trembling, and there was a little cold sweat on his forehead.
Zhang Huai As a deacon at the headquarters, his immediate superior's superior can remove him from his post with just one word.
"How strong are you?"
Zhang Huai Straightforward.
Wei Shu buried his head lower.
"This subordinate is incompetent and his current cultivation level is only Dao Sect First Layer."
"Then Mortal Elder Pavilion belongs to the Lineage faction, what is his strength?"
Zhang Huai didn't think Dao Sect's cultivation was poor, so he continued to ask.
Wei Shu wiped cold sweat and responded in a low voice.
"Among the ten veterans in the cabinet, eight belong to the Lineage camp."
"Among them, there are three from the Dao Sect Realm level one to level three, and the remaining five are all from the Dao Master Realm level nine."
"They are all from the four families of Mo, Wei, Dai and Hou."
Zhang Huai nodded.
After all, Great Abyss Dynasty is located in a remote Desolate Region and lacks resources. Having several Lineage and multiple Dao Sect in charge is indeed a very powerful force.
No wonder Wei Shu, the leader of Dao Sect First Layer, would be marginalized by the Mortal Elder Pavilion and unable to speak at all.
Zhang Huai took a deep breath and turned his head to look at Chen Xian sitting on the side.
"Brother Chen and Brother Zhao, it seems that the next thing will require you two to take action."
Chen Xian put down the celadon tea cup in his hand, tapped his fingers on the table twice, and said with a smile, "Brother Zhang, you are really rude. I just entered the city and an errand came to your door."
Zhang Huai also had a smile on his face.
"Zhang already owes his life to Brother Chen, and now he is not afraid of owing more."
Chen Xian took a sip of tea and shook his head indifferently.
"You can use me wherever you can, I just want to go to Central Province as soon as possible."
Seeing this, Zhao Ke on the side quickly stepped forward and saluted with cupped fists.
"Anyone who can help, I will definitely help."
Zhang Huai clasped his fists at the two of them and said seriously, "Thank you both."
With Chen Xian, the extraordinary Dao Venerable, holding the battle, no matter how arrogant Mortal Elder Pavilion is against Upper Harmony Prefectural City, they can't make any trouble.
Zhang Huai turned around and looked at Xu Qingping who was still bowing, regaining his previous dignity.
"Master Xu, help me make an appointment with those pavilion elders tomorrow morning."
"I want to see what kind of monsters these people are." Zhang Huai's eyes were slightly cold.
"I'll do it right away!"
Xu Qingping, as if he had received an amnesty, hurriedly lifted up the long hem of his imperial robe, walked backwards and quickly left the bamboo garden.
Wei Shu The three of them said they had official business and hurriedly left.
Late at night, at the center of Upper Harmony Prefectural City.
An attic that occupies a very large area and is built entirely of red-painted logs with carved beams and painted beams stands in the night.
This is the core place where Upper Harmony Mortal Elder Pavilion and Saint Hall supervise the secular order of the entire city.
In the center of the main hall, ten elders wearing various colorful robes were sitting around a round jade table that was ten feet wide.
However, the atmosphere was slightly weird.
On the left edge, two gray-haired old men were sitting cross-legged on chairs with their eyes closed.
They distanced themselves from the group of people in the center of the long table, put their hands in their long sleeves, and looked at the others coldly, with cold expressions on their faces, full of silence that disdained to be associated with them.
The other eight old men sitting in the middle of the big table didn't pay attention to these two people at all.
They gathered under a few bright lights and were exchanging information in low voices.
Sitting at the front is an old man with a thin face and a pair of hooked noses.
This person is the ancestor of Upper Harmony Prefectural City Mo Family, and is also the current chief grand master of the Mortal Elder Pavilion, Mo Chenghai, whose cultivation has reached the peak of the third level Dao Sect Realm.
Mo Chenghai reached out and knocked on the table, interrupting everyone's conversation.
"Accurate news is that the man who showed off Saint Hall Token at the city gate this evening is indeed the deacon from Central Province Saint Hall, named Zhang Huai."
"This person has now moved into the Beautiful Waters Manor in the east of the city."
Mo Chenghai glanced at the faces of the people around him and spoke in a low voice.
"According to the information from the spies, it is unknown whether Zhang Huai suffered extremely serious internal injuries or had extremely high cultivation. He could not sense any Dao Power fluctuations on his body and looked like an ordinary mortal."
"But Saint Hall Token can't fake it, so his identity can't be faked either."
"And beside him, there is a very powerful Dao Venerable, and an early Dao Sect."
"Do you think we need to go to the Beautiful Waters Manor to visit Zhang Huai tomorrow?"
Wei Zhen, the bearded ancestor of the Wei family, sat on his right side and touched his chin.
His slightly narrowed fox eyes flashed with light, and he thought for a while before speaking.
"I think you can pay a visit tomorrow."
"After all, this person is from Central Province, and his identity is extraordinary. Let's go over and find out why this deacon Zhang came to visit me Upper Harmony Prefectural City."
"Hmph, why does Brother Wei have to be so ambitious?"
Dai Xiangrong, the elder of Dai Family Pavilion, who was short in stature but had sinister eyes, sat on Mo Chenghai's left hand side and sneered a few times with some disdain.
He threw his long sleeves on the table and retorted with a cold snort.
"I guess this person is just an errand boy sent by the Dao-Guiding Hall. Otherwise, why would such a good person come to Desolate Region?
"Even if my guess is wrong, this person may be a figure in Central Province, but his Dao-Guiding Hall rules have nothing to do with our local Mortal Elder Pavilion!"
Upon hearing this, Hou Family ancestor Hou Guangyuan, who was sitting at the bottom and wearing a dark copper-colored robe, raised his hand and motioned for Dai Xiangrong to say less.
Hou Guangyuan said in a deep voice, "Xiang Rong, be careful what you say."
"After all, the other party is from Central Province Saint Hall. During this period, each of you will say hello to your own forces and ask your subordinates to tighten their skin and not do anything inappropriate at this juncture."
"If he is not happy when he leaves, he can return to Central Province Saint Hall and report it in front of the elders, which will inevitably cause us trouble."
After hearing this, several Lineage elders around him nodded in agreement.
"In that case, let's go pay a visit to Deacon Zhang tomorrow morning, prepare some generous gifts, and look better."
Mo Chenghai, who was sitting at the top, directly finalized the matter.
After they finished talking about this official matter, Mo Chenghai suddenly changed his sitting position, leaned forward, and lowered his voice very low.
"How are you preparing the batches of goods from each company these days?"
Hearing the word "goods", Wei Zhen and Dai Xiangrong had a look of greed that could not be concealed in their eyes.
Wei Zhen chuckled, rubbed his big hands like bear paws, and responded, "Don't worry, our Wei family is almost ready."
"Dai Family is all here too."
Dai Xiangrong looked greedily and licked his lips.
Hou Guangyuan also nodded. "Hou Family can move at any time."
Mo Chenghai nodded his head with great satisfaction.
"Very good. Then we can open the teleportation array in the future and transport this batch of goods. In the meantime, everyone should keep a low profile."
Having said this, Mo Chenghai lowered his center of gravity, almost lying on the table and looking at a few people, with a calculating look on his face.
"They were very satisfied with the last batch of goods. This time we have increased the number of heads, so we should be able to make a lot of money."
"If we trade a few more times, we will be able to gather enough resources to cultivate Honored Realm.
Several Lineage elders gathered together and let out a greedy and excited low laugh that they deliberately suppressed but could not suppress at all.
They didn't even care that there were two other pavilion elders sitting on the other side of the table.
"Hmph! A group of ignorant and unscrupulous guys who seek power for personal gain are not worthy of being the elders of the human race!!"
A cold snort full of anger suddenly broke the greedy laughter in the middle of the big table.
I saw Mr. Zou Yi, who had been sitting on the left edge with his eyes closed and concentrating, suddenly opened his eyes.
His old wrinkled face was now ashen, he slapped the armrest of the chair and stood up, his eyes full of anger.
Mo Chenghai's laughter stopped instantly, and the pair of eagle eyes squinted over.
"Zou Yi, for the sake of my colleagues, I have always been very tolerant to you. Who are you talking to?"
"I'm talking to a bunch of beasts that are worse than pigs and dogs!"
Zou Yi's long sleeves were swinging in the wind, pointing at the noses of Mo Chenghai and yelling angrily.
"Saint Hall established Upper Harmony Mortal Elder Pavilion to allow us to stabilize the city, protect the people from being slaughtered by the monks, and supervise the family Lineage not to monopolize people's livelihood!"
"You are a bunch of profit-seeking worms. It's enough to occupy the election channels. Now you dare to do such disobedient things as privately opening a large array for profit?!"
"You are doing these disgusting things, even if I die, I will not bother to be with you!!"
Zou Yi scolded and showed no mercy.
The Lineage elders gradually became unkind. I wonder what happened to this Zou Yi today.
"Zou Yi, Guo Yunfan, you two don't have to pretend to be noble here."
Dai Xiangrong leaned back, tapped the table with his skinny fingers rhythmically, and said sadly, "Why don't you join our four big Lineage as soon as possible, so that you can enjoy your old age in peace."
"No need!!"
Another elder Guo Yunfan, who had been silent all this time, finally stood up with a cold face after a moment of pause.
He walked to Zou Yi, looked at the eight people in the center of the long table, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Mo Chenghai, what you did makes me afraid that someone will dig up your grave and whip your body after death!"
The two of them fluttered their sleeves and walked straight out of the door.
Dai Xiangrong sneered, "Two ungrateful old stubborns."
"When the next cabinet election is held, these two people will be kicked out by us Mortal Elder Pavilion."
"At that time, this entire Upper Harmony Prefectural City will be the back garden of our four major Lineages."
Not caring about the two people leaving, several Lineage elders talked and laughed loudly, feeling very proud.