"This is a secret of my own orthodoxy, never passed down to others—there is no need for you, Daoist, to dig to the root and ask to the bottom of it."
Fang Qing chuckled lightly.
"You cultivate Earth Virtue. Could it be witchcraft? Through sacrifices to ghosts and gods, using ghosts and gods as vessels, extending yourself onto that Dao Foundation cultivator?"
A thoughtful gleam flashed through White Ze's eyes. "That could indeed conceal it from Profound Void Heaven."
"Though every sacrifice to ghosts and gods costs dearly. Daoist, your wealth must be considerable—"
So ghosts and gods were this versatile?
Fang Qing's heart stirred. But this is probably a Golden Core method. It might not necessarily fool the [Year Guardian]—but my Dao-Born Pearl reaches without limit.
Perhaps even the [Year Guardian] would be unable to trace it—
He smiled. "The Attendant Deity has shown mercy beyond the law today and allowed this venerable one to come here. You clearly have business with me?"
At the mention of this, mist even seemed to rise in White Ze's crystal-like eyes. "It's over, it's over—the Great Zhou is marching south, with Xia Yuanqi as commander, attacking Southern Wu—"
"They mean to rebuild the achievements of Great Xia. This time, the Wuyue Sword Pavilion will not resist fiercely. The entire Southern Wu royal family will be sold to Northern Zhou, all to fulfill the auspices of [Wings Fire]—"
"The Wu Kingdom's royal family—the Li Family?"
Fang Qing immediately thought of the Qiantang Sword Gathering of years past, and of Li Que and Li Lu.
A mocking smile could not help appearing at the corner of his lips. "Without the protection of a Golden Core True Lord, even a nation's royal family is nothing more than a chess piece, to be discarded at will—though