"Chess Mountain has been a prosperous land since ancient times. Its rulers are the clans of the Commercial Alliance, and its power structure is complex. They are undoubtedly more likely to cooperate with the Outer Dao. After all, relying on the Puppet Dao alone can no longer satisfy their need to maintain their power and interests."
"Over the past several centuries, these underworld factions have had plenty of opportunities to deal with the Outer Dao. Nothing could be easier than sheltering a few enemies under a legitimate pretext."
"Could the unusual activity revealed by this intelligence mean that some among them have been blinded by greed and are plotting something unlawful?"
Li Chen personally hurried to Salt City in Chess Mountain Domain, bringing with him the intelligence provided by the Golden Sun Gate.
He patiently screened and sorted it himself, gradually piecing together the full truth.
Tracing the matter to its roots meant looking beyond the war, to exchanges and the spread of teachings. The Vast Sea was not a closed land, and various Dao Paths circulated among its underworld factions. Although Li Chen had encountered few such cases himself, rogue cultivators like Wu Ding, who had stumbled upon Outer Dao inheritances, were by no means rare. Some powerful clans gave them preferential treatment for their unusual abilities and even had their own descendants try cultivating their arts.
This was what people meant by not putting all their eggs in one basket. For powerful clans, placing bets on multiple sides and hedging their risks was common practice.
"Under normal circumstances, the Creation Sect tacitly accepts and tolerates this as well. There really is no way to take a single blade to everything and ban such things outright."
Across from Li Chen, an expert wearing a black robe patterned with gold,