"What impressive methods. The moment he sensed my arrival, he struck back to counter me. He can even manifest a phantom within my Immortal Abode. His cultivation and strength are formidable-he must be at least at the nascent soul late stage!
"All those earlier arrangements also seem intended to ruin my plans, in retaliation for what happened in the West Sea!"
Understanding dawned on Li Ling in a flash. This was a deeply concealed pawn the Netherworld Sect had planted in the West Sea, with the shadows of numerous powerful forces behind it, including the Ghost Soul Sect's Meng Family.
After he had driven them back, they had been forced to settle for the next-best option: developing it into a covert foothold from which to intervene in the West Sea. Thus, over several decades, they had continuously built it up, investing enormous manpower and resources in its expansion.
While Zuo Zhongliang swept through and uprooted their other strongholds one after another, this place had developed in secret, absorbing many remnants from outlying districts and becoming increasingly important.
It was like a pawn that had crossed the river: the later the game progressed, the more valuable it became.
This time, the slander against him and the impersonation of Incense Accumulation Sect disciples had not been the independent work of those minor figures. Powerful figures higher up had deliberately targeted him.
They had already begun to recognize the threat posed by the Incense Accumulation Sect and wanted to seize the opportunity to act, driving out his influence.
Once someone's cultivation and strength reached the nascent soul realm or beyond, they were no longer a minor figure who could be casually annihilated. Li Ling counted as a power in his own right, and killing him in one stroke would be anything but easy.