Inside the great hall.
After listening to Ji Shuwen's account, Li Ping fell into thought.
Ji Shuwen sat quietly beside him, not daring to disturb him, though a trace of anticipation shone in her eyes.
After a while, Li Ping finally spoke slowly, sounding as though he was both asking her and talking to himself. "So, after Chixiaozi died, the current Grand Elder of the Crimson Flame Sect stopped investing resources in the Three Kingdoms and One City?"
At his words, Ji Shuwen suppressed her excitement and replied, "Yes, Uncle Li. That's exactly what happened."
"Oh." Li Ping nodded thoughtfully.
Years ago, after Xu Guike avenged his master by killing the Core Formation cultivators of Purple Cloud Valley and the other two sects, Chixiaozi had immediately spotted an opportunity and reached in. He had even planned to cooperate with Li Ping to rule the three kingdoms together.
But Li Ping was devoted to cultivation and had no intention of establishing a faction. He had no designs on the three kingdoms' territory, so he had tacitly allowed Chixiaozi to proceed.
Perhaps it had been a peach returned for a plum, or perhaps wariness of Li Ping's presence.
In the end, Chixiaozi had not stationed more people in the three kingdoms. Instead, he had supported Ji Shuwen as their administrator and arranged for True Person Lei and his disciple Yan Jing, who had ties to Li Ping, to assist her.
When speaking with Li Ping, Chixiaozi had hinted that, after his eventual passing, Ji Shuwen could also compete for the position of Grand Elder of the Crimson Flame Sect.
But now, it was unclear whether Chixiaozi had changed his mind before dying or whether the Crimson Flame Sect's local faction had been pulling strings.
Not only had Ji Shuwen failed to obtain