The instant those words fell, Su Mo abruptly rose from the Divine Nest's upturned eaves.
Across that stretch of heaven and earth, the aura suddenly changed drastically.
The power of calculation in Su Mo's eyes finally seemed to break through something, and his body shuddered violently.
Seeing the change in Su Mo, the Book Sage immediately frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Su Mo turned toward the scholarly Book Sage and asked in a low voice, "Senior, if I said the Beast Tide's breach of the pass was part of a scheme, would you believe me?"
The Book Sage's brows knitted even tighter. "How do you know?"
Su Mo sighed. Throughout the first half of his life, he had either been playing chess or serving as someone else's pawn.
He had already become acutely sensitive to the scent of a scheme.
He did not know whether things were truly as he suspected.
But if they were, the problem would be rather serious...
Looking at the Book Sage's puzzled expression, Su Mo did not know how to voice the conjecture in his heart. He could only begin explaining slowly.
"Senior, suppose we don't treat Demon Beasts as things without intelligence."
"If they could lay schemes, you would naturally be able to guess the broad outlines..."
The Book Sage's eyes narrowed, and he sank into thought. A moment later, his long beard suddenly trembled.
Seeing the Book Sage's reaction, Su Mo finally nodded.
In this world, the belief that Demon Beasts lacked intelligence was deeply rooted. No matter how people thought about them, they always regarded Demon Beasts as mindless creatures.
Su Mo said gravely, "Once the Li Clan's fortune at Desolate Demon Pass vanished, the Beast Tide retreated."
"But for the Li Clan's fortune to dissipate completely, the people of the Li Clan still