On the sixth day of the fourth month in Ming Year 472, two proclamations rang across the Southwest like thunderclaps, leaving many people utterly bewildered.
Wasn't Doumu Pavilion supposed to be converting to Xuanmen?
Wasn't Limitless Mountain a thousand-year-old demonic sect?
Then how had the one that was supposed to convert to Xuanmen allied itself with the Daoist Sect, while the one least likely to change had instead become a heterodox sect?
And how had both become connected to Three Pure Ones Mountain in the East at the same time?
When had they forged these ties? Why had no one heard so much as a whisper?
Now this was interesting. Emei had taken Biji Mountain under its wing, only for Biji Mountain to betray Xuanmen and join the Demon Sect. Everyone knew Emei had long had designs on Doumu Pavilion, visiting with particular frequency over the past two years. Every faction knew perfectly well why. And now look: Doumu Pavilion had joined forces with the Eastern Path.
Did this mean Xuanmen no longer had any say in Dianwen?
The Demon Sect had gained one and lost one, but overall, it seemed to have gained more. After all, Biji Mountain, situated on the Nanpan River and commanding Dianchi Lake, looked more useful to the Southern School than Limitless Mountain, tucked away on the frontier.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Path also seemed to have set its sights on the Southwest, securing a foothold in Dianwen.
Everyone's thoughts stirred, each with their own calculations.
But only one day later, on the seventh day of the fourth month, two more proclamations spread throughout Dianwen. They were long, sincere in tone, earnest in wording, and as delicately phrased as could be. Yet stripped of their flowery language and hollow concealments, their true content was simply unbelievable: