Hou Niao stayed on the grasslands for another half month and more, making sure the reactions from all sides were within his expectations, until Wei True Person sent word that all was safe.
Only then had they cleared this hurdle.
In truth, he had also meant to take a gamble with this operation. He could not go soft; he could only stand firm. But just how firm required careful judgment. The result was quite good: the surrounding powers now saw the grasslands' strength in a new light, while their sensible retreat at the end had won them precious breathing room.
One very important message had gone out: Jinxiu's two sword lineages were showing an inclination to cooperate. Every power eyeing the grasslands like a hungry tiger had to consider what reaction an attack on the grasslands would provoke from the Quanzhen Sect.
Safety never came without reason. The grasslands had weathered this crisis peacefully for many reasons: they had the strength to slay a Nascent Soul, knew their own limits, had the Quanzhen Sect's backing, and knew to share the benefits...
"After I leave, Shizhu and Shi Le will take charge here for now. Discuss things more, use your heads more, and be clear about what constitutes the grasslands' core interests and what is merely dispensable branches and twigs.
"We aren't afraid to fight to the death, but the fighting must mean something. Our strength is still nowhere near the point where we can spread ourselves out and disregard everything else."
Facing all the Golden Core sword cultivators, Hou Niao summed up this operation. He hoped every one of them could gain a thorough understanding of the grasslands' current situation; only then could they avoid a great deal of wholly unnecessary trouble.
The differences between the old and new grassland