Daoist Zhixuan brimmed with confidence, in control from beginning to end, his plans fully formed. This was what a Taiqing disciple ought to do!
The Anhe Daoist Sect was no ordinary sect. It held a special position on the Brocade Continent, which was why they had made the rare move of sending thirteen people here. Now it was an internal contest, and he really had only one opponent: Yuqing!
Having reached this stage, what mattered was their skill at plucking the ripe peaches. This had been the Three Purities' consistent practice for a million years: squeeze out the outsiders first, then compete among themselves. As for Shangqing, that fool still clung to his solitary self-admiration, utterly unaware that he had long since been pushed to the margins of the Three Purities system.
Their current order of business was to squeeze out the other Daoist schools first, then squeeze out Shangqing, before Taiqing and Yuqing finally competed on their own merits. That was the procedure.
Among the ten accompanying Daoist schools, several were actually wavering. They were all traditions that had branched off from the Three Purities Dao Lineage. After tens or hundreds of thousands of years, who could say clearly whether they belonged to the Taiqing branch, were closer to Yuqing, or had inherited their teachings from Shangqing?
It was a tangled ledger that even the Three Purities themselves could not quite untangle.
"Then let me begin, casting out a brick to draw forth jade, if only to earn a smile!"
His expression turned solemn, and he declared loudly, "Taiqing favors Taixuan. Sect Leader, please mark it!"
Hou Niao was utterly helpless. This time, he was destined to serve as a backdrop. What pained him most was that, however he thought it through, he could not find the slightest opportunity