The setting sun cast its evening glow, sunset clouds spread across the water, and half the river lay bleak while half burned red.
True Lord Lu listened quietly to the boatman, saying nothing.
Surging currents rocked the black-canopied boat. Amid the shimmering reflections shattered by the wooden oar, fish large and small competed to swim ahead.
"Senior Brother Sect Master, time waits for no one. The Xiantian Sect has only this one Dao Child.
"If we appoint another, how could they catch up with Zhang Yuansheng, who has already taken his position?"
The boatman chuckled.
"Rest easy, Junior Sister. The Dao Child disgraced the Great Talisman Sect and won the Patriarch's favor. How would I dare trade him away?"
True Lord Lu remained half convinced. This senior brother of hers, the Sect Master, had always harbored deep schemes. He most enjoyed making unreasonable moves, leaving his opponents unable to grasp his style or approach. Gathering Grotto Continent would not ordinarily have opened at this juncture; it was Qin Baiyu who had proposed it on behalf of the Xiantian Sect.
"Gen Peak has prepared a fallback, though."
The boatman spoke meaningfully.
"Luo Tiansu did not demote Gu Changling merely because he defied his wishes. The key is that he has already found Ning Hechu's reincarnation." True Lord Lu's expression shifted slightly. Though this Incarnation of Qin Baiyu spoke lightly, the news carried the weight of ten thousand jun, enough to shake the Eight Peaks' Grotto-Heavens to their foundations. The boatman added:
"Luo Tiansu was Ning Hechu's Scripture Master. From beginning to end, Dao Child Hechu alone has held his favor. His intentions have never changed."
True Lord Lu was perceptive enough to understand with only a slight hint.
"True Lord Luo never intended to raise Gu Changling up... So that was