Making a move

"What are you two up to?" the members of the Heaven and Earth Society wondered to themselves.

Chu Yuanzhen's problem is also their problem.

[Part 1: A few days ago, I and Xu Yinluo joined forces to force Yongxing to abdicate, and today we just held the enthronement ceremony. Currently, the situation in the capital has stabilized, the court is functioning normally, and the people's hearts are with us.]

Clang! The small jade mirror in Chu Yuanzhen's hand fell to the ground.

Huaiqing has ascended the throne and become emperor?!

Although he had been dressed in white and had been traveling the world for nearly ten years, Chu Yuanzhen, a scholar by birth, felt as if his mind had been hit by an unbearable storm when he suddenly heard the news.

As a result, even the fragments of the Earth Book in his hand fell to the ground.

Ah! Princess Huaiqing has ascended the throne?! Holy Son Li Lingsu was taken aback. However, as a disciple of the Heavenly Sect, he had never learned the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues.

Although shocked, there wasn't a strong sense of resistance. The first reaction after the shock was: if a woman becomes empress, wouldn't the harem be turned upside down?

The imperial harem used to be a forbidden zone for men; has it now become a forbidden zone for women?

Are all the maids in the harem to be expelled?

The second reaction is:

This holy son is so handsome and dashing, and we're both members of the Heaven and Earth Society. Princess Huaiqing—no, His Majesty—would you forcibly summon me to the palace to become a concubine?

The third reaction is:

Xu Qi'an is the master of the harem, a paragon of virtue?

Li Lingsu knew that Huaiqing and Xu Qi'an also had some ambiguous relationship.

Finally, these thoughts subsided and were banished from his mind, leaving him with a sour feeling in his heart, because if there was any ambiguity between the two, then the Empress could only become one of Xu Qi'an's concubines.

Instead of Xu Qi'an becoming one of her concubines.

Having an empress as a concubine is far more fulfilling than having a princess, a noblewoman, Perfected Person Sect. A sour feeling welled up in Li Lingsu's heart.

No, I can't be the only one suffering. I need to go find Brother Yang. Good brothers should share hardships together.

The Holy Son made a decision in his heart.

Master Hengyuan had no further thoughts about Huaiqing's ascension to the throne. Upon hearing that the situation in the capital had stabilized, he abandoned his plan to return to the capital to help.

Monks have long since renounced worldly desires. Even if a woman were sitting on the dragon throne, Master Hengyuan wouldn't care.

Huaiqing has actually become emperor?! Li Miaozhen was shocked, no less so than Chu Yuanzhen, and at the same time felt somewhat embarrassed—she wouldn't be able to speak so freely within the Heaven and Earth Society in the future.

I'm going to stab that damned emperor to death!

[Part 1: The Great Feng royal family is suffering from a shortage of talent. Besides myself, who else can cooperate with Xu Yinluo to fight Yunzhou to the death?]

Huaiqing explained why Xu Qi'an supported her rise to power.

Immediately a letter was sent:

[Furthermore, this way, Li Miaozhen won't have to think about assassinating the Emperor of Great Feng every day; she can just contact me directly if she has any needs.]

"Ugh, digging up someone's embarrassing past, isn't that a bit much?" Xu Qi'an muttered to himself.

When the time comes, I'll bring Xu Ningyan and come straight to your door to beat you up. Li Miaozhen felt a little awkward looking at the message and quickly changed the subject:

[Damn Xu Ningyan, why didn't you say so beforehand? Is this the so-called method you were hiding from us?]

Upon reading Li Miaozhen's letter, the members of the Heaven and Earth Society were filled with emotion. After the Supervisor was sealed away, Xu Ningyan had become a powerful figure who controlled the succession of imperial power.

The true power holders in the Central Plains.

[Three: It's not a big deal to begin with, so there's no point in telling you all beforehand. Actually, I wasn't much of a help; His Majesty Huaiqing had already secretly seized power.]

In this reshuffling of imperial power, his role was irreplaceable, but his ability to stabilize the situation and reach compromises with the officials was entirely due to Huaiqing's own capabilities.

There are too many ambitious people in the capital. If Huaiqing hadn't been able to quickly stabilize the situation and make those guys restrain their claws and continue to submit, the Great Feng might have collapsed.

[Nine: Your ascension to the throne has resolved a long-standing question in my mind, explaining the reason for your unusual good fortune.]

Master Jinlian sent a letter expressing her feelings.

[Two: Hmm, what you're saying sounds strange, Daoist priest. Number One's fortune is odd. Did you know a long time ago that she would become emperor?]

Li Miaozhen's words successfully diverted everyone's attention, including Huaiqing's own.

[Nine: I'm not the supervisor, how could I possibly know the future? Well, everyone's fortune is different; some are born with it, some with it. Fortune has colors, and the name of a fourth-rank Daoist priest symbolizes the color of his fortune.]

[When I first met Princess Huaiqing, her fortune was a purple tinged with gold, a quality none of the other royal family members possessed. So I investigated further and decided to give her the fragment of the Earth Book.]

[Seven: What about me? What about me? What color is mine?]

This topic is of great interest not only to Li Lingsu, but to everyone, who wants to know how Master Jinlian selected and organized the members of the Heaven and Earth Society.

[Nine: You? You're white.]

[7: What grade of fortune does white represent?]

[9: Bai Ding!]

Li Lingsu: "???"

Master Jinlian clearly didn't want to talk about it; it might involve the secrets of the Earth Sect Xu Qi'an was about to end the conversation when he suddenly saw a message from Number Eight:

[Eight: Tomorrow you will go to Qingzhou to issue a challenge, which will inevitably lead to a conflict with Yunzhou. I don't know if you can find out their strengths, but they will definitely find out yours completely.]

Asuro steered the conversation back on track and pointed out the pros and cons of Xu Qi'an's plan for tomorrow.

Li Miaozhen thought about it and agreed, "Number Eight is right, but issuing a challenge is completely unnecessary. Do you have any follow-up plans?"

Xu Qi'an ran over excitedly, knowing that Xu Pingfeng would definitely bring his underlings to beat him up. Once a conflict broke out, the power of all living beings, and even his second-grade cultivation level, would be impossible to hide.

Because if Xu Qi'an doesn't go all out, it will be difficult for him to contend with the extraordinary forces from Yunzhou.

[One: Issuing a challenge is his obsession.]

Huaiqing suddenly said.

Everyone fell silent.

[Three: I will not let personal grudges cloud my judgment and disregard the bigger picture. The reason I chose to share this message in the group tonight is to discuss this matter with everyone.]

What is "in the group"? This question flashed through everyone's minds, but no one sent a message to ask, instead focusing intently on the ground book.

[Part 3: I want to take this opportunity to hunt the Black Lotus!]

Before anyone could even analyze or process the message, Master Jinlian replied instantly:

[Good idea. Ningyan truly lives up to his reputation as Wei Yuan's disciple; he has a great sense of the big picture.]

Master Jinlian was overjoyed, as everyone thought.

Chu Yuanzhen, one of the strategists of the Heaven and Earth Society, calmly analyzed:

[First, two problems need to be solved: one, separating the Black Lotus from the extraordinary experts of Yunzhou; two, replenishing the combat strength.]

Everyone actively expressed their opinions on the "outline" proposed by Chu Yuanzhen.

[Seven: To divide the Black Lotus and the strongmen of Yunzhou, I have an idea. In Xu Ningyan's military book, there is a move called "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao". The book says that when the State of Zhao is attacked by the State of Wei, Zhao's allies will attack the State of Wei, thus rescuing the State of Zhao.]

[My idea is that we can attack the Earth Sect's main altar and force Black Lotus to return to defend against the enemy. But this must happen during the period when Xu Ningyan issues the challenge, so that he can restrain the extraordinary experts of Yunzhou.]

Indeed, the Holy Son isn't just a womanizer; his head hasn't rusted. Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and decided this plan was feasible.

[Second: Your plan has a fatal flaw.]

The young phoenix of the Heavenly Sect—no, the fledgling phoenix immediately sabotaged the plan.

[Secondly: Black Lotus is a second-grade cultivator, while Golden Lotus Daoist is a third-grade cultivator. Even with us combined, we wouldn't be a match for Black Lotus, especially since Black Lotus also has the help of the demonic cultivators from the Earth Sect.]

[One: I think this plan is feasible.]

As soon as Li Miaozhen finished speaking, Huaiqing cast his vote in favor.

"Are you looking for trouble? You think you're so great just because you're the emperor?" Li Miaozhen was furious and was about to send a letter in retaliation when she saw that Xu Qi'an had also cast his vote in favor.

This plan is brilliant.

[Nine: Excellent.]

[8: Feasible!]

Li Miaozhen is angry.

Li Lingsu was both surprised and bewildered. It was settled just like that? It was clearly just a spur-of-the-moment idea. Non-Self 'm some kind of legendary genius?

Chu Yuanzhen was filled with doubts and hesitated before sending the letter:

[You... Oh, I see, the leader will be involved in the war.]

The Dao leader mentioned by the disciples of the Human Sect is, of course, Luo Yuheng.

If Luo Yuheng is in charge of the main damage output, and with the cooperation of Master Jinlian and other members of the Heaven and Earth Society, killing Black Lotus will be a piece of cake.

Chu Yuanzhen then analyzed:

[The Daoist Master is at the second rank, and Daoist Jinlian has already recovered to the third rank. I've been cultivating my sword intent lately, so killing a fourth-rank Daoist is a piece of cake.]

[Six: This humble monk can handle several fourth-rank officials without any problem; if necessary, I can summon the relics.]

Li Lingsu boasted. "[If Miaozhen and I join forces, we can fight three to four fourth-grade cultivators.]"

The Heavenly Sect possesses Secret Method for combined attacks.

[Seven: Eighth, what's your cultivation level? Eighth, what's your cultivation level? If you haven't even reached the fourth rank, then don't join the fun.]

[8: Self-preservation is not a problem.]

Is it true? Number Eight has been avoiding talking about his cultivation level, probably because he's embarrassed. After all, the average level in our Heaven and Earth Society is fourth rank, and we also have two extraordinary individuals. Li Miaozhen, Li Lingsu, Chu Yuanzhen, and others thought to themselves.

[Nine: Alright, everyone, follow my instructions. We'll find a place to meet. However, choosing tomorrow is a bit rushed. Ningyan, you'd better postpone it.]

[Three: Time is not an issue.]

[Fourth: If the operation succeeds, it will fulfill our promise to Master Jinlian, deliver a heavy blow to the rebels in Yunzhou, and boost the morale of our Great Feng. A triple win.]

For Xu Qi'an, this was the first step in his revenge against his biological father. Chu Yuanzhen added in his mind.

Even if the message wasn't passed on, the fact that father and son killed each other is still a tragedy.

Poor Xu Ningyan.

After finalizing the initial plan, the group stopped passing around the message.

The Bureau of Astronomy, in the bedroom.

Xu Qi'an, who had been kicked out of bed by Mu Nanzhi, sat down at the table and put down the small jade mirror in his hand.

"This tactic should be called 'luring the snake out of its hole,' 'deceiving the heavens to cross the sea,' and 'passing off fish eyes as pearls,'" he remarked lightly.

The core of the plan to eliminate Black Lotus is Asura!

Luo Yuheng is about to undergo her tribulation. She can occasionally take action, but the intensity of the extraordinary battle will cause the karmic fire within her body to become unbalanced, leading to the tribulation arriving prematurely.

Xu Pingfeng knew this perfectly well.

Black Lotus and Xu Pingfeng always believed that I was the main force of the Heaven and Earth Society, but they had no idea of Asuluo's existence. Xu Qi'an carefully considered the loopholes in the plan.

Apart from Master Jinlian, neither he nor Huaiqing knew that Asuluo was Number Eight.

Asura, with his two-plus-three-plus-two formation, was the main force in this siege against Black Lotus. Even in a one-on-one fight, Asura could kill Black Lotus single-handedly.

Moreover, they also have the help of Daoist Master Jinlian.

"Therefore, when they learned that Daoist Jinlian had launched a surprise attack on the Earth Sect's headquarters, they certainly wouldn't waste their energy setting up a trap. At most, they would send Ji Xuan to help. Because at this time, I was already moving back and forth between the borders of Qingzhou and Yongzhou, and killing me was the primary objective of the Yunzhou rebels."

"If Xu Pingfeng decides to ambush Jinlian and sends the Gara Tree Bodhisattva there as well, then I will venture deep into Qingzhou, risk my life, and wipe out the entire Yunzhou army. Hmm, I'll have to drag that old bastard along too."

As various thoughts flashed through his mind, Xu Qi'an felt a long-lost excitement welling up inside him.

He's about to make his move, as a chess player.

After carefully putting away the fragments of the Earth Book, Xu Qi'an turned his head and looked at the graceful back of the Flower Goddess lying on the bed. His head throbbed slightly.

"Nan Zhi."

Before she could speak, Mu Nanzhi quickly responded:

"Roll!"

A secluded valley, the temporary stronghold of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Inside the thatched hut, the oil lamp flickered dimly.

Master Jinlian sat cross-legged on a futon made of withered grass, meditating with her eyes closed.

An orange cat lay on the ground, intently gazing at a small jade mirror.

After years of patience, the orange cat was overwhelmed with emotion and joy as it waited for this moment, its tail wagging happily.

Suddenly, the door of the thatched hut was pushed open, and the graceful Daoist priest Bai Lian entered with a beautiful young girl.

The two beauties glanced at Master Jinlian first, then their attention was immediately drawn to the orange cat's wagging tail.

The orange cat's tail slowly stiffened and remained motionless for a long time.

The Golden Lotus Daoist's spirit floated out, appearing almost tangible, and stared at them expressionlessly:

"Remember to knock before entering a house; it's polite!"

Then, his expression softened slightly, and he asked:

"What's up."

Master Bailian pursed his lips, pretending not to see the orange cat.

"Qiu Chanyi has just returned from her travels, bringing back some intelligence."

"The Earth Sect's main altar is empty; those evil Daoists have moved somewhere."