Unexpectedly, the firsthand information came from the enemy, whom we had originally anticipated.
Chen Qing listened to Wang Shiyu's patient narration, a strange feeling lingered in her heart, but she gradually came to understand the situation.
Just a month ago, the situation here was one of stalemate and tug-of-war. Wang Shiyu of the Divine Martial Guild, with his first-mover advantage and strategy, spread the Nether Moon Sect throughout the common people. In the imperial court, one-third of the aristocratic families also chose the Bright Moon Sect, and it even infiltrated the palace, making it a formidable force.
Tianhua Guild is the number one guild with a profound foundation. Its cultivation techniques at each stage are almost all top-notch. With its repeatedly improved Radiant Sun Technique, Tianhua Guild has the largest share of power in the Heavenly Python Palace and can more easily win over the mortal world. Previously, it effortlessly took over three extremely important checkpoint cities in the Northern Wasteland.
Although they arrived in Northern Wolf City the latest, they managed to gain a group of supporters in just over ten days, thanks to their previous prestige and the advantage of their martial arts techniques. These supporters reportedly included established families such as the Murong and Beiyu clans.
Finally, there's Myriad Void. In this Samsara, they've focused their investments on bloodline families, starting their strategy tens of thousands of years ago when the first batch of guild members revived. Coupled with their unique method of physical compression, they've gained followers not only in the Northern Wasteland but also in many bloodline families in the Central Plains.
However, the classification was relatively simple, focusing on the martial arts techniques of military families, which meant that even though they arrived the earliest, they still couldn't fully control the situation.
With the addition of the three families Ziyue's unexpected arrival, the situation was undeniably chaotic.
However, no major conflict has broken out, because everyone knows that if Transcendent powers are used too much, it will cause a terrible monster to appear here. They had already experienced this two Samsara ago, so they all exercised restraint.
Until a fourth force enters the scene.
"Is that snake outside from the Fourth Guild?" Chen Qing asked curiously.
"Yes," Wang Shiyu nodded. "All the major guilds have infiltrated the Heavenly Python Palace. They can command the Earth Mother and some Heavenly Python to do things, but each player can only pretend to be a junior. In reality, the number of high-level demon species they can control is limited. The Poison Mother is extremely rare and is highly ostracized. When we got close, we all thought it was a bloodline demon that the Heavenly Python Palace had recruited."
Chen Qing nodded slightly. The members of the Heavenly Python Palace have always been in disarray. Unlike the Dragon Palace, this organization is not systematic. Instead, it is an Alliance temporarily formed by a group of ascended giant pythons. Therefore, the members are chaotic and include various factions.
In each Samsara, the Heavenly Python Palace tries its best to recruit powerful Heavenly Python to participate in the struggle for power in the world. Anyone who responds becomes a member of the Heavenly Python Palace, and the allocation is extremely simple: the stronger one is, the higher the position and the more resources one receives. It is simple and brutal, making it the purest form of power organization.
Such an organization is naturally easy for players to infiltrate if they wish.
However, the growth potential of the Heavenly Python is limited, and high-level players are generally unwilling to take this path. Most of them are external members of the guild or some low-ranking internal members who have no choice but to do so in order to open up the situation in the north. It is extremely rare for core members like the Black Queen of the Fourth Guild to directly reincarnate as Heavenly Python.
The Poison Mother was even less likely; it grew slowly, and its venomous body restricted its movement, making it an option ruled out by almost all players. Therefore, when this thing appeared on the outskirts of Northern Wolf City, players from various factions did not assume it was a player from any guild, but rather a lone demon NPC.
Therefore, after receiving a remote warning not to approach, they didn't take it very seriously.
"I see." Chen Qing roughly guessed what was going on after hearing this.
That Poison Mother outside must have been won over by someone. Poison Mother rarely cooperate with players, but that doesn't mean they won't. Clearly, these veteran players relied too much on their past experience, so they got tricked.
"You didn't anticipate the external blockade relying on the Poison Mother, but what about the internal ones?" Chen Qing asked, puzzled.
The external Poison Mother failed to attract much attention, but how did the internal fish become infected?
Logically speaking, 99% of the Transcendent power in Northern Wolf City is under the control of the three major guilds. Everyone knows that excessive collisions of Transcendent will attract something, so they are all very restrained. Small-scale collisions have no effect, so how did they attract that monster?
Chen Qing knew very well that for that thing to appear, there had to be too many Transcendent powers within a certain range, and moreover, too many Spirit Ghost whose powers did not conform to the version were attacking each other at the same time.
Demons won't do; it must be a human or a player.
This is why many players are hesitant to use too much power at the beginning.
"The internal affairs depend on your subordinates," the woman from the Myriad Void Guild said coldly to Chen Qing.
"My men, you know." Chen Qing frowned.
He had actually considered this point. It seemed only one person could cause everyone to lose their minds, engage in widespread attacks, and show no symptoms whatsoever. But why?
Ziyue was also one of the designers; she should have known what this would bring about.
"Your subordinate reached an agreement with the Black Queen of the Fourth Guild," Wang Shiyu said calmly. "She used that Transcendent Thousand-Faced Fox to alter the memories of most of the family heads. That day, quite suddenly, the Poison Mother surrounded the city, while fierce clashes erupted inside. Before we could even react, the Spirit Ghost appeared!"
"If that's the case, why are you still cooperating with me?" Chen Qing laughed. "Aren't you afraid I might also be a member of that Fourth Guild?"
"Based on my impression of you, you shouldn't be like that." Wang Shiyu shook his head. " The Fourth Guild is best at the human realm route and has already taken control of the Great Jin Dynasty. If they possessed your Divine Path Style system, wouldn't they be invincible? Why would they need to create an independent Jiangnan?"
Chen Qing did not refute this. For an emperor to possess the Divine Path Style before the second version even arrived was indeed invincible.
"We judge that your cooperation is temporary, and it's truly a desperate move," Wang Shiyu said in a deep voice. "He has completely seized control of the human realm's fortune, and the North is practically the only remaining opportunity for the guilds. Therefore, the competition is bound to be fierce. I've been on guard against what the Black Queen might do. After all, she has a certain foundation in the Heavenly Python Palace, so how could she possibly relinquish the resources in the North? But I never expected her to pull such a stunt!"
Chen Qing's face twitched upon hearing this. It was indeed ruthless. That woman intended to solve the problem once and for all, directly using the Northern Wolf City incident to eliminate most of the guild leaders for this version. Once there was a break in the chain, they would basically win this Samsara!
My initial wariness was indeed correct; that woman is ruthless.
But even such a ruthless person fell from grace.
"How did you manage to witness her being killed?" Chen Qing asked the final question.
"It's all thanks to Ziyue." Wang Shiyu shook his head and smiled bitterly. "They must have signed a spell to prevent each other from harming one another, so their cooperation was incredibly audacious. Ziyue somehow gained control of the royal family, along with all the heads of aristocratic families, as well as princes and ministers. Suddenly, during a court assembly, she announced that Northern Yan had submitted to Jiangnan. Before we could even react, this Yin-Yang Road had turned into the Underworld!"
"And then something even more outrageous happened: your Divine Path Style Underworld pushed out the Yin-Yang Road and Yang, yet there was one thing that it actually managed to force its way into the mortal realm!"
"I see." Chen Qing now understood; so that's how King Xiang Palace appeared in the mortal realm.
Ziyue is truly a genius. She wants to lock King Xiang Palace in the mortal realm. After all, the resources of this palace are no less than those of the Four Seas Dragon Palace. Once she can take it over, the strategic resources of the two major forces in the second version will be in her hands, and the victory will be more than half secured!
Chen Qing was beginning to understand what was going on.
"Of course we will not allow such a thing to happen. I have shrouded King Xiang Palace in Black Lantern and summoned all believers inside. One reason is to prevent the Poison Mother outside from poisoning us at will, and the other is to stop you two from dividing up the wealth of the King Xiang Palace."
"But to everyone's surprise, the cunning Black Queen was actually defeated by an NPC!"
"That one from the Xiao Household," Chen Qing stroked his chin in confusion, "Does she have the ability to kill him? Unless... King Xiang?"
"You're right," Wang Shiyu said grimly, "He turned King Xiang against him!"