Guarding the River of Time-Chapter 393 - 383: Ah Xiao, Listen to Me—Start Forming Your Fire Lotus Before You Leave, Then Throw It as Soon as We Arrive!
A silver-white ark appeared over the Zhongyuan Hall, hovering above the main hall.
On the deck of the ark stood a tall figure, with hands clasped behind his back, looking down at Xiao Huo on the ground.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Huo felt a bit numb. The central hub of Zhongyuan Hall was a forbidden area for flying, and yet his senior brother directly brought the ark here. But in the whole Zhongyuan Sect, only his senior brother would dare do such a thing.
"What are you standing there for?"
"Get up here!"
A voice came down from the deck, pulling Xiao Huo’s thoughts back to reality.
He leapt up and landed on the deck.
The man standing on the deck was dressed in a neat pine-blue long robe, tall and upright, with eyes like swords, exuding an aura of clarity and efficiency, his gaze always focused ahead.
This was the elder brother of the Zhongyuan Sect, also Xiao Huo’s senior brother, named... Lin Dong!
This Lin Dong, the senior brother, was once the Martial Ancestor of the Martial Realm. He later joined the Heaven Shepherd Alliance and was taken in by the master as a closed-door disciple, becoming the senior brother of the first Guiyuan Sect.
.....
Actually, Xiao Huo didn’t interact much with Senior Brother Lin Dong, because this senior brother was constantly out fighting battles on the front line, earning prestigious battle achievements and high esteem within the army.
He only heard from Second Senior Brother that this senior brother was very "reckless."
After seeing him today, there indeed was a reckless air; otherwise, how could he have directly flown the ark over the main hall? Fortunately, this ark was unique to the Guiyuan Sect; otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble they would have caused.
"Senior brother, what is this big matter you spoke of?"
Xiao Huo asked.
"Don’t ask so much now, just listen to your senior brother."
"Start gathering your Fire Lotus now."
Lin Dong steered the ark away from the Divine Domain.
Ah?
When hearing this, Xiao Huo was a bit stunned.
"You mean my Buddha’s Wrath Fire Lotus?"
Xiao Huo’s ultimate move involved fusing all the Anomalous Fires he had mastered into a single Fire Lotus, which was immensely powerful.
"What else would I let you gather?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Start preparing now so you can throw it when we arrive."
Lin Dong glanced sideways and said.
"Senior brother, you haven’t even told me what we’re doing?"
Xiao Huo was bewildered. Who starts with the big move right at the beginning of a meeting?
"Our targets this time are the three Lower-Rank Immortal Realms: Senyao Immortal Realm, Cyan Radiance Immortal Realm, and Mogu Immortal Realm."
"These three Immortal Realms are factions under the Celestial Peace Divine Realm. Our alliance has sent people to negotiate several times, but they stubbornly refuse to submit."
"And it’s not just that they won’t comply, they’ve actually killed the negotiators I sent multiple times. I think they’ve outgrown their place and seek their own end."
Lin Dong snorted coldly.
After hearing this, Xiao Huo roughly understood.
So this mission is about reclaiming the worlds under the Celestial Peace Divine Realm that have yet to submit.
After all, the Celestial Peace Divine Realm is a Divine Domain, ruling over many worlds. Some are wise enough to submit directly, while others are hard nuts, refusing to comply at all. The three Lower-Rank Immortal Realms mentioned by Brother Lin Dong are the stubborn ones.
"So, senior brother means to conquer them by force?"
Xiao Huo also grasped the intent of his senior brother this time.
"Of course. Did you think I brought you along just to play house?" Lin Dong replied with a curious glance at Xiao Huo.
"You, stop hanging around with your Second Senior Brother so much or you’ll catch his habits."
Lin Dong referred to the Second Senior Brother as Han Paopao.
Xiao Huo’s senior brother and second brother had completely different personalities: the senior brother was one to take action without fear, while the second brother would retreat at the first sign of trouble.
Xiao Huo, by comparison, was much more balanced. He wasn’t afraid to act, nor was he reckless.
"Senior brother’s advice is right." In response, Xiao Huo just chuckled, trying to please both sides without offending anyone.
When with the second brother, he was taught to be prudent and run at the first sign of trouble, holding onto the idea that as long as the mountain stands, there’s no fear of running out of firewood.
In contrast, with the senior brother, the lesson was to accept life and death lightly and act if provoked, claiming that revenge couldn’t wait even a day! Talk less, act more.
Stuck in the middle, what could Xiao Huo do?
He could only shrug; he had to learn from both sides and conform to both.
...
The ark swiftly traversed the void, heading towards the Senyao Immortal Realm.
Suddenly, Lin Dong remembered something and took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.
He handed it to Xiao Huo and said, "Ah Huo, read what’s on here to me."
Xiao Huo took the paper, realizing it was an internal letter from the Zhongyuan Sect. Upon opening it, he found the script was written by the master.
"Senior brother, haven’t you already read this?" Xiao Huo noticed how crumpled the paper was, indicating it had been read multiple times, so why was he being asked to read it again?
"Ahem, just read it, so you can also get familiar with the mission details for this operation." Lin Dong coughed lightly.
.....
[Now with Senyao, Cyan Radiance, Mogu, the three regions harbor minds of defiance. When we meet, greet them with courtesy, use persuasion skills, and don’t lose the style of our alliance, avoiding hostile disputes.
Remember, diplomatic efforts first. If they refuse multiple times, then use force to subdue them. Avoid unnecessary bloodshed and the devastation of creatures, using the right measures. Be aware.]
"Senior brother, I’ve finished reading it." Xiao Huo said slowly.
It seemed the master’s approach was the most prudent; what the alliance needed most now was "style." Avoiding brutal methods with diplomacy first, if it fails, then using force to subdue and reclaim without reckless slaughter or causing devastation to creatures.
"What a jumble, speak clearly." Lin Dong didn’t actually understand what it said.
"The master’s meaning is that when we go to the three Great Immortal Realms, we should first try to reclaim them with courtesy, avoiding talk about our alliance being violent and oppressive. If that method doesn’t work, then we use force to subdue them, but even then, we should be mindful not to cause unnecessary bloodshed or devastation to creatures."
Xiao Huo explained the contents of the letter in simple and straightforward terms.
Hearing this, Lin Dong nodded, indicating that he understood.
In truth, out of the whole jumble, he only focused on three words — "directly fight".
.....
"Alright, we’re almost there; you can start gathering your Fire Lotus now."
Lin Dong’s gaze was like a torch as he looked ahead.
"Ah?"
"Senior brother, still gather the Lotus?"
Weren’t we sticking to diplomacy first?
Did the senior brother really take it in?
"Forget it, too slow."
"I’ll do it myself."
Saying this, Lin Dong waved his hand, activating all the power arrays of the ark, rapidly increasing its speed dozens of times.
Whoosh—
The ark surged directly into the Senyao Immortal Realm, heading straight for the central region of the realm, where the highest ruling Imperial City of Senyao Immortal Realm was located.
