The No.1 Undercover in the Immortal World-Chapter 467 - 457: The Layout

Dongfang Hongyue, while asleep, suddenly sensed a response from the mystic rune, which was something Yuxuan had given to the sect leaders of various sects to summon people to the Peach Blossom Secret Realm.

But now that Yuxuan was dead, who was the one summoning?

Dongfang Hongyue decided not to awaken, but instead followed the lead to attend a meeting.

That’s when she learned that Zhenren had inherited Yuxuan’s position as sect leader and had naturally taken control of the Peach Blossom Secret Realm.

This Peach Blossom Secret Realm was also a treasure of the Taiqing Daoist Temple, not a divine artifact, yet its effect was still coveted by many.

The number of attendees at this meeting in the Peach Blossom Secret Realm had dwindled.

Only three from the Demon Sect came, and from the Righteous Path, only Ji Ye and Baili Liuyun remained.

Funnily enough, Baili Liuyun, who was regarded as the weakest among the Seven Great Orthodox Schools, had survived.

And there was Ji Ye, who seemed to barely scrape by, appearing exceedingly weak, yet he too had lived on.

No one from Guanghan Palace came because the rune was still in Jiang Chenyu’s possession, but her cultivation level was damaged and she couldn’t respond to the summon and appear in the Peach Blossom Secret Realm.

The Yu Ling Sect and the Eight Tones Temple did not have representatives because their leaders, who were supposed to have the runes, had perished, leaving no successors to attend.

It was unclear whether Yuxuan was too busy to manage this or if it was intentional, but in any case, that was the scale of the meeting this time.

Several elders looked at the young and tender Zhenren, placing considerable pressure upon him.

The death of Yuxuan meant that the Taiqing Daoist Temple no longer had absolute control, and with the deaths of two Enlightened Realm Cultivators, Yuheng and Yuzhen, and Yuzhu, who was close to that realm, the power of the Taiqing Daoist Temple had been greatly reduced.

Now, the Taiqing Daoist Temple was even weaker than the Shenxiao Sect.

How the mighty have fallen; for nearly two thousand years the Taiqing Daoist Temple had been a leading force of the Righteous Path. Since the generation before Yuxuan, the prestige of the Taiqing Daoist Temple had peaked, breaking the old balance of power.

The Seven Righteous Sects had originally been divided into the lower three and the other four, but then it became the top three and the bottom three, with the Taiqing Daoist Temple standing aloof from them all.

And now, with the leadership passed to Zhenren, it had decayed so.

Although it wasn’t his fault, Zhenren still felt extremely frustrated.

However, after cultivating for so long, he was no stranger to reason.

The Taoist philosophy had always emphasized acting in accordance with circumstances, and even though Zhenren felt reluctant about the decline of the Taiqing Daoist Temple, he could only let nature take its course.

Fortunately, there was Zhao Lingyu, whose cultivation level was even lower than his, which provided some solace.

Zhenren’s gaze toward Zhao Lingyu was incredibly kind, like a poor student finding another amidst a crowd of top performers; only those in the same boat could comprehend such joy.

"Esteemed seniors, Daoist friend Lingyu, today I have called you together for two matters," said Zhenren, getting straight to the point.

"Firstly, my teacher passed away several hours ago."

This piece of news did not cause a shock among those present, as everyone there was no ordinary individual. They might not have had much knowledge about the Netherworld, but they were aware of some legends. Yuxuan had meddled with the Netherworld, and now Zhenren was in charge—the dots were easy to connect.

Still, having confirmation of such news stirred emotions, particularly among those with ambitions.

Zhang Biyu was now ecstatic.

No matter how much the Demon Sect developed, they could never surpass the mountain that was Yuxuan.

Yuxuan didn’t intervene in small skirmishes, but if the Demon Sect truly became strong enough to contend with other Orthodox Sects and push them to the ground, the Taiqing Daoist Temple would certainly step in.

If they couldn’t beat Yuxuan, they would have to admit their mistakes and not dare to overstep again.

When Huang Long and the head of Eight Tones Temple died, Zhang Biyu saw it as the best opportunity for the Demon Sect. The only one remaining in the Righteous Path to be wary of was the Shenxiao Sect, Ji Ye had already become her follower, and Baili Liuyun wasn’t worth mentioning.

But with Yuxuan keeping a firm hold on things and other powerful figures in the Taiqing Daoist Temple, Zhang Biyu had to bide her time.

However, in no time at all, Yuxuan was gone, leaving only Yuquan and Yuxiu to hold the Taiqing Daoist Temple together, both of whom were insufficient!

Yuquan was once defeated by Dongfang Hongyue’s subordinate, and Liu Ji against Yuxiu... it was likely an 80-20 split in Liu Ji’s favor.

In short, their power disparity was significant.

This year could be the Demon Sect’s best opportunity yet!

Zhang Biyu was already sharpening her knives, setting her sights on the world.

Zhenren was unaware that Zhang Biyu was eagerly plotting to topple the Taiqing Daoist Temple; he went on to the second matter.

"The Grassland People, led by the Snow Maiden, are attacking southward. Esteemed ones, the Central Plains are in decline. I hope you can set aside differences and unite against the common enemy. We have too many enemies now—the Grassland People, the Demon Race, and the Demon Tribe that may regroup and return. The Central Plains Human Race is in imminent danger, and the common people are in dire straits," he explained.

At this point, Zhang Biyu found herself conflicted again.

A golden opportunity conflicted with the current situation.

Zhang Biyu could only look to Dongfang Hongyue.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Just as Dongfang Hongyue was about to speak, she felt something was off.

Though it was her Divine Soul that had entered the Secret Realm, she wasn’t completely unaware of the outside world. On the contrary, in such times, the soul became even more sensitive.

Feeling a droplet of water, Dongfang Hongyue thought she was under attack, or perhaps Lin Yun was in danger. How could she care about the meeting at this moment?

Decide whatever you want; I don’t care.

"I must take my leave; I have matters to attend to," she said hurriedly.

After making her hasty excuse, Dongfang Hongyue slipped away.

Given the urgency, her attempt at politeness—saying goodbye—was already more than enough, or at least that’s how she saw it. But others took her abrupt departure as something to ponder.

Zhenren had expressed the hope for unity, and Dongfang Hongyue had left right after hearing it, clearly showing no intention of heeding Zhenren’s call.

Zhang Biyu pondered for a moment and couldn’t help lamenting, "Sister Hong Yue really has the guts, at least she’s still struggling with it now."

But on second thought, is this something they should be struggling with?

We are the Demon Sect!

The Demon Sect is the camp that has always been denounced as evil by the Righteous Path, the Demon Sect are the bad guys!

If that’s the case, why should we consider the well-being of the world’s people?

That should be the concern of the Righteous Path.

Of course, Zhang Biyu knew that Dongfang Hongyue didn’t really disregard the people; this was actually a game of strategy.

She wanted those of the Righteous Path to think that they were going to act in the true nature of the Demon Sect; to counter the foreign tribes, the Righteous Path would have no choice but to compromise with them.

That way, the Demon Sect could obtain huge benefits.

"I have matters to attend to as well, I’ll be leaving first."

Zhang Biyu gave Liu Ji a meaningful look.

Brother Ji, you know what I mean!

Zhenren’s face looked somewhat unsightly, yet he remained silent.

At that moment, Liu Ji spoke up.

"We can’t cooperate like before anymore."

Zhenren silently sighed, knowing the Demon Sect’s choice from the attitude of the other two Demon Lords.

"However, I will not stand by and watch foreign tribes trample our land."

Liu Ji made his stance clear, and Zhenren couldn’t help but light up with joy—it was like finding an unexpected path after a dead end.

However, the three Demon Lords of the Demon Sect had been supporting each other for so many years, so why had they suddenly split in their opinions this time?

Regardless, Liu Ji speaking up for justice at this time deeply moved Zhenren.

"The senior truly has a noble spirit."

Zhenren spared no compliments, and Zhao Lingyu couldn’t help but hold her head—this new Sect Leader of Taiqing Daoist Temple was a bit naive. He was the head of the Orthodox Sects, and although Taiqing Daoist Temple’s status was undoubtedly threatened, that also required time, authority wasn’t shaken in an instant.

As a result, Zhenren, as the Sect Leader of Taiqing Daoist Temple, praising a Demon Sect Leader as being of noble spirit, even if this meeting was confidential, those words were ultimately inappropriate.

Zhao Lingyu silently took note of this lesson; she would definitely not make such a mistake in the future.

All the Three Teachings of the Demonic Path had made their positions clear, now it was the turn of the Righteous Path.

Zhenren’s eyes were on Zhao Lingyu; although her power was the weakest, her status was the highest.

Zhao Lingyu said righteously, "Of course we are willing to put aside the dispute and unite against a common enemy. Our Shenxiao Sect has always taken it upon ourselves to protect the people. I will immediately return to convene an Elder Council to discuss the dispatch of troops to resist the Grassland and many other matters, fellow daoist can rest assured."

"On behalf of those suffering people, I thank you."

Zhenren was moved by Zhao Lingyu—this was the Righteous Path!

Devoted to the public interest, instead of scrambling for petty gains.

Baili Liuyun and Ji Ye’s faces darkened a bit. Today they were once again relegated to being mere backdrops, even outshone by a young girl.

But at this time, uniting was the overarching trend; whoever dared to speak against unity would become the public enemy.

However, not opposing doesn’t mean they would cooperate.

"We will also go back to discuss this matter and dispatch troops as soon as possible."

With that, the first Peach Blossom Secret Realm meeting hosted by Zhenren came to an end.

Zhenren felt pretty good, though his performance wasn’t great, his goal was more or less achieved.

When he awoke from the Secret Realm, he saw Yuquan guarding beside him.

"How did it go?" Yuquan asked.

"Apart from Red Lotus Demon Lord and Demon Venerable Bi Yu, everyone else agreed to unite against the enemy."

"Dongfang Hongyue refused?"

Yuquan was somewhat surprised; he thought Dongfang Hongyue would prioritize the bigger picture. Back at Mountain and River Pass, Dongfang Hongyue had performed quite well.

Unexpectedly...

Yuquan heaved a sigh.

With his senior brother gone, the true colors of those treacherous beings were revealed.

Well then.

"Since it’s come to this, let’s do whatever we can and leave the rest to Heavenly Mandate. I plan to go into seclusion for a while. If there’s anything, you can discuss it with the other Uncles or decide on your own. You’re the Sect Leader, and the future of Taiqing Daoist Temple is in your hands. Please take great care."

"Yes."

Zhenren felt the weighty responsibility on his shoulders—it was only now he realized that being a Sect Leader was not so easy. With great power came great responsibility.

He didn’t know if he could bear it.

And as for the united front against the foreign tribes, he was overly optimistic.

Of those present who made statements, aside from Liu Ji, none had truly made a decision. The people of the Orthodox Sects went back and started their meetings.

The difference was that following the Elder Council, the Shenxiao Sect decided to agree with Zhao Lingyu’s decision and send troops to fight.

Whereas the decisions made by Ji Ye and Baili Liuyun were to conserve their forces and wait for battle...