Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 652 - 652 651 Nonsense Happy New Year's Eve

652: Chapter 651 Nonsense [Happy New Year’s Eve] 652: Chapter 651 Nonsense [Happy New Year’s Eve] Originally, the Wu Sect had already been very dissatisfied with the disruption of their Geng Ore supply channels.

The raid on their closely allied Central Army Mansion and the disturbance at White Fungus Mountain had thoroughly rattled the nerves of the Wu Sect’s higher-ups.

They had finally started to officially reassign personnel, which was then discovered by the spies placed by the Shan Sect.

This was why Li Chuping had hurried over.

Hou Niao was very curious, “Where have the Wu Sect cultivators gathered this time?”

Li Chuping felt very frustrated, “What, you know and then plan to launch another surprise attack?”

Hou Niao, as a matter of course, “Why not?

Let the disciples of the three realms of Tongtian handle it, the Golden Core Upper Cultivator and Capital Commandant take charge, and we cooperate once more, giving them a sweep in one stroke!”

Li Chuping spoke meaningfully, “Don’t worry, there will be opportunities.

I can’t say about others, but as for you, the instigator and chief culprit, you can’t escape this.”

Hou Niao didn’t mind; he knew why he had been stripped of his position.

It was an attitude deliberately displayed by the Shan Sect, meaning that we have already punished the person, so everyone should stop at this point.

Being without a position was even better, it was less of a worry for him, as his temperament was not suited for that meticulous paperwork; it was deathly boring.

After entering the city, Li Chuping was busy again with personnel adjustments and integrating strengths among the mansions; the Central Army Mansion was the easiest to handle, with all newcomers and veterans from the Situ Mansion, no worries needed.

The Sikong Mansion needed more work, with newcomers and veterans getting to know each other, striving to understand each other and get to work as quickly as possible.

The most troublesome was the Mu Shuai Mansion.

They needed to obtain authority and yet not agitate the sensitive nerves of the local Cultivation World, which required strategic handling; fortunately, Li Chuping was adept at these matters, and he got along very well with the old cultivators of the Ancient Langzhong Sect.

Li Chuping’s intrigue was none of his business; being out of office, he did not seek office.

In the Sikong Mansion, only those at the level of Judge and Assistant had the authority to mobilize certain secret forces, like the current Li Chuping, while others did not have such qualifications.

He was also happy with this arrangement, considering that the chances of staying in Pingliang State were slim, he began making frequent trips outside the city, almost daily, soaking up teachings at the secluded cultivation sites of several old cultivators from Langzhong, discussing the Great Dao and exchanging insights day after day.

It was in such an atmosphere that he began to recognize his shortcomings in the Five Elements Mysterious Light, realizing that if he wanted to achieve something, he likely couldn’t do it without the help of certain treasures.

Not the so-called Five Elements treasures of the Jinxiu Continent, but very specifically, the Five Elements Beads.

Among the Five Elements Beads, he had already encountered two; the Earth Spirit Pearl was acquired from the Winged People Clan of the Yaoguang Mountain Range, and the Water Spirit Pearl was discovered by the Water Clan.

It was with the help of these two spirit pearls that his understanding of the elements of water and earth helped him smoothly complete the Mysterious Light of both water and earth.

This process might also be achieved through a prolonged period of time, but he was not certain.

In his encounters with the spirit pearls of water and earth, there were too many profound elements, beyond what a cultivator could achieve on their own efforts, even possibly for a lifetime, not guaranteed to reach the ultimate realm in one of them.

The Five Elements Great Dao, vast and profound, is forever incomprehensible.

Because he felt that the content in these two beads was not limited to the Jinxiu Continent but was about the entire universe; it was easy to understand that beads falling from the sky held such miracles, but such recognition led to his confusion…

Should he claim the Five Elements Beads as his own?

If so, how should he go about it?

Swallow them whole?

That was a mortal’s idea.

For a cultivator, it’s more about a deep integration and understanding, a profound level of possession and merging.

He was personally unattached to external objects because he believed that the effects of relying on external objects were not as good as focusing on his own cultivation, but this was not absolute; there were always things beyond his understanding, and towards these, he would not adopt an aloof attitude.

If there must be a master for them, why not him?

The Five Elements Pearls belonged to the Jinxiu Continent and the universe—since he was also a part of the universe and the Jinxiu Continent, then they were also his…could this be understood this way?

This object and I are fated, Hou Niao had been convincing himself lately.

He couldn’t let his laughable moral scruples lead him to hand over treasures to others when giving them to himself was clearly better.

With such a mindset, his next objective became clear.

He needed to find an opportunity to visit the Yaoguang Mountain Range and the Snow River Dark River.

Even if he couldn’t yet acquire the two beads, he at least needed to deepen their mutual recognition.

It was like social interaction—knowing each other was fate, but getting closer required more contact and understanding.

This was a visible direction, but there were also unknowns—what about the other three beads?

Had they not yet fallen from Outer Space, or had they already fallen, but remained unknown to others?

To ultimately refine the Five Elements Mysterious Light and truly achieve the power of that great bird, the help of the Five Elements Beads was indispensable; furthermore, according to his main cultivation technique, this was also the most effective assistance.

Having confirmed the next direction for his cultivation, he felt very relaxed.

The greatest fear in cultivation was losing direction, losing goals.

Before coming to Pingliang State, he had experienced such confusion, but now he was finally free from it.

…A month later, under the leadership of Li Chuping, cultivators from the three mansions of Zhongqing City gathered for a large swearing-in ceremony—it was about bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, joining hands to progress, and ushering in a new era for Pingliang State, among other empty talks.

Everyone sat together, getting to know each other, becoming familiar with each other to facilitate future work, especially the three mansion masters.

Hou Niao sat in the crowd, closing his eyes in deep thought.

Though he lost his official title, his status remained.

In Zhongqing Mansion, no one dared ignore him when he spoke; his renowned fierceness was no joke.

Among the three mansion masters, Lan Zaitian got along very well with him during these days and greatly admired his potential with the Ming King’s Screen technique; Su Lingyun was obsequiously compliant in his presence, aware that he was just a puppet with the Emperor above him; Kou Cuo from the Central Army Mansion was his defeated subordinate, very wary of him.

“It’s a bit of burning bridges after crossing the river, killing the donkey once the grinding is done…”

Next to him, Li Shipeng was quite dissatisfied.

Throughout the process, he was among the very few who knew the details, and no one knew better than him whose effort sparked these changes in Pingliang —he viewed the higher-ups as unjust in their actions.

Hou Niao did not even open his eyes, “So, so-called positions mean nothing to people like us.

If you have the power, others won’t forget you.

Without power, there will always be a day when you are discarded.

Ups and downs are just a part of life, you get used to it.

Now that you don’t have a Flying Sword to use, just peacefully hold a minor position in the Capital Commandant’s office, and do not venture out to seek fights recklessly.

Understand what needs to be done during certain times…”

Li Shipeng exhaled, “Understood, I should just concentrate on practicing my sword.

As for Yin Yang Screen, I wonder if I’ll ever see the day.”

He was following the same path as Fang Yazi; for a Sword Cultivator, this path was tangible and within reach.

As for the Ming King’s Screen, with his limited understanding of Yin and Yang, he simply couldn’t master it—a fundamental flaw in the Great Dao.

The world had seen the appearance of the Five Elements Spiritual Pearls, but there were no Yin Yang Spirit Pearls.

Opportunity determined a cultivator’s direction.