Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 655 - 655 654 Difficult to Dismount a Tiger

655: Chapter 654: Difficult to Dismount a Tiger 655: Chapter 654: Difficult to Dismount a Tiger Atop White Fungus Mountain, several Daoists were seated cross-legged.

A young Daoist occupied the leading position alone, while three others chatted leisurely on the mountainside, forming two circles.

In the cool pavilion on the mountainside, a young Daoist brewed water and divided tea, an old Daoist and a young one sat opposite each other in conversation, their expressions serious.

The elder was Gu Ximing, a senior Golden Core Daoist from South An, who was just one step away from Nascent Transformation.

Of course, this “one step” is merely a conceptual expression, as there are many Golden Core Cultivators at this realm, most of whom ultimately cannot take this final step.

The young Daoist was a Golden Core Elder from Wu Sect known as Elder Jin.

His youthful appearance did not reflect his age but was rather a result of the unique cultivation technique he practiced.

Elder Gu reiterated an old concern, “Elder Jin, resolving conflicts in this manner is futile.

What can it solve?

In a few years, everything will return to the way it was, without any change.

Moreover, it would only deepen the grudges held in the heart, leading to uncontrollable consequences.

“Shan Sect disciples are defeated, can they swallow such grievance?

They will inevitably cause trouble everywhere on the continent incessantly, entangling without end.”

Elder Jin held his forehead with a hand, “Elder Gu, this is the reasoning everyone understands, but who wants to initiate the first battle of a continental war?

Who wants to become the target of public criticism?

Having countless slanders splashed on you, there’s no avoiding it.

“Build high walls, accumulate provisions, plan before acting; mortal strategies work just as well in the Cultivation World.

Who then wants to be the first to stand out?

With a major upheavals imminent, everyone knows the saying ‘the gun shoots the bird that sticks its head out.’ Under the Heavenly Dao, those who emerge early may not reap benefits.

“Thus, even though we know such a solution is like quenching thirst with poison, we have no choice but to proceed; The Shan Sect, ruthless and belligerent as always, how could they tolerate such an unfair duel this time?

It was the same consideration, they didn’t want to escalate the situation.”

Elder Gu nodded, “In that case, what else is there to worry about?

It only benefits the Shan Sect, allowing them to use the death of one individual to appease the spirits of dozens of wrongfully deceased souls on White Fungus Mountain… Alas, such a pity for those cultivators, young and in their prime, yet dying tragically on White Fungus Mountain due to an unexpected calamity.”

Elder Jin shook his head and sighed, “Look at where they chose to start the fight; it just had to be on White Fungus Mountain.

On Anhe territory, it also puts us in a difficult position; to be exact, they didn’t really invade the Wu Sect, it was just a clash between cultivators from two families on a third party’s territory.

“Precisely Anhe is split into two, each side taking a stance, making this mess really hard to clear up cleanly.

“In our Daoist Sect, we always prioritize righteousness.

If our position is not solid morally, it’s easy to attract attacks from other forces…”

Elder Gu shook his head vehemently, “Anhe is weak and hard to restore, only allowing demons to run rampant.

It’s truly shameful; since it’s like this, why do I see that you still seem somewhat dejected and worried, Elder Jin?”

Elder Jin initially did not want to speak, but partly because he wanted to relieve his gloomy mood and partly because Elder Gu was one of his few close friends, he didn’t feel the need to hide things.

Seeing his troubled expression, Elder Gu, experienced and astute, said to his attendant disciple, “Qingshan, go to the town and prepare some dishes for us.”

After watching the disciple walk away, Elder Jin sighed, “Not to hide it from you, Elder Gu, this time Tang Yan’s coming to hunt the fierce beast has caused quite some controversy within our sect.”

“Oh?

That is also true.

Keeping in mind he’s not even a True Disciple, despite being esteemed as the Capital Commandant, isn’t it an overreach for Tang Yan to take action personally?

I initially thought the Wu Sect intended to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but it seems there’s more to it now?”

Elder Jin lifted his head, glancing at the imposing figure at the mountain peak, his voice tinged with bitterness,

“Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut is indeed not wrong, but what if that isn’t a nut but a man-eating tiger?”

Daoist Gu was somewhat surprised, “Brother Jin, do you mean to say…

but this Hou Niao is not even a True Inheritor, and to become a Daoist at merely a few decades old, I’ve heard that he hardly had any following in the Shan Sect, seemingly more adept at scheming, why do you think so highly of him?”

Daoist Jin gave a bitter smile, “They say that the one who knows a person best is not his friends or family, but his enemies, and this saying holds true.

This individual is quite sinister.

Even before entering the Dao, he had grievances with our Wu Sect, and over the decades, this animosity has intensified, frequently opposing our Wu Sect, thwarting our plans, extremely annoying.

We also attacked him in the dark when he just joined the Dao, but unexpectedly, this man’s life was tough, growing stronger the more he was beaten, climbing from a minor cultivator to the position of a capital commandant of a state.

Over these decades, disregarding the disciples from the three realms of Tongtian, just from my Wu Sect’s Golden Core Upper Cultivators alone, at least two have fallen at his hands; just a few months ago, Elder Hei set up an Illusion Realm in Fufeng City, intending to kill this nuisance, but ended up never returning…”

Daoist Gu listened, dumbfounded, “This…”

Daoist Jin’s expression turned solemn, “Exactly because of this, we find this person extremely troublesome.

He at least possesses the strength of a True Disciple of the Shan Sect, perhaps even one of the top contenders.

With such an opponent, whom should we send to deal with him?

After the incident at White Fungus Mountain, continuous disputes arose within our sect about this matter, fearing that ignoring it might damage our reputation, yet hesitant to directly target him because it’s hard to be certain, we can’t just let a Golden Core Elder step in under everyone’s watchful eyes, can we?

What’s worse is that, unbeknownst to us, my nephew Tang learned about this issue and has privately sent a challenge to Shan Sect…”

Daoist Gu felt somewhat at a loss.

This was the first time he had heard such internal details, but he also understood the seemingly unreasonable actions of Wu Sect were driven by helplessness.

“So it was Nephew Tang who made his own decisions.

Why didn’t anyone stop him?”

“It was too late!

The position of a Constellation True Inheritor is highly regarded in our Wu Sect, many Nascent Transformation ancestors hold him in high esteem, it’s just that his character is somewhat…

well, self-willed.

Once he has spoken, it’s difficult for the sect to retract his words, otherwise, it’s not just Nephew Tang’s dignity that is lost, but also that of our Wu Sect.

Thus, although Nephew Tang is very confident about this battle, his opponent is by no means a pushover and must be taken on with full effort.”

“Why must Nephew Tang insist on participating?

Doesn’t he know the importance of his status, that it cannot afford to be compromised?

Moreover, the status of both sides is not even comparable; if the Shan Sect loses, it’s just another ordinary cultivator gone, but Wu Sect cannot afford to lose…”

Despite his words, Daoist Jin merely shook his head and sighed.

In fact, the reason was not that complex; for any cultivator who took the prosperity of their sect as their duty, this was a hurdle they could not avoid.

The battle at White Fungus Mountain cost Wu Sect a dozen cultivators; can we just ignore that?

Because the opponent is formidable, should we hand this trouble over to a Golden Core or a Nascent Transformation ancestor?

If another true disciple of Wu Sect takes action, then the outcome is left to fate.

If we lose, wouldn’t we be out of options for a rematch, presenting the other cheek after getting slapped on one?

Understanding all this, it became clear that given Tang Yan’s status, he was indeed the most suitable candidate; being the True Elder Brother, with the sect’s honor at stake, if he does not stand up, who will?

Thus, everything simply happened naturally.