Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 223 - One Hundred and Seventy-Six: The Pond_3

Chapter 223: Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Six: The Pond_3

And the Fifth Elder’s words continued:

"But, you missed two powers in the discussion just now."

As he said this,

the Fifth Elder pointed to the dome above, hinting but not elaborating.

Though unspoken, everyone present knew what the Fifth Elder was referring to.

The Prime Minister’s Mansion, the Dayan Royal Family.

In the ensuing silence,

the Fifth Elder sighed, stood up, and faced the Sect Master with a solemn bow:

"Sect Master, Wenlin humbly requests that we immediately commence execution of the worst-case scenario plan...."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish speaking, a muffled thud sounded; dust billowed as the specially made palace floor cracked open wide.

Then,

the elder sitting at the foremost position on the left stood up:

"Xia Wenlin, we haven’t leaked any information, and without solid evidence, even the current emperor wouldn’t dare touch us."

The Sects are loose-knit, but an attempt to slaughter a sect based on baseless charges would provoke collective resistance.

If they did not resist, they could be the next targets themselves.

This, the Sects understood better than anyone.

At this point,

the elder stared intently at Xia Wenlin, who was still bowing:

"Lift your head, do you know what the worst-case scenario entails?"

The Fifth Elder slowly raised his eyes, his expression unchanging:

"Of course, I know."

The worst-case scenario meant inciting rebellion.

However, everyone knew the outcome of rebellion – death. After all, the example of the Xuanqing Sect was still fresh in their minds.

No one believed they could fare any better than the Xuanqing Sect.

All they could do was to abandon everything in the Dayan Territory and use the lives of outer disciples to delay time, transferring core disciples into the safety of the Wanxing Mountain Range as much as possible.

But the preparatory work for this kind of deed would cause a great disturbance; collecting supplies, mobilizing personnel, liquidating assets – such magnitude of actions could not be kept hidden from prying eyes.

In other words,

once started, there would be no turning back.

After a pause, the Fifth Elder’s voice remained calm:

"And, Great Elder, we do have a leak."

"What?" The Great Elder frowned.

"To this day, there’s been no news from Ji Wencheng and the other two."

"If it’s impossible, they will choose death."

"And if they fail to die?"

"....."

The Great Elder’s Origin Qi surged around him, pressing down so fiercely that the air seemed to warp:

"The three of them hold each other’s life threads. Should the situation turn dire, one thought from any of them could lead the other two to suicide. Even a Second Grade Primordial might not manage to save them all—do you mean to say a Mortal Transcendence expert just happened to be near Shengshan County?"

Unaffected, the Fifth Elder continued:

"There are far too many methods in this world. Enchantment, poison, illusions, special Dao Charms—all can achieve that end."

The Great Elder sighed, his tone softening somewhat:

"Little Five, the chances of what you suggest happening are so minute as to be uncountable. We can’t bet our future on such uncertainties."

The Fifth Elder clenched his fists slightly, looking at the Great Elder with an expression full of complexity:

"Great Elder, this isn’t about gambling. It’s too quiet....."

"What?" Confusion filled the Great Elder’s eyes.

At this juncture, the Fifth Elder’s body trembled ever so slightly from tension:

"Great Elder, have you ever fallen into the sea?"

"....." The Great Elder furrowed his brow.

The Fifth Elder smiled faintly, exhaling a sigh:

"Once as a child, out at sea, I fell overboard. It was dark all around, I couldn’t breathe, and all I could hear was the gurgling of the water...."

Saying this, the Fifth Elder sighed again, with a sense of helplessness:

"Now the sect guards under my command are like I was back then, having fallen into the sea, unable to hear a single useful sound,

"Only the gurgling, the gurgling of noise.

"I truly hope that this sea is really a sea and not a pond built by someone else for us."

"But it’s too quiet.

"No one has gone to Shengshan County to investigate, no one has come to Wanxiang City to investigate, and even... even not a single person has come to pay a visit to us, the Myriad Manifestation Sect, the most likely suspect...."

A silent pause.

Within the silence,

the Sect Master asked in a low voice:

"Why wasn’t this reported earlier?"

The Fifth Elder lifted his head slightly, looking at the dark vault above and letting out a long breath:

"Sect Master, conveying intelligence takes time, messengers need time to travel, verifying and summarizing information takes even more time."

As he spoke, the Fifth Elder raised a finger:

"However, after realizing this, I dispatched many more eagle riders to scout the vicinity of Wanxiang City. Do you know what I found out today?

"Some have returned, some haven’t.

"Sect Master.... the east of Wanxiang City has now become a restricted area."

The Fifth Elder withdrew his finger, his laughter carrying a tremble low in his throat:

"Really, it’s just too silent..."

As the words fell,

drifting clouds obscured the sunlight, and the great hall instantly became as silent and dark as the bottom of the sea.

No one voiced agreement, but likewise, no one contradicted Xia Wenlin’s suggestion any further.

Time was lost in the darkness,

and though the quiet endured, it was shattered by the cry of an eagle; soon after, a powerful voice resounded throughout the entire sect:

"Sect Master of Myriad Manifestation Sect, come out for a talk."