"Senior Brother, with both you and Martial Uncle in seclusion for so long, the sect has been left in my hands. I feel like I'm treading on thin ice, terrified of leading Falling Star Valley into ruin."
"It's better to be cautious right now. Whether it's foreign cultivators disguising themselves as humans to infiltrate Falling Star Valley, or them bribing human cultivators to mix in, any mistake could bring annihilation upon our sect."
The white-robed elder nodded. Having been summoned from his seclusion for this matter, how could he not understand the gravity of the situation?
"Junior Brother, it has been hard on you. According to Martial Uncle's arrangement, I am not supposed to appear. I am, after all, a hidden trump card. By the way, are you certain that the Cangyu Sect has allied with the other three foreign clans? Is your information reliable?"
"It's mostly true. Although it can't be fully confirmed, these four sects have already ambushed and killed our disciples several times in secret. I've even heard that the disciples they kill might be secretly traded to the Black Demon Clan in exchange for cultivation resources."
As the middle-aged man in the green robe spoke of this, fury surfaced on his face.
"Oh? They're even colluding with the Black Demon Clan in secret? If we could get evidence of that, we wouldn't even need to act ourselves. We'd just have to inform the Sacred Demon Palace. The Sacred Demon Palace must still care about its reputation, after all."
Although the white-robed elder was also extremely enraged, his expression remained much calmer than that of the green-robed man.
"Of course, I understand that, Junior Brother. I have already gone out in secret a few times, but the other side has Golden Core masters keeping an eye on us. It's very difficult for my movements to escape their notice. Besides, the news that the four sects have secretly leaked is that they covet our sect's Shattered Star Fire Jade Vein. This falls under the category of seizing cultivation resources, which is a common occurrence in the cultivation world. It's not easy for the Sacred Demon Palace to intervene. That's why I called you out, Senior Brother, to see if you have any good strategies."
The green-robed middle-aged man spoke, his face etched with worry. Hearing this, the white-robed elder fell silent. Only after a long while did he speak.
"For you to go out alone, Junior Brother, was somewhat reckless. The enemy has many Golden Core masters. If you had fallen into a trap, your chances of survival would have been nonexistent. Before you do something like this in the future, you must inform Martial Uncle and me. Besides, you were only investigating within a five-thousand-li radius of Falling Star Valley, so you should have had a certain degree of safety. Even if Martial Uncle lacks the ability to teleport, after so many years of deployment, we have secretly arranged for small-scale teleportation formations in several of our direct subordinate sects and families in four directions, at great cost. You only needed to send a warning, and we could have arrived within two to three breaths. With your cultivation, unless a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator acted, it would be very difficult to kill you in such a short time. What's more, for several enemy Golden Core cultivators to sneak within five thousand li of Falling Star Valley without alerting the three of us... I feel that is nearly impossible to achieve. Therefore, they likely only dared to probe you with their Divine Sense from a distance."
"Right now, it's best that neither I nor Martial Uncle show our faces. Firstly, those four sects have a total of seven Golden Core cultivators combined. I have only just advanced to the late-stage Golden Core, and while Martial Uncle is a veteran late-stage Golden Core cultivator on the verge of breaking through to the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm, this alliance of foreign clans you mentioned should have three late-stage Golden Core cultivators. We are simply no match for them. The fact that they haven't made a move yet, despite their superior strength, is actually related to the Sacred Demon Palace. The relationship between our Human Clan and the Sacred Demon Palace has always been delicate. Although I've heard that many elders within the Sacred Demon Palace have grown hostile towards the Human Clan, it hasn't been brought out into the open. As it stands now, as long as the Sacred Demon Palace hasn't clarified its stance, it still serves as a crucial deterrent. These foreign clans are still apprehensive and don't dare to strike immediately. This buys us some time. I need two to three years to consolidate my realm. Once Martial Uncle successfully breaks through to Pseudo-Nascent Soul, what does it matter if they have three late-stage Golden Core cultivators?"
The white-robed elder spoke slowly, a sense of helplessness in his heart. He had rarely shown his face precisely because he was a hidden trump card. After long years of seclusion, he had only recently entered the late-stage Golden Core. His Martial Uncle, on the other hand, did not hide his cultivation, serving as a direct deterrent to the outside world. Otherwise, if they concealed their strength further, a sect with only one mid-stage Golden Core cultivator would not be able to curb the greed of their enemies.
Then, the white-robed elder continued.
"However, this means you will have to bear more pressure for a while longer, Junior Brother, to buy us some more time. Martial Uncle has remained in seclusion, and the outside world has been speculating about his true strength, which is why they have been hesitant to act. Once my realm is consolidated, even if Martial Uncle hasn't advanced, I can self-detonate my Golden Core and should have no problem heavily injuring one or two of their late-stage cultivators. It might even be possible to drag one of them down with me. At that time, with Martial Uncle's strength, he can completely crush their last remaining late-stage Golden Core expert. Let's see who still dares to covet Falling Star Valley then, hehehe!!"
As the white-robed elder finished speaking, a chilling, strange laugh escaped him, and the coldness on his face became extremely dense.
Hearing this, a sense of sorrow arose in the green-robed middle-aged man's heart. Was Falling Star Valley, left behind by their ancestor, going to fall and disappear at their hands? He then recalled their earlier topic and changed the subject.
"Senior Brother, we haven't reached that point yet. There's still great hope for Martial Uncle to advance to the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm. By the way, Senior Brother, do you know the exact relationship between the Sacred Demon Palace and our Human Clan? In the past, they were quite protective of us. When I asked Master back then, he never told me. As the eldest senior brother, I imagine Master must have revealed something to you. I wonder if you could clarify a thing or two, so I can have a better understanding of the situation."
The white-robed elder stared silently at the green-robed man for a long moment. Under the green-robed man's somewhat sheepish expression, he finally spoke.
"You have asked me about this before, and you bring it up again today. You still don't believe my words, Senior Brother. I truly do not know about this matter. However, now that you are in charge of the sect, I will tell you what I know and what I've speculated. What I'm about to say must not be heard by a sixth ear. This is without Martial Uncle's permission, and I don't know if he will be angered by it, but I will explain it to him. If anyone else learns of this, not even I can protect you. I will say it again: I am only telling you what I know because you are now the Sect Master."
A rare seriousness appeared on the white-robed elder's face, making the green-robed man feel ashamed. He truly had been skeptical of what his senior brother had told him in the past.
As the white-robed elder spoke, he waved his sleeve again, and a sound-insulating restriction enveloped the two of them. Even though a grand formation was already operating outside this Cave Residence, he was still not at ease.
"When I was by Master's side back then, on one occasion, while listening to them discuss the Dao, I happened to hear Master and Martial Uncle say something cryptically. 'The appearance of the Black Demon Clan is not entirely a bad thing; at least the White Demon Clan's care for the Human Clan is thanks to them!' To this day, I still haven't figured out what that sentence means. I can only guess that the White Demon Clan treats the Human Clan differently, and it might have something to do with the Black Demon Clan."
"Oh? It's related to the Black Demon Clan? That is strange. The Black Demon Clan and the Human Clan are hardly on friendly terms."
The green-robed middle-aged man committed this sentence to memory. But the white-robed elder didn't want to dwell on the matter, or perhaps he knew very little himself. If he were to voice his other speculations, it might influence the green-robed man's judgment. As the master of a sect, one wrong judgment could easily doom the entire sect.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. You just need to know that before the Sacred Demon Palace makes its stance clear, the other foreign clans should still be in a probing phase. So, we still have some time. Let's just observe the situation for now. On the other hand, order the disciples to go out alone as little as possible."
The white-robed elder returned to the previous topic.
The green-robed middle-aged man could only nod helplessly.
"Senior Brother, we still need to expand the recruitment of disciples. Even if they are human rogue cultivators, they can be used as pawns. I plan to select a few of the most core elite disciples from the valley. If the worst happens to Falling Star Valley, then we will use the full power of the sect to send them out. We absolutely cannot let the legacy of Falling Star Valley be broken. Otherwise, even if we all perish, we will have no face to see the founding ancestor."
"Mm, what you say is very true, Junior Brother. Relying on the current disciples in the sect is not enough. Moreover, once a great war begins, who knows how many disciples will perish before the worst outcome occurs. We can just treat them as more pawns. However, for a Heaven Spirit Root disciple to appear this time, it seems that those vassal sects and families are also feeling the crisis. They no longer dare to keep their geniuses within their clans and want them to mature as quickly as possible. Heh heh... it's just that, all disciples recruited now will need to be secretly investigated more thoroughly."
"Hehe, Senior Brother, please rest assured on this point. Right now, it's the cultivators sent by the various surrounding vassal sects and families. Regardless of whether they are of direct bloodline or strongly guaranteed, I will make it difficult for them to access the true core cultivation methods of Falling Star Valley within three years. Only those who are completely trusted will be taught and given access to some of the valley's core resources. As for the others, depending on their performance, we can gradually open up parts of the cultivation methods. After all, even pawns need to be given some benefits to make them work to the death. Even that Heaven Spirit Root girl from the Feng family, I will send a voice transmission to Zhu Quanjing and the others later to have them take her as a disciple themselves, instead of having her directly enter the ranks of the core disciples. Those with exceptional talent, or those with overly ordinary aptitude, need to be paid more attention to at this time. In addition, I will not let go of those who are suspicious. I will secretly plant restrictions on them. If a great war truly begins, these people will be nothing more than batches of puppets. Even if they came to join us sincerely, they can only blame their own bad luck."
The green-robed middle-aged man said, his face revealing a grim expression.
At this moment, Li Yan and the other five, who were walking into the valley, had no idea that a decision made by two people in the deep valley behind them had already sealed their futures. They, and many other new disciples, had become pawns that could be discarded at will, or even puppets with empty shells.
Li Yan would also not know that some of the confusing information he had uncovered had already been answered in the conversation between the two in the deep valley behind him. For example: a second-rate sect that relied on alchemy and artifact refining should have cultivation resources far beyond that of an ordinary second-rate sect, often comparable to the wealth of a first-rate immortal sect. So why did Falling Star Valley seem so poor? Also, in his eyes, the Sect Master of Falling Star Valley and the Great Elder should be cultivators of the same generation, martial brothers from the same master...
Li Yan's group followed Feng Qiyuan, moving quickly towards the depths of the valley. A narrow stone-paved path, wide enough for only four people to walk side by side, snaked through the valley. After winding around a patch of forest, they came upon a densely shaded mountain path. The shaded path followed a stream, disappearing into the farther reaches of the valley.
They walked for about a quarter of an hour. Although they were all young boys and girls, they were cultivators. With light steps, the path beneath their feet rapidly receded behind them. From time to time, Li Yan and the others passed through a patch of forest, a relatively flat grassy area, or a stretch of shaded path. The scenery was quite beautiful, making a few of the youths feel quite joyful, as if they were on a spring outing.
After walking for fifteen or sixteen li, Feng Qiyuan finally stopped on a hillside covered in wildflowers of various colors.