"Will they... believe it?"
Gu Changfeng found it hard to comprehend.
"Why wouldn’t they believe it."
Gu Jinlai said, "If they don’t believe me, they would need to send at least two Divinity Transformation Realm Great Cultivators and an elite army no less than ten thousand strong to surround and kill us, in order to maintain Purgatory Sect’s face. And if they do believe me... Two cities and a new Elder, how significant would that be to elevate Purgatory Sect’s prestige?"
As for the effects of this prestige...
When Purgatory Sect launches a massive invasion of Star State in the future, the forces within Star State would surrender upon seeing their approach.
Even if they don’t take control of Star State, the local forces would have to think thrice before opposing someone from Purgatory Sect.
Such implicit benefits are immeasurable.
"Besides, if I am not mistaken, Red Robed Elder Xue Wuqing will inevitably occupy Baihe City whilst Zhang Luu’s forces are drawn away. They can take the city, but it practically amounts to an isolated city at this point. They desperately need sufficient forces to assist in its defense, or else in no time at all, the Baihe City that they finally managed to conquer would be snatched back, and years of plotting would go down the drain."
Gu Jinlai said, "At this time, are they willing to give up the advantageous situation of Baihe City to go to war with me, or would they rather hold their noses and recognize that I, Gu Jinlai, am still an elder of Purgatory Sect, borrowing my presence to stabilize the situation in Baihe City and jointly resist the pressure from the State Governor Mansion and Meteor Star Guard?"
Gu Changfeng was stunned.
His own younger brother had calculated even this?
If he were the Purgatory Sect Master, even if he couldn’t wait to bring this traitor who toyed with Purgatory Sect to justice, for the sake of the bigger picture, he would have to put such thoughts on hold for the time being.
He would need to stabilize the situation in Baihe City first.
"Although it’s utterly preposterous, the cost of dealing with you, my brother, far exceeds the benefits they could gain. They... will have to believe it even if they don’t want to."
Gu Changfeng, along with the other members of the Gu family and Huang Yu, who had just pledged allegiance to the Gu family, all sucked in a breath of cold air at the same time.
Had he planned out the situation in Star State to such an extent!?
Immediately following, they couldn’t help but feel inwardly excited.
According to the Patriarch, Lingxiao City and Yuanhua City were almost within the Gu family’s grasp.
With these two cities as their foundation, and such a venerable elder planning for Star State, why wouldn’t the Gu family flourish?
"Should we just go ahead and take Linfeng City and Red Wind City, too?"
Gu Changfeng’s eyes sparkled: "We just defeated Linfeng City not long ago, and it won’t take much effort to attack it again now. Red Wind City is our Gu family’s stronghold. With a bit of planning, we can annex this city. By then, we will have occupied four cities and govern over six million subjects... These numbers... are no less significant than those backward Lower States."
Gu Jinlai shook his head: "Everything should be done according to one’s capabilities. Occupying Yuanhua and Lingxiao cities is already our limit. If we make a move against Linfeng City and Red Wind City, touching upon the Purgatory Sect’s domestic interests, Purgatory Sect will be enraged. They will likely invite Monarch Level Venerable Daoist Elders to retaliate with overwhelming might and deter everyone far and wide."
He was very clear about his current combat capabilities.
The Short Range Defense Cannon had successfully intercepted the Cold Feather Sword.
But the Cold Feather Sword’s speed was only six hundred meters per second, not even twice the speed of sound.
If it were a peak Divinity Transformation Cultivator wielding a mid-grade flying sword shooting forth at a kilometer per second...
Such a small and agile target might not be stopped by one cannon.
Furthermore, as he said, besides Divinity Transformation Cultivators, Purgatory Sect also had Primordial Spirit True Monarchs.
If the flying sword of a Primordial Spirit Cultivator is likened to a short-range cruise missile, then a Primordial Spirit True Monarch capable of sword flight would undoubtedly be akin to an advanced fighter jet armed with supersonic cruise capabilities.
He had only one Short Range Defense Cannon, which could only be activated by True Spirit Possession. What could he use to block them if such powerful foes arrived?
In the end, his knowledge was too limited; common weapons like gunpowder and Gatling guns were simpler, as the information existed in his mind and could be searched out with Qingguang for use, and any flaws could be compensated for with Co-spirit.
But for high-end equipment like the Short Range Defense Cannon...
He was completely lost, wholly reliant on True Spirit Possession for activation.
Wanting to achieve Transformation through Visualization and Co-spirit Technique would require quite some time.
"Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, eh."
Gu Jinlai’s words quickly cooled down Gu Changfeng.
Commanding the void, regarding thousands of troops as if nothing.
This is Daqian’s real strategic-level force.
"Little brother, can you possibly refine a Spiritual Artifact that can counter a Monarch?"
"A Spiritual Artifact that can contend with a Primordial Spirit True Monarch?"
Gu Jinlai shook his head.
To stand against a Primordial Spirit True Monarch, one would need a ground-to-air missile defense system, right?
Such a weapon could only defend.
To fight a Monarch in the Void head-on, one would at least need a fourth-generation fighter jet.
But such things are far too distant from ordinary people. Even after exhausting all information in his mind, he couldn’t complete the Visualization to achieve Co-spirit.
"I lament not having read enough books back then... If I had a complete set of blueprints for a fourth-generation fighter jet to aid my Visualization, in just a few years, I could Co-spirit eight or ten fighter jets. By then, what would I have to fear even in a direct confrontation with Purgatory Sect?"
Gu Jinlai was filled with regret.
If he could do it all over again...
He would definitely study hard.
Knowledge changes fate, after all.
Although Gu Jinlai’s reaction was somewhat disappointing to Gu Changfeng, it was also expected.
If a Primordial Spirit True Monarch was that easy to deal with, Daqian wouldn’t use this combat power as a benchmark to measure the difference between top powers, first-rate powers, and large-scale powers.
At this moment, Gu Changfeng seemed to think of something and suddenly said, "Second brother, when we swept through Linfeng City, we found this item in the Lin Family."
He took a jade box from his person, "Please look."
Gu Jinlai opened the box, inside were four elixirs.
And just by smelling the elixir, Gu Jinlai felt that his spiritual nature had become much more active.
"Primordial Spirit Pill?"
Gu Changfeng said, "Although I do not know why a family without a Heavenly Master stationed in it like the Lin Family would have a treasure like the Primordial Spirit Pill, I believe it will be of help to you, second brother."
"Of course, it’s effective."
The Primordial Spirit Pill is different from the Spirit Nourishment Pill; it belongs to a type of recovery elixir.
It can quickly restore the Spiritual Sense expended by a Heavenly Master.
A hundred years ago, when the Heavenly Master Path was glorious and brilliant, such an elixir was valuable, not much less than the Nourishing God Pill.
But now, with the inheritance of the Heavenly Master Path nearly severed, the value of the Primordial Spirit Pill has plummeted.
Although it hasn’t fallen to the level of Qi Refining Pills, it isn’t far off either.
Afterwards, Gu Jinlai and Gu Changfeng connected further, handing over Yuanhua City to them.
And he, along with Gu Chifeng, Gu Luochen, Gu Qingmei, including his disciple Gu Xiangyang, returned together to Lingxiao City.
Lingxiao City was now left with only one Gang Condensation, Gu Chaoyang, and a few thousand new recruits who had trained for only a few months; he couldn’t afford to be away for too long, lest the city succumb to upheaval.
Not long after he returned to Lingxiao City, Purgatory Sect indeed initiated another response plan against the matter of Gu Jinlai.
Compared to the last time he killed Yang Kan, when all the Hall Masters and Deputy Sect Masters were unanimously indignant and wanted to cleanse him from the sect, this time, the meeting room was quite quiet.
Everyone was silent, looking at the information in their hands.
"Has Sect Master Lin not rushed back?"
Sect Leader Lu Dengxian, who presided over the meeting, said.
"Reporting to Sect Leader, Linfeng City was... was attacked by thieves. Sect Master Lin, overwhelmed by anger, is currently recuperating and has yet to return to the sect."
Elder Yuan Xizhi from Dongzhen Hall replied with his hands clasped.
Without the main character, Lu Dengxian had to turn to Huo Changqing, "How many elders are currently on duty in the Elder Hall?"
"Since Elder Qin Kaitai of Qin has gone to Baihe City for reinforcement, there are two elders in the Elder Hall maintaining peak combat strength, and three others who barely possess Refining God combat power."
"Those three probably only count as two... Plus the two sitting elders, a total of four Refining God..."
Lu Dengxian sighed, "It’s not enough."
He then turned his gaze to everyone, "What do you all think should be done about this matter?"
"Could we ask the elders to come out of retirement again?"
"Our Purgatory Sect can only dispatch two elders, other elders all have important matters and cannot be easily moved. Elder Shi Chen is suffering from a Divine Soul concussion, and we now only have one elder left who can take action."
Having said this, Lu Dengxian did not continue.
An elder to confront Gu Jinlai...
Would the outcome be any different from Elder Shi Chen?
Huo Changqing was about to say something when Deputy Sect Master Qin Li suddenly said, "Is there a possibility that Elder Gu has always been on our side in Purgatory Sect, but there are people within our sect causing trouble, spreading lies and deceptions, and forcing Elder Gu reluctantly to take some... slightly excessive actions?"
Lu Dengxian’s gaze fell on Qin Li, "What do you mean?"
"Not long ago, Elder Gu received the order from the Sect Leader, was promoted to Golden Robed Elder, and returned to our Purgatory Sect. Under such circumstances, I can’t think of why he would suddenly inflict a deadly attack on Elder Yang."
Qin Li spoke clearly, "Although the informant from Wutong County claimed with certainty that Elder Yang died at the hands of Elder Gu, they only heard someone shouting that the killer of Elder Yang was Elder Gu; they did not see it with their own eyes. So, is it possible that the one shouting was actually someone with ulterior motives, slandering! The purpose of which is to persuade us to purge Elder Gu from our ranks!"
As he spoke, his thought process seemed to clarify, and he emphatically said, "Otherwise, we can’t explain why, after supposedly having killed Elder Yang, Elder Gu would still go on to kill Su Tong, kill Yan Xuejian, and provoke a massive retaliation from the Meteor Star Guard and the Heavenly Gang Sect."
The Hall Masters exchanged glances.
Their deaths in Lingxiao City.
Lu Dengxian’s expression barely changed as he said, "Continue."
"In my hands, I have a letter written by Elder Gu, detailing the course of events. Elder Gu claims that it was actually Yan Xuejian who killed Yang Kan, not him, and that he was avenging Elder Yang’s death. If what this letter says is true, all of it is a conspiracy! A despicably vile setup!"
Qin Li said confidently, "Elder Gu is not only innocent, but he has also made great contributions to the sect, contributions to our Purgatory Sect."