Chapter 1263: The Rise of the Holy Court
Up to this point, Qi Xuansu’s gains had been quite satisfactory. Setting aside the Shebishi Venom, the Xuan Jade, and the sarira, the progress he had made in investigating the Longevity Stone Heart alone was worth the trip.
Qi Xuansu did not wish to reach the pinnacle relying on the Longevity Stone Heart only to later fall into ruin because of it.
This journey to Lingshan was, in essence, Qi Xuansu leveraging one force against another—using the Heavenly Preceptor’s influence to counter the Earthly Preceptor’s power.
Though this also involved sidelining the Grand Master’s authority, the current situation differed greatly from the past. When the sixth-generation Grand Master ascended, the Three Deputy Grand Masters had just experienced the authoritarian era of the fifth-generation Grand Master. Thus, they shared significant consensus born from lingering caution. They cooperated closely, leaving the sixth-generation Grand Master with little opportunity to manipulate opposing forces against each other. But after decades of working together, many contradictions accumulated among the three Deputy Grand Masters. Cracks had formed on their shared ground, and their alliance was no longer unbreakable.
Moreover, the Three Deputy Grand Masters did not have much time left. As the sixth-generation disciples gradually ascended or passed away, the seventh-generation disciples would slowly forget the fifth-generation Grand Master. Many of them had never personally experienced such an authoritarian era, and the eighth-generation disciples even less so. Without deep personal memory or genuine fear, hearing only secondhand accounts from elders, they would naturally no longer remain excessively wary of centralized authority under the Grand Master.
Due to the combination of these factors, Qi Xuansu’s idea of achieving balance through leveraging opposing forces was still possible. The difficulty and resistance would be far less than during the era of the sixth-generation Grand Master.
Of course, even with reduced resistance, this did not mean it would be easy. The demands on individual capability remained extremely high.
Afterward, Qi Xuansu and Qi Jiaoyao retraced their steps out of the underground ruins and closed the Yin-Yang Gate, restoring Elder Yao’s painting to its original state by moving the image back from Wu Xian to Elder Yao. The formation shut down once again, returning to a dim stillness.
They then waited for the Blood Moon to fade before continuing their journey toward Lingshan.
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