Chapter 1476: Change the World, Rebuild the Order

The losses were catastrophic.

Simply maintaining the existence of those hidden agents had required an astronomical amount of financial support every year.

More importantly, this loss could not be measured in money at all.

Every person in that network had been carefully selected and cultivated. Time and effort had gone into developing each one. They had never been recruited blindly.

If you casually planted someone who could be seen through at a glance, everyone would guard against him. What use would he be as a secret agent?

This was a network the Nine Saints had gradually built over several hundred years.

It was not something that could simply be replaced.

Most fatal of all, losing surveillance over the powers beneath Heaven meant losing the ability to restrain those powers.

And this had happened at the worst possible moment, when conspirators were already plotting rebellion.

Du Wuxu spoke first. “What the hell is Yuan Se doing?”

What Dayuan Sacred Land had done was almost impossible to believe.

No one could see how any of this could possibly benefit Yuan Se.

The various factions had always taken turns controlling Misty Pavilion precisely because everyone believed that no matter which side held command, no faction would ever do something that damaged its own fundamental interests.

Granny Xue gave a dry chuckle. “Yuan Se suddenly lost contact. That was already suspicious.”

“Looking at things now, Yuan Se has probably become a second Lü Wushuang.”

“Something must have happened to him.”

“Otherwise, why would he destroy his own foundation?”

One gaze after another turned toward Luo Qiu.

Lan Daolin said darkly, “Luo Qiu, tell us the truth. What exactly did you do to Yuan Se?”

Luo Qiu stared back coldly. “I already told you.”

“I did nothing to him.”

“I didn’t even harm a hair on his body.”

The others were only half convinced.

Logically, Luo Qiu truly should not have been able to do much to Yuan Se. If he had, matters would not have waited until now to surface.

Yet Yuan Se really had disappeared after fighting Luo Qiu.

According to their intelligence, he had lost contact precisely after pursuing Luo Qiu.

Whether Luo Qiu’s words were true or false, if he refused to admit anything there was little anyone could do.

No one possessed proof.

Luo Qiu looked around at them. “You should stop staring at me as well.”

“Do none of you understand what the most urgent problem is now?”

He genuinely did not want their attention fixed on him.

Because of Yuan Se’s affair, Luo Qiu had already hidden his daughter Luo Fangfei.

He had no choice.

Otherwise, these people would certainly keep thinking about how to pry open Luo Fangfei’s mouth and discover why Yuan Se had abducted her.

And now they had an even better excuse to do so.

The others exchanged glances.

He was right.

Things had already reached this point.

Whatever had happened to Yuan Se, he had already destroyed this foundation.

Continuing to investigate what had happened to him had no practical meaning.

The problem before them was indeed the most important one.

Lan Daolin said, “Judging from the information obtained from the various sects, they believe they were eliminating remnants belonging to Zhangsun Mi and the others.”

“The present situation requires us to stabilize people’s hearts.”

“We might as well go along with that explanation.”

Wu Chang coldly cut in. “Go along with it?”

“You think it can still be hidden?”

“The people who engineered this have an obvious purpose. They’ll expose the truth soon enough.”

Lan Daolin replied, “Then what do you suggest?”

“Whether it works or not, we have to try.”

“Are we supposed to sit here and do nothing?”

Just then, Hei Shi entered at a brisk pace and went directly to Wu Chang.

“Sacred Venerable, we received word. Rumors are spreading outside that because...”

He stopped, seeming to find the words difficult to say, and glanced around at everyone.

Wu Chang said, “If it cannot be said, then don’t say it.”

“If it can, there is no need for scruples.”

“Yes!”

Hei Shi cupped his hands, then reorganized his words.

“We received word that rumors are spreading outside.”

“They say that because of infighting among the Six Sacred Venerables, Yuan Se lost the struggle and flew into a rage from humiliation.”

“Taking advantage of the fact that his disciple controlled Misty Pavilion, he ordered Huo Kong to expose Misty Pavilion’s hidden agents planted throughout the major powers.”

“As a result, Misty Pavilion’s eyes and ears across the world were wiped out in a single stroke.”

Lan Daolin immediately said, “Order every region to issue a public statement at once.”

“Declare this a rumor and correct the record!”

Hei Shi turned toward him and hesitated.

“Huo Kong publicly appeared once in Star-Plucking City and confirmed the rumor was true.”

“The revelation has already caused an uproar.”

“I expect it will not take long before everyone beneath Heaven knows.”

“...”

The hall fell speechless.

Some clenched their fists instantly.

Killing intent appeared on others’ faces.

Du Wuxu said, “One went to help the Holy Rakshasa. The other is destroying Misty Pavilion.”

“Looks like Yuan Se really did put on the same pair of trousers as Lü Wushuang.”

Wu Chang tilted his head slightly.

Hei Shi cupped his hands and withdrew.

Silence settled over the hall.

Everyone knew the trouble had now become enormous.

Wu Chang suddenly said coldly, “We’ve lost control.”

Everyone understood what he meant.

The powers beneath Heaven had slipped out of their control.

There were many things Misty Pavilion could not accomplish with its own strength alone.

It needed to mobilize the power of the entire cultivation world before its orders became truly effective.

Take the situation before them.

Someone was plainly fighting the Five Sacred Venerables to the death.

Now that they had lost surveillance over the various sects, did they still expect to use those same sects to hunt the conspirators?

They could forget it.

Certain consequences were easy to imagine.

Orders might still be issued.

On the surface, the sects would naturally obey. None would dare openly refuse.

But in private?

Even if they discovered something, those powers would probably never report it.

Who would want Misty Pavilion’s eyes back inside their own ranks?

They would simply sit and watch.

They would pretend to know nothing.

The logic was simple.

They hoped someone would continue fighting the Five Sacred Venerables.

At the very least, they would try not to offend either side.

Du Wuxu abruptly said, “Kill anyone who dares disobey orders. I’d like to see how many people truly aren’t afraid of death!”

The remark came without warning.

An outsider might not have understood his meaning immediately.

Everyone present did.

Granny Xue snorted. “If no one were stirring up trouble behind the scenes, perhaps killing a chicken to warn the monkeys would work.”

“But someone is deliberately pushing this.”

“Many sects will develop problems.”

“How many do you plan to kill?”

“Can you kill them all?”

“You still want to wipe out every sect beneath Heaven?”

“If we actually do that, those powers will have no choice except to fight us to the death.”

“The five of us can personally chase and kill how many?”

“The moment we appear, they’ll run.”

“Rely on the people beneath us?”

“Do we have more people than they do?”

“If we drive the entire cultivation world into open resistance, their eyes and ears will be everywhere.”

“Our people will have nowhere to hide.”

“At that point, who kills whom is still uncertain!”

She reminded them once more, “Don’t forget. Whoever is stirring behind the scenes will not stop.”

Luo Qiu said calmly, “Force alone is not the answer for governing all beneath Heaven.”

“We need another strategy.”

After this incident, all of them had more or less recognized the power that could be unleashed if the sects beneath Heaven were mobilized together.

Nearly twenty thousand hidden agents spread across the world were not people some outside faction could simply eliminate.

Yet the moment the sects themselves moved, the entire network had been swept clean almost instantly.

The meaning behind that result was enough to make everyone present wary.

If those forces ever truly united, they could strip the Five Sacred Venerables down until each stood alone.

In the past, none of them had ever taken the cultivation sects seriously.

Now they finally felt the hesitation of someone afraid to throw something at a rat because it might smash the valuable vessel beside it.

Wu Chang suddenly said, “Without destruction, there can be no construction.”

“Change the world.”

“Rebuild the order.”

Everyone turned toward him.

Granny Xue smiled. “Little devil, have you come up with some brilliant plan?”

Wu Chang said, “I spent some time in Qi and learned quite a bit about the war among the three states.”

“Jin’s military momentum is at its height.”

“Qi and the Qin army can no longer stop it.”

“It is only a matter of time before Jin completely swallows the three western states.”

His cold gaze swept across the others.

“Once Jin controls the territories of the three western states, it will possess the strength to swallow all beneath Heaven.”

“Control Qiyun Sect!”

“Control Qiyun Sect, and we control Jin.”

“Then help Jin swallow all beneath Heaven!”

“The old hag is right.”

“Facing all the sects beneath Heaven, brute force is not the wisest approach.”

“So let the war continue expanding.”

“Let Jin sweep through them one by one.”

“Since the sects beneath Heaven are no longer obedient, and since the people causing trouble behind the scenes intend to push the strength of those sects into opposing us, then we might as well act across the larger board.”

“This is indeed not the moment to drive those sects until the dog jumps the wall.”

“Not only should we avoid forcing them, we should stabilize them.”

“We might as well let this incident pass for now.”

“So long as we do not move against them, no matter how much the hidden conspirators agitate, no sect will dare openly stand against us.”

By this point, everyone understood his meaning.

There was no need for the Five Sacred Venerables to clash directly with the powers of the cultivation world.

They could let Jin conquer them one region at a time, just as Jin was currently swallowing Qi and Wei.

As Jin expanded, the sects supporting each conquered power would be smashed one after another and brought under discipline.

Then, through interests and incentives, the Five Sacred Venerables could follow Jin’s expansion from behind and reorganize those factions one by one.

It was also an excellent way to greatly weaken the power of the various sects.

And once the final dagger was revealed, the hidden hand resisting Jin’s expansion might even be forced into the open.

“Without destruction, there can be no construction. Change the world and rebuild the order.”

“Little devil, this plan of yours isn’t bad!”

Granny Xue chuckled and nodded, plainly approving.

The others either fell into thought or silently nodded.

...

Inside his study, Shao Pingbo held an intelligence report and paced back and forth.

He read it several times before finally stopping.

Looking up, he shook his head in disbelief.

“They eliminated Misty Pavilion’s eyes and ears spread throughout the entire world.”

“They actually did it.”

“They wiped them all out in a single stroke.”

“It’s simply unbelievable!”

Shao Sansheng stood nearby. “Eldest Young Master, the information has been repeatedly confirmed.”

“There should be no mistake.”

“Huo Kong personally appeared and proved it.”

“And the various sects truly did eliminate large numbers of Misty Pavilion agents earlier.”

“Qiyun Sect was no exception.”

When the news first arrived, Shao Pingbo had refused to believe it and ordered Shao Sansheng to verify it again.

Now the confirmed result had been placed before him.

The shock on Shao Pingbo’s face still did not fade.

He shook his head slowly.

“This Tongueless Jia’s methods truly border on the miraculous.”

“A man like this is terrifying.”

“In such a short time, he has accomplished one enormous feat after another, each more astonishing than the last.”

“I cannot imagine how he did it.”

Shao Sansheng stared. “Eldest Young Master means this was Tongueless Jia’s doing?”

Shao Pingbo turned to him, completely certain.

“After this entire chain of events, who else could it be at a time like this?”

“Can you name another force that would dare rashly involve itself in something like this?”

“Yuan Se would never destroy his own foundation without reason.”

“Someone must have manipulated events from behind the scenes and forced this outcome.”

He lifted his face and sighed toward the ceiling.

“The Nine Saints probably never dreamed that by cutting out one man’s tongue, Misty Pavilion would bring an enormous calamity down on its own head.”

“With its eyes and ears throughout the world gone, Misty Pavilion is nothing but a blind tiger.”

“Old Shao, the situation beneath Heaven has changed.”

“It has reversed.”

“At the very least, Tongueless Jia has already brought the strength of himself and his opponents onto roughly equal footing.”

“The Five Sacred Venerables can no longer restrain him as they did before.”

“And he now has far more room to strike back.”

[End of Chapter 1476]