"Wuwang Hall Master!"

In the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, a middle-aged male Daoist descended swiftly from the sky, his eyes immediately falling upon the wooden sign hanging before Wu Wang's small residence.

This! He truly had urgent matters to report. Was he supposed to go back and fetch a young female Immortal?

This man, however, possessed quick wits. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he took half a step back, twisted his sturdy waist forward, pinched his fingers as if holding a flower, and, affecting a thin, sharp voice, called out forcefully, "Hall Master, I have an urgent matter~"

CREAK. Lin Suqing, her face dark, pulled open the wooden door. The male Daoist's expression instantly froze.

Lin Suqing frowned and asked, "What in the world is wrong with you?"

"Ah, Fairy Immortal Suqing!" The Daoist immediately straightened his posture, standing tall with his chest out, his voice now gruff. "I just received news! An hour ago, Ji Mo and his party from the Ji Family were attacked. Young Master Ji suffered grave injuries but was fortunately rescued by the inspection immortal envoy who rushed to the scene! Young Master Ji is a close friend of the Wuwang Hall Master. We dared not delay and came to report immediately!"

SWISH! Lin Suqing felt a blur before her eyes as her long hair and skirt billowed forward; Wu Wang was already standing before her.

Wu Wang asked, "How severe are the injuries?"

The man hurriedly answered, "His Nascent Soul is damaged, and he has multiple knife wounds, but his life is not in danger. His cultivation foundation hasn't suffered excessive damage either."

Wu Wang nodded slightly, his expression inscrutable. He simply said, "It's good he's not dead."

The middle-aged male Daoist thought he had inadvertently exposed a sham friendship.

Yet Lin Suqing, who had been with Wu Wang the longest, knew... the Young Master was already deeply stirred! He might appear stoic, but in his mind, he might have already decided the fate of everyone in the Ten Evils Hall!

But Lin Suqing offered no words of comfort at that moment; she just stood silently inside the doorway.

At the head of the stairs, Immortal Mu also noticed the change in the atmosphere around Wu Wang. Cradling the ear-mouse, which had grown considerably fatter, she peeked out curiously.

"Prepare a fast sky-boat for me," Wu Wang instructed. "Go and ask which two Transcendent cultivators from the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion were assigned as my protectors by the Pavilion Master, and request them to accompany me."

The middle-aged attendant bowed in acknowledgment and hurriedly departed.

Wu Wang stood at the doorframe for a long while, hands clasped behind his back, unmoving, a sharp light glinting in his eyes.

So the Ten Evils Hall has dared to show its face again. Do they think not enough Divine Children have died? Or do they know that I no longer need the blood of the Evil God now?

"Suqing, Immortal Mu, accompany me."

No sooner had Wu Wang spoken than a cloud of blood mist drifted from the distant woods. From within it, the figure of the Grand Elder emerged—clad in a crimson robe, with a full head of red hair, his lean face carried an air of ferocity.

"Sect Master, my current seclusion is not critical."

"Grand Elder, please continue your cultivation. To deal with the Ten Evils Hall, it is fitting to use the strength of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion."

The Grand Elder, however, said, "When the Sect Master travels, I should naturally follow as a protector. Moreover, Protector Ji is a protector of our Annihilation Sect. How can we allow those vile and despicable people to bully him!"

"Hmm," Wu Wang didn't press further. "Thank you for your trouble, Grand Elder."

「A moment later.」

A wooden canopy boat flew out from the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, shooting towards the horizon, with eight or nine streaks of light pursuing it at full speed from behind.

Within the somewhat cramped cabin, Xiao Jian in his white robes and the Blood Hand Demon Lord clad in red were particularly conspicuous.

Besides these two, there was an old crone in the cabin, also possessing Transcendent Realm cultivation, but both she and the Grand Elder seemed faintly suppressed by Xiao Jian's presence.

Wu Wang was meditating on the front deck. Immortal Mu was curled up in a corner at the stern, playing with the ear-mouse. Lin Suqing was at the stern brewing tea, a way to pass the time on their journey.

Flanking the wooden canopy boat on all sides were two silver shuttles each, carrying several Heavenly Immortals and True Immortals—the escort detachment provided for Wu Wang by the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion.

Two figures flew over from a nearby silver shuttle.

They were a middle-aged man and woman, who respectfully presented several Jade Talismans to Wu Wang.

"Hall Master, these are the reconstructed records of Ji Mo's ambush."

Wu Wang's Immortal Consciousness swept over the Jade Talismans, carefully discerning their contents to get a general understanding of what had transpired.

Ji Mo had actually been quite cautious, bringing a large contingent of guards; he was just short of having a few Transcendent cultivators accompany him closely.

In the Human Domain, Transcendent cultivators held an extraordinary status; they were the Human Domain's spear and shield against the gods. Therefore, Transcendent experts rarely wandered aimlessly or made public appearances, with the exception of high-ranking members of major Sects.

This time, Ji Mo had suffered due to the lack of Transcendent protection.

For someone like Wu Wang to have three Transcendent cultivators as guards at this point was an exceptionally rare situation.

Even the Human Emperor's children would, at most, be accompanied by a single Transcendent cultivator.

The position of Human Emperor in the Human Domain was not hereditary. The children of the Human Emperor were respected simply due to their father's existence; it did not inherently mean they themselves would achieve great things.

The Ten Evils Hall, having somehow obtained detailed information on Ji Mo's itinerary, had set up a large formation on the path Ji Mo was taking to visit an Immortal Sect. They shifted his large vessel tens of miles sideways and into a pre-prepared trap.

This time, the Ten Evils Hall had deployed a large number of masters, with over twenty experts at the Heavenly Immortal Realm alone, and several hundred True Immortals and Yuanxians.

Although Ji Mo's guards were battle-hardened, they were outnumbered and outmatched, and could only fight to the death to protect him.

Ji Mo's survival was entirely thanks to the Demonic Cultivators of the Sun Demolition Sect, who had sacrificed their lives to save him.

The Sun Demolition Sect... Le Yao's family? Wu Wang muttered to himself, a hint of doubt surfacing in his mind.

Although Ji Mo was acknowledged to have good talent, it was just that—good. He was not one of those dazzling figures renowned throughout the Human Domain for exceptional innate abilities. To outsiders, Ji Mo's background was clearly more attention-grabbing than Ji Mo himself.

Lin Qi had gained widespread attention in the Human Domain because he had received the Yan Emperor's Edict and, on the very same day, had been severely beaten by several handsome men and beautiful women.

The Ten Evils Hall is known for not acting without incentive; why would they suddenly attack Ji Mo?

Seeing that the Hall Master seemed puzzled, the male steward immediately said, "Hall Master, the recent attack on Young Master Ji Mo is likely related to his sudden rise to fame."

"Sudden rise to fame?" Wu Wang was perplexed and subconsciously asked, "Did he frequent the brothels again after his marriage?"

"Certainly not, certainly not." The two stewards quickly clarified, taking turns to recount Ji Mo's 'glorious deeds' over the past few months.

The matter could be traced back to Ji Mo's grand wedding with Le Yao.

A Demonic Sect like the Sun Demolition Sect, ranked sixth among Demonic Sects, naturally had far more experts and disciples than a medium-sized sect like the Annihilation Sect. Consequently, managing such a large group was difficult. With so many people, conflicts, both external and internal, were prone to arise. As years passed, enemies inevitably accumulated.

Only a sect like the Xuan Nu Sect, considered a neutral haven by both Immortals and Demons, could maintain its tranquility.

At Ji Mo and Le Yao's grand wedding, an Immortal Sect with long-standing grudges against the Sun Demolition Sect made sarcastic remarks during the banquet, "congratulating" the Sun Demolition Sect on ascending to the top three ranks of Demonic Sects and mocking them for marrying off their daughter to leverage the Ji Family's power for their own growth.

That day, things became quite unpleasant.

After the wedding, a conflict arose between the Sun Demolition Sect and that Heaven Fire Immortal Sect.

Initially, it was just a verbal altercation between a few disciples. This escalated into a brawl involving dozens of cultivators who had yet to achieve Immortality. Their failure to de-escalate in time led to bloodshed, rapidly developing into a standoff involving thousands.

At this point, the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion intervened in a timely manner, consulting with the Elders of both sects and suppressing the matter.

Half a year later, a disciple of the Heaven Fire Immortal Sect, while drunk, spoke insolently and was beaten by a female disciple of the Sun Demolition Sect, triggering a new round of conflict.

This second conflict seemed to be something the Heaven Fire Immortal Sect had been preparing for some time.

Soon after this minor incident of disciples fighting, dozens of Immortals from the Heaven Fire Immortal Sect appeared. They went directly to the Sun Demolition Sect's gates to demand an explanation, causing a commotion there for half a day and severely damaging the Sun Demolition Sect's reputation.

Ji Mo's father-in-law also had a fiery temperament. He directly rallied three to five Transcendent cultivators, forcefully captured those dozens of Immortals, and pressured the Heaven Fire Sect, compelling them to admit their mistake and apologize.

It was from this point that the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion could no longer overtly intervene.

The Human Domain had its own rules. If conflicts arose between Immortal Sects, and both sides issued and accepted challenges, the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion would not interfere further, as long as the victor did not annihilate the loser's Dao heritage.

This was also for the long-term stability of the Human Domain.

Cultivation still emphasized clarity of thought, and in principle, the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion's constraints on Sects were not overly stringent.

Of course, indiscriminate killing of innocents was not permitted by the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion.

The female steward continued in a softer tone, "...At that time, several officials in the Pavilion judged that the Heaven Fire Sect was merely acting out of deep-seated resentment due to their long-standing grudges with the Sun Demolition Sect, coupled with the latter's amicable ties with the Ji Family. The officials acted separately; they pacified the Sun Demolition Sect through the Ji Family while secretly offering some benefits to the Heaven Fire Sect, thus resolving this sect conflict."

Upon hearing this, Wu Wang nodded superficially, but internally, he shook his head.

The Benevolent Emperor Pavilion must be firm when necessary. Especially now, with the Heaven Palace scheming against the Human Domain, any internal conflict could be magnified and exploited by them. If the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion had made an example of the two major Sects, perhaps by disciplining both severely, the outcome would surely have been much better.

Wu Wang asked, "Later on, did the Heaven Fire Sect and the Sun Demolition Sect end up fighting outright?"

"Your prediction is correct, Hall Master," the female steward said in a low voice. "While you were in seclusion within the Pavilion, this matter caused quite a stir. The Heaven Fire Sect, along with twelve other Immortal Sects that held grudges against the Sun Demolition Sect, joined forces. They claimed to be on a punitive expedition against the Sun Demolition Sect and listed numerous 'crimes.' These 'crimes' were, in reality, just their past grievances. The Sun Demolition Sect, not to be outdone, directly declared war on the twelve Immortal Sects, inviting them to attack together, and vowing to take them all on."

This? Wu Wang was puzzled. "Doesn't the Sect Master of the Sun Demolition Sect consider the impact this will have on the Human Domain?"

The female steward said, "I hear he's a rather reckless man."

The male steward chuckled. "He's famously hot-tempered."

Wu Wang asked, "Did Ji Mo step in?"

"Young Master Ji is truly eloquent." The female steward sighed softly, her eyes filled with admiration as her voice grew much livelier. "He left home three times to handle matters for the Sun Demolition Sect.

"The first time, he appeared with experts from the Ji Family just as conflict was about to erupt among various Sects, preventing a battle involving ten thousand Immortals.

"The second time, he traveled alone. He visited the Heaven Fire Sect and the other twelve Sects in person, clarifying the grievances between them and the Sun Demolition Sect. He moved them with emotion and convinced them with reason, getting both sides to agree to calm down and discuss things properly.

"The third time he left was just a few days ago. Ji Mo invited the young talents from the dozen or so Sects involved in this matter—like sons of Sect Masters and favored disciples of Sect Leaders—for a small gathering. Later, this gathering attracted many others from the younger generation. Their assembly to discuss the Dao and chat became a celebrated story for a time."

Wu Wang wondered, "Why didn't I receive any news of this?"

The male steward hurriedly said, "You had just come out of seclusion in the Scripture Hall when their gathering concluded. Young Master Ji then rushed to meet you."

The female cultivator smiled. "If you had gone to such a gathering of young cultivators, would it have been to give them a speech and offer encouragement?"

Do I look that old? Wu Wang pursed his lips slightly, and the female cultivator repeatedly apologized.

Wu Wang steered the conversation back to the main topic. "So, what was Brother Ji's purpose in coming out this time?"

"The Heaven Fire Sect and six other sects still insisted on fighting," the male steward sighed. "They said they want to hold a life-and-death arena to settle their past grievances once and for all."

The implication was that blood had to be shed to fully resolve the matter.

Is the grudge that deep?

Wu Wang said, "Was Brother Ji ambushed by the Ten Evils Hall on his way to persuade them?"

"Yes, Hall Master," the female steward said softly. "From this perspective, the Ten Evils Hall's motive for attacking Young Master Ji Mo seems quite clear."

"Hmm..." Wu Wang hummed lightly, sitting there with his arms folded.

The Ten Evils Hall naturally wants the Human Domain to be as chaotic as possible. They wouldn't just be happy to see the conflict between the Sun Demolition Sect and the Heaven Fire Sect; they undoubtedly fanned the flames.

Wu Wang sighed, "It truly is a pity not to have witnessed Brother Ji debating against a host of Immortals."

"The esteemed members of the Pavilion also hold Young Master Ji in high regard."

"After all, it's him," Wu Wang said. "He could even achieve enlightenment in a brothel. Truly a remarkable person... Do you have anything else to add?"

Both stewards shook their heads, cupped their hands in farewell, and transformed into streaks of light, flying back to their accompanying silver shuttle.

Wu Wang held the Jade Talismans, meticulously reading the details of the case files within. Doubts arose in his mind, though most were quickly resolved.

The Ji Family could not directly intervene in inter-sect conflicts. Ji Mo, however, had decisively stepped forward to protect his wife. Relying on his remarkable eloquence, he persuaded half of the Sun Demolition Sect's adversaries, greatly de-escalating the situation.

Why didn't Brother Ji mention this when we were chatting?

A fleeting sense of emptiness touched Wu Wang's heart, but he quickly suppressed it. Gazing at the Cloud Path ahead, he calculated the travel time.

「…」

By the time he saw Ji Mo again, it was a night with a bright moon and sparse stars.

In a branch of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, Ji Mo lay unconscious on a couch, while Le Yao, looking somewhat haggard, kept watch by his side.

Neither of them noticed Wu Wang entering. It was only after a Sun Demolition Sect Elder stepped forward to remind her that Le Yao came to her senses and bowed to Wu Wang.

"Greetings, Wuwang Hall Master."

"You're too kind, Le Yao," Wu Wang waved his hand and sat down beside the couch, placing a hand on Ji Mo's wrist.

Wu Wang checked Ji Mo's condition. Indeed, as reported by the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, his cultivation foundation was slightly damaged, but his life was not in danger.

His core constitution hadn't suffered any loss.

Le Yao suddenly spoke, her voice surprisingly cold, "Wuwang Hall Master, is it truly impossible to eradicate the Ten Evils Hall?"

Wu Wang looked up at her and said in a gentle voice, "If we knew their location, the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion would certainly not let them escape."

As he spoke, Wu Wang was about to withdraw his hand when Ji Mo suddenly convulsed. He grabbed Wu Wang's arm and muttered in a daze, "Yao'er... run!"

Le Yao was moved to tears on the spot, gazing tenderly at Ji Mo's face.

Wu Wang, however, said, "Please, everyone, step outside for a moment. Grand Elder, help me by setting up a barrier. I have a secret technique that can heal Brother Ji."

The assembled experts exchanged glances; Le Yao also seemed somewhat reluctant.

Fortunately, the presence of Wu Wang's three Transcendent protectors was imposing enough. Given they were at a branch of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion, the high-ranking Demonic Cultivators could only bow their heads and take their leave.

Once only Wu Wang and Ji Mo remained in the room, with the Grand Elder's barrier shielding them from outside observation...

Ji Mo's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, shining brightly.

"Brother Wuwang, it was Invincible who saved me! He might be exposed by now! COUGH, COUGH… We must quickly think of a way to assist him!"

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