Chapter 616: Part.i.tioning the Tristar Sect
The aggrieved Great Cathedral was patently furious that the Tristar Sect had revealed the secret. However, after searching through the wasteland where the sect had stood for a few days, they were unable to find any leads.
“This Tristar Sect must have been too afraid of facing the wrath of the Myriad Domain so they hid themselves,” Honored Master Tian Ming of the Dark North Sect sighed.
Palace Head Dan Chi looked upon the Tristar Sect’s ruins, a pensive look on his face. He had a nagging feeling that there was something amiss about this whole situation. Everything had been fine, so why had the Tristar Sect revealed the secret? This didn’t make common sense at all. However, every member of the Tristar Sect had vanished, so he wasn’t at liberty to say anything now. After all, his prime suspect previously had been the Sacred Sword Palace. From what happened now, it was the Tristar Sect who were the true traitors, and they had already incurred the wrath of the heavens.
Xiang Wentian of the Great Cathedral thundered, “The Tristar Sect must have disbanded in order to evade heavenly judgment!”
Everyone was well aware of this by now. But they were still completely helpless about the fact that the members of the Tristar Sect had made up their mind to disappear.
“I suggest that we discuss what to do with the Tristar Sect’s territory.” w.a.n.g Jianyu of the Sacred Sword Palace smiled faintly.
“Yes. Since the Tristar Sect has disbanded, their territory is now without an owner. Therefore, we should allow the civilians who were governed by the Tristar Sect to continue enjoying the protection from a large sect so that they can live on without fear.” These words sounded incredibly grandiose and dignified, but to put it plainly, they meant to part.i.tion the land and s.n.a.t.c.h up resources.
Xiang Wentian nodded. “It is imperative that we do not let that huge plot of land governed by the Tristar Sect become a plot of loose sand. It’s just… how should we divide the territory? Does anyone have any good suggestions?”
“Is there a need to ask? The five great sects should just divide this land equally,” Sect Head Wei Wuying of the Walkabout Sect spoke up. What he was most afraid of was that the Great Cathedral would once again be unreasonable and s.n.a.t.c.h half the land away. If it became like that, the other four sects could only share the remaining half.
“Indeed, splitting it evenly would be better,” w.a.n.g Jianyu laughed. Clearly, he didn’t wish for the Great Cathedral to be the sole benefactor either.
“My Dark North Sect has no objections with splitting evenly,” Honored Master Tian Ming replied.
Naturally, the remaining sect, the Regal Pill Palace, would not have any objections. Dan Chi wasn’t too concerned about the Tristar Sect’s territory. What he was more curious about was the Tristar Sect’s motive for revealing the secret. Astute as he was, he had a nagging sensation that something was wrong with the entire situation.
The Great Cathedral had initially intended to take half the territory and leave the remaining half for the other four sects to share. However, the other sects besides the Regal Pill Palace were all clearly determined to share the pie evenly. If the Great Cathedral exhibited extraordinarily bad table manners, they would enrage everyone here. The Myriad Domain was now officially in dangerous waters starting today. If there was internal strife, then the domain might collapse even without an enemy invasion.
The sects began to discuss how to split the territory immediately after that. Since they were each taking a fair share, the process was straightforward. The territory would be cut into fifths along with various spirit power resources and resources, with each sect taking their own share. After the part.i.tion, Xiang Wentian announced, “From today onwards, the Tristar Sect will no longer exist. The Myriad Domain will also not acknowledge the Tristar Sect. Even if they come back and seek to start over, they will still be considered the traitors of the Myriad Domain. They are the shame of our domain and we will tolerate them no longer!”
“That’s right. Exposing the secrets of the Myriad Domain means that they have become the public enemy! The Tristar Sect is no longer worthy to be a part of the Myriad Domain!” Wei Wuying also agreed.
The opinions of the five sects regarding this matter were aligned. Since they had just part.i.tioned up the Tristar Sect’s land, they also had to find some dignified-sounding reason to do so in order to appease the people. By plastering the t.i.tle of traitor on the Tristar Sect, the sects could divide up their territory and block their means of revival, all the while sounding completely justified and righteous.
Instead of nit-picking at the problem, Dan Chi replied, “Everyone, since the Tristar Sect has disbanded in an attempt to escape heavenly judgment, they must be plotting something. Has anyone considered this problem?”
“Dan Chi, what do you think?” Honored Master Tian Ming had always been on good terms with Dan Chi and knew that the palace head was a very resourceful person.
“Indeed, Dan Chi, you’re smart and forward-looking, so share your thoughts with us. At any rate, the Tristar Sect has been expelled so no one will fault you for saying something wrong,” Xiang Wentian also encouraged.
w.a.n.g Jianyu only smiled coldly without saying anything. He always felt that Dan Chi only pandered to the crowds and sought attention due to his enmity with Dan Chi. Wei Wuying also smiled slightly, but he wanted to hear any wise opinions Dan Chi might have.
“When my Regal Pill Palace was a.s.saulted by the Ninesuns Sky Sect last time, our opponent demanded the locations of our sky rank herbs and Longevity Pill. Hence, I’m certain that the Tristar Sect must have leaked our secrets to the Ninesuns Sky Sect. The Ninesuns Sky Sect has always eyed the Myriad Domain like a tiger watching its prey. Everyone, think carefully, if the Tristar Sect wasn’t in cahoots with the Ninesuns Sky Sect, what reason would they have to gamble on the future of the their sect?” Dan Chi’s speech caused the expressions of everyone present to take a drastic turn.
“Dan Chi, you’re sure the person from last time was a member of the Ninesuns Sky Sect?” Xiang Wentian could not help but ask, obviously sensing how precarious matters were.
“As certain as I can be. After the a.s.sault, I inquired after the state of the Upper Eight Regions through my contacts. The enemy who attacked our Regal Pill Palace was one of the ten great disciples of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, Cao Jin, a cultivator at peak sage realm!” Dan Chi still thought about the battle that day with traces of lingering fear in his heart.
In the face of the overwhelming power a first-rate sect exuded, the sects of the Myriad Domain were as insignificant as ever. The unification of the Myriad Domain truly seemed an extraordinarily insurmountable task.
“Ten great disciples? Peak sage realm?” Everyone present sucked in a breath of cold air. This Ninesuns Sky Sect was truly willing to go all out for their aims!
Honored Master Tian Ming muttered to himself and sighed, “Just what does the Ninesuns Sky Sect see in our Myriad Domain? If we’re talking about things of value that we have, the Great Crimson Region looted everything in the great destruction of the Myriad Empire six or seven hundred years ago. Just what is the Ninesuns Sky Sect planning that they have set their sights on us for so long?”
Wei Wuying laughed coldly, “Who the h.e.l.l knows what they’re planning? They wouldn’t even spare a tiny place like the sixteen kingdom alliance. I really doubt that there’s even anything that good in our Myriad Domain? How could they set their sights on even a wasteland like the sixteen kingdoms?”
With that being said, the sect who found the Ninesuns Sect most repulsive wasn’t the Regal Pill Palace, nor was it the other sects. Instead, it was the Great Cathedral because they were the greatest amongst the sects in the Myriad Domain. Since they were the greatest, they naturally didn’t wish for a greater power to appear. In their own territory, they naturally hoped that they could be the tiger of the land. They didn’t want some pa.s.sing dragon to eye their territory.
w.a.n.g Jianyu suddenly snorted derisively. “Actually, in my opinion, isn’t a certain someone exaggerating matters?”
“Old w.a.n.g, who’re you speaking of?” Wei Wuying clearly knew that w.a.n.g Jianyu was referring to Palace Head Dan Chi, but didn’t want to intentionally fan the flames of discourse.
“Who else could it be? Even my Sacred Sword Palace admits that we would not be able to defend against one of the ten great disciples of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, a peak sage realm cultivator. Since when has the Regal Pill Palace become so strong? Not only are they safe and sound, they even managed to drive off one of the Ninesuns Sky Sect’s ten great disciples?” w.a.n.g Jianyu found this very peculiar, and a bewildered smile made its way to his face.
The others all looked towards Palace Dan Chi with curiosity etched on their faces, clearly somewhat doubtful of this matter. Palace Head Dan Chi maintained his calm expression and did not explain anything. “I have only spoken the truth. Believe it or not, that’s up to you.”
Dan Chi had no intention of explaining anything. It would be an arduous and thankless task. Honored Master Tian Ming nodded in support, “I believe that old friend Dan Chi would not speak nonsense.”
Xiang Wentian also more or less understood Dan Chi’s character. When he saw Dan Chi act this way, he was also more inclined to believe Dan Chi. However, instead of complicating this problem any further, he asked, “Old brother Dan Chi, why don’t you tell us first how the Tristar Sect and Ninesuns Sky Sect are related?”
Dan Chi nodded. “I am ninety percent certain that the reason why the Tristar Sect exposed our secret must have something to do with the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Only, the question that remains is, was the Tristar Sect coerced into it by the Ninesuns Sky Sect? Or were they in cahoots from the very beginning?”
These were the only two possibilities.
Xiang Wentian thought for a long time before sighing, “This matter can only be resolved if we find the remnants of the Tristar Sect. If they were coerced into it, they might be just the first of many. The next target might be each of us.”
“Yes. In my opinion, they colluded with the Ninesuns Sky Sect from long ago. The Tristar Sect was originally only a fifth rank sect and only rose abruptly in power a few hundred years ago. Their rise was abnormally fast. Isn’t this a bit ridiculous?” Wei Wuying questioned.
Unusually, Dan Chi actually agreed with Wei Wuying’s perspective. “I’ve considered things carefully, and combined things with what I know what happened when my Regal Pill Palace allied ourselves with the Precious Tree Sect. Judging from Tristar Sect’s Zhu Changsheng’s behavior that day, both his words and actions indicated that he intentionally set up my Regal Pill Palace to tussle with the inspector from the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Now that I think about it, it’s very possible that the Tristar Sect has been colluding with the Ninesuns Sky Sect all this time.”
Xiang Wentian’s expression was grave as he nodded and replied, “If the Tristar Sect has long since colluded with the Ninesuns Sky Sect, that proves that the Ninesuns Sky Sect has set their sights on the Myriad Domain for a long time now.” When he spoke of this, Xiang Wentian’s tone grew even more contemplative as he wondered to himself, “Just what is this Ninesuns Sky Sect planning? Why does this old man feel as though there’s an enormous conspiracy behind all this?”
It was obvious that the Sky Sect coveted the area, but the sect heads present had no reason why and what for. This kind of unknown paranoia caused the Myriad Domain’s future to be clouded. The Myriad Domain was truly too weak compared to the Ninesuns Sky Sect, so weak that they could not withstand even one of the Ninesuns Sky Sect’s fingers crus.h.i.+ng down on them.
To put things bluntly, the Ninesuns Sky Sect only needed to mobilize youths like the ten great disciples to completely level the Myriad Domain without needing to call upon their senior executives. Although they had just divided the Tristar Sect’s territory, an enormous pressure weighed down on their hearts the moment each sect thought about the Ninesuns Sky Sect. All of them were fourth rank sects whose words were taken as law in their own territory. Moreover, each of them harbored dreams of domination. None of them wished to be ruled by the Ninesuns Sky Sect, much less than be a couple of p.a.w.ns on the Ninesuns Sky Sect’s chessboard! Hence, the five fourth rank sects of the Myriad Domain faced the Ninesuns Sky Sect with deeply conflicted feelings.
Surprisingly, the members of the Tristar Sect seemed to really have disappeared completely in the next half year. Their territory and resources have been completed taken and divided up, but not a single member stood out to protest. It was as though they had completely perished from the heavenly judgment.
…...
The remaining powers of the Tristar Sect had concealed themselves in a certain hidden area of the Myriad Domain.
The ones who remained were those who had resolved themselves to follow the Ninesuns Sky Sect. As for those who did not wish to surrender and pay allegiance to the Sky Sect, or those who would rather become rogue cultivators, they no longer existed on this earth.