fifth form

Chapter 3446 The Venerable One's Manipulation

Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor interacted for a long time, each pursuing their own goals.

This interaction seemed mundane, merely an exchange of possessions, but it allowed Zhang Xuezhou to avoid the turmoil of the imperial court.

The new emperor's invitation to him to serve as prime minister was not just empty talk; his contributions had indeed reached the appropriate level, and it was extremely rare for someone like him to refuse a promotion to a high-ranking official position.

Only by convincing the new emperor that he can bring greater benefits can Zhang Xuezhou persuade him without arousing his suspicion.

"The lesser hermit hides in the wilderness, the middle hermit hides in the city, and the greater hermit hides in the court. Perhaps I am the greater hermit!"

Zhang Xuezhou was quite proud, after all, it was rare to find someone like him who could hide his identity and stay out of the limelight.

The key point is that although he went into seclusion, his network of connections at the top level remained intact, unlike those immortals in the Celestial Court who concealed their identities, acting with a guilty conscience and making it difficult for them to achieve political harmony and social stability.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Dong Yan. I wonder if he's made contact with any other immortals!"

Zhang Xuezhou found Yi Shuo at Changxin Palace. Yi Shuo knew her own abilities and was confident in Zhang Xuezhou's abilities, so she didn't run around aimlessly for the past two weeks.

After exchanging information, Zhang Xuezhou flew towards Mount Tai to check on the situation.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but think about any oversights he might have made in Chang'an.

With nearly 200,000 Southern Army soldiers inspecting Chang'an, Venerable Huangsha, Venerable Hongku, and others certainly couldn't hide any longer. Those who could remain in Chang'an all had legitimate identities. Eliminating the risks associated with those who followed Daojun, the only person Zhang Xuezhou could think of was Dong Yan.

But Dong Yan's influence was too small, and Zhang Xuezhou quickly put the matter aside.

His jade wings swept across the sky, and his figure moved swiftly through the azure air.

The Jade Wings, which he had been extremely satisfied with in the past, seemed less perfect after being compared with the Cloud Wings. Zhang Xuezhou had compared his flying skills with those of great cultivators such as the Peacock King and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. Each of them had their own strengths and weaknesses, making it difficult for him to make a reference. Zhang Xuezhou never expected that the final positive comparison would actually come from himself.

He had cleared most of the obstacles in the "Cloud Techniques," and if the opportunity arose, Zhang Xuezhou really wanted to see the ultimate evolution of this demonic wing.

"cousin!"

There were cultivators meditating on the Jade Emperor Peak. Zhang Xuezhou shouted, and Rong Tianding turned his head around.

"The Venerable One's clone is very powerful!"

Rong Tianding gave a dry, curt reply, which made Zhang Xuezhou's heart skip a beat.

"You two started fighting?" Zhang Xuezhou asked immediately after his initial surprise, "What kind of magic did he use on you?"

“He helped me quickly master the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture,” Rong Tianding said.

"He's truly a kind-hearted and compassionate cultivator, even helping you with your cultivation!"

Zhang Xuezhou sighed helplessly.

In his early years, he also practiced the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture. This scripture has a very strong positive effect. If used properly, it can avoid intimidation and suppression, which is truly amazing.

However, this scripture also has its flaws, namely that it can be controlled and suppressed by the Supreme Being, and even controlled so tightly that it is difficult to rebel.

Chunyu Tiying operated on Zhang Xuezhou's head, and only then did Zhang Xuezhou understand the magical nature of the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture and recognize its dangers.

Although Chunyu Tiying inadvertently did a good deed, Zhang Xuezhou had been tormented by the Tiandi Erqiao disease over the years. He did not hate Chunyu Tiying because of his mental illness. At most, he had minor squabbles with Chunyu Tiying, and their various clashes even enhanced their friendship.

Seeing that he had finally managed to get out of the pit, only to have Rong Tianding jump back in, Zhang Xuezhou was at a loss for words.

In particular, Rong Tianding was forced to quickly learn the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture by the Venerable One, which means that the Venerable One was impatient at the time and forced Rong Tianding to learn it in a cramming manner in order to make things go smoothly in the future.

"I am the only one whose cultivation is not yet complete and who is the easiest to train. The cultivation levels of the others no longer need to be improved!"

Rong Tianding made a complaint.

Rong Tianding was not weak, but compared with the three great cultivators who had reached the Sainthood of the physical body, he was undoubtedly the easiest to deal with.

Li Tianwang and the others exchanged a few blows with Zhu Jiuyin before entering the Heavenly Gate. Rong Tianding was slower to escape, and his feigned death failed. He was eventually captured and interrogated by the Venerable One. This interrogation was clearly not a time to demonstrate integrity. Rong Tianding bowed his head quickly when he needed to, and said almost everything he could.

"Didn't anyone from the Celestial Court come? Where did Your Excellency go?"

Zhang Xuezhou asked a couple of questions.

Rong Tianding used a respectful title when he spoke to Zhu Jiuyin, and Zhang Xuezhou was no exception. Normally, they would have used Zhu Jiuyin's name all the time.

If they change how they address each other, it means that their communication is not secret and is very likely to be discovered by Zhu Jiuyin.

“Even Li Tianwang has fled back, so the number of people who can come should be very limited,” Rong Tianding said.

"That's true. The only ones stronger than Li Tianwang are the Four Great Emperors and the Jade Emperor of the Three Pure Ones. The Four Great Emperors are either old or dead, the Jade Emperor has gone into seclusion, and among the Three Pure Ones, some have gone into seclusion and others are engrossed in alchemy and treasure making. Only the Primordial Heavenly Venerable is constantly on the move. If he gets tied up, there will be no one else to come!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, indicating his understanding of the situation in the Celestial Court.

If the opponent is weaker, the Celestial Court can still field a group of powerful cultivators to deal with them, but they have fewer to deal with cultivators of Zhu Jiuyin's level.

Few cultivators can bully the weak, and the method of ganging up on the few to target Zhu Jiuyin will not work.

For the Celestial Court, things had almost reached a standstill.

If we add to this the fact that Donghua promoted the merger of Xikunlun and Lingxiao Palace, which required Yuanshi Tianzun to supervise, then no one would pay attention to Zhujiuyin.

The conflict between the Celestial Court and Zhujiuyin can only be considered a misunderstanding, since Zhujiuyin really did not wander around the secret place to affect the Celestial Court.

Without Zhang Xuezhou's underhanded machinations, it would have been almost impossible for the Immortal Court and Zhujiuyin to engage in a vicious conflict.

Just as the moon waxes and wanes, Zhang Xuezhou could not always achieve perfection. He knew that the construction of Mount Tai would fail when he was delaying the Flying Feather Demon King, and that he would not be able to put Zhu Jiuyin in the Han Dynasty's territory. However, he did not expect that Zhu Jiuyin would force Rong Tianding to cultivate the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture.

What is holding Yuanshi back?

Zhang Xuezhou echoed Rong Tianding's words and clamored for Rong Tianding to demonstrate his knowledge and show his skills in the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture.

After tossing and turning for a while, Rong Tianding shivered and then asked a question.

The voice was still Rong Tianding's voice, but Zhang Xuezhou realized that the person he was speaking to was completely different.

Zhu Jiuyin's ability is extremely mysterious and enigmatic. Zhang Xuezhou used to regard it as a special kind of sorcery, but now he has a different understanding of it.

"I heard that the Kunlun Holy Land is going to be moved to the Lingxiao Palace..."

"what?"

Before Zhang Xuezhou could finish speaking, Rong Tianding responded in astonishment.

"Is the Emperor dead, or has his body been possessed?"

Rong Tianding murmured to himself. Before even going to West Kunlun, Zhu Jiuyin, who controlled Rong Tianding, had already made a clear judgment and knew that the Emperor must have encountered a problem.

Zhang Xuezhou was amazed by the speed of this judgment, since Zhu Jiuyin had not proposed a third possibility, but had directly guessed the real answer.

"It seems the Three Realms are about to descend into chaos again. I wonder who will be sacrificed as a flag bearer!"

When Zhu Jiuyin murmured something, Zhang Xuezhou's initial admiration turned into silence.

Cultivators do indeed have blind spots about themselves. Even though Zhu Jiuyin was knowledgeable and extremely intelligent, the other party did not guess that he was the target.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't deliberately remind him, since it's easy for him to get caught up in this kind of thing.

This was a relatively peaceful period, so Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but ask for guidance on the Yangpo Transformation Technique.

He didn't expect to get a sincere answer from Zhu Jiuyin right away; he just wanted to state his request first.

If an opportunity arises, Zhu Jiuyin might be able to tell him the truth when he asks for his help.