Under One Person: The Puppet Immortal in the Tang Sect

"Master Cui... I, and the Wuhou Sect, entrust our lives and fortunes to you today."

"I dare not ask for too much in terms of appeasement, but only hope that... within my power, considering the cause and effect of today, you will grant my lineage of Marquis Wu a chance to settle down and develop."

"Yunhui and Xiaodie are young. If they make mistakes in the future, I hope that the hall master can give them some guidance."

Zhuge Dan's words practically placed the entire Wuhou faction in a subordinate and dependent position.

However, Cui Ming could not completely misunderstand the dying words of the venerable Zhuge Dan, and besides...

Cui Ming weighed the wooden box in his hand. The complete copy of the Divine Strategist Technique of Marquis Wu was indeed useful to him.

Originally, they also needed to rely on the prestige of the Wuhou Sect throughout the country to open up channels.

If this can be accomplished, the Divine Machine Alliance will naturally protect the Wuhou faction.

Cui Ming stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Zhuge Dan and the others, and said solemnly.

"Clan Chief Zhuge, elders, I have taken note of your frank words today."

"Now that the Divine Machine Alliance and the Marquis Wu faction have formed an alliance, they should naturally be of one mind and work together for mutual benefit and assistance."

"As long as the Wuhou faction keeps its promises and forges ahead, the Shenji Alliance will always be the Wuhou faction's strongest backing."

Upon receiving Cui Ming's promise, Zhuge Dan's tense expression finally relaxed.

The aura of decay instantly intensified, and his eyes began to cloud, but fortunately, the aura had not yet dissipated.

Several elders stepped forward simultaneously, and a mysterious array enveloped the entire council hall.

The aura of desolation emanating from Zhuge Dan was cut off, but at the same time, the aura emanating from these elders seemed to merge with the entire council hall.

"hey-hey!"

Several people who clearly didn't get along with Zhuge Dan chuckled wickedly.

"You old scoundrel! You want to abandon us and go rest early?"

"Dream on, you old scoundrel! Don't even think about it! Hahaha!"

"Seeing you like this makes all our patience worthwhile, hehehe."

These elders, by using an array to conceal the secrets of heaven, extended Zhuge Dan's life from another perspective, thus extending their already limited lifespans.

However, every minute and every second consumed the lifespan of these dozens of elders.

Seeing Zhuge Dan's astonished expression, the elders burst into laughter.

"I knew it! The clan leader would never have guessed! Hahaha!"

Zhuge Li, the elder of the Zhuge family who had been vying for power with Zhuge Dan, stepped forward and plopped down in the chair next to Zhuge Dan.

"Anyway, my days are numbered, so living a few more days or a few less days won't make a difference!"

"Do you want to leave us with a mess so early on, making us worry and trouble ourselves? We've been fighting for most of our lives."

"I never expected that you, old man, would be the one to pull us out of this mess. Hey! The capable should do more, and when the time comes, we'll have each other's company on the road to the underworld, won't we?"

Although they did not explain, Cui Ming could sense it through his spiritual power.

These elders combined everyone's life force to construct a magnificent array that rivaled the power of heaven and earth, firmly protecting Zhuge Dan.

In this way, the decaying energy hidden within Zhuge Dan's body could no longer grow stronger and could no longer destroy Zhuge Dan's vitality.

Thinking of this, Cui Ming also stepped forward quickly.

Grabbing the hand of the Zhuge family patriarch, he channeled his inner energy into the patriarch's body, firmly enveloping the aura of decay.

Chapter 151 The Flame

Inside the council hall, the grand formation that seemed to seize the very essence of heaven and earth operated silently.

Pale golden light flowed through the air like ripples on water, connecting Zhuge Dan and dozens of elders into a strange whole.

Although the deathly gray aura on Zhuge Dan's face had not completely dissipated, it had been firmly locked in and was no longer spreading or eroding.

He leaned back in his chair, his breath still weak, but he was no longer in danger of dying. He was even able to banter with Zhuge Li, who was sitting in the chair next to him.

"You old fool...who wants to keep you company on the road to the underworld? What bad luck!"

Zhuge Dan stared weakly, outwardly showing utter disdain, but inwardly he was deeply moved.

Zhuge Li chuckled, but his face was much paler than before, and beads of sweat were visible on his forehead. He waved his hand dismissively, seemingly unconcerned.

"Do you think you can have your way? The formation is complete, and the lives of us old guys are now tied together."

“Since we’re going to get rid of the deep-rooted problems and break the old rules, what’s the point of us old folks living so long? We might as well make room for each other.”

"You just stay put and chat with us old folks for the last six months. Haha."

Cui Ming withdrew the power of the Dan Shi from Zhuge Dan's body, and at the same time quietly withdrew the scattered divine soul power.

While trapping the ashen energy within Zhuge Dan's body, Cui Ming also used his divine soul power to investigate the array constructed by Zhuge Li.

This formation is extremely profound. It uses the remaining life force of all the elders present as fuel to jointly construct this sanctuary, forcibly prolonging the rate at which Zhuge's life force dissipates.

Simply put, he used his life force to obscure the perception of the Heavenly Way, thus prolonging Zhuge Dan's life.

The cost is that the lifespan of all participating elders is shared equally and significantly shortened.

Those who might have had one or two years, or even five or six years, to live have now been compressed into the same timeframe.

Six months later, Zhuge Dan, the core of the formation, and all the elders who set up the formation will likely die on the spot from exhaustion.

Moreover, these elders could not leave the council hall area during the duration of the formation; their life force was closely connected with the council hall and the formation.

This was a tragic yet resolute choice.

They traded the last six months of the clan's most outstanding elders for absolute unity within the Wuhou faction and for the clan leader, Zhuge Dan, to live longer.

This would allow him to witness the changes firsthand and complete the final power transition and strategic planning.

But at that moment, the doors of the council chamber were suddenly pushed open.

Zhuge Zhen stumbled in, his eyes red-rimmed, his face a mixture of grief, anxiety, and a hint of annoyance at being outmaneuvered.

"Old man! Even in death you'll still try to trick me, won't you!"

Zhuge Zhen's voice trembled, and his gaze immediately locked onto Zhuge Dan. He saw that although his father was surrounded by death energy, he still looked relaxed and at ease.

He was taken aback at first, but then he noticed Zhuge Li, who was smiling despite his weakened state, and the group of people in the hall who looked like the elders of his family.

He froze on the spot.

Did I... open the door wrong?

Am I dreaming?

Zhuge Yunhui quickly stepped forward and whispered a brief account of everything that had just happened, including his father and the elders' decision, the cost of the formation, and his father's arrangement for him to assist his elder brother.

As Zhuge Zhen listened, the anger on his face was gradually replaced by disbelief and shock, which eventually turned into a heavy sense of sorrow and understanding.

He walked with difficulty to Zhuge Dan, slowly knelt down, and his voice was hoarse.

"Father... Uncles... Why did you come to this..."

Zhuge Dan reached out and patted his eldest son's shoulder with a trembling hand, his voice weak but clear.

“Zhen’er…what you saw in the inner vision was definitely not a delusion.”

"Our lineage of Zhuge Liang has reached a critical point where it will either decline or perish if it does not change or advance."

“We old folks don’t have much time left. Rather than leaving in small groups and leaving people feeling unsettled, we should use this last weapon to pave a smoother road.”

"The position of clan leader and sect leader belongs to you. Yunhui and Xiaodie need to develop in the Divine Machine Alliance. The family's great ship still needs you to steer it and move forward according to the new rules set today."

Zhuge Li snorted beside him.

"Hey kid, stop making that long face."

"We old guys have been fighting all our lives, and in the end, we can work together like this to accomplish something great. It's really satisfying!"

"Although we haven't been able to leave this room for the past six months, we haven't gone deaf or blinded."

"Go ahead and do it. If anyone dares to cause trouble outside, we'll keep them in check! We can still study these ancient books and secret techniques at home for the next six months."

"Take out as much as you can, and prepare it all for you and the boys and girls in the clan."

The other elders nodded in agreement, their gazes calm and resolute.

They have completely disregarded their own lives and deaths; all they think about is the continuation of their family line.

Zhuge Zhen took a deep breath, wiped his face, and kowtowed heavily.

"Your son... obeys! I will live up to the high expectations of Father and all the elders, and lead the family to forge a path to survival!"

This once lazy and dissolute young man seems to have grown up in an instant.

Zhuge Zhen stood up, looked at Cui Ming, and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Master Cui, Zhuge Zhen will remember everything that happened today."

"The alliance between the Wuhou faction and the Shenji Alliance will be accepted by me, Zhuge Zhen, and I will never violate it."

"I hope you will give me more guidance in the future."

Cui Ming returned the greeting and said solemnly.

"Master Zhuge, you flatter me. I, Cui, will certainly keep my promise to the alliance."

"The courage and unity shown by your faction in this time of crisis is admirable."

"If there is anything that Mr. Cui or the alliance can do to help during this period, please feel free to speak up."

In the following days, Wuhou Village completed the smooth transition of power and system in a solemn and orderly atmosphere.

Under the silent intimidation of Zhuge Dan and all the elders sitting in the council hall, outdated rules were abolished, classic texts were opened, and the separate status of Zhuge Yunhui and Tian Xiaodie was established.

And a series of major changes, such as dedicating themselves to alliance affairs, were implemented at an unimaginable speed.

Although a few people still harbored some reservations, the overall situation was settled, and with the older generation's collective will so unified, they only dared to mutter a few words to themselves.

Zhuge Zhen demonstrated competence and decisiveness as the new clan leader, quickly sorting out clan affairs and adjusting personnel.

On the one hand, we fully support the preparations for the connection between Zhuge Yunhui and his wife and the Shenji Alliance;

On the other hand, following the new rules of his father Zhuge Dan, he began to organize promising young disciples, regardless of gender, to study martial arts.