Demon Sword Sect's Undercover

Fei Bai Fairy was displeased, yet she knew she had lost the chance to eliminate this adversary who had constantly opposed her.

Since presiding over the Harmony Dao, she had been quite content with her foothold. However, in terms of Daoist traditions, the Harmony Dao did not completely align with her Green Elephant Constellation's lineage. Her true path was not Dual Cultivation but rather something else, although she had high attainment in Dual Cultivation.

The Green Elephant Constellation is one of the more powerful entities in the many Upper Realms of the universe, known for being low-key and unassuming. Among all similar great Daoist traditions, there are very few truly pure Dual Cultivation paths; Dual Cultivation is merely an important method of cultivation.

Among the Upper Realm visitors competing for Sangmo Harmony Dao, none were truly from the Dual Cultivation path. They all practiced it concurrently, which is the common form of Dual Cultivation in the universe.

The Sangmo Harmony Dao focuses only on Dual Cultivation and is insignificant in other areas, which is its true weakness.

The Green Elephant Constellation's legacy on Jinxiu Continent had long since declined and was nowhere to be found. However, for her, there was no need to be overly particular about it, which is a situation many high realm visitors must face.

She could teach Harmony Dao little about Dual Cultivation; the key aspects were other skills of the Green Elephant Constellation. Because the foundation was weak, it's rather difficult to practice. This is why she sought a group of courtesans to aid in cultivation; such a method exists in the Green Elephant Constellation, where the core is using these courtesans as aids.

Conflict arose here; most Harmony Dao cultivators endorsed this method, finding it beneficial for their cultivation and not truly endangering the courtesans' lives. However, a minority disapproved, seeing it as contrary to cultivation ethics, with Dong Fangfei leading that opposition.

If it weren't for the Jinxiu Heaven Creation standing in the way, such differences could have been left to time to resolve, or even allowed to coexist as differing ideological currents within the sect. But that wasn't the case now—with internal divisions during such times only affecting the sect's future. Fei Bai was ambitious and would not allow such a situation to occur.

This was an opportunity, in a remote small town. She calculated that Dong Fangfei would appear there and created a chance for a duel between the two, yet it was disrupted by an inexplicably appearing Chu Sect cultivator.

Man's plans are no match for the will of Heaven.

Cultivators stress following the natural course without force. Since this is already the case, she would not press further, yet it could serve as a harsh warning to Dong Fangfei—there's always a next time if she refuses to learn.

"In another time, I will have a good talk with Senior Brother Ye Bai."

Tan Xiao bowed, implying something, "Fairy, there is more than one person you need to talk to."

Fei Bai Fairy left decisively, while Dong Fairy lingered a bit, "Thank you, Senior Brother Tan, for saving me. That Fei Bai is quite fierce; without your intervention, I fear I wouldn't have overcome this situation. Hmm, where is the Sect Hierarch now?"

Tan Xiao had long since used his Divine Sense to discover that fellow had already fled, intending to point it out, yet ultimately showed some restraint,

"It was a mere happenstance, so there's no need to mind, Fairy. Yet I must remind you, Fairy, with fellow sect cultivation, it is crucial to communicate often and make early decisions; Upper Realm visitors are ruthless, pursuing their goals by any means and are not here on the Jinxiu Continent to be Bodhisattvas saving the world."

Dong Fairy, exceedingly smart, had already guessed something. She knew it couldn't have been a mere happenstance; another Daoist was at the wild liquor stall but then disappeared—upon reflection, quite suspicious, was this Daoist playing hide and seek with her?

"From where did Senior Brother Tan come that you'd be interested in drinking wild liquor in Sangmo Country? How about letting me host you?"

Tan Xiao directly declined, "I have things to attend to, but thank you for the offer, Fairy; I came from Da Li."

Dong Fairy's eyes lit up, comprehending his implication, she bowed deeply, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for informing me; I understand now."

Watching Dong Fairy drift away toward Da Li, a voice nearby discontentedly said, "Why did you trick her into going to Da Li, not knowing it's full of trouble there?"

Tan Xiao chuckled, "With the likes of Xiao Er, Xiao San, and Xiao Si gathered, it's quite lively. Surnamed Hou, you have quite a few romantic debts in the Southeast. Without something enticing, would she obediently go? Da Li indeed is a troubled land, but it's safer than Sangmo where that decisive-action Fei Bai fairy is hard to deal with."

He made a valid point, yet it didn't escape the flavor of settling personal grudges. The two continued on their journey, essentially just passing time; more than a year remained until the Demon Gathering, going too early was pointless, and such time wasn't enough for cultivators like them to enter seclusion, so it was better to wander about.

For Hou Niao, this was his first experience of aimlessly roaming with other Qian Xiu cultivators, while for Tan Xiao, he feared this guy would ditch him for solo acts.

Moreover, Hou Niao wished to gauge the Upper Realm visitors' intentions through the changes in the Southeast countries over the years—those deep secrets never readily spoken to others. They would not say, but when presiding over a region, they would inevitably reveal these intentions.

Just like Tan Xiao, it's tough to discern what exactly Ye Bai is thinking; the Daoist Sect's approach is never to state things plainly but to subtly suggest, especially when they themselves aren't confident.

For now, the change in the Southeast Daoist Sect seems to focus on two things: promoting the flow of talent between cultivation lineages and fostering the integration and unification of mortal nations—these could essentially be understood as one.

He felt somewhat out of place in this circle, unrelated to his personal strength but rather from the very beginning—Upper Realm is Upper Realm, Jinxiu is Jinxiu; these proud Upper Realm guests, though having concealed their pride, still stubbornly believe themselves to be the masters of Jinxiu's future.

Tan Xiao could understand his thoughts because, like Hou Niao, he was currently in a state of confusion,

"If Jinxiu opens the heavens, not to mention who initiates it, but at the very least, a large number of Nascent Souls will emerge. As far as I know, not only do those Upper Realm visitors individually possess such capabilities, it includes many cultivators of our level, where everyone is deliberately controlling the pace of cultivation to fit that thirty-year window."

"Haven't you noticed, over the past century, there seems to be no news of anyone on the continent reaching Nascent Soul?"

Hou Niao smiled, "It's everyone's right, we have it, others do too; who would be content with mediocrity, who would willingly cling to a great man's tail? Born human, who would willingly remain beneath others?"

Tan Xiao furrowed his brows, "At that time, if a large number of Nascent Souls ascend, but cannot integrate with the Universe Cultivation Realm, what happens if they're trapped on Jinxiu Continent?"

Hou Niao said meaningfully, "The Heavenly Dao operates with its own laws; what we cannot see now, looking back in a few centuries, we might realize we were worrying needlessly; such powers will surely find a direction for expression—when that day comes, it may not be too many Nascent Souls, but too few instead?"