Free Web NovelChapter 312: Chapter 311: Daluo Palace Makes a Name for Itself
Gu Zhao had just spent two shameless, wanton days with Zhuo Qingyan when Li Qingshuang returned.
"You killed the Netherfire Sect Leader?"
"Yes, I said I would—mmph—"
...
"The world is a huge place. It’s only been a few days since I destroyed the Nether Fire Sect. How did you get the news so quickly?"
「The next day, in the backyard of the Daluo Palace’s Sect Leader.」
Gu Zhao lounged leisurely in a chair, cracking melon seeds and sipping hot tea. He asked Li Qingshuang, who was beside him, "Were you at the He Yan Mansion at the time?"
Although a bitter wind howled outside and heavy snow was falling, the entire Daluo Palace was as warm as spring. A hundred flowers were in bloom, and the warm sunshine made everything feel comfortable, not cold at all.
Li Qingshuang shook her head. "I had just entered Yongzhou from Yazhou."
"But the Netherfire Sect Leader was incredibly famous. You’re underestimating the impact of killing him," Li Qingshuang said seriously. "His name was known far beyond Yongzhou. He was nothing like minor powers such as the Golden Wind Sect or the Yellow Heaven Altar."
Gu Zhao blinked. ’The Golden Wind Sect and the Yellow Heaven Altar are also Incense and Candle Sects that occupy an entire prefecture, similar to the Nether Fire Sect before. How did they suddenly become ’minor powers’?’
Li Qingshuang gave Gu Zhao a strange look. "How can you judge a power’s strength simply by the size of its territory?"
"Chaoyang Island is world-renowned. Back in the day, that ancestor of theirs ran rampant across the land. But Chaoyang Island itself is just a small island off the coast of Yongzhou. The only place it has direct influence over is the nearest prefecture, Du Chuan. And yet, who in the entire world would dare to look down on Chaoyang Island?"
"Er..." Gu Zhao was speechless.
It wasn’t his fault for making a mistake based on experience. The powers he’d destroyed before, which had also occupied entire prefectures, hadn’t caused any significant repercussions after their fall.
The major powers and top experts he had encountered—the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court, which held sway over the world; the Ink Flood Dragon, which devoured people wantonly in southern Jiangzhou—all followed a similar pattern. His own Daluo Palace had taken over territory and established itself after pacifying the evil forces in a prefecture, its domain steadily growing.
So, he had subconsciously equated a power’s strength with the size of its territory.
But that wasn’t accurate.
Even the Xuanwei Divine Sect allowed other sects to gather Incense. And ordinary sects had a limit to how much Incense they needed. The Daluo Palace was similar. It didn’t actually need all the Incense from such a large territory; occupying the land was more a gesture of protecting the local populace.
For native sects, with their limited number of Extraordinary individuals, having just enough territory and resources was sufficient. More wasn’t always better. Especially with the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court watching from above, occupying such a large territory could make them wonder if you were getting ideas.
"The Golden Wind Sect, the Yellow Heaven Altar, and even the Celestial Extinction Association of Qianshan Prefecture, are all minor sects established after the great battle at the Wanling River thirty years ago. Even their Sect Leaders only have a few hundred years of Dao Practice."
"But the Nether Fire Sect was a major sect. The Netherfire Sect Leader had two thousand years of Dao Practice and made a name for himself a century ago. He’s not someone the Golden Wind Divine King or the Yellow Heaven God could ever compare to."
Li Qingshuang accepted the tea from Chen Zhi, thanked her quietly, and continued, "By killing the Netherfire Sect Leader, you may not have shaken the whole of Jiangnan, but you definitely shook all of Yongzhou."
"Chaoyang Island and Silent God Mountain have deep foundations and are stronger than the Nether Fire Sect, but the number of people among them who could have defeated the Netherfire Sect Leader can probably be counted on one or two hands."
Gu Zhao understood what Li Qingshuang meant.
This wasn’t just a Xianxia World; even in the Martial Worlds of novels, experts formed a pyramid structure. The vast majority were low-level grunts, while the slightly more famous experts could all be counted.
Therefore, the higher the Dao Practice, the fewer the number of people who possessed it. Whether in Jiangzhou or Yongzhou, there were a fair number of experts with five hundred to a thousand years of Dao Practice. But at the level of the Netherfire Sect Leader, the numbers dwindled rapidly.
’I really am too inexperienced, after all,’ Gu Zhao thought, looking at Li Qingshuang. "What are the consequences of me killing the Netherfire Sect Leader?"
"The most direct consequence is that you’ve drawn the wariness of Chaoyang Island and Silent God Mountain." Li Qingshuang gave Gu Zhao a deep look. "Daluo Palace’s methods are even more extreme than those of the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court. I’m afraid you’ll attract the malice of those who commit great evil."
Gu Zhao’s eyes narrowed. "Silent God Mountain?"
Compared to the faint Evil Qi on the Demons of Chaoyang Island, the Evil Qi from the two Ghosts on Silent God Mountain was far denser.
"On Silent God Mountain, there are Ghosts who arduously cultivate their Divine Souls, there are Cultivation Techniques for absorbing Incense, and there are also Dharma Gates for Soul Refining," Li Qingshuang said in a low voice. "That last method is the fastest way to cultivate."
Gu Zhao nodded. "Everyone loves a shortcut."
"However, Ancestor Mie Yang of Silent God Mountain is relatively restrained, so he has coexisted peacefully with the Xuanwei Divine Sect for many years," Li Qingshuang added.
"This Ancestor Mie Yang, how much Dao Practice does he have?" Gu Zhao asked.
"I don’t know the exact amount, but he should have roughly four or five thousand years of Dao Practice," Li Qingshuang said. "He’s stronger than the Ink Flood Dragon. In Yongzhou, you could say he’s second only to the Chaoyang Ancestor."
Everyone nearby couldn’t help but gasp.
The Ink Flood Dragon with its three thousand years of Dao Practice was already a major threat to Daluo Palace. Now there was someone even more powerful?
Zhuo Qingyan asked, "He won’t target Daluo Palace first, will he?"
Li Qingshuang didn’t answer directly, only replying, "It’s inconvenient for the Spirit Court to come down to Jiangnan right now. For Daluo Palace’s New Year Grand Rite, I will invite the Mountain Master to attend the ceremony."
Gu Zhao couldn’t help but smile. "Then I’ll have to thank you, Qingshuang."
Li Qingshuang gave Gu Zhao a meaningful look, the corners of her lips turning up slightly as she smiled without a word.
Gu Zhao patted Zhuo Qingyan’s hand. "Don’t worry. Even if that Ancestor Mie Yang comes, he won’t have an easy time."
Offense and defense are two different things. Otherwise, the so-called Mountain Protection Array would be useless.
The Netherfire Sect Leader’s Mountain Protection Array couldn’t stop Daluo Palace’s Eight Trigrams Array because he was useless, but that doesn’t mean Daluo Palace’s own Mountain Protection Array can’t stop an invading enemy.
That’s why they had always discussed *when* to go and besiege the Ink Flood Dragon, but were never worried about the Ink Flood Dragon coming to attack Daluo Palace after hearing the news.
But how to put it... Before, although Daluo Palace occupied Changping Prefecture and Bai Shi Prefecture, it had only dealt with minor powers. Even with its large territory, it hadn’t attracted the attention of any major forces.
But after this battle, Daluo Palace had finally made a name for itself and entered the sights of interested parties. It would probably be difficult to lay low and bide its time in the future.
...
Once the serious business was concluded, everyone moved on to idle chatter.
They spoke of romance and the arts, of refined and leisurely pursuits.
Almost everyone who remained in Gu Zhao’s backyard were women; there were practically no men. Whether it was the Silk Embroideress and Bai Ke, who coveted Gu Zhao, the innocent and kind He Cailian and Xu Sirou, or Bi Yingying and Chen Zhi, they were all a feast for the eyes.
Of course, while he was surrounded by beauties during the day, at night, Gu Zhao still only had Zhuo Qingyan and Li Qingshuang.
Unfortunately, they showed no intention of being with him at the same time, which Gu Zhao found to be a great pity.
