The morning dawned warm and dry across the Sky District of the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis. The sky was devoid of clouds and it was quickly illuminated by the rising sun. Across the densely populated district, cultivators got up to perform their daily routines. Others who had already been up long before sunrise were also out and about, soaring through the air in flying boats or even by themselves.
One of these solitary figures flew so fast that hardly anyone noticed. They were like a ray of blue light that started at the top of the Eastern Light Clan's tower and ended at the Golden Tower which belonged to the Huang Family.
Immortal Light of Daybreak Ming Mu greeted the guardian knights of the Huang Family and was led to the upper levels that belonged to the family patriarch. Unfortunately, Immortal Solemn Duke Huang Wuji was not one known to get out of bed early. Thus, he was forced to wait.
Ming Mu sat casually in the lounge, sipping tea, and conversing idly with the Chief Caretaker Ma. In reality, his spiritual sense was focused on the faint perturbances in the surrounding spiritual aura which all stemmed from Huang Wuij's private quarters. He occasionally sensed bursts of golden energy along with barely distinguishable female cries. He counted five different female voices as well as five bursts of vigorous energy before the door finally opened.
Huang Wuji slowly walked out, wearing his usual regal outfit covered in gold and splendor. "Little Brother Ming, I've made you wait. Come, come, let's have some tea."
Ming Mu glanced at his table at the teapot which he had already emptied and chuckled, "Senior Huang, still working hard on your thirty-first generation? Or is it the thirty-second generation now?"
Huang Wuji laughed, an energetic laugh that belied his age, "Still the thirty-first. You rascal, you dare mock me about my family matters? Aren't you in the same boat as I am?"
"Of all the Spirit Kings, who is not in the same boat? This subcontinent is simply too poor compared to others."
Huang Wuji sat down beside Ming Mu, "So, did you come to talk about my efforts to make more offspring or should we talk about the ambush that Ten Thousand Flower Valley suffered?"
Ming Mu's expression darkened, "That had nothing to do with me."
Huang Wuji snorted, "If you want to get rid of him, then just get rid of him yourself. What's the point of employing those low lives?"
Ming Mu didn't say anything and poured himself another cup of tea. It was well known among the four kings that his Eastern Light Clan had intentions to suppress Chen Wentian and Ten Thousand Flower Valley. However, he would never admit to such a disastrous loss.
He had hired four bandit Spirit Lords from the Martial Brilliance Continent. He had sent a majority of the mortal forces at his command in the multiple eastern provinces. In the end, they accomplished nothing. Not a single disciple of Ten Thousand Flower Valley suffered any harm, let alone Chen Wentian.
"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Ming Mu said finally, "Instead, it involves the Beast God Sanctum."
"Oh? What happened?"
"This matter came to light after the recent incident in Dragon Flower Province. Although Chen Wentian didn't reveal any of his personal secrets, it revealed some secrets to Beast God Sanctum."
"Beast God Sanctum, now that is interesting. Speak quickly."
Ming Mu's voice lowered to a whisper, "We never figured out the complete truth about the recent Beast God Sanctum incident. The whole matter is still strange and unclear, with lion lord He Zicheng going into closed-door cultivation and the snake lord's faction making a formal return. However, when Dragon Flower Province was besieged by bandit immortals, it was Mei Qiaofeng and Tie Buqun along with Qiu Chuyi who came to his aid."
"This means…" Huang Wuji muttered, his eyes flashing with surprise.
"That's right!" Ming Mu said, "Snake lord's faction, lion lord's faction, and he was already allied with the eagle lord's faction. This means that he now has the support of the whole Beast God Sanctum. I don't know how he did it but during that incident, he was definitely involved."
Huang Wuji stroked his beard, "This person's ambition is truly profound… You were right to be wary of him from the beginning."
The two old men shared a moment of silence, each person thinking along the same lines. They were the undisputed kings of the subcontinent. But this didn't mean they were good people. They were each keenly aware of the important events and people in their territories. They also paid attention to potential competitors and troublemakers seeking to upend the current balance of power. If the threat was large enough, they wouldn't mind joining forces to take care of it.
"So, what do you propose we do about it?" Huang Wuji asked.
"Right now, it might be difficult. He will be on his guard, overprotective of his sect and his people. But that is also his weakness and we can take advantage of it."
"His weakness for women is well known. But he should also be aware of it. Even if you kill a few of his disciples, so what? It won't change anything."
"It might not, but it also might. We can only try. There will be another immortal sect competition in a year. This time, we will fight against the western subcontinent and the competition will be fierce. It will be natural for a few disciples to lose their lives due to unfortunate events.
Huang Wuji looked toward Ming Mu with a frown, "What if it affects our changes against the west? It will be self-sabotage. We lost so many immortal sects in a few short years. I'm afraid we will be humiliated by those western devils."
"Is Senior Huang thinking of using Chen Wentian's disciples to defend the reputation of the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent?"
Huang Wuji smiled, "Something like that. But we can also boil the hound once it has caught the rabbit."
Hearing this, Ming Mu also smiled, "Senior Huang's wisdom is above mine."
Huang Wuji nodded sagely.
After that, the two men chatted about idle things. Eventually, the conversation circled back to the topic of family and the difficulty of finding a worthy successor.
"Senior Huang… you should take it easy on your old bones. One of these days, you might break something doing those things so vigorously."
Huang Wuji snorted but did not bother to reply.
Ming Mu smiled and continued, "Do you want to hear my honest opinion? If you truly want to give birth to a successor, then forget about propriety, ignore what others might say… take Lady Su Tan as your wife. A child with her will have the best chance of following in your footsteps. You know that. Everyone knows that. There is no one else better in the entire subcontinent."
"That's not necessarily true…" Huang Wuji argued, "What about Shi Shi?"
"Immortal Phoenix Legend? She is a miserable widower."
"Mei Qiaofeng?"
"A slut."
"Those from the Seven Seas Sacred Palace?"
"Inbred psychos."
"The Sapphire Mystic Empire?"
"Even bigger sluts than Mei Qiaofeng."
"…" Huang Wuji was left speechless.
It seemed like there really was no one. He did not want to upend millenniums of tradition and break the laws of family. He didn't want to steal his son's wife. But if he had to…
"Oh!" Ming Mu brightened with an idea, "There is one more person."
"Who?"
"Immortal Royal Moon Jasmine, the first elder of Ten Thousand Flower Valley."
Huang Wuji frowned, "Nobody has ever seen her. We can't be sure if she even exists."
"One person has seen her. Did you forget? Prioress of the Virtuous Order of Chunzhen for the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent, Immortal Glass Melody Gui Li."
"Ah…"
Huang Wuji fell silent and became thoughtful. The name Immortal Royal Moon Jasmine was almost like a myth, whispered in the night. But instead of scaring children, it was more likely to instill impossible fantasies in careless young men.
Supposedly, she was so ethereal and alluring that she was able to convince a prioress of the Order of Chunzhen to step out on her behalf, the same order that had resisted all efforts by the four kings or other Spirit Kings for that matter. This Jasmine was a mysterious goddess, a woman of such unattainable and ravishing beauty that there was no compare.
Of course, all of this was hearsay. Nobody had ever seen this person. Nobody knew what she looked like or exactly why the Virtuous Order stepped out to help Chen Wentian.
"In case you were wondering," Ming Mu said, "I wasn't able to obtain any information on her this time around. If was one of the goals I had but alas, I got nothing."
Huang Wuji waved his hand, "It's alright. We still have the intercontinental immortal sect competition. We'll dig out Chen Wentian's true bottom line and find this Immortal Royal Moon. You get what you want and I get what I want.
"Then, we are on the same boat?"
"Yes."
The two scheming old men nodded and shared a laugh.
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