Start with a red name

Geng Xuan shook his head and chuckled:
"It's better to be straightforward about these things, to be clear about everything, and to either agree or disagree."

He is not opposed to using certain methods, but only if they bring positive results.

Otherwise, resorting to such tactics would be digging a hole for ourselves.

If we do as Hark suggests, we might gain some advantages in the early stages, but the rest will be full of pitfalls.

More importantly, he now has the means to conduct this matter legitimately and openly.

If that's the case, he certainly doesn't need the troublesome operation of "luring them in and then killing them".

As for what Hak just told the High Priest of the Holy Mountain, which was his so-called "showdown," it was naturally the "Green Emperor story" that Geng Xuan had told him.

Compared to the version that Geng Xuan told him, Hak, from the perspective of a senior "Canglang believer," added more details and improvements. He also polished and smoothed out the parts that were too sharp and might make the "Canglang believer" uncomfortable.

However, the core of the story remains unchanged, strictly adhering to the basic principles set by Geng Xuan, and clearly stating the fundamental "fact" that "Canglangtian" is the transformation of Canglang, the offspring of the Azure Emperor.

To the clueless, this is just a ridiculous little story.

But when such a ridiculous little story is told in this kind of setting, everyone knows what its true meaning is.

Just as Geng Xuan was calm and Ha Ke was uneasy, Xiu Na, who felt bullied and extremely humiliated, was given the right to speak again under the teacher's "unban".

Without waiting a moment longer, she spoke angrily:

"Teacher, why are you stopping me?"

The high priest of the holy mountain did not reply, but walked forward silently, his face blank and his eyes showing a thoughtful expression.

Seeing him like this, Shuna became even angrier and shouted:
"Are you really considering it?!"

She then suddenly remembered that before the teacher left, she had not flatly refused, but had said "I'll think about it"!
"Hmm." The High Priest of the Holy Mountain nodded slightly.

Upon hearing this, Shuna was struck dumb.

She stopped in her tracks, and seeing that the High Priest of the Holy Mountain was still slowly walking forward, she quickly stepped in front of him and shouted:
"Are you senile?! Don't you know that they don't want to cooperate at all, but to devour us all in one bite!"

"Can't you see how malicious that ridiculous story is? It's trying to sever our roots!"

The High Priest of the Holy Mountain looked at his disciple, who was "flailing his fangs and brandishing his claws," and suddenly gave a wry smile, saying, "Then what do you think we should do?"

"Um……"

Huna, who had been all smiles, suddenly froze.

After a moment, she said with a resolute expression:
“Let’s leave right now! ... Even if his abilities exceed our expectations and we can’t deal with him, if we’re determined to leave, he won’t be able to stop us, right?”

...Then, we will immediately expose his true colors and his sinister intentions.

Let's create some chaos within his ranks!

At this point, she suddenly began to complain:
"You're too honest, revealing everything about the situation in the north."

Now there's no way to hide it anymore... Since that's the case, there's nothing we can do. Let's go back and gather our forces immediately. Plus, we have many believers here who are loyal to us... I believe that if we do this, even if we can't kill him, we can at least make him extremely anxious!
I also know a bit about the situation in other states, so we can take this opportunity to help them spread the word.

In just two or three months, they wiped out Dong Guan. What a display of power!
I believe that as long as we publicize what he has been doing these past few days, we won't even need to ask for help; forces from other states will intervene... At that point, with his position still unstable, how will he have the resources to deal with us?

"To achieve this goal, we may suffer considerable losses, but in the worst-case scenario, we can retreat to the northern border and preserve our foundation and strength."

As he listened to Huna's story, the High Priest of the Holy Mountain nodded slightly from time to time.

Especially when Shuna mentioned involving forces from other states to disrupt the situation, his eyebrows rose, revealing a look of surprise. After Shuna finished explaining her strategy, the High Priest of the Holy Mountain spoke:

"That's right, I thought you would gather your followers and fight him to the death."

Shuna pouted and muttered, "Am I really that reckless?...Do you really think I'm brainless?"

The High Priest of the Holy Mountain gently shook his head and continued:
"However, even if things really go as you've predicted, I don't see any hope."

“Hope? What hope?” Shuna asked in astonishment.

"Our hope, that of us foreigners."

"what?"

“You must understand that if things continue as you say, our enemy will no longer be just this ‘Black Wind Army Lord,’ but all the ‘descendants of the Five Emperors’ across the nine provinces.”

In the past, this would have been fine.

We are just a patch of weeds that no one cares about, able to live and thrive silently.

But not anymore.

After your outburst, optimistically speaking, we might get a few years, or even decades, of peace and stability. But then what?

“Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts… Unless we become one of them, one of our own, the more trouble we cause and the stronger we become, the greater the blows we will suffer!”

Shuna remained silent.

At this moment, the two had already left the camp and arrived at the Xuanqing Coast.

There was no one else around except the two of them.

The High Priest of the Holy Mountain gazed at the vast, empty water in the distance and murmured:
“Over the years, I’ve kept you confined to the mountains for spiritual practice, rarely venturing out… You don’t actually think I enjoy this austere, living-dead lifestyle, do you?”

"Huh? Is there another reason?" Shuna asked in surprise.

"These are the rules that our Holy Mountain lineage has had to abide by to survive to this day!"

"Rules? Who made the rules?" Shuna asked subconsciously, but soon, as if she had thought of something, a look of shock and realization appeared on her face.

The High Priest of the Holy Mountain continued:

"Back then, when Dong Guan was causing such a ruckus, I only threatened him secretly and didn't take his life. This is also part of the rules."

Ultimately, the masters of this land have remained unchanged for thousands of years.

For us outsiders to survive, keeping quiet and not causing trouble is a basic courtesy we must follow.

At this point, the High Priest of the Holy Mountain stopped talking and simply gazed silently into the distance.

Beside her, Shuna's emotions and expression were constantly shifting.

After a long silence, the High Priest of the Holy Mountain spoke again:

“You just said that accepting that story would sever our roots, but I don’t think so.”

...Have you ever seen sea buckthorn berries? Wild sea buckthorn berries are smaller than a finger, covered in sharp thorns, and bitter and astringent. But if you graft them onto a sand pear tree, the newly formed fruit will not only be larger, but also juicy, crisp, and sweet.

More importantly, those fruits did not turn into pears. (End of Chapter)