Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 199 Breaking Through Blackwood Cliff, The True Culprit Who Killed His Father

You can run away from the monk, but you can't hide from the temple.
Lu Xiaofeng shook his head and said, "This person comes from the Western Regions and has no roots in our Ming Kingdom. His so-called leader of the Sun Moon Divine Cult is just a coincidence. What I fear is that he will abandon the Sun Moon Divine Cult and run away, never to return to Blackwood Cliff!"

Liu Yuru frowned upon hearing this, but said, "Even so, we can't catch up with them or stop them."

"Sigh, that's true..."

Lu Xiaofeng was helpless.

a few days later.

On the battlefield, the battle between the Alliance and the Sun Moon Cult reignites.

The demonic blade slashed out, and an incomparably sharp blade aura instantly killed Ren Woxing!

Guihai Yidao raised his demonic blade high and roared, "Ren Woxing is dead! The rest of you, why don't you surrender?!"

When the people around looked, they saw that Ren Woxing was indeed dead.

The Sun Moon Cult was greatly alarmed and all considered retreating.

On the other hand, the alliance members were extremely excited, shouting, "The Alliance Leader is mighty! The Alliance Leader is mighty!"

With Zuo Lengchan's death, the position of alliance leader naturally needs to be re-selected.

In the battle where Anwu launched a surprise attack on the alliance camp, Yi Jue, who repelled him, gained great prestige and was fully capable of winning, so he was elected as the new leader of the alliance.

As the new leader of the alliance, Yi Jue lived up to expectations, directly killing Ren Woxing, the Left Envoy of the Sun Moon Cult, in the first great battle.

These actions greatly boosted the morale of the alliance, while the morale of the Sun Moon Cult declined. Coupled with the fact that their personnel strength was inferior to that of the alliance, they ultimately suffered a crushing defeat in this battle.

They were even driven to the gates of the military camp by the alliance, and only managed to temporarily repel them thanks to the camp's defenses.

This crushing defeat directly altered the balance of power between the two sides.

Although the Sun Moon Cult had military camps as a defensive stronghold, their morale was low.

Furthermore, an unexpected incident occurred at Blackwood Cliff, causing widespread panic.

Furthermore, because the Left and Right Envoys of Light were killed, the camp lost its commander, and the Ten Evils were not convinced of each other's loyalty, leading to chaos in command.

A few days later, Guihai Yidao launched another surprise attack, storming the Sun Moon Cult's camp at night. However, he did not encounter any effective counterattack and easily broke into the camp.

After a night of fierce fighting, five of the Ten Villains perished, and the rest deserted.

Of the tens of thousands of Sun Moon Cult disciples, some died and others fled, leaving only two or three thousand captured.

After Lu Xiaofeng and his men collected letters from the camp and interrogated some prisoners, they discovered that the camp and Blackwood Cliff had not been in contact for several days, and there were rumors that the sect leader had disappeared. They knew something was wrong.

"That An Wu, he really has already escaped!"

"Since that's the case, let's go all out and kill our way to Blackwood Cliff, and wipe out the Sun Moon Cult."

After a short rest and breakfast, the allied army regrouped and headed towards Blackwood Cliff.

Blackwood Cliff is a steep and treacherous place, with only one mountain path leading upwards, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

However, the allied army encountered no effective defense as they marched forward, easily reaching the top of Blackwood Cliff.

As expected, An Wu was nowhere to be found.

Everyone felt it was a pity, but there was nothing they could do about it.

The other party was from the Western Regions and was not part of the Ming Dynasty's foundation. The Sun Moon Cult could be abandoned so easily.

No matter how much they hate them, they could never kill their way to the Western Regions.

Besides, it's not even certain whether they'll return to the Western Regions.

I could only keep this to myself and ignore it.

The alliance army then searched the entire Blackwood Cliff and captured all the Sun Moon Cult disciples hiding there, but only a few hundred were captured; the rest had already escaped.

Such a resounding victory.

What followed was the division of profits!

Although the many forces that have gathered in this alliance today initially did so for the sake of fame.

But after a great victory, it would be even better if we could gain some additional benefits.

Most of the wealth of the Sun Moon Cult was taken away by Dongfang Bubai, but a considerable amount was still left.

After all, even after Dongfang Bubai left, the Sun Moon Cult continued to operate with a membership of several thousand people for some time.

Furthermore, after Anwu became the leader, he gathered those who had left, bringing the total number of people back to over ten thousand.

To support a major battle involving more than 10,000 people, a considerable amount of food and supplies would be required.

These were all plundered by the Sun Moon Cult from the surrounding areas.

Now it has fallen into the hands of the alliance.

Naturally, no one would be foolish enough to say that the wealth should be returned to the people; instead, it was directly divided up by various forces within the alliance.

And the one who holds the right to divide this spoils is naturally the alliance leader, Yi Jue!
"Wudang, Shaolin, and Huashan each received one-tenth, and the other fourteen forces each received half a percent... So what did the alliance leader's Seven Absolutes Hall get?"

Liu Yuru was greatly surprised when she saw the proposal that Yi Jue handed her.

Yi Jue remained silent, but Yi Xin beside him said, "Our Seven Absolutes Hall is located in a rather remote place, and we are now looking to change our base."

"So that's how it is. You've got your eye on Blackwood Cliff?"

Liu Yuru immediately understood and said, "As the leader of the alliance, I have already told you the inside story of this alliance. I think you understand that who Blackwood Cliff ultimately belongs to is not up to us!"

Blackwood Cliff is a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Despite this, the imperial court didn't really care.

Ultimately, this place is a mountain within the Ming Dynasty's territory, not a border region.

However, it has always been occupied by the Sun Moon Cult, a force that subtly opposes the imperial court.

But that's alright, since no matter what the Sun Moon Cult does, it won't collude with the Yuan Kingdom.

But now that the Sun Moon Cult is gone, this place seems to have caught the eye of the Yuan Kingdom.

Therefore, Black Cliff's importance in the eyes of the imperial court suddenly increased significantly.

To gain control of Blackwood Cliff, the court must be convinced that they will never submit to the Yuan Dynasty.

Yi Jue said, "Blackwood Cliff has a uniquely advantageous terrain. Even if I don't occupy it, other forces will take it over in the future. Not to mention, the Yuan Kingdom is also eyeing it covetously. Therefore, the imperial court will inevitably tacitly allow one force to occupy Blackwood Cliff... As for the imperial court's trust, we have our own ways to handle it!"

"I see."

Thinking about the rise of the Seven Absolutes Hall in the past six months, Liu Yuru secretly thought that it was probably supported by a powerful figure in the court.

I won't dwell on it too much.

Word spread quickly.

Apart from a few exceptions, the other factions had no objections.

Although Blackwood Cliff is a good place, not every force is willing to abandon its original base and move there.

Moreover, even if they had that determination, they still couldn't defeat Yi Jue.

Therefore, most people have no objections.

When Lu Xiaofeng and Li Xunhuan found out, their expressions were inscrutable.

They were naturally unaware of the imperial court's actions, but having personally fought against Meng Da and Meng Er, they knew that the Yuan Kingdom had already set its sights on Blackwood Cliff.

If the Ming Dynasty were unaware of this, it would be one thing, but since it is aware of it, it certainly cannot sit idly by.

Therefore, if the Seven Absolutes Hall wants to occupy Blackwood Cliff, it must first obtain permission from the imperial court. "Hall Master Yi fought alongside us against the Mongols; he shouldn't be unaware of this, yet he still chose to occupy Blackwood Cliff. Could it be that he has some kind of backing?"

Li Xunhuan shook his head and said, "Brother Lu, stop with the veiled questions. Just say that Yi Jue is backed by the imperial court. You mentioned before that the Seven Absolutes Hall was likely a force that a certain power supported specifically to obtain the Yellow Millet Pill from that mysterious organization... Now it seems that it should be a certain force in the imperial court!"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "Yes, that's what I think too, but I still don't know which one it is."

Li Xunhuan said, "Yi Xin is clearly someone who has been cultivated by a certain force over many years. Yi Jue is probably the same. And his swordsmanship is fierce and terrifying, especially the Avici Three Swords, which is probably a grandmaster-level ultimate technique!"

"There aren't many people in the court who possess the resources to train assassins and who can utilize the ultimate techniques of a grandmaster..."

When it comes to cultivating assassins, there are many forces within the Ming Dynasty capable of doing so.

However, very few people are capable of producing grandmaster-level techniques and passing them on to their subordinates to learn.

The first is naturally the royal family.

Secondly, there is Pei Ju, the chief minister who is said to have a grandmaster as his subordinate.

Apart from that, even among the powerful princes with fiefdoms, none of them could produce a grandmaster-level martial arts technique.

As for the forces of the martial arts world, that goes without saying.

"Grand Secretary Pei Ju..."

Lu Xiaofeng hesitated for a moment, then said, "I am friends with Zhou Ming, the son of the Grand Secretary, and I shouldn't say much. But I think it was Zhou Ming who wrote this in his book that made you aware of it."

If it were the Grand Secretary's doing, Zhou Ming probably wouldn't have written it so directly.

Li Xunhuan laughed and said, "You are friends with Zhou Ming, and so am I, so I trust him. Just as you wished, if Zhou Ming hadn't written this matter in his book, I'm afraid I would still be in the dark. I think this matter was not done by the Grand Secretary."

Lu Xiaofeng frowned: "Li Tanhua, if you're not the Grand Secretary, then... could you be a member of the royal family?"

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "It couldn't possibly be the late emperor, could it?"

Li Xunhuan shook his head: "My father did not hold a high position. If the late emperor wanted to kill my father, why go through all this trouble?"

"Then...who exactly do you suspect?"

"Brother Lu, do you really want me to say it? Someone who can use royal resources, who had the ability to train assassins more than a decade ago, and who can only resort to assassination... who else could it be but the Iron-Blooded Marquis back then?"

"Li Tanhua... A gentleman takes his revenge, even after ten years!"

"Hahaha……"

Li Xunhuan laughed: "In Brother Lu's heart, am I really such an impulsive and reckless person? I am aware of the power and strength of the Iron-Blooded Marquis. Rest assured, I will not act rashly in avenging my father!"

"That's good……"

Lu Xiaofeng nodded, finally feeling relieved.

Beijing.

As Zhou Ming lifted his fishing rod, he habitually grabbed the bait next to him to re-hook it, but suddenly saw a small fish caught on the hook.

"Huh? They actually caught one?"

Zhou Ming laughed: "You may plant flowers with care but they may not bloom, while you may plant willows without intention and they may thrive. I was just fishing casually and didn't expect to catch anything, but I caught a small fish here. Hehe... I guess I'm lucky."

Blackwood Cliff.

The eighteen factions gathered together once again.

Ding Mian represented the Songshan Sect on their behalf.

The Shaolin, Wudang, and Shengshou Sects, which had lost high-ranking members, also had representatives step forward to participate in this distribution conference.

Even the Moon Shadow Sect is included.

After all, although the Moon Shadow Sect colluded with the Yuan Kingdom, there was no substantial evidence to support this claim.

The words of Lu Xiaofeng and others alone are not enough to determine the crimes of an entire sect.

Therefore, at this very moment, the Moon Shadow Gate still exists.

However, things will probably be different once they return.

The imperial court will never let any force that colludes with the Yuan Dynasty go unpunished.

"Fellow allies, we have been gathered here for over a month, overcoming countless hardships and sacrifices, and have finally destroyed the Demonic Sect."

Although we are united by loyalty, those who carry the torch for the masses should not freeze or starve to death. Today, having destroyed the demonic cult and obtained provisions and gold and silver, we should share them with our allies.

However, before that, the compensation for those who died in battle was still undecided…

The alliance leader, Yi Jue, did not immediately begin dividing the spoils, but instead started talking about the compensation for those who died in battle.

Of all the grain, fodder, gold, and silver obtained, a portion was first set aside as compensation, and the remainder was to be divided among them as profits.

The news had been circulating on Blackwood Cliff for several days, and all the forces already knew the details, so they all showed joy but were not surprised.

After the distribution was completed, Yi Jue stood up and said, "Since all of you are here today, I also have something to discuss."

"Alliance Leader, please don't stand on ceremony, please speak."

"Since its establishment, the Seven Absolutes Hall has never had a stable place. Today, with the destruction of the Moon Goddess Sect, only the Blackwood Cliff remains, abandoned in vain, which is a real pity. Therefore, I wish to move the Seven Absolutes Hall to this Blackwood Cliff as its foundation."

However, Blackwood Cliff was conquered by our alliance together and cannot be directly seized. Therefore, we would like to discuss this with you all.

Liu Yuru stood up and said, "The reason we were able to destroy the Sun Moon Divine Sect this time is largely due to the Alliance Leader's successive killings of the Right Envoy of Light, Du Sha, and the Left Envoy, Ren Woxing, and even the injury to the Sect Leader, An Wu."

In my opinion, the alliance leader should bear the greatest credit for this. It's just a mere Blackwood Cliff; they can take it, and no one will say anything more."

"Yeah yeah!"

"The alliance leader has made the greatest contribution and should naturally occupy this Blackwood Cliff."

"The land of Blackwood Cliff is naturally rightfully ours, Alliance Leader!"

Everyone had received tangible benefits and began to speak up.

Even those who harbored dissenting thoughts dared not voice their opposition at such a time.

"In that case, I shall accept your offer without hesitation."

Yi Jue said, "Since all of you all are here, let us bear witness that from now on, this Blackwood Cliff will be the territory of my Seven Absolutes Hall!"

Thus, the master of Blackwood Cliff changed from the Sun Moon Divine Sect to the Seven Absolutes Hall!
In reality, gaining the approval of these people is utterly useless; the real key is gaining the approval of the imperial court.

However, Guihai Yidao never worried about this.

only……

It seems that we will be getting further and further away from that capital city in the future!

Having occupied Blackwood Cliff, he had completed the mysterious organization's assessment task and would become a formal member of the organization.

He shoulders not only the responsibility of this organization, but also the hope of the Divine Marquis behind it.

Even... the hope of the royal family!
To put it bluntly, even if Iron-Blooded Marquis were to retire to the mountains right now and hand over his power to the emperor, the emperor would never allow Guihai Yidao to leave. Instead, he would let him remain rooted in the organization.

Until the elixir of rejuvenation is completely cracked.

"I heard that His Majesty obtained a Yellow Millet Pill from Jinjiu and has now handed it over to Master Zhang. He is also planning to build a Pill Palace on Wudang Mountain and call on talented people from all over the world to participate in the research."

Gui Haiyi thought to himself, "I wonder if they can figure out the secret. If they can, I might have to leave the organization..."

only……

What he hopes for may not be realized in the distant future.

Or perhaps, it's impossible in this lifetime...

(End of this chapter)