Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 312 The Great Luo Palace, Now Reputed
Gu Zhao had just spent two days living a shameless life with Zhuo Qingyan when Li Qingshuang returned.

"You killed the Lord of the Netherfire Cult?"

"Yes, I said it, boohoo—"

……

"This world is so big, and I've only been destroying the Netherfire Cult for a short time, how did you get the news?"

The next day, in the backyard of the Grand Luo Palace.

Gu Zhao lay leisurely in the chair, cracking melon seeds and sipping hot tea, and asked Li Qingshuang beside him, "Were you at the Yan residence at that time?"

Although the wind was biting cold outside and snow was falling all around, the entire Daluo Palace was warm as springtime, with flowers in full bloom and the warm sunshine shining down. Instead of feeling cold, people felt comfortable.

Li Qingshuang shook her head, "I just came to Yongzhou from Yazhou."

“However, the Lord of the Netherfire Sect is renowned. You underestimate the influence of your killing of the Lord of the Netherfire Sect.” Li Qingshuang said solemnly, “His name has already spread beyond Yongzhou. He is far more powerful than small forces like the Golden Wind Sect or the Yellow Heaven Altar.”

Gu Zhao blinked. The Golden Wind Sect and the Yellow Heaven Altar were also incense-burning sects that occupied a prefecture, similar to the previous Netherfire Sect. How come they suddenly became small forces now?

Li Qingshuang looked at Gu Zhao with a strange expression, "How can you judge power simply by the size of territory?"

"Chaoyang Island is famous throughout the world. That ancestor once roamed all directions. But Chaoyang Island is just a small island off the coast of Yongzhou. The only place it can directly influence is the nearby Duchuan Prefecture. But in the whole world, who dares to underestimate Chaoyang Island?"

“Uh…” Gu Zhao was speechless.

It's not that he made an empirical error; the main reason is that the forces he had previously eliminated, which occupied a prefecture, had no lasting impact afterward.

The powerful forces and experts he came into contact with included the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Lingfa Academy, which controlled the entire country. The Mo Jiao was devouring people in the south of Jiangzhou. His Daluo Palace had also occupied land and opened a temple after pacifying the evil forces in a prefecture, and its territory was growing larger and larger.

Therefore, he subconsciously equated the size of his power with the size of his territory.

But this is actually inaccurate.

Even the Xuanwei Divine Sect allows other sects to collect incense offerings. However, the demand for incense offerings by most sects has its limits. The Daluo Palace is similar. Occupying such a large area does not necessarily require so much incense offerings. Rather, it is more of a gesture of protecting the people nearby.

For local sects, since the number of extraordinary individuals is limited, they only need enough territory and resources, not more. Especially with the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court above them, do they have any ulterior motives for occupying such a large territory?
"The Golden Wind Sect, the Yellow Heaven Altar, and even the Heavenly Annihilation Society of Qianshan Prefecture were all small sects established after the Great Battle of Wanlingjiang thirty years ago. Even their leaders had only a few hundred years of cultivation."

However, the Netherfire Cult is a major sect. Its leader has two thousand years of cultivation and gained fame a century ago, far surpassing figures like the Golden Wind God King or the Yellow Heaven God.

Li Qingshuang accepted the tea from Chen Zhi, thanked her softly, and continued, "You killed the leader of the Netherfire Cult. If you don't say it shook Jiangnan, it definitely shook Yongzhou."

Although Chaoyang Island and Jishen Mountain have profound foundations and are stronger than the Netherfire Cult, the number of people among them who can defeat the Netherfire Cult Leader can probably be counted on one or two hands.

Gu Zhao understood what Li Qingshuang meant.

Even if we don't say this is a fantasy world, even in a martial arts world in a novel, the masters are structured like a pyramid, with the majority being low-level henchmen, and the number of slightly famous masters can be counted on one hand.

Therefore, the higher the cultivation level, the fewer the number of experts. Whether in Jiangzhou or Yongzhou, there are still a few experts with five hundred or one thousand years of cultivation, but at the level of the Netherfire Cult Master, they are becoming increasingly rare.

Realizing he still lacked experience, Gu Zhao looked at Li Qing Shuang and asked, "What consequences will it have if I kill the leader of the Netherfire Cult?"

“The most direct impact is that it will arouse the suspicion of Chaoyang Island and Jishen Mountain.” Li Qingshuang gave Gu Zhao a deep look. “The actions of the Daluo Palace are even more extreme than those of the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court. I’m afraid it will attract the malice of those who commit evil.” Gu Zhao’s eyes narrowed. “Jishen Mountain?”

Compared to the faint malevolent aura emanating from the monsters on Chaoyang Island, the malevolent aura of the two ghosts on Jishen Mountain was much stronger.

“On Mount Jishen, there are ghosts who cultivate their souls in asceticism, as well as techniques for absorbing incense offerings. There are also methods for refining the soul,” Li Qingshuang said in a deep voice. “The last one is the fastest to cultivate.”

Gu Zhao nodded. "I like shortcuts."

“However, the Ancestor of Extinction of Yang of Silent God Mountain is relatively restrained, so he has been able to coexist peacefully with the Xuanwei Divine Sect for many years,” Li Qingshuang added.

"How much cultivation does this Ancestor of Extinction of Yang possess?" Gu Zhao asked.

“I don’t know exactly how high it is, but it’s probably around four or five thousand years of cultivation,” Li Qingshuang said. “It’s stronger than the Ink Dragon, and in Yongzhou, it can be said to be second only to Ancestor Chaoyang.”

Those around them couldn't help but gasp.

The black dragon with three thousand years of cultivation was already a major threat to the Great Luo Palace, and now an even more powerful one has arrived.
Zhuo Qingyan asked, "Won't he attack the Great Luo Palace first?"

Li Qingshuang did not answer, but replied, "It is not appropriate for the Lingfa Academy to go to Jiangnan at this time. I have invited the Mountain Lord to attend the New Year's Grand Ritual at the Daluo Palace."

Gu Zhao smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Qing Shuang."

Li Qingshuang glanced at Gu Zhao meaningfully, her lips curving slightly, but she remained silent.

Gu Zhao patted Zhuo Qingyan's hand again, "Don't worry, even if that Ancestor of Extinction of Yang comes, he won't get away with it."

Offense and defense are different; otherwise, the so-called mountain-protecting formation would be useless.

The fact that the Netherfire Cult Master's protective mountain formation couldn't stop the Great Luo Palace's Bagua Formation shows that he's useless, but it doesn't mean that the Great Luo Palace's protective mountain formation couldn't stop the invading enemy.

Therefore, they kept discussing when to hunt down the black dragon, but they were not worried that the black dragon would attack the Great Luo Palace after receiving the news.

However, although the Daluo Palace had occupied Changping Prefecture and Baishi Prefecture before, it was dealing with small forces. Even though its territory was larger, it did not attract the attention of any major forces.

But after this battle, the Daluo Palace has established its reputation and attracted the attention of those with ulterior motives. It will be difficult for it to keep a low profile in the future.

……

After finishing the important business, everyone continued chatting about other things.

Romantic pleasures, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

Almost all those remaining in Gu Zhao's backyard were women; there were no men at all. Whether it was Xiu Niang and Bai Ke, who coveted Gu Zhao, or the innocent and pure He Cailian and Xu Sirou, or Bi Yingying and Chen Zhi, they were all very pleasing to the eye.

Of course, while surrounded by beautiful women during the day, Gu Zhao only had Zhuo Qingyan and Li Qingshuang at night.

Unfortunately, they didn't seem inclined to go together, which left Gu Zhaoshu disappointed.

(End of this chapter)