When night fell, Chi Xing and the others were settled in for the night.
In a palatial hall, Zhao Baichuan stood before the window, gazing out into the distance.
Chen Tianfei stood behind him in silence.
After a long while, Zhao Baichuan finally let out a sigh: "What a splendid view! Old Chen, what do you think of the Qiaoqiao Grounds?"
Chen Tianfei wasn't sure what the Boss meant by this question, so after a moment's deliberation he replied: "The Seven Great Spirit Continents encompassing Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements — that's truly rare. And with the Qiaoqiao Celestial Lord managing them for so many years, even though the Qiaoqiao Grounds can't compare to those blessed paradises in their grandeur, among second-rate powers it's still quite impressive."
Zhao Baichuan nodded: "I've visited the headquarters of some second-rate powers before. The Qiaoqiao Grounds should rank about middle among all of them in terms of foundation."
Chen Tianfei smiled bitterly: "If our Red Star had been able to withstand the pressure back then and developed properly, after all these years we might not have fallen behind the Qiaoqiao Grounds. Unfortunately, the Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light arrived one after another, forcing us to split the world three ways."
Strictly speaking, Red Star was also a second-rate power, and so were the Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light — after all, all three had mid-grade Open Heaven experts presiding over them, with no shortage of low-grade Open Heaven cultivators. And the Star Market before that could be considered a spirit continent as well. But with three powers squeezed together, conflicts were inevitable. Splitting the world three ways was nowhere near as good as having one dominant power developing rapidly.
This was where Red Star fell short of the Qiaoqiao Grounds.
Zhao Baichuan chuckled softly: "Fortunately, the Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light are gone now. Only our Red Star remains standing."
"But our Star Market is gone too." Chen Tianfei's face was etched with worry. Every time he thought about it, his head ached. The Star Market had been swallowed by the Great Ruins Mist, shattered into countless pieces, and vanished entirely. Where Red Star would settle down next was still unknown — they couldn't very well wander the Three Thousand Worlds with a whole group of people.
"As long as we have people, what is there to fear about making a comeback?" Confidence radiated from Zhao Baichuan's face.
"The Boss speaks truly."
Chen Tianfei said respectfully, "But Boss, since we came here to borrow troops, why did you stop me from explaining the situation to Qiaoqiao? That Yang Kai is exceedingly cunning — if we keep delaying, he might escape at any moment."
"Drop the matter of borrowing troops." Zhao Baichuan waved his hand. "The situation now isn't that we need to borrow troops from Qiaoqiao — it's that he needs to borrow troops from us."
Chen Tianfei wasn't stupid. His expression shifted at these words: "The Boss means..."
Zhao Baichuan let out a sly laugh: "During the banquet just now, I gave it some careful thought. That Yu Xiushan is none other than the Palace Master of the Flying Smoke Palace — also a fifth-grade Open Heaven expert. And the Flying Smoke Palace is situated in the neighboring great domain, right next to the Qiaoqiao Grounds."
Chen Tianfei nodded: "Neighbors are bound to have all sorts of friction. Qiaoqiao mentioned earlier that he'd sustained injuries years ago, even damaging the Qiaoqiao Grounds' great protective formation. I'm afraid Yu Xiushan has smelled blood and wants to seize this opportunity to swallow the Qiaoqiao Grounds and strengthen himself."
Zhao Baichuan said: "That's exactly what I was thinking. And you probably didn't notice during the banquet just now, but among the Ground-Protecting Venerables of the Qiaoqiao Grounds, four are fourth-grade Open Heaven, while the remaining three are only third-grade."
Chen Tianfei thought back and realized the situation was indeed as Zhao Baichuan described. The three third-grade Open Heaven experts were the Ground-Protecting Venerables of the Fire Spirit Ground, Water Spirit Ground, and Metal Spirit Ground. He hadn't paid it any mind at the time, but now it struck him as odd — third-grade Open Heaven was merely low-grade. How could they be qualified to serve as Ground-Protecting Venerables?
Zhao Baichuan smiled faintly: "If I'm not mistaken, the incident that struck the Qiaoqiao Grounds years ago was no small matter. The previous three Ground-Protecting Venerables must have died, and those three third-grade Open Heaven cultivators were only temporarily appointed by Qiaoqiao to fill the gaps."
Understanding dawned on Chen Tianfei, and he didn't hesitate to flatter: "The Boss has truly sharp eyes. If what you say is correct, then Qiaoqiao does indeed have intentions of borrowing troops from us." He studied Zhao Baichuan's expression for a moment: "Does the Boss intend to intervene? But what benefit would that bring to our Red Star? This is, after all, their own grudge and conflict. Even if we help Qiaoqiao fend off the Flying Smoke Palace's attack, at most we'd only earn Qiaoqiao's gratitude. But that Yang Kai is carrying countless treasures — he's the hope for our Red Star's comeback."
Zhao Baichuan snorted coldly: "As if I'd care for Qiaoqiao's gratitude." He raised his hand and pointed forward, his bearing imperious: "Old Chen, look at this land. Wouldn't it be better if we renamed it Red Star Grounds someday?"
Chen Tianfei's heart lurched, and his eyes — narrowed as they always were from the layers of fat — went wide.
Zhao Baichuan had laid his intentions bare. How could Chen Tianfei not read between the lines? The Boss was planning to seize the Qiaoqiao Grounds! His first reaction was a twinge of unease — after all, the Qiaoqiao Grounds was no soft persimmon to be squeezed at will. They had their own fifth-grade Open Heaven and several fourth-grade Open Heaven experts. Moreover, this was their very stronghold. Stirring up trouble here was no different from pulling chestnuts from the fire — one misstep and they'd get burned.
But thinking more carefully, this venture was actually very much worth pursuing. The Flying Smoke Palace was eyeing the Qiaoqiao Grounds like a hungry tiger. If they could wait until both sides had battered each other senseless and then strike suddenly, there might well be an opportunity to seize this precious territory.
No wonder the Boss had volunteered to tour the Qiaoqiao Grounds after the banquet — he'd been conducting a preliminary inspection.