A full-scale invasion of the Glazed King City was, without a doubt, the most satisfying and exhilarating course of action for Great Emperor Danji given his current mood.
However, viewed from the perspective of the master of Pill Fire City, the matter was not so simple.
Once he made such a decision, it would force the two most powerful forces in the human territories into a premature and unrestricted collision.
When that happened, the human territories would be engulfed in a massive vortex — one that could potentially destroy the entire human domain.
What Great Emperor Danji worried about most was not the future fate of the human territories. Rather, he feared that if he invaded the Glazed King City, it would provoke the ire of the major powers, making him a common target and uniting the other factions against him — ultimately turning the fire back on himself.
The Glazed King City, ever since the emergence of that freak
In recent times, much of Pill Fire City's spotlight had been snatched away by the Glazed King City.
Under these circumstances, Great Emperor Danji was concerned that should such a conflict erupt, the majority of the rogue cultivators across the land would side with the Glazed King City.
The rogue cultivator community, while not the most formidable threat, would be an absolute disaster for Pill Fire City if they all stood against it.
Setting everything else aside, a great deal of Pill Fire City's business — much of its income — was squeezed from the rogue cultivators. The truly major powers were unlikely to let Pill Fire City profit so easily from them.
Regarding Long Baxiang's proposal, Great Emperor Danji had not lost his composure. Although somewhat tempted, he still needed to weigh the full chain of cause and effect.
It was entirely possible that the
Seeing Great Emperor Danji lost in thought, Long Baxiang let out a strange laugh: "Your Majesty Danji, you truly are beginning to disappoint me. The great master of Pill Fire City — always spoken of as so capable, so ambitious. But from the looks of it, Your Majesty's reputation as a great power broker across the land is somewhat lacking in substance."
Gao Chen snorted coldly: "Long Baxiang, don't think you're the only clever person in the world. Pill Fire City naturally fears nothing from the Glazed King City. However, if you think your Heavenly Dragon Sect can fish in troubled waters and reap the spoils without lifting a finger, then you're being far too naive."
Long Baxiang grinned sinisterly: "When all is said and done, Pill Fire City simply lacks the nerve!"
Great Emperor Danji snorted: "Long Baxiang, if this emperor were to make a move against the Glazed King City, the smartest first step would be to crush your Heavenly Dragon Sect — so that while we're locked in a heated battle, you lot aren't sneaking around behind our backs to stab Pill Fire City in the rear."
Great Emperor Danji's tone left no room for politeness.
Long Baxiang still harbored some wariness toward Great Emperor Danji. He knew that if Pill Fire City were truly determined to oppose his Heavenly Dragon Sect and bring its full weight to bear, it would be extremely difficult to withstand.
So he had no desire to tear the relationship apart completely.
He gave a sly chuckle: "Your Majesty Danji, my Heavenly Dragon Sect also has grievances with the Glazed King City. The enemy of an enemy is a friend. If we were going to stab anyone in the back, it would be the Glazed King City's — why would we ever strike at the rear of our own ally?"
As they were speaking, Great Emperor Danji's spiritual senses twitched: "Someone's coming."
Sure enough, someone had arrived. It was none other than Great Emperor Yunlan and his party of six. They returned in a state of utter exhaustion, battered and covered in wounds. The two who had been more severely injured looked particularly grim, their faces ashen with dejection.
Great Emperor Yunlan walked at the front. He had not sustained any fatal injuries, but his expression of frustration made it clear that the mission had not gone well at all.
"Yunlan, what happened? Where is
Great Emperor Yunlan sighed lightly, his face flushing with shame: "Your Majesty Danji, we have failed you. We were incompetent and let you down. The
"Where is Xu Qingxuan?" Great Emperor Danji's face darkened. He had no patience for this drivel — he wanted to see Xu Qingxuan, not hear excuses.
Great Emperor Yunlan stammered: "Your Majesty Danji... Xu Qingxuan was not at the Moon God Sect at all. It seemed the Moon God Sect had anticipated everything from the start. All of our actions and plans were within their calculations."
"What do you mean she wasn't at the Moon God Sect? Did you search?" Great Emperor Danji was furious.
"We did search. The Moon God Sect, to prove their innocence, even allowed us to search the entire compound. But after the search, we found nothing."
"Seeing that diplomacy was getting us nowhere, we tried a harder approach — threatening the Moon God Sect directly. Who would have thought that bunch of old women from the Moon God Sect were none of them easy to deal with? The more we pressed, the more agitated they became, and in the end, it turned into a fight."
"The Moon God Sect's sect formation was incredibly powerful. Anchored around the Sacred Moon Tree, their core inherited treasure, it formed an extremely three-dimensional and flawless defensive array. We assaulted it continuously for ten full days and made absolutely no progress. So... so we decided to come back and report to Your Majesty first."