#425 - Attitudes of all parties

Southern Border, forbidden ground of the Enchanting Eye Clan.

An elder stood before the cave dwelling in the forbidden ground, quietly waiting for something.

A long silence filled the cave dwelling before a deep voice echoed out.

"This matter is indeed quite difficult. Not long ago, the War Saint reappeared in the ancient city of Eastern Wilderness, killing many profound experts from the Soul Hunting Hall with a flip of her hand. The War Saint's power shook the world, and naturally, the weight of her disciple, Jun Wuxie, has also risen."

"Now, the Western Forest army has gathered a billion soldiers, pressing upon Great Zhou. The forces behind those hundred spirit boats are extraordinary. Rashly participating in this may place our Enchanting Eye Clan in even more dangerous circumstances..."

"The Guardians speak correctly. Should we then choose to remain uninvolved?" The elder paused slightly before adding, "According to the intelligence we have gathered, the appearance of the spirit boats is accompanied by the figures of high-level Soul Hunters from the Soul Hunting Hall. From this, we can basically conclude that the cloud ships come from the Soul Hunting Hall!"

A voice came from inside the cave dwelling: "It is no secret that the Soul Hunting Hall is driving the wars between mortal kingdoms from behind the scenes. What is most perplexing is that the Soul Hunting Hall openly uses large spirit boats to help Western Forest mobilize its troops, yet the Heaven Purification Sect still hasn't stood up to say a word, not even a superficial statement."

"The water here is very deep, involving forces that are too strong, so strong that even we, the dominating forces, cannot contend with them. But this time, the one about to suffer is Great Zhou. The Great Zhou royal family has a close relationship with Jun Wuxie, and the Sect King Academy is also within Great Zhou's borders. If we stand idly by, we will miss the opportunity to express goodwill towards Jun Wuxie..."

"Guardians, what exactly should we do?"

The elder was somewhat bewildered, unable to fathom the Guardians' thoughts.

"This matter is indeed difficult. No matter what choice is made, it has two sides, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. How about this, go ask Qingcheng, let her make the decision, after all, she is the current head of our clan. Tell her that no matter what decision she makes, we will support her, but one thing, if she chooses to interfere, it can only be verbal interference, absolutely no action!"

"Yes!"

The elder turned and left.

Inside the cave dwelling, four white-haired old men looked at each other.

"The Soul Hunting Hall's sudden, large-scale actions this time are probably not just aimed at capturing the capital of Great Zhou, but also at dealing with Jun Wuxie."

"Although we don't know much about the Soul Hunting Hall, we do know their style of doing things. Having suffered a great loss at the hands of the War Saint, how could they possibly swallow this anger?"

"Hmm, their initial goal was Jun Wuxie, and that's why they lost their profound experts. This time, gathering a large army is probably to use the hands of Western Forest to hunt down Jun Wuxie. In this case, the War Saint will only choose to stay out of it, having no reason to take action."

"If their plan succeeds, will the War Saint really watch Jun Wuxie die? She is already invincible, what is there to worry about? Is the Soul Hunting Hall really certain that she won't take action?"

"There is certainly no 100% certainty, but based on the War Saint's strength and pride, would she take action against the armies of mortal nations? Besides, who can know what such a strong person is thinking? If the person she chose can't even pass the test of the mortal army and the Soul Hunting Hall's high-level Soul Hunters, maybe the War Saint herself will give up on this successor..."

......

Before the Enchanting Eye Clan's family courtyard, several elders arrived together.

"Clan Head, we have something to request."

Their voices were not loud, but they were very penetrating, containing spiritual sound transmission.

"What is it?"

Deep within the courtyard, in a secret room of a tall building, Yan Qingcheng was awakened from her seclusion, slowly opening her purple eyes, her brow slightly furrowed.

"Clan Head, the matter is like this..."

The elders explained in detail the appearance of the War Saint and the impending national crisis facing Great Zhou.

"Immediately notify our people in the ancient city of Eastern Wilderness, and have them go to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion and tell the Pavilion Masters not to let Jun Wuxie know about this for the time being!"

Yan Qingcheng got up, her face full of solemnity. After pondering slightly, she quickly walked out: "This Clan Head must immediately go to Great Zhou!"

"Clan Head, do you want us to accompany you?"

"No need, this Clan Head will bring two Saint Realm hidden elders with me!"

Yan Qingcheng said this, and with a flash of her figure, she disappeared.

......

At the same time, Ice Cloud Tower in the Northern Wilderness.

Mu Xuelan hurriedly entered a secret place in the back mountain of the sect.

She reached out and placed her hand on a mysterious ice gate, activating the runes, pushed open the gate, and walked in.

Inside was an ice and snow hall, with four women of icy temperament and youthful faces, each possessing a captivating beauty.

"Xuelan, have you considered the consequences?"

After listening to Mu Xuelan's statement, the four women opened their eyes at the same time, their icy eyes filled with deep incomprehension.

"Guardians, you may be referring to the consequences before your eyes, but Xuelan is considering the consequences of the future."

Mu Xuelan said calmly, "Now the general trend of the world has become very strange, the Soul Hunting Hall is rampant, and the Heaven Purification Sect's attitude is abnormal. We must plan for the future."

"You think that helping Great Zhou this time is equivalent to helping Jun Wuxie, so that when Jun Wuxie becomes powerful in the world in the future, he can become an aid to our Ice Cloud Tower?"

"Xuelan, are you so sure that Jun Wuxie can go to the end?"

"This child's talent is unparalleled. In terms of growth, he can indeed be called a monstrous existence, but he has too many enemies. There are countless people in this world who want his life!"

"Xuelan, you should know that the present world is different from the past. This era is the most prosperous golden age of this epoch. Traces of cultivators from beyond the region have already appeared, and Jun Wuxie's enemies will become more and more numerous. Our most prudent choice is to wait and see. It is unwise to place our bet on him too early, thereby offending powerful enemies that we don't necessarily have to offend."

"The four Guardians' thoughts are reasonable, but Xuelan believes that it is precisely because this era is different from any previous era that we can no longer act conservatively. We should make a decision early and choose a particularly outstanding young genius to establish a good relationship with. If we wait until the future to express goodwill, I'm afraid it will be too late."

Silence filled the ice and snow hall.

The four Guardians were silent for a moment, and then one of them said: "We can agree to your idea, but only to the extent of using our right to speak. We can speak for Great Zhou and strive for peace. If it doesn't succeed, then so be it. We must not take action and participate in the war between the two countries!"

"Xuelan understands."

Mu Xuelan nodded and silently withdrew from the ice and snow hall.

"Have you noticed that something seems to be wrong with Xuelan..."

One of the Guardians frowned slightly.

"Something is indeed wrong. There seems to be another aura within her body."

"I'm afraid it was caused by the trip to the Burial Corpse Ground. We don't know whether that aura is good or bad for her."

"It doesn't matter. When she returns from Great Zhou, we will carefully examine her physical condition. Even if that aura is harmful to her, we can help resolve it with our strength."

......

At the same time, the Demon Appearance Sect, another dominating force in the Northern Wilderness, was also discussing this matter.

"Anyway, all we can do is help Great Zhou in other ways. Directly participating in the war, I'm afraid, will provoke the experts from the Soul Hunting Hall, and the consequences will be severe."

"Since everyone unanimously feels that we cannot stand idly by, then we will immediately go to Great Zhou. Although we cannot take action, our Demon Appearance Sect has a method that we hope will be helpful to them."

"Alas, the hope is slim. Now Great Zhou's territory has been more than halved, and the population has been sharply reduced by more than half. Even with the help of our secret method, it is impossible to resist the billion-strong army of Western Forest. We can only say that it can last a few more days."

......

Great Zhou Imperial Palace.

Ji Liufeng was already overwhelmed with anxiety, his face haggard, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He had not closed his eyes for three days.

It seemed that the Western Forest army was about to launch an attack.

Now, with the help of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, half of the people in the five counties have been safely evacuated to the capital and the rear territory of the capital.

But there are still so many people on the road.

Once Western Forest launches an attack, how can Great Zhou's tens of millions of soldiers resist Western Forest's army of more than one hundred million?

He felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Great Zhou was probably finished.

"Father."

Ji Beilan walked in, locking the door behind him.

"Beilan, you're here..." Ji Liufeng sat down listlessly in his chair, his voice slightly hoarse: "Father is useless, unable to hand over the Great Zhou empire to you..."

"Father, things have come to this, we should accept this fact. It is useless to dwell on it too much."

Ji Beilan stepped forward, looked at his haggard appearance, and said: "Great Zhou's fall is a foregone conclusion. What we need to do now is to evacuate all the people in time, let them scatter into the deep mountains, preserve Great Zhou's bloodline, and wait for the day to rise again!"

"Father is not reconciled. The Great Zhou empire will be shattered, trampled by the Western Forest barbarians. How can Father be reconciled? If Wuxie were here at this time, perhaps he would still have a way. When do you think Wuxie will return?"

Having reached the point of despair, Ji Liufeng pinned his last hope on Jun Wuxie at this time.

He knew that this might be self-comfort, but he was unwilling and hoped that a miracle could happen.

"Father, why do you still think about Brother-in-law coming back at this moment?" Ji Beilan said in a deep voice: "Western Forest only had 20 million troops attacking us, but now they have suddenly mobilized an army of over 100 million. Why are they so eager?"

"Why?" Ji Liufeng looked at his son with some bewilderment. Suddenly, he felt that the son in front of him was somewhat unfamiliar, a little different from the son he knew. "Beilan, what do you want to say?"

"There are terrible forces behind them pushing them. This time, gathering a large army is with the intention of killing two birds with one stone, quickly capturing my Great Zhou while using the Western Forest army to deal with Brother-in-law! You are hoping that Brother-in-law will come back, that is to let Brother-in-law die!"

"Is, is that so?"

Ji Liufeng murmured to himself, deeply shaken by Ji Beilan's words.

Recalling the previous palace incident, he vaguely felt that his son was right…

“Father, even if the entire territory of Great Zhou falls, we can still recover it in the future! This time, my brother-in-law must never betray Great Zhou. Regarding the evacuation of the people into the deep mountains, Father, you must make a decision and arrange it in time. Your son still has urgent matters to attend to and needs to leave Great Zhou for a few days!”

“Father, you may feel that your son has changed, but no matter what, please do not mention it to anyone, otherwise, I fear your son will have difficulty surviving…”

After Ji Beilan finished speaking, he turned and left.

“Beilan, what are you going to do?”

When Ji Liufeng looked up, Ji Beilan was already gone.

He stared blankly in the direction he had disappeared, his heart filled with confusion.

Great Zhou's situation is so critical now, yet as the Crown Prince, he actually wants to leave for a few days?

Is there anything more important than the safety of Great Zhou?

“Beilan, is it because Father has spent too little time with you, or has Father never truly understood you…”

Ji Liufeng murmured to himself. The Ji Beilan of tonight was completely different from the imperial son in his heart.

His composure, decisiveness, and calmness in the face of danger were qualities his imperial son had never possessed before.

Ji Liufeng even had a ridiculous feeling.

His imperial son was now like a cloud of mist, making him unable to see through him, as if he had suddenly been replaced by a different soul.