463: Consideration

It wasn't until the luxurious carriage completely disappeared into the horizon that Zhou Leren clenched the Xiwu Island token that had flown out of it.

He paused, then turned and vanished into the clouds, flying towards Qingyang Peak, the center of Gui Zhou Island.

On the summit of Qingyang Peak, Zhou Leren's figure quietly appeared.

Zhou Liyue and Zhou Leyi, who had been waiting there, saw Zhou Leren.

They rose and looked at Zhou Leren.

"The person has left."

Zhou Leren said, handing the mysterious jade pendant with the Three-legged Divine Bird pattern etched on it to Zhou Liyue and Zhou Leyi.

"Oh?"

"This is?"

Just as Zhou Liyue reached out to take the jade pendant from Zhou Leren, a slightly puzzled voice emanated from the tall, ancient stone tablet standing silently on Qingyang Peak.

This surprised sound immediately drew the attention of Zhou Liyue, Zhou Leren, and Zhou Leyi.

Zhou Liyue's heart stirred, and she looked at Zhou Leren.

Zhou Leren understood.

He quickly took the jade pendant back from Zhou Liyue's hand, hurried forward, came before the tall stone tablet, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Senior, do you recognize this item?"

"Haha~ Indeed."

"This Lord/Monarch has indeed seen this pattern before."

Inside the stone tablet, the puzzled voice paused, then chuckled softly, slowly replying.

"Could this Xiwu Island have another origin..."

Listening to Black Demon Dao Lord's affirmative reply from within the stone tablet, Zhou Liyue and Zhou Leyi, behind Zhou Leren, felt a slight stir in their hearts, as various conjectures and thoughts flashed through their minds.

Before this, Black Demon Dao Lord had limited knowledge of the various forces in the Li Luan Sea Region.

After all, the sphere of influence of the Black Demon Heavenly Palace, to which Black Demon Dao Lord belonged, was not here.

As for the exact location of the Black Demon Heavenly Palace, they had yet to investigate.

After all, the Zhou Family had not yet firmly established itself in this Li Luan Sea Region.

"Please enlighten us, Senior."

Zhou Leren quickly pressed on.

"Haha... This Lord/Monarch won't tell you."

Inside the tall stone tablet, a black-robed, demonic figure sat cross-legged.

The corner of his mouth twitched, curving slightly.

Although he had an agreement with Mo Xuan, as a Dao Lord of He Dao, he had his own pride and was not a servant of the Zhou Family; naturally, he could not grant every request and answer every question.

Outside the stone tablet, listening to Black Demon Dao Lord's reply, Zhou Leren stood up decisively and no longer pressed, retreating towards Zhou Liyue and Zhou Leyi.

Whether Xiwu Island had another origin had no impact on the current Zhou Family.

Moreover, it was still unknown whether Black Demon Dao Lord was merely trying to trick and tease them.

Zhou Leren was not in a hurry; he would naturally have the opportunity to find out later.

Inside the stone tablet, the black, demonic, cross-legged figure showed a look of surprise.

He had intended to say another sentence to pique their curiosity, as punishment for Zhou Leren not following his advice and making a wrong move in chess earlier.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly closed his mouth, not uttering a word.

On the summit of Qingyang Peak, just as Black Demon Dao Lord was about to speak but then stopped, a black snake shadow condensed out of thin air.

"Uncle Xuan."

"Old Ancestor."

Zhou Liyue, Zhou Leren, and Zhou Leyi all bowed in greeting upon seeing the black snake shadow.

The black snake shadow, condensed out of thin air, nodded slightly.

A gentle breeze blew, lifting the three of them.

Mo Xuan glanced in the direction of the stone tablet.

He did not say much.

Everything that had happened earlier was within his perception.

However, he could not push this Dao Lord of He Dao too hard.

Moreover, Black Demon Dao Lord had previously revealed quite a bit of information about the Chaofeng Ancient Realm.

"Old Ancestor, these are the tokens from Cen Ling Island and Xiwu Island."

"The Thousand Island Alliance is indeed divided into three factions."

"Now that we have met representatives from all three factions, we don't know what choice we should make."

Zhou Leren took out the Cen Ling Island token sent by Venerable Yuan Chen of Cen Ling Island.

He sent it along with the Xiwu Island token floating towards the black snake shadow.

As for the third faction, the representatives from the Zhang Family of Xuyuan Island, they had not left anything behind.

"What are your thoughts?"

Mo Xuan looked at the two uniquely shaped jade pendants floating before him, nodded, and asked.

"Uncle Xuan, our strength is insufficient; I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to get involved in the conflict between Cen Ling Island and Xiwu Island."

Zhou Liyue's voice was soft.

In fact, after meeting the Venerable of the Zhang Family of Xuyuan Island, and before the representatives from Xiwu Island arrived, the three of them had already reached a preliminary consensus.

Currently, the two major forces of the Thousand Island Alliance, led by Cen Ling Island and Xiwu Island, were of comparable strength.

One had deep foundations but was slightly fatigued, while the other had risen extremely quickly but had weaker foundations; their mutual stalemate could indeed achieve a delicate balance.

As a result, the newly arrived Zhou Family had become an unstable factor that could break the deadlock.

If they chose any one faction, it was possible that this delicate balance would be broken, and the situation would escalate.

This was not what they wanted.

Zhou Liyue recounted the information they had gathered and their assessment.

In the air, the black snake shadow slowly nodded.

Mo Xuan pondered for a moment.

With his unique nature, all he lacked was time.

As long as he had time, these things were insignificant.

Maintaining neutrality, though it might offend both factions, was still better than directly breaking the balance and causing instability.

In this way, his chance to develop peacefully would be gone.

Moreover, while self-preservation might lead to suppression, as long as neither side was confident, they would not exert too much pressure.

After all, doing so would completely push this third faction towards the other side.

Of course, the most important point was that there was no one in this third faction who could threaten Cen Ling Island and Xiwu Island.

This would not cause too much powerful apprehension.

"Le Ren, go visit Xuyuan Island and sound out their intentions."

Many thoughts flashed through Mo Xuan's mind as he analyzed all the pros and cons.

Then he instructed Zhou Leren.

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

Zhou Leren bowed and accepted.

After Zhou Leren agreed, the phantom that had appeared in the air nodded slightly towards the ground and then disappeared.

"Please go with Venerable Cangwu."

Zhou Liyue said to Zhou Leren, who was slowly getting up.

Zhou Leren nodded, but sighed inwardly.

At this point, within the social circles of the Void Refining Realm, the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator was already somewhat weak.

This thought, however, merely flashed and then disappeared.

The Zhou Family had risen too quickly.

To possess their current strength was already rare in the world.

It was just that compared to their own Old Ancestor, it was too slow.

"There's no time to lose."

"I'll go now."

Zhou Leren said to Zhou Liyue and Zhou Leyi.

His figure disappeared from the summit of Qingyang Peak.

Not long after, two figures emerged from the clouds and sped off in a certain direction.

Half a month later, Zhou Leren and Venerable Cangwu returned.

Both had a hint of joy on their faces.

Over a month later, in the central part of the Li Luan Sea Region, in Thousand Star City on Thousand Star Island, figures in various attires arrived from all directions and entered the city.

Thousand Star Island was the headquarters of the Thousand Island Alliance.

It did not belong to any single force within the alliance.

Just a few days ago, several forces holding thousand star tokens, such as the Zhang Family of Xuyuan Island, the Qingtian Sect of Junyu Island, and the Luo Xing Sect of Li Luo Island, jointly issued a summons.

They called for all members of the Thousand Island Alliance, large and small, to hold a Thousand Island Alliance meeting.