725: Chapter 725 Murong's Visit

You decide that next time you capture her, you will cripple her cultivation, chain her up, and make her suffer even more.

It is just a pity that this is only a Clone; capturing it is useless.

After some thought, you smile and say: "Get lost. If you knew the truth about the Liu Clan Territory, I hope you could still be as righteous as you are now."

"Don't think that just because you didn't kill me, I will thank you." Her voice is icy. "One day, I will surely grind your bones to dust, strip your tendons and skin, and perform Soul Refining to seize your soul."

"You've misunderstood," you deliberately lick your lips at her, hooking your middle finger with a playful grin, "I just purely feel... I haven't had enough fun yet."

Pausing, you add another sentence: "Oh right, take a message back to Liu Xuerong... Your experience is her future."

She grits her teeth, her eyes reddening, her chest heaving violently with anger.

She says nothing more, her figure slowly dissipating—she has disintegrated this Clone herself.

You look at the empty Immortal Hall, which is so quiet that not even the sound of insects or mice can be heard, only the wind passing through, and you can't help but smile.

Just at this moment, you perceive a Mahayana aura coming from the starry sky—Murong Changge.

He appears in the pavilion, sits down directly with a furrowed brow, and says nothing.

"Did the Three Great Factions intervene to mediate?" you ask.

"We occupied ten percent of the Heavenly Palace's Star Domain, and they started criticizing us," Murong Changge says angrily. "Damn it, it's truly hateful."

"Are you stopping the fight?" you press on. "Liu Xuerong doing this is clearly a delaying tactic. What will you do when the Flame Emperor returns?"

"Actually, even if we didn't stop the war, we couldn't destroy the Heavenly Palace... unless we could kill all their Mahayana cultivators." Murong Changge looks at you, his tone unhurried. "The Heavenly Palace made reparations, and had both sides sign a Dao contract of non-aggression for a thousand years."

Pausing, he adds: "The Star Domain ceded to us as reparations includes Tianyang Star. From now on, this Tianyang Star is yours."

"A thousand years? Reparations?" you smile faintly. "Trading benefits for time; Liu Xuerong is certainly willing to sacrifice."

Murong Changge nods: "However, the Heavenly Palace suffered significant losses this time. Their Luck has greatly diminished, and hundreds of factions have defected to the other three."

You sneer coldly: "Doesn't that mean we worked our lives off fighting, only for the other three to reap the rewards?"

"Not just this matter; the last time the Heavenly Palace ambushed us, they insisted it was only targeting you, and even claimed we killed three of their Mahayana cultivators... Heh, truly shameless," he sneers.

"It seems they want to turn the conflict between the two sects into a personal grudge against me. No wonder Liu Xuerong put on such a show; she really was willing to pay a heavy price," you say in a flat tone.

"You knew all along?" he looks at you.

"How could I not? Everywhere is spreading rumors that I destroyed their Liu Clan Territory," you smile.

"This kind of petty trick only fools those who don't understand anything; it can't fool those Mahayana cultivators of the three factions," he shakes his head with a smile.

"I have to say, this move is very effective," you glance at the continent below. "Look at the Tianhuang Continent now; doesn't it feel isolated?"

Murong Changge falls silent.

He also sensed it—the prosperity and Luck of the Tianhuang Continent, which had been gradually recovering, are slowly declining.

Many merchant guilds that originally traded with the Tianhuang Continent have already moved away.

After a moment of silence, he speaks slowly: "This move by Liu Xuerong is ruthless enough."

"Yes, using the entire Liu Clan Territory to smear me, and even implicating the Tianhuang Continent to be isolated," you smile.

"You saw through her intentions?" Murong Changge looks at you.

"Self-inflicting ten thousand damage to deal eight hundred to the enemy," you also look at him, speaking slowly:

"She forcibly compressed the war between the Heavenly Palace and the Immortal Sect into a personal grudge between the Liu Clan and me."

"Taking her own clan territory as a sacrifice to gain sympathy, turning from the perpetrator into the victim."

"The objective is clear enough... stop fighting your Immortal Sect, and focus solely on me."

Murong Changge doesn't respond, just nods.

You pour him a cup of spiritual tea and continue: "So this war, your Immortal Sect is the biggest winner. A thousand-year ceasefire is enough for you to advance further."

Pausing, you speak unhurriedly, "The Heavenly Palace and the Liu Clan are severely damaged, and I and Tianhuang are isolated. She would rather self-mutilate to drag me down."

Although you haven't established a faction on the Tianhuang Continent, once the Tianhuang Continent is isolated, it will be very difficult for you to establish a Dao tradition—talents cannot be retained, Luck cannot be gathered, and that statement about overthrowing the Heavenly Palace will become empty words.

Even if you change to a new territory to start from scratch, in a strange environment with strange people, just gaining a foothold would take who knows how many years.

If you use force to establish a faction, the people underneath will still pay lip service while defying you, and who knows when they might stab you in the back one day.

True strength relies on attracting talent, not on oppression to force talent out.

Just like Fengyun Pavilion—you didn't put in any effort, and you are alienated from the people below; they haven't even met you, so why would they be of one mind with you?

If the Tianhuang Continent could become a pure land, a paradise, and your reputation spread abroad, wouldn't that attract more friends like the Budao Alliance?

"This woman... is ruthless enough," Murong Changge's voice lowers slightly. "If it were me having to sacrifice the Murong Family, I truly couldn't do it."

"She had no choice," you smile and continue:

"There are many benefits to doing this."

"First, she can shift the conflict... compressing the struggle between the Heavenly Palace and the Immortal Sect into a private grudge between the Liu Clan and me, giving the other three factions no reason to intervene."

"Second, gain sympathy... destroying her own clan territory, changing from the perpetrator to the victim, with public opinion on her side."

"Third, isolate me... pinning me down with 'slaughtering the innocent,' forcing the other three factions not to openly support me, and incidentally cutting off the growth and Luck of Tianhuang."

"Fourth, slow me down... not engaging in direct confrontation, using a bitter-flesh ruse to drag me into a war of attrition, not letting me grow in peace."

"Fifth, consolidate internally... using me as a target to stabilize the Heavenly Palace's own morale and shift the negative emotions of defeat."

"Sixth, as the decision-maker of the Heavenly Palace, someone has to take responsibility for the defeat. By destroying her own clan territory, those vassal factions have nowhere to vent even if they have grievances."

After listening, Murong Changge is silent for a while.

As a Sect Master of the Immortal Sect, how could he not understand this principle?

A head of a Family must uphold integrity, a ruler of a nation must lead by example, let alone him, a Sect Master.

He takes a deep breath and hands over a Jade Plaque: "This is the guest honor Jade Plaque of my Immortal Sect. From now on, you are a guest honor of the Immortal Sect, and the Heavenly Palace won't dare to lay a hand on you easily."

You look at the Jade Plaque, think for a moment, then take it, smiling: "Thanks."

"Although it might not be very useful, it will at least make them wary," Murong Changge says.

You say nothing.

You understand Murong Changge's approach—the Immortal Sect is not his alone.

Behind him is the Murong Family, as well as the families behind other high-level members, and over a thousand vassal factions.

He must fight for the interests of the countless people in the Immortal Sect.

This is also the main reason you are unwilling to be the Sect Master of the Immortal Sect; once you sit in that position, every decision you make is no longer just for yourself.