464: Chapter 464 Persuasion

Many Golden Core True Persons remained in the Star Hall waiting, while the Nascent Soul True Lords flew to the high-altitude Star Palace for discussion.

Among them, a few Late Golden Core Stage or Peak Golden Core cultivators were also allowed to enter; they were generally trusted subordinates of the Nascent Soul True Lords, or held special status like An Yunmiao.

Liu Xuan was brought in by An Yunmiao and sat in a corner of the back row; he had the lowest cultivation level in the entire room.

True Lord Haoran sat in a front position; he nodded slightly toward Liu Xuan and Yun Miao before ignoring them.

Not understanding True Lord Haoran's intent, Liu Xuan sent a voice transmission to Yun Miao: "Senior Sister, I don't have a voice in a place like this. What does Revered Master mean?"

An Yunmiao shook her head. "I'm not very clear either. Just stay calm!"

Liu Xuan shrugged and sat back to watch the show; he wanted to see what arrangements the Beast Taming Sect had for the upcoming war.

The Nascent Soul True Lords arrived one by one, forty-three in total. Their auras intertwined, yet there wasn't much pressure within the palace, only an inexplicable sense of gravity and majesty.

'Are True Lords as common as dogs now?'

Liu Xuan complained inwardly; the number of Nascent Soul True Lords he saw today was more than he had heard of in the past several decades.

And this wasn't even all the True Lords the Beast Taming Sect had in the Southern Border. Some were guarding the front lines, some hadn't brought their natal spirit beasts, some beasts came while their Revered Masters stayed behind, and some simply sent a representative.

According to the information Liu Xuan got from Peach Blossom, the number of Nascent Soul True Lords plus Demon Lord Spirit Beasts currently sent to the Southern Border by the Beast Taming Sect was close to a hundred.

This was only a small portion of the Beast Taming Sect's strength. As a Spirit Transformation Immortal Sect—and a hegemon-level one at that—ordinary True Lords were merely middle-to-high-level management.

Of course! That was at the Beast Taming Sect Main Mountain. At the edge of the Southern Border, they were absolute top-tier figures.

"Everyone is here!" A fair-faced, clean-shaven middle-aged man with square features sat at the head, his gentle voice spreading out.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Fellow Daoist Chu, let the grand discussion begin!"

There were three seats at the head of the Star Palace. The fair-faced middle-aged man sat in the center, to his left was Daoist Lord Lihuo's Personal Disciple Li Xihe, and to his right was Dao Lord Qing Xuan's Personal Disciple Chu Chen.

The fair-faced middle-aged man wore Scholar's Robes. His name was Shen Guanxin, one of the Great Scholars of the Gentlemans Academy, with a Peak Nascent Soul cultivation.

The current war situation was no longer led by the South Courtyard, so An Haoran could only sit below. This True Lord Shen represented the Gentlemans Academy and Yaoguang Demon Saint; he was one of the primary leaders.

Although Li Xihe and Chu Chen only had Early Nascent Soul cultivation, because of their special status and their ability to summon a Dao Lord's Dharma Image, they were spokespersons for the Dao Lords and also primary leaders.

As the grand discussion began, Shen Guanxin spoke in a gentle tone, beginning to describe the war layout and assign tasks: who needed to do what, what objectives to achieve, what would happen if they succeeded, what if they failed...

Though called a grand discussion, as Liu Xuan listened, he felt True Lord Guanxin had no intention of negotiating at all; it was entirely the assignment of tasks.

In the current war, the Star Academy was the main direction of attack, but not the only front. All northern borders of the Endless Demon Court were front lines, including the borders adjoining the Cloud Top Sect and Chongming Sect, where troops were being sent successively.

Liu Xuan understood Shen Guanxin's general strategy: the Beast Taming Sect's current goal was to capture several Tier 4 Spiritual Lands closest to the northern border of the Endless Demon Court.

Then would come a long war of attrition. They didn't seek to continue occupying territory, but only to use the long front line to continuously drain the Demon Court's vital forces.

Compared to the Beast Taming Sect, the Demon Court was weaker. Demon Saint Xuanyu's only reliance was the home-field advantage; the empowerment of the Earth Vein Grand Array could greatly increase his strength within his own territory.

However, the Earth Vein Grand Array required manpower to guard. As long as they continuously exhausted the Yao Race of the Demon Court, the long front line would eventually collapse one day.

The Demon Court had no choice but to engage in this attrition. If the Demon Court didn't reinforce the front line, the sect would concentrate its forces to occupy territory and advance bit by bit; the result would be the same.

If all went smoothly, the war would be a death trap for the Demon Court. No matter what, they would be dragged into the quagmire and slowly eaten away.

As forceful as Shen Guanxin was, the tasks he arranged were all extremely reasonable, with every aspect considered in detail and for the long term.

Occasionally, when other True Lords proposed different ideas, he could quickly provide an explanation and new arrangements.

With the war situation considered in detail and the handling of affairs being fair and reasonable, plus his status as the highest cultivation present, everyone was willing to yield on minor disagreements. The results of the discussion were quickly finalized, the meeting ended, and everyone began to disperse.

The first to leave were several people in Green Daoist Robes. They were from the Azure Profound Sect, and the battlefield they were responsible for was not here.

Most of the remaining people wore Scholar's Robes and belonged to the Gentlemans Academy lineage; they were currently attacking the area directly south of the Star Academy.

Shen Guanxin led his people away, but before leaving, he instructed True Lord Haoran, "Fellow Daoist Haoran, you have a better relationship with the Peach Blossom Demon Lord. Regarding front-line matters, you still need to persuade her to provide more assistance."

"I will certainly do my best!" An Haoran cupped his hands. "However, the Peach Blossom Demon Lord's mind is unpredictable. Fellow Daoist should not hold too much expectation."

Shen Guanxin nodded slightly, said no more, and flew south with his people.

The Star Palace became empty, leaving only True Lord Haoran, Liu Xuan, and Yun Miao.

"Disciple pays respects to Revered Master!" Liu Xuan stepped forward and bowed.

True Lord Haoran waved his hand and spoke directly: "You heard what True Lord Guanxin said just now? Can you persuade the Peach Blossom Demon Lord to put in more effort?"

Liu Xuan was startled! He played dumb and said, "Disciple will certainly do his best, but Revered Master should not hold too much expectation. After all, I am just a small Golden Core True Person; my words carry little weight."

"Revered Master, if you want the Peach Blossom Demon Lord's help, you can just find her directly. Why ask your Disciple to persuade her?"

True Lord Haoran's face darkened slightly. 'If I could move the Peach Blossom Demon Lord, why would I waste words with you?'

He had originally wanted to invite the Peach Blossom Demon Lord to the grand discussion to bolster the South Courtyard's prestige, but she simply didn't come, which was why he had Yun Miao call Liu Xuan over.

"As long as you help this seat persuade the Peach Blossom Demon Lord to stand with our South Courtyard, your Liu Family's business will be my business in the future. How about it?" True Lord Haoran said solemnly.

"Since Revered Master trusts me so much, I'll give it a try?" Liu Xuan felt a bit guilty under An Haoran's gaze.

For An Haoran to suddenly say such a thing, he must have seen that the relationship between Liu Xuan and the Peach Blossom Demon Lord was unusual.

Even if he didn't know the true situation, he could guess most of it. After all, Peach Blossom's help to Liu Xuan and the Liu Family was hardly concealed.

"Hahaha! Good Disciple."

An Haoran laughed heartily and reached out to pat Liu Xuan's shoulder. "The Pioneering War is an Opportunity that comes once in a thousand years. We, Revered Master and Disciple, should use this to make rapid progress. How can we be timid and just scrape by?"

"The matter of persuading the Peach Blossom Demon Lord is left to you. Revered Master believes you can certainly do it!"

Before Liu Xuan could speak, An Haoran said to Yun Miao, "Take good care of your Junior Brother. If he has any difficulties, help him resolve them."

"Revered Master awaits your good news!" He patted Liu Xuan's shoulder again, then vanished instantly.