497: Chapter 497 Idle Chess

Liu Xuan wasn't negotiating a partnership with Zhu Pan; he was informing him unilaterally.

Interfering in the front-line war situation wasn't a sudden whim; he had planned to do so for a long time.

The Endless Demon Court's resistance was far too passive. The current war situation seemed stable, but once a certain balance was broken, Daoist Lord Lihuo's true body would descend directly. It would be difficult for the Liu Family to continue developing peacefully then.

Liu Xuan couldn't prevent the ultimate defeat of the Endless Demon Court, but he could delay the process through certain maneuvers.

For example, establishing contact with a Demon Lord like Zhu Pan, providing him with information regarding the Beast Taming Sect's battlefield deployments, while simultaneously gaining a deeper understanding of the Endless Demon Court's internal affairs.

Liu Xuan felt something was off about the Endless Demon Court's attitude toward the war. Demon Saint Xuanyu was far too quiet; ever since the battle at the Star Academy, he had been residing atop Black Mountain.

Rumor had it he was recuperating from the backlash of the Heavenly Dao caused by the last great war, but Liu Xuan always felt it wasn't that simple. Perhaps he was planning something big.

Zhu Pan was half-convinced by Immortal Master Gu Sha's rhetoric, so he kept him and the fourth brother as guests at Black Line Ridge, neither harming them nor allowing them to leave.

Liu Xuan left the two of them alone and withdrew his Divine Thought from Immortal Master Gu Sha.

He had already done all he could. If the fourth brother still died, he could only blame his own bad luck; it would be his fate.

Star Secret Realm.

Liu Xuan arrived at the flower garden meticulously tended by Peach Blossom Demon Lord and shared his thoughts and plans with her.

As he spoke, Liu Xuan reached out to pluck a bright red flower that looked like a rose, playing with it in his hand.

“What are you doing~” Peach Blossom Demon Lord snatched the red flower from Liu Xuan's hand, her face full of distress. “I raised it for so long before it finally bloomed, why did you pluck it?”

After fretting for a moment, she pouted and gave the flower back to Liu Xuan. “You're only allowed to pluck this one. If you do it again, I'll be very angry!”

The garden was Peach Blossom's pride and joy. It was filled with rare spiritual flowers, and tending to them was a part of her cultivation.

“It's just a flower. As your husband, I'll give you a flower seed you've never seen before.”

Liu Xuan opened his palm, and a seed resembling black jade emerged, emitting a faint Yin Qi.

“What kind of flower seed is this?” Peach Blossom took the seed and examined it closely; she had never seen anything like it.

“The Nether Spring Equinox Flower, a peak third-grade spiritual flower. It can be used to refine high-level Divine Soul Medicinal Pills or directly used to sustain the life of someone on the brink of death.”

This spiritual seed was a gift from the System when a child with a fourth-grade Spiritual Root was born some time ago.

Peach Blossom Demon Lord loved planting flowers, so giving it to her was perfect.

“Wow! Thank you, husband!”

Although a peak third-grade spiritual flower wasn't particularly high-level for Peach Blossom, the value lay in it being a new species. What she needed most were new seeds to increase the diversity of spiritual flowers in her garden.

After some flirting, they discussed the front-line battlefield. Liu Xuan intended to send Chen Beiming to the front line where Demon Lord Pan was located, along with some of Peach Blossom Demon Lord's subordinates and the Liu Family Army.

Peach Blossom Demon Lord naturally cooperated fully. She was now completely devoted to Liu Xuan; even if he asked her to go personally, she wouldn't hesitate.

Subsequently, Peach Blossom Demon Lord sent a Jade Slip to True Lord Guanxin at the front line, proposing a series of requests under the guise of supporting the front.

Upon receiving the Jade Slip, True Lord Guanxin assumed Peach Blossom Demon Lord's injuries were nearly healed and that she was positioning herself in advance for future participation in the war.

Since this move benefited the war effort, True Lord Guanxin, who commanded the overall situation, naturally did not refuse and quickly sent a reply.

Chen Beiming had already headed to the front-line battlefield as per Liu Xuan's instructions. The Liu Family Army also began to assemble, led by Lu Ping's son, Dao Rui.

The Liu Family Army's meager strength was actually just there to make up the numbers; the primary goal was for them to gain experience and familiarize themselves with warfare between Cultivator armies.

Peach Blossom Palace.

A short middle-aged man and a short old man stood trembling before Liu Xuan.

The middle-aged man was the Silver Pangolin Great Demon, and the old man was the Void Mouse Wu Xu—both were old acquaintances of Liu Xuan.

“Sending you to the front line isn't for fighting, but to gather intelligence. Do you understand?”

“Understood, understood!”

“The Grand Elder has already instructed us!”

Yin Bi and Wu Xu had both been inexplicably taught a lesson by Liu Xuan before. Initially, they were defiant, but as Liu Xuan's status in Peach Blossom Palace grew higher and higher—to the point where even Green Silk followed his orders, and Demon Lord Bai Leng even changed her name to Bai Jie because of a single word from him—they fell in line.

With Liu Xuan calling all the shots in Peach Blossom Palace, the two naturally became well-behaved, fearing he might find some reason to trouble them again.

“Go then. If there are other orders, I will have someone inform you.” Liu Xuan waved his hand, dismissing them.

The battlefield deployment was a casual move by Liu Xuan; he wasn't sure how useful it would ultimately be.

Given Peach Blossom Demon Lord's special identity, this couldn't be done too overtly. It could only be said that he was doing his best and leaving the rest to fate.

His primary task remained caring for his wives and concubines in the inner courtyard and cultivating the children in the Clan School.

More than half a year later.

The wild boar demon Zhu Pan confirmed the truth of what Immortal Master Gu Sha had said. Using Immortal Master Gu Sha as an intermediary, the two sides entered into deeper cooperation.

Zhu Pan secretly contacted the surrender faction within the Endless Demon Court, selling internal information about the Beast Taming Sect's army obtained from Immortal Master Gu Sha, while obtaining secret information about the Endless Demon Court from them to give to Immortal Master Gu Sha.

The Demon Lords of the Endless Demon Court initially didn't trust Zhu Pan much, but as the intelligence was confirmed multiple times, Zhu Pan's credibility slowly grew.

Within the Endless Demon Court, with Zhu Pan as the link, a significant force gathered in secret. The strongest among them was Demon Lord Han Jing of the Black Mountain Holy Land. The entire faction was primarily led by him, tacitly exchanging information and causing trouble in secret.

The disadvantage of the Endless Demon Court in this war was very obvious. The voices of the surrender and escape factions were numerous, and some even began to openly defy the orders of the Black Mountain Holy Land.

Demon Saint Xuanyu's Black Mountain Holy Land had to handle internal conflicts in addition to dealing with the Beast Taming Sect. The small secret maneuvers of Zhu Pan and Han Jing actually appeared less conspicuous.

Because the task Peach Blossom Demon Lord gave them was to delay the war's progress and help the Endless Demon Court resist the offensive, which aligned with the goals of the Black Mountain Holy Land, they appeared to many Demon Lords as loyal lackeys of the Endless Demon Court—firm war-hawks and die-hards.

Not only were the two demons, Han Jing and Zhu Pan, not suspected or targeted by the Endless Demon Court, but they also repeatedly performed meritorious services and received multiple rewards from the Black Mountain Holy Land.

On Liu Xuan's side, this casual move of colluding with the Yao Race was even more effective than he had imagined.

The progress of the Beast Taming Sect's war slowed down significantly. Furthermore, through Immortal Master Gu Sha, he received a large number of treasures offered by Zhu Pan and others, as well as various secret information that was previously unattainable.

However, great risks were hidden behind the massive benefits.

Demon Lords like Han Jing and Zhu Pan were not good demons. It was easy to bring them on board, but difficult to kick them off.

Currently, everyone was happy because there were benefits. Once the situation changed and Peach Blossom Demon Lord didn't step in to help, they would absolutely drag her down with them.