506: Chapter 506 Conspiracy

"Something is not right!"

"It is more than just a little bit wrong!"

Liu Xuan suddenly realized that if the Demon Court was truly in a death trap, the ones who should be panicking the most weren't him, but Demon Lord Han Jing and Demon Lord Zhu Pan!

Even if they were unaware before and failed to notify him in advance, they should be rushing to seek help from Peach Blossom Demon Lord by now.

"Could it be that they have also defected to Demon Lord Chixia at the front lines?"

"Or is there something deeper at play..."

Liu Xuan had already found Demon Lord Cangyuan's sudden betrayal of the Demon Court at Biyou Pool to be strange; combined with the attitude of Demon Lord Han Jing and the others, he was now certain there was a problem.

After some thought, Liu Xuan felt that the current Biyou Pool contained terrifying danger. He immediately utilized all his connections to ensure members of the Liu Family avoided going there as much as possible.

The Liu Clan mainly consisted of his children, wives, and concubines. With his current status, even if the Beast Taming Sect issued orders, he could use his influence to swap them out for others.

As for his parents-in-law and their families within the Merchant Alliance, Liu Xuan would at most give a slight warning and would not interfere too much; if necessary, he might even send them to fill the gaps.

Regarding his father-in-law, True Lord Haoran, Liu Xuan initially wanted to send a letter as a warning, but after a moment of hesitation, he gave up on the idea.

Warning him would be useless. True Lord Haoran had already set out, and it was impossible for him to retreat based on a single baseless word; the Beast Taming Sect wouldn't allow him to withdraw anyway.

If the matter were exposed, it would instead draw suspicion toward himself and cause a mountain of trouble.

Once the arrangements were settled, Liu Xuan decided to possess Immortal Master Gu Sha's soul and personally go ask Demon Lord Zhu Pan.

He only needed to confirm whether Demon Lord Han Jing and the others had defected to the Beast Taming Sect at the front, and then everything would become clear!

Black Line Ridge.

Immortal Master Gu Sha was currently inspecting a batch of Spirit Medicine, with a fat Golden Core pig demon standing beside him.

In the Yao Race's territory, Spirit Medicine and raw Ore materials were relatively cheap, while Medicinal Pills were expensive—especially Beast Pills suitable for the Yao Race, which cost fifty to a hundred percent more than in other places.

Besides serving as Peach Blossom Demon Lord's confidant for relaying information, Immortal Master Gu Sha usually helped Liu Xuan with his resale business.

Transporting goods directly using Storage Pouches and Storage Rings would increase some loss costs, but overall, it was extremely profitable.

Suddenly!

Immortal Master Gu Sha paused for a fraction of a second, his eyes brightening slightly. He stopped inspecting the items one by one, waved his hand to sweep everything into a spatial ring, threw a few bottles of Medicinal Pills to the pig demon, and turned to fly toward the great black palace at the mountain peak.

"Greetings, Demon Lord Pan!"

Liu Xuan went straight into the depths of the palace and bowed to Zhu Pan, who was still feasting and drinking.

"You've come!" Zhu Pan seemed to have known that Immortal Master Gu Sha would arrive; his fat face showed no surprise at all.

"If you have something to ask, ask quickly. Don't delay this seat from enjoying fine food!"

Zhu Pan held a massive, golden-roasted, crispy wing in both hands. He took a bite, and oil sizzled as it dripped down.

"My master asked me to inquire if Demon Lord Pan knows the inside story regarding the Biyou Pool matter?" Immortal Master Gu Sha went straight to the point without any beating around the bush.

Zhu Pan's mouth, which was about to take another bite, paused. "This seat is too far from Biyou Pool; I am not clear on what exactly is happening there."

Immortal Master Gu Sha nodded slightly. "Then does Demon Lord Pan know what Demon Lord Han Jing's attitude toward this is?"

"My master said that since we are considered allies, if you all intend to defect to someone else, you should at least give us a heads-up to avoid awkwardness in the future!"

In the current situation, Liu Xuan would rather everything be a conspiracy by the Demon Court than see Demon Lord Han Jing and the others defect to Demon Lord Chixia and the Beast Taming Sect.

What he wanted to see was the Beast Taming Sect and the Endless Demon Court being evenly matched, preferably in a long-term war of attrition, rather than a one-sided slaughter.

"Defect to someone else?"

A trace of confusion appeared on Zhu Pan's fat face, but then he realized that Peach Blossom Demon Lord must have misunderstood.

"Rest assured! We have not followed Demon Lord Cangyuan in defecting to the Beast Taming Sect. He is not one of our own."

Zhu Pan put down the bone in his hand and looked at Immortal Master Gu Sha with a serious expression. "This seat is too lazy to go in circles with you!"

"Demon Lord Han Jing asked me to pass a message to your master: 'The situation has changed; just wait patiently.'"

Immortal Master Gu Sha wanted to continue questioning, but a demonic wind whipped up in the hall, blowing him directly out of the palace.

Liu Residence.

"Zhu Pan isn't being honest!"

That black-skinned pig couldn't possibly be entirely in the dark; otherwise, he would never be this calm.

'However, he probably didn't lie about everything. There's a high probability that he, Demon Lord Han Jing, and the others have not defected to the Beast Taming Sect.'

If they had defected, they should have taken advantage of the Demon Court's lack of time to respond and turned to attack the Demon Court just like Demon Lord Cangyuan, rather than continuing their standoff with the Beast Taming Sect's army.

Analyzing all the circumstances, Biyou Pool was very likely a bait deliberately set by Demon Saint Xuanyu, and Demon Lord Cangyuan's defection might also be fake.

"What is Demon Saint Xuanyu's goal?"

"To lure the Beast Taming Sect's army there and slaughter them?"

"That's not right either! Once the Beast Taming Sect establishes a foothold at Biyou Pool, the Earth Vein Grand Array is built, and the Cultivator army is stationed, how could he possibly take it back?"

On the surface, Biyou Pool didn't look like a conspiracy because Demon Saint Xuanyu had no way to turn the tables. Everything was just a conclusion Liu Xuan reached through guesswork, and even he wasn't very certain.

"Zhu Pan and Demon Lord Han Jing definitely know the specific situation, or at least part of it; otherwise, it would be impossible for them to remain so calm."

Their refusal to inform Peach Blossom Demon Lord and their lack of haste to defect to the Beast Taming Sect meant they believed the Demon Court had a better chance of winning.

Liu Xuan recalled the message Demon Lord Han Jing had Zhu Pan deliver: 'The situation has changed; wait patiently.'

"These guys are trying to play both sides!"

If Demon Saint Xuanyu wins, they are loyalists of the Demon Court.

If he loses, they will continue to follow Peach Blossom Demon Lord as staunch elements who had 'long ago' defected to the Beast Taming Sect.

The key lay in the fact that Peach Blossom Demon Lord had her own selfish motives and had not publicly revealed their identities, which gave them a vast amount of room to maneuver.

"This is fine too!"

Since even these fence-sitters favored Demon Saint Xuanyu, it meant the war was still far from over, which was actually a good thing for Liu Xuan.

Liu Xuan's mind relaxed. He dispatched Lingying Pavilion spies toward Biyou Pool while simultaneously arranging the rear, even preparing for an emergency retreat.

Peach Blossom Demon Lord stayed at the Star Academy on the pretext of unhealed injuries to stabilize the rear, while also accelerating preparations for her Soul Transformation Breakthrough.

The war situation was blurred and confusing. Everything was secondary; only if Peach Blossom achieved Soul Transformation would there be a possibility of dominating the grand trend.

The problem was that the child in Peach Blossom's womb had been there for five years without any sign of being born; it looked like it was heading toward a ten-year pregnancy.

Furthermore, the Spiritual Vein grade of the Star Academy was only High Grade Rank 4. To satisfy the requirements for a Soul Transformation Breakthrough, they would need to accumulate Spirit Stones for at least a few more years and set up a Spirit Gathering Grand Array.

Moreover, a Soul Transformation Breakthrough normally required forty-nine days. The phenomena brought by the Breakthrough could be concealed in the beginning, but the final three days could not be hidden. It would be best to have a Dao Protector or protective measures.

Overall, although preparations for Peach Blossom's Breakthrough were underway, various conditions were still lacking, and time might not be on their side.