Chapter 234: Ruling the World (3)

Jiuyou's gaze swept calmly over the crowd before him.

Saint Teacher Mo, Saint Teacher Ma, Saint Teacher Bao, and the Grandmasters behind them, heads still bowed.

Saint Teacher Mo was the only one still speaking. Every word was a compliment, yet layers of subtext hid between the lines. He began by praising the might of Jiuyou's Righteous Path, then shifted to how difficult the Northern Plains' situation had been over the years and how miserably its people had suffered. Finally, he subtly brought up Graceful, as if merely mentioning her in passing.

At that point, Saint Teacher Mo lifted his gaze for a fraction of a second. Seeing Jiuyou's expression remain unchanged, he quickly lowered his head again, as if afraid that looking too directly would backfire. He knew this Divine Lord had a history with their Saintess from his younger days. If they could leverage that past to secure even a sliver of affection—even if she only became a concubine—it would be an immensely profitable exchange for the Northern Plains.

In Saint Teacher Mo's eyes, for Jiuyou to have broken through to Deity Transformation, he had to possess unwavering convictions. Back then, this man had walked the path of a Righteous Path sword cultivator, unable to tolerate anything vile. The fact that he had unhesitatingly slain Xue Huomo the moment he emerged only cemented that judgment.

He believed Jiuyou was still that same sword cultivator with a heart devoted to the Righteous Path, so he was taking a gamble. As long as Jiuyou relented—even with just tacit consent—the Northern Plains would secure thousands of years of peace.

Ganzhou would never dare make a move under the watchful eye of a living Deity Transformation cultivator, and the Northern Plains would no longer be dragged into endless wars. The commoners could finally live without constantly fearing for their lives.

By speaking to this extent, he had laid his calculations out in the open. His posture was exceedingly humble, his rhetoric exceptionally crafted. The other Saint Teachers and Grandmasters behind him kept their heads bowed. No one interrupted him, nor did anyone raise their head to take over the conversation, tacitly leaving it entirely to him.

Jiuyou listened to the end without the slightest change in expression. He saw through Saint Teacher Mo's intentions with a single glance. As for that girl Graceful, he had never felt a shred of affection for her. From beginning to end, she was nothing more than a pawn, a springboard used to leverage the power of the Northern Plains.

Even though he had ultimately taken a different path to reach Deity Transformation, the sacrifices made by the Northern Plains could never be undone. Those casualties, the people dragged into this grand chessboard, had all become meaningless attrition. He had no desire to bring it up, nor did he intend to explain himself.

After a moment of silence, he spoke, his tone flat.

"Fellow Daoist Mo is too polite. Xue Huomo harbored wild ambitions and tried to kill me back then. Now that this Qing has personally finished him off, it can be considered settling an old feud. He did not die unjustly."

His voice was not loud, but it rang with absolute clarity in the ears of everyone present. It was like a stone dropping into water without making a single ripple.

"Senior Qing humbles us..." Saint Teacher Mo hurriedly replied with utmost caution. "I dare not falsely claim the title of Fellow Daoist..."

However, he did not dare to repeatedly argue the point in front of Jiuyou. They could only settle on their respective terms of address—Jiuyou would call him Fellow Daoist, and he would call Jiuyou Senior.

The rogue cultivators watching from a distance took all of this in. To them, this newly ascended Divine Lord seemed to be conversing quite amiably with the Saint Teachers of the Northern Plains, showing no signs of alienation. They immediately assumed the Northern Plains had struck monumental fortune, earning the favor of a Deity Transformation cultivator. The Northern Plains would surely rise to prominence now, or at the very least, they would no longer be butchered at will like they had been in the past.

After all, rumor had it that while Ganzhou had Deity Transformation cultivators holding the fort, no one had seen a Divine Lord take action in recent centuries aside from Sacred Venerable Yuan Huang. Now that the Northern Plains had one of their own, that sheer weight was enough to force all surrounding factions to recalculate their stances.

Some rogue cultivators had already begun to slip away quietly. As their escape lights streaked across the sky, they kept them extremely low, terrified of disturbing the Divine Lord and drawing unnecessary attention. Once they returned, they would undoubtedly warn their juniors and disciples to avoid provoking the Northern Plains at all costs during this period. They lived in profound fear that a single misstep would prompt this newly ascended Divine Lord to use them to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, leaving them with absolutely nowhere to appeal for justice.

Jiuyou did not linger for long.

Over a dozen streaks of escape light rose from the edge of the Ancient Battlefield, shooting toward the heartland of the Northern Plains. He rode upon divine light, his entire body radiating brilliant colors like a celestial immortal descending to the mortal realm. With Saint Teacher Mo and the rest in tow, he soared through the sky without shedding a fraction of his speed, crossing thousands of miles in the blink of an eye. With every breath, heaven and earth seemed to yield to him. The clouds parted on their own, and the air currents slipped smoothly past both sides of his escape light, as if even the wind knew it had to make way.

The people enveloped in his divine light marveled at the sight, the reverence in their eyes deepening significantly. Witnessing the mighty power of a Deity Transformation cultivator up close was an entirely different experience from observing it from afar.

Along the journey, Jiuyou maintained his flawless, unhurried demeanor. His attitude remained neither hot nor cold; he made no deliberate attempt to distance himself, nor did he show any signs of intimacy.

Saint Teacher Mo and the others felt deeply unsettled, their spirits sagging, yet they did not dare ask a single question. After all, the wrath of a Divine Lord could plunge the entire Northern Plains into a sea of fire. In the presence of a Deity Transformation cultivator, men like them likely did not even have the right to speak.

Just as Saint Teacher Mo was on the verge of giving up, Jiuyou's tone suddenly shifted, carrying a hint of warmth. The dying embers of hope in Saint Teacher Mo's heart instantly flared back to life. He braced himself, ready to seize this fleeting opportunity regardless of the price.

However, Jiuyou's next words caught everyone off guard, freezing the expressions on their faces.

He asked about the Northern Plains' Sacred Relic. Just who had revealed its existence to him?

Logically speaking, the Northern Plains had never disclosed the details of the Sacred Relic to Jiuyou. Even when the Sacred Relic was later deployed on the battlefield, Jiuyou had long since left the Northern Plains and could not have known about it. Yet, not only did he know of its existence, he could accurately name it and describe its general appearance. He could not have simply pulled this information out of thin air.

Saint Teacher Mo and his companions exchanged dismayed glances. They already knew the answer. It could only be the Saintess who had divulged these secrets to him centuries ago.

Jiuyou casually brushed it off as mere curiosity. He then added that he had little interest in the Northern Plains and harbored no lingering affection for the Saintess, revealing that he would soon depart to travel to other lands.

Saint Teacher Mo's heart sank. At this point, he finally saw right through Jiuyou's intentions. That remark was less an explanation and more an ultimatum.

He remained silent for a long time.

Finally, without seeking the consent of the other Saint Teachers, Saint Teacher Mo took matters into his own hands and initiated a private voice transmission with Jiuyou. What the two discussed remained a mystery to the others. They could only watch as Saint Teacher Mo's expression shifted wildly before he finally gave a heavy nod, as though he had made a monumental decision.

A moment later, Jiuyou gave a slight nod. His gaze swept over the crowd, and his voice, though not loud, echoed distinctly in everyone's ears:

"The villains of the Demonic Path are treacherous and unpredictable, tyrannical and bloodthirsty. Unprovoked, they have ignited the flames of war, ravaging the Northern Plains and bringing disaster to the common people. Beneath the scourge of their endless wars, corpses litter the wilderness and the fallen pile upon one another. Countless tribes have been mercilessly slaughtered, stripping the people of their livelihoods. How many heroes now lie buried in Yellow Sand, dying with their eyes wide open in grievance? They indulge their darkest desires, treating human life as grass. Their blood debts are staggering, and the boundless slaughter they have wrought is too numerous to record. I swear that I cannot wear the same sky as them!"