The Divine Mansion Army’s Slaughter Camp returned to defend Huanglong Prefecture City, and Wan Jun Peak’s True Disciple, Bai Yuan, became the new Commander of the Slaughter Camp.

This was equivalent to Bai Yuan becoming the lord of Huanglong Prefecture City.

Yu Hui did not strip Bai Yuan of his command of the Wei Camp. As a result, Bai Yuan was now the first person in the Divine Mansion Army to command two camps simultaneously.

None of the thirty-six camp commanders in the Divine Mansion Army objected to this.

This wasn’t just because Bai Yuan was a True Disciple, but because his combat record was on par with a Peak Master’s. He was even qualified to take Commander Yu Hui’s position.

Sect Leader Murong Tian had no objections either.

News of the incident on Feishi Peak had already reached his ears, yet he acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing about the death of a True Disciple within the sect.

But sometimes, no response was the best response.

...

"Slaughter Camp Vice General, Xu Siwan, pays his respects to Commander Bai."

A gaunt man slammed his fists together in a military salute to Bai Yuan.

"Vice General Xu, there’s no need for formalities."

Bai Yuan waved his hand.

Just three days ago, this Vice General Xu had been Commander Xu. When Yu Hui put Bai Yuan in charge of the Slaughter Camp, the commander was unwilling to leave, so Yu Hui simply demoted him to Vice General.

Xu Siwan was the first person to willingly give up a commandership to become a vice general.

"Commander Bai, we should send more men to keep an eye on those Lingzhou thieves outside the city."

A vicious look flashed in Xu Siwan’s eyes.

Before coming to Huanglong Prefecture, he had just fought a major battle against the Lingzhou Army, who had been disguised as members of the Celestial Heart Sect. Although they had annihilated the enemy, the Slaughter Camp had also lost many soldiers.

Xu Siwan’s hatred for the Lingzhou Army ran bone-deep. He wished he could slaughter every last one of their soldiers outside the city.

But whether in the Jianghu or the Imperial Court, one could be ruthless in action, but one could not afford to completely tear away all pretenses of civility.

Take the General of Lingzhou, for example. Even though he had sent no less than a thousand soldiers to Huanglong Prefecture—a fact known to everyone in the city—they still had to disguise themselves as members of a Demon Sect. They couldn’t just brazenly march into Huanglong Prefecture.

The Divine Mansion Sect was the same. Although Murong Tian was personally leading troops to suppress them, the official pretext was to exterminate the remnants of a Demon Sect.

Neither side had torn off that final shred of decorum.

After all, until the very end, no one could say for sure how things might change.

Fighting to the death one moment and calling each other brothers the next—such things were commonplace.

It was always wise to leave some room for reconciliation.

The Divine Mansion Sect and Lingzhou had coexisted this way for centuries.

"No need."

Bai Yuan waved his hand.

That General Zhao Wu had been staying in the military camp outside the city. Unless he sent Xu Siwan himself to watch him, sending anyone else would be useless.

"Yes, sir."

Xu Siwan knew his place as a subordinate and followed Bai Yuan’s orders without question.

Of course, the main reason he was so obedient was that Bai Yuan was stronger than him. Otherwise, how could a man who had crawled out of a pile of corpses be so docile?

...

Outside Huanglong Prefecture City, a sea of military tents stretched out, a spectacular sight.

On the surface, this Lingzhou Army contingent was very low-key upon its arrival in Huanglong Prefecture. They neither entered the city to cause trouble nor interfered in political affairs.

But behind the scenes, it served as a transfer station for the Lingzhou Army in Huanglong Prefecture.

The Lingzhou Army soldiers who suddenly appeared all over Huanglong Prefecture hadn’t sprouted wings; they naturally needed someone to provide cover.

Inside General Zhao Wu’s main tent.

Ji Chang gazed at the old man before him with great interest, a playful smile on his face.

"Peak Master Shi, how have you been?"

The old man standing not far from Ji Chang was none other than the Peak Master of the Divine Mansion Sect’s Feishi Peak, Shi Baishan.

Shi Baishan’s expression was dark and unreadable.

The reason he was here was that Ji Chang had used a Lingzhou Army spy inside the Divine Mansion Sect to send him a message.

The Lingzhou Army could help him deal with Bai Yuan...

Ji Chang sat leisurely on a large, tiger-skin-draped chair, looking as if he had Peak Master Shi right where he wanted him.

He knew exactly what had happened on the Divine Mansion Sect’s Feishi Peak that day.

Shi Baishan’s current situation was extremely dire. Bai Yuan’s battle had utterly disgraced the Shi Family, and with Shi Ye’s death, the family was left without an heir.

With Bai Yuan’s terrifying rate of advancement, it probably wouldn’t be long before he became a second Dong Wanjun. He might even surpass Dong Wanjun and become the Sect Leader himself.

When that time came, he would surely settle scores with the Shi Family.

Of course, Shi Baishan was unwilling to just sit and wait for his doom. He would undoubtedly try everything to break out of this predicament.

The Divine Mansion Sect’s Sect Leader, Murong Tian, had already tacitly approved of Bai Yuan’s actions, so no one in the sect would be willing to join forces with Shi Baishan.

Ji Chang had seen this opportunity and applied a little pressure on Shi Baishan, and sure enough, the man had eagerly come knocking.

Shi Baishan naturally understood this General Zhao Wu’s intentions.

’But I have no other choice...’

’As long as I work with the Lingzhou Army to kill Bai Yuan, the Shi Family will still be the Shi Family, and I will still be the Peak Master of Feishi Peak.’

Shi Baishan’s face was grim. He knew that what he was doing was no different from asking a tiger for its skin, but it was better than waiting to die.

"What’s your plan?"

He asked Ji Chang.

Ji Chang grinned broadly. "HEH HEH. There’s no rush."

"I hear the Divine Mansion Sect has a deployment map of the Divine Mansion Army..."

His tone shifted.

Shi Baishan’s expression grew even uglier. Ji Chang clearly wanted to use him to obtain intelligence on the Divine Mansion Army. This deployment map was a top secret; within the Divine Mansion Sect, only Sect Leader Murong Tian and the Thirteen Peak Masters were qualified to see it.

But once he handed the map over to Ji Chang, it would be tantamount to treason.

He only wanted to kill Bai Yuan; he wasn’t prepared to lead the Shi Family in betraying the Divine Mansion Sect.

Ji Chang’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t press him.

Since he had already lured Shi Baishan here, he would naturally find a way to drag this Divine Mansion Sect Peak Master down with him.

Just as Shi Baishan’s eyes flickered with indecision—

Ji Chang spoke at the perfect moment, "The Lord General has already joined forces with Longevity Palace. Their experts will arrive in Huanglong Prefecture in a few days."

Longevity Palace!

Hearing those two words, Shi Baishan’s face filled with shock.

He was, of course, familiar with the name Longevity Palace.

Longevity Palace was the strongest power in Ling Province, a behemoth that held sway over the entire region. Its influence even surpassed that of the Divine Mansion Sect, and it was rumored that its Palace Master was even a notch stronger than the General.

According to legend, the first Palace Master of Longevity Palace was a favorite general of the Grand Ancestor Emperor Xuanyang. He had followed the Grand Ancestor Emperor on his campaigns across the land and had been instrumental in his rise to power.

After the realm was unified, that general was put in charge of defending Ling Province, becoming its first General.

Later, the general simply founded his own sect, establishing Longevity Palace.

Because of that general, Longevity Palace maintained a very close relationship with the Royal Family and had dealings with several ministers in the Imperial Court.

That was why successive Generals dared to move against the Divine Mansion Sect, but none had the guts to harbor ill intentions toward Longevity Palace.

Its connections were simply too strong.

Longevity Palace had always shown no interest in getting involved in the conflict between Lingzhou and the Divine Mansion Sect. It was unexpected that they would act so out of character this time.

Shi Baishan’s eyes flickered.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth. "Fine!"

Longevity Palace was far stronger than the Divine Mansion Sect. Once Longevity Palace chose to make a move, the Divine Mansion Sect, supported only by Sect Leader Murong Tian, would be no match for the combined forces of the Lingzhou Army and Longevity Palace.

Rather than wait for the sect to be destroyed, it was better to find another way out.

Seeing Shi Baishan agree, Ji Chang nodded in satisfaction. "Peak Master Shi, the Lord General will not treat you unfairly."

Shi Baishan was no greenhorn just entering the Jianghu. He knew full well there was little sincerity in Ji Chang’s words.

’Even if I have to live under another’s thumb from now on, it’s better than being annihilated.’

Shi Baishan sighed internally.

He had originally come to see Ji Chang just to join forces to kill Bai Yuan, but he never expected to end up actually betraying the Divine Mansion Sect.

’Life is truly unpredictable. The way things have developed is far beyond my expectations.’

A ruthless look appeared in Shi Baishan’s eyes.

’Then I’ll just betray them!’

...

The Divine Mansion Sect, on the main peak.

In the Sect Leader Hall.

Six people were seated in the grand hall. They represented almost all the powerful experts remaining within the Divine Mansion Sect.

The figure at the highest position was not Sect Leader Murong Tian, but his disciple, Murong Jiujiang.

Besides Sect Leader Murong Tian, the Peak Masters of the Thirteen Peaks had either gone north to the Northern Garrison Army or followed Murong Tian to quell the unrest across Huanglong Prefecture. Only three remained in the Divine Mansion Sect.

Bai Yuan was also among them.

He had taken the seat that originally belonged to Old Dong.

Feishi Peak’s Master, Shi Baishan; Taibai Peak’s Master, Liu Donghai; and Qianzhu Peak’s Master, Ruan Xiuluan. Originally, the Peak Master of Spring Thunder Peak should have been present, but he had been killed by Old Dong, and his True Disciple was killed by Bai Yuan. So, of course, no one was left.

In addition to the Peak Masters, there were also two Supreme Elders: Ge Zhen and Murong Qing.

Murong Jiujiang, of course, was not so arrogant as to sit directly on the Sect Leader’s throne; instead, he stood beside the golden chair.

"Everyone, something has come up suddenly. The Sect Leader has not returned, so I will be presiding over today’s meeting."

Murong Jiujiang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the assembly. He carried himself with the air of a Sect Leader.

With Sect Leader Murong Tian absent, it was within the rules for him, as the Sect Leader’s first disciple, to act as Deputy Sect Leader and manage the sect’s internal affairs.

Moreover, Murong Jiujiang’s own strength was formidable, so no one had any objections.

"Young Master Murong, what has happened?"

Taibai Peak’s Master, Liu Donghai, was the first to speak.

He was the most senior person present, so it was only natural for him to ask.

The others also looked on with curiosity.

Murong Jiujiang slowly began, "The Vice Palace Master of Longevity Palace has arrived with disciples, wishing to ’spar’ with our sect."

Upon hearing this, everyone’s brows furrowed.

Who didn’t know that the Divine Mansion Sect was currently locked in a fierce struggle with the Lingzhou Army? For Longevity Palace to send people at a time like this, it was clear they did not come with good intentions.

But the Divine Mansion Sect couldn’t possibly avoid the challenge. If they did, they would lose all face.

Shi Baishan, sitting at the outermost position, kept his head down, his expression hidden.

But inside, a storm was raging in his heart.

’I can’t believe Ji Chang’s words were true! Longevity Palace is really going to move against the Divine Mansion Sect!’

Although he had agreed to Ji Chang’s request to steal the deployment map that day, he had not yet acted, choosing instead to watch from the shadows.

After all, Ji Chang’s words were just that—words. He might have just been using Longevity Palace’s name to trick him.

But Shi Baishan never imagined that Longevity Palace would actually join forces with the Lingzhou General and the Prefect.

The Divine Mansion Sect was already struggling just to deal with the Lingzhou Army. If Longevity Palace was added to the mix... perhaps the sect’s destruction was not far off.

Shi Baishan felt a flicker of relief about his decision.

’By siding with the Lingzhou Army now, I can at least survive. Otherwise, the Shi Family will never escape the fate of being wiped out.’

A thousand years ago, the Shi Family had abandoned a small sect on the verge of annihilation to join the Divine Mansion Sect. Switching allegiance to Lingzhou now was practically a family tradition.

’In the face of life and death, loyalty is lighter than paper.’