After the meeting with Elder Mo, Chen Nian sat quietly in the main hall, his fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest of his chair. Long Hai, Long Bihu, and Kang Ye remained in the room, waiting for his next command."Do you really trust them?" Long Bihu asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.Chen Nian smiled faintly. "Trust? Not completely. But this isn't about trust. It's about maintaining the balance of power."Kang Ye nodded. "The Azure Sky Sect has chosen not to become our enemy, at least for now. But that doesn't mean they'll remain our allies forever."Long Hai added, "The Patriarch of the Azure Sky Sect is a clever man. He must have plans of his own. We must remain vigilant."Chen Nian stood and walked toward the hall's large window, gazing at the sky as it slowly turned orange with the setting sun. "That's right. Which is why we must ensure the Zetian Sect grows even stronger. And the first step..."He turned toward Long Hai."...is to expand our influence to the smaller sec

In the main hall of the Zetian Sect, Chen Nian sat in his seat with a calm expression. Around him, the elders and sect commanders had gathered to discuss their next move.Long Hai opened the meeting in a firm voice. "The Silver Wolf Sect, the Sky Thunder Sect, and the Purple Mist Sect have all accepted our offer. The territory once controlled by the Black Mountain Sect is now entirely under our control."Chen Nian nodded slowly. "Good. But we must not let our guard down. The Azure Sky Sect is surely calculating their next move."Kang Ye added, "I've investigated their movements. So far, they've remained quiet. But I'm certain they're searching for allies of their own."Long Bihu grinned. "Then we should move before they do. If they're planning to form an alliance, we should destroy their allies before that happens."Chen Nian smiled faintly. "Exactly. We'll arrange everything carefully. I want this war to end in an absolute victory for us."At the Azure Sky SectInside the Azure Sky S

Inside the Alchemy Pavilion of the Zetian Sect, Chen Nian stood before the Golden Dragon Cauldron, ready to refine the Clear Dew Pill, a rare pill capable of helping a peak True God Realm cultivator break through to the One-Star God King Realm.Around him, Lu Cheng and several elite alchemists of the sect stood watchfully, observing the extremely complex refining process.Chen Nian took a deep breath before igniting the Eternal Black Flame in the palm of his hand. The flame enveloped the bottom of the cauldron with perfectly controlled temperature.Chen Nian placed the ingredients into the cauldron one by one with extraordinary precision:Earth Spirit Root, to create a stable energy foundation.Heavenly Dew Essence, to refine the flow of energy within the pill.Star Crystal Leaf, the core ingredient that enabled a significant increase in strength.Heavenly Soul Stone, the final ingredient that increased the pill's effectiveness by up to thirty percent.After all the ingredients had be

Chen Nian then shifted the discussion to the main issue: the supply of resources. At present, the Zetian Sect was facing a shortage of several crucial materials, such as Dew Spirit Leaves and Star Core Powder. Dong Li unrolled a scroll of records and read from it. "Besides the Sky Eagle Sect and the Bai Clan, there are several independent merchant groups that possess the materials we need. They may not have large quantities, but if we gather supplies from multiple sources, it will be enough to sustain production." Chen Nian nodded. "Good. Send envoys to those merchant groups. Make sure they know that the Zetian Sect is willing to pay a high price, or offer them our protection." Dong Li smiled faintly. "Using both gentle and firm methods at the same time? I like the idea." Lu Cheng added, "Besides that, we can pressure the Bai Clan. Although they are neutral allies, they are still merchants. If we can offer them a better deal than the Sky Eagle Sect, they might choose to stand with

Clang!Clang!Clang!The energy spikes were knocked away one after another. Not a single one managed to break through Chen Nian's defense.However, the Mist Black Wolf refused to give up. With astonishing speed, it lunged forward, its claws wrapped in dense black energy!Chen Nian crossed his sword before his chest.Bang!The violent collision shook the air, creating a shockwave that swept through the surrounding trees. Chen Nian was pushed back several steps, feeling a slight numbness in his right arm from the impact."A fairly powerful beast..." he muttered, his eyes gleaming sharply.Not wanting to waste any more time, Chen Nian immediately increased his strength!"Heaven-Splitting Star Technique!"A golden aura erupted from his body, and the Crimson Sword shone with a dazzling divine radiance.The Mist Black Wolf hesitated for a brief moment, but its instincts as a predator drove it to attack anyway.Swish!With incredible speed, Chen Nian dashed forward. With a single slash...Sl