Sword Emperor of the Astonishing Sky

The Nine Nether Demon Palace Cloud Boat slowly approached, and the Phoenix Valley Sect Master on the Phoenix Valley Cloud Boat, along with several Phoenix Valley elders, bowed and saluted, saying:

"Meet the Emperor."

"No need to be polite, senior."

Lin Bai smiled gently, stretched out his hand in the air, and helped the leader of Phoenix Valley up.

Now that Phoenix Valley is no longer an enemy, Lin Bai naturally cannot treat the leader of Phoenix Valley with the same attitude as before.

And after all, the leader of Phoenix Valley is still a powerful person at the Supreme Dao Fruit realm. According to the rules of the martial arts world, Lin Ye still needs to call him senior.

"Now that the Demon Palace's 'Name Changing Celebration' is imminent, Phoenix Valley should have received an invitation."

"Senior, you should be heading to the Nine Nether Demon Palace now. Why are you here?"

The Phoenix Valley Sect Master smiled lightly upon hearing this, and replied calmly:

"I heard that the emperor's son went to the Seven Nights Divine Sect. When we came here, we calculated the route and happened to run into the emperor's son."

"So we have come here specially to wait for the prince, hoping to go to the Nine Nether Demon Palace with him."

“Besides…”

The leader of Phoenix Valley seemed to think that this reason was too far-fetched, so he made up a more appropriate reason:

"The Demon Palace's renaming celebration is getting closer, and there have been constant disturbances both inside and outside the Seven Nights Divine Sect's territory. The warriors of the Demon Extermination Alliance are making a lot of noise."

"We are also worried that the emperor's son will be attacked by criminals."

"Of course."

"With the Emperor's cultivation strength, those monsters from the Demon-Slaying Alliance naturally cannot hurt the Emperor."

"We just don't want the emperor's son to get hurt."

After listening to this, Lin Bai smiled and did not expose the Phoenix Valley Sect Master's lies. He said directly:

"In that case, since the seniors are here, let's set off together."

"It's getting late. We have to hurry back to the Nine Nether Demon Palace."

The Phoenix Valley Sect Master nodded slightly, hesitated for a moment and asked:

"I shamelessly request a chance to ride with the Emperor's son."

"no problem."

Lin Bai readily agreed and ordered Old Wen to open the magic circle and let the leader of Phoenix Valley and several elders of Phoenix Valley onto the cloud boat.

Lin Bai nodded slightly, signaling Yi Jinyun to leave.

Elder Wen and Taoist Yu You also found an excuse to leave the bow, leaving the place completely to Lin Bai and the leader of Phoenix Valley.

Soon, only Lin Bai and the leader of Phoenix Valley were left on the bow of the ship.

"Senior, there is no one else here now, just say whatever you want to say!"

Lin Bai asked with a slight smile.

The leader of Phoenix Valley smiled at Yin Rou and asked slowly, "Son of the Emperor, do you know the rumors going around in and outside the territory of the Seven Nights Divine Sect these days?"

"The entire territory of the Seven Nights Divine Sect is spreading the news... The Nine Nether Demon Palace is about to depose Lin Bai, the emperor's son, and install the First Divine Son as the emperor's son."

Lin Bai took a deep breath and said silently: "After I defeated the Chunyang Sect, I returned to the Demon Palace and announced that I would be in seclusion. I don't know much about the outside world for the time being."

"But we have already received some information from the Seven Nights Divine Sect."

The leader of Phoenix Valley took a deep breath and said, "Although the Saint Elders in the Demon Palace suppressed this matter, if the news spreads, it will make many people uneasy."

"Especially those of us who are willing to support Emperor Lin Bai."

"I think……"

The leader of Phoenix Valley suddenly mentioned the Seven Nights Divine Sect and said with a smile: "I think the Seven Nights Divine Sect and our Phoenix Valley have the same idea."

Lin Bai's face gradually darkened, but he did not make any comments, and replied generously:

"Yes."

"The Seven Nights Divine Sect is indeed terrified. They are worried that I will be dismissed, which will cause damage to their interests."

"After all, many of the promises I made to the Seven Nights Divine Sect and Phoenix Valley are beneficial to you, but not to the Demon Palace."

"If I am unfortunately deposed as the emperor's son, it is hard to say whether the Demon Palace will still be willing to abide by the promise I made."

After saying this, Lin Bai suddenly glanced at the Phoenix Valley Sect Master and said with a smile:

"Senior, you took the trouble to wait for me here. Isn't it for this matter?"

"Isn't Phoenix Valley frightened?"

"Haha." Upon hearing this, the Phoenix Valley Sect Master smiled awkwardly, then focused his attention and thought for a moment before answering:

"A frank person doesn't speak in a roundabout way. Besides, I don't think now is the time to beat around the bush."

"Then please forgive me for speaking frankly, Your Highness."

He paused and said, “If I say that Phoenix Valley is not worried, then I am really talking nonsense.”

"As Emperor Lin Bai said just now, Emperor Lin Bai, Phoenix Valley and Seven Nights Divine Sect are all on the same side. Once Emperor Lin Bai falls, the attitude of the Demon Palace will definitely change."

"It's hard to say whether the Demon Palace is still willing to abide by the promise that Emperor Lin Bai made before."

"So we don't want Emperor Lin Bai to fall."

He took two deep breaths and asked Lin Bai:

"I wonder if Emperor Lin Bai has any solution to the current predicament?"

After thinking for a while, Lin Bai asked in a deep voice:

"Since you are here, let's listen to your opinion."

"Senior, you came all the way here to wait for me. Apparently there are some things that are inconvenient to say inside the Demon Palace, so you want to tell me outside specifically?"

The Phoenix Valley Sect Master thought for a moment and then whispered:

"After returning to the Demon Palace, Emperor Lin Bai announced that he would go into seclusion. All matters within the Demon Palace will be handed over to Goddess Li Guxian to handle."

"Although this goddess is extremely smart, everything she does is too safe."

"Of course I believe that with the strength of Goddess Li Guxian, it is only a matter of time before she defeats the First Son of God."

"But given the current situation, we can no longer wait and let Goddess Li Guxian slowly lay out the plan."

"We must hit the target with one strike, causing great damage to the First Son of God and Elder Shi Renshan."

When the Phoenix Valley Sect Master said these words, Lin Bai was basically certain that the other party came with a plan.

He came here specifically to offer advice.

To be honest, although Lin Bai promised the Qiye Divine Sect that he would resolve the issue of the First Son of God within five years, he currently has no better idea.

He also wanted to hear what the master of the sect, who dared to openly rebel against the Nine Nether Demon Palace, but used a far-sighted strategy to allow Phoenix Valley to escape unscathed, had to say.

"so what?"

Lin Bai asked: "What do you think, senior?"

The Phoenix Valley Sect Master smiled and said, "Goddess Li Guxian has repeatedly targeted the First Son of God in the Elders' Council, although it has had some effect."

"But after all, they are all insignificant little things that cannot hurt the First Son of God."

He stared at Lin Bai and said simply and bluntly:

"The First Son of God is just a reckless man who has a little talent for cultivation but no brains."

"It's easy to deal with him."

"The person who is really difficult to deal with is the Stone Man Shan who has lived for ten thousand years and is very experienced behind the First Son of God."

"And the family behind Shi Renshan, the 'Shi Family'."

After hearing this, Lin Bai thought for a moment and added:

"The Shi family behind Shi Renshan is one of the most powerful families among the thirty-six major families in the Nine Nether Demon Palace."

"They rely on the Temple and are called the 'Nine Great Families of the Temple'."

“It’s really hard to deal with.”

The Phoenix Valley Sect Master shook his head again and said repeatedly:

"No, no, no."

“That’s not all.”

"The Shi family holds many important positions within the Demon Palace. The Shi family is responsible for all the treasures and financial expenditures of the entire Nine Nether Demon Palace."

"To put it simply... the Shi family is the money bag of the Nine Nether Demon Palace."

"Even though the resources and expenses were approved by the Demon Palace, including the battles of Emperor Lin Bai and Goddess Li Guxian, the Shi family was actually responsible for preparing all these things."

Lin Bai did not interrupt and listened patiently to the words of the Phoenix Valley Sect Master.

Seeing that Lin Bai did not express any objection, the leader of Phoenix Valley continued with a smile:

"The Shi family is responsible for the expenditure and care of the treasury. Do you think anyone in the Shi family would embezzle money?"

"There must be one."

Lin Bai didn't even need to think about it carefully to know that someone in the Shi family must have embezzled money and committed embezzlement.

Not only Lin Bai could guess it, but the Demon Palace could also guess it.

It's just because the Shi family and Shi Renshan have extremely high status in the Demon Palace, and the stolen things are insignificant, so the Demon Palace is unwilling to tear its face off.

The leader of Phoenix Valley said: "So, I think that instead of dealing with the First Son of God, it would be better for Emperor Lin Bai to deal with Shi Renshan and the Shi family."

"Dealing with Shi Renshan and the Shi family will be more beneficial to Emperor Lin Bai."

"Let me put it more simply."

"When the Emperor's son Lin Bai went to deal with the First Son of God, the Demon Palace's high-ranking officials and the Saint Elders did not dare to intervene casually. After all, this was a fight for the position of the Emperor's son. As the rulers of the Demon Palace, they would not interfere in the fight between the younger generations."

“But if Emperor Lin Bai were to deal with Shi Renshan and the Shi family, it would be completely different.”

"The Demon Palace is also well aware of the Shi family's 'little tricks', although they turned a blind eye and pretended that nothing happened."

“But if these things were made public, then the Demon Palace Master and the Saint Elder would have no choice but to step in and suppress Shi Renshan and the Shi family.”

"Without Shi Renshan and the Shi family, what would the First Son of God be?"

After hearing this, Lin Bai roughly understood what the Phoenix Valley Sect Master meant.

His meaning was very simple... there was no need to deal with the First Son of God, just deal directly with Shi Renshan and the Shi family.

This was his idea, while Li Guxian’s idea was to start with the First Son of God and then deal with Shi Renshan.

And what the Phoenix Valley Sect Master meant was... to deal with Shi Renshan and the Shi family directly, and defeat them. Naturally, the First Son of God would be of no use.

The way that Phoenix Valley Sect's leader wanted to deal with the Shi family was to start with the treasure house guarded by the Shi family.

After all, the Shi family holds the "financial power" within the sect.

The Phoenix Valley Sect Master chuckled and said, "If the Emperor's son wants to deal with the Shi family, he will definitely get help from many people."

"The first is the Demon Palace Master and the Saint Elder. They knew that the Shi family was a cancer in the Demon Palace, but they had no chance to eliminate it."

"If the Emperor Lin Bai is willing to take the lead in dealing with the Shi family, the Demon Palace Master and the Saint Elder will certainly agree happily and will help the Emperor in secret."

"In the future, when speaking at the Council of Elders, the Saint Elder will certainly start to deliberately favor Emperor Lin Bai."

“That’s one of the benefits.”

“There’s another benefit.”

The Phoenix Valley Patriarch slowly continued, "If the Shi family is defeated and the 'financial power' is handed over, then other families will definitely need to accept it."

"The Duanmu family, who are loyal to Emperor Lin Bai, the Shen family of the Third Temple, the Mei family of Plum Blossom Villa, and the Yao family of Daoist Yao Daogu...are all bound to be very interested in this authority."

"So if Emperor Lin Bai wants to deal with the Shi family, these families will definitely support him strongly. They already have grievances against Shi Renshan."

"And there's a third benefit!"

The Phoenix Valley Sect Master paused again and continued, "Dear Emperor Lin Bai, do you think that the First Son of God and Shi Renshan really have such great personal charm that so many big families in the Demon Palace are willing to work for them?"

"It's just that Shi Renshan gave more money."

"On the other hand, Emperor Lin Bai did not seem to have given these families any real benefits. He only gave them some verbal promises."

"Once the Shi family falls, the First Son of God will lose the support of his huge wealth, and those families who are loyal to him will inevitably defect one after another."

After listening to the analysis of the Phoenix Valley Sect Master, Lin Bai nodded in agreement:

"I know what you said, senior."

"But after all, the Shi family and Shi Renshan have been rooted in the Demon Palace for more than tens of thousands of years. The family is deeply rooted and the power is intertwined. It is not so easy to defeat them."

The leader of Phoenix Valley smiled confidently:

"It is not easy to build a ten-thousand-story building, but it is very easy to escape and defeat them."

"You just need to find their weak point and give them a slight push and they will collapse immediately."

"Isn't the Chunyang Sect an example?"

He said to Lin Bai: "The Chunyang Sect was established more than 70,000 to 80,000 years ago. Its foundation and strength are much stronger than the Shi family. But didn't it fall just by a push?"

Lin Bai frowned and said, "Senior, you seem to be changing your logic? Can dealing with the Chunyang Sect be compared with dealing with the Shi Family?"

"It took the strength of the two major forces, the Demon Palace and the Phoenix Valley, to defeat the Chunyang Sect."

"And we are the only one fighting alone against the Shi family."

The Phoenix Valley leader smiled and said:

"It can't be said that we are fighting alone, it's just that our 'allies' don't show up."

"But as long as someone is willing to take the lead, there will definitely be many people willing to help secretly."

"After all, there are many people who want to overthrow the Shi family."

Lin Bai took a deep breath and felt that what the Phoenix Valley Sect Master said made sense, so he smiled and asked:

"So what do you think, Senior? Where should we start to deal with the Shi family?"