Yet, Teng Qingshan’s eyes were fixed intently on the stack of papers in his hands, finishing one sheet only to immediately turn to the next. He was primarily studying the intelligence that Zhuge Yuanhong had already circled. The more he read, the darker Teng Qingshan’s expression became. "I didn't expect Pei San to have such enormous ambition. After painstakingly eliminating the Hongtian City of Youzhou, he's now preparing to attack Yangzhou!"

These past few days, Teng Qingshan had been in excellent spirits, quietly waiting with his wife for their child to be born.

But who could have imagined such a thing would arise at this critical juncture.

"Master." Teng Qingshan closed the papers and looked over at Zhuge Yuanhong beside him. "According to the intelligence reports, the Celestial Palace is indeed moving to attack Yangzhou. Tell me—what should we do now?"

"What can we do?"

Zhuge Yuanhong shook his head. "Brute force cannot solve everything. Since the Celestial Palace has decided to mobilize its troops, my Guiyuan Sect... forget my sect, even Qinghu Island simply cannot stop them. Now, the only way forward... is the path you must walk, Qingshan. Qingshan, you need to deal with those Void Realm experts of the Celestial Palace..."

"Yes, I know them all." Teng Qingshan nodded, then shook his head. "The others are manageable, but the Celestial Palace Master's daughter, the leader of the Snow Lotus Cult, doesn't exactly favor me."

Zhuge Yuanhong nodded.

In fact, during the rapid journey he had taken earlier, he had already spent time considering how to handle this impending catastrophe; he had formulated some plans.

"Qingshan," Zhuge Yuanhong said solemnly.

"Master, tell me, I'm listening." Teng Qingshan listened carefully.

Zhuge Yuanhong stated gravely, "Right now, it’s impossible for us to block the Celestial Palace with sheer strength. Therefore, we need you to step up, Qingshan. Qingshan... you had best take Li Jun with you and travel to Qingzhou. Talking to anyone else is useless... If you must talk, go straight to the Celestial Palace Master. Negotiate personally with 'Pei San'!"

"How do we negotiate?" Teng Qingshan was equally anxious.

Pei San was no ordinary man.

This person had endured patiently for centuries, and now, unleashing his power, he first destroyed the Carefree Palace of Qingzhou, then the Hongtian City of Youzhou, and was now marching south toward Yangzhou. Such momentum... could three simple words from me really stop him?

"In this negotiation, first, you must ascertain why Pei San is in such a hurry to attack. What is his ultimate goal? Is it merely to satisfy his ambition, or is there another purpose... In short, you must know what he intends to do! Then, from his perspective, try to persuade him—make him understand that moving his troops now is highly disadvantageous."

"Furthermore, Qingshan, you should realize this."

Zhuge Yuanhong frowned. "If he normally wanted to claim more territory, to make his Celestial Palace more glorious and influential, he wouldn't need to rush like this... because Qingzhou and Youzhou cannot fully integrate their six hundred million subjects with the Celestial Palace within ten or twenty years. Their current aggression relies entirely on the strength they have accumulated in secret for hundreds of years."

"The safest method would be for them to rest for ten or twenty years, solidifying control over Qingzhou and Youzhou, and training loyal armies numbering in the millions. Then, leveraging the advantages of Qingzhou, Youzhou, and the Great Steppes, with an army exceeding ten million, they could sweep through Yangzhou and Yanzhou, perhaps even challenging the Mani Temple."

Teng Qingshan nodded slightly.

Qingzhou and Youzhou had only just been conquered. The Carefree Palace and Hongtian City had long histories, and their personnel were deeply embedded in every city and region. Even now, numerous peripheral forces from the Carefree Palace and Hongtian City remained across Qingzhou and Youzhou. It would indeed take ten to twenty years of careful governance for the Celestial Palace to gain true mastery over the territories.

"If you conquer territory but don't manage it properly, what good is conquering more?" Zhuge Yuanhong frowned. "So, I suspect... the Celestial Palace might have another objective. Although, it's not impossible they are supremely confident and intend to seize three prefectures in one go."

Teng Qingshan nodded repeatedly.

"Understood, Master. I will prepare immediately and take Xiao Jun to Qingzhou." Teng Qingshan agreed promptly.

"Yes, this matter cannot be delayed." Zhuge Yuanhong sighed. "Qingshan, if... if the Celestial Palace agrees to let my Guiyuan Sect remain in Jiangning Commandery, then that will suffice. I do not wish for you to break ties with the Celestial Palace."

Teng Qingshan nodded.

He understood the gravity of the situation... but he also possessed a secret weapon.

"Xiao Jun, Xiao Jun!" Teng Qingshan hurried into the room to tell Li Jun the current situation. Li Jun was greatly startled when she heard the news... she was acutely aware of Teng Qingshan's plans, so without any hesitation, Li Jun immediately dressed and, after getting up, left with Teng Qingshan.

On the first day of the eighth month, late that night, Teng Qingshan, clad in the Hongtian Divine Armor, took Li Jun and the Six-Legged Blade Crawler and departed Yicheng, flying north toward Qingzhou.

And this journey taken by Teng Qingshan...

Would decide the fate of nearly three hundred million people in Yangzhou. Would the prosperous heartland of the Nine Provinces, 'Yangzhou,' finally fall under whose dominion? Meanwhile, among the nearly three hundred million citizens of Yangzhou, everyone was living their own lives, completely unaware that Yangzhou was currently plunging into its most perilous crisis.

'Yucheng,' the most ancient city in Yuzhou, lay at the very center of the Nine Provinces. Furthermore, due to the crucial waterway known as the 'Yuyang Grand Canal,' Yucheng had become the most prosperous city across the provinces.

In the center of Yucheng stood the luxurious and ancient Yu Imperial Palace. After thousands of years of renovation, maintenance, and expansion, the entire palace complex exuded an overwhelming majesty. Merchants and martial artists visiting Yucheng, upon passing this Yu Imperial Palace complex, could only gasp in admiration.

To the outside world, the Yu Emperor Sect claimed this complex as their main lair. Indeed, the Sect Master and others of the Yu Emperor Sect resided here almost permanently.

However—

Only a tiny fraction of core disciples within the Yu Emperor Sect knew that the true foundation of the sect lay in the mountain range just outside Yucheng. This mountain range was locally known by the residents near Yucheng as the 'Bear Savage Mountain Range.' This was because the range contained numerous black bear clans, and these bears were generally entirely black with violet pupils.

Each black bear possessed astonishing brute strength, and among these clans, there were even demonic beasts.

Consequently, ordinary hunters dared not venture deep into the Bear Savage Mountain Range, contenting themselves with hunting only at the edges. These black bear clans provided the perfect camouflage for the Yu Emperor Sect's foundation. Deep within the mountains lay over a dozen connected palaces. The Void Realm experts of the Yu Emperor Sect, along with their 'Rift Wind Dragon Falcons,' resided here most of the time, making only occasional trips into the city. Being so close to the city allowed them to provide swift support should any disturbance arise.

"Xiao Hei."

"Da Hei."

A girl in green tossed two pieces of fruit toward two small black bears not far away. One bear was slightly larger, the other smaller, both clearly in their infancy... The two simple-minded cubs snatched the fruit and began chewing, a sight that brought an undeniable smile to the green-clad girl's face.

Not far away, several giant black bears paced around the palace perimeter; some of the bears even rubbed their massive hindquarters against the palace walls, looking utterly relaxed. Most of these bears stood about two zhang high.

Yet... these black bears coexisted peacefully with the humans here. They never attacked the residents.

"Junior Sister, Junior Sister." A young man in white robes hurried over.

"Senior Brother?" The girl in green looked at the youth questioningly.

"I need to see Ancestor Liu. Do you know where Ancestor Liu is?" the young man in white inquired.

"Ancestor? I saw Ancestor Liu go to the Sacred Hall," the girl in green pointed vaguely toward the tallest of the dozen or so palaces nearby. "So, Senior Brother, you might have to wait a while."

"The Sacred Hall?" The young man in white started. "Didn't Ancestor Huang issue a strict order long ago prohibiting entry into the Sacred Hall? Has something major happened?"

...

On the seventh level of the Sacred Hall.

Three figures sat cross-legged on meditation cushions. Among them, Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia both looked anxious as they stared at a handsome young man dressed in yellow, whose temples, however, showed streaks of white hair. For the past few days, both Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia had tried to find their Martial Uncle, but... this Martial Uncle had been in secluded cultivation until he emerged today.

"Martial Uncle, did you achieve a breakthrough this time?" Although Yu Tonghai was anxious, he still managed to ask.

"The Nine Tripod Heavenly Scripture is vast and profound," the youth in yellow opened his eyes and smiled faintly. "But precisely because it is so profound, overcoming the constraints of the Nine Tripod Heavenly Scripture to reach the Cave Void Realm is incredibly difficult. First, one must master the Scripture, and then transcend it!"

"This time, I gained a small insight."

"Perhaps, I can reach the Cave Void Realm next time." The youth in yellow seemed unconcerned; at his level, gaining any comprehension during a seclusion was already a worthy outcome.

"Why have you come this time?" The youth in yellow looked at the two.

Liu Xia spoke up beside him. "Martial Uncle, last time we went to Hongtian City to try and stop the Celestial Palace. Unfortunately, the Celestial Palace Master, 'Pei San,' is a Cave Void expert. Even Qin Shiqi could not handle him, so we had to give up. We watched helplessly as the Celestial Palace annihilated Hongtian City."

"Oh? Pei San is that strong?" The youth in yellow nodded slightly. "You did the right thing."

"Martial Uncle," Yu Tonghai interjected, "however, according to our plan, the two sets of Divine Armor that You Shijin carried should have fallen into our hands. But—unexpectedly, the Six-Eared Earth-Drilling Rat was injured by Pei San's flying dagger attack. And Jing Yi, riding his demonic beast, pursued the Six-Eared Earth-Drilling Rat underground. Jing Yi seized both sets of Divine Armor. At that time—we intercepted Jing Yi, but he insisted that he hadn't obtained the Divine Armor."

"The Hongtian Divine Armor was taken by him?" The youth in yellow frowned.

"Yes."

Yu Tonghai's eyes sharpened. "Martial Uncle, according to our intelligence... someone saw Jing Yi wearing a suit of blood-red battle armor while taking away his wife, 'Li Jun.' That blood-red armor is the 'Hongtian Divine Armor.' We estimate he gave the other set of Divine Armor to the Celestial Palace. It's infuriating... this scoundrel still dared to quibble in front of Senior Brother Liu and me."

"Hmph!"

The youth in yellow’s gaze turned cold, killing intent flickering. "This Jing Yi, what audacity!"

"Martial Uncle, we..." Yu Tonghai started to speak.

"However, this Jing Yi has close ties with the Celestial Palace," the youth in yellow frowned. "Don't rush. The more arrogant the Celestial Palace becomes, the sooner its downfall will arrive. Once the Celestial Palace is destroyed, it will not be too late to deal with Jing Yi."

Yu Tonghai and Liu Xia exchanged glances.

Indeed...

Their Martial Uncle still possessed that same temperament—he wouldn't act unless he was absolutely certain of success.