Deep in the night, all was quiet.

The servants had gone to rest, leaving only Qu Duanyun alone in the room. Qu Duanyun put down his book and took out a scroll from his sleeve. He ground some ink and hovered the ink-soaked brush tip over the scroll.

He pondered for a moment and clicked his tongue lightly. After a while, he wrote down the words "Respectfully reporting".

[North Desert Shafu City. The Great Forbidden Formation of the northwest is operating as usual, but due to the increasingly severe sandstorms in Xilong, the markets are not thriving.]

Xu Jingming was talkative, but fortunately he greatly admired his Emperor elder brother. In order not to trouble the Emperor, Xu Jingming rarely visited the National Teacher's Manor after coming of age. Telling some harmless little lies to Jiang Youyue should not be exposed.

Everything was good about his teacher Jiang Youyue, except that he was too rigid in following old rules and leaving things to fate. There's a saying that indecision leads to trouble. Although Shi Jingzhi only had less than a year left to live, and in theory he shouldn't be able to stir up too much trouble. Letting things take their own course like this was not a wise move.

What if Shi Jingzhi got a headache or met with a natural or man-made disaster and just died like that? Wouldn't such a large group of people have wasted their efforts?

But whenever related matters were brought up, Jiang Youyue would always speak vaguely.

"When you inherit your teacher's mantle, you will know the truth." All his questions would ultimately come down to this one answer.

Jiang Youyue indeed valued him as a student, but Qu Duanyun could see that his teacher had deliberately kept many secrets from him. Just regarding this Great Forbidden Formation of the northwest, Jiang Youyue had never told him - where did the power that operated this prohibition come from? Even he, as the National Teacher's student, couldn't figure it out.

How could there be "power" that appeared out of nowhere in this world?

Jiang Youyue had mentioned that as long as the Great Forbidden Formation of the northwest was still in place, no matter how Shi Jingzhi struggled, his fate was sealed. So if he did some harmless concealing, perhaps he could skew the plan his master had set a little.

There were no problems in this world that he couldn't solve, and no matters that he couldn't take charge of. Qu Duanyun didn't want to dedicate his life to that slippery "man-made demon". Once Shi Jingzhi failed, he would successfully replace him. Would his master still have that unperturbed, self-assured look then?

Thinking of Shi Jingzhi's face, Qu Duanyun tightened his grip on the brush, a rare hint of anger showing on his face. He took a deep breath before he could calmly write on.

[This morning, Wu Huai will ascend the throne. With this, Jianchen Temple, Ling Sect, Red Hook and Taiheng all fall into our hands. Everything is ready, just waiting for the Shi Rou.]

As the morning light grew, the Chen hour was approaching. Smokeless firecrackers were set off in the Red Hook courtyard to celebrate.

The disciples all changed into their brightest ceremonial robes and gathered in the Red Hook courtyard. The lowest-ranking disciples didn't know what the new Sect Leader looked like, and all had joyful expressions. Those slightly higher in status hid their worries extremely well.

The attitudes of the various Protectors and Elders were much more interesting - out of the nine, Hua Jingchun was missing, leaving eight with varied expressions, a mix of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. The eight lounged in the upper seats, their postures casual yet proper, forming a demonic sect version of the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" picture.

Although the enthronement ceremony was held outdoors, countless steel wires were arranged above the courtyard, with bone chimes seemingly suspended in the air. In the center of the courtyard, an ancient tripod was set up with three blood-red incense sticks inserted. The incense smoke wafted hazily, making people dizzy.

Hua Jingchun led a group of people hiding in a secret room not far away. She sniffed the strange incense and said in a hiss, "It's 'dead man's incense', the ceremony has begun."

Shi Jingzhi had just turned to Yin Ci when Yin Ci explained as if reading his mind, "That's detoxifying incense, used to neutralize poison and calm corpses, also used in burials."

For major ceremonies, the crowd was inevitably dense. As a demonic sect, Red Hook had dug up countless graves and made many enemies, so this was to prevent ill-intentioned people from attacking with poison powder.

"That tea mixed with medicinal powder...?"

"Since it was chosen by Protector Hua, it naturally can't be resolved."

As Yin Ci explained, he sized up the secret room they were in. This was still the execution chamber where he had tried various ways to kill himself during his "Su Zhi" period. The space was large and hidden, and allowed convenient eavesdropping on the surroundings. Who knew how Hua Jingchun found this place - if she dug deep into the ground, she would surely unearth a large pile of "Su Zhi's remains".

Now that Shi Jingzhi was standing here blinking, he always had a strange sense of deja vu.

Hua Jingchun had no time to spare. She counted the time bit by bit, muttering to herself, "Remove the mask to reveal the true face, sacrifice to Su Zhi to pray for peace. Respectfully watch the guest announce to the world, a cup of wine to throw the underworld into chaos... Six cups of wine and tea, still need half an hour and two incense sticks."

Yan Qing was familiar with the drill, having caused a ruckus at the Ling Sect before. This time, he had already actively gripped the stone sword. Only Su Si was fiddling with that flesh-cutting knife, his pretty eyes looking around, who knew what he was thinking.

"Where's Shen Zhu?" After looking around aimlessly for a while, Su Si finally asked in a low voice.

"Don't know, she said she needed the toilet just now." Yan Qing scratched his head. "Miss Shen is smart as a whip, she definitely knows the way... Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"This place is gloomy and filled with an oppressive aura of death, making me uneasy. What was wrong with that Su Zhi guy, a perfectly good Red Hook Sect and he built so many weird secret rooms." Su Si wrinkled his face, not showing a hint of nervousness.

Yan Qing hemmed and hawed for a long time, nearly losing the momentum he had painstakingly built up.

The two of them weren't as good at concealing their movements as the master and disciple of Ku Mountain Sect. Hua Jingchun's gaze immediately pierced over. "Little brats, quiet down!"

But curiosity is the nature of youth. Once led astray by Su Si, Yan Qing couldn't hold back either. He scooted closer to Su Si and lowered his voice even more. "She doesn't recognize you?"

Su Si snorted like a mosquito in reply. "Red Hook is probably afraid the Protectors and Elders will prematurely win over the young Sect Leader. According to the rules, before the enthronement ceremony, the young Sect Leader won't easily reveal his true face. There are many people Red Hook has chased until they pissed themselves, and those chasing me don't know the reason either."

With that, he let out a cold smile.

"The token is the most concrete proof. The endorsement of insiders is probably because that Wu Huai knows quite a few of Red Hook Sect's secrets and his strength isn't weak either."

The two whispered for a while, then waited quietly for one incense stick.

"Miss Shen still hasn't returned, could she have encountered something?" Seeing that Shen Zhu had been gone for a long time, Yan Qing's voice carried a hint of anxiety.

Su Si replied absentmindedly, "If Sect Leader Shi isn't worried, what are you anxious about. San-zi, don't tell me you've taken a fancy to her?"

Yan Qing's face instantly turned the same color as his eyes. He barely suppressed his voice and stammered in reply, "The Sect Master might not know, I-"

"Son, let me teach you something. Shen Zhu is the subordinate of the sect leader. There are only two possibilities when the master doesn't care about his subordinate's actions - first, he knows exactly what his subordinate is going to do and is confident everything is under control. As for the second possibility..."

Su Si smiled somewhat wickedly.

"Second, he knows that no matter what his subordinate does, it won't interfere with his own plans."

Qu Duanyun sat upright in the guest seat, earnestly observing the grand ceremony before him.

The bone chimes in the sky were blown by the wind, making a light tinkling sound. The smoke from the incense for the dead was thick and heavy, with wisps of milky white flowing from the ancient cauldron, forming a fog of smoke on the ground. The sect's songstresses were singing folk songs from the Shafu region, the melodies graceful and moving. The tones were mixed with the unique roughness of the desert land, as if each melody had been polished by the wind and sand.

His eyes were watching, his ears were listening, but his heart was not there. Since he sent back the message, Jiang Youyue had not given any response. The Word Cloth in his sleeve was quiet and still, without the slightest sensation of magical power operating.

As always.

This time, the matters of the jianghu were mostly arranged by him. Although great figures like Abbot Juefei, Qi Xundao, and Dark Blood Witch had died at the hands of the Twin Roots, the destruction of the Ling Sect and the rectification of Taiheng had always been led by his efforts. Even so, his master always looked to the sky, muttering words like "heavenly mandate" and "the way of immortals".

It was as if, by the mere words "heavenly mandate", these troublesome matters could be accomplished on their own.

Concealing the matter of the Great Forbidden Formation in the Northwest was not the first time he had drilled ant holes on the great embankment. Previously in the northern lands, Qu Duanyun had attempted to intervene in Shi Jingzhi's "unlocking of the formation" by borrowing the connections of the Immortal Gathering. After such a disturbance, Shi Jingzhi had nearly been put in a deadly situation by him. Even so, Jiang Youyue still maintained that same unperturbed demeanor.

The National Teacher had only casually attributed the deaths of Chen Qianfan and Wei Chun to the Ku Mountain Sect, without showing the slightest anger towards Qu Duanyun.

Qu Duanyun couldn't understand.

The hundred-year plan had not been without failures, so why were the National Teachers unwilling to learn from their mistakes? Each of them only knew to revere the rules left by the sages, unwilling to make even the slightest adaptations.

In his view, the hundred-year plan did not necessarily have to be realized through the "Desired Children".

The melody reached a climactic point, the voices of the many women resounding, singing out the momentum of a thousand armies and ten thousand horses. Qu Duanyun's face was calm with a smile, but under his sleeves, his hands slowly clenched into fists.

Finally, Wu Huai walked onto the stone platform in the center of the stage. He took off the mask on his face and picked up a stick of incense for the dead.

Wu Huai had a very handsome appearance. Coupled with the hazy smoke on the ground, he had a bit of an immortal's bearing. He had specially imitated the clothing of the former Sect Master, dressed in all black, with fine and exquisite gold embroidery on the corners of his clothes. The corners of his clothes rolled over the clouds and mist, the original fierceness obscured by the smoke, turning into a harmless cold aloofness.

At the very back of the courtyard hung a huge portrait of the former Sect Master. The person in the painting wore a mask, revealing only his chin. However, his posture was majestic, his aura extraordinary, as if an immortal had descended to the world. Compared to the courtyard of the demonic sect, this painting was more suitable to be placed in a temple.

Wu Huai held the incense in both hands and bowed to the portrait with the utmost respect. Then he spun around and inserted the incense for the dead back into the incense burner upside down. A gust of true energy swept by, and he reignited the end of the incense.

"I am Wu Huai, the Sect Master of the Red Hook Sect, the successor of the third-generation Sect Master. Today, witnessed by everyone present, from now on, the Red Hook Sect is my Red Hook Sect."

He gripped the hilt of the Sweeping Bone Sword and turned to the Taiheng and Yueshui Bureau people in the guest seats.

"Servants, bring the wine and tea!"

A blind and mute servant brought Wu Huai a tray with six cups, while at the same time, the people in each guest seat also received a cup of Shafu medicinal tea. Wu Huai glanced at each of the cups, picked up the one with honeysuckle and mint added, and raised it to the sky in respect. His lips touched the rim of the cup, he tilted his head back, about to drink it all in one gulp—

"Wait!" Qu Duanyun shouted.

Wu Huai paused, almost immediately stopping his action: "...Sect Master Qu, what insights do you have to share?"

Qu Duanyun narrowed his eyes at the teacup in his hand, slightly rotating the tea inside, and took a shallow sip. Then he heavily placed the teacup on the table, for the first time in front of others, his face darkening.

"Sect Master Wu, something has been added to this tea. The bowl you were about to drink from, it would be best to check it first."

Author's Note:

Fox Shi: The painting's not bad. After we're done fighting, I'll take it back and hang it in my Ku Mountain Sect—

Demon Lord Yin: ...