Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 701 - 313. Shitian Buddha_2
Duan Hong shook his head, "If they hadn't pulled me over, Pingtian Gate would have been very likely to fall under the wing of Leiyin Temple. The three families of Hexi have swords drawn against Leiyin Temple, and a great battle will surely occur in the future. Weakening Leiyin Temple is tantamount to enhancing our own strength."
"If the three families are really as close as they seem, even if I become the Alliance Hierarch, I won't be able to decide anything. On the contrary, from the outside, it would seem as if the four families are united, forming an iron barrel in Hexi."
"Moreover, Pingtian Gate has already relocated to Hexi. If we were to switch sides and throw in our lot with Leiyin Temple now, I'm afraid they wouldn't trust us."
"Just these three points alone, and their objectives have been achieved!"
The more Duan Hong spoke, the uglier his expression became. If his guess was correct, Pingtian Gate was clearly set up by the Hou Clan. They came over to Hexi to help the three families for nothing, gained the title of Alliance Hierarch, but couldn't accomplish anything. With this perspective, it seemed like Pingtian Gate had suffered a huge loss.
"Wan Xingyun just proposed that in four days, on the fifth day of the third month, the four families will discuss the Hexi allied forces and future defense arrangements at Xiong Yun Gang. By then, it will become clear who is really in charge of the Hexi alliance. If it truly is the Hou Clan controlling everything, then their objective has now been achieved, and they probably won't be courteous by that time!"
Duan Hong finished speaking, and a touch of darkness surfaced on his face.
The Hexi alliance had a combined military clause, meaning the armies of the four families would all merge into one. The command of the troops would be divided equally among the four families based on the size of the armies.
Originally, his plan before coming here was to first win over Xiong Yun Gang and the Shen Clan, and isolate the Hou Clan. Afterward, he planned to divide the Hou Clan's assets with the two families. Now, it seemed virtually impossible. Not only was it impossible, but at this moment, he had to guard against Hou Yuxiao and the other two families, who might be eyeing Pingtian Gate.
Suddenly, Duan Hong felt some regret bubbling up inside him. Before Leiyin Temple took over Jianye Prefecture, he had considered moving his sect under the wing of Leiyin Temple. But after serving as Sect Leader for so long, his heart was somewhat reluctant. After all, if he joined Leiyin Temple, he would become inferior.
It was at this time that the three families of Hexi extended an olive branch to him.
He was overjoyed, thinking that by allying with the three families in Hexi, he could at least have an equal relationship with them. The key point was that the three families had even offered the Jiujun and Yuzhao regions to him, showing that they needed Pingtian Gate. With that, Pingtian Gate's status would be even higher.
Not to mention the temptation of becoming the Alliance Hierarch...
At first, he thought that Hexi was a piece of fat meat, and Pingtian Gate could establish some foundation in the impending great struggle of the age by relying on the three families of Hexi. Now it seemed that in their eyes, he was the piece of fat meat—easily baited and hooked with just a little enticement!
Thinking of this, Duan Hong's mood became even more somber. Looking forward to the discussion of the allied military defense on the fifth day of the third month, his heart filled with less anticipation and became more vigilant.
......
New Yu Era 1326, third day of the third month
No matter where you are, the closer you are to the central regions, the more prosperous it tends to be. This is no exception for Xiayuan Road of Yongzhou. Xiayuan Road has three prefectures: Jianye, Xingnan, and the newly established Hexi. In terms of prosperity, Jianye Prefecture is undoubtedly the first.
Jianye Prefecture City governs eight regions, with a population exceeding twenty million. A large population base leads to a vast number of Martial Artists, and the number of entry-level powers far surpasses that of the other two prefectures.
However, in recent times, Jianye Prefecture has clearly declined a lot.
Starting from the withdrawal of the Rakshasa Holy Sect from Xiayuan Road, followed by the departure of Pingtian Gate, these two powers almost took everyone related to them away. The population of Jianye Prefecture was reduced by nearly ten percent in one fell swoop. It's worth noting that the majority of these people were Martial Artists. This had a significant impact on Jianye Prefecture.
After Pingtian Gate left Jianye Prefecture City, some small powers that didn't leave thought that they finally had the opportunity to thrive. The city descended into chaos for nearly half a month. Before these small powers could settle their disputes, the overwhelming tide of Leiyin Temple's followers heading south instantly submerged the city. Along with the eight regions and various counties under its administration, it was all taken over by Leiyin Temple in less than half a day.
This is the consequence of being in an "information cocoon." Due to their lack of strength, the small powers had very limited channels to obtain information. They had no idea about Leiyin Temple's march south. They were even unaware of the recent events in Hexi, knowing only the gist of it. As a result, they were unprepared when Leiyin Temple entered the city. The small powers that were still battling each other were almost all used by Leiyin Temple either to win the hearts of the people or to be made examples of to establish their authority.
Leiyin Temple, having flourished for thousands of years and renowned as the foremost of the Chan Sect throughout the world, had at its peak of power once occupied an entire province. Even in these declining years, managing a mere prefectural city in Jizhou was effortless, with no difficulties whatsoever. Within just over ten days, Leiyin Temple had firmly seized control of the eight districts and thirty-four counties within and around Jianye Prefecture.
Now, Jianye Prefecture City had also become the core stronghold of Leiyin Temple.
The original site of Pingtian Gate had early become a ruin, thanks to Sect Leader Duan Hong. When he led his sect members to withdraw, he realized that once Pingtian Gate allied with the other sects in Hexi, they would become enemies of Leiyin Temple. Since the enemy was to occupy Jianye Prefecture, naturally, nothing should be left behind.
Consequently, when Pingtian Gate withdrew, they took away everything they could carry and destroyed everything they could destroy, even ensuring that not a single small room of the sect grounds was left intact for Leiyin Temple.
One would think that upon arrival, Leiyin Temple's people, after seeing the ruins, would erupt in fury and then allocate more manpower to rush the construction of a new stronghold. Surprisingly, Leiyin Temple had no reaction, nor did they build anything new.
It was only a few days later that the people of the city noticed that atop the ruins of the former Pingtian Gate, stood a new, ordinary temple measuring no more than six zhang high and five zhang wide.
The temple was entirely yellow and was devoid of any decorations. It was plain and square, looking like nothing more than an exceedingly ordinary monastery. Yet, hanging above the main entrance was a signboard inscribed with "Leiyin Temple."
Moreover, martial artists living nearby noticed that different monks came and went in the temple every day, including several powerful young monks and some elderly monks who, despite their old age, exuded an aura that stirred fear in the hearts of others.
What was this about?
Was this the stronghold of Leiyin Temple?
To outsiders, the headquarters of Leiyin Temple, heralded as a Quasi-Holy Land and the strongest heaven-level power in the world, should undoubtedly be resplendent with dragons and phoenixes, shining in gold and splendor. The idea that this unremarkable little temple could be the stronghold of Leiyin Temple would be beyond anyone's wildest guesses.
But at this moment, right in front of the temple, Fahai World Honored One, Southern Medicine Master, and Wufa, the deputy abbot, were kneeling in a line facing the main entrance of the temple…!
Even Wufa, one of the two deputy abbots of Leiyin Temple and a peak practitioner of the Xuanyin Realm, had few in the world deemed worthy of his kneeling. To think that Southern Medicine Master, a grandmaster of the shattered realm, joined him.
As for Fahai World Honored One...
The strongest of the three World-Honored Ones of the Chan Sect, a Sub-Saint of Martial Dao, revered as a top-tier powerhouse throughout the world, was kneeling there. Furthermore, the usually fierce expression had completely vanished from his face, replaced by a demeanor of utter humility and reverence, which was simply unimaginable.
If the outside world were to witness this, their eyes would surely pop out of their heads.
"Buddha, after the battle at Longxiang Ferry, our Leiyin Temple has lost all face. Now that the Buddha has personally arrived, and the second batch of southbound sect members has also reached their destination, Hexi foolishly dreams of forming an alliance for self-preservation. Although they are not to be feared, once they truly amass a force, they may well become a great thorn in our temple's side. I propose that our temple should immediately send troops to avenge our humiliation and take control of Xingnan and the two prefectures of Hexi. If we do not act now, once the conflict between the Brahman Sect and Bingzhou is resolved, our temple may be in jeopardy!"
"This disciple seconds the venerable teacher's proposal."
"Wufa seconds it."
Once Fahai took the lead, Southern Medicine Master and Wufa quickly followed suit. Though their demeanor remained humble and respectful, their words were tinged with a chilling resolve, showing that all three harbored considerable resentment and indignation from the defeat at Longxiang Ferry.
Anticipation was clear on their faces, yet after waiting for more than a hundred breaths, a sigh of age and gentleness drifted from within the temple.
"Alas... this humble one had intended to bring along the last batch of sect members, but it was because of the issues here that we had to withdraw from Jizhou ahead of schedule. Hexi has too deep a karmic entanglement, and our temple should not intervene for the time being. Let's first focus on conquering Jianye Prefecture. A great event is about to unfold in the southern five provinces. Once this matter concludes, we can consider other plans!"
Doubts instantly filled the faces of the three.
