Upon hearing Zeyang Immortal Monarch's words, the solemn expression on the Thunder Serpent Immortal King's face suddenly vanished, and he burst into laughter.

"If the Quicksand Immortal Monarch can truly break through to become an Immortal King and join the Thunder Serpent Sect, then why shouldn't I share half of the Thunder Serpent Sect's power with him?"

The Thunder Serpent Immortal King was not at all worried that the Quicksand Immortal Monarch would compete with him for power within the Thunder Serpent Sect, as most of the sect's members were loyal to him.

In his view, even if the Quicksand Sect were to merge into the Thunder Serpent Sect in the future, the influence of the Quicksand Sect could not create any major waves within the Thunder Serpent Sect.

Not to mention that the Quicksand Immortal Monarch had just broken through to become an Immortal King, whose powers were not as strong as his. More importantly, the formations and the majority of secrets of the Thunder Serpent Sect were in his hands as the Sect Master, making it difficult for the Quicksand Immortal Monarch to seize power.

Moreover, if the Quicksand Immortal Monarch did come to the Thunder Serpent Sect with the intention of usurping control, it wouldn't benefit the Quicksand Immortal Monarch much. Their rivalry would only advantage the Mysterious Moon Palace.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the merging of the Quicksand Sect into the Thunder Serpent Sect was a conspiracy by the Mysterious Moon Palace, but even if it was, the Thunder Serpent Immortal King still intended to agree.

At this time, the Thunder Serpent Immortal King continued, "Very well, I can agree to help your Sect Master break through to the Immortal King Realm. In that case, have your Sect Master personally visit the Thunder Serpent Sect in a few days, and we will discuss the merger further."

Zeyang Immortal Monarch replied, "I will immediately send a message to our Sect Master."

The Thunder Serpent Immortal King said, "I await the arrival of the Quicksand Immortal Monarch."

...

After leaving the Meeting Hall, Zeyang Immortal Monarch immediately sent a message to the Quicksand Immortal Monarch, asking him to visit the Thunder Serpent Sect in a few days.

Upon receiving this message from Zeyang Immortal Monarch, the Quicksand Immortal Monarch did not hesitate and set off for the Thunder Serpent Sect at once.

With the arrival of the Quicksand Immortal Monarch, the merger between the Thunder Serpent Sect and the Quicksand Sect became a foregone conclusion. From then on, their main task was to help the Quicksand Immortal Monarch become an Immortal King.

Their approach was quite simple: help the Quicksand Sect continue to expand and gain more sect qi fortune. The more sect qi fortune, the higher the success rate of becoming an Immortal King, and the lesser the possibility of being heavily wounded by the Heavenly Tribulation.

The Thunder Serpent Sect voluntarily allocated vast territories to the Quicksand Sect. After all, once the Quicksand Sect and the Thunder Serpent Sect merged, those lands would be returned, and they would even gain more territory.

Although the Thunder Serpent Sect and the Quicksand Sect collaborated secretly, their small maneuvers caught the attention of Lu Chen and his group.

Lu Chen and his team planned to attack the Thunder Serpent Sect in a year's time, so they had been monitoring it closely. The sudden cession of so much land by the Thunder Serpent Sect could not go unnoticed by Lu Chen's people.

Bihai Immortal City.

Lu Chen, seated on the throne, glanced at the intelligence contained in the jade scroll, and then said, "Interesting."

At this moment, Lu Zhengze spoke up, "Could it be that the Thunder Serpent Sect has noticed something, hence they proactively abandoned those cities?"

Recently, the Thunder Serpent Sect had relinquished many cities, which then fell into the hands of the Mysterious Moon Palace. When their people gathered this intelligence, they speculated that perhaps the Thunder Serpent Sect detected their plans and was retracting its battle lines to conserve strength for the conflict a year later.

The Barbaric lands were simply too vast, and the Thunder Serpent Sect's territories were extensive, but the power of one sect was limited. In the event of war, they could not defend every city.

For the Thunder Serpent Sect, abandoning those peripheral cities was actually beneficial, reducing their defensive pressure and allowing them to focus their main forces on crucial cities to fend off enemies.

Lu Chen said, "If abandoning some insignificant cities is to guard against us, then it is indeed a rather prudent decision."

"But I sense their intent is likely not defense."

First off, only a few people knew about their plan to establish an Immortal Dynasty; even within the Mysterious Moon Palace, few were aware. How could the Thunder Serpent Sect know they intended to attack it?

Of course, it could also be that the Thunder Serpent Sect was guarding against the Mysterious Moon Palace, hence abandoning the cities bordering it.

However, there was even less reason for the Thunder Serpent Sect to act this way. By giving up those cities, it's losing strategic depth. The Mysterious Moon Palace had already issued an Immortal Order, prohibiting subordinate powers from reckless expansion, so the Thunder Serpent Sect had no need to abandon those cities.

During war periods, abandoning inconsequential cities might be acceptable, but not now. Keeping those cities could better monitor the Mysterious Moon Palace's movements.

From this standpoint, the Thunder Serpent Sect's abandonment of those cities seems quite bizarre.

Furthermore, the most dubious point is that the Mysterious Moon Palace had already issued an Immortal Order, forbidding further expansion by subordinate powers. Yet all the territories the Thunder Serpent Sect abandoned were annexed by the Quicksand Sect.

The most crucial point is that every time the Thunder Serpent Sect abandons a city, that city immediately becomes a city of the Quicksand Sect. No other forces have occupied the cities abandoned by the Thunder Serpent Sect; it's as if the Thunder Serpent Sect preemptively gave the cities to the Quicksand Sect.

If the Thunder Serpent Sect were truly randomly abandoning cities, then in principle, other forces should be able to seize at least one or two of them. After all, every faction dreams of expansion, yet those cities all fell into the hands of the Quicksand Sect. This scenario seems as though the Thunder Serpent Sect directly handed the cities to the Quicksand Sect.

So, the question arises, why would the Thunder Serpent Sect allocate its cities and territories to the Quicksand Sect?

What purpose does this serve?

Lu Chen then took out a jade scroll. In the next moment, the jade scroll projected a map of the Dragon Land, and Lu Chen scanned the map.

The Quicksand Sect is adjacent to the Thunder Serpent Sect. Compared to the distance between the Quicksand Sect and the Mysterious Moon Palace, the Quicksand Sect is much closer to the Thunder Serpent Sect. Lu Chen immediately recalled Sky Wolf City in the Southern Domain.

Back then, Sky Wolf City in the Southern Domain sought to betray the Mysterious Moon Palace to join the Chiyan Sect, as it was relatively close to the Chiyan Sect.

This scenario is too familiar.

Lu Chen chuckled lightly, "So that's how it is."

"However..."

Seeing Lu Chen deep in thought, Lu Zhengze, out of curiosity, asked, "My King, what have you discovered?"

Lu Chen gathered his thoughts and said indifferently, "The Quicksand Sect is too close to the Thunder Serpent Sect and too far from the Mysterious Moon Palace."

Hearing this, Lu Zhengze immediately grasped Lu Chen's implication, "Are you suggesting that the Quicksand Sect has betrayed the Mysterious Moon Palace? But didn't the Quicksand Sect join the Mysterious Moon Palace proactively? Furthermore, if the Quicksand Sect betrayed the Mysterious Moon Palace, shouldn't the Quicksand Sect be ceding cities and territories to the Thunder Serpent Sect? Why are they occupying the Thunder Serpent Sect's territories instead?"

Lu Chen said, "That is the part I am currently puzzled about."

If the Quicksand Sect were looking to ally with the Thunder Serpent Sect, it should be the Thunder Serpent Sect annexing the Quicksand Sect's cities and territories. Yet the current situation is that the Quicksand Sect is continually occupying the Thunder Serpent Sect's cities.

The Thunder Serpent Sect, after all, is a sect with an Immortal King, and the actions of the Quicksand Sect are indeed like reversing the heavens.

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