"So, are you the Great Venerable, or a person of the Great Venerable?"

Jiang Li stared at Elder Yun, his eyes full of scrutiny.

This Elder Yun was an unconventional old man, hiding pieces in chess, stuffing the Daoist Law Pavilion with interior techniques—completely unlike the demeanor of an important figure. Could he be the Great Venerable?

Well, it was indeed possible.

The Great Venerable's style of action was unique among the strong of the world; after all, not everyone could claim the title of the greatest troublemaker under the heavens.

Faced with Jiang Li's gaze, Elder Yun finally smoothed over his grimace-like expression, waving his hand and saying, "What kind of figure is the Great Venerable? How could I possibly be him? You must be joking, truly joking."

This pretense was becoming more convincing.

"Ha."

Jiang Li let out an enigmatic smile, not continuing to press the question. Whatever Elder Yun said, Jiang Li would take it at face value, but what Jiang Li thought was his own business.

It was probably best not to push too hard; if you really got someone worked up and they took off their disguise, disregarding martial virtue to give a young man trouble, that would not be graceful.

He walked at a leisurely pace toward Tianshu Palace, meanwhile asking, "The Great Venerable lent a hand yesterday, I wonder what was intended by that?"

Elder Yun followed, laughing upon hearing this, "The intentions of the Great Venerable, how could I speculate on them? But I do have a bit of understanding. As I see it, the Great Venerable doesn't want that person to escape too soon, yet he wants that person to succeed."

"Succeed at what?"

"Of course, at that matter concerning Taiping. If that matter doesn't succeed, how could we reclaim what belongs to our clan?"

"Heaven is already dead..." Jiang Li pondered for a while, murmuring softly.

Just as when a cultivator dies, a Fuxi Dao Fruit might emerge, only if Heaven were dead or severely injured would there be a chance for the Great Venerable to seize the opportunity and obtain the Dao Fruit.

And a certain madman trying to steal Heaven was both a competitor and a partner of the Great Venerable.

A unilateral partner.

The Great Venerable had used the madman's plan, aiming to fulfill his purpose through it, but beforehand, it was necessary to push out this partner.

Hence, there was the Great Venerable presiding over the battle at the Golden Dam, allowing Taiping Sect and Wuzhiqi and others the chance to break the Golden Dam, and after its collapse, abducting the incarnation of Ji Jiji, luring out his true form, using Wushan as a prison to confine him.

The Great Venerable jumped left and right, helping the Taiping Sect on one hand, and targeting it on the other, all to maintain control over the situation and push it in the direction he desired.

'Cold and heartless calculations, seemingly casual but actually precise with every step, moving toward the intended destination...'

Jiang Li glanced at Elder Yun, seeing a face marked with frivolity.

Who knew what kind of ruthlessness and mercilessness were hidden behind that seemingly frivolous facade?

Moreover, when had the Great Venerable set his sights on the Dinghu Sect? On him?

Perhaps when Feng Manlou went to Yong Province and approached him, it wasn't just to check on a fellow cultivator who was an affiliated son-in-law in reserve.

'However, this too might be turned to my advantage.'

Jiang Li came to a conclusion in his heart as he arrived at Tianshu Palace with Elder Yun.

At that moment, the great doors of Tianshu Palace stood wide open, within which two of the Six Hall Elders stood at the fore and aft, and to their left and right were elders serving in places like the Outer Disciple section and the Artifact Pavilion, as well as some who were suppressing their Qi mechanisms firmly.

Those must be Sect Elders from the Cave Heaven Blessed Lands who could still move about outside.

At the same time, more people were ascending the steps from behind, hurrying over.

"It seems the rumors are not unfounded; I should call you Yaoguang Elder in the future."

Elder Yun saw the scene unfold and revealed his usual unserious expression, "From now on, within the sect, it will be up to you to cover for this old man."

Jiang Li hadn't expected the sect's process to move so quickly; the matters discussed only yesterday were decided upon today—this speed was truly unmatched.

No matter the power or influence, when it's large enough, dealing with affairs invariably leads to procrastination, especially concerning the upper echelons. Logically, even with Tianxuan's unilateral decision, it should have taken at least two or three days for Jiang Li to take office.

Taking office in just a day was indeed too fast—it seemed the sect's elders were very much unified in their opinion this time.

'Don't they really think that a Yaoguang Elder's position will trap me, do they?'

Such a thought bubbled up in Jiang Li's mind, and then he smiled, "No problem, Elder Yun, I will cover for you from now on."

The two exchanged glances and smiled slightly, having apparently struck a deal.

Elder Yun would help Jiang Li from the shadows, and in return, Jiang Li would not interfere with Elder Yun's affairs—the so-called "cover" was just this.

"Right, do you want to keep this 'Inner Canon of Huangdi' or not?" Elder Yun once again brought up the book in his hand.

'At a moment like this, why bring up something that breaks the mood?'

Jiang Li wanted to decline with integrity, but remembering the old demon's exploitation, he discreetly took the 'Inner Canon of Huangdi' and walked into the Tianshu Palace with his head held high.

...

Half an hour later, a notice spread throughout the sect.

True Disciple Jiang Li, on his way back to the sect, slew the fourth-grade demon cultivator Kui Niu and later, in a moment of crisis for the sect, fought the former Yaoguang Elder, Luu Tianpeng, and forced him to retreat. With the Sect Leader's approval, the sect elders of Tianxuan, Tian Ji, and Tianquan have decided, with all the Elders concurring, to temporarily appoint Jiang Li as the head of Yaoguang Hall, assuming the position of Yaoguang Breaking Army.

Although there are many points to criticize in this notice, such as the Sect Leader being represented and even the court's Zong Zheng being labeled a demon cultivator, for the disciples unaware of the true circumstances, these details were insignificant. What was crucial was Jiang Li's ability to slay a fourth rank and his early takeover of Yaoguang Hall as a True Disciple.

It may be a temporary position, but given the current situation of the sect, unless someone from the older generation advances to the fourth rank and gains more renown than Jiang Li, the word 'temporary' was bound to be removed sooner or later.

So, the question arises, will there be such a person?

Judging from the stance of the elders and the senior members, even if there were, they wouldn't step forward. Let Jiang Li keep shining brightly in the position of Yaoguang Elder.

For a time, within the Dinghu Sect, discussion about the acting head of Yaoguang Hall surged like waves, and at the same time, the news continued to spread outward.

Ten miles outside of Dinghu, Tianshui Gorge.

The towering waterfall was like a vast white ribbon cascading down from the top of the canyon, making a thunderous noise and scattering mist into the air.

Behind the waterfall, in a natural cave, Zhu Hui'an sat upright on a stone bed, holding a jade scroll in his hand.

"Yaoguang Breaking Army, Jiang Li..."

Zhu Hui'an's eyes sparkled like stars in the night, flickering, "Truly, you've given this old man quite the surprise."

Since the day he left Dinghu, Zhu Hui'an had been staying here, ostensibly to admire the landscape, but in reality, he was closely monitoring the situation of the Dinghu Sect, especially Jiang Li's actions.

With his insight, he foresaw significant changes in the future of Dinghu Sect.

But now, it seemed that even with Zhu Hui'an's discernment, he had not fully grasped the limits of Jiang Li's capabilities.

"Someone come."

As Zhu Hui'an called out, he took out a jade box from his storage magic tool and said, "Take this 'Beichen Discernment' of mine to the Dinghu Sect as a gift to congratulate the new Yaoguang Elder on his position."

A young man dressed in a scholar's robe hurried in from outside upon hearing Zhu Hui'an. Hearing Zhu Hui'an's words, he showed a hesitant look, "Teacher, could this have an impact?"

This act was both a gift and an apology, clearly acquiescing to the previous actions.

Wasn't this a loss of face for no reason? And it could easily arouse dissatisfaction from the Ji Family.

"Just send it." Zhu Hui'an said indifferently.

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