The Peacock Bright Monarch had trouble finding the right words. The only thing she knew about Gu Zun was his name. Few had seen Gu Zun before in Heaven Suppression since Ye Jiuzhou was the public figure.
“What about the others right now?” Li Qiye smiled. Others might not understand Gu Zun but he knew exactly what type of person Gu Zun was and knew what the guy was up to.
“In the Black Dragon Hall.” The monarch answered.
“A bunch of fools shutting themselves in.” Li Qiye shook his head.
“Young Noble, how do you know about it?!” This came as a surprise to her.
“It's obvious. Gu Zun won't kill the others before having full control over the situation. After all, Zhangsun's is an orthodox branch then there's the Black Dragon Legion and the Little Sea Village too. They have authority to preside over the situation. If Gu Zun were to kill all of them at once, he would only gain infamy. At the very least, he wants to overthrow the Black Dragon King's status at Heaven Suppression. If the legion is no longer of concern, he wants to take his time taking over Zhangsun's branch. It would be best if this branch and the village were to fight each other. Right now, it is only a test for him. He wants to see if Heaven Suppression still has some unused methods left.” Li Qiye chuckled.
Gu Zun wasn't actually scouting Heaven Suppression. He was testing the Black Dragon King and the Dark Crow, to see if these two beings were still alive!
“Right.” The monarch didn't think Li Qiye could analyze the situation so thoroughly: “A while ago, the Sacred Ancestor's branch and Ancestor Gu Zun's branch were equal in power. However, several ancestors from Ancestor Gu Zun's branch had committed misdeeds by violating the sect's rules so they were demoted. The other side led by Ancestor Shan thought the time was ripe for a counterattack in order to seize power. In just one night, they exiled many ancestors and took over against the wish of the sect master. She didn't want to rush things, unlike the other ancestors who wanted to push their advantage. During this difficult moments, some ancestors and experts asked the little village for help. They said that Ancestor Shan was eliminating dissenters and wanted the elders from the village to come and investigate.” She sighed at this point.
The village didn't have any real power at Heaven Suppression but it did play a supervisory role. In a certain sense, legitimizing an action or promotion required the consent from the village.
“The village thought that they could use this opportunity to capture Gu Zun on top of removing his forces at Heaven Suppression.” Li Qiye amusingly shook his head: “That's exactly what Gu Zun wants. Akin to jumping head first into a trap, simply courting death!”
“Yes.” The monarch agreed: “After worshiping the ancestors, they started a meeting in the Black Dragon Hall in order to keep quiet. However, the hall is still closed right now. No one knows what's going on. The disciples are restless so they asked for Ancestor Ye to take over.”
This hall was an important location in Heaven Suppression. Once fortified, there was no way to break in; news wouldn't come out either. Because of this, many important decisions were made in this place.
“Well done, one stone, many birds.” Li Qiye said: “Just like Gu Zun's wish to capture them all at once. But yea, they won't die in there for now.”
“Sect master believed so as well. Maybe they can't open it from the inside either but it's good that she didn't go in herself. However, since Ancestor Shan's group is trapped inside, many banished ancestors have come back now since the city is under Ancestor Ye's rule.”
She understood that this was a coup of sorts. In fact, before the meeting, she and Zi Cuining warned Ancestor Shan who was Zhangsun's oldest disciple.
Shan's group assumed that this was the best chance to capture Gu Zun's group and expel the others as long as they had the consent of the village.
They didn't expect that this would end with them being trapped in the hall. This allowed Jiuzhou to have a chance of taking over Heaven Suppression.
Zi Cuining had no opportunity to counterattack since she had no forces with her. The only place that would heed her call was Pearl City. However, this was the last option so it wouldn't move unless there was no other choice.
“Gu Zun's talents are peerless. He can be considered one of the ten eonic geniuses and has figured out the way to control and lock the Black Dragon Hall. People won't be able to come out.” Li Qiye understood Gu Zun's plan.
The monarch was at a loss. Though the sect master was still around, Jiuzhou was in control so they couldn't do anything.
“Have you ever met Gu Zun?” Li Qiye asked while the monarch was silent.
“I've seen him.” She answered: “A very long time ago though. Ancestor Gu Zun participated in a meeting started by Ancestor Shan. That was my first time participating as well. I heard many ancestors said that he was sick due to a problem with his cultivation so he has always been resting at home.”
“Sick?” Li Qiye laughed after hearing this: “Do you know what Gu Zun's grand dao is? To put it bluntly, even if he turns into an idiot overnight, he could still easily cultivate with his grand dao. As if something could happen to his cultivation. No one in your sect can match his talents and the same goes for the entire nine worlds with a few exceptions."
She had no response since she didn't know much about the famous Gu Zun.
It was just a rumor at her sect that he has been recuperating. Ordinary disciples haven't seen him before while his own branch was under Ye Jiuzhou's order.
She smiled wryly and said: “I don't know much about it since I've only seen him from far away. Outside of Ancestor Shan's group, only the sect master has talked to Ancestor Gu Zun. She's quite suspicious of him.”
Li Qiye chuckled: “Doubtful about his identity. Zi Cuining is smart, she knows who she is facing.”
The monarch quietly nodded: “Yes, she didn't go into details and only said that the ancestor was very strange and suspicious.”
“Not surprising for Gu Zun. He has been waiting long enough for a chance to rise again. He knows that it will be either death or success. This is his last chance.” Li Qiye calmly said.
Though the Black Dragon King had pleaded for Gu Zun, the Dark Crow declared that this was the last exception. If Gu Zun refused to repent in the future, there shall be no more mercy.
The king himself promised that if Gu Zun didn't change, he would kill the guy himself without needing an order from Li Qiye.
So all along, Gu Zun has been waiting for just one chance. If successful, he would reach the top of the nine worlds and could call for winds and rains!
Thus, he was cautious and wouldn't do anything himself. Ye Jiuzhou, on the other hand, was his sword and potential scapegoat!
Li Qiye noticed that the monarch was hesitant about speaking and smiled: “Go ahead.”
She eventually asked: “Young noble, are you a disciple of our sect?”
She knew that he was from Cleansing Incense but the guy was aware of too many secrets from Heaven Suppression. Moreover, only ancestors were privy to these secrets. She didn't even know a few of them.
Of course, she believed that her master wouldn't share these secrets with an outsider so she speculated that Li Qiye was a disciple secretly trained by the sect, a very high ranking one, just like the Black Dragon Legion's members.
“You can think of it like that.” Li Qiye didn't respond directly to her question.
She didn't pry any further and finally noticed that the island parked before them has disappeared.
“Young noble, what was that place?” She became curious and afraid at the same time. There was no doubt that he got the crystal pillar from that mysterious island.