Chapter 539: Chapter 210: A Grand Conference of Uniting Sects, All Sects Gather!_1

"Old man, do you mistake me for a piece of cabbage that can be pummeled at whim?"

Upon hearing Shen Xuzi’s words, Chen Chang’an couldn’t help but blank out.

At this point, fighting himself was no simple feat.

After all, in the past he could have the Great Demon Kun Huang pretend for him, but now it was impossible.

The gap was too big. If they were to put on a show, there would be too many flaws.

On the other hand, instead of overthinking this, it was better to pretend to know nothing.

Yes, that’s it, play dumb!

Quickly, Chen Chang’an settled on this plan in his heart.

On the third day after the conclusion of the Dao Master’s Conference at the Rebirth Hall, Mao Ruxue, known as "Earth Bodhisattva", returned.

The first person she paid her respects to upon her return was Chen Chang’an.

"I have the honour to report to you, sir, that all nine Pu Xian seats have been secured as you wished!"

Inside the grand hall of Emperor Song’s palace, Mao Ruxue gave a slight curtsy to Chen Chang’an who was seated at the head.

"Hmm, you did well." Chen Chang’an nodded in response to Mao Ruxue’s report.

"Thank you, sir."

"Earth Bodhisattva, I heard you offered a place to a disciple from the Tianshui Sect. Is that true?" Chen Chang’an asked, mainly to see how Mao Ruxue would respond.

Mao Ruxue nodded, "Indeed, sir, it is true."

"Oh? Why?" Hearing her confirmation, feigning curiosity, Chen Chang’an continued, "You do realize that the orthodox and the unorthadox do not coexist, and we, the Confucian Saint, are only a sea away from Chen Chang’an. We are ultimately opposing forces."

"Are you not aware that doing this would bring us an enemy?"

Chen Chang’an spoke slowly, his tone suggestive of a reprimand.

"In response to your question, sir, I am aware. However, it is precisely because I do understand that I acted as I did." Mao Ruxue appeared very calm and composed as she went on to elaborate, "Sir, as you mentioned, we are separated from the Confucian Saint Chen Chang’an by a sea and an inevitable conflict awaits us."

"However, allow me to put it this way, sir. In the future, our adversaries will not be confined to just the Confucian Saint Chen Chang’an, but also the other ten Dao sects, including the Taiyi Sect."

"As one of the four divisions of the Rebirth Hall, no matter our choice, we would eventually have to pick a side amidst these rivals."

"In my opinion, instead of choosing adversaries that seem out of reach, it would be more prudent to choose the Confucian Saint Chen Chang’an. We are neighbors to his Tianshui territory as well as our Silent Death Sea; even if we did clash, we would need to maintain some restraint."

"Besides, the Tianshui territory is merely a newly developed force and will not cause us any substantial harm the Emperor Song’s Court."

"So, you’re supporting them?" Chen Chang’an seemingly understood her rationale and continued to interrogate, "I am curious about your reason."

Upon hearing Chen Chang’an’s question, Mao Ruxue respectfully responded, "In response to your question, sir, I think that while having Saint Chen as our adversary is undoubtedly advantageous, we should avoid pressuring him unduly. After all, he is the proclaimed number one in the realms of heaven and also possesses the trump card of the Void God."

"In terms of his strength, he is not far off from the ten grand sects including the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect."

"He is both a formidable enemy and a potential ally."

"It is true that the orthodox and the unorthodox have been in mutual opposition since ancient times. However, in this world there’s no definitive right or wrong, it’s merely a matter of differing interests."

"Therefore, I believe that giving them certain advantages is not an issue."

"I request your approval, sir."

Mao Ruxue cautiously watched Chen Chang’an after concluding her persuasion.

Though she seemed confident moments ago, deep inside she was utterly nervous.

Did her arguments make sense? Yes, in a way. However, a slight introspection would reveal they were fallacies.

Nonetheless, Mao Ruxue had to make this plea. The world was inevitably heading towards unification, and wars were bound to break out everywhere, which was an immutable law.

As one of the players, her priority was to prevent the Emperor Song’s Court and the Tianshui Sect from fighting each other.

As long as the Emperor Song’s Court did not target the Tianshui Sect, then taking some risk was justified.

Reasonable or not, the words had been spoken. Whether they would be accepted or not was now up to the Emperor Song.

If he still insisted on engaging the Tianshui Sect, then she would have to resort to Plan B.

"Good, Earth Bodhisattva, your points are not completely invalid. Therefore, I am entrusting you with this task."

Fortunately, it seemed that the Emperor Song had accepted her proposal, bringing relief to Mao Ruxue.

Before she could fully recover from her relief, Chen Chang’an asked again, "Earth Bodhisattva, unless I am mistaken, you currently oversee the region of the Youming Sea, correct?"

"In response to your question, sir, yes."

Mao Ruxue had been overseeing the Youming Sea region since she took office. This area was previously under the jurisdiction of Cheng Huang. However, since Cheng Huang was no more, Mao Ruxue naturally became the supreme overseer!

"Does the master have any orders?"

Chen Chang’an stated, "From now on, you are to manage all matters concerning the Tianshui territory."

He was essentially delegating his authority, passing on all matters regarding the Tianshui territory to Mao Ruxue.