Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 745 - 744: Shan Sect Annual Meeting 3

Change could only be various forces colliding in the dark, not much different from doing business.

This was the current situation in Jinxiu Continent, where all Daoist sects within the Cultivation Realm struggled between change and conservatism, trying to find a balance.

They neither dared to take the plunge because extraterrestrial visitors had not truly arrived, harboring many unrealistic fantasies, nor did they dare to remain unchanged because they would eventually come, and so they kept changing incompletely, moving forward in hesitation.

The emergence of such un-Cultivation-like attitudes was due to the excessive engagement of the Jinxiu Cultivation Realm with the mundane, their ideas still not fully freed from the shackles of mundanity, having not touched the real universe, not fully opened their eyes, still unaware of what Cultivation could truly bring them, constantly entangled with worldly powers, and most Daoist sects did not even have their own Mountain Gates, still co-existing with human cities.

Such a status quo meant that their thoughts, consciously or unconsciously, took ordinary human historical changes as a basis, believing that the bold ones get shot while the swimmers drown; they believed that individual power should not override the group, and important matters like True Disciples should of course be weighed by various forces.

They had not completely escaped the shadow of human courts, and of course, they were in the process of doing so, but the process was slow. The great change of heaven and earth was an accelerator, a catalyst... but no one had yet realized that.

So, they consciously believed they were doing the right thing, no problem.

"Brother, do you have any plans? What can we do to help you?" Zong Qian, having stayed long in Sikong Mansion, liked to make plans, covering everything, no matter how small.

Hou Niao raised his glass, "No plans! I don’t think we minor cultivators can come up with any viable plans to overturn rules that have been in place for thousands of years, let alone us just being in the Tongtian Realm, even if we were all at the Golden Core, it would be in vain, unless everyone here were old masters like Nascent Transformation Ancestors Hou, Wang, Zong, Rao, Fang, Hai. Look, that’s almost half right there, then maybe making a plan might be feasible?

So, stop thinking about plans, it’ll only infuriate you eventually."

The crowd just laughed, the brother was right, it was like a bunch of ants planning to topple an elephant.

But Zong Qian remained unmoved, "At the very least, we should connect with more brothers and promote our ideas to gain more support."

Rao Zongzhi nodded, "That’s not bad, doesn’t have to be too formal, half joking half serious, at least it will make many people think, so they won’t be clueless when the time comes."

Wang Mian agreed, "At least half of the Tongtian Realm cultivators currently in Jade Capital are very interested in this, many people around me have been asking about Brother Hou’s situation, so, expanding this range further shouldn’t be difficult.

Brother, there are some private gatherings, would you be interested in attending? Just me, I’ve received quite a few invites from such small groups, what do you think..."

Fang Yazi was concise, "Inappropriate!"

Zong Qian, judging with a native of Sikong’s discernment, said, "Indeed, inappropriate. We want to promote ideas, not rebel. Participating too much in such gatherings might backfire, raising suspicions among the upper echelons.

I think it’s better for us to represent and promote the ideas on behalf of the brother. As for the brother, it’s better to maintain an image of lofty isolation, though he’s neither lofty nor isolated, just last night he was putting someone under the hat..."

Hou Niao’s trivial matter was well known among friends. Elder Brother Hou generally had no special hobbies, except for being a bit...

In the laughter, Hai Xixi’s ethereal voice came, "Speaking of the ancestors, isn’t this Shan Sect annual meeting the most well-attended by the ancestors in Quanzhen’s history? I heard that several ancestors who have been traveling abroad will be present.

It’s only twenty years since the last Heavenly Summoning of Spiritual Green, counting this one, there are only two chances left. The one ten years later will be meaningless as it’s too close to the Heaven Creation, and the great pattern will be set by then.

So whether there can be any change depends on this annual meeting."

Upon hearing this, everyone became a bit excited. Hai Xixi, being one of the four ancestors outside the system and the direct nephew of Master Hai held credibility; at least Master Hai would surely be present at that time.

Hai Xixi, a top second-generation cultivator who enjoyed dressing in women’s attire, had no other flaws besides his unique personal taste. He was someone very worthy of association.

Previously, he was closer to Rao Zongzhi, but after meeting Hou Niao, he was pulled into the water, or rather was drawn into this circle of individuals.

He merely loved wearing women’s clothes and had somewhat different gender preferences, but as a member of the Hai family, his restless heart was no weaker than anyone else’s. On the contrary, having endured decades of disdain from mainstream recognition, he was even more eager to prove himself.

He did not care for trivial mischief, many of which were deliberate acts to attract attention. However, within this group, he saw an undeniable ambition, a courage to overturn the old order. In such an era, all this was not impossible.

He liked challenges, had a stronger rebellious spirit than those cultivators of humble origins, which might also contribute to his peculiar character, so over the years, he had grown increasingly close to these people, gaining great satisfaction from it.

In the Shan Sect Quanzhen, Sima Mansion had three Masters seated, while Situ Mansion and Sikong Mansion had two each, together with two ancestors from Wu family and Duan Family, there were a total of nine Masters. Besides, there were four Masters who didn’t belong to any mansion system, did not open prince manors, preferred to keep to themselves, which included Masters Hai, Wei, Quan Yuan, and Xixi.

For most of the time, these four Masters took a laissez-faire attitude towards the trivial matters within the sect, showing indifference; so their return this time seemed to signify something different.

"The lower and middle-ranking disciples have long been suffering, hoping for a different outcome in the selection of the true disciples this time. Our problem is how to build up momentum. Elder Brother Sikong alone is not enough, how to persuade Yu Shangjiang and Lan Kecheng to join forces with him? If the three of them unite, they can certainly make a statement at the annual meeting!"

Hou Niao alone is weak and cannot influence the overall situation, but if the three express the same desire, they essentially represent the voices of all middle and small rank cultivators. Even though Hou Niao is highly respected, not everyone supports him, as cultivators stick to their beliefs and are not easy to change; those two also have their own followers and represent some power.

Rao Zongzhi thought for a moment, "I have met Yu Shangjiang a few times and can get in touch, but I can’t guarantee anything. He is very worldly and belongs to the kind that won’t hunt without seeing the rabbit."

Wang Mian also said, "I know Lan Kecheng, I’ll go inquire and persuade him, but he is very proud and doesn’t even respect the two true disciples in the Situ Mansion."

Zong Qian just smiled, "Isn’t that perfect? I like those who respect no one’s authority."