Chu Youtian was ecstatic to hear that Chu Qiguang thought so highly of the Great Qian Empire, and he saw no reason to distrust Chu Qiguang as he believed the latter was a fiend, just like himself. Thus, he immediately revealed to Chu Qiguang that he had come from the Great Qian Empire, and he proclaimed that he had been sent here by its emperor to liberate all the oppressed fiends of the Great Han Empire.

Chu Qiguang put on an elated expression upon hearing this, eagerly expressing a desire to lead all the fiends northward to defect to the Great Qian Empire right away.

Chu Youtian wasn't surprised by Chu Qiguang's reaction, but the problem was that these fiends were only going to be useful to the Great Qian Empire if they remained in the Great Han Empire. Thus, he discouraged Chu Qiguang from this idea, telling him that the journey would be far too long and treacherous for everyone. Instead, they were much better off staying here, and once the Great Qian Empire conquered Azure Sun County, they would all be liberated.

He also promised that Chu Qiguang would be rewarded handsomely if he could make contributions to help the Great Qian Empire's cause. Of course, Chu Qiguang wasn't going to fall for these empty promises, and he told Chu Youtian that life was far too difficult for the fiends of Azure Sun County, so they would require material support from the Great Qian Empire.

After some negotiation, Chu Youtian quickly came to realize that Omniscient wasn't someone that he could swindle with empty words. Thus, he agreed to provide support in the form of ten fiendish martial arts manuals and five thousand taels of silver. In return, Omniscient was required to cooperate with Chu Youtian and help him gather information and steal technologies from the humans.

There was a vast abundance of silver mines in the wolf race's territory, so five thousand taels of silver was nothing more than pocket change. Hence, when Omniscient requested more silver and promised that he would pose as a human to use the extra funds to purchase human products, Chu Youtian immediately agreed.

However, Chu Youtian was much more guarded when it came to the fiendish martial arts manuals. Even after extensive negotiation, he only agreed to provide martial arts manuals that could support cultivation from the first tier to the fourth.

Chu Qiguang primarily requested martial arts manuals that bird and fish fiends could use. Their anatomical structures differed drastically from Qiao Zhi's, so he was unable to impart any martial arts on them. Hence, there was a need for martial arts manuals that were specifically tailored to their species.

It was quite a significant price to pay, but Chu Youtian felt like it was a worthwhile investment. He told Chu Qiguang that he would have to return to the Great Qian Empire and report the matter to his superiors, and only then would he be able to secure the silver and martial arts manuals.

After all the fiends had filled their bellies, Chu Qiguang gathered everyone again and declared, "We need our own territory, somewhere far away from all humans. If we can have a village of our own, then we'll be able to avoid humans altogether. We'll be able to farm and raise livestock and ensure our own self-sufficiency. We'll never be short on food again, and we won't have to worry about being hunted by humans, either."

Qiao Zhi chimed in, proclaiming that he knew of a secluded paradise in the Millet Mountain Range, one that was far from all humans and could easily house everyone present. Many of the fiends were very much on board with this idea.

In the end, around sixty fiends decided to go to the basin, while thirty or so decided that they still wanted to remain in Azure Sun County. There, they would gather intelligence for Chu Qiguang under the watchful eye of his cat and dog fiend subordinates.

Once all of the arrangements were finalized, Chu Qiguang took the sixty or so fiends to the basin.

As they arrived in the basin, Qiao Zhi asked, Should we give this place a name?

Chu Qiguang thought about it for a moment, then replied, Let's call it Hidden Fiend Village. I'm going to personally stay here to ensure that the initial phase of the village's development goes smoothly.

***

While Chu Qiguang was busy constructing Hidden Fiend Village, Chen Zhu's senior uncle, Daoist Master Jade Pagoda, was in the middle of delivering a report to an elderly man at the headquarters of the Heavenly Master Religion on Dragon Serpent Mountain.

"... After the event, Azure Spirit claimed that he couldn't remember anything, and it seemed like he was telling the truth."

The old man before Daoist Master Jade Pagoda was Huang Daoxu, the current pope of the Heavenly Master Religion and an almighty cultivator who had reached the Dao Comprehension state over twenty years ago.

Huang Daoxu was wearing a plain and simple Daoist robe that had faded slightly from repeated washing, and he looked no different from an ordinary elderly Daoist priest.

After hearing Jade Pagoda's report, he sighed, "You shouldn't have brought Azure Spirit here. The Heavenly Immortal Dao Master's divination abilities are second only to His Majesty's. He must have predicted that you would bring Azure Spirit here, so you've played right into his hands."

The Heavenly Immortal Dao Master was the current leader of the Immortal Dao.

Daoist Master Azure Spirit was currently being held in an underground prison cell. He was constantly being fed pills that suppressed his cultivation base, and his entire body was bound with chains. Furthermore, various yellow talismans had been plastered all over his head, restricting his movements and even his ability to think.

Right at that moment, a small flame ignited on his forehead, and all the yellow talismans quickly caught fire before being reduced to ashes. With the talismans gone, Daoist Master Azure Spirit slowly began to regain the ability to think.

Upon catching sight of Huang Daoxu, who was standing before him, Daoist Master Azure Spirit's expression changed drastically, and his entire disposition underwent a complete transformation, as if he had been possessed by someone else.

"Long time no see," the Heavenly Immortal Dao Master greeted, speaking through Daoist Master Azure Spirit.

"I can see why you went to such great lengths to ruin the spirit veins of Azure Sun County now," Huang Daoxu mused. "You wanted to ruin the county's feng shui to alter the fate of its people, then spread the Elixir of Undying throughout the county to find the true undead one."

"The true undead one must possess both an undying body and an undying mind," the Heavenly Immortal Dao Master said. "I have found the one that I'm looking for, and I have now become a true undying immortal. At this point, it should be abundantly clear that the Heavenly Dao is on my side. Even the heavens wish to aid the fiends in their uprising to destroy humanity. Are you still going to stubbornly refuse to accept the reality laid out before you?" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"After reaching the Dao Comprehension state, the next step is to transcend the Heavenly Dao," Huang Daoxu replied. "If you are merely acting in accordance with the Heavenly Dao's wishes, then you are nothing more than a puppet, so how can you call yourself an immortal? Besides, ever since the demonic shift twenty-five years ago, the will of the heavens has changed once again, and it's no longer a simple matter of fiends overcoming humans."

"All those who go against the heavens are doomed to fall," the Heavenly Immortal Dao Master prophesied with a shake of his head. "Both the Heavenly Master Religion and the officialdom of the Great Han Empire are already rotten to the core. In contrast, the Great Han Empire is constantly on the rise, and it will soon ascend to the top. My divination tells me that the Great Han Empire will fall in no more than sixty years."

"Perhaps all those who have gone against the heavens in the past have fallen, but how can we hope to ever transcend if we lose even the will to oppose the heavens?" Huang Daoxu challenged.

That night, an almighty battle was waged on Dragon Serpent Mountain, and the next morning, the Heavenly Master Religion announced that the mountain would be sealed off to the public for three months.

Huang Daoxu had to personally inspect every single person on Dragon Serpent Mountain to verify that they hadn't been tainted by the will of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Master.

As a direct result, he was unable to leave the mountain and fulfill his agreement to take part in the reform of the nine northern border military bases.