CHAPTER 95: IMPECCABLE CALCULATIONS

"Yin Shengong and Ren Zhongyuan's conflict has only just begun. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that they're only probing each other out at this point, but this is an opportunity for us. The internal conflicts between all factions of the Church of the Self-Righteous will only intensify from here onward, presenting us and the Guardians at large with a golden opportunity!

“Power isn't going to blind everyone, but it'll blind most people, and that's what we have to use to our advantage. This internal conflict will play an instrumental role in buying time for us, so we have to take advantage of and exacerbate it as much as possible!

“This is our chance to strike at the Church of the Self-Righteous from all sides and completely halt their momentum! If we can execute well, this opportunity will be enough for us to subjugate the Church of the Self-Righteous for over two hundred years!

“That's enough time for many generations of young warriors to grow into full potential! At the very least, it'll allow us to scrape by for another two hundred years."

"Scrape by? You're always so pessimistic about the future, Sansan. There's always a chance we can completely eradicate the Church of the Self-Righteous!"

"That's impossible, I'm afraid," Dongfang Sansan sighed with a bleak look in his eyes.

"Why? Because of that god you speak of? Setting aside whether that god actually exists, even if it does, so what?"

"Yeah, so what? It's just an almighty deity that we have no chance of ever defeating!" Dongfang Sansan scoffed.

The white-robed figure was none other than Xue Fuxiao, and a furious look appeared on his face as he yelled, "In that case, why did I even intentionally lose? Isn't this what you wanted? Isn't this the opportunity you've been waiting for? Otherwise, you think Duan Xiyang could get the better of me?!"

"Be honest, how many more years do you think you'll be able to keep Duan Xiyang in check?"

Xue Fuxiao's face instantly fell slightly at this question.

"It'll take no more than a century for him to truly surpass me. Even now, if we were to fight to the death, the likeliest outcome would be that I kill him, but at the expense of my entire cultivation base with no chance for recovery."

The bleak look in Dongfang Sansan's eyes became even more pronounced as he sighed, "But at his level, even if he dies, he could be resurrected in the future. In contrast, if you lose your cultivation base, then that's permanent."

"Speaking of that, this whole resurrection business has always felt strange to me. I've always felt like it's because I failed to get the job done, that I left a wisp of his soul behind, and that's what gave him the chance at resurrection."

"That's not the case," Dongfang Sansan said with a shake of his head.

"So you really believe in this god. Why have I never sensed such a being before?"

"If we could sense it, then it would hardly be a god now, would it?" Dongfang Sansan sighed in a despondent manner, a sigh that was echoed by Xue Fuxiao.

He didn't want to discuss this subject anymore. He felt like he and Dongfang Sansan could never reach a consensus on this matter.

Dongfang Sansan was extremely smart, but in Xue Fuxiao's eyes, he was a little too pessimistic and prone to overestimating the enemy.

Everytime an unexplainable phenomenon that benefitted the enemy came to be, he would always attribute it to divine intervention, claiming that a god was on their side.

Not only was Xue Fuxiao never able to win in this argument, he found himself slowly being influenced by Dongfang Sansan and beginning to believe as well.

However, there was always one irrefutable argument that kept him firmly rooted in his conviction: If the enemy really did have a god on their side, then that god could just wipe out all of the Guardians in one go! The fact that they were able to put up any resistance at all clearly indicated that no such god existed!

"What are you planning to do?"

"Take out Ren Zhongyuan and help Yin Shengong regain control over the One Heart Church," Dongfang Sansan replied without any hesitation. "However, I have to also make sure that Yin Shengong suffers some losses in the process."

"Why not eliminate Yin Shengong instead?" Xue Fuxiao asked. "He still has very firm control over the One Heart Church, and I'm sure it'll only take him a few years at most to brush off the threat of Ren Zhongyuan. In contrast, it would take Ren Zhongyuan far longer to establish control over the One Heart Church if he manages to take over."

"But that's an internal affair for the One Heart Church, and it doesn't serve much purpose to us. Most importantly, if we remove Yin Shengong, then Moon Shadow will be made completely redundant. Hence, we have to keep him around and even help him out if necessary."

"You're going to keep Yin Shengong around just for that kid's sake?" Xue Fuxiao exclaimed.

Dongfang Sansan pulled a small book out of his spatial ring, then handed it to Xue Fuxiao as he said, "This is the information that we have on Fang Che. Take a look for yourself."

Xue Fuxiao quickly read through the entire book, then exclaimed, "That's very... impressive!"

"Were you doing this stuff at his age?"

"Of course! I was even better than him back then!"

"That's because you have the support of a powerful clan! He's only connected to a ninth-tier clan through his mother!"

"Do you still think you're better than him now?"

"... Alright, maybe he's a little better than I was at his age."

"Right now, Yin Shengong has clearly shown intentions of investing heavily in him. If Ren Zhongyuan becomes pope, do you think he'll still keep Fang Che around?"

"No. He'll most likely kill Fang Che right away. Considering his immense potential, he could grow into an extremely potent threat."

"And that's why we have to back Yin Shengong," Dongfang Sansan concluded.

"Even so, you're just going to believe him? What if this a trap, and a bunch of powerful warriors from the One Heart Church are waiting there in ambush? We'd be sure to suffer heavy losses then!"

"In any case, this is a lead that must be pursued, even if there's only a slight chance that it's true. On top of that, I've already instructed them to split up into two groups, and if the first group encounters an ambush, the second group is to retreat right away without trying to save the first group."

"So in the case of an ambush, you're just going to sacrifice the first group?"

"Some sacrifices must be made," Dongfang Sansan said in a grim manner.

"But not in vain!" Xue Fuxiao protested in anger.

"You don't know anything!" Dongfang Sansan snapped, then lowered his voice and whispered into Xue Fuxiao's ear, "I strongly suspect that Fang Che may be on our side!"

Xue Fuxiao was astonished to hear this.

"Hold on now, you can't just go around saying that! The Church of the Self-Righteous uses Five Spirit Parasites to keep its members in check, so how could he be helping us! If that's what you think, then you're going down a very dangerous path!"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Dongfang Sansan reassured, but Xue Fuxiao was still a little concerned.

"This operation will serve as a test to gauge Fang Che's allegiance, understood?"

"You're going to send so many warriors on a potential suicide mission just as a test?" Xue Fuxiao wasn't normally one to argue with Dongfang Sansan, but this was a bewildering decision to him.

"How many times have I been wrong over the years?" Dongfang Sansan asked.

Xue Fuxiao fell silent.

The answer was not even once.

"Trust me!" Dongfang Sansan said as he laid a hand onto Xue Fuxiao's shoulder, and the latter could only heave a faint sigh.

"You are the only one that I've told this theory to," Dongfang Sansan said.

"What? You don't think I'm going to keep it a secret?" Xue Fuxiao asked in a displeased manner.

"I wouldn't tell you if I didn't trust you, but I still have to warn you because this is a matter of extreme importance!"

Shortly thereafter, Xue Fuxiao departed.

Dongfang Sansan sat alone at his desk, reading over Fang Che's file in deep thought.

Huang Yifan had said that Fang Che didn't seem like a bad person.

At the time, he had encouraged Huang Yifan to banish those thoughts as a precautionary measure, but in reality, he also had the same feeling.

The file on Fang Che was extremely comprehensive, detailing every noteworthy event in his life from the moment of his birth to his supposed death at the hands of Fang Qingyun.

Dongfang Sansan had already read through this sequence of events countless times.

This is a turning point... Su Yue gave him a vial of pills before his breakthrough attempt, and he was supposedly killed during the attempt. That's not right, he most likely ate a Five Spirit Parasite instead...

Dongfang Sansan then read through the rest of Fang Che's file, from his miraculous recovery to the present day.

He began pacing back and forth with a contemplative look in his eyes.

In any case, I must not disrupt his rhythm!

With that, he stowed Fang Che's file way into his spatial ring, then also did the same to Moon Shadow's file.

From this point onward, he would be the only one with access to their files.

***

It was a dark and stormy night.

The White Cloud Prefecture branch helm of the One Heart Church was deployed in full force, and the conditions were perfect to conceal their presence.

Prior to making their move, the helmsmaster had contacted Ren Zhongyuan for a second opinion.

However, Yin Shengong had a legitimate reason for issuing these orders.

The main church wanted them to make a big move, and this was certainly going to be a big move.

After some thought, Ren Zhongyuan decided not to go against Yin Shengong.

While he strongly suspected that Yin Shengong was already aware of his ambitions, surely going after an entire prefectural branch helm from the get-go was too extreme an initial step to take.

Furthermore, if he were to oppose the mission, then Yin Shengong would be sure to use that as an excuse to lash out at him. In any case, the Parasite Ascension Project was about to begin soon, so Yin Shengong's days as pope were numbered.

With that in mind, Ren Zhongyuan decided not to say anything.

His non-response was all that the helmsmaster needed to see, and the mission was carried out in accordance with Yin Shengong's instructions.

They arrived on the bank of White Cloud Lake amid a fierce storm, yet right as they were about to spring into action, a cold voice rang out in the night.

"What are we doing wandering around so late on such a stormy night, gentlemen?"