Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

As news of the strange phenomena in Licheng spread, the news that Elder Fushan of the Juque Sect had succeeded to the position of sect leader was also officially announced to the world.

All procedures follow the old customs.

Even amidst the turbulent times, the letter of gift still reached the hands of the three clans.

She became the rightful leader of the Juque Sect.

Fu Shan was seated at the head of the table, listening to the envoys from the three sects below come forward to offer their congratulations. None of the visitors were important figures.

They weren't even direct disciples of any of the various sects.

There weren't many guests, and the celebration wasn't particularly lively, which made the Juque Sect seem even more desolate and lonely, like "the sun setting in the west."

"Please—Sect Leader, perform the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven!"

Fu Shan simplified the process of the sect leader's succession ceremony, but he did not omit the "sacrifice to heaven" procedure.

The strange phenomena in Licheng also reached her ears.

The fact that Licheng has little spiritual energy is her doing. If the so-called "lack of divine favor" is false, then all the strange phenomena in Licheng are obviously man-made tricks.

Under the watchful eyes of the three envoys and guests from various families.

Fu Shan, dressed in the sect leader's formal attire, slowly stepped forward.

Walk up to the bronze furnace.

The flames burning fiercely inside the furnace shot straight into the sky, seemingly looking down at Fu Shan, who stood alone below.

"It seems that the Juque Sect is also about to experience some 'strange phenomena'..."

"I wonder which is better, Licheng or me, hahaha!"

"We'd better keep an eye on this phenomenon and see what happens."

……

That's what the guests who came to observe the ceremony all guessed.

Though their whispered discussions were not direct, their contempt was still palpable.

No one knew who this suddenly appearing "Fu Shan" was.

It's not that the documents didn't mention her as the usurped leader, but rather that the name Fu Shan was a name she gave herself.

She raised her eyes and looked up at the towering flames.

To everyone's surprise, no fabricated strange phenomena appeared.

As the grand mansion crumbled, the newly appointed leader of the Juque Sect, who had assumed the position in a time of crisis, bowed respectfully and uttered only one sentence—his deep and solemn voice reaching everyone's ears.

"If the people are guilty, the calamity will fall on your own body."

"If I am guilty, do not implicate the people."

As this statement spread far and wide, all opinions fell silent.

Only the bronze furnace in the very center was blazing hot, crackling with fire, its flames shining brightly. The surrounding air seemed to be distorted by the high temperature, and the strange patterns on Fu Shan's face, standing in front of the bronze furnace, also danced and twisted.

She looked up at the flames scorching the sky, and no one knew what Fu Shan was thinking at that moment.

Perhaps the idea is that after this ritual, the "Copper Furnace Array for All Living Beings" covering the south will be completed.

She became the true pivotal figure influencing the fate of the South and the lives of countless people.

The ceremony was completed, and the battle formation was assembled.

Even if Heaven is unkind and the great edifice collapses, we will still strive to turn the tide and achieve our grand ambition.

Perhaps she was thinking that even if this battle ended in failure, she would still want to be the leader of the sect, and for her name to be listed alongside that of Juque, and to be recorded in history.

They will be remembered in history, or they will be infamous for eternity.

It doesn't matter.

Or perhaps, she was truly thinking—to bear the calamity of all living beings on her own.

If she cannot survive this great tribulation, then her death will mark the end of this calamity; if she succeeds, Fu Shan, as the one who encountered the tribulation, will have survived this "heavenly tribulation" like never before.

She will achieve the status of a deity.

The Star-Picking Tower has a way to achieve the Divine Transformation stage, and the Giant Que Sect, one of the four major sects, naturally has its own way of cultivating arrays as well.

No one knows what Fu Shan was thinking.

She pushed the South into the abyss in an attempt to escape her predicament, but the Southern Copper Furnace Array also trapped her.

Fu Shan moved from a narrow cage to a much wider one.

No one knows the true extent of her indifference, hatred, scheming, and pity towards the people of the South.

After the grand ceremony for the succession of the sect leader concluded, those who participated in the ceremony fell into silence upon returning home, especially the three sects.

Perhaps it's a case of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death," or "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."

The decline of the Juque Sect served as a wake-up call for cultivators—even such a behemoth could be threatened by those cultivators in Licheng who were originally "mortals".

If ordinary people follow suit and attack cultivator families and sects like Li Cheng, what will happen?

Even more remarkably, this sacrificial ceremony to Heaven reversed perceptions of the Juque School—

"It's all because the previous leader of the Juque Sect was incompetent and unable to shoulder the great responsibility. Now we have a new leader who is ambitious and cares about the people, but he was just born at the wrong time."

"Would Li Cheng do a better job than Fu Shan if he were in power?"

The phrase "Do not burden the people" spread throughout the South.

Everyone in the streets and alleys was talking about the new leader of the Juque Sect.

Those who have been oppressed for a long time always hope to rise to power and reform themselves.

Fu Shan's behavior, whether intentional, sincere, or with ulterior motives, seems quite different from that of the Juque School in the past.

"Our sect has finally produced a good sect leader!"

"They said that if Heaven wants to punish all people, it is willing to take the blame for us; if the fault lies with the Juque Sect, they hope that the people of the South will not be punished!"

"Sigh... It's all the fault of the previous sect leader. Now that he's dead, maybe good days are coming soon."

"Heh, Li Cheng is also a group of cultivators. Even if these few people still care about the lives of us mortals, if this continues for generations, they will eventually end up like the Juque Sect!"

"There's no such thing as a good one; they're all the same."

……

all the same.

Zhu Wuyao wholeheartedly agreed.

The lives of ordinary people depend on whether the ruler above is a "benevolent ruler"; if not, they have no choice but to accept their misfortune.

Even if dynasties change, the oppression between superiors and subordinates will not change.

Furthermore, since there is an absolute power imbalance between immortals and mortals that cannot be compensated for by numbers, the experience of the previous life cannot be applied to the cultivation world.

That is why Zhu Wuyao has spent these years connecting various places to promote the rise of Licheng.

Because only when Licheng is in power will the principle that "mortals who kill immortals with whom they have a grudge will enter the Dao" be preserved when the order of heaven and earth is reconstructed.

If the Juque Sect is the ultimate victor, then the only way to enter the Dao is still "whether one possesses spiritual roots".

Zhu Wuyao has high expectations for Licheng.

But I didn't have much expectation.

She also believes that it is difficult for such a behemoth to maintain its original aspirations after several generations of inheritance.

Therefore, such a path must be left for ordinary people.

"Somewhat unexpectedly, your three sects are willing to support Licheng instead of protecting the interests of your cultivator class."

Gu Yiguan put down his pen.

She turned her wrist and said:

"The prosperity and glory of the sect is certainly important, but the three sects are not the villains in your story. Given a choice, you may not believe it... but as those in power, we hope that the mortals under our rule can live in peace and prosperity."

"I believe."

Zhu Wuyao continued:

"But the price you pay for your wrongdoings must be borne by mortals; you only need to bear the infamy."

"When the time comes, stand up and say a few passionate words. Even if you are infamous, others will say that you have integrity."