"Great Venerable."

Ming Yue halted midair, and Tianxuan no longer made a move.

"Great Venerable."

Those who had gathered around from all directions also stopped in their tracks, looking toward the Dragon Shadow with great apprehension.

Even Wuzhiqi himself bared his teeth, his eyes filled with wariness. He intended to speak up but held back the thought, as his aura became more agitated and fierce.

Clearly there to save him, yet Wuzhiqi's fear of the Great Venerable surpassed that of the enemies encircling him.

"Do you all really wish to harm the people of my Sect on my own turf, as if you have no regard for my presence here?"

The Dragon Shadow's head was unseen while its body meandered like a mountain range. When it spoke, a great wind suddenly rose, heard for a thousand li, as if heralding the return of stormy weather.

Its form, illusory yet substantial, glided across the mountains without collision, but its reversal of time earlier could not be faked, leaving observers uncertain whether the presence before them was the true body or a mere illusion.

The moment the Great Venerable appeared, those present were struck with a chilling vigilance, daring not to act rashly, truly living up to the name of a Supreme.

Yet with this statement, everyone knew that this entity was looking to stir trouble once again.

To put it elegantly, it wished to stir wind and rain; crudely, it was looking to be a shit-stirrer once more.

Even though calling him a shit-stirrer effectively meant insulting oneself—after all, if he was the shit-stirrer, then what were they?—most still subconsciously thought of these three words.

"Does the Great Venerable have any insights?"

Tianxuan spoke indifferently, "Please speak your mind if you have something to say."

Now, each time Tianxuan saw the Great Venerable, she remembered the predicament she and Jiang Li had previously suffered, all due to this being's doing. If not for him, she would not have been forced to forcibly evolve into Emperor Wa's appearance, ending up ludicrously with Jiang Li...

Tianxuan very subjectively skipped over the mental preparation she had done before the forced evolution.

Truly unwilling, she would still have ways to extricate herself, though the cost would be greater, and she would not turn misfortune into fortune or gain in strength.

Thus, another pot was carried on the Great Venerable's back.

The Great Venerable seemed not to care about Tianxuan's detached tone. Hearing her, he chuckled lightly, slowly stating amidst the howling wind: "Why not let this Great Venerable offer some advice? There's no need for deceit and plotting between you all. Just fight it out openly, and let the victor decide what to do with the Golden Dam. Isn't that simple and clear?"

"A fine proposal!" Tianxuan agreed, "Perhaps the Great Venerable would be willing to act as a mediator right now, witnessing our victory or defeat, wouldn't that be splendid?"

An open and direct battle?

Wasn't their earlier attempt to openly kill Wuzhiqi exactly that?

Had the Great Venerable not intervened at the crucial moment, the battle's outcome might have already materialized.

"Exactly. To show fairness, I will refrain from taking action, and simply stand by and watch the great battle unfold," Shen Hou declared as he rode his tiger to a distant mountain peak, shouting from afar.

Not taking action and just speaking up—at the critical moment—a single "Fellow Daoist, please stay" was all it took, and those who heard it knew what it meant.

The Great Venerable heard this and, amenable, laughed, "That works. As long as you all don't mind me reversing the Cosmic Light for Wuzhiqi."

"Furthermore, does the Gongsun Family Master realize that the Jiang Family's main house has returned to the Divine Country, bringing allies with them? The people of the Dragon Palace have already landed. Great Zhou faces enemies on both fronts and, I'm afraid, won't be able to spare much combat power to support Liangzhou Province."

It was more than just an inability to spare resources—it was an unprecedentedly disadvantageous situation. Even if they dealt with Wuzhiqi, the Taiping Sect still loomed behind them, and the situation in Liangzhou wouldn't be easily settled in a short time.

Tianxuan had originally planned to call for reinforcements here and gather the kings to besiege the Taiping Sect, but with the Jiang family's main house and the Dragon Palace entering the Divine Country, the situation had drastically changed, and the old plan could no longer be implemented.

The kings had all they could handle just defending their own states, let alone eradicating the Taiping Sect.

"So, it's best to listen to what this Great Venerable has to say."

After the Great Venerable swayed the situation with his words, he continued, "The Golden Dam has three paths, each path will decide victory or defeat. If its defenders win, the Golden Dam stays; otherwise, if Wuzhiqi's side wins, then the dam will be destroyed."

The dragon's body unfurled, emitting a breathtaking aura, "I, personally, will intervene. Even the Yu King Dao Fruit cannot stop me, and even if the rest join forces, they cannot overcome me."

The Great Venerable must be the third grade who is least afraid of being besieged; holding the Book of Luo River Map and possessing the Cosmic Light Divine Ability, almost no one can kill him.

Even if he sought to advance, the most others could do was obstruct him. They could not threaten his life.

As for dealing with the Great Venerable's subordinates...

Although he is the leader of the Devil God Sect, the Great Venerable is actually unafraid of barefooted, not fearing his followers being killed at all, so he initially struck at the Emperor without hesitation, not the slightest bit of cover-up.

If he were resolute in destroying the Golden Dam, even other Supreme beings coming would not be able to stop him.

"The words of this seat have ended, who agrees? Who objects?"

A giant, blurry head looked down at Wuzhiqi and asked cordially, "My friend, do you agree or object?"

"Hmph! Do you think I would give you the chance to make a move against me?" Wuzhiqi snorted coldly, "I agree."

"I, too, agree."

A deep voice echoed from the sky, as a breath vast as the ocean flashed by.

Thus, one side reached a consensus.

On the other side, King Shu and Tianxuan exchanged glances from afar, with King Shu asking first, "What are the rules for this gamble?"

"There will be three bouts, regardless of life or death. If you lose one round, I will destroy one section of the dam, starting with the Fish Mouth, then the Water Diversion, and lastly Tianhe Pass. To demonstrate fairness, I will destroy the dams in order, as long as you can win one round, the final Tianhe Pass won't be destroyed," the Great Venerable said unhurriedly.

That is to say, even if they won the first round but lost the latter two, the most critical Tianhe Pass could still be preserved. However, without the flow diversion of the Fish Mouth, the flood diversion of the Water Diversion, the impact Tianhe Pass had to face was imaginable.

This was also a convenience the Great Venerable offered; after all, if the defenders of the dam won, the Great Venerable would not make a move, but if the destroyers won, the Great Venerable would personally destroy the dam.

Although if this Great Venerable didn't cause trouble, none of these issues would exist...

Tianxuan silently calculated, then spoke up, "Imperial Uncle, what's your view?"

"We must agree," King Shu sighed lightly, "otherwise we won't be able to take Wuzhiqi's life."

With the Great Venerable empowering Wuzhiqi, even if Tianxuan made an all-out effort, it was estimated that Wuzhiqi's life would not be taken.

Cosmic Light Divine Ability, too thick-skinned.

If not for this thick-skinned divine ability, the Great Venerable might have been besieged by other Supremes a hundred years earlier.

Although everyone was a Supreme, wary of each other, the Great Venerable's reputation as a troublemaker ranked near the bottom among the Supremes.

Karma Tathagata at most incurred the hatred of the Awakened, but the Great Venerable could attract the hatred of all other Supremes besides Karma Tathagata.

Thus, knowing well the Great Venerable was up to mischief, they could only agree because if they didn't, the Great Venerable would act, and in the end, they would still have to agree.

Under the Great Venerable's mediation, both sides reached a consensus and set the terms of battle.

"To make this battle for the Golden Dam more suspenseful, I think it's best to divide it into fifth-rank, fourth-rank, and third grade, three bouts of battle."

In the end, the Great Venerable spoke with significant implications: "Additionally, as for extraneous strategies, I would be pleased to see them succeed, after all, that's what makes it interesting, doesn't it?"

That is, it was permissible to act from outside the battle, removing those who were threatening.

Tianxuan immediately thought of his precious disciple.

In terms of a powerful fifth-rank, Jiang Li was naturally the top choice; if he were to battle, Tianxuan could not think of anyone who could win.

However, precisely for this reason, Jiang Li would become a thorn in their side, an irritating obstruction.

'This damned troublemaker!'

Even with Tianxuan's self-control, at this moment he couldn't help but curse inwardly: 'One day, I must split you into pieces, you shit-stirrer.'

Being called a shit-stirrer by someone as cultured as Tianxuan, the Great Venerable could be considered the first.

Even when Tianxuan had lost to Gongsun Qi in the past, he had not cursed like this.

"Boom!"

Just as this thought flashed through Tianxuan's mind, suddenly, thunder cracked in the clear sky; though the dark clouds had dispersed, a bolt of Heavenly Thunder materialized out of nowhere, striking upon the Great Venerable. Sparks flew, dispersing much of the surrounding clouds.

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