Chapter 142: What're You Gonna Do About It?

Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang were stunned beyond words.

Only now was Yin Shengong finally revealing the extent of weariness and despair.

He felt like a complete and utter failure, played for a fool by the one that he once trusted the most.

"After I was indirectly alerted to Ren Zhongyuan's ambitions by Night Demon's messages, I immediately informed our patriarch of the situation, and I was only made aware of all of this after our patriarch sent people to investigate. Otherwise, I would've most likely still been in the dark up to the very moment Ren Zhongyuan successfully usurped my position!"

Yin Shengong's voice was seething with fury and resentment, while cold sweat was beginning to bead up on the foreheads of Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang.

They didn't know what would become of Yin Shengong if Ren Zhongyuan were to succeed, but they could easily envision their own fates.

As Yin Shengong's most trusted subordinates, there was no way that Ren Zhongyuan would've been willing to spare them.

He wouldn't even need to specifically target them. All he would have to do would be to send them on a few suicide missions and have them die by the hands of the Guardians. It was as simple as that!

"What did your ancestor say, Pope Yin?" Qian Sanjiang asked in an anxious manner.

"He told me that I've been backed into a corner, so it would only be right for me to retaliate," Yin Shengong replied as a hint of bloodlust flashed through his eyes.

"I agree! I am ready to fight for you, Pope Yin! Just give me the order!" Hou Fang declared.

"We'll have to wait until after the Parasite Ascension Project," Yin Shengong sighed. "Even our ancestor and Deputy Pope Xiang won't be able to do anything for now. Once the Parasite Ascension Project is over and we all return to our respective churches, that's when things will truly come to a head, and our One Heart Church may not be the only one undergoing some big changes!"

Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang exchanged a look of lingering fear with one another.

If Yin Shengong hadn't discovered Ren Zhongyuan's plan, then all 256 of the One Heart Church Generals would've been under the latter's command.

If none of them performed well, then Yin Shengong would take the blame, but if one of them secured a top-three spot, then Ren Zhongyuan would be the sole beneficiary!

Either way, it would've been a lose-lose situation for Yin Shengong.

They could only thank their lucky stars that they were able to squeeze Night Demon in right in the nick of time, and now, all they could do was pray for Night Demon's success.

Among the 257 Generals was a single seed of hope, and the stakes were extraordinarily high.

"Night Demon really does seem like a godsent blessing for us," Qian Sanjiang remarked.

"This is why I've been saying that Night Demon is someone who harbors fortune. I still remember how dismissive the two of you looked when I brought it up last time," Yin Shengong said with a faint smile.

"And that's why we could never hold a candle to your genius, Pope Yin."

Yin Shengong cast an uneasy gaze forward as he sighed, "Night Demon has a very heavy load on his shoulders. I hope he can carry it."

"I have confidence in him!"

"Me too! If he's a bearer of fortune, then he'll surely be able to turn the tides in our favor!"

"Don't go rambling about how Night Demon is some bearer of fortune!" Yin Shengong warned. "If other people hear of this, he'll be targeted from all directions!"

"Yes, Pope Yin, we'll be sure to keep it to ourselves."

"The main church isn't safe, either. The higher you climb, the stronger the wind," Yin Shengong sighed.

Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang remained silent. They didn't dare to make any remarks about the main church.

***

Fang Che watched as the clouds raced past beneath the flying boat.

He knew that their destination wasn't the New Chu Nation. Instead, it was going to be the true headquarters of the Church of the Self-Righteous, the location of which had always eluded the Guardians.

The 257 Generals in the cabin all kept to themselves, and most of them were cultivating.

Fang Che followed suit, and baleful qi began to slowly seep out of his body.

All of the other Generals in the cabin instantly began to feel uncomfortable, as if there were some type of unnatural chill in the air, but they couldn't pinpoint the source of their discomfort.

After some time, the flying boat drew to a halt.

Fang Che awakened from his meditative state, and everyone else around him also returned to their senses, but they were all looking rather pale and uneasy.

Fang Che hurriedly used his Covert Shapeshifting Technique to manufacture a pale complexion in order to fit in, and he could hear some hushed conversations taking place around him.

"I don't know why, but I felt terrible this entire trip!"

"I know what you mean. I felt constantly on-edge, like there was a ghost on my back or something."

"Me too! I thought it was just me!"

"Even right now, I still feel like there's a cold wind going down the back of my collar!"

Fang Che was also feeling quite puzzled.

Why didn't I feel anything? Could they be reacting to the baleful qi in the Formless Divine Jade?

He decided to test out his theory by releasing a wisp of baleful qi right past the ear of the General beside him.

Sure enough, the latter immediately swung around and raised a hand to his own ear as he exclaimed, "There it is again! I feel a chill, but when I turn around, nothing's there!"

Fang Che immediately withdrew all of his baleful qi and kept it tightly restrained upon seeing this.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The cabin doors swung open, and a refreshing breeze blew in, reinvigorating everyone inside.

"Come out," Hou Fang ordered.

Fang Che filed out of the flying boat with everyone, and he was immediately stunned by the scenery outside.

They had arrived on a vast plain surrounded by snowy mountains that rose all the way up into the clouds, but the plain itself was teeming with lush greenery.

At the moment, they were standing on a massive, compacted plaza, which was presumably the designated airstrip for the flying boat.

The boat gradually reverted back to its miniature form before being stowed away by Yin Shengong, and the faint sound of a commotion could be heard ringing out in the distance, but it was unclear from where.

Yin Shengong, Qian Sanjiang, and Hou Fang were all very much taken aback by the sight of the 257 Generals standing before them.

What's wrong with them? Why do they all look so uneasy? Even if it's their first time traveling by flying boat, surely it shouldn't have taken such a toll on them!

"What happened? Why do you all look like this?" Yin Shengong asked with his brows tightly furrowed.

"We don't know, but it just felt really eerie in there."

"Yeah, it was like there were ghosts in there with us or something..."

Yin Shengong was very displeased, but how these Generals were doing hardly mattered to him as long as Night Demon was doing fine.

He hurriedly messaged Fang Che in secret.

"What happened?"

Standing among the One Heart Church Generals, Fang Che replied discreetly using his Five Spirit Parasite: "I didn't really feel anything. All of them were saying it felt like there were ghosts in there, but all I felt was a little cold. I altered my appearance a little to fit in with them, but I'm perfectly fine."

Yin Shengong was very relieved to hear this. "Let's hurry now, we're most likely the last church to arrive."

With that, everyone rose up into the air and flew away into the distance.

They passed over a mountain, at which point they were greeted by the sight of a vast space up ahead that was packed with people, and further ahead in the distance was a massive city with no end in sight.

As they flew onto the scene, a figure abruptly shot up from the crowd before yelling in a furious voice, "Yin Shengong! Why are you so late?"

"Please forgive me, Altar Master Li. We had very far to travel, and we got here as quickly as we could," Yin Shengong hurriedly apologized.

"Hurry up and get down here!"

A cold voice rang out from below, and Yin Shengong hurriedly gave an affirmative response.

With that, the One Heart Church Generals descended to the ground, vanishing into the crowd like a drop of water in the sea.

There was an elevated platform up ahead, atop which were seated around a dozen figures, and there were several still-vacant chairs in the center.

There were also many people standing on a tier beneath the elevated platform, and all of the Generals were gathered on the ground beneath the raised tier.

The One Heart Church Generals formed a unit of their own, with Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang stationed at the forefront.

Yin Shengong stepped onto the platform and was given something, following which he stepped down to the tier beneath the platform, where he stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Fang Che made a rough count of all of the people standing on the tier to discover that there were close to five hundred of them!

If these were all popes of subsidiary churches, then that was truly a very concerning number.

There were probably some hall masters and other low-ranking leaders from the main church among them, but even so, that was still an astounding number.

If there were five hundred churches, and each of them had brought an average of three hundred people, then that would amount to 150,000 Generals!

There's too many! How the hell am I supposed to kill them all?

He began looking around at the surrounding Generals, but they stretched as far as the eyes could see in all directions.

A fearsome-looking General from another church met Fang Che's roaming gaze, and he snapped, "The fuck are you looking at?"

"I'll look wherever I want! What're you gonna do about it?" Fang Che challenged.

"You wanna say that again?!"

A loud clang rang out as Fang Che drew his saber without any hesitation, decapitating the General on the spot before spitting onto his headless body.

"I hope you learn to keep your mouth shut in your next life!"