It was time to take stock of the losses.

After Zhao Wan entered the courtyard, Wang Ping looked up at the sky again. The dust kicked up from the chaotic ground had polluted much of it. He pointed a finger, and all the dust, along with the Spiritual Creatures from the Inspiration Realm, vanished. Once the sky was clear, a few rays of sunlight immediately broke through, illuminating Qianmu Mountain and Zhonghui City.

"Tell me, what are our losses?"

"Yes..."

Zhao Wan spoke with his head lowered, seeming even more cautious and careful than before. The dazzling lights that had filled the sky and the arrival of more than ten Second Realm Cultivators had made him fully understand the power and authority of the grand-master before him. All other thoughts had vanished from his mind; he now only hoped to rely on his grand-master to also reach the Second Realm within his lifetime.

"The buildings in the front hall have all been destroyed. This translates to roughly five hundred thousand taels of silver. Furthermore, in the Outer Sect, the death toll is estimated to exceed one thousand disciples..."

Wang Ping exchanged a look with his master, then said, "You will go and explain this to the families of these disciples personally. Try to be as amicable as possible, but don’t weaken the sect’s prestige. If anyone tries to make an issue of this, handle it as you see fit. I don’t want any instability within the temple at this critical juncture."

"Yes!"

"What else?"

"Also, more than half of the medicinal fields at the foot of the mountain have been destroyed. The losses reported so far already exceed seven hundred thousand taels!"

Wang Ping’s expression didn’t change. He thought for a moment and said, "This is a good opportunity to relocate the medicinal fields to another place..."

He stared at Zhao Wan. "I have two points for you to note. First, from now on, Zhonghui City and Qianmu Temple will be completely separate. No outsiders are to set foot within Qianmu Temple’s gates without permission. Disciples who wish to receive friends must report to the Inner Sect."

"Second, in the future, each courtyard will have one slot for promotion to the next realm every eighty years. Therefore, each courtyard must hold a grand competition every ten years. The champion will be determined by a point system, and the one with the highest points over eighty years will earn the opportunity for promotion."

The Nine Extremes Array that Wang Ping was setting up already had a Water Vein and an Earth Vein. Wen Yang had promised a Fire Vein, leaving only the Gold and Wood Veins. For the Wood Vein, he had the Wood Gathering Skill and the Essence Wood Technique. This meant only the Gold Vein was left. There should be plenty of Gold Veins for sale on the Zhongzhou Continent.

Before, he wasn’t qualified to trade in goods of this level. But now that he had advanced to the Third Realm and held the Third Seat in the Daoist Scripture Hall, a minor Gold Vein shouldn’t be too difficult to acquire.

These investments were necessary.

Because Wang Ping was now planning for the Fourth Realm, he needed a more powerful base of operations to provide him with intelligence and to plunder resources!

After Zhao Wan nodded in agreement, Yu Cheng Taoist said, "The main priority now is to stabilize morale. How about this: you summon the Deans of each courtyard to my small courtyard. I’ll speak with them personally."

"Yes!"

And with that, Yu Cheng Taoist left with Zhao Wan.

Wang Ping felt the silence of the garden and carefully considered the cause and effect of this incident.

The primary reason for the current losses was Qianmu Temple’s lack of foundation. If it had been any other established Third Realm Cultivator’s sect, they would have at least two or three Second Realm Cultivators, making it a simple matter to defend against minor tricks.

Furthermore, he had underestimated Wulang’s ruthlessness. That man was the type who wouldn’t even spare his own people when he got vicious!

Thinking of Wulang, he took out the wooden box Zuo Xuan had given him. Wulang’s memories were all inside. Based on the information Wang Ping currently possessed, it showed that Wulang had connections with both ’First Day’ and the Taiyin Evil Cultivators. Perhaps it even contained some of Xiu Yu Taoist’s secrets.

"Are you afraid to look?" Yu Lian asked.

"He managed to stay hidden for so long. Do you think he did it all on his own?" Wang Ping retorted.

"What’s your plan?"

"The initiative is in my hands now. I want to see Xiu Yu Taoist’s reaction. The Third Seat meeting Daoist Zi Luan mentioned might be the best place for it. Daoist Zi Luan will definitely try to make an issue of this. He’s not as harmless as he appears in front of us!"

"That’s true!"

As Yu Lian replied, Wang Ping sensed activity from his Communication Token. His Primordial Spirit Consciousness automatically emerged, and a Spiritual Thread descended from the sky, connecting to his Communication Token.

Wang Ping’s consciousness delved into it and heard a distant voice echoing: *Connect to the Communication Token in half an hour to discuss the vote for the two new Third Seats in three days.*

It was so direct that Wang Ping found it a little unsettling.

Wang Ping stood up, scanned his surroundings, and took the Water Moon Bell out of his storage bag. He activated the illusion array that was already in place over the Dao Field on the mountain peak and instructed the young attendant guarding the door, "Don’t let anyone disturb me."

The attendant outside received the order and immediately reported it to Zhao Wan, who had just finished consoling the sect’s disciples with Yu Cheng Taoist. Zhao Wan couldn’t help but glance at the ruins of the front hall, once again feeling his own insignificance. Then he looked up at the peak of Qianmu Mountain, which was still as beautiful as ever.

But he only looked for a moment before averting his gaze, as if looking too long would violate some dreadful taboo!

「Half an Hour passed in a flash.」

On schedule, Wang Ping projected his consciousness into the Communication Token. The surrounding illusion reappeared, but this time it wasn’t in the temporary palace in Lishui Prefecture.

This place was far more solemn than the temporary palace in Lishui Prefecture!

To Wang Ping, what he saw was an illusion, but it was likely a real place in reality. In front of him was a wall lacquered in brilliant red, on which hung abstract portraits of the two Saints, Nine Heavens and Great Celestial. On the incense table below the portraits were three large incense sticks, each as thick as a thumb.

On either side of the two Saints were portraits of more than twenty True Monarchs. The last six True Monarchs were clearly from the Demon Race: a Tiger Demon, an Ox Demon, a Snake Demon, a Monkey Demon, a Mouse Demon, and a Pig Demon.

In the Cultivation Realm, it was an ironclad rule that True Monarchs must be worshipped. Wang Ping had many theories about this long ago, but they were all buried in his heart, not to be resurrected now.

Below each True Monarch was a portrait of a Lord. The portrait of Xiao Shan Lord was situated under Huishan True Monarch, parallel to Wu Ma Daoist and Zhongde Daoist.

This was the current lineage of the Taiyan Talisman’s inheritance!

It was worth noting that the wall only displayed the Lords of the Five Profound Sects. This was because the Lords of the two Heavenly Gate sects and the Demon Race were not among those worshipped by the Third Realm Cultivators present.

After instinctively observing the front wall, Wang Ping sized up the rest of the scene. This was a large hall. He guessed the exit was behind him, but in the illusion, it was shrouded in a gray mist. The walls on either side were carved with murals depicting various Taoist legends, the most conspicuous of which was the legend of the two Saints seizing heaven to create the world.

As for the hall’s furnishings, the most obvious were the five cloud beds in front of the incense table. Other than that, there were only six large pillars of red-lacquered wood.

There was a hierarchy among the Third Seats. The five Third Seats who could sit on the cloud beds were naturally the highest-ranked. The next tier consisted of the first batch of Third Seats from the time the Daoist Scripture Hall was founded. Below them were the Third Seats selected when the Xia Dynasty was established. At the very bottom were those like Wang Ping, who had joined in the last four or five hundred years.

Of course, if they were divided by strength, it would be a different picture. But the Five Profound Sects were, after all, centered on the Human Dao, and the Human Dao emphasized ’propriety’. Furthermore, with the Lords walking the mortal world and maintaining the basic order of Zhongzhou, this ’propriety’ had been thoroughly implemented.

"Fellow Daoist Changqing..."

A voice came from his side. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Wang Ping turned to see it was Wu Quan. He was dressed in the gray Daoist robes of the Earth Cave Sect, with a layer of pale purple silk worn over them. He also held a duster in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Wu."

Wang Ping politely clasped his fists in greeting.

Wu Quan chuckled. "First, my congratulations, Fellow Daoist..."

He offered some perfunctory congratulations before changing the subject. "I heard something unfortunate happened at Qianmu Temple. This... for your Dao Field to be half-destroyed right after you were chosen as a Third Seat... I wonder, have you found out who did it?"

He spoke just loud enough for the nearby Third Seats to overhear.

The destruction of a Third Seat’s Dao Field was big news. Nothing like this had happened in several hundred years, and to a newly promoted Third Seat at that.

"I heard someone detonated the Spirit Vein inside their body. A fire spirit, at that," Ganxing said.