: Joy and Sorrow

The Sun Clan.

The scene of Qing Chi slaying the Wandering Ghost General, followed by the Qing Jiao Army garrisoning the city walls and slaughtering ghosts until none dared approach, was replayed once more before the Sun Clan's upper echelons.

This was the fourteenth viewing.

Combining various collected intelligence reports, the Sun Clan cultivators had already studied the Qing Jiao Army over twenty times.

"No doubt about it, this is a cultivation army!"

"Although Qing Chi is a genius, possessing Golden Core combat strength at the Foundation Establishment stage, her final strike clearly exceeded her previous limits. This is the boost from military power!"

"What should we do?"

The Sun Clan upper echelons fell into silence.

Reality had presented a drastic change, bringing them an unforeseen dilemma.

Someone broke the silence, asking, "How is our clansman Sun Tiesheng faring now?"

"The Spirit Contract Treasure Refining Array in the Virility Court is still operational. The Golden Swallow Fork shows no signs of acknowledging a master."

"What about Jiao Ma?"

"Ever since he successfully defended his innocence that time, he caught the City Lord's eye. He's been lax in his performance within the treasure refining array, often leaving the Virility Court, showing little interest in the Golden Swallow Fork."

Another wave of silence swept through the group.

Sun Tiesheng's father spoke up, "We mustn't underestimate Jiao Ma! This might very well be a deception tactic by the Jiao Clan."

"Look at this new army creation; the Jiao Clan has kept a low profile throughout. Suddenly, they've joined forces with the Ghost Clan's Qing Family and formed a cultivation army!"

A Sun Clan elder sighed, "A cultivation army... who would have thought they could actually establish one? How many times has White Paper Immortal City attempted this in the past?"

Another elder shook his head, "We can't calculate it that way."

"Many times in history, White Paper Immortal City was on the verge of success, only to be sabotaged covertly."

"Later investigations revealed shadows of super sects like the Myriad Forms Sect and Soul Devourer Sect. The related inquiries were abruptly halted."

"This time, their success is truly a matter of timing and luck, with all parties fully supporting it."

Hearing this, the Sun Clan Leader nodded slightly, "Exactly."

"Firstly, there's our demon cultivator Lord Li Xiangshang. Exceptionally talented, unexpectedly providing significant assistance in army formation. Truly unforeseen."

"Secondly, the White Paper City Lord is generous and bold, repeatedly allocating funds without regard for future power dynamics, as if completely unafraid of this army becoming too powerful to control. The scale of his investment is astounding."

"Thirdly, there's Qing Chi herself. Though young, she's extraordinarily gifted, having fought valiantly before, already uniting military morale. Now, it seems she can transform that morale into a military seed. Her performance is stunning, repeatedly defying expectations."

"Fourthly, the Qing and Jiao Clans are supporting this with their entire clans, emptying their coffers and抽调ing their elite members to form the army."

"Lastly, super sects like the Myriad Forms Sect and Soul Devourer Sect, wary of the current ghost tide and Yin Soldier army, are allowing this new army to be established."

The relationship between these super sects and White Paper Immortal City is rather complex.

They act as both protectors and obstacles to its development.

Under normal circumstances, they prefer White Paper Immortal City not to become too powerful, monopolizing all the resources of the Yin Tide Dark Marsh.

The ghost tide phenomenon must be viewed from two angles.

On one hand, it indeed brings great trials and challenges to White Paper Immortal City; on the other, it's actually a surging wave of resources. Although ghosts are dangerous, after extermination, what remains are high-quality cultivation resources.

These resources are common in the Yin world, but in the Yang world, they are difficult to collect in concentration, and some are quite rare.

Everyone agreed with the Clan Leader's analysis.

Missing any one link, this new army couldn't have been established!

Creating a cultivation army is truly difficult.

Only now, with the right timing, geographical convenience, and human harmony, all factors converging, was this achievement possible.

Even so, the new army isn't fully established yet; it's still going through the military supplies and military system phases. And there are steps to follow.

The Sun Clan upper echelons continued their discussion, each voicing their opinions.

"That Jiao Ma lad is quite cunning; he's likely pretending, secretly plotting for the Golden Swallow Fork."

"Even if he isn't, we should assume he is. The Golden Swallow Fork... is far too important for our Sun Clan."

"He himself has considerable cultivation talent; otherwise, he wouldn't have been selected by the Jiao Clan as a male consort."

"Now, he has the Qing Jiao Army boosting his prestige. I don't know about other things, but under similar circumstances, if I were the City Lord, I'd certainly abandon Sun Tiesheng and choose Jiao Ma. After all, Jiao Ma and Qing Chi have a very close relationship."

The sensation caused by the Qing Jiao Army is too great; both allies and enemies are studying them.

Jiao Ma, Qing Chi, and others haven't actively hidden their pasts, so their histories have been thoroughly investigated. Everyone knows Jiao Ma and Qing Chi grew up together, childhood friends with a very tight bond.

"Say..." At this point in the discussion, a Sun Clan elder had an inspiration and made a suggestion, "Can we work on this aspect?"

The other elders' eyes lit up immediately.

Soon, rumors, propelled by the Sun Clan, spread like wildfire throughout the entire Immortal City.

"Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo), as a male consort, is indiscreet, having an illicit affair with Qing Chi!"

"The White Paper City Lord, deceived due to his main body's poor condition, is wearing a green hat unknowingly, fully supporting Qing Chi in forming the new army."

"The White Paper City Lord is constrained by the situation, forced into a corner, urgently needing a cultivation army. So, even knowing about the green hat, he grits his teeth and supports the army formation, planning future revenge!"

"Qing Chi is ambitious, wanting both the handsome Jiao Ma and the position of White Paper City Lord."

Various rumors targeted Qing Chi directly—after all, she's the most prominent.

Although Ning Zhuo had been keeping a low profile, deliberately lying low, and hadn't revealed his secret as the deputy commander of the Qing Jiao Army, his close relationship with Qing Chi dragged him into this舆论 storm.

Gossip and private matters involving the White Paper City Lord made the rumors spread even more rapidly and津津乐道.

Rumors can kill!

Multiple forces and powerful individuals closely watched the White Paper City Lord's reaction.

Under the public gaze, the White Paper City Lord openly summoned Jiao Ma. The doors were closed for a full half-hour before Jiao Ma was dismissed.

While outsiders speculated about what interrogations or reprimands Jiao Ma faced, he was actually leisurely drinking tea.

The White Paper City Lord's avatar personally received him, praising him: Truly the savior from the prophetic poem! Last time, you saved the Paper Giant Statue; this time, you facilitated the new army's formation. The entire crisis is changing because of Jiao Ma.

All this increased the White Paper City Lord's expectations.

As for those rumors, they've been verified as the Sun Clan's doing. If Ning Zhuo just nodded slightly, the White Paper City Lord would immediately issue a decree to wipe out the entire Sun Clan.

These people actually dare to sow discord between the City Lord and the savior for their own clan's selfish interests, with malicious intent—their hearts deserve punishment!

Ning Zhuo immediately shook his head, "No need for that. Currently, the Immortal City is surrounded by crises inside and out; the Sun Clan is still usable after all. Who doesn't have selfish motives? They can be forgiven."

"Moreover, rashly exterminating a clan with harsh methods could easily be exploited by the enemy. We still haven't found out who the internal traitor is."

The White Paper City Lord's avatar greatly praised Ning Zhuo,称其 having broad-mindedness, considering the bigger picture, with a noble character beyond compare by ordinary folk.

The White Paper City Lord, as the "wronged party," showed no airs of a Nascent Soul level expert, actually praising Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo) for his magnanimity. If this were spoken aloud, probably no one in the entire city would believe it.

The White Paper City Lord also summoned Qing Chi, Qing Yan, and Jiao Ma's birth father.

The three were apprehensive, while the White Paper City Lord's avatar treated them much more coldly. Initially, he listened to their reports sequentially, then called for paper puppet servants to serve tea and left first.

The three were left in the main hall, forced to drink several rounds of tea and eat some dark-style pastries for a full hour before being allowed to leave.

From the perspective of the White Paper Immortal City Lord, she had long discovered that Jiao Ma was Ning Zhuo in disguise, so she wasn't worried about the emotional ties between Jiao Ma and Qing Chi; in fact, she felt reassured.

Because she held this secret; if exposed, a huge rift would immediately form between Jiao Ma and the Qing Jiao Army.

She wouldn't do that—at least in the current situation, having "Jiao Ma" and Qing Chi closely bonded is more beneficial for White Paper Immortal City.

The White Paper City Lord's two instances of handling matters lightly clearly indicated his stance, allowing both enemies and allies, as well as various forces within the Immortal City, to quickly recognize the situation.

That very night, at least six forces secretly approached Qing Yan.

Although Qing Yan is a Golden Core cultivator, being from the ghost race, he's considered inferior.

Jiao Ma's father, being a human Golden Core cultivator, received a stack of invitations, with over a dozen forces visiting him late at night.

Even Ning Zhuo had visitors.

Ning Zhuo politely declined most of them; he had no patience for hypocritical interactions with these opportunistic forces, wasting his precious cultivation time.

Speaking of which, Qing Chi's comprehension of military systems had somewhat stimulated Ning Zhuo.

Qing Chi usually hadn't been exposed to military strategy, while Ning Zhuo had the accumulation of the Two States War and two military treasures: the "Gao Sheng's Legacy Manuscript" and the Soldier-General Shared Helmet.

He intended to use these two treasures to assist himself. Unfortunately, he hadn't fully comprehended his previous "Warrior's Return Technique" yet.

Only after thorough comprehension could he use the Soldier-General Shared Helmet.

Sun Lingtong could use it, but he currently had more important tasks. Just staying within the enemy ranks, providing military intelligence to Ning Zhuo, was already a significant and irreplaceable role.

"I refuse to believe it." While Ning Zhuo was diligently studying military texts, a "friend" paid a visit, forcing him to interrupt his cultivation to receive this person.

It was none other than Yang Weida.

Ning Zhuo led him to the reception room. Yang Weida immediately bowed, expressing his intention to pledge allegiance.

Ning Zhuo was startled and quickly helped him up, "Brother Yang, why go this far?"

Yang Weida showed a bitter smile, "Brother Jiao, you're usually elusive. I've waited many days to finally catch you back at the Virility Court."

"Please don't worry, Brother Jiao. I come with sincere intentions to pledge allegiance."

Then, Yang Weida demonstrated his sincerity.

He handed Ning Zhuo a hefty storage pouch containing almost all his assets.

"I've been a merchant for years, accumulating modest wealth. Hearing the new army still needs funds, though it's just a drop in the bucket, I wish to contribute a little. Please, Brother Jiao,务必 accept it."

Ning Zhuo fell silent.

The assets in the storage pouch exceeded those of most Foundation Establishment cultivators. Among them was a treasure material called Void-Piercing Shuttle Iron, reaching Nascent Soul grade, and crucially, it was extremely rare on the market.

Ning Zhuo was somewhat puzzled, looking at Yang Weida, "Other forces are from the Immortal City itself; I can understand that. But you're an outsider; why go to such lengths?"

Yang Weida let out a long sigh, his face full of bitterness.

Ning Zhuo适时 gestured for him to sit and brought out tea to招待 him.

Yang Weida sat upright, taking small sips of tea, completely placing himself in a subordinate position, no longer with the earlier brotherly demeanor.

Putting down his cup, he changed the topic, "Brother Jiao, did you know Sun Tiesheng has agreed to Lord Li Xiangshang's offer and accepted the Golden Nest Demon Seed?"

"Oh?" Ning Zhuo had heard about this. He looked at Yang Weida, "Your intelligence is quite comprehensive."

Yang Weida smiled wryly and shook his head, "Brother Jiao, I mentioned before that my elder brother is Yang Sanyan, a true disciple of the Myriad Forms Sect. My information network merely borrows from the local Myriad Forms Sect branch's resources. Nothing to boast about."

While saying it was nothing to boast about, he carefully brought up Yang Sanyan again.

Yang Weida gazed at Ning Zhuo, "Given the Qing Jiao Army's momentum and your weight in the City Lord's heart, I know you've long been aware of this, Brother Jiao. But you've taken no action, seemingly content to let Sun Tiesheng succeed?"

Ning Zhuo nodded.

For him, the Golden Swallow Fork was never a priority. Instead, whether this matter could lure out the internal traitor was what interested Ning Zhuo more.

The Golden Swallow Fork itself has little impact on the overall situation.

Ning Zhuo reaffirmed his stance,直言 to Yang Weida, "I've been honest with you before, Brother Yang, speaking truthfully. I have little ambition for the Golden Swallow Fork."

Yang Weida's expression grew more复杂, silently staring at Ning Zhuo for a moment.

After a long pause, he sighed deeply with bitterness, "Sometimes, people can't be compared. What we scheme tirelessly to obtain, Brother Jiao regards as insignificant."

"Sigh, even though I knew this beforehand, my feelings at this moment still leave me utterly disheartened!"

"With the Qing Jiao Army, your position doesn't need your own efforts; it will surely be as stable as Mount Tai in the future!"

"Compared to you, we..."

Yang Weida shook his head with a bitter smile, looking quite desolate.

Ning Zhuo sensed Yang Weida's emotions and remained silent for a moment.

Yang Weida continued, "Do you know Sun Tiesheng cried all night?"

Ning Zhuo raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

Yang Weida nodded gravely, "Lord Li Xiangshang, having supported the Qing Jiao Army, also indicated his intention to back you, Brother Jiao, for the Golden Swallow Fork."

"Thus, the Sun Clan was forced into a corner, having to change their previous approach and pressure Sun Tiesheng into submission, using the Golden Nest Demon Seed."

"From then on, Sun Tiesheng is half-human, half-demon, effectively cutting off his path to higher cultivation."

"Although he's an illegitimate child, he's always been self-reliant and striving. But the situation forced him to comply."

"He cried all night over this. I understand completely; if it were me, I'd be even more grief-stricken and lose composure."

"However..."

"Even his treatment is something most male consorts can only dream of, wishing they could take his place."

"To be frank with you, Brother Jiao, I am one of them!"

Yang Weida pointed at himself, "My talent is lacking; I couldn't join the Myriad Forms Sect. Yet, I'm unwilling, always wanting to make a name for myself."

"I've been a merchant for years, traveling north and south, suffering many hardships, narrowly escaping death numerous times."

"I came to White Paper Immortal City precisely for the opportunities here. For people like us, we can only seek wealth in danger."

"Only in such perilous places can the opportunities within reach us."

"I originally intended to use the male consort status to gain opportunities and high positions. Now, it seems, with you not competing, Brother Jiao, the Golden Swallow Fork is almost certain to be Sun Tiesheng's."

"As male consorts in the Virility Court, our situation has become very awkward."

"My future looks bleak, so naturally, I want to seek another path."

Yang Weida stated his purpose clearly.

He understood that relying on himself alone, he couldn't rise, but by attaching himself to Ning Zhuo, he could achieve his goal of making a name for himself.

If one can't succeed alone, attach to the strong.

This is also a way of survival for cultivators!

Ning Zhuo frowned slightly, somewhat doubtful, "Brother Yang, rather than pledging to an outsider like me, wouldn't it be better to seek your own brother's support?"

Yang Weida smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I mentioned last time that my elder brother holds a special status within the Myriad Forms Sect. Favoritism among relatives can't happen to him. It's for his protection."

Ning Zhuo thought for a moment, then nodded, accepting the assets, "Understood. I accept these resources and guarantee you a future!"

He reckoned to himself: Even if I'm not the real Jiao Ma, as the savior of White Paper Immortal City and deputy city lord, I can certainly secure some development space for Yang Weida.

Ning Zhuo needed money.

To be precise, at this stage, military supplies desperately needed all kinds of resources—the more, the better!

The Virility Court was in turmoil.

Most male consorts advanced here precisely for the Golden Swallow Fork. Refining this treasure would allow long-term significant assistance to the White Paper City Lord, equating to securing a high position of power.

But now, with the Golden Swallow Fork about to have an owner, many male consorts, like Yang Weida, sought other出路.

One day later.

"Hahaha..." Sun Tiesheng raised the Golden Swallow Fork high.

He had succeeded.

The Golden Swallow Fork emitted a warm golden light, bathing Sun Tiesheng's entire body.

Sun Tiesheng's appearance had also changed; he was no longer purely human, now with narrow eyes and golden eyebrows.

People around praised and congratulated him.

But Sun Tiesheng laughed and then shed tears.

He stole the spotlight, overshadowing the earlier Qing Jiao Army, like a sparrow ascending to a branch becoming a phoenix. As long as he held the Golden Swallow Fork, he was undoubtedly among the upper echelons of White Paper Immortal City.

He was joyful, yet sorrowful.

He felt helpless, yet resentful.

He was forced into this; his clan needed him to do this. He had no choice, a decision made long ago when he accepted the clan's nurturing.

Any gain comes with a corresponding price.

"Alright, Ties