Chapter 835: Bad Things Can’t Only Be Done by Third Senior Sister

Chapter 835: Chapter 835: Bad Things Can’t Only Be Done by Third Senior Sister

Northern Julu Continent. Yunmeng Marsh.

Cui Hao stood before the teleportation array set up by Yunmeng Pavilion, grinning from ear to ear as he watched batch after batch of cultivators — Spirit Transformation at minimum, the backbone of Yunmeng Pavilion’s forces — step through. There were even Integration realm cultivators among them.

As for Mahayana cultivators, the teleportation cost was far too steep, so they were making their way here slowly under concealment.

Yunmeng Pavilion had suppressed all information about this operation.

These reinforcements had been assembled for one purpose: to deal with the Evil Spirit Sect.

After all, when it came time to actually purge them, you couldn’t expect Yunmeng Marsh to lift a finger. The Evil Spirit Sect was no soft persimmon that Yunmeng Marsh could squeeze at will.

Regardless, to Cui Hao, these people had all come to help.

He still knew the proper etiquette.

Zheng Zhaoling stood nearby as well. She recognized nearly every one of the arrivals, and for each person she greeted with a cupped fist and a word of courtesy. Cui Hao followed right behind her — when she called someone "Martial Uncle," he called them "Martial Uncle" too; when she addressed them as "Martial Brother," he adopted the air of an old friend.

To someone unaware of the situation, they might have genuinely believed Cui Hao was a Yunmeng Pavilion cultivator.

Once a dozen or so Yunmeng Pavilion cultivators were in position, the reception duties naturally fell to the Yunze God.

After Cui Hao finished his greetings, his gaze swept over the cultivators arrayed in battle armor, fully prepared and grim-faced, following behind the Yunze God.

He had to admit — the discipline of the Eighteen Immortal Sects’ disciples was beyond reproach.

Once deployed on a mission, no matter where they were, they maintained wartime posture. In response to Zheng Zhaoling’s greetings, they offered only brief replies, and no one thought to ask about the situation. They looked like soldiers who needed nothing more than a single order to move out.

"Not bad," Cui Hao remarked, clicking his tongue in admiration as he watched the Yunmeng Pavilion disciples assembled before them, ready for action. He then raised an eyebrow toward Zheng Zhaoling and said, "You’ve got serious pull this time. You even said you might need to submit some kind of report."

"And yet here they are — sent to you with a single word. The ones who couldn’t make it through the teleportation array even ran here."

"Could it be, Zhaoling, that you were planning to play the pig to eat the tiger and smack me in the face? I have to say — you succeeded perfectly."

Zheng Zhaoling’s expression didn’t change. She watched Cui Hao’s smug look with some puzzlement in her heart.

By the rules, mobilizing a core disciple squad like this required her — a core disciple who hadn’t held the position for long — to still file a report, explain the circumstances, have the sect approve the situation, and only then notify how many people could be dispatched.

Why had it gone so smoothly this time...

Zheng Zhaoling answered honestly: "I’m afraid it’s your reputation. My standing isn’t high enough to pull this off."

"My reputation?" Cui Hao looked baffled. "The last few times I tried to mobilize Yunmeng Pavilion personnel, if you hadn’t nodded and helped, I probably couldn’t even order around the old man sweeping the front gate. It must be that your status in Yunmeng Pavilion has been fully recognized. If you returned to Yunmeng Pavilion now, you’d probably receive the same top-tier treatment as Daoist Yuyang."

Zheng Zhaoling did not answer.

Daoist Yuyang could command half the Taidao Sect. If he called out to a few Tribulation Transcendence seniors for help, chances were they’d actually lend a hand.

Each sect had its own style. Daoist Yuyang’s background was extraordinary to begin with, and combined with the almost incomprehensible speed at which he cultivated the Dao Divination Art, the Taidao Sect’s elders had nearly unanimously concluded that Daoist Yuyang would reach the pinnacle of the art.

He had essentially become the core of the core at Taidao Sect — his treatment was naturally worlds apart.

Zheng Zhaoling understood in her heart that she probably wouldn’t wield that kind of authority until she became Sect Master.

Cui Hao chuckled softly: "Either way, people who are willing to come are better than none."

Zheng Zhaoling gave a slight nod, then said quietly:

"Your provocation was convincing. The Evil Spirit Sect has gathered a force and is heading for Northern Julu Continent, planning to first purge a batch of the more prominent incense gods, then impersonate them. When do you want to make your move?"

Cui Hao understood what Zheng Zhaoling was asking — should they wait for the Evil Spirit Sect to kill off a wave of incense gods first, thoroughly destabilize the situation, and possibly even recruit the incense gods’ help to jointly annihilate the Evil Spirit Sect.

Cui Hao was silent for a moment, then said in a calm tone:

"I’m going to clean up."

Zheng Zhaoling’s gaze sharpened with puzzlement.

Facing that look, Cui Hao offered his explanation:

"Incense gods aren’t good things. ’Rotten’ versus ’more rotten’ doesn’t mean you have to pinch your nose and pick one. Letting them keep winning will only make them think this game works on every rule."

"Out of respect for old ties, we’ve mostly had to turn a blind eye to the incense gods. Act against them too often, and people will say we’re in the wrong."

"But now there’s an Evil Spirit Sect — something that was already wrong — willing to make a move. So this time, I don’t intend to let them win. Those incense gods can’t outplay the Evil Spirit Sect."

"If the Evil Spirit Sect helps me break the spine of those incense gods, that’s a huge favor to me. And in return, I’m willing to avenge the incense gods."

Zheng Zhaoling heard this but didn’t answer. Her eyes merely narrowed slightly.

Cui Hao suddenly asked: "Am I not what you imagined? How come I’m not being soft-hearted anymore? Doesn’t seem like my style at all."

"A little," Zheng Zhaoling answered honestly.

"Someone has to do the bad things. If I don’t, it’ll probably be my Third Senior Sister who ends up doing them for Master." Cui Hao’s gaze turned toward Wanhua Ridge.

No matter how full of spiritual energy Peak of One Big Happy Family was, no matter how safe it was — it wasn’t their own sect.

Only that place where ten thousand flowers bloomed, the place he had personally designed and built — that was his own sect.

Cui Hao understood why Eldest Senior Sister believed there should be limits to what one did. But he also understood why Third Senior Sister knew how to weigh her choices.

There was no right or wrong to be argued here. Both had their reasons.

Third Senior Sister’s kindness was relative. She was good to her own people, which naturally meant she could be harsh to outsiders.

Cui Hao was unquestionably one of her own, so Third Senior Sister was naturally good to him. Though she would occasionally scold him, whenever there was something worth having, Third Senior Sister always remembered to include his share.

Third Senior Sister would never let Master do things that carried negative consequences himself.

So Third Senior Sister would handle those problems for him.

But being the bad guy shouldn’t fall only on Third Senior Sister’s shoulders. At the very least, Cui Hao couldn’t comfortably let her bear it alone.

Some bad deeds were inevitable, and Cui Hao was willing to do them for everyone.

If it could protect everyone, Cui Hao was willing to be the bad guy.

And Third Senior Sister was someone Cui Hao wanted to protect too.

Cui Hao smiled freely and continued:

"But it’s fine if I do it. If Third Senior Sister handles it, there’s no telling what kind of chaos she’d stir up."

"But don’t worry — none of this will affect you. I’ll bear all the responsibility for right and wrong. Let me take the spotlight this time."

Zheng Zhaoling raised her gaze to Cui Hao’s profile, considered for a moment, then spoke:

"If it’s the right thing to do, then why should you take the spotlight alone?"

"I’m a core disciple of Yunmeng Pavilion. When it comes to taking the spotlight, how could I possibly lose to you?"

Zheng Zhaoling had once been willing to bear Yunmeng Pavilion’s pressure alone in Yunmeng Marsh for what she believed in.

She certainly couldn’t regress now.

Zheng Zhaoling had reached her current position precisely because she understood the meaning of conviction.

How far could someone go without conviction in their heart?