"How many have defected to the Immortal Dynasty?"
"This...
We heard from Buddha Lord that, conservatively estimated, it's about one-fifth."
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingfeng raised an eyebrow. Although he had previously heard that many had defected to the Immortal Dynasty, learning that it was as many as one-fifth still surprised him considerably. "So many Chixiao People have defected to the Immortal Dynasty?"
"No!
Monarch, you misunderstand."
Feng Xu hurriedly explained, "I was referring only to the Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls, not the Chixiao People themselves!"
"What's the difference?
Doesn't every Crimson-Letter Sect branch hall have Chixiao People overseeing it?
If they didn't give their approval, how could the branch halls defect to the Immortal Dynasty?"
"Monarch, this matter is very complicated. It can't be explained in just a sentence or two. What I just said about one-fifth defecting to the Immortal Dynasty refers only to the Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls, nothing more. Most of those currently in charge of the Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls are not our Chixiao People."
"I see."
When he first heard that one-fifth had defected, Gu Qingfeng thought it meant Chixiao People, which truly shook him. Now, hearing it was only the branch halls, his heart settled somewhat. "Whether the Crimson-Letter Sect lives or dies, I don't care in the slightest, nor do I bother with it. Tell me, how have our brothers from the old Chixiao Sect been faring all these years."
Without hesitation, Feng Xu recounted everything he knew.
Back then,
after quelling the calamity, many Chixiao People were deeply affected by the Monarch's departure and grew weary of the life of constant fighting. Many chose to retire into seclusion. Some Chixiao People, though they oversaw Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls, did so only nominally, rarely interfering in branch affairs. They lived lives of seclusion, in closed-door cultivation, detached from worldly matters.
There were also Chixiao People like Feng Xu, who oversaw Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls, guarding the peace of their regions, eliminating demons, upholding justice, and acting chivalrously.
However, since the dawn of the Present-Ancient Era and the arrival of the new age, he increasingly felt overwhelmed. He originally intended to hand over the branch hall to his disciple Zhan Zhiming to manage, but never expected Zhan Zhiming to turn out the way he did. Left with no choice, he could only resume control of the branch hall.
In the beginning, whether they were retired, secluded, in closed-door cultivation, or guarding their regions, all the Chixiao People held a steadfast hope in their hearts—waiting for the Monarch's return.
Not because they waited for the Monarch's return to resume conflict with the Immortal Dynasty.
Nor because their lives were unsatisfactory.
They simply wanted to wait.
To know if the Monarch was still alive.
And to see the Monarch once more.
That was all.
This was the obsession in the hearts of all Chixiao People.
And it was precisely for this reason that, back then, they would throw caution to the wind, time and again, to verify each newly emerged 'Chixiao Monarch'.
Only, they went filled with hope and returned utterly disappointed.
Hope after hope, disappointment after disappointment.
Until eventually, it turned to despair.
The obsession in their hearts gradually faded with each successive disappointment.
Many Chixiao People had already accepted the fact that the Monarch would not return and no longer held any hope. Those in seclusion simply adopted anonymous lives. Those overseeing Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls either continued their seclusion or simply left outright. Even Chixiao People like Feng Xu, who guarded the peace of their regions, began to consider retreating and living in anonymous seclusion after accepting that the Monarch would not return.
Of course,
there were also those restless Chixiao People who, realizing the Monarch would not return, grew even more unruly. For example, Tan Tong, Zhou Taihe—these Chixiao People were like that. Since the Monarch would not return, they no longer feared or worried about anything in their hearts. They began to act without restraint, openly paying homage to the Immortal Dynasty.
"And how many Chixiao People pay homage to the Immortal Dynasty?"
Gu Qingfeng's voice came. Feng Xu replied, "I don't know about other places, but within Yanluo Kingdom, only Zhou Taihe and his followers."
"How many are these 'followers' you speak of?
From what I know, nearly fifty Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls within Yanluo Kingdom obey Zhou Taihe. Even if each branch hall has ten Chixiao People overseeing it, that would still be five or six hundred, right?"
Feng Xu nodded. At least five or six hundred Chixiao People followed Zhou Taihe. He thought for a moment, then added, "They were mostly Chixiao People under Zhou Taihe's command before. However, not all of them are like Tan Tong, seeking wealth and glory. Many were forced into it, having no choice but to comply."
"How so?"
"Most of those overseeing Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls have families, careers, wives, children, and descendants. Zhou Taihe is very skilled at winning people over, especially the descendants of Chixiao brothers, whom he takes extremely good care of. Over time, the descendants of Chixiao People became completely obedient to Zhou Taihe. Those Chixiao People had no recourse. Even if they didn't want to, for the sake of their descendants, they could only go along with it."
Gu Qingfeng would not allow any Chixiao People to bear the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephant and pay homage to the Immortal Dynasty.
But after all, these were life-and-death brothers who had once fought side by side through seas of blood.
He also did not want to mistakenly kill any Chixiao brother.
The reason he patiently listened to Tan Tong's lengthy ramblings earlier was precisely this. It was also the purpose of his visit to Fengxu Mountain today. Only by understanding the facts could he make a decision. After hearing Feng Xu's words, he roughly formed a preliminary plan in his mind.
"You mentioned earlier that someone recently issued a Chishang Seal Order?
Who was it?"
"It was the Great Overlord Hai!"
"Great Overlord Hai?"
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully, then asked, "Are you talking about that reckless youngster Hai Dongsheng?"
Regarding the notable figures of the Chixiao Sect,
they could be completely summarized with one phrase, a phrase known to all:
One person, two elders, three sects, six paths, nine overlords, eighteen princes, thirty-six celestial stems, seventy-two earthly branches.
As the saying goes: the earthly branch lords guard their regions, the celestial stem lords sweep across the four directions, the Chixiao princes shake the world, and the overlords live free and unfettered.
The seventy-two earthly branch lords of the Chixiao Sect are now each guarding a region, such as the Blackwater Fiend, Lord Blackwater of the Great Northwest, and the Black Buddha Fiend and Blackhearted Fiend within Yanluo Kingdom.
During the era of demonic calamity, the thirty-six celestial stem lords led the Chixiao People in sweeping across the four corners of the world, invincible wherever they went.
And the eighteen princes—each was a figure of formidable strength, their reputations known throughout the world.
As for the nine overlords, they were even more extraordinary. But what was even more remarkable was that these nine were almost without exception, each a hegemon in their own right. For example, the famous Fatso Wang was the Southern Sea Emperor, dominating the entire Southern Sea and ruling its many islands. One was the Eternal Life Emperor, dominating the Eternal Life Forest—the most precious and resource-rich forest in the Present-Ancient Era world.
And Hai Dongsheng,
proclaimed as the Divine Land Emperor.