I couldn't help but frown, "Why is that?"

Feng Ruohang said, "I heard my master say that the sects initially suppressed the art of术 (shu, divination arts) because of the conflict between 术 and 道 (dao, the Way). After the sects completely suppressed the術士 (shushi, practitioners of divination arts), it became a form of oppression."

"My master didn't explain the specifics clearly. He only said that the struggle between 术 and 道 can be traced back to the Investiture of the Gods."

"The Investiture of the Gods!"

I muttered to myself and fell silent. The Investiture of the Gods could be seen as a struggle for the Great Dao, or as a struggle between 术 and 道. The disciples of Jie Sect were more inclined towards術士, often using unorthodox methods, and were once powerful. In the end, however, the Chan Sect, representing the Great Dao, prevailed.

After the Investiture of the Gods, the gods each took their respective positions, and the Golden Immortals lived freely outside the mortal realm.

How similar is this to the relationship between sects and術士?

While I was still contemplating, Ye Yang had already parked the car at the entrance of Green Shade Manor.

The sect disciple guarding the manor was blocked by the car and didn't see his fellow disciple tied to the back. Seeing me get out of the car, he shouted arrogantly, "Shushi Li Po, kneel and announce your name to enter!"

I sneered and took a few steps forward, punching the man in the chest. He immediately gasped for air.

I stepped over the sect disciple who had fallen to the ground and strode into the main entrance of the manor. As Ye Yang and Feng Ruohang formed a triangular formation to protect me, the middle-aged man sitting in the main seat didn't even lift his eyelids. "Li Po is here. Cripple his cultivation first, then bring him over for questioning."

I said coldly, "I'm standing right in front of you. How do you plan to cripple my cultivation?"

Only then did the man raise his head. When he saw the situation outside, he slammed the table and stood up. "How dare you! You actually insult the disciples of my Ao Xue Sect!"

"Take him down!" As soon as I spoke, Ye Yang and Feng Ruohang attacked simultaneously. The two long swords transformed into streaks of lightning, striking the man's shoulders from the left and right.

Ye Yang and the others only intended to subdue him and didn't plan to kill him. After the long swords pierced the man's shoulder armor and pinned him to the wall, they stopped and stood aside.

I walked forward and said, "You dare to shout with this cultivation?"

The man gasped in pain, but he didn't relax his mouth at all. "I'm just an external affairs envoy of the sect. When the experts of the sect arrive, they will grind you to dust."

I found it amusing and said, "Tell me! What reason does your Ao Xue Sect have to kill me?"

The man gritted his teeth and said, "You released a demon who slaughtered a village, causing hundreds of wronged souls to soar with resentment. Based on that alone, crippling your cultivation is only a minor punishment."

Released a demon? He was referring to Qin Xin!

After I asked carefully, I realized that after I took Qin Xin away, the ghosts on the mountain had never stopped. They wailed in the mountains all night, and the peak of Qin Village was covered in a layer of resentment.

The disciples of the Ao Xue Sect went out to train and discovered the resentment on the mountain peak. They immediately led people into Qin Village. That's how the story of me releasing a demon came about.

I said with a bit of wry amusement, "You didn't ask me about the cause and effect, and you were already planning to cripple my cultivation?"

"The facts are all there. What else is there to ask?" the man said sharply. "I'm not your opponent, but the experts of the Ao Xue Sect won't let you get away with it."

I sneered. "Alright! Go call your people!"

"Release him!" As I waved my hand, Ye Yang and Feng Ruohang drew their swords at the same time, and the man knelt on the ground.

I shouted to the outside, "Your people, take your own people out to call for help. I'll wait here."

After a few Ao Xue Sect disciples walked in tremblingly and helped the man out, Feng Ruohang said, "Li Po, how do you plan to solve the current problem?"

I said in a deep voice, "The Ao Xue Sect doesn't want to reason with us at all. From the beginning, they wanted us dead. Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked us to kneel and announce our names, and they wouldn't have tried to cripple my cultivation directly."

"His attitude towards me is enough to represent the Ao Xue Sect's attitude towards術士. Even if I'm polite to them, there won't be any good results."

"However, we don't have the strength to directly confront a sect with our Liangjie Tang, unless we are all prepared to live as fugitives, slowly exhausting the Ao Xue Sect like assassins. That's not realistic."

I paused slightly and said, "So, I want to create momentum."

"Feng Ruohang, find a way to spread the news that I'm confronting the Ao Xue Sect, so that the entire martial world knows that we're facing the Ao Xue Sect. Moreover, it must be clear that we are in the right. It would be best to get more people involved to amplify the situation."

"Sects care about face. Even if they are shameless at heart, they still have to put on a show."

"In order to give the martial world an explanation, the Ao Xue Sect will have to conduct an investigation. The moment they enter the investigation phase, we win."

"The conflict between術士 and sects has a long history. There must be people who want to oppose the sects. Those big shots and big brothers in the world of 術 will definitely use our Liangjie Tang to test the bottom line of the sects."

"Only by getting them moving can we have a chance to survive in the cracks. If we handle it properly, we should be able to retreat safely."

Feng Ruohang thought for a while before nodding. "I'll go do it now! I hope you can calculate this accurately this time!"