“Did you discuss this with Ling?” Lin Zhao exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say anything? Were you afraid there were spies near us?”

I had anticipated this outcome ever since leaving Bu’s Village. My inclination was to ignore it, but Ling sent me a message at this moment.

She told me to find a way to provoke a conflict with the other party, and to hold nothing back. She would take care of the rest.

In reality, Ling’s method of resolving the problem was quite simple: she personally approached Wang Hun.

However, Ling wasn’t merely trying to resolve the crisis of the Liangjie Tang (Two Realms Hall). She wanted the Coffin Gate to declare its stance to the Art of the Path.

With the Heavenly Tribulation imminent, those in the Art of the Path could watch, they could retreat, but they absolutely could not stand up and interfere with those facing the tribulation. Otherwise, they would only meet one end—death.

Xie Ban Gui and Wang Hun hadn’t declared their stance in the past because they wanted to win over more practitioners to resist the Heavenly Tribulation. They didn’t want to put too much pressure on the Art of the Path.

Ling, however, disagreed with this approach.

In Ling’s view, those with courage and a sense of righteousness would respond to a single call; they didn’t need to be persuaded.

As for those who knew the great calamity was coming but were still plotting and scheming, even obstructing the process, they not only couldn’t be won over but should even be eliminated to prevent them from defecting at the last moment.

Before the Heavenly Tribulation arrived, there had to be only one voice in the Art of the Path.

The role that Liangjie Tang (Two Realms Hall) was playing now was that of a touchstone for the Art of the Path.

Ling didn’t know how she persuaded Wang Hun, but she managed to suppress the news in the Art of the Path in just a few hours.

Cang Tianji also appeared with Miao Jiang (name of a place) shamans at a stronghold of the Art of the Path that was trying to organize a campaign against Liangjie Tang (Two Realms Hall).

Before the leaders of over a dozen sects of the Art of the Path could react, they were surrounded by Cang Tianji’s forces.

Cang Tianji’s first words upon entering were, “Those who kneel and surrender will not be killed!”

The participants in the gathering immediately slammed the table and stood up. “Cang Tianji, what do you think you’re doing? Does Liangjie Tang (Two Realms Hall) want to control everything?”

“Kill!” Cang Tianji lightly drew a slender finger across her throat, and the sound of gunfire rang out. The forehead of the person pointing at Cang Tianji instantly exploded in a bloody hole, and he fell to the ground, his eyes wide open.

Even in death, he didn’t understand why Cang Tianji dared to kill.

Someone shouted, his voice sharp with fear, “Cang Tianji, you’re using firearms. This violates the rules of the Art of the Path…”

“Kill again!” As soon as Cang Tianji spoke, a second gunshot sent another person to their grave.

The entire place fell silent for a moment.

Cang Tianji said, “Those who are still standing within three breaths will be killed!”

At this moment, the leader of the group coldly looked at Cang Tianji. “Cang Tianji, who gave you the authority to kill the innocent? Kill another one and let me see!”

Before Cang Tianji could speak, someone outside the door said, “I gave her the authority!”

As everyone looked towards the voice, Wang Hun’s subordinates, Xiao Mao’er and Ye Mu, walked in from outside, followed by heavily armed Long Nu (Dragon Fury) soldiers.

“Chief… Chief Ye!” The person who had been shouting just now was immediately dumbfounded.

Ye Mu said coldly, “Cang Tianji is in charge here!”

“Kneel!” When Cang Tianji spoke again, everyone in the room knelt down.

Cang Tianji coldly swept her gaze across those kneeling. “Each of you will leave a drop of blood from your fingertip, and each of you will be fed a Gu poison. Their names will be added to the vanguard camp of the Art of the Path, and they will be the first sent to the battlefield when the Heavenly Tribulation arrives.”

“You will die within a year without the antidote. Even if you get the antidote, the Curse of Life Tribulation refined from your fingertip blood is still in my hands, and it can still take your life.”

The faces of the practitioners present turned pale, and the leader cried out with a sob in his voice, “Chief Xiao Mao’er, aren’t you supposed to be winning over the Art of the Path? You’ll lose the support of the people if you do this!”

Xiao Mao’er responded indifferently, “People’s hearts are too complicated. I don’t have time to analyze them slowly. I want a simple and effortless method, one that doesn’t require worrying about rebellion.”

“If you have any objections, you can go to the netherworld and appeal to the Commander in person.”

“However, I must also tell you that the ghosts in the Commander’s supervisory camp are not known for their good temper!”

The leader immediately collapsed to the ground, but Cang Tianji said indifferently, “From now on, you have one year to think about how to win over the practitioners you know to participate in resisting the Heavenly Tribulation.”

“If you bring in ten people, you can be promoted to captain. One hundred people, and you can be promoted to centurion. Bring in one thousand people, and congratulations, you can command from the rear. With one thousand people charging ahead of you, perhaps you’ll even hear the signal to retreat and rest!”

Cang Tianji was making it clear to them: although you are all cannon fodder, you still have a chance to survive if you stand in a different position.

The leader’s eyes lit up, and he said without hesitation, “Commander Tianji, can you give me some Gu poison?”

Cang Tianji waved her hand and said, “One packet of poisonous Gu can control fifty people. How much do you want?”

“Twenty packets!” That person went straight for the thousand-person mark.

“Very good!” Cang Tianji said again, “If you can’t recruit people, it doesn’t matter. You can use Reincarnation Division sleepers to make up the numbers. Capturing one sleeper is equivalent to ten people, and killing one Reincarnation Division disciple is also equivalent to ten people.”