Yinshang inherited the Eastern Barbarian’s ritual of augury. They would face towards the north when they perform a divine reading and hail the northern God of Immortal as Xuan Ming. In fact, ‘Ming’ and ‘Wu’ shared the same meaning in Yinshang.

　　The residence of the Grand Perceptor and the palace were located at the north as a symbol of honor. Wuding brought Shen Lian to the southernmost point and found an exquisite wine bar. They got themselves a room that faced the river and had willow trees planted at the opposite. Although it was not a magnificent view, the wine made things a lot more pleasant.

　　Moreover, they were eating dragon liver and dragon flesh as well as drinking hundred-year-old celestial wine. What else could be better than that?

　　Wuding started with three shots in a row to dispel the mixed emotions he was having. He then fixed his gaze at Shen Lian, the wonderful Shen Lian whom he does not know how to treat.

　　Shen Lian started the conversation, “We are all real men. Just say whatever that is on your mind.”

　　Wuding responded, “Actually, I don’t really understand all of you. Just look at Guan Longzi. Obviously, he had the chance to survive but why did he choose to die? Could it be that death is more attractive than being alive?”

　　Shen Lian answered, “You are right. Only the people who are alive are qualified to enjoy the good while the deceased have nothing at all. I have heard of a saying that goes ‘once deceased, all would turn into dust’. Thus, ever since I was young, I made a goal to live and enjoy life to the fullest. To me, Guan Longzi was a representation of extreme foolishness.”

　　Wuding was stunned by the words. He thought Shen Lian would compliment Guan Longzi but Shen Lian did the opposite. He asked, “Why does it feel strange to see you this time?”

　　Shen Lian answered openly, “Well, I am a different person now compared to the last time you saw me. To be honest, I have achieved the state of Taiyi. I am sure you know what this means.”

　　Wuding almost spat out his wine. He said, “I would judge a person’s character if they boasted about their accomplishments. Strangely, I don’t have any ill feelings towards your arrogance. But honestly, my heart is filled with bitterness now.”

　　The willow trees swayed along with the wind. Although it was winter, the slim tree branches still looked elegant.

　　Wuding, on the other hand, was not as classy as the willow tree. He just wanted to gulp down an entire altar of wine.

　　Shen Lian smile faintly, “You must be thinking that as long as Shen Lian is still in the state of heavenly immortals, the powerhouses gathered in Zhaoge would be able to hold me back without paying a huge price. Then you would go and beg for mercy on behalf of me. It would fulfill your values and morals although the people who are close to you would be greatly dissatisfied. But that also means that you have tried your best. However, the current Shen Lian was stronger than you expected and your most ideal plan has shattered completely. That is why you are feeling so bitter and dejected.”

　　Wuding sighed, “Could you not crumble all the self-respect that I have for myself? I feel that my heart is so ugly right now.”

　　Shen Lian responded, “Human nature is ugly. Do you think Shen Lian is squeaky clean? Even people like Tianyi and your master too have a dark side. In fact, the Primeval Lord of Heaven that had achieved supreme detachment too had a dark demonic side to them. Because of the ugliness, people are inspired to seek beauty. Anyone who exists in this universe would share the same view too. However, everyone has different views on beauty. Just as you said, me meddling in this puddle of dirty water would bring displeasure to you and myself. But you are not me and you don’t understand that I take pleasure in this sense of displeasure.”

　　Wuding had given up on persuading Shen Lian. He wanted to tell Shen Lian about the girl in red but just could not bring himself to it. He hated the fact that he was weak and incapable of influencing them.

　　He sighed, “To be frank, I knew and understood completely of what you are going to do next. There is nothing that I could hide from you.”

　　Shen Lian smiled, “For the very first time, the Lady Mother of the Chariot violated the divine commandment and came to Zhaoge to teach me a memorable lesson. It would be rude for me to just leave without satisfying her. Whatever objectives we have, it is best to just settle the score once and for all and everyone would be happy. Isn’t this simplifying complicated matters?”

　　Wuding questioned, “Do you really have the confidence to retreat in one piece?”

　　Shen Lian answered, “Frankly speaking, I am not familiar with the means of the Lady Mother of the Chariot. If there was a clash, I am uncertain what would happen. But it does not matter as she too does not know about my abilities. But before that, I am more interested in Zhaoge’s Queen Mother Wu’s Vessel.”

　　“The Queen Mother Wu’s Vessel is also known as the root of the earth and is the hard work of Zujia. Why must you involve Yinshang’s lineage? Looks like you are willing to forgo the relationship that we had. I really do not understand. Do you have to give the ultimatum? I have always thought that you are not this type of person.” Wuding responded after taking another shot of wine.

　　Shen Lian fixed his gaze on the willow trees along the river. The willow trees were then rejuvenated and started to bloom in this cold winter. The willows danced with the wind and landed in the peaceful river. It was a beautiful scene and it attracted onlookers to stop and watch the scene.

　　He then said, “That is not the ultimatum. I started too late and the only way to go around is to do something extreme, take the drastic path and obtain the utmost achievements. Actually, you are not aware that Tianyi does not want to simply replace Xia. In this battle, both of us are not willing to play a safe game of chess. We would rather be radical or even flip the chessboard over. Eventually, everyone would be satisfied.”

　　Wuding could not fathom Shen Lian’s analogy but he could tell that Shen Lian did not do it out of hatred towards Yinshang. Shen Lian’s purpose was something beyond his ability.

　　This was sufficient to comfort him a little.

　　As Shen Lian ended his sentence, he lifted up the cup of wine. This was his first and also last cup of wine for the day.

　　Shen Lian was not exactly honest when he told Wuding that he had no other purposes besides wanting to drink. It was unfortunate that Wuding was the influencer of Yinshang’s fortune. In other words, this murder plotted against Shen Lian would definitely need to borrow Wuding’s Qi of fate.

　　During their conversation, Shen Lian was able to pick up a lot of information from Wuding.

　　Actually, he knew that he had fallen into a killing formation the moment he entered Zhaoge. He would have been doomed if his Qi dynamics revealed its flaws.

　　Intentionally or unintentionally, Wuding became his cover.