At this very moment, no one else yet knew that "Lord Decay" was nothing more than a puppet.
The true puppet master behind him was the artificer Xuan Ming.
Naturally, no one knew that Xuan Ming had a daughter either.
Originally, it should have remained that way.
Yet the message Gu Fangchen had sent made Lord Decay realize that there was now a second person who knew one of his only two weaknesses.
"To untie the bell, one must use the one who tied it... to untie the bell, one must use the one who tied it..."
Lord Decay muttered the words in his heart, unable to suppress the shock, fury, and murderous intent surging through him.
His first thought was that this man must die all the more.
Knowing that Lord Decay was a puppet was one thing, it did not stir his emotions much, but knowing of his daughter's existence had crossed a line he could not tolerate.
For all these years, Lord Decay had been regarded as a monster without kin or love, a cold-blooded being who slew countless lives.
But that single sentence revealed that the other party not only knew of Xuan Ling, but also knew of the secret Xuan Ming had hidden for over a thousand years.
The instant Lord Decay's killing intent surfaced, the other Dao Lords immediately sensed it.
The ground beneath him turned a horrifying shade of crimson, even the communication array corroding as the spirit patterns twisted and quickly vanished.
General Qianmo, Duan Qicang, instantly changed expression. He slapped the formation he had been working on onto the communication array to stabilize it. At the same time, several arrays manifested around Lord Decay to suppress the spread of the red corruption.
He secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself,
"No way, right? Didn't you tell me to remind you yourself?"
"Could it be you're just angry you can't break the reconstruction of my Between the Weft and Warp formation, so now you're losing your temper early?"
The others did not have Duan Qicang's calm temperament.
An Qisheng had only just finished questioning him, and Lord Decay's reaction now made it seem as if he had stopped pretending altogether.
If that killing intent wasn't aimed at them, who else could it be for?
He immediately glared coldly and said, "Lord Decay, do you really mean to turn against the rest of us?"
The Charcoal Seller frowned and advised, "The Dao of Death may be strong, but success requires more than mere strength."
Lady Delight gave a soft laugh, her voice sultry to the bone.
"To overthrow the Mandate of Great Wei, killing alone will not do. If you go too far, it will backfire. Surely, Lord Decay, you don't want that?"
Lord Decay was silent for a moment before his killing intent slowly subsided.
The others all let out a collective sigh of relief.
Lord Decay's temperament was erratic and strange; if he turned hostile now, it would bring them nothing but harm.
Lord Decay raised his head and looked toward An Qisheng. His tone was faint.
"I killed them, and what will you do about it?"
"The people of the Dao of Destruction have repeatedly struck at my Dao of Death. Do you think they've ever treated us as comrades?"
He swept his gaze across the others and gave a dry laugh.
"None of you have lost subordinates to those maniacs? You've never felt any resentment?"
"I merely took this opportunity to teach those lunatics a lesson and remind them to behave themselves."
That...
Those words instantly resonated with the others.
Suppressing his anger, An Qisheng asked again, "And what of the matter at the Lotus-Born Temple?"
Lord Decay's expression did not change.
"To my knowledge, the Lotus-Born Temple was already compromised. If we had sat idle, who knows how much information would have leaked. It was better for us to strike first."
He was not entirely wrong.
Since Gu Fangchen had deliberately chosen the Lotus-Born Temple as his target, he must have already known of the Dao of Emotion's involvement there.
Before the others could respond, Lord Decay continued,
"I also heard that Gu Fangchen composed new poems at the Qionglin Banquet, poems of such brilliance that they outshone Gu Yuandao himself. That level of artistry sounds more like the work of your Dao of Revelation, doesn't it?"
With a single shift of words, Lord Decay tossed the blame back onto An Qisheng.
An Qisheng's face froze.
Then he said grimly, "I have already confirmed it was not one of my people."
But clearly, the others were not entirely convinced. Their expressions remained doubtful.
The poems Gu Fangchen had composed in Huangtian City had already spread far and wide. Such verses, if not written by the "Immortal Poet," then surely by the "Demonic Poet."
And coincidentally, the Demonic Poet served under An Qisheng.
An Qisheng could only take a deep breath and say,
"The man used the Mirage Array of the Dao of Emotion. It must have been someone from their side."
Lord Decay nodded in sudden realization.
"So that explains several questions I had."
Lady Delight smiled.
"Oh? And what questions are those?"
Lord Decay replied,
"Just yesterday, my subordinate Wu Hui reported to me that someone had attempted to impersonate me. It seems it truly was someone from the Dao of Emotion stirring trouble."
The others nodded, finding this explanation plausible.
After all, the Dao of Emotion was notorious for being uncooperative, taking the desires and passions of others as their foundation for cultivation. To deceive even their own allies was hardly unusual.
An Qisheng struck his staff on the ground and said sternly,
"I will go and question them myself!"
Lady Delight laughed softly.
"No need for such trouble. If we want to know Gu Fangchen's true identity, why not have the Star Lord divine it for us?"
All eyes turned toward the ever-silent Sixth Division Star Lord.
But Duan Qicang couldn't help glancing sideways at the composed Lord Decay, his eye twitching slightly. Was this really going to be fine?
The Sixth Division Star Lord looked around once and spoke his first words, words that shocked them all.
"I can no longer divine the future of Gu Fangchen."
At that, An Qisheng's pupils contracted, his face darkening.
"Even your secret art of the Weft and Warp cannot divine it?"
The Sixth Division Star Lord shook his head.
"This man lies outside the threads of fate. No matter how I calculate, I cannot determine where his destiny leads."
The Charcoal Seller sneered.
"Perhaps the great Sixth Division Star Lord simply refuses to put forth his full effort?"
"Today's meeting shows clearly that every one of us harbors our own schemes and intentions."
He clearly did not believe the Star Lord's words.
The Sixth Division Star Lord remained unhurried.
"I may not see the future, but the past is fixed and not beyond reach."
"I can locate where the true Gu Fangchen is right now. I ask you all to display your abilities."
He waved his sleeve, and a boundless galaxy appeared in the center of the communication array.
The Star Lord extended a finger and tapped.
Within the sea of stars, a faint image took shape, showing the sky above Gu Fangchen's current location.
"This man," said the Star Lord, "is within Autumn Peace Road."
An Qisheng's eyes glinted.
"Good. As long as we kill him, all problems will be resolved, and our plan can proceed unhindered."
Lord Decay stared coldly at the image, his hands clasped behind his back.
After all his maneuvering, Gu Fangchen's identity had been neatly separated again, and the blame shifted to some unknown expert from the Dao of Emotion.
And Gu Fangchen himself was once more seen merely as the lucky false heir who had survived by chance.
The others' conclusions about him were all wrong.
That was all Lord Decay could do for him.
The rest would depend on Gu Fangchen's own ability.
...
Gu Fangchen sat cross-legged, quietly waiting.
When the sky darkened again, the tooth craftsman approached, holding two half-transparent lotus flowers in his hands. He smiled pleasantly and said,
"All done. Here is your Lotus Concealed in the Womb."