Before heading to the Miao region, I sought out Shang Xingyan.

My first words upon seeing him were: "I want the Xiuyiwei. How many men can you give me?"

My audacity in asking Shang Xingyan for men wasn't born of arrogance or ignorance.

During my convalescence, Lao Liu and I had been analyzing the overall situation in the martial world and the attitudes of various factions.

Regarding the Netherworld, I reached two conclusions.

The Netherworld was under the control of the Heavenly Dao. When the Heavenly Dao closed its eyes and the tribulation arrived, the Netherworld wouldn't take action. All they could do was secretly support the art of Dao in resisting the heavenly tribulation.

Later, Shang Xingyan confirmed this.

He suspected that the Daoist who signed the *Yin-Yang Secret Pact* with the Netherworld wasn't from the mortal realm, but a celestial soul.

The *Yin-Yang Secret Pact*, which seemingly protected the interests of mortal Daoists by preventing Netherworld ghosts and gods from directly interfering in mortal affairs, was, in fact, laying the groundwork for the arrival of the heavenly tribulation.

The Netherworld's trillion-strong army remained idle, and the ancient ghosts and gods stood idly by. Even if the mortal Daoists could resist the heavenly tribulation on their own, the art of Dao would be left with its elite forces decimated, and it would take a hundred years to recover.

Therefore, this heavenly tribulation was also known as the "Century Tribulation of the Art of Dao."

My second conclusion was that the Netherworld had exploited loopholes in the Secret Pact to cultivate a force that was dispensable to the Netherworld but could turn the tide of battle for the art of Dao.

Xie Bangui and the troops under Wang Hun were among them. After the tribulation erupted, these two ghosts and gods, who had attained their positions through postnatal means, could immediately resign from their duties in the Netherworld and transform into masterless ghosts and gods. This way, they would no longer be bound by the *Yin-Yang Secret Pact*.

The Xiuyiwei should also be an existence of this nature.

In a sense, the Netherworld didn't need the Xiuyiwei at all.

The Ten Kings of Hell weren't mortal emperors. With a single thought, they could survey the Netherworld's trillion-mile territory. They didn't need spies to act in the shadows.

The existence of the Xiuyiwei was merely to balance the conflict between the civil and military factions. In the end, they would inevitably step onto the battlefield to resist the tribulation.

My father's failure to return to the Netherworld and Ye Yang's reincarnation in the Yang Jian were both preparations for the handover of the Xiuyiwei.

After hearing my analysis, Shang Xingyan was speechless for a long time. "This… these… are Liu's calculations?"

Lao Liu shook his head and smiled, "These are all the results of the Lord's own analysis."

"Young Master, you truly surpass your predecessors!" Shang Xingyan sighed. "I only understood the Netherworld's plan after Xie Bangui launched his attack on Xianyang River. I never expected that the Young Master would be able to guess eighty percent of these things without any information."

"Shang is impressed!"

Shang Xingyan pondered, "Currently, there are still some matters in the Netherworld that need to be cleared up, so the Xiuyiwei cannot be handed over to the Young Master yet. However, the Xiuyiwei can assist the Young Master within the bounds of the Netherworld's rules."

"Young Master, what do you need us to do?"

I said in a deep voice, "I want to uproot the Reincarnation Department!"

Shang Xingyan gasped, "Young Master, you can't… that's absolutely impossible. The Reincarnation Department's forces in the Yang Jian are deeply entrenched, and they will become the main force to face the tribulation when it arrives."

"If you move against them…"

Lao Liu shook his head and said, "Brother Shang, you're mistaken."

"If the art of Dao wants to survive the tribulation, its people must be united, with a single will and purpose. At this time, the entire art of Dao can only have one voice."

"This spokesperson must not be the Reincarnation Department."

"Otherwise, the art of Dao will surely be defeated!"

Shang Xingyan pondered, "Master Liu's concerns are not without merit. However, I think…"

I waved my hand and said, "Uncle Shang, let me be honest with you!"

"I want to kill the Reincarnation Department, not for the sake of the art of Dao."

"I'll only tell you two things."

"The Reincarnation Department has schemed against me again and again. I can't swallow this anger. If I don't kill them now, I'll kill them sooner or later."

"When the tribulation arrives, either the Reincarnation Department will use righteousness to push me to the execution ground, or I will kill the Reincarnation Department's Holy Lord and Holy Maiden first."

Lao Liu also chimed in, "Lord Shang, it's not uncommon for officers to use their positions to settle personal grudges and eliminate dissidents in the military! Lord, you wouldn't have never heard of the *Generals of the Yang Family*, would you?"

"This…" Shang Xingyan pondered, "With Guan Zhu, Xie Bangui, and Wang Hun around, I don't think they would act rashly, right?"

I sneered, "Uncle Shang, that's the second thing I want to tell you."

"Ye Yang is the Greed Wolf Star; there is no doubt about that."

"When the Greed Wolf acts as a general, he must accept the emperor's orders. If the Reincarnation Department succeeds, Ye Yang's life will be in danger. They can find any excuse to send Ye Yang to the most dangerous place."

"This…" While Shang Xingyan was still hesitating, I said sternly, "Shang Xingyan, I'll only ask you one question: Is Ye Yang the Young Commander of the Xiuyiwei?"

"If you don't agree with some things, it doesn't matter. At worst, I'll poison Ye Yang right now and let him go back to take charge of the Xiuyiwei."

"Yun Chang, give me the poison!"

Shang Xingyan was immediately dumbfounded, "Young Master, you can't joke about something like this!"

"You have to prioritize the overall situation!"

"You have to consider Xie Bangui, Wang Hun…"

I waved my hand and said, "Don't mention them to me."