When Gu Nan arrived at Clear Profundity Realm, a few core members of the Heaven-God Alliance were also there, namely Xue Ren, Mad Fist, and Imperial Glory Heaven's Immortal Empress Taisheng.
The Immortal Empress ultimately decided against leaving the Myriad Heavens back when Zi Luo Elder planned to bring a group to the World of Gods, but now she was present here.
This time, she wasn't afraid of being exposed anymore. The reason was simple—her left hand was wrapped in white bandages.
"Looks like quite a few people were attacked." Gu Nan scanned the circle. Xue Ren and Mad Fist's expressions didn't look very good, so it was clear that this was a meeting for people who were attacked. Evidently, the situation was a bit serious.
Xue Ren only had ten years to reach Unified Dao, yet even he took time away from cultivating to run here. It was clear that this problem had reached the most critical stage.
"The old man was also attacked," Xue Ren announced in a low voice upon seeing Gu Nan arrive, then pointed upwards.
This finally surprised Gu Nan. He didn't expect for Zi Luo Elder's return to the Myriad Heavens to be more powerless than expected.
"Song Fei?"
"It would still be alright if it was him… It was Jiu Po," Xue Ren's voice sounded heavy. Compared to Academic Heaven's Song Fei, who always stood in the center of the stage, Star Ruler Jiu Po was a much tougher nut to crack.
This Star Ruler was likewise one of the oldest Unified Dao cultivators, and he was precisely the one who helped Song Fei back then, knocking Zi Luo Elder into the ground.
Moreover, although Song Fei's actions weren't considered upright, at least they were laid out in the open, whereas Jiu Po was different.
Even the fact that he had secretly attacked Zi Luo Elder was only known by the two parties involved. The rest of the Myriad Heavens never heard anything about it at all.
In a sense, this was the poisonous snake that lurked in the shadows, biting its enemy's weakest spot as soon as it opened its mouth.
Immediately following that reveal was the exchange of information among the members present.
Gu Nan's invasion of other astral worlds was hindered, Mad Fist had been ambushed while challenging others, and internal instability appeared in Xue Ren's Extreme Sword Heaven as the conflict between traditional swordsmanship and Xue Ren's new swordsmanship resurfaced.
The most bizarre situation of all was Immortal Empress Taisheng. A bunch of dragon Qi suddenly appeared inside her Imperial Glory Heaven, and it was completely out of her control.
For an astral world like Imperial Glory Heaven, this phenomenon signified the rise of a new immortal empire, and Immortal Empress Taisheng, who also used dragon Qi as her foundation, was practically helpless to stop it.
The four of them simultaneously encountered problems tailored to their situations, and Zi Luo Elder was even ambushed by Jiu Po Heaven's ruler himself, so it was clear that the enemy didn't have good intentions.
At this time, Daoist Zhuangxuan suddenly coughed lightly and spoke up, "Everyone, the situation may be more complicated than you think."
"Oh?" Immortal Empress Taisheng raised an eyebrow. Even though she only spat out a single word, one could still hear some dissatisfaction in her tone.
She was dissatisfied with Daoist Zhuangxuan's unauthorized interjection, which stemmed from the fact that she didn't have a very good impression of this junior to begin with.
Originally, Daoist Lingyang played the role of the head manager in the Heaven-God Alliance and had always been the one who handled the day-to-day affairs.
With Daoist Lingyang staying behind in the World of Gods, it was only natural for someone to take over the vacant position on this side.
Xue Ren was busy preparing for his ascension to Unified Dao, so according to seniority, Immortal Empress Taisheng was undoubtedly the most qualified after him. Unfortunately, before she could take her rightful position, this disciple of Daoist Lingyang popped up out of nowhere.
Unaffected by her attitude, Zhuangxuan explained, "The attacks on the four seniors and Zi Luo Elder all appear to have been planned by the same person, but among them, senior Xue Ren's situation is slightly different."
He paused for a second, then continued without giving Immortal Empress Taisheng any chance to respond, "I've looked at everyone's crises. It might've been possible that other matters were planned at the last minute, but not the swordsmanship dispute."
Xue Ren was slightly taken aback, then nodded. "That's right. The ones who stepped forward this time are my two senior brothers, both of whom have laid low for thousands of years and are very well prepared this time."
The struggle over the dominant swordsmanship ideology could only be done by those inside Extreme Sword Heaven, and a plan requiring such intense preparation would've been very troublesome for an outsider to set up, so it was impossible to resolve it quickly.
Immortal Empress Taisheng frowned at Zhuangxuan. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that there might be two groups of people secretly making moves," Zhuangxuan's young face remained stoic and expressionless, but his words were enough to surprise the crowd.
Xue Ren narrowed his eyes slightly. "One group is indeed acting on a last-minute decision, striking at us through various methods, while the other group has been plotting for a long time, specifically targeting me?"
"That's right." Zhuangxuan finally nodded. "That's why I think that our immediate strategy should be to pull back our battle lines across the board in order to not give the first group any chance."
No one present was a fool. After Zhuangxuan pointed out the main point, the strategy he subsequently proposed seemed logical.
Impulsively-planned attacks could be dealt with by avoiding battle. Instead, Xue Ren was currently the Heaven-God Alliance's top priority, so it was only right to focus resources on helping him solve his problem first.
Crazy Fist immediately stated, "Got it, I'll stay in my astral world for a while… But don't blame me if I beat up the enemies who come knocking on my door!"
Zhuangxuan replied, "If an enemy comes to your door, I would also like to request that Senior Mad Fist doesn't hold back."
Immortal Empress Taisheng's expression was a bit strange. She was also able to see the big picture clearly now. It's just that having to rely on a junior's help to realize this really made her feel odd.
When it comes to oneself, even Lu Wen inevitably had times when he failed to see the big picture, let alone them.
However, she also knew that this was by no means the time to let emotions sway her actions, Plus, the advice given by Zhuangxuan did have merit.
"I will handle those dragon Qi in my astral world myself." Immortal Empress Taisheng looked towards Xue Ren and said, "Just speak up if you need my help."
This Immortal Empress was able to seize the throne and win against all other princes and princesses. Her personality was even bolder than a man's.
Zhuangxuan, however, replied, "Dragon Qi cleansing is not a difficult task, but I also ask that Senior Taisheng focus on treating the symptoms and refrain from tracing the problem to its roots for the time being."
Simply put, it was to maintain the status quo.
After Immortal Empress Taisheng nodded in acquiescence, Zhuangxuan then looked at Gu Nan. "Senior Gu Nan's matter is the easiest to resolve. As long as you suspend invasions of other astral worlds for the time being and tightly guard the entrance to your own astral world, you won't have anything to fear from Fang Chaoyun's group."
Zhuangxuan kept talking nonstop, listing out all of the enemy's possible moves as well as what his side should do in response.
This young man appeared somewhat dull, but only at this moment did his eyes radiate a strange luster, as if he was born to do this.
After he finished speaking, the scene turned silent—everything that needed to be said had already been said by Zhuangxuan.
Xue Ren subtly scanned the circle, taking in everyone's reactions.
Daoist Lingyang had naturally asked Xue Ren to take care of his heir beforehand, and today was also the stage Xue Ren had designed for Zhuangxuan.
As long as he won the approval of everyone present, coupled with Xue Ren's own support, Zhuangxuan would be considered to have gained a complete foothold in his new position.
'From their reactions, the effect is still quite… Wait a minute.'
Xue Ren's gaze landed on Gu Nan, whose expression seemed to be a little different from what he imagined.
"Done?" Gu Nan's expression looked like he'd skipped the entire story dialogue. "Then I should go and talk to Duan Wenqi now."
"Senior Gu Nan." Zhuangxuan frowned slightly and stood up. "You don't have any justification…"
"I don't need a justification," Gu Nan interrupted him. "All I know is, fight back if you don't like it."