"Teach a zombie how to cultivate? Isn't it already cultivating itself? It got stronger by preying on other zombies and the few living creatures in the corners of this world fragment."

Qian Yun sounded flabbergasted.

"Cultivate...as in, cultivating like a human would. And in your Holy Land, it has the perfect atmosphere to learn the language of laws like you've been learning. Just impart some of that knowledge to the zombie. Easy, isn't it? You're in a win-win situation here, Brother Yun."

Han Xuhan did his best to shill for the deal.

"That zombie is already powerful enough to make a stand against any of us. How stupid would we have to be to teach it how to get stronger?" Qian Yun hissed.

"I don't know, but you'd have to be pretty stupid to not nip the issue in the bud when you had the chance. When you deny a beneficial deal with an equal, prepare to stand in a position of vulnerability in the future. Do you think the zombie won't be able to keep hunting you and your friends if you don't agree to the deal? You've got nothing to lose, idiot."

Qian Yun didn't reply for a long time. Han Xuhan patiently waited, knowing that the more time he took to make the choice, the less the possibility of denying the deal would be.

Thinking of choices, he was reminded of the message conveyed to him by the entity hiding inside his dao tower.

To await all hope to be lost before making a choice is a fool's mark.

In making that choice, he was acting just like Qian Yun. The only difference between the two situations was that he had alternatives to choose from: The fusion technique to become one with his minions, the Ghost Cultivation pathway to reduce the stress on his meridians, and the Body-possession procedure to begin his cultivation from a new standpoint.

Each of these routes was equal in terms of danger and potential. In every case, he had to blindly make a choice to trust someone he didn't find trustworthy at all.

He felt like a man dying of thirst being offered boiling pus. He knew he would eventually succumb to the instinct of self-preservation, but he couldn't bring himself to make a choice consciously.

"Alright. We agree. So how do we make this deal work? How is your martial sister going to control the zombie remotely?"

Qian Yun's sudden interruption broke him out of his personal hell. Sighing, Han Xuhan gave him the details he had learned from Yuen Zhou.

"I'll send you a potion and a scarf through the resource exchange channel we've been using. Leave them in a place you except the zombie to tread. You'll receive the answer soon enough."

"What's in the potion?" Qian Yun said immediately. "Some kind of mind-control poison?"

"I don't know," Han Xuhan replied. He suspected that the potion was probably a container of some kind of information from master to slave. Back when Yuen Zhou had refused to answer his query, he hadn't given it much thought. But after seeing Zhanxian undergoing the information reception through the drink offered by Abyss Guild, he was beginning to see how that might be an actual possibility.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The problem was, he was quite certain that not even the elders of their sect had a cultivation base high enough to transform information into matter and let the receiver learn the coded information by being in touch with the infused matter.

If this indeed was Yuen Zhou's method of controlling her zombie's behavior, then she would need the help of someone more powerful than the elders to make the potion, someone like the sect master himself. But she clearly didn't have any connection to Xuan Zi, at least not well enough to make him do her that favor.

Putting his puzzlement aside for now, he finalized the details with Qian Yun and eased into the most important subject he was here to discuss.

"Brother Yun, Can I talk to Feng Jun?"

"...Feng Jun? Why?" Qian Yun was half suspicious, half bewildered.

"I stumbled upon his sect in the tournament. I'd like to have a word with him regarding the current situation brewing in his sect. He should probably have some concerns."

After a moment, Han Xuhan felt a change taking place inside his globular origin point. Just a dozen feet away from the mouth of the tunnel that connected him with Qian Yun, a second hole opened up on the white wall, revealing a similar tunnel stretching infinitely beyond his scope of vision.

"Was that always there?" he couldn't help but wonder.

"No. I connected you with Feng Jun's origin point. He can listen to you now," Qian Yun explained.

Readying himself, Han Xuhan floated toward the second tunnel and shouted.

"Brother Feng Jun! Remember me? I'm supreme demon Shen Kai!"

"...Should I believe a single word that comes out of your mouth, fellow cultivator Xuhan?"

A vaguely familiar voice rang out from within the depths of the white tunnel.

"Of course, that's entirely up to you. I'm just here to inform you of something you must be eager to know. Whether it is a lie or a truth, decide that yourself," Han Xuhan replied.

"Is it about the decline of my faction from the seat of power?" Feng Jun said in a light tone.

Han Xuhan choked on his own words.

How did he know that?

Perhaps the pregnant silence between them stretched on for far too long, because Feng Jun took the initiative to explain himself.

"There are five major factions in our sect; the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Tiger, the Turtle, and lastly, the Infinity faction. The distribution of power among these factions isn't balanced as a result of century-long political disputes. For the last decade, the Phoenix Faction has been holding the seat of power, in other words, the highest authority among the disciples due to the merits of our senior disciples. But all of those disciples are cultivators with immense potential. They've gone down their own paths to pursue higher peaks of power, leaving the result of their accomplishments in our hands. But we...we have not been able to maintain that influence after their leave."

Feng Jun paused to breathe. Curious, Han Xuhan enquired, "Is this seat of power related to individual strength or cultivation level or something along those lines?"

"No. It's got more to do with business management, the ability of the average disciples of each faction, and foresight. The faction system has virtually placed the disciples of my sect in an endless cycle of conflict for limited resources. Those who stand at the helm of each faction have little time to focus on cultivation. And I, being placed in such a position, had fallen far behind my peers in terms of cultivation as well. That was why I decided to go out seeking fortuitous encounters. I knew that state our faction was in. Conflict was brewing endlessly, conflicts that couldn't be solved. Once my faction falls, which I knew was but a forgone conclusion, I would be in danger. My desperation took me deep into the prison I am trapped inside right now. So tell me, Brother Xuhan, how long has it been since the fall of my faction? What did you witness there?"

Hearing his story, Han Xuhan felt a great sense of regret. If only he had ended up being recruited into the Stardust Sect...

He'd be living a luxurious life now!

A sect that didn't strictly require its disciples to make regular breakthroughs? He would be like a fish in the water there!

A sect that allowed disciples to use political power and business tactics to get rich?

He would not just be a fish in the water there, he would be a shark in the sea!

"Brother Xuhan? Are you even listening?" Feng Jun's voice drifted in through the tunnel.

"Cough...yeah, where were we? Right, you wanted to know the state of your faction right now. You'll be happy to learn, Brother Jun, that your faction hasn't yet fallen from power! It's very close to that edge, though."

"...What? It's been more than half a year! That shouldn't be possible...unless..."

Feng Jun trailed off.

Han Xuhan distinctly felt that the last part of his sentence had been laced with a sense of dread.

"Brother Xuhan, describe in detail what you saw in my sect."

Detecting the urgency in his tone, Han Xuhan recounted his experience on the island of the Stardust Sect from start to finish.

For a long time, no sound game from the other end of the tunnel.

"Brother Jun?" Xuhan prodded nervously.

"Brother Xuhan, it seems like there has been a gross miscalculation on my part," Feng Jun replied in a grave tone.

"The Phoenix faction isn't just in danger of being dethroned from the seat of power. In my absence, a certain person has been pushing it to the brink of extinction."