Xukong's words sealed his involvement in the entire issue. is the owner.
~Sigh~
Lin Mu let out a sigh, knowing that things had indeed happened due to Xukong and party due to him. 'Though considering they decided to take advantage of the weakened states, this was probably something they had thought of before anyways.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
He didn't think that this was the first time the Kingdoms would have thought of expanding and conquering their neighbors. After all, the Eight Kingdom Alliance was the only continent that hadn't seen the rise of an empire yet. They all knew just how prosperous and wealthy the other empires were, as well as the kind of gains they had after becoming empires.
They too desired the same, and wished to be the Imperial Family. Only by doing that would they get the most benefits and end up on the top. After all, there could only be one imperial family, as the other would all be eliminated.
'Considering they were all injured together, the three Emperors should have known this too. Perhaps that's why they are watching things for now.' Lin Mu reckoned.
What Xukong did was basically giving the kingdoms a chance. He shortened the time it would have needed for them to do the same.
"If not today, they might have done the same tomorrow." Lin Mu muttered, his voice heard by everyone.
"Yeah, this is something that would have happened in the future anyways." Ziran was the first one to speak. "I've seen this many times… Sects, kingdoms, empires… They're all the same. They all tend towards conflict and growth." He stated.
"That's true." Lady Kang chimed in too. "This is just a small conflict in the history of this world. And not the last one for them." She said with some detachment.
"Lady Kang is right." Crown Prince Feng Shun nodded. "Father knew this as well. The Eight Kingdoms might have been in an alliance, but it was an alliance maintained by equal strength. Now that the balance has been shifted, this was inevitable. Even if the Powerhouses weren't killed, it wouldn't have changed the outcome. Experts still die, whether its from cultivation or from being killed. Any one of them could have perished under an Immortal Tribulation or Qi deviation and the same things would have happened." He explained.
"Or if one of the kingdom happens to be fortunate and births more powerhouses, the balance of power would tilt as well. The result would simply be delayed but not canceled." Qiao De agreed.
Hearing their words, Lin Mu nodded finding it to be agreeable.
"What does this mean for us now?" Lin Mu asked. "The Imperial court must have a reason for informing us, right?"
"Yes." Crown Prince Feng Shun nodded. "Since we still don't have details on how all it happened, and whether some other powers were involved in the killings the Imperial Court wants us to be careful. We are between the Eight Kingdom Alliance and the Dao Wind Empire, thus anything can happen.
Even if they are unlikely to discover this place, we cannot predict it. Plus there is always a chance some expert decides to follow us directly, without us knowing." He explained. "Hmm… So they think the other two empires could be involved in the killing?" Qiao De inquired.
"Rather than those… My bet is on external powers." Feng Shun said, furrowing his brows. "They did try to interfere during the Tournament of the Four Guardian beasts after all. I wouldn't put it past them to not try this." He added.
"We did learn of some suspicious activities happening in some organizations in the immortal realm." Lady Kang suddenly spoke. "They were a bit muffled, but considering it happened around the time of the tournament it does seem likely that someone has their eye on this world." She revealed.
The expressions of Crown Prince Feng Shun and Qiao De changed, turning a bit serious. "Do you have anymore details on these organization, Lady Kang?" Crown Prince Feng Shun asked. "Of course, the Imperial Court will pay the right price for this information." He added quickly.
"It's fine. They aren't that big for it to be hidden." Lady Kang waved her hand. "Qiao De probably has an idea who they are already."
"I did hear some whispers…" Qiao De spoke. "But I didn't expect they were about this." He said stroking his beard in thought.
"So who are they?" Daoist Chu asked.
"Well there are several of them, but most of them do not matter. They are small and are either under other organizations or just insignificant. The only ones that matter are two: The Myth King's Chamber and the Silent Whisper Troupe." Qiao De answered.
Hearing the name, only two people seem to recognize them, the Crown Prince and Ziran.
"Who are they?" Lin Mu asked, not knowing much.
"The Myth King's Chamber is an independent power that is not based on any world. They aren't a sect, or a kingdom. They are an unorthodox merchant group that also dabbles in intelligence." Qiao De replied.
"And what about the Silent Whisper Troupe?" Lin Mu asked next, causing the atmosphere to become a bit more tense.
"While they are an independent organization on the surface they are actually an external wing of an even greater power… The Indigo World Hegemony." Lady Kang was the one to reveal it this time.
Lin Mu's brows were raised upon hearing the name, which he was familiar with.
"The Indigo World Hegemony again, huh…" Lin Mu muttered.
The Crown Prince and Feng Shun looked at Lin Mu, knowing that he had an affiliation with them.
"Daoist Mu Lin… aren't you?" Qiao De spoke. "Your ring." This caused everyone to stare at him in surprise. Even lady Kang hadn't expected that Lin Mu had such links making her take a look at the ring on Lin Mu's hand. ~Sigh~
Lin Mu had known this would happen one day, and decided to come clean.
"I don't actually belong to the Indigo World Hegemony." Lin Mu stated. "This ring I have was acquired… not given." He added.
"I see…" Crown Prince Feng Shun replied, still processing it.
"How are you using the ring then?" Qiao De asked in confusion. "If I recall correctly, the rings are a proof of identity and not everyone can use them unless authorized." He added.
Even lady Kang wondered the same. She and the Great Kang Auction house had interacted with the Indigo World Hegemony's members several times in the past and she took knew the importance.
"Well, the ring wasn't exactly intact when I got it." Lin Mu replied. "I had it fixed and repaired some formations." He added. "Huh… that's actually possible?" Qiao De hadn't expected that. "To bypass the encryption of the Indigo World Hegemony… is not simple." He said.
"Well, Daoist Mu Lin does have a Formation Dao Embryo." Monk Hushu reminded them. "We also know his talent in formations… I suppose it is good enough to take care of some encryption." He added.
Qiao De couldn't help but feel a bit amused.
"You certainly had me fooled." He chuckled. "Though I supposed, it was my fate and luck to be fooled. If not for that, I wouldn't have thought of asking you for the expedition." He stated.
"Even if you didn't, I still would." Crown Prince Feng Shun chimed in.
'Or I would.' Lady Kang said in her mind. "I guess it is good you are not affiliated with the Indigo World Hegemony. They aren't exactly clean in their workings and aren't in a good standing with the Immortal Court." She spoke.
"That's true… While the Immortal Court is not acting directly against the Indigo World Hegemony they certainly did in the past. And even now they watch what they do." Crown Prince Feng Shun added.
"Hah! The Immortal Court knows very well how the Indigo World Hegemony is. I've seen them, and their operations." Ziran laughed. "The Indigo World Hegemony is just good at hiding them and leaves no open strings. If not for that, the Immortal Court would always go after them." He stated openly.
This was somewhat of an open secret and the members of the Immortal Court had a tacit understanding to not mention it since it was a matter of failure on their part too. Even if they were considered the ruling power in the Immortal realm, they still had their own drawbacks.
They couldn't just rule as they wished, since there were far too many people, races, powers and worlds involved in it. There would always be conflicting opinions and some had vested interests in powers they might not be in proper agreement with.
Still, they couldn't just offend all their members thus had to let things be until they were given a proper reason to act.
"They do tend to dodge most of the actions by cutting away their losses… They have far too many pawns running around they can make use of and dispose of." Lady Kang said with a frown. "The Silent Whisper Troupe is the same… They're just another group of dogs the Indigo World Hegemony feeds."
Hearing all that, Lin Mu had a complex expression. 'The involvement of the Indigo World Hegemony only goes deeper…' Lin Mu thought, a frown appearing on his face.
He didn't have a good opinion of them and didn't know how he would react if he ever met them face to face. But one thing was clear… There was some conspiracy spanning several worlds now with many people involved.
"For now, we just have to be careful and keep to our mission." The Crown Prince spoke, bringing everyone out of their thoughts.