"Xu Pingyang committed countless atrocities, bullying us small mountain factions and forcing us to carry out acts against conscience and morality. We've long been burdened beyond our limits… Now that Alliance Leader Li has slain the villain and ushered in a new era, it's truly our great fortune…"
"With Alliance Leader Li here, peace will return to the alliance, and justice will be upheld!"
Several heads of minor factions looked sincerely moved as they bowed repeatedly, their expressions seemingly full of heartfelt emotion.
Their display of flattery was so over-the-top that Luo Feibai, who was watching from below, couldn't help but feel his eyelids twitch.
How had he never realized these guys had such a talent for groveling…?
Oh, wait he wasn't even that familiar with them to begin with!
Most of the people he had known were already dead killed by Li Ye!
Thanks to Xu Pingyang, who had mobilized a large number of mid-to-late-stage Qi Refining cultivators from various factions to assist during the siege on the Changcui Mountain formation, many of them were later been thoroughly wiped out by Li Ye in his retaliation.
With their deaths, the entire alliance underwent a complete reshuffle more drastic than even when the Chang and Luo families were destroyed!
Many faction leaders had fallen, causing a steep drop in power for their respective mountains. Power struggles erupted within, leading to further infighting and inevitably more bloodshed.
In the end, the overall strength among the factions evened out quite a bit. For those who were originally on the weaker side, this opened up new opportunities to vie for greater benefits.
Now that Li Ye had taken control of Pingyang Mountain and established himself as the de facto alliance leader, all the current spokespersons of the remaining factions came to pay respects and declare allegiance.
After all, this was a man who had just broken through and immediately slain two Foundation Establishment cultivators on his own. Even if their former leaders had died by his hand, none of them dared harbor even a hint of revenge. On the contrary, they bowed their heads without hesitation to show submission.
As a result, those now coming to see Li Ye were mostly second-in-commands who had seized power or marginal faction leaders with little strength.
For them, this grand reshuffling was a golden opportunity. They were desperate to latch on to a powerful backer.
Compared to the potential benefits of pleasing Li Ye, what did a little flattery matter?
Just look at Luo Feibai because of his past association with the alliance leader and his tactful avoidance of involvement in sensitive matters, he had not only survived but risen swiftly through the ranks. He'd even received a pill from Li Ye and now reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining!
With such a clear example in front of them, it was obvious that even if Li Ye didn't intend to directly promote anyone during this period of consolidation, there was still a strong possibility he'd extend favor to others.
But Li Ye, having seen far too many such performances by now, remained completely unmoved.
He went through the motions, received their tributes, responded with a few words of encouragement, and with that, their hierarchical relationship was officially established.
Once the crowd had dispersed, Luo Feibai stepped forward and bowed. "Alliance Leader, aside from the Lan family of Changcui Mountain, all other mountain factions have sent people to pay their respects. What would you like to do about them?"
He glanced up cautiously as he asked.
"Changcui Mountain…"
Li Ye fell silent for a moment before replying calmly, "It's fine. As long as the Lan family doesn't act out of line, these minor matters aren't worth worrying over. Just keep an eye on them occasionally and offer a little support if needed."
"Understood, sir!" Luo Feibai replied, immediately catching the implication.
After Luo Feibai withdrew and Li Ye was left alone in the great hall, a trace of complexity showed in his expression.
That day, after returning Changcui Mountain and the magical artifacts left by her father to Lan Xinyi, she had merely let out a bitter laugh, rose to her feet, and offered a respectful salute.
No dramatic reaction, no trace of warmth she treated him as if he were a stranger.
All things considered, Li Ye felt this outcome was already the best he could hope for. Whatever was in her heart, he had done all he could.
So be it then.
Li Ye stood up and walked straight out, continuing his inspection of Pingyang Mountain.
To him, the Blazing Flame Array was far less compatible than the Green Vine Verdant Wood Array, and in terms of power, it was also vastly inferior especially when the latter was enhanced by the Voidrealm Tree.
Initially, he had planned to dismantle the current formation and set up a new one.
But on second thought, he suddenly found the setup he'd used at Changcui Mountain quite appealing.
If he could layer the Blazing Flame Array as the outer layer and the Green Vine Verdant Wood Array as the inner layer with the former used for general defense and the latter reserved to protect his cultivation chamber and spirit fields it might work quite well.
Admittedly, this would weaken the day-to-day power of the Blazing Flame Array, but not to the point of reducing it to a first-rank formation. So long as there was reaction time, it would be enough.
And in times of battle, he could expand the power of the Green Vine Verdant Wood Array. With the two formations nested and fully activated wood generating fire their combined might would undoubtedly surpass either one alone!
Combined with the Void Domain abilities of the second-tier Voidrealm Tree, they might even achieve the strength of a third-tier grand formation.
"This may be cutting corners a bit, given my current level in formation arts… But once I can truly harness the Voidrealm Tree to build a third-tier grand formation, the Blazing Flame Array can be removed altogether…"
As he walked, Li Ye occasionally marked down certain spots, silently thinking through the plan.
Meanwhile, at the mountain peak, the great hall was undergoing renovations. The palace itself was structurally sound and well-equipped only the overly extravagant parts needed to be toned down.
Yet to the others on Pingyang Mountain, every move Li Ye made sparked alarm and speculation.
"Is the Alliance Leader… planning to establish a new formation?" a pretty female cultivator beside Luo Feibai asked cautiously.
"Maybe…" Luo Feibai replied absentmindedly, still recalling the impression Li Ye's array had left on him before.
If the formation were truly replaced, perhaps they'd never have to fear their defenses being breached again.
He quickly collected himself and turned to sternly warn the female cultivator:
"Your only duty is to serve the Alliance Leader well. Don't ask unnecessary questions. The Alliance Leader strongly dislikes people probing into his private matters. Don't make a taboo mistake!"
"You should know… to curry favor with the Alliance Leader, several factions have already sent women his way these days!"
"Petite and delicate, curvy and voluptuous, cute and youthful he's got all types of female cultivators already. You're just one among many. If you get pushed aside by another, so be it. Just don't drag me down with you!"
By this point, Luo Feibai's tone was already quite harsh.
This woman was the daughter of a rogue cultivator friend of his. Were it not for her remarkable beauty and figure on par with, if not surpassing, that of Lan Xinyi he never would've agreed to the request.
If the Alliance Leader thought he was using this as a ploy to gain more power and grew displeased… wouldn't that be shooting himself in the foot?
The pretty female cultivator panicked and nodded quickly. "Ruan Jin will remember!"
"Good."
Luo Feibai nodded with satisfaction, then continued his instructions.
"Now listen carefully…"
…
Withdrawing his spiritual sense from the gu insect he'd planted, Li Ye chuckled softly and stopped paying attention to Luo Feibai's side of things.
He never claimed to be a moral paragon so long as the source was clean, he had no objection to accepting a few handmaidens.
But compared to such pleasures, it was far more important to complete all the arrangements and fully turn this mountain into his domain…
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