On the massive stone platform, all was deathly silent.
Many powerful figures stared at the three Holy Lords in disbelief.
No one could believe that these three powerful beings had ruled the world for over a thousand years and were revered and respected by countless people.
They were actually overwhelmed and forced to retreat repeatedly by Meng Dian and others from Guiyuan Sect, who only used their imposing aura to suppress them.
Although Meng Dian and the others were Golden Core cultivators, the three Holy Lords were also beings who had survived the tribulation and entered the Golden Core realm.
Meng Dian's words, in particular, shocked everyone.
For a moment, everyone stared at the three Holy Lords, wanting to see how they would explain themselves.
"Brother, I told you long ago, we can't hide it from them. You and I are well aware of the keenness of a Golden Core Realm cultivator's soul."
However, a puppet avatar at the peak of Foundation Establishment could not completely escape their perception.
At this moment, the Third Holy Lord suddenly spoke.
"You have to try everything."
The First Holy Lord shook his head.
Originally, he was just trying his luck, but now it seems that he couldn't hide it from the Golden Core Realm's spiritual senses after all.
Their conversation immediately caused a commotion.
The meaning behind the two holy masters' words was quite clear; they were essentially acknowledging Meng Dian's statement.
The true forms of these three individuals are indeed unable to leave the Holy Mountain; what appears before them now is that puppet avatar.
As long as those forces that had already suspected it, or even those who were still certain about it.
Even the people from the three secret realms showed surprise on their faces.
Especially the experts from Qingyang Temple and Yunshui Secret Realm who came this time, from the beginning of the Holy Assembly, remained calm and composed.
Even when Meng Dian and the others joined forces, their expressions didn't fluctuate much, as if everything was within their expectations.
I can't help but be a little surprised now.
"They actually admitted it. What exactly are these three trying to do?"
The people in the three secret locations were all puzzled.
The three Holy Lords have essentially exposed their weaknesses. How can they then convince the masses and ensure the continuation of the Holy Assembly?
Sure enough, upon hearing the words of the First Holy Lord and the Third Holy Lord, Meng Dian and the others showed expressions of surprise and delight.
“Senior Holy Lord, this is not very kind of you. For such an important event as the Holy Assembly, the three of you have only sent one puppet avatar each. Isn’t this a bit too perfunctory?”
Meng Dian looked at the three First Holy Lords with a half-smile.
"If you want to see our true forms, it's simple, just go directly to the Holy Mountain, but do you dare?" the Third Holy Lord said calmly.
Meng Dian and the others paused.
Honestly, they really don't dare.
These three old monsters had been cultivating in seclusion on the sacred mountain for a thousand years.
They must have already made that place impregnable, and given the sacred mountain's own mystique, who knows what methods they might use.
With such a geographical advantage, even if they outnumber each other, they might not be able to escape unscathed.
"Hmph, my elder brother knows you are all cowards, which is why he chose the Holy City, rather than the Holy Mountain, as the venue for the Holy Assembly."
Otherwise, with your meager courage, you probably wouldn't even dare to come, would you?
The Third Holy Lord cultivates the way of the sword, and his personality is as upright as a long sword, so he naturally speaks very directly.
They naturally didn't give Meng Dian and his group a friendly look.
Seeing the expressions on Meng Dian's and the others' faces, they immediately began to mock them.
"you......"
Meng Dian was surprised that the Third Holy Lord, who was also at the Golden Core Realm, would speak so rudely, and his face immediately turned red.
However, given his profound cultivation, he managed to suppress his anger by slightly circulating his inner energy, and his expression returned to calm.
"It seems that the Third Holy Lord still hasn't grasped the situation."
Since you have also admitted that your true bodies cannot leave the Holy Mountain, and that only your Dharma bodies have come.
Then you should not preside over this holy assembly.
With your current strength, you're probably no longer able to command respect.
"If our strength is insufficient to convince the masses, then whose strength is sufficient? Fellow Daoist Meng, is it you?" the Third Holy Lord continued to mock.
"If you fellow practitioners think highly of me, I will naturally not refuse. However, as I said before, we cultivators should respect strength above all else."
With the changes in the world and the revival of spiritual energy, not only is the righteous path flourishing, but even the evil path is showing signs of revival.
Since the three holy lords' true forms are trapped, they are unable to travel.
It may be difficult to deter troublemakers in the future.
Therefore, I feel that 【Holy Mountain】 is no longer suitable to be the leader of our righteous alliance.
"Since this holy conference is being held, I believe we should elect a suitable denomination to lead the righteous path."
Meng Dian's words shocked all the heroes present.
It was clear that after confirming that the three Holy Lords' true forms could not leave the Holy Mountain, he no longer intended to conceal it.
This is an attempt to seize power directly from the Holy Mountain and overthrow them from their position as leaders of the righteous path.
"The suitable sect you're talking about, you wouldn't happen to be your Guiyuan Sect, would you?" the Third Holy Master sneered.
"If my Guiyuan Sect can overpower all the heroes, then what's wrong with becoming the leader of the righteous path?" Meng Dian said proudly.
At the same time, a powerful aura surged from his body, and the immense pressure of his Golden Core suppressed the entire scene.
It even showed signs of suppressing the aura of the other Golden Core Realm experts.
The Golden Core cultivators from other sects, sensing Meng Dian's suddenly increased pressure, couldn't help but change their expressions slightly.
Because they discovered that Meng Dian at this moment could make them feel a sense of unease.
"What kind of extraordinary magic weapon has Meng Dian obtained?"
Even the Golden Core cultivators at Qingyang Temple and Yunshui Secret Realm became more serious at this moment.
According to their intelligence, Meng Dian only spent half a year undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation.
Logically speaking, even if he had accumulated a lot of experience and then suddenly unleashed it, he shouldn't be this strong.
If they truly possessed such terrifying talent, the Guiyuan Sect would not have been merely one of the major sects in Zhongzhou, but rather the strongest sect.
The only explanation is that he somehow obtained some powerful magical artifact.
Only with the blessing of magical artifacts can such a terrifying aura be unleashed.
"No wonder Meng Dian is so confident. He launched a series of attacks on the Holy Mountain as soon as the Holy Assembly began. It turns out that he has such a strong backing."
In an instant, everyone realized what was going on.
They had previously found it strange that Meng Dian seemed too impatient.
The holy assembly had just begun, and nothing had been discussed yet, when he jumped out to provoke the three holy lords.
It turned out that he was confident enough to seize control of the Holy Mountain before the Holy Assembly officially began.
Seeing everyone stunned by his imposing presence, Meng Dian felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.
The internal energy within his body circulated even faster.
He stared directly at the person opposite him, his aura growing increasingly terrifying: "Three Holy Lords, what do you think of my suggestion just now?"
Despite Meng Dian's increasingly fierce aura, the First Holy Lord's expression did not change much.
He sighed: "Actually, anyone can sit in the position of leader of the righteous path as long as they have enough virtue. My Holy Mountain is not too concerned about this."
As long as the sect holding this position prioritizes the well-being of all people and leads the way to the right path.
"So what if my Holy Mountain has to give up this position?"
These words shocked everyone once again.
The First Holy Lord's words meant that he was willing to step down and let another sect take the position of leader of the righteous path.
Even Meng Dian did not expect the First Holy Lord to give such a reply.
He narrowed his eyes: "So, the Holy Mountain is willing to step down and yield the throne to a more worthy successor?"
“That’s right. As the old man just said, as long as there is a sect that prioritizes the well-being of all people, the Holy Mountain is willing to relinquish its position and recognize it as the leader of the righteous path,” the First Holy Lord said decisively.
Hearing the First Holy Lord's straightforward answer, Meng Dian was caught off guard.
He looked at the First Holy Lord with surprise and doubt, only to find that not only did the First Holy Lord have a calm expression, but the other two Holy Lords also had calm expressions, seemingly not objecting to the First Holy Lord's words at all.
The same applies to other sectarian factions.
In their view, the Holy Mountain's convening of this Holy Assembly was merely a result of the three Holy Lords' dissatisfaction with the changing situation in the world and their desire to regain control of the world.
But now it seems that this is not the case.
Not a single mistake, not a single song, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single 6-9 book, not a single bar, take a look!
Is this a strategic retreat, or is there another motive?
What are these three old monsters up to?
For a moment, this thought resurfaced in the minds of many people.
“Fellow Daoist Meng, what do you say? As long as your Guiyuan Sect can promise to prioritize the well-being of all people in the future, then my Holy Mountain would gladly relinquish this top position to you.”
The First Holy Lord smiled as he looked at Meng Diandao.
Meng Dian remained silent for a while before speaking, "May I ask, Holy Lord, what truly constitutes prioritizing the well-being of all people?"
"That's easy to explain. In fact, this is the reason why the three of us old men convened this holy meeting."
Today, due to changes in the world, spiritual energy has revived, geniuses have emerged, and powerful figures have appeared in great numbers, causing chaos in the world.
Many sects have engaged in numerous conflicts in their struggle for cultivation resources and sect territories.
The fighting was so fierce that many were killed or injured, and some sects were even destroyed.
Even more so, ordinary people were displaced and suffered greatly.
If you all continue to argue like this, I'm afraid countless people throughout the world will die as a result.
So the three of us old men decided to hold a sacred meeting, just like we did a thousand years ago.
We invite all sects from around the world to discuss and devise a set of rules.
I hope that if you have any disputes in the future, you will try to restrain yourselves and avoid places where people live in large numbers.
Have compassion in your heart; do not truly regard the lives of ordinary people as ants, to be trampled upon at will.
The First Holy Lord spoke slowly and solemnly.
His words deeply moved everyone present.
For a moment, they were speechless, staring blankly at the three figures in the center of the huge stone platform.
The First Holy Lord then said to Meng Dian, "Fellow Daoist Meng, didn't you ask earlier what it means to prioritize the common people?"
"We three old men don't ask for much. If your Guiyuan Sect wants to sit in the position of the leader of the righteous path, it's very simple."
"As long as you can guarantee that in the days to come, you can restrain all cultivators in the world from harming ordinary people without cause, and give the people of the world a chance to live."
Just like what the Holy Mountain has done for the past thousand years, what's wrong with us three old men acknowledging your Guiyuan Sect as our leader?
The First Holy Lord spoke these last few words with unwavering resolve and absolute certainty.
This gives everyone a certain feeling.
If Meng Dian dares to nod, this old man will truly regard Guiyuan Sect as the leader of the righteous path.
But would Meng Dian dare to nod?
He really wanted to nod.
But in front of everyone, his neck, for some reason, became incredibly stiff.
His face turned even paler, and he couldn't bring himself to nod.
"These three, are they really doing this for the sake of all living beings?"
At the location of Qingyang Temple, an old Taoist priest with black hair and a black beard looked on with amazement.
Even he hadn't expected that the reason the three Holy Lords convened the Holy Assembly was actually just as they had stated in the invitation.
For the sake of all living beings, for even a small chance of survival.
"The grandeur of my Qingyang Temple is inferior to that of this sacred mountain."
Beside the old black-bearded Taoist priest, a white-haired, youthful-faced Taoist priest sighed.
Before he came, he had also tried to figure out the intentions of the three holy masters.
In retrospect, it seems that this abbot of Qingyang Temple was judging a gentleman by the standards of a petty person.
"These three old men, are they really doing this for the sake of the common people?"
At the location of the Cloud and Water Secret Realm, a figure revealed a look of surprise.
"Indeed, these three are indeed the most virtuous people, no wonder they have won His Majesty's favor."
On the other side of Hanshui Palace, Han Ling Shuang also smiled.
When she hosted a banquet for Lu Qing, she also mentioned the Holy Mountain.
Lu Qing expressed great admiration for the three Holy Lords in his words.
Now she finally knows why.
As for the remaining sects and forces, there's no need to even mention them.
They never imagined that the true purpose of the three holy masters convening the holy assembly would be this.
Involuntarily, everyone's eyes fell on Meng Dian.
The First Holy Lord's meaning is already quite clear.
If Guiyuan Sect promises to prioritize the well-being of all people, then the Holy Mountain will abdicate and yield its throne to a worthy successor.
They wanted to see if Meng Dian dared to agree.
Feeling the gazes around him, even as a Golden Core cultivator, Meng Dian's body stiffened momentarily.
As for the other Guiyuan Sect disciples next to him, they were even more like sitting on wax.
For a moment, everyone became restless.
"They actually turned the tide?"
On the sacred mountain, Lu Qing continuously used his divine soul to "observe" the movements within the sacred city.
With his cultivation level and supernatural abilities, naturally no one could detect his spying.
Originally, when they saw the First Holy Lord and the others being forced to retreat by Meng Dian and other Golden Core Realm cultivators with their aura, and the truth that their true bodies could not leave the Holy Mountain was revealed, they were surprised.
He thought that the First Holy Lord and his group had already fallen into defeat and could no longer turn the tide.
Unexpectedly, the First Holy Lord's sudden move was a strategic retreat.
However, with a swift turn of events, he not only neutralized Meng Dian's aggressive momentum but also put the entire Guiyuan Sect in a precarious position.
If Meng Dian were to give a careless answer, the reputation of Guiyuan Sect would likely be damaged.
"sharp!"
Lu Qing couldn't help but admire the First Holy Lord greatly.
As expected of a figure who ruled the world for a thousand years, his skills are far beyond what anyone could match.
"However, Holy Lord, some things cannot be controlled by mere skill. There will always be unexpected events that are unreasonable."
Lu Qing sensed Meng Dian's aura and a meaningful expression appeared on his face.
At that very moment, a wisp of black energy also appeared in the eyes of Meng Dian, who was in the holy city below.
