104: Are you doing this for the sake of the world, or for something else?

"Take this away; it is poisoned."

The Old Daoist Priest, with a head full of white hair and wearing a black Daoist robe, set down his chopsticks, picked up his horsetail whisk, and stood up to leave.

The servants of the Zhou Residence behind him stuck out their tongues, not daring to even breathe loudly, and could only take the food away to throw it all out.

"Daoist Priest, your demeanor is as impressive as in years past."

Zhou Chutian had appeared under the veranda at some unknown moment, blocking the Daoist Priest's path with an inscrutable smile on his face: "If not for your assistance over these years, Daoist Priest, I fear my life would have been lost long ago."

"Grand Chancellor, why the need for such words? You and I are merely taking what we each need." The Daoist Priest stopped and said expressionlessly.

"Not long ago, you must know in your heart how the people in the residence of Marquis Xu died..."

"The 'Living Yama' Xie Qingfeng, and behind him is the even more troublesome Nangong Wumeng. Grand Chancellor, you should be grateful they did not strike at the same time. Otherwise, I fear even I could not protect you."

Zhou Chutian did not care, merely stroking his beard and smiling faintly: "Perhaps, but compared to Partridge Sky, I fear you are more afraid of the School, with whom you have a deep-seated grudge, are you not?"

The Daoist Priest's gaze suddenly turned cold, yet Zhou Chutian showed no fear at all, still watching him with a smile: "Daoist Priest, you said it yourself, you and I are merely in a relationship of mutual exploitation. As long as I am here, you remain the advisor to the Grand Chancellor of the Daxing Dynasty, not to mention that the School has long been reclusive, and I can ensure your safety here at the Zhou Residence."

"Zhou Chutian, do not push your luck." The Daoist Priest snorted coldly.

"If not for the fact that my Universal Poison Immunity had not yet been perfected back then, and you obtained Southern Border Gu poison to plant within me, how would I ever be under your control?"

"That is only natural; how many peerless experts like you, Daoist Priest, could I possibly meet in this lifetime?" Zhou Chutian slowly placed his hands behind his back.

"For an otherworldly expert like you, if I did not use some devious methods, there would be no way to truly hold you in check. It is just that I took a gamble, and I did not expect... In my life, I have gambled many times, and I have never once failed."

"Heh, that may not be the case." The Daoist Priest made no effort to conceal the mockery in his tone. "Do not forget, Nangong Wumeng is unrivaled in the world at using poison and Gu. If you really push me too far, are you not afraid that I will defect to her?"

"It is precisely because I know that I do not care." Zhou Chutian stared into the Daoist Priest's eyes. "This Gu cost me nearly half of my fortune, obtained from a surviving Gu master of the Southern Border. Daoist Priest, even I know that planting the Gu is easy, but dispelling it is as difficult as ascending to heaven; how could you not think of that?"

"Heh, I cannot be bothered to talk to you." The Daoist Priest glared at him fiercely and turned to leave, but unexpectedly, Zhou Chutian called him back: "Daoist Priest, you need not worry too much; whether I can keep my own head is still an unknown."

"Ha, Grand Chancellor, you are far too humble." The Daoist Priest looked back at him. "Even The Emperor can do nothing about you; who else could kill you? And who would dare to kill you?"

"There are still some, for instance, if the Gu worm inside you were to disappear at this moment, I fear you would be the first to kill me." Zhou Chutian slowly moved to the stone stool under the veranda and sat down.

"I have no intention of usurping power, and furthermore, I have no troops to use. If The Emperor truly loses patience and uses the military tally to take strong measures, hehe... On the surface, the Shen Family Army and the Pacification Bureau would be enough to give me a hard time, not to mention that for all these years, Partridge Sky has never ceased their assassination attempts against me."

The Daoist Priest might not know about other things, but on the matter of assassinations, he was quite qualified to speak. After all, over these years, he did not even know how many waves of assassins he had blocked himself.

As for poisonings and the like, they were even more commonplace. It was all thanks to him betraying the School back then that he obtained the Universal Poison Immunity, a technique the sect forbade its Disciples from practicing.

The Daoist Priest had learned back then that this peerless technique existed in the Scripture Repository, and he had intended to sneak in and steal it to practice in private. However, he did not expect to be discovered by the then-leader of the School, his own Esteemed Teacher.

This Daoist Priest was exceptionally gifted and was a leader among the School. Although his aptitude for martial arts was high, the Daoist Priest had made no progress in Daoist teachings. Whether it be Longhu Mountain or the School, martial arts practice was merely auxiliary to them; self-cultivation and the study of Daoist teachings were the proper path.

Because of this, as the leader among the Disciples, no matter how high the Daoist Priest's martial arts skill was, his teacher never once considered letting him become the leader. The Daoist Priest did not care, merely becoming more obsessed with improving his martial arts, eventually even taking desperate risks.

The leader at the time was naturally furious at his perverse behavior. However, the Daoist Priest had lain dormant in the School for nearly thirty years just to be able to practice the School's martial arts. When the matter was exposed, the Daoist Priest, relying on his high martial arts skill, killed several inner sect Disciples and betrayed the School.

When he saved the late Emperor back then, it was not out of any compassionate heart to save the world, but merely because he sensed that the late Emperor might be some important figure, and thus he acted to assist.

The late Emperor could not see through him, but that old fox Zhou Chutian could see through this Daoist Priest at a glance. However, the Daoist Priest's martial arts were too high, and having practiced Universal Poison Immunity, he was truly difficult to deal with. Thus, Zhou Chutian took a gamble, planting a Gu worm in him while the Daoist Priest was not paying attention, and promising to find rare treasures to help him achieve true Universal Poison Immunity.

Therefore, between these two, there was only a pure exchange of interests. If one were to ask if the Daoist Priest wanted to kill Zhou Chutian, he certainly wanted to very much.

"Do not speak to me of these things either." No matter what he thought in his heart, the Daoist Priest likely still had some fear of that Gu worm. "I have no interest in court affairs; you provide the money, I provide the effort—it has been this way for all these years."

"If one day you, Grand Chancellor Zhou, truly capsize in the gutter, I hope you can fulfill your promise."

Zhou Chutian did not answer, merely calling a servant over to prepare tea and refreshments, before turning his head to look at the Daoist Priest: "Daoist Priest, you may rest assured; I never intended to take your life. The world is vast, yet there are very few people who can truly understand the ambitions I carry..."

"Oh? I would like to hear the details." The Daoist Priest decided not to leave, but instead sat down opposite Zhou Chutian. "You are already above one person and below ten thousand, with Disciples spread across the world; what ambition could you possibly have that you cannot realize?"

"Daoist Priest, oh Daoist Priest, do you truly think those Disciples are of any great use to me?" Zhou Chutian sneered. "Those are not Disciples spread across the world, but mouths of dogs waiting to eat meat; if I do not give them meat, they will bite me to death."

"So, why exactly are you doing this?" After the servant brought the tea, the Daoist Priest did not stand on ceremony and poured himself a cup. "You keep a pack of dogs that will bite you to death if you don't feed them meat, you go against The Emperor, and now I don't even know what you are plotting. To be frank, Grand Chancellor Zhou, this is the first time I have ever seen a person like you."

"What I seek is merely two words."

Zhou Chutian looked at the teacup in front of him, seeming somewhat distracted, but he slowly spat out two words: "The world."

Hearing this, the Daoist Priest almost spat out a mouthful of tea. The world? You, the number one powerful official, are actually saying it is for the world?

Whether it is for the world or for yourself, I fear only you truly know...