"Li Yan, you don't understand the faith of a clan, especially what our clan's sacred beast is. It's the Qiongqi . Why do you think the Great Elder went alone? It wasn't simple impulsiveness. The Tianli Clan is like this: if one of us dies, one of them must die too, even if it means paying a greater price. It's a fight to the death. If the hearts of a clan are scattered, it means they have no hope, no faith, no cohesion. The reason the Tianli Clan has been able to stand against three clans of Wind Beasts is because of the faith in our hearts, the faith of dying for the survival of future generations…" Gong Shanhe said, but Li Yan couldn't understand his words at all.
In his mind, a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years. Why be so hot-blooded?
"Then the difficulties I mentioned, how will you and the Third Elder solve them?" Although Li Yan was an ancestor of a sect, he really didn't know how to manage a sect or lead a clan with such a unique character. So, he simply returned to his own questions.
If these problems couldn't be solved, he would have to try to persuade Gong Shanhe. To go in this situation, there was a nine out of ten chance of falling into the enemy's trap.
"You and Hong Yin will guard for me for a while longer, perhaps ten or twenty years. The Nascent Soul cultivators of the Qionglin Sect and the fourth-rank Sea-Breaking Beasts should fight within these years! Although we may have to wait a long time, perhaps the high-level cultivators of both sides will fight soon. Opportunities can only be waited for, not predicted! I will leave the matter of your and A'ying's 'Qing A Wang' inauguration ceremony to the Fourth and Sixth Elders. Next year, if the seal is fine, you two shall become Dao Companions. You and A'ying are from the same sect and are in love with each other. I am very relieved to entrust A'ying to you. Alright, I wonder if you can help me with my request?" Gong Shanhe stared at Li Yan. He needed a promise from Li Yan, because before the Great Elder came out of seclusion, only Hong Yin and Li Yan were the strongest.
For a time, a sharp light flickered unceasingly in Li Yan's eyes. Gong Shanhe was not in a hurry; he just waited quietly for his answer.
In his heart, even if Li Yan didn't agree, Hong Yin had already agreed. He would still go out with the Third Elder. Coming to find Li Yan was, of course, for an extra layer of protection for the clan.
In the main hall of the pavilion, it suddenly became surprisingly quiet, so much so that you could hear a pin drop. After fifty or sixty breaths, Li Yan's voice finally broke the silence.
"Have the Third Elder stay. I'll go with you!"
"You… you'll go with me?" Gong Shanhe, who had been watching Li Yan, suddenly had a look of astonishment on his face. He hadn't expected Li Yan to give such an answer. He asked with some hesitation.
"The Third Elder's combat power is not as good as mine. I can hold off someone of Yan San's level, and my poison skills are decent. The Clan Head doesn't think that taking me along would be worse than taking the Third Elder, does he?" Li Yan had now lowered his arms, a smile on his face.
"But… but what about A'ying next year?"
"As long as there is an ultra-long-distance teleportation formation and no delays on the road, I think we can be back very soon!" Li Yan said with a smile.
"You have a way?" Gong Shanhe's originally hesitant expression immediately lit up upon hearing Li Yan's words.
…
Six months later, outside a market, two streaks of light flew in from the distance. They landed a few li away from the market. The light receded, revealing two men.
One was dressed in a black robe, with a lean and gaunt figure. His sallow face had a pair of triangular eyes and a tuft of a goatee on his chin. He looked to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old and gave off a sharp, mean impression.
The other was a fat, bald man in a gray robe that was left open, revealing layers of greasy fat. Yet, he had tied the drawstrings on both sides of his gray robe at his navel, as if trying to force the robe closed.
In the end, only a small section of the thin rope was visible outside the robe, with most of it sinking into the folds of fat.
After the two, one thin and one fat, landed, the man with the triangular eyes first looked around. He saw that a few people had glanced at them before immediately withdrawing their divine sense and moving far away. He couldn't help but smile inwardly.
Both of them were mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, so naturally, few would be so blind as to provoke them. Seeing that no one was paying them any attention, the two then walked towards the entrance of the market.
As they walked, they looked left and right. To others, they might seem like seasoned veterans of the martial world , either scouting the terrain or looking for a fat sheep to fleece.
In reality, the two were secretly communicating via voice transmission.
"If my calculations are correct, today should be the date they come here. Is the method you mentioned really feasible? That's a sect's grand formation, guarded by a late-stage Great Cultivator. Even the Great Elder couldn't get in. I still think it's not safe!" The voice of the greasy fat man sounded in the thin man's mind.
"We've been here for a month and have observed that sea region for a long time. The situation is just as the Great Elder described. Apart from three battles between mid and low-level cultivators and the Sea-Breaking Beasts, the high-level cultivators on both sides haven't moved at all. This is clearly the result of a long-term conflict. They both know each other's trump cards and can only wait for an opportunity, not act rashly. Now, I think we've observed enough. This method is worth a try!" The voice of the thin man with triangular eyes also sounded in the greasy fat man's mind.
"Alright then. After we make our move today, you have to pass my inspection first. If even I can't see through it, then you can go ahead. I will be waiting for you in the nearby sea region!" The greasy fat man's voice once again sounded in the thin man's mind. He also felt a wave of helplessness. His aura-concealing technique was far inferior to the other's.
The other said he could still faintly sense his cultivation level, and the details he mentioned were indeed true from his own perception.
But he, on the other hand, couldn't see any problem with the other's mid-stage Golden Core cultivation. This had forced him to shelve his plan of infiltrating together.
These two were none other than Li Yan and Gong Shanhe. They had arrived in the sea region near the Qionglin Sect three months ago, but they hadn't gotten too close. They had hidden themselves more than four thousand li away from the border of the Qionglin Sect and the Sea-Breaking Beast's territory.
They had observed there for a long time, and the results were more or less the same as what the Great Elder had said. There was no opportunity for them to ambush the other party's Nascent Soul cultivators.
Li Yan, however, paid more attention to the people entering and leaving the Qionglin Sect. Slowly, he actually discovered some patterns. Among them were two Golden Core cultivators who would go to a market called "Immortal Treasure Market" about once a month. The two followed them and found that in that market, the Qionglin Sect also had its own shop. One of them was there to collect the monthly spirit stone income, or to bring back some of the precious treasures that the shop had acquired to the sect.
The other was there to purchase various materials needed for daily cultivation for the sect. Li Yan finally suggested starting with these two. After they killed one of them, they would then transform into his appearance and sneak into the Qionglin Sect. Gong Shanhe was filled with doubt after hearing this. Li Yan hadn't explained the specifics, only saying they would act according to the situation.
The method he proposed now was largely the same as the one the Great Elder had planned to use for infiltration, but even the Great Elder hadn't succeeded. How could they?
Li Yan paid him no mind and continued to lay out his plan. First, he had an extremely powerful aura-concealing technique. Li Yan told Gong Shanhe that he was confident that even if a late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator probed him, they would not be able to see through his true cultivation. Second, Li Yan also had a way to evade the sect's formation that detected the authenticity of a transformed appearance.
Gong Shanhe was half-believing, half-doubting. But Li Yan then proposed another condition: Gong Shanhe could not enter the Qionglin Sect with him. Although there happened to be two Golden Core cultivators going out, Li Yan only planned to kill one of them, and then he himself would transform into his appearance and sneak into the sect with the other Qionglin Sect Golden Core cultivator.
Upon hearing this, Gong Shanhe frowned. Although he did not immediately object, it was clear he did not agree with this approach. This was putting Li Yan in a dangerous situation alone. But he also knew that Li Yan would surely give him an explanation.
As expected, Li Yan gave his answer shortly after. First, Gong Shanhe's aura-concealing technique might not be able to deceive the other party's Nascent Soul cultivators and the sect's grand formation. Second, the most brilliant way to carry out such an ambush was, of course, to coordinate from both inside and out, not for both to enter a dangerous place at the same time. If something went wrong, there would be no backup. Therefore, someone needed to be outside to provide support.
After hearing this, Gong Shanhe fell into deep thought. Li Yan's willingness to come and help was already a great kindness, and he was doing something that could mean his death.
In the end, Li Yan was putting himself in danger while leaving him outside. If anything happened to Li Yan, his own daughter would never forgive him for the rest of her life.
Seeing him still hesitating, Li Yan smiled. His already concealed aura instantly dropped to the Golden Core realm. Gong Shanhe understood his meaning.
When his divine sense swept over him, he was shocked. While observing the Qionglin Sect for so long, he and Li Yan had also been concealing their auras. But before this, he could still feel the faint, powerful aura within Li Yan's body.
But now, what appeared before him was a living, breathing Golden Core stage cultivator. No matter how he probed, he couldn't find any clues…
As Gong Shanhe was thinking, not far ahead was the entrance to the "Immortal Treasure Market."
"Li Yan, you said you were seventy percent confident that your illusion art could go undetected by them. But why didn't you let me test it beforehand?"
"No hurry. I'll just transform into one of them in a moment, and then you can take a look. Don't worry, if I'm discovered upon entry, I won't be trapped in the grand formation yet. The chances of escaping are very high…"
Thus, the fat and thin duo, their eyes darting about while secretly communicating via voice transmission, had already walked into the market.
…
Seeing that land had appeared ahead, Cao Lang looked at the white-robed cultivator on the other side with a smile.
"Senior Brother Yang, if there are any good treasures this time, you have to let this junior brother know first."
The white-robed cultivator was about forty years old, with a late-stage Golden Core cultivation. He had fair skin and a pair of long, narrow eyes on his cold, stern face, giving him a very sinister feeling.
After hearing Cao Lang's words, he just glanced at him sideways, his face devoid of any expression, before opening his mouth to speak in a lukewarm tone.
"Mm, Junior Brother Cao, please rest assured!" Then he said no more.
"Then this junior brother thanks you in advance!" The smile on Cao Lang's face grew wider, but in his heart, he was already cursing up a storm.
'Hmph, Yang Youxian, you good-for-nothing dog! It'd be a miracle if I believed you! Damn it, I'll just have to be more active a few more times and I'll definitely kick you out of this position!' Cao Lang thought hatefully. He and Yang Youxian were each responsible for two areas in the sect. He was responsible for purchasing various commonly used materials for the sect's daily needs.
Yang Youxian, on the other hand, was responsible for collecting spirit stones from the shops in the market and bringing back some of the precious treasures acquired by the shops to the sect.
These two errands were both lucrative positions in the sect. Many people would break their heads trying to get them, but they had no way to obtain such a fine post.
But Cao Lang and Yang Youxian had an innate advantage. Their masters were the two Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect, and they were also the most talented disciples in their respective masters' eyes.
Therefore, the two were the most favored among all their masters' disciples, and so these two lucrative errands fell to them, much to the envy of countless people.
And Cao Lang and Yang Youxian had indeed gained huge benefits from them. Of course, these two were not the only lucrative positions in the sect.
The other positions were held by the disciples of the other two Nascent Soul cultivators, and the rest would be divided among their junior brothers and sisters.
People like Cao Lang and Yang Youxian were extremely clever. They understood the principle of giving the lion's share to their masters in filial piety, but even the leftover scraps were enough for them to make a fortune.
To outsiders, Cao Lang's job seemed better than Yang Youxian's, with more opportunities for personal gain. After all, he was the one taking spirit stones out to buy materials. The price was up to him and the other party to decide, and the potential for kickbacks was very deep.
But Cao Lang knew clearly that he didn't make nearly as much as Yang Youxian. The other's job was the real cash cow.
The trick was that the shopkeeper of the market's shop also had to embezzle spirit stones, so the spirit stones handed over would not match the accounts. But the first person to know about this was only Yang Youxian.
As long as he was willing, the accounts could be changed. To make Yang Youxian "willing," the implications were self-evident. And what made Cao Lang even more covetous was that every time Yang Youxian came over, he would be the first to know which treasures in the shop could be brought back to the sect. The value of things that could be brought back to the sect was imaginable.
Whether he bought them at a low price for his own use or sold them at a high price later, there were many ways to operate.
But this kind of thing couldn't be done often. Occasionally was fine, otherwise, even with a Nascent Soul master, Yang Youxian wouldn't get away with it. You could take advantage of the sect, but you had to know your limits.
Although Cao Lang had embezzled a lot of spirit stones, some good treasures couldn't be bought with spirit stones. Many good things had fallen into Yang Youxian's hands.
Just last month when the two of them came over, Cao Lang had learned from a clerk he had placed in the shop that a magical treasure suspected to be a "Cloud-Floating Wind Pearl" had appeared in the shop. Cao Lang cultivated a wind-attribute divine ability. After getting this news, he was naturally very excited. When he asked Yang Youxian, the other party was also straightforward and said it was true.
But then he changed the subject, saying that the shopkeeper, knowing the treasure was of extraordinary value, had already sent a message back to the sect. And when he came, Martial Uncle Liu had sent him a voice transmission saying he was interested in this item.
Then Yang Youxian looked at Cao Lang with a troubled expression. At that time, Cao Lang felt as if he had eaten a thousand flies; it was incredibly nauseating.