"Hey, Senior Sister!"
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing!"
"When are you coming back?"
Wang Xiu paused, thought for a mont, and said uncertainly, "Senior Sister, I haven’t missed any deadlines this ti, have I?"
Previously, every ti Xiao Qingyu sent him a ssage, it was to call him back, almost always because a task was about to expire. It had given Wang Xiu a conditioned reflex; the mont he saw her na on the Communication Token, his mind would subconsciously jump to that conclusion.
On the other end of the line, Xiao Qingyu heard his words and couldn’t help but roll her beautiful eyes. "So, you can’t co back early unless a task is overdue? And here I am, breaking my back and running my legs off for you, you heartless thing!"
Hearing this, Wang Xiu imdiately adopted a serious expression. "Of course, I can! Rest assured, Senior Sister. I’ll return as soon as possible to help you reattach your back and legs!"
Xiao Qingyu chuckled. "Alright, enough joking around! Let’s get down to business. This ti, the intelligence you provided was extrely accurate. You’ve made a great contribution!"
"You saved the lives of five million souls in Limitless City!"
"The Zhenwu Immortal Sect sent a delegation to thank us personally, and they brought generous gifts!"
"Incidentally, they also tried to ask about you in a roundabout way."
Wang Xiu blinked. "Did you tell them, Senior Sister?"
"Of course!" Xiao Qingyu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "Of course not! Do I look that brainless to you?"
The more secret the intelligence, the more sensitive it becos.
The Righteous Path and The Demonic Path had been loving and killing each other for so many years. Infiltration and counter-infiltration were practically ingrained in their very bones. No one could ever guarantee that their own faction was free of enemy agents.
There was once a story about a high-ranking Elder from a Righteous Path Immortal Sect who went to incredible lengths to go undercover in the Demonic Path. He changed his identity, crippled his own cultivation to start anew, and endured the agony of having his soul and body separated and reforged. He obtained a vast amount of precious intelligence for the Righteous Path.
However, because of inadequate security asures on the part of the Righteous Path, the source of the intelligence was leaked. The mont he was set to return to his sect in glory, before any honors could be bestowed upon him, he was assassinated. His entire family, every last blood relative, was rcilessly slaughtered. It was an utter tragedy.
The perpetrator turned out to be the Deputy Sect Master of his own sect—a man second only to the Sect Master, revered by tens of thousands, and a role model in the eyes of countless heroes of the Righteous Path. He was actually a sleeper agent planted by the Demonic Path many years ago.
Even at the mont of his death, that Elder who had spent so many years undercover in the Demonic Path couldn’t understand. He had survived all those years in such a perilous environnt, only to fall in the one place he believed to be the safest in the world.
Incidents like this were not isolated cases in history. Each one left an incredibly deep and painful impression.
Over ti, a consensus was gradually ford. When you receive credible intelligence, you must never dig too deeply into its source. The human heart is not ant to be tested.
Who’s to say a Saint of the Righteous Path cannot fall to the demonic?
Who’s to say a titan of The Demonic Path cannot attain enlightennt on the spot?
Anything is possible. Behind a facade of righteousness and glory, the filth and darkness that lie hidden can be far more terrifying than the so-called Demonic Path.
Therefore, after receiving the intelligence from Wang Xiu, Xiao Qingyu never ntioned his na in any external communications. She only ever referred to him as "that junior brother." Not even Ji Yan knew who had provided the intelligence this ti, let alone the people from the Zhenwu Immortal Sect.
"Although I didn’t reveal your identity, with a contribution this great, you certainly won’t be short on rewards!" Xiao Qingyu’s voice softened. "Not only will you get a share of the thank-you gifts from the Zhenwu Immortal Sect, but our own sect has also prepared a surprise for you!"
"Really?" Wang Xiu asked, delighted.
A slight smile played on Xiao Qingyu’s lips. "Of course. However, I told the Sect Master that Junior Brother Wang Xiu has always been an upright and magnanimous person, unconventional, and committed to exorcising demons and defending the righteous path purely for the sake of justice. He wouldn’t even look at such trivial rewards! We should probably just forget about them!"
Wang Xiu: "???"
Xiao Qingyu giggled. "Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you. The reward is already being prepared. You’ll see it when you get back! I’m sure you’ll love it, Junior Brother..."
"Senior Sister, you’re really mischievous!" Wang Xiu said with a helpless smile.
After ending the communication, Wang Xiu swept his sleeve, pulling everything from the Star Pavilion’s treasury into his Space Ring.
The vast majority of it was gold, easily over one hundred thousand taels. This more than tripled the funds in Wang Xiu’s purse. The figure was certainly staggering, but the Star Pavilion was, after all, a faction primarily focused on raking in money. Moreover, this was the accumulation of the Seventh Elder’s many years of operations. When considered that way, it was easier to accept.
Besides the gold, there were nurous bottles and jars containing various malevolent items designed to accelerate the progress of Demon Cultivators. There were also a plethora of demonic cultivation manuals and all sorts of miscellaneous cultivation resources. Wang Xiu didn’t have ti to examine them one by one, so he simply packed everything away for later.
After emptying the entire treasury, Wang Xiu was in an excellent mood. Just as he was preparing to leave, a Communication Token lit up again.
However, it wasn’t his. It was that of Protector Miao, who had just died at his hands.
With a thought, Wang Xiu morphed into the appearance of Protector Miao and answered the call. A terrified face imdiately appeared before him.
"Boss, it’s terrible! Sothing big has happened! Our gambling den has been smashed!" the man panicked.
Wang Xiu feigned fury. "What did you say? Who grew the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, daring to run wild on the Ghost King Sect’s territory?"
The Star Pavilion was the Ghost King Sect’s branch in Vermilion Bird City, but it wasn’t their only business. As ntioned before, they dabbled in many ventures, and gambling was one of them, though it wasn’t operated out in the open.
The subordinate on the other end, his face bruised and swollen, said fearfully, "I don’t know! It’s so little brat who calls herself... the ’Great Demon God’—she’s ruthless! Boss, you have to get here quick, the brothers can’t hold on much longer! Ow..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a scream echoed from his side, and the image went black. The communication was severed.
Wang Xiu stroked his chin, pondering. Great Demon God? A little girl... He recalled the Saintess of the Asura Sect who had joined the Golden Core Demon Cultivator group chat. After a round of splurging, she had received all sorts of grand advice from the group mbers on how to strengthen the Asura Sect, to grow it bigger and stronger, and to achieve new heights of glory. Later, however, he vaguely heard so news possibly related to her, and it seed things had gone completely off the rails. Could it really be her?
A thought flashed through Wang Xiu’s mind, and he decided to go see for himself.
「Soon.」
He arrived at the gambling den owned by the Ghost King Sect.
The place was a complete ss. The signboard was smashed, and the tables and chairs had been reduced to piles of splintered wood. The entire establishnt, inside and out, had been ravaged beyond recognition, as if trampled by ten thousand stampeding bulls—a truly pitiful sight. The guards and disciples of the gambling den were rolling on the floor, wailing in agony.
In the middle of the hall, on the only table that remained intact, a girl in purple leather armor, as exquisitely carved as jade, sprawled atop it in a brazen, domineering posture.
She had horns on her head and a tail swishing behind her. Under her feet, she was pinning two n to the ground. One of them was the very sa Ghost King Sect disciple who had just sent the ssage to Wang Xiu.
At that mont, the girl was saying in a fiercely childish tone, "Hurry up and get your boss out here, or I’m gonna start a killing spree, ’kay?"
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