Qinghe Headquarters.
Sect Leader Situ Ye sat upright on a stone throne, his eyes closed.
He had always been a man of imnse self-discipline. Every day, every hour was ticulously planned, and once his schedule was set, he executed it without fail. Any unexpected event would greatly displease him.
Many people assud the Qinghe Sect’s headquarters was located in the Outer City Fog Area. After all, as a well-known faction that constantly stirred up trouble, the Qinghe Sect always operated on the fringes of the law, dabbling in nurous shady businesses. Yet, to call them a truly evil organization would be a slight exaggeration.
In reality, the Qinghe Sect had always been situated in the Inner City, within a subterranean cavern in the Central Ring.
The massive underground space was less a cavern and more an abyss, plunging to unknown depths.
It was perpetually dark here, illuminated only by the countless clumps of naturally growing, purple-glowing moss on the abyss’s stone walls.
Situ Ye’s throne was situated in a crevice halfway down the abyss wall.
The crevice was perfectly regular, square-shaped with smooth inner walls, as if carved out by a single slice of a blade.
Situ Ye was currently seated on a rough, black stone throne inside, his gaze directed downward, lost in thought as he stared into the boundless abyss.
This was his ti to clear his mind.
Every day at this ti, he would grant his mind a short reprieve.
"Sect Leader, the matter with the Black and White Blade... How should we handle it? Who will fill the mission vacancy they’ve left behind?" A figure erged silently from the shadows beside him, revealing the pale, bloodless face of a man.
"Let the Moon Tower arrange it. This was outside the plan." Situ Ye glanced at the man, then lowered his head and continued to clear his mind.
"Our superiors’ aning is that this is the highest level of strength they can deploy. No one stronger is willing to act personally. Therefore, you will have to personally bear the long-term losses caused by this incident," the pale man replied.
"This was not in the plan." Situ Ye frowned. "If they are dissatisfied, they can find a new Sect Leader."
"...You’re putting in a difficult position, aren’t you?" The man forced a helpless smile.
"Then they’ll just have to tolerate the gap," Situ Ye said impatiently. "We are all Original Blood. The fact that I’m willing to shoulder this responsibility is already giving them enough face. Also, have you found out how the Black and White Blade disappeared?"
"Not yet. However, the last clue is related to Xinyu Town. From the intelligence left behind by the Black and White Blade, we confird that their final plan was to investigate Qingfeng Temple together."
"Qingfeng Temple... Send soone to infiltrate and investigate. Don’t engage in a head-on confrontation yet. It’s not necessary." Situ Ye ordered, "There are only a dozen or so mbers in the sect at the level of the Black and White Blade, and they have to be spread across all of Tuyue. If we encounter a problem in the future with soone capable of dealing with the Black and White Blade, what then? Are you going to go?"
A force capable of taking out even a High Priest... to completely annihilate them would require too great a price and pressure. They couldn’t act rashly.
"Yes."
*
*
*
Ti passed. As Qingfeng Temple continued to develop, its expedition teams went out ti and again to gather resources, and the temple’s assets grew more and more nurous.
Nearly all of the dozen or so towns in the surrounding area now had a Qingfeng Temple branch.
With the backing of the Rain Palace, as well as its connections to the Wang Family and the Inspectorate, basically no one dared to provoke them.
This allowed Lin Hui to cultivate his Body Tempering in peace.
But despite the quiet, the actions of the Moon Tower Deep Domain and the Original Blood still flashed through his mind from ti to ti.
Whenever this happened, a sense of insecurity would well up within him.
Building his own intelligence network was now on his agenda.
In addition to that, he needed to establish a safe house in a No-Fog Zone for his exclusive use.
It would serve as a final sanctuary. If anything happened here, he could settle his family there to take refuge.
For now, Liu Wu Jun was holding things down, so the situation was stable. But if the slightest thing went wrong on his big brother’s end...
An intelligence network, a safe house, and absolutely loyal people...
These three points were the key things on Lin Hui’s mind.
And after a period of observation and assessnt...
a creature he had almost forgotten about appeared in Lin Hui’s sights.
In the residence behind Qingfeng Temple.
Lin Hui stood in the courtyard, staring thoughtfully at a pool of murky, almost black-green water.
He had dismissed everyone nearby, leaving himself completely alone.
"Arise," he said, looking at the pool.
SPLASH.
The water in the pool suddenly swelled, rising rapidly like modeling clay and taking on a human form.
It was the Waterman, who he hadn’t seen in a long ti.
After more than a year, the Waterman had changed trendously.
First, it was a full size larger. Second, the water that composed its body was even more turbid and foul. And third, it had gained a new ability.
The creature could now transform into a pure stream of water, allowing it to enter and exit through any pipe in smaller portions.
Before, its only trick was spitting. Now, it could also turn into a stream of water.
Its intelligence also seed to have improved slightly. It could now understand more complex commands.
’Perhaps I can create a surveillance system disguised as a stream. I’ve been worried about finding absolutely loyal subordinates, but isn’t this lifeform enhanced by the Blood Seal a natural Death Warrior?’
Watching the Waterman’s foolish appearance, Lin Hui’s mind was suddenly flooded with ideas.
’The Blood Seal can enhance anything. I could find so ruins in a No-Fog Zone, then enhance them, seal them off, and establish defensive and surveillance periters. I could turn it into an absolutely hidden safe house.’
’I can also start on the intelligence network from there. I could use the Blood Seal to enhance a fast-growing herb that boosts stamina and cultivate it in bulk... No, I could even enhance certain pieces of equipnt or treasures... things that can be worn to enhance one’s constitution and stamina...’
Once the idea took hold, inspirations burst forth in Lin Hui’s mind like a downpour.
After having the Waterman return to its original form as a pool of water, he went back to his room, about to begin his daily Inner Strength cultivation.
"Observatory Master, sothing has happened to the Wang Family! They’ve sent soone to inform you and request that you make a trip to the Inner City!" Outside the courtyard, a disciple on guard duty stood at the door and announced loudly.
"The Wang Family?" Lin Hui was taken aback.
Co to think of it, it had been so ti since Wang Yueheng last visited Qingfeng Temple. It seed his family was truly in trouble now.
"Where is the person now?" he asked, reluctantly getting up and interrupting his Inner Strength cultivation.
"In the reception hall."
Before the disciple could react, Lin Hui had already vanished. He crossed the courtyard wall and appeared before the reception hall’s entrance in a few blinks of an eye, then slowly walked inside.
Inside the reception hall, a gray-haired old woman in a yellow robe, holding an ironwood staff, was pacing back and forth.
"Where is Wang Yueheng?" Lin Hui asked as he entered the hall, his eyes falling on the old woman.
"Wang Xinru greets the Observatory Master. The young master is in serious trouble. He has provoked so very troubleso people, so I have co shalessly to ask for the Observatory Master’s help in requesting the Rain Palace to intervene..." the old woman said helplessly.
"What did he do?" Lin Hui sat in the main seat, his expression unchanging. His relationship with Wang Yueheng was decent, but they weren’t close confidants; it was rely a relationship of mutual benefit. Whether he would help or not depended on the situation. It was just like when he had asked Wang Yueheng to help him find Treasure dicine—he received so at the beginning, but afterward, he had to find the rest himself in the Inner City.
"The young master... enjoys making friends, doesn’t he? Not long ago, he went to the Outer Ring to socialize again. Unexpectedly, this ti he was attacked by a passerby and severely injured. Now, all the friends the young master made before are having problems, and the matter of the Mind-Control Worms has been exposed..."
"Mind-Control Worms?" Lin Hui was speechless. After they had beco more familiar, he had warned Wang Yueheng not to use those vile things, telling him that sooner or later soone who couldn’t stand it would co and teach him a lesson. Wang didn’t believe him.
Now, his couppance had finally arrived.
"The situation now is that the young master knows he was wrong, but those people are relentless. They insist that the young master give them more compensation," the old woman, Wang Xinru, said indignantly.
"If that’s the case, then just compensate them," Lin Hui said nonchalantly. "For sothing like this, it’s only right that more compensation is required."
"That’s what we thought at first, but now that group is pushing their luck..." the old woman said angrily.
"There’s nothing I can do about this matter," Lin Hui said calmly. "Since Wang Yueheng used Mind-Control Worms, he should have known what he would face once it was exposed."
"Observatory Master, you can’t just stand by and watch him die! Our two sides have cooperated for so long. If the young master falls, it will be difficult to find another partner in the Inner City as cooperative as us!" Wang Xinru pleaded.
"Then we’ll just stop cooperating," Lin Hui replied. "The Wang Family has yet to show the sincerity I require."
"But... but..." The old woman was stunned. This was completely different from what she had expected before coming here!
Weren’t they say that the young master and the Observatory Master of Qingfeng Temple were the closest of friends? Wasn’t it said that he would imdiately help at the re ntion of the issue, sending people to pull strings and smooth things over with the Rain Palace?
How...??
"Go back. I have a new guest arriving," Lin Hui couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words with her. He waved his hand, signaling a disciple to escort her out.
"Observatory Master, you can’t be like this! If it weren’t for my young master funding your cultivation at a critical mont, would you have your current status? If the young master hadn’t fully supported Qingfeng Temple, could it have grown to its current scale?" The old woman’s face flushed red, her voice growing louder and louder.
"You can leave now," Lin Hui said flatly. "Or would you rather stay here forever?"
His gaze turned icy as he swept it over the old woman, making her shiver. She swallowed the rest of her words, holding them back. Furious, she could only turn and storm out the door.
After the disciple outside led the woman away, Lin Hui did not get up. He remained seated, quietly waiting for his so-called new guest.
A few seconds later, SWISH!
A sowhat familiar figure abruptly appeared in the reception hall.
The newcor wore form-fitting black and purple tal armor, a horned helt, and a purple-black tal mask over their face.
"Wang Yueheng of the Wang Family was courting death. He used his Mind-Control Worms on our people. His fate is already sealed and cannot be changed." The visitor’s voice was clearly modulated, deep and resonant.
"Observatory Master Lin understands the greater good and has not let the Wang Family drag you into this ss. I have co to thank you." The visitor clasped their fist and bowed slightly to Lin Hui.
"It’s been a while. It seems your Body Technique hasn’t gotten rusty," Lin Hui said abruptly, not following the visitor’s conversational lead.
The visitor fell silent.
After a pause, he gently removed his mask, revealing the familiar face of Tao Xuehai.
"Master... it’s been a year... I just took this opportunity to co and see you first..."
"Sothing’s not right... with you." Lin Hui’s brow furrowed as he stared at this disciple, arguably the most talented under his tutelage.
"You’ve sensed it too?" Tao Xuehai smiled. "Your disciple has grown much, much stronger... and I’ve also heard it—the voice that constantly echoes in the void."
"You..." Lin Hui felt more and more that sothing was wrong. He stood up, wanting to get closer to check the situation.
"Don’t worry, Master. Your disciple has simply succeeded in fusing with the replica Insect Scripture left behind by my ancestors," Tao Xuehai said with a smile.
"A replica Insect Scripture...!?" Lin Hui froze.
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