At the main entrance of Wanxiang Sect.

Inside a hall of the Martial Arts Academy.

Liu Fu stood before his opponent, his face shadowed with gloom. He transmitted a message with his divine sense: “Chen Er, why do you insist? What benefits has Ning Zhuo given you that you would not only offend Lord Yu Heya but also be so stubborn as to accept my challenge?”

Ning Zhuo had hired a group of people to extensively rent the cave-dwellings on this mountain, forcing Liu Fu to confess to Yu Heya. He confessed his ‘sins’.

Yu Heya ordered his subordinates to trouble these cultivators who had rented the cave-dwellings.

This was the main entrance of Wanxiang Sect, and internal conflicts among cultivators were usually resolved through the Martial Arts Academy.

The Internal Affairs Hall primarily handled major disputes among Wanxiang Sect members.

For less significant disputes, Wanxiang Sect encouraged its disciples to resolve them through private martial arts contests. This system perfectly suited the circumstances of Wanxiang Sect.

There were simply too many people in Wanxiang Sect! Their interactions inevitably led to numerous conflicts. If the sect were to adopt the conventional governance methods of a super-sect, it would require a vast number of personnel dedicated solely to resolving disputes.

Such a human-centric system would inevitably breed widespread corruption and even unjust cases. After all, Wanxiang Sect was not a cultivation nation; the latter could rely on officials to judge cases, aided by divine insight and official magic, often restoring the truth.

During the preliminary stages of the Feiyun Grand Assembly, various factions flocked to the main entrance, making the population even larger! A great number of non-Wanxiang Sect cultivators would temporarily reside there. Consequently, a massive amount of disputes and conflicts would arise. Wanxiang Sect largely ignored these, leaving them to be resolved privately.

This approach not only saved considerable governance costs but also fostered a survival-of-the-fittest atmosphere within the sect, ensuring that those who distinguished themselves in Wanxiang Sect often possessed formidable combat power! High combat power and a large population also led to irreconcilable internal conflicts. All of this meant that Wanxiang Sect could not restrain itself within its old boundaries.

To prevent internal strife from becoming too severe, the high-ranking members of Wanxiang Sect naturally diverted internal conflicts outward. This allowed them to gain more space for internal members to maneuver. Over time, Wanxiang Sect’s influence continuously expanded. Those who temporarily lost out in internal competition often chose to establish outposts outside the sect, hoping to turn the tide. This led to Wanxiang Sect’s influence reaching out further and further, like an ever-growing number of tentacles.

Therefore, when Yu Heya discovered that someone was interfering with his chosen mountain, he naturally opted for a martial arts contest to resolve the issue.

Most of the cultivators Ning Zhuo had gathered chose to avoid conflict, not daring to claim the ten mid-grade spirit stones, and voluntarily canceled their cave-dwelling rentals.

However, a few were stubborn and accepted the challenge. “Chen Er,” who stood before Liu Fu, was one of them.

From Liu Fu’s perspective, this was naturally very puzzling. He had already found out that Ning Zhuo’s rallying cry for these low-level cultivators was ten mid-grade spirit stones. Now, for the sake of ten spirit stones that were no longer possible to obtain, was Chen Er throwing his life away? There were many cases of death during martial arts contests.

What he didn’t know was that “Chen Er” was merely a temporary alias; his true identity was Chu Lao, the old cook by Ning Zhuo’s side.

Chu Lao remained silent, simply beckoning Liu Fu with a finger.

Liu Fu was enraged: “Stubborn fool!” He waved his hand, releasing ten talismans. The talismans ignited in mid-air, transforming into streams of water arrows that formed a wave of attacks, engulfing Chu Lao.

Chu Lao’s mind stirred, and he took out a “shield,” holding it in front of him. At the same time, Chu Lao stomped the ground, employing a movement technique to swiftly move. Bang, bang, bang. The “shield” was very flexible, moving with his thoughts, circling around Chu Lao’s body and intercepting all the threatening water arrows.

Chu Lao reached into his pocket and then scattered a handful of glutinous rice into the sky. The glutinous rice grew rapidly in mid-air, transforming into giant, off-white maggots that surrounded Liu Fu.

Liu Fu’s heart skipped a beat: “Gu cultivator?”

Liu Fu took out his signature magical artifact, a sword case he had found in the market. He infused it with magic power and opened the sword case, from which beams of faint golden sword energy shot out. The sword energy was sharp, piercing through the maggots, its momentum undiminished, circling back to pierce again. After several repetitions, a giant maggot lost its life.

Chu Lao smiled inwardly. Liu Fu’s use of sword energy to attack the giant maggots was definitely a wrong move. Chu Lao’s intention was to use them for consumption; Liu Fu expended a large amount of magic power to condense sword energy, only to kill the maggots, directly surrendering the initiative of this battle. If the sword energy had shot towards Chu Lao, Chu Lao would have surely defended with all his might, creating a stalemate. But now, Chu Lao had no external pressure, easily freeing up his hands to deal with Liu Fu.

He took out a gourd and sprayed a large amount of golden oil droplets. Hundreds of thousands of oil droplets formed a rainstorm, covering Liu Fu. Liu Fu had lost the initiative and could only activate talismans to form a golden bell-like light shield around himself, temporarily stabilizing the situation.

The golden bell light shield was indeed solid; the oil droplets shattered upon impact, their residual oil splashing everywhere. For a time, it could not be breached.

“This is a talisman treasure,” Shen Xi commented, observing the battle. If it were merely a simple martial arts contest, it wouldn’t have attracted him at all. But because it concerned Ning Zhuo and his own influence in the alliance, he developed some interest.

Shen Xi: “What do you think, cousin?” He took the opportunity to train Su Lingkou.

Su Lingkou replied without hesitation: “Liu Fu is not skilled in combat. He made two wrong choices. The first time, he voluntarily lost the initiative. The second time, he appeared as stable as a mountain, but in reality, he turned himself into a target.”

“Especially the first time,” Su Lingkou shook her head, her face full of disdain, “Liu Fu actually used sword energy to attack the maggots. It’s utterly stupid!”

Shen Xi smiled slightly: “I can understand him. Gu cultivators’ methods have always been bizarre and mysterious. Liu Fu choosing to deal with these maggots first can be considered a cautious approach.”

“It’s just that his eyesight isn’t good. Chen Er isn’t a Gu cultivator; he should have some culinary skills.”

Onlookers see more clearly. Shen Xi noticed the details and recognized that what Chu Lao scattered was not Gu insects, but glutinous rice.

Su Lingkou: “Liu Fu is going to lose. This Chen Er should be Ning Zhuo’s response.” “He has hidden the truly skilled fighters among these people. Yu Heya’s subordinates failing their challenges won’t be the end of it. In the end, it’s very likely to draw out Yu Heya himself to take action, who knows.”

“Hmm,” Shen Xi nodded. He concentrated on watching the battle, pointing at Chu Lao: “Cousin, I need to investigate him.” Shen Xi needed to determine whether Chu Lao was highly paid by Ning Zhuo or was Ning Zhuo’s inherent subordinate. There was a huge difference between the two.

No sooner had he spoken than Chu Lao unleashed a decisive blow, severely injuring Liu Fu. After winning, Chu Lao did not leave the Martial Arts Academy. Next, there would be a second and third match. Because these were concentrated challenges, the Martial Arts Academy had arranged the disputes between Ning Zhuo’s and Yu Heya’s subordinates to take place together.

In the second martial arts contest, the two parties were one tall and one short. The tall one roared, his arms’ muscles knotted like old tree roots, and he slammed his fists into the ground. A mud python burst from the ground, charging towards the short one.

The short one chuckled, his figure incredibly agile, and he leaped directly onto the mud python’s back, rushing towards the tall one head-on. The tall one snorted coldly, flying out a dozen talismans that instantly ignited. The talismans transformed into a large number of stone cones, shooting towards the short one. The short one’s speed surged, leaving afterimages behind him, and he charged headlong into the stone cones. He constantly shifted, swaying left and right amidst the barrage of stone cones, managing to dodge all the attacks and closing in on the tall one. The tall one was good at long-range spells and quickly succumbed under the short one’s close-range dagger attack. Seeing the unfavorable situation, the tall one had no choice but to surrender.

The third, fourth, fifth matches—Yu Heya’s side all lost!

The one-sided results greatly surprised Su Lingkou. Shen Xi, however, had a glint in his eyes: “Where did Ning Zhuo find these skilled fighters? Cousin, thoroughly investigate all these people and find out their identities.” He realized he had underestimated Ning Zhuo’s strength, and couldn’t help but think: “I need to re-evaluate this person.”

In the evening.

“All defeated?” In the cultivation room, Yu Heya suddenly looked up, his eyes wide, staring at Liu Fu. Liu Fu’s face was pale as he stammered out the details. Finally, he handed Yu Heya another invitation.

The invitation was still from Ning Zhuo!

Yu Heya furrowed his brows deeply, staring at the invitation. After a moment of silence, his brows relaxed, and a smile appeared: “A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, heh.”

Ning Zhuo’s impression in his mind had changed slightly. Although still just a small Foundation Establishment cultivator, he seemed to have a certain influence that required more overall attention. Of course, not too much attention. Yu Heya was well aware that the cultivators who had attached themselves to him were not particularly outstanding in strength. He primarily cultivated the “Ni Wuxing Mo Gong” (Reverse Five Elements Demonic Cultivation Method), and his physical condition was deteriorating day by day. He also had to risk breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. If elite Foundation Establishment cultivators wanted to attach themselves to a powerful individual, they certainly wouldn’t choose him.

A ball of fire rose from his palm, incinerating the invitation. Yu Heya shook his hand and looked at Liu Fu: “The other party came prepared, and you were caught off guard. It’s understandable that you lost.” He did not blame them, but instead gave Liu Fu and the others a way out.

“Since that’s the case, let’s explore other avenues.”

“Ning Zhuo wants to gather rogue cultivators on a large scale to reside here. There’s a crucial link: the active cultivator in the Internal Affairs Hall who is helping him.”

“Whether through warning, threat, or enticement, in short, taking care of this key person might make Ning Zhuo lose his voice.”

Yu Heya began to strategize. He had long since learned how Ning Zhuo operated, thus identifying one of the critical points in this operation. Breaking this would cause Ning Zhuo significant disruption.

But the next moment, Liu Fu showed a bitter smile: “Lord, we just found the Internal Affairs Hall cultivator who is cooperating with Ning Zhuo.”

“His surname is Cao, and his name is Cao Gui.”

Yu Heya immediately frowned: “Is it that Cao?” Liu Fu was an old follower of his; otherwise, Yu Heya wouldn’t have entrusted him with the task of expelling cultivators. Liu Fu nodded.

Yu Heya’s brows furrowed even more deeply: “It seems the other party came prepared.” Years ago, he had offended someone from the main peak, the Cao family. To resolve that issue, he had nearly exhausted his entire fortune. Although the Cao family didn’t directly attack him, he also failed to secure the position of Golden Core True Disciple—how could the Cao family allow an enemy to become a sect’s true disciple?

Ning Zhuo had collected intelligence in advance; the money wasn’t wasted. This path was blocked, so Yu Heya thought of another method: “It’s somewhat peculiar that these people can be used by Ning Zhuo. Go investigate your opponents and find a way to bribe them.” Because a Cao family member was involved, Yu Heya dared not make any major moves. He preferred to spend money to avert disaster.

Liu Fu nodded, accepting the order, and left.

Half a day later.

Su Lingkou, looking a bit downcast, reported to Shen Xi.

Shen Xi’s eyebrow raised slightly: “You mean, you couldn’t find any information about them at all?”

Su Lingkou nodded: “Yes, it’s as if they appeared out of thin air.”

Shen Xi’s face showed a hint of solemnity. Bringing outsiders to Wanxiang Sect was not uncommon. Since they were not rogue cultivators, this meant that Ning Zhuo was backed by a certain force. Ning Zhuo was immediately shrouded in a veil of mystery in Shen Xi’s mind.

Liu Fu also brought a similar response to Yu Heya. After dismissing Liu Fu, Yu Heya pondered silently. This aspect was not a flaw. Like Shen Xi, Yu Heya once again raised his evaluation of Ning Zhuo.

“Why is this person making such a fuss and giving me such a hard time? Is it because expelling him caused him to lose face?” Yu Heya felt puzzled. It was simple to resolve the confusion; a direct confrontation with Ning Zhuo would suffice.

But… he had already burned the invitation!

Just as Yu Heya felt regret, his eyes suddenly narrowed. On his hand, there was an invitation, quietly placed. Yu Heya was greatly startled by this. He had no idea when the invitation had been placed next to him. Since the other party could deliver an invitation, couldn’t they also approach him at will and take his life?

“Ning Zhuo, which force are you backed by?!” Yu Heya unfolded the invitation and quickly read it. The content of the invitation was simple: Ning Zhuo wished to visit Yu Heya to discuss the “Ni Wuxing Mo Gong.”

Yu Heya was so angry he laughed: “A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, wanting to discuss the Dao with me, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator?” This attitude of equal discussion made Yu Heya quite displeased.

But this time, he ultimately did not tear up the invitation. After deep thought, he called Liu Fu again: “Arrange it. Tomorrow, I will host Ning Zhuo. Prepare good wine and food.” Liu Fu: “Yes.”

The next day.

Ning Zhuo arrived punctually at the Hard Rock Cave-dwelling as promised. He was meticulously polite and addressed Yu Heya as “senior,” which greatly eased the latter’s mood. After exchanging pleasantries, Ning Zhuo directly stated that he had not intended to dwell on the matter. He would have preferred to accept the ten spirit stones and choose another cave-dwelling, which would have been more convenient. However, Shen Xi had sought him out for another important matter. As for what this “important matter” was, Ning Zhuo briefly explained.

“So that’s how it is,” Yu Heya stroked his beard, his expression unreadable.

Ning Zhuo: “Therefore, please rest assured, Senior Yu, although I am using the influence of the Cao family, this matter is not the Cao family using me to make trouble for you.” The latter part often implied the opposite. In other words, if Ning Zhuo truly wanted to deal with Yu Heya, he could have utilized this power on an even deeper level.

Yu Heya glanced at Ning Zhuo, his expression inscrutable: “What do you intend?” Ning Zhuo, however, changed the subject: “This junior has recently been studying the ‘Ni Wuxing Mo Gong’ and has quite a few doubts. I would like to consult with senior.”

Yu Heya snorted coldly, perhaps annoyed by Ning Zhuo’s circumlocutions, but he still stroked his beard and nodded slightly: “Speak freely.”