Setting the Chessboard!

Bang! "Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" "He is merely a cultivator at the third tier of the Mystic Immortal realm, yet he has slain our sect's disciples one after another!" "If this continues, what will become of the Tianhua Sword Sect's face?!" Inside the sect's main hall, the atmosphere plunged below freezing. Down below, the elders did not dare to make a sound. Chen Tianhua's face was flushed with fury. His favorite tea set had been smashed to smithereens. The desk beside him was shattered, and his aura fluctuated violently. "Sect Master, Lin Chuanqing... is still protecting that Li Congxin." "Could it be possible that he is in Yuxu City right now?" The white-browed elder who had previously been driven from the city by Lin Chuan took a step forward, bowed, and spoke in a chilling voice. Chen Tianhua whipped his head around to glare at the elder, whose expression shifted as he hastily lowered his head. The sect master's chest heaved heavily as he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. Earlier, he had sent six people in total. Every single one was an inner disciple of the Tianhua Sword Sect, with the weakest among them at the fifth tier of the Mystic Immortal realm. Yet so far... not one had returned. Every last one had been killed! Chen Tianhua had originally been determined to obtain the sword inside that secret realm. Otherwise, he would not have taken such a huge risk, sending two waves of disciples in right from the start. Who would have guessed that opening the secret realm this time—sacrificing fifty cultivators to break the seal—would end like this? That fool Pei Tianchen had slaughtered all the Tianhua Sword Sect disciples, and in the end, he had been slain himself! Lin Wujiu... was the Lin family's Eldest Young Master, someone he could not afford to offend. Moreover, judging from the scenes witnessed upon Pei Tianchen's death, that fellow named Li Congxin had most likely obtained the demonic sword. Chen Tianhua closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before finally calming down. Opening his eyes, he spoke in a freezing voice. "Pay no mind to that bladesman." "The prize... should be on that Li Congxin." "Send some men into Yuxu City to keep a constant watch on the Castellan Estate. Do not disturb Lin Chuanqing." The elders below hastily nodded and bowed in assent, and one elder slipped out to arrange the matter. Chen Tianhua said in a deep voice, "Post a bounty on Li Congxin in the black market. Anyone who can provide a lead that results in his capture will be rewarded with a million immortal crystals!" "I refuse to believe there is anywhere he can hide!" The white-browed elder's heart skipped a beat. "Sect Master, a million immortal crystals... isn't that too high?" Chen Tianhua sneered. "High? I want it to be high! I want to leave him nowhere to hide!" "I am going to force him out!" With those words, the white-browed elder nodded and gave a slight gesture to a disciple behind him. Once the disciple had left, Chen Tianhua added coldly: "Look into whether he has any acquaintances in the Immortal Realm. If he does, capture them all." "In addition, pass down an order." "From this day forth, no sect disciples may travel in groups of fewer than five!" "As for the search... dispatch core inner disciples at or above the seventh tier of the Mystic Immortal realm!" "Recall the sect's Heavenly Immortal realm consecrated elders and deacons, and have them travel in disguise among the ordinary disciples!" At these words, everyone present was shocked! "Sect Master, against a mere rogue cultivator at the third tier of the Mystic Immortal realm, isn't this making too much of a fuss?" "If other sects found out, what would become of our face..." An elder stepped forward with a furrowed brow, feeling that Chen Tianhua was overreacting. A dangerous glint flashed in Chen Tianhua's eyes. With a darkened face, he said, "You think I'm making a fuss?" The elders exchanged glances. Though none spoke, the vast majority thought precisely that. Chen Tianhua's heart pounded furiously. Closing his eyes, he drew ragged breaths. Bang! Shattering the table beside him with a single palm strike, he roared: "A rogue cultivator at the third tier of the Mystic Immortal realm was able to overpower and instantly slaughter three inner disciples at the sixth tier of the Mystic Immortal realm, leaving them dead before they could send even a single shred of news back to the sect!" "Tell me! Am I making a fuss?!" "Never mind the third tier—even in a life-or-death battle against someone in the same tier, could any of you do that?! Could you?!" "Fools! A bunch of pig-brained idiots!" "All your damned cultivation went straight into a dog's belly!" "Get lost! All of you get the hell out of my sight! Scram! Scram!" Whoosh! Their faces pale, the elders scrambled out of the main hall, speeding away to make their respective arrangements. Chen Tianhua sat alone in his chair, drawing deep breath after deep breath. Leaning back, he rubbed the space between his eyebrows. Pei Tianchen was stupid, and the sect elders were stupid as well... They were so stupid his heart ached. "Am I raising a pack of pigs?" Chen Tianhua opened his eyes, a sharp glint flickering within. Suddenly pausing, he knit his brows. "Zhao Chengyong? Why is he sending me a transmission?" Circulating immortal primal energy, Zhao Chengyong's voice emerged from the jade slip. After listening, Chen Tianhua's eyes narrowed into slits. "An ascendant cultivator? Three months..." "What a terrifying monster! It seems I wasn't mistaken..." "A freak like this must be nipped in the bud!" Chen Tianhua narrowed his eyes. "You like killing, don't you? Then I'll let you kill!" "Someone, come here!" *** Several hundred li from the Tianhua Sword Sect, inside a cave that had been hollowed out by hand. Li Guanqi beamed with delight as he looked at the storage rings laid out before him, cracking their restrictions one after another. "One hundred and sixty thousand, one hundred and sixty-four thousand... Damn, so poor!" "One hundred and eighty-seven thousand! Tsk, the Tianhua Sword Sect disciples really are rich." Li Guanqi sorted through his spoils. By now, he possessed nearly four million immortal crystals. Seven bottles of Xuanyuan Pills, and nine bottles of healing pills. Over a dozen immortal artifact robes as well, though all were of the lowest grade. Li Guanqi threw away the rest of the worthless junk. After stowing everything away, Li Guanqi could not help sighing with feeling: "How could honest work ever match the speed of highway robbery..." While other ascendants in the Immortal Realm were still fretting over resources, Li Guanqi already felt he was too wealthy. Once he had finished packing, however, Li Guanqi leaned back against the stone wall and gradually calmed his mind. With a wave of his hand, he manifested a chessboard. Opposite him was an illusory figure of Chen Tianhua, condensed from immortal spirit. Based on his analysis of the cities he had visited recently: Chen Tianhua was a man with an extreme desire for control, and a strict hierarchy governed the four cities. The Tianhua Sword Sect carried an innate sense of superiority. Within a thousand li, not a single other sect or organization existed. As the two played their stones, Li Guanqi suddenly looked up with a cold smile. "A man like you... would seize every possible opportunity to kill me, wouldn't you?" "Carelessness, negligence... those traits likely don't exist in you." The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly as he murmured to himself: "I imagine that right about now, you're already scheming how to lure me into a trap and encircle me." Yet in the corner of this chessboard, there was still an inconspicuous piece. "Would Zhao Chengyong really give up just like that?" "Probably not... That petty bastard wishes nothing more than to see me dead."