Infiltration, Assassination, and Intelligence Gathering!

Chen Fan stared expressionlessly down at Yu Ning'er, who was sprawled on the ground. The Immortal Slaughter Holy Land—it sounded like a rather formidable faction. "Have you heard of it?" He looked up at Old Demon Jiangbei and the people of the Gongyang clan standing nearby. "No." Old Demon Jiangbei furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "I can say for certain that no such faction exists in Jiangnan. I'm not familiar with Jiangdong or Jiangxi; perhaps it's there." "It's not in Jiangdong or Jiangxi either," Gongyang Yiyue, the Grand Elder of the Gongyang clan, said in a deep voice. "I have a faint impression of factions that can call themselves 'Holy Lands'—they are all exceedingly powerful, though I don't know the exact details. There are no factions called Holy Lands anywhere in our vicinity." "Hmm..." After considering this for a moment, Chen Fan clicked his tongue. "Given how grand a faction this is supposed to be, I thought your body would instantly detonate the moment you uttered their secrets." Sprawled on the ground, Yu Ning'er squeezed out a strained, awkward smile, trying her best to appear as submissive and obedient as possible. As long as she could survive this immediate crisis, she had several ways to make an escape. It was true that she hailed from a massive faction. However, if she died, the force backing her wouldn't bother seeking vengeance on her behalf. A colossal faction like that dispatched scores of teams each year on missions to other regions. If they had to avenge every team that perished, they wouldn't have time to do anything else; they'd spend every year rushing all over the place just settling scores. Vengeance also had to be cost-effective! Revenge was an objective, not just a tool. When everyone knew one of your squads had been killed out in the world, you had to retaliate, or your prestige would suffer. But if a team died in some obscure, forgotten corner without anyone knowing, the faction couldn't care less about revenge—after all, no one knew about it anyway. What was more, this place was so far from the Holy Land; dying here would just mean dying in vain. "Tell me why you went undercover in the Jiangbei Chen family." Chen Fan posed the question he cared most about. "For..." Without the slightest hesitation, and giving Chen Fan no time to react, Yu Ning'er blurted it all out: "Nameless Mountain was that person's former dwelling! That person laid down the Sky-Imprisoning..." Her voice came to an abrupt halt. *Thud!* Chen Fan stomped her head heavily into the ground, preventing her from opening her mouth to speak another word. He turned to look at Old Demon Jiangbei, who, along with the others, tactfully retreated into the distance, though their hearts were churning with turbulent waves. Even though they had only caught half of it... it seemed Nameless Mountain held a massive secret? "Did you do that on purpose?" Chen Fan crouched down and seized the woman by her hair, his expression calm. "Care to shout it a little louder?" "I..." The woman's body trembled as she averted her eyes from Chen Fan. She had indeed wanted more people to hear the news to muddy the waters; only then might she find a chance to escape. "That... That person laid down the Sky-Imprisoning Grand Array on Nameless Mountain to nurture an extremely precious heavenly material and earthly treasure, a Snow Lotus, which takes a century to mature. There's also a Mountain Embryo. Do you know of the blood sacrifice array—the one the ghost king used to break through? Its core material was a Mountain Skeleton Embryo. "A Mountain Embryo is even more precious than a Mountain Skeleton Embryo. "Furthermore, there is an exotic treasure at the bottom of the sinkhole. My master deduced that when that person used a hammer to smash a mountain into a sinkhole, the bedrock at the bottom would be compressed to an extreme degree. After so many years under such tremendous pressure, it may have formed the heavenly material and earthly treasure known as Earth Gold. "Going by the timeline, the Snow Lotus will fully mature after this year's rainy season. Ordinary people cannot enter that grand array, but I have a special method. As long as you spare me, I can lead you inside the Sky-Imprisoning Grand Array. "Everything will belong to you. "All I ask for is my life." "Nothing else?" Chen Fan asked, tilting his head. "Nothing! Truly nothing else!" "Mm." Chen Fan picked up a longsword dropped by a Chen clansman on the ground nearby. Without a moment's pause, he drove it straight into the back of Yu Ning'er's neck. Watching the venomous hatred that surfaced in her eyes and the life rapidly draining from them, he stood up, dusted off his hands, and muttered, "Quite the schemer." "Mother!" Sprawled nearby, Chen Quan snapped out of his dazed stupor at this sight. Tearing his throat raw, he wailed in agony, "Chen Fan, you'll die a horrible death! You killed your stepmother!" "What did you just say?" Chen Fan glanced sideways at Chen Quan, pulled the bloodstained longsword from Yu Ning'er's neck, and crouched down before Chen Quan, speaking calmly, "Given everything you and your mother did to me in the past, the fact that I didn't rape your mother right in front of you already makes me a saint." Before Chen Quan could reply, the longsword thrust forward once more. Just as Old Demon Jiangbei had said, killing really was simple. As long as momentum and power were on his side, killing whoever he wanted was merely a matter of lifting a hand—or even just speaking a word. With this, the core bloodline of the Jiangbei Chen family was virtually wiped out. "Quehou." Chen Fan stood up and swept his gaze over the Chen clan members pinned to the ground. "Find all those wicked servants who used to bully you. Oh, and anyone who bullied me, too. Kill them all." "Right away!" Quehou grinned, limping toward a burly man he had spotted long ago. Looking down from above, he slammed the God-Slaying Spear firmly into the ground. "Remember your Grandpa Que?" "Jiangbei Chen family, Retainer Liu." "Grade 5 architect." Chen Fan walked over to a middle-aged man with a look of emotion. "You're probably the most valuable person here, aren't you?" Pinned to the ground, the middle-aged man nodded frantically like a chick pecking at grain. The uncontrollable terror in his eyes made his voice quiver. "I possess a vast heritage of architectural knowledge! I've even created two qualitative changes! I..." Before he could finish, the longsword thrust out again. "Is two qualitative changes something to be proud of?" Chen Fan withdrew the sword, shook his head, and continued toward the others. In front of the old Jiangbei Chen family estate, a crowd of onlookers had gathered to watch the spectacle. Qi Feng and the others, having returned after venturing out of the city, now stood in the crowd, their expressions complicated as they watched Chen Fan move among the people like King Yan calling the roll of the dead, systematically executing one pinned captive after another. "Chen Fan's purge is extraordinarily thorough," Elder Xu whispered beside Qi Feng. This purge was not just about revenge. It was a statement. Even if they were his own family, anyone who crossed him would be pinned and executed right here. Moreover, it eliminated a great deal of hidden danger. Never again would he face extortion—such as family members being taken hostage as leverage against him. "And you." Carrying the bloodstained sword, Chen Fan walked up to a man in white and said casually, "Want to say any parting threats before you hit the road? Like... 'I won't let you off even as a ghost'?" "I'm not from the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land!" The man in white sprawled on the ground spoke at lightning speed, terrified that he would be skewered the very next second. "I'm a prisoner of the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land! One of my po-souls was extracted and imprisoned within a 'soul tablet' held by Yu Ning'er. With that tablet, my life and death are under control—if the tablet shatters, I die! "Yu Ning'er is dead, and her life tablet must have shattered; the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land definitely knows by now. "I don't have a life tablet back at the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land! "Him—" The man in white pointed urgently at a beggar lying on the ground beside him. "He's from the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land! That night during the rainy season when a flesh worm ghost tide suddenly surged toward your Nameless Mountain, it was his doing! He's a special cultivator, a 'Wind Walker,' capable of whipping up powerful gales! "I specialize in infiltration, assassination, and intelligence gathering! "The Fan Domain has only just risen, so you definitely lack people with these skills. Take me in, and I can forge a cadre of subordinates dedicated to stealth and assassination for you!" Chen Fan stood frozen in place, expressionless, the longsword held aloft without descending. Infiltration. Assassination. Intelligence gathering. These three concepts struck every chord within him, hitting right at the core of what he needed. The temptation was simply irresistible. If... If the Fan Domain could possess a force responsible for infiltration, assassination, and intelligence gathering, the mere thought of it was glorious. How far a faction could reach depended in large part on the work of such people. He was somewhat better off than other factions because he had the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. Yet he couldn't drive the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage around every day; most of the time, he had to remain at his home base. Not to mention, the cost of operating the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage once was simply too steep. He lowered his sword, strode over to Yu Ning'er's corpse, and searched her body for a moment. Sure enough, from an inner pocket of her bodice, he pulled out a command token carved with the character for "Soul." On its back, the faint visage of the man in white was visible. It had an interface panel: [Exotic Treasure Name]: Soul Tablet. [Exotic Treasure Grade]: Green. [Exotic Treasure Effect]: Can imprison one po-soul of another person. If the tablet shatters, the person dies. Currently holds one imprisoned po-soul, originating from "Shao Qiu." "Your name is Shao Qiu?" He tucked the soul tablet into his robe, walked up to the man in white, and asked softly. "Yes..." Shao Qiu took a deep breath, adding more chips to his bargaining power. "Since I was imprisoned by the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land, I naturally bear a grudge against them. I can provide you with information regarding other regions so that when the Fan Domain ventures into other territories in the future, you won't be in the dark. "I also possess secret martial techniques for infiltration and assassination. "Given enough time, "I will ensure the Fan Domain's assassination division becomes renowned throughout the world!" "Mm..." After a brief pause, Chen Fan suddenly broke into a smile. He stepped forward to help the man in white up. "Quick, get up. It's chilly out, and lying there too long will make you catch a cold. We'll discuss the details once we get back." He failed to lift him up. Shao Qiu's calves were still pinned to the ground by sword qi. Chen Fan glanced at Old Demon Jiangbei. Old Demon Jiangbei understood immediately and dispersed the sword qi. Only after doing this did Chen Fan look toward the beggar at the side with satisfaction. "He's not a prisoner, is he?" "No." "Then kill him." Immediately following that— The butcher's blade soon hovered over the heads of the Chen family elders. Several elders sprawled on the ground pleaded in trembling voices, "Young Master! Young Master! Our hearts have always been with you! During the rainy season, the Family Head ordered us to disguise ourselves as members of the Wild Wolf Gang to collect the ghost stones and exotic treasures offered by the commoners and merchants! "We hid a portion of them in a warehouse on the west side of Jiangbei City! "It was all prepared for you, Young Master! "Our hearts have always leaned toward you!" "Mm." Chen Fan gave a slight nod and looked at them with a smile. "Then you won't have to die. Zhou Mo, take some men to ransack the Jiangbei Chen family compound. The rest of you, follow these elders to retrieve the hidden ghost stones, and then we will all return to the Fan Domain together. "I am not a bloodthirsty person. I recall that back in the day, you elders never targeted me. "So pack up and come along." All who deserved to die were dead. This matter had pretty much reached its conclusion. As dusk fell, all belongings and valuables had been packed. Nine Blazing Flame Dragon Horses drew the dragon carriage, slowly rolling along the street toward the city gate. Yet at some point, the sides of the street had become packed with commoners. The moment they spotted the dragon carriage, they rushed forward, presenting gifts from their hands. Eggs, loose ghost stone fragments, cured meat, vegetables, and all sorts of items were forcefully thrust into his carriage cabin. The entire city echoed with cheers as countless commoners used this gesture to express their boundless gratitude. "What's going on?" Inside the cabin, Chen Fan was taken aback. While lifting the curtain to smile and wave at the commoners on both sides of the street, he furrowed his brows, wondering which faction's scheme this might be. The only ones he had friction with recently were those people from the Tianxia Pavilion in the teahouse; had they hidden assassins among the populace? But soon enough— Da Yu, sitting beside him, whispered, "It's the Wild Wolf Gang leader. He spread word about how the Jiangbei Chen family embezzled ghost stones during the rainy season and set up the Myriad Spirits Blood Transformation Array to sacrifice every living soul in the city. He told everyone that you stopped the array and saved the whole city. "When the commoners learned of this, they gathered along the streets of their own accord to express their gratitude to you, Domain Lord. "The people are all saying that you, Domain Lord, are a righteous sage who put justice before family. "That's what I overheard." "A sage?" Chen Fan paused slightly, then couldn't help but chuckle. Looking out at the commoners along the street, he called out, "Keep the ghost stones! Just bring more local specialties—during the rainy season these past days, I really haven't had a proper fill!" Perhaps because he appeared so approachable, the commoners who had previously hesitated to step forward immediately relaxed. A massive deluge of cured meat, eggs, and cabbage was crammed into the carriage cabin. It was far more than they could have ever purchased. The atmosphere was bustling and lively. With the entire city seeing him off, his progress out of the city was exceptionally slow, far behind schedule. By the time they departed the city gates, night had nearly fallen. "Head on back, everyone!" Chen Fan leaned out of the carriage, waving with a smile to the crowd of commoners gathered by the city gates. At this moment, darkness rolled in like a heavy cloud from the distance, swiftly enveloping the world. The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage sped through the darkness once more, carrying its carriage full of people and goods, racing toward Nameless Mountain! Amid the crowd, Old Demon Jiangbei stood at the city gates, glancing back at Gongyang Yiyue, and asked softly, "You're a Nightwatcher. I recall that Nightwatchers possess a special ability to hear sounds from ten thousand meters away, even if it's intermittent. Did you hear anything about what's going on at Nameless Mountain just now?" "No," Gongyang Yiyue slowly shook his head. "Nightwatchers repel one another. Chen Fan has a Nightwatcher by his side as well, so I cannot hear sounds from that area." "Will you report this news to the Gongyang clan after the rainy season ends?" "Certainly." "If possible, I hope you will do your best not to spread it around. I'd hate to see the Gongyang clan slaughtered like the Dan Sect." "That is for the Patriarch to decide." Gongyang Yiyue shook his head. "I have no decision-making power, but I trust the Patriarch will not antagonize the Fan Domain, nor will he leak this information."