The Bigger the Spectacle, the Better

Cai Yi was lying in wait, and so was Su Yu. He wasn't the only one; the other white masks were lying in wait as well. This standoff dragged on for quite some time until someone finally spoke into Su Yu's mask communication channel: "Has everyone not arrived yet?" "……" Complete silence. Everyone understood at once! They had all arrived, but no one dared step out into the open. Now that they were in the Human Realm, everyone was on edge, terrified of betrayal, terrified of a knife in the back. "Xuan Jiu, you're our leader. Haven't you arrived yet?" Huang Jiu spoke up. Su Yu cursed inwardly. *You're done for. You've picked fights with me multiple times now. Just you wait; I'll beat you to death sooner or later.* "Huang Jiu, you head to the designated location first! I'm the head of the Great Xia Prefecture branch, so you follow my orders!" "……" Now it was Huang Jiu's turn to curse! *Why the hell should I go first? How dangerous is that!* Everyone waited a while longer. The next moment, a figure materialized in the distance. Cai Yi felt utterly exasperated. *Dammit, none of them will come out, so I have to.* There was a good reason the Great Xia Prefecture branch had managed to roll out business so quickly. These four white masks were every bit as sly and treacherous as ghosts. "All of you, come out!" Cai Yi commanded. What was the point of all this posturing? They were just wasting time. A moment later, all four white masks appeared almost simultaneously. Since every one of them wore a mask, no one felt awkward. Su Yu was the first to speak. "Greetings, Law Enforcer. Traffic was a bit congested along the way..." "Same here. A patrol of Dragon Martial Guards was on the road, so I had to steer clear of them for a moment." "Me too!" "……" Cai Yi was speechless. *Dammit, that's enough. Don't bother making excuses; you guys aren't even trying to make your brush-offs sound convincing.* "Quiet, all of you!" Cai Yi said coldly. "Xuan Jiu, your Great Xia Prefecture branch was the first to launch operations. Tell me first how you managed to evade the manhunt." Su Yu replied nonchalantly, "The moment I arrived, I ended up near Nanyuan. I traded a single blow with a commander of the Dragon Martial Guards and retreated immediately. The other party didn't pursue, so I found a place to lie low. Later, near Starfall Mountain, I ran into Bai Feng's cousin, Bai Junsheng. You all know what happened after that." "Huang Jiu, what about you?" "I had good luck. I landed in the wilderness where nobody bothered me, found a spot to hide, and later disguised myself to slip into a merchant caravan to get a read on the situation." "I landed in a mountain range where there wasn't a soul in sight." "I fell into a river and someone spotted me. I killed the fellow and slipped away." Among the four white masks, Su Yu had the clearest track record, and since he had announced his name publicly, many people were aware of him. Cai Yi pressed no further on the matter. Instead, he looked at Su Yu and said, "Xuan Jiu, you've been far too high-profile!" Su Yu gave a chilly chuckle. "As newcomers, if we aren't high-profile, are we supposed to scurry around like rats? From what I can see, the Great Xia Prefecture is in absolute disarray. Chaos is already inevitable. Once the Nanyuan ruins are discovered, massive turmoil will erupt without fail. Are we supposed to lie dormant right now and just wait for an opportunity? Opportunities aren't delivered to your doorstep; you have to create them yourself! Law Enforcer, you don't understand. As trailblazers, how can we expand our market without enough courage? The Xuan Division specializes in doing business. It seems you've spent too much time in the Law Enforcement Division, Law Enforcer, and have grown rusty in commercial matters!" He fired back directly, but Cai Yi took no offense. In a solemn tone, Cai Yi said, "You might have a point. I don't wish to meddle too much in the Great Xia Prefecture's business either, but... this is extremely dangerous. The four of you are only in the Shanhai Realm!" "Which is why..." Su Yu said with a faint smile, "I hope you, Law Enforcer, can transfer a few more experts over to us. What's the point of those fellows holing up in those minor prefectures? The Great Xia Prefecture is where the real opportunity lies! Over the past few days, our business volume has been shockingly high. We've had to reject a huge number of requests, damaging our reputation. If we had enough white masks, we could take on far more contracts!" "I will consider petitioning the higher-ups!" Cai Yi nodded, then quickly added, "Let's set that aside for now. Let's find a place to discuss the upcoming mission!" He took off swiftly, and the others followed close behind. …… Seeing that Cai Yi flew at tremendous speed and clearly had a destination in mind, Su Yu snorted inwardly. It seemed the man had arrived long ago. Even he was this cautious. Su Yu discreetly probed with his perception jade. *Fifth layer of the Sun Moon Realm—very powerful!* Still, if Su Yu went all out and consumed blood essence, he wouldn't necessarily have to fear him, so there was no need to worry overmuch. Besides, this was the Human Realm. He had backers here as well! After flying for a while, they descended into a village nestled deep within the mountains. People still inhabited the village. Cai Yi dropped straight down, landing in a courtyard. The villagers didn't notice them at all. Since the weakest among them was in the Shanhai Realm, it was not easy for ordinary folk to spot them. Moments later, they stepped into the courtyard. There was someone inside. Su Yu's mind stirred. An elderly man walked out shortly. Showing no surprise at the sight of the newcomers, the old man hurriedly bowed. "East Pavilion gray mask greets the esteemed masters!" A member of the East Pavilion! The East and West Pavilions were responsible for gathering intelligence in minor realms. Clearly, this man was also a member of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion who collected information for the organization. His cultivation was weak—merely in the Wanshi Realm, likely the lowest caliber among the gray masks. Of course, someone too strong would have seemed out of place. In a rural mountain village, the Wanshi Realm was already considered quite capable. Cai Yi gave a nod and, without uttering a word, led the group into the house. The elderly man hurried after them, behaving with utter deference. In his eyes, every single one of them was a prominent figure. Once inside, Cai Yi took a seat directly. The four white masks stood flanking him on either side, while the old man stood trembling in the center, waiting for orders. After a brief silence, Cai Yi spoke. "Are there any Dragon Martial Guards patrolling nearby?" "No, sir. There are patrols from the prefectural army, but they are very few." "Give me their routes, timing, locations, numbers, strength... all of it." "Yes, sir!" "……" Before long, the old man recounted all the intelligence he had routinely gathered. Cai Yi listened for a while, nodded slightly, and then said, "I have a task for you. Can you accomplish it?" "Please instruct me, Master!" "Inadvertently reveal to a villager that someone with a white mask has appeared nearby. You must act as though you understand nothing, but the villager must know what it means, won't spread the word recklessly, and will secretly report it to the authorities. Is there such a person in the village?" "Yes, sir!" "Can you make him believe you without the slightest suspicion?" "I can!" Cai Yi nodded and smiled. "If you accomplish this, once the mission is completed, I will assist you in advancing to the Tengkong Realm!" "Thank you, Master!" The old man was overjoyed. At the side, Su Yu remained completely unfazed. Across the countless multitudes of humanity, one could hardly expect every human to be a good person; even Su Yu himself had no intention of acting like a saint. Besides, wasn't he standing among these white masks right now? He understood Cai Yi's plan. Using a villager to leak the information was meant to lure Yuan Qingdong over. After a moment's thought, Su Yu spoke up. "Master, will luring that person over startle him and alert the enemy? Wouldn't it be better to launch a direct surprise attack?" Cai Yi chuckled. "No, that is far too unsafe! Bear in mind that this is the Human Realm. Once a Sun Moon Realm battle breaks out, it can easily be detected. If it's too close to a major city, others will notice, and if reinforcements arrive, we'll be in serious trouble!" "Then won't the target become suspicious?" Cai Yi said indifferently, "Who would suspect an ordinary villager? Besides, Sun Moon Realm experts possess perceptive abilities; the thoughts of someone below the Tengkong Realm cannot be concealed from them. If it were you, would you be suspicious?" Su Yu answered bluntly, "Yes, because the coincidence is too convenient! Just as I'm searching for someone, that very person appears, gets spotted, and the discoverer happens to report it to me. Of course I would be suspicious!" Cai Yi was left at a loss for words. *That's just your excessive paranoia!* "The villager won't report directly to him. There is a prefectural army nearby, but I know that Yuan Qingdong oversees the patrols in the northern district. Eventually, the report will be escalated to him, and he will definitely summon this villager for questioning. It's not as though the report goes straight to him from the start." "Then too many people will know. If it draws out someone even stronger, can you handle it, Master?" *What a contrarian!* Cai Yi was thoroughly exasperated. Still, Xuan Jiu's concerns weren't entirely baseless, so he forced himself to explain patiently, "The Great Xia Prefecture doesn't have many Sun Moon experts present right now..." "What if it's a trap?" Growing somewhat irritated, Cai Yi retorted, "If you're so terrified, how did you have the audacity to slaughter a commander right inside the city?" Su Yu replied calmly, "Because I had certainty. I never do things without certainty! But this time, I have no certainty. I've encountered far too many descendants of Invincibles, and I've even seen descendants carrying an Invincible divine talisman, which makes things even more troublesome! He is a descendant of an Invincible, so of course I worry about such things. You, Master, are in the Sun Moon Realm, but we are not. You have a chance to escape with your life, while we don't!" "I never wanted to accept this mission in the first place!" Su Yu glanced toward one of the white masks and said, "Di Shiba, you were the one who accepted this mission! I've looked into Wu Yuehua. She is tangled up with Liu Wenyan of the multiple divine character faction, and she shares close ties with the Xia family. If this turns out to be a trap, I have every reason to suspect whether you've reached an understanding with the Xia family!" "Xuan Jiu, don't you dare slander me!" Di Shiba snapped in fury. "I took the mission for the sake of our business! You were the one who said we needed to take on more contracts to make a name for ourselves!" Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "Fine. Let me lay down the ugly truth first: this time, Di Shiba, you take the vanguard!" "Why should I? I'm only at the seventh layer of the Shanhai Realm, and the target is in the Sun Moon Realm!" Di Shiba was incensed. Huang Jiu chimed in, "Xuan Jiu, Di Shiba did it for the sake of the mission, to make our Great Xia Prefecture branch stronger and more renowned. There's no need to suspect everyone." Su Yu said aloofly, "I actually prefer acting alone. To tell you the truth, operating alongside all of you means I have to constantly watch out for backstabbing! It's an enormous hassle! Trust takes time to build, and right now, I don't trust any of you in the slightest. For all I know, there might even be humans among you!" With that, he turned to Cai Yi. "Master, may I examine the background files of the white masks under my command?" "That is forbidden!" Cai Yi refused. "Only their direct elders are permitted to view those files. Since their direct elders raised no objections and did not refuse their dispatch this time, I believe there is no issue!" "Let's hope so!" Su Yu was playing the thief crying out to catch the thief. Regardless, he wanted to inoculate them first. Nine times out of ten, this mission was bound to fail, and casualties might even occur. He had no desire to shoulder the blame! *I, Xuan Jiu, stated clearly from the start that this contract was a bad idea and shouldn't be touched. You insisted on taking it, so if it fails, it's because you're useless and incompetent.* Su Yu added, "Since that's the case, I will follow orders! You alone are more than capable of handling that target, Master, so there's no real need for our assistance. All we can do is help clean up afterward." "No, your role is crucial!" Cai Yi stated plainly. "I will not reveal myself at the very beginning. The moment he senses danger, he will flee immediately or contact other experts. You must stall them for a short time before I intervene. Initially, I will remain far away!" "……" Silence fell over the room. Su Yu said, his tone tinged with anger, "Master, you want the four of us to tie down a descendant of an Invincible who is also in the Sun Moon Realm?" "Xuan Jiu, you possess the capability. Bear in mind that a commander of the Dragon Martial Guards' shadow unit is no pushover. Since you could withstand a strike from him, you can certainly stall Yuan Qingdong for a short spell!" Su Yu drew a deep breath and paused before asking, "Is this your order, Master? Or... a recommendation?" "A recommendation!" Cai Yi quickly replied. "You are an ancient city resident. If this mission succeeds, you will receive an extra one hundred Heaven Hunting points, which you can exchange for Heaven Yuan Qi to mitigate the effects of the death qi." One hundred points equated to ten portions of Heaven Yuan Qi, which was by no means a small amount. Su Yu fell into contemplation. Last time, after achieving so much revenue, he had only received an eighty-point bonus. Of course, operating in the Human Realm now yielded ten times the standard rewards. Su Yu spoke again. "Then once this mission is completed, in addition to that, I demand at least one-tenth of the total value of whatever Wu Yuehua provides before I take the job!" "Agreed!" For assassination missions, the operatives normally received half the bounty while the Heaven Hunting Pavilion took the other half as a cut. Granted, the primary operative this time was Cai Yi rather than Su Yu, so taking a tenth was already quite substantial. Shortly after, Cai Yi added, "Each of you may take one-tenth. I will take half. The remaining ten percent will serve as public funds directly managed by the Great Xia Prefecture branch, available for you all to use as you see fit!" These terms were exceedingly generous; the Heaven Hunting Pavilion was waiving its cut entirely this time. The white masks exchanged glances and nodded one after another. This mission was worth taking! All they needed to do was stall for a brief period, and Xuan Jiu had proven he could contend with the Sun Moon Realm. As for whether Xuan Jiu was secretly in the Sun Moon Realm himself, none of them could tell, but that didn't matter so long as he could hold his ground. With Cai Yi, a fifth-layer Sun Moon expert present, killing Yuan Qingdong would be effortless. With the mission accepted, Su Yu pushed aside other concerns and promptly addressed the old man. "Given how suspicious a Sun Moon expert naturally is, even if he comes, he will definitely come looking for you first instead of rushing recklessly after us. He might even send someone to summon you, and once summoned, you could be exposed!" The old man's expression changed slightly. Cai Yi remained silent, as if he hadn't considered this angle. Su Yu continued, "Furthermore, this place sits halfway up the mountain with an open line of sight. No matter how foolish I, Xuan Jiu, might be, I would never reveal my tracks in a location like this!" Cai Yi continued his silence; this felt uncomfortably like an insult aimed directly at him. Su Yu said indifferently, "Tell me, are there any villages located deeper in the mountains? In that village, is there someone greedy, petty, and thoroughly disliked by his neighbors? Someone who also possesses some knowledge of outside news, and near whose village there is an ideal hiding spot...?" The old man looked at him with profound admiration. "Master's wisdom is boundless! There is indeed such a place, but this subordinate still needs a bit of time to gather specific details. If you grant me a moment, Master, I will return shortly with definitive information!" Su Yu nodded slightly. "Xuan Seventeen, go with him. Watch your safety, and report back quickly!" "Understood!" Xuan Seventeen was thoroughly impressed as well. Looking back, none of them had spotted any flaws in Cai Yi's original approach. Yet thinking about it now... there were far too many vulnerabilities! It would have been incredibly easy to blow their cover! What if the other side summoned the old messenger for questioning? Moreover, this village was simply not secluded or deep enough. If a village was too isolated, planting an informant there would be useless since there would be virtually nothing to hear. …… Meanwhile, Cai Yi was busily compiling a full report through his mask, transmitting every detail of the conversation back to headquarters. Before long, a response came from the Law Enforcement Elder: *"Pay closer attention to Xuan Jiu. He plans comprehensively, which increases everyone's chances of survival. Observe his strength further. In addition, should danger arise, prioritize ensuring Xuan Jiu's escape!"* "Understood!" Cai Yi quickly replied, then resumed documenting everyone's words and actions. This was an essential duty of a Law Enforcer. As for Su Yu pointing out flaws in his plans, he didn't take it to heart. He wasn't specifically trained in field operations, so it was only natural that he lacked finesse in practical tradecraft. Assassinations were the forte of the North and South Towers, the Xuan Division specialized in commerce, and he was purely in charge of internal law enforcement. Before long, the old man and Xuan Seventeen returned. Xuan Seventeen promptly reported, "He didn't do anything out of the ordinary while outside, just asked a few routine questions..." After Xuan Seventeen finished his briefing, neither Su Yu nor the others said a word. Soon, the old man provided the answer they needed. There was indeed another village situated deep within the mountains. The village chief was a petty, money-grubbing man whose son served in the prefectural army. The chief could easily pass information up through his son without drawing undue attention, and he possessed a modest awareness of affairs outside the mountains. Su Yu understood at once! Quickly, the plan was set: this village chief would discover subtle traces of an intruder, pass the information to his son, and ultimately lure Yuan Qingdong in. As for whether this would succeed in luring him... that remained to be seen. Su Yu suspected it likely would, but Yuan Qingdong might not come alone. Given Yuan Qingdong's character, would he genuinely risk his own skin just to capture an operative of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion? That would be giving him far too much credit! Naturally, Su Yu couldn't be bothered with that right now. Whether Yuan Qingdong lived or died held little importance to him; his primary objective was to patch vulnerabilities and establish his persona as a hyper-competent Xuan Jiu. Shortly after, Su Yu raised this exact concern. "Although these descendants of Invincibles are arrogant, they are also terrified of death! Having fought a Sun Moon expert myself, I know he may not dare come after me alone. He might secretly bring another Sun Moon expert along, or simply report the matter to summon someone even stronger!" Su Yu cautioned, "Master Cai Yi, please weigh this carefully. If the situation becomes untenable, we will withdraw immediately. There is no need to sacrifice four white masks just for his sake!" "Agreed!" Cai Yi nodded. "Xuan Jiu, you will take lead and coordinate this operation. My only role is to kill the target; in all other matters, we will follow your arrangements!" Su Yu had firmly established himself as a remarkably capable hand. In the eyes of the group, he was a cautious, survival-oriented partner, and placing him in charge gave everyone a substantial boost in confidence. Su Yu didn't bother acting modest. He said briskly, "The general outline is set; we just need to make appropriate adjustments. The village chief's discovery must not seem too contrived. A white mask showing such a lack of vigilance would look absurdly foolish! Furthermore, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to hide anything from me. It would be best if he deduces my presence in the vicinity through indirect clues rather than spotting me directly..." "In addition, it would be ideal if someone could supply us with intelligence regarding the whereabouts and movements of the other Sun Moon experts in the Great Xia Prefecture..." After handing down a flurry of instructions and precautions, Su Yu finally added, "One last point: from this moment on, everyone had best remain together under my sight. I hope no one will be transmitting voice messages to the outside world!" "Listen to Xuan Jiu!" Cai Yi announced, and the others voiced no objection. Su Yu curled his lip inwardly. *I really want to sell you all out. Forget it, you're not worth enough—just one fifth-layer Sun Moon and three Shanhais wouldn't fetch a high enough price to make it worthwhile. If a few elders had shown up, I might actually have turned you in!* …… The plan was set into motion swiftly. In a tiny mountain hamlet, a chubby village chief inadvertently sensed faint ripples of origin qi, resembling the byproduct of an expert's cultivation. At first, the village chief didn't think much of it. Before long, however, even the mountain spring water he drew for his household carried a subtle trace of origin qi. It was exceedingly faint, undetectable to ordinary folk, but this "well-traveled" chubby chief realized something immediately. Upstream at the spring's source deep in the mountains, an expert might be cultivating, thereby increasing the origin qi concentration in the water. These mountains were hardly abundant in origin qi. Under normal circumstances, nobody would come here to cultivate, let alone an expert. The chubby chief instantly recognized the danger. Even mountain dwellers in the Great Xia Prefecture harbored a keen sense of crisis. Anyone hiding deep in the mountains to cultivate was almost certainly an operative of the All-Races Sect or a member of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion that had been causing such an uproar lately! Either way, they were nine times out of ten a villain. What kind of upstanding person would hide out in a godforsaken wilderness like this to cultivate? Even if his guess was wrong, reporting it wasn't a crime. The Great Xia Prefecture actively encouraged citizens to report the locations of All-Races Sect cultists and offered rewards. If the report proved false, it would merely be an honest misunderstanding; if true, the merit point reward would be quite substantial. Consequently, the village chief made no attempt to investigate the deep mountains himself. Instead, he marched straight out of the village to deliver the message to his son in the prefectural army! …… Deep in the mountains. Huang Jiu returned quickly, marveling, "Xuan Jiu, that was brilliant! How did you know he would go straight to his son to report you?" *Nonsense, because I'm from the Great Xia Prefecture!* *I know the habits of these old men and women like the back of my hand!* Whenever they spotted something amiss, if they thought they could win, they would bring a mob to beat the tar out of you. Slaying All-Races Sect cultists brought rewards, and everyone was eager to kill, which was why people said the Great Xia Prefecture was packed with bloodthirsty fiends. If they felt they couldn't win, they naturally sought out someone who could. So him running to his son was not surprising in the least. Naturally, Su Yu couldn't say that aloud. He simply remarked in a detached tone, "That is because you lack an understanding of the Human Realm. Familiarize yourselves more. Whatever identity you adopt, ensure your actions strictly align with their nature!" The white masks said nothing further; his word was law. …… Meanwhile, within Beifeng City. The prefectural army soon received word. Lately, the entire Great Xia Prefecture had been scouring the land for Xuan Jiu, so the slightest disturbance immediately alerted the army's higher-ups. Before long, an expert in the Lingyun Realm went to the tiny village in person to investigate. He approached with extreme caution, stationing himself in the village for an entire night. Sensing the almost imperceptible ripples of origin qi and tasting the spring water, he finally reached a conclusion after a long while: the other party's origin qi was of exceptionally high quality. It might very well belong to a Shanhai Realm powerhouse! A Shanhai Realm expert concealed in this vicinity immediately brought Xuan Jiu to mind. The Lingyun expert quickly withdrew without investigating further, continuing to escalate the intelligence up the chain. A suspected Shanhai expert had appeared in the area. …… After passing through several channels, the report reached Yuan Qingdong in less than a day while he was slacking off in Beifeng City. Hearing the report, Yuan Qingdong said in disbelief, "You haven't even laid eyes on anyone, and you come reporting to me that it might be Xuan Jiu? Based solely on a tiny trace of origin qi fluctuation? It could be a mountain beast cultivating, or just natural fluctuation. You didn't investigate it yourselves, but ran straight to me instead?" The reporting prefectural army commander said in a deep voice, "Vice Head Yuan, we must prepare for the worst. If it truly is Xuan Jiu and we approach rashly, we will alert him! Even if it isn't, taking a quick look won't take up much of your time. In the Great Xia Prefecture, matters like this must be met with the highest level of vigilance. We cannot allow an enemy to slip away!" Yuan Qingdong cursed inwardly! Even a trifling matter like this had to be dumped on him. They hadn't even spotted a shadow; relying entirely on a villager reporting a minor anomaly in origin qi, the issue had somehow reached him, a Sun Moon Realm expert. Did they take him for an errand boy? It was baffling! Frustrating! Damn this Great Xia Prefecture! He had no desire whatsoever to search for anyone. Why go out of his way to invite trouble? Yet, under the commander's intense gaze, he found himself backed into a corner. After a long pause, he finally said, "How about you go investigate first? If there really is an issue..." "Sir, if the individual truly is Xuan Jiu, no one besides you is a match for him. Sending our men would just be feeding him lives, not to mention that once he realizes he's been discovered, he will flee again, and we won't be able to track him!" Yuan Qingdong snapped in irritation, "You can't expect me to investigate every trivial matter, can you? If a Sun Moon expert had to mobilize for every minor thing, then..." "Sir, this is wartime, not peacetime! Xuan Jiu killed a Shanhai commander of our Great Xia Prefecture; he must die! Please do not delay military operations, sir!" *Fuck!* Yuan Qingdong raged silently. *Even a mere Shanhai dares to threaten me.* Thoroughly exasperated, Yuan Qingdong replied coldly, "Very well, I will make time to check it out." "Please do so as soon as possible, sir! Additionally, take care. That Xuan Jiu was able to clash with a Sun Moon expert and escape; his combat prowess is formidable. If you truly locate him, sir, you may transmit a message to the Dragon Martial Guards and request their experts to join the encirclement!" Yuan Qingdong snorted under his breath. *Nonsense. If I really run into him, I'm certainly not going to risk my neck to kill him. I'm not from the Great Xia Prefecture!* If the Dragon Martial Guards went in to kill him, that would be ideal. If they didn't, he would simply slack off and put on a show. …… Pressured by the prefectural army commander, Yuan Qingdong had no choice but to set out. Of course, he remained cautious. First, he visited the army outpost to question the chubby village chief, cross-examined the Lingyun expert who had scouted earlier, and sampled some of the spring water brought back. There was indeed a faint trace of origin qi, which was already on the verge of dissipating. It was exceedingly faint; truth be told, Yuan Qingdong couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary. What was so strange about water having a bit of origin qi? Making a mountain out of a molehill! Then again, wasn't water supposed to contain origin qi? Indeed, Yuan Qingdong simply didn't know. Wherever he went, the water always carried origin qi. It wasn't that he lacked wilderness survival experience—he had been to the All-Heavens Battlefield—the crucial point was that even the water on the All-Heavens Battlefield contained origin qi. Only those truly from the bottom rungs understood that ordinary water actually carried virtually no origin qi, except in areas saturated with it. In the true wilderness, especially within the Human Realm, origin qi was exceptionally thin. Having spent his life in the Quest Realm, frequenting major prefectures and secret realms, and traveling through the All-Heavens Battlefield and the Three Great Sea Realms, Yuan Qingdong had little grasp of this reality. Everywhere he went was rich in origin qi. Whether for training or cultivation, why would anyone go to a place lacking origin qi? Even when hunting demonic beasts in the wild, beasts only congregated where origin qi was present. Bearing a mix of dismissiveness and caution, he set off anyway. …… Outside the mountain range. Yuan Qingdong concealed his aura. Instead of rushing in, he hovered around the perimeter for a while, sensing the surroundings carefully. Soon, he took out a jade talisman and tossed it into the air. After scanning for a moment, he frowned slightly. The origin qi was indeed somewhat turbulent, consistent with someone having absorbed and expelled it during cultivation. *He's really here?* Yuan Qingdong scowled, cursing inwardly. *Rotten luck! How did I end up running into him?* *Xuan Jiu... an entity capable of battling the Sun Moon Realm. His cultivation level is unclear; he might be in the Sun Moon Realm himself!* Although the man hadn't displayed the hallmarks of the realm, such as the manifestation of a hanging sun or moon during battle, that didn't mean he wasn't one. Yuan Qingdong fell into contemplation. Should he head in to investigate? If he didn't, would the Great Xia Prefecture use it as a pretext to cause trouble for him? At this thought, Yuan Qingdong's eyes flickered. He swiftly retrieved a transmission talisman and sent a message: *"Xuan Jiu is highly likely hidden here. I require reinforcement from experts!"* Before long, a reply came: *"Wait where you are. Director Ji Hong will arrive shortly!"* Yuan Qingdong breathed a massive sigh of relief! That was good news. Although Ji Hong hadn't broken through to the Sun Moon Realm long ago, he seemed to have already reached its second layer. With Ji Hong present, Yuan Qingdong had far less to fear. With another Sun Moon expert backing him up, their safety would be vastly increased. …… Yuan Qingdong kept watch on the outside, not stepping inside. Deep in the mountains, the white masks were also waiting inside a cave. Bored out of his mind, Su Yu sent a transmission: *"Master Cai Yi, if Yuan Qingdong shows up, I hope you will arrive promptly!"* *"Naturally!"* Cai Yi replied. Moments later, Cai Yi, who was also lurking outside the mountain, received a message containing intelligence from the East and West Pavilions. *"Master, there seems to be unusual movement in the Great Xia Prefecture. Ji Hong, Director of the Yuqiang Department, suddenly left his post just moments ago..."* *"Ji Hong?"* Cai Yi's brows knitted slightly. Had Xuan Jiu predicted correctly? Was Yuan Qingdong truly so terrified of death that he had called for backup? If so, it was utterly laughable. *You are a Sun Moon expert and the descendant of an Invincible, yet you have the courage of a mouse?* *"Ji Hong might have reached the second layer of the Sun Moon Realm... With Yuan Qingdong thrown into the mix... there is still nothing to fear!"* Of course, for Xuan Jiu and the others acting as bait, the danger level had spiked dramatically. After a moment's consideration, Cai Yi chose not to alter the plan, nor did he issue a warning. If they could take the opportunity to eliminate Ji Hong as well... Recently, someone had placed a massive contract with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion—not through a branch, but directly at headquarters. Killing Ji Hong apparently yielded an exceptionally lavish bounty! Cai Yi quickly pulled up the relevant records and soon located the file on Ji Hong. "A hundred drops of Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid!" Cai Yi's heart skipped a beat. The reward was astonishingly high. He hadn't paid much attention to it before, as the contract had only been posted recently from headquarters. *Just what kind of enemy did this Ji Hong provoke?* Then he definitely had to be killed! As a fifth-layer Sun Moon expert, killing a second-layer Sun Moon shouldn't pose much difficulty, right? Still, it paid to be cautious. He immediately transmitted: *"Black One, come lend me a hand. If nothing happens, forget it; if something does, assist me once, and I'll owe you a favor!"* After a short while, Black One replied: *"Where are you?"* *"Near Beifeng City in the Great Xia Prefecture. Be careful!"* *"Understood. Cai Yi, did a big fish bite?"* *"I'll tell you later!"* *"All right!"* …… Su Yu was completely unaware that both sides were currently summoning powerhouses to the scene. Beside their group, four Sun Moon experts would soon converge upon this nondescript little mountain. …… At the same time. Inside the Xiuxin Pavilion, Wan Tiansheng smiled faintly. Su Yu really was useful. Ji Hong had rushed over, which meant the Heaven Hunting Pavilion would likely mobilize even more personnel. It was best to draw the spotlight back to the Great Xia Prefecture; what fun was there in lingering anywhere else? He needed to lure the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's experts here as well! "If several dozen Sun Moon experts show up, that will be quite a spectacle!" "Let the deaths of these fellows in battle serve as the opening act!" Wan Tiansheng murmured to himself for a bit. As for Su Yu... he wouldn't die. Bad people lived long lives, and that kid was hardly the type to die so easily. Wan Tiansheng began humming a little tune once more! He had just been thinking that the Great Xia Prefecture wasn't lively enough. After this incident, some Sun Moon experts from the Quest Realm would arrive, followed by some from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, and then other factions would be drawn in. Ideally, the number of Sun Moon experts in the Great Xia Prefecture would surpass a hundred! *I haven't really made a move in fifty years. If you only let me slaughter a few small fry, all those decades of lying dormant would be completely wasted!* "Ji Hong..." Murmuring the name once more, Wan Tiansheng chuckled. He hoped this fellow Ji Hong would learn his lesson this time: not everyone was someone he could stick his nose into. A bounty of a hundred drops of Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid would be more than enough to give him a taste of hell!