From the side, Lu Yang complained, "An invisible force that's everywhere... why not just call it universal gravitation?"
Lan Ting found the voice familiar. Looking up, she saw Lu Yang. "Oh, it's you."
"Come inside and talk," Lu Yang said, wary of her blurting out their true identities.
Lan Ting was remarkably beautiful, and standing so prettily in the doorway drew far too much attention, making it easy for prying ears to overhear them.
The moment Lan Ting stepped inside, she spotted the chang ghosts diligently skewering meat and realized they were the ones left behind by the tiger demon.
Seeing Lu Yang and Lan Ting enter together, the two chang ghosts silently picked up their basin of meat and bamboo skewers, moving over to a table in the corner to continue skewering.
Watching their practiced motions, Lan Ting almost wondered if they had done this for a living when they were still alive.
From the backyard, Man Gu heard the commotion, stopped cultivating, and walked into the main hall.
Meng Jingzhou, returning from a day of idling about, shouted the moment he stepped through the door, "Did you hear? Yanjiang Commandery has a unique festival called the Spring-Plucking Festival, and it's happening in half a month! People go out for spring excursions to enjoy the mountains and waters, and at night there are grand poetry gatherings with verse and music. It's incredibly lively—people from all the neighboring commanderies and counties come flocking over.
"Locals in Yanjiang Commandery even get three days off!
"I also heard that the brothels jack up their prices every year during the festival, raking in a fortune. Should we take advantage of the crowd and run a massive promotion—maybe celebrate our two-month anniversary or something?"
Meng Jingzhou thus proved he hadn't merely been goofing off; he had also been scouting information, even if it wasn't particularly useful to the three of them.
Man Gu's eyes lit up. He was just about to chime in when he caught Lu Yang's utterly devoid-of-emotion stare, and he quietly shut his mouth.
Noticing Lan Ting, Meng Jingzhou was also surprised. "I remember you. Aren't you Lan Ting from the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace?"
They had stayed here for over a month to open a barbecue shop—no, wait, to infiltrate a demonic cult—so what was Lan Ting doing here?
"That would indeed be me," Lan Ting said in a soft, gentle voice.
Lan Ting also found the trio quite intriguing. Having stayed in Yanjiang Commandery for over a month, she had heard of the famous Try Again Barbecue Shop, but by nature she preferred quiet and disliked noisy places, so she had never visited.
Passing by by chance today, she finally realized that this barbecue shop was run by acquaintances, and fellow disciples of an immortal sect no less.
By all appearances, the three were genuinely working hard to build a grand enterprise here in Yanjiang Commandery.
Could the Dao Seeking Sect's missions include opening shops to earn money alongside slaying demons and eliminating evil?
Considering the Dao Seeking Sect's reputation, it wasn't impossible.
Lan Ting had heard from her senior sisters that among the Dao Seeking Sect's contribution-point exchange rewards was even a "Sect Master for a Day" pass, something none of the other four immortal sects offered.
"You haven't left Yanjiang Commandery for so long—are you working on a mission? If you need anything, just say the word. We're on good terms with the local constables here in Yanjiang Commandery, and we even have people inside the prison," Lu Yang offered warmly.
As disciples of the Five Great Immortal Sects, it was only right that they help one another.
Nowadays, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the trio had immense sway across Yanjiang Commandery. On the surface, they were upstanding, public-spirited locals who had helped Constable Wei capture criminals, and the constables frequently gathered here to dine. In secret, they were demonic path seeds highly valued by the Yanjiang Branch Master. And their true identities were core disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect.
When it came to backing, who could possibly compete with them?
Lan Ting fell silent. She had come here on a secret mission and wasn't supposed to make contact with outsiders. Otherwise, after helping Lu Yang fight the tiger back then, she wouldn't have merely asked for two tiger skins as a token gesture before departing.
Now that more than a month had passed with zero progress, she was growing anxious.
The three before her were an opportunity—perhaps they could help her!
After a moment of silence, Lan Ting took two deep breaths to steady herself, then said solemnly to the three, "I am currently carrying out a secret mission. What I tell you today must never be leaked under any circumstances—it concerns my very life! And please, try not to be shocked by what you hear!"
Seeing how serious Lan Ting was, the three sat up straight.
"I intend to infiltrate the Immortal Cult as an undercover agent!"
All three blinked in unison, wondering if they were hallucinating.
Lan Ting continued, "This is reliable intelligence our Moon Laurel Immortal Palace obtained through a special channel. Recently, all Four Great Demonic Cults have been planning large-scale recruitment drives. The Shining Sun Cult has already finished recruiting, while the other three demonic cults are currently in the middle of it.
"Yanjiang Commandery has a branch of the Immortal Cult known as the Yanjiang Branch. Its branch master is mysterious and of unknown identity; no one even knows his surname.
"Among all the Immortal Cult's branches, the Yanjiang Branch ranks fairly low, and its members' cultivations are generally on the weaker side. It's perfectly suited for a Foundation Establishment stage disciple like me to infiltrate. If planned properly, it's entirely possible to work my way into the Yanjiang Branch's upper echelon.
"My senior sisters' cultivations are too high and too conspicuous, and they're far too famous in the outside world, making them unsuited for infiltration. After much discussion, this task fell to me."
When Lan Ting mentioned her senior sisters being "too famous," she meant they were far too beautiful, having frequently appeared in certain forbidden books to satisfy the fantasies of some men.
Lan Ting sighed. "Only, I've stayed in Yanjiang Commandery for over a month now, and I still haven't found the location of the Yanjiang Branch. I don't even know if the trials have concluded. I just hope there's still time!"
Lan Ting looked at the three with eyes full of hope, especially toward the thoroughly reliable-looking Lu Yang, hoping they could offer assistance.
The three silently took out the waist tokens given to them by the Branch Master, the two large characters for 'Deacon' exceptionally conspicuous.
"We're terribly sorry, but... we're already part of the Immortal Cult."
Lan Ting: "!!!"
"Oh, don't panic. What we mean is that we've already successfully infiltrated the Immortal Cult," Lu Yang added.
Lan Ting relaxed. She had briefly thought the three had defected, only to realize they were just undercover... Wait, that still didn't make sense!
"How did you get into the Immortal Cult?!"
Lu Yang felt somewhat awkward. How was he supposed to put it? They had simply taken the trials normally and breezed through them.
Meng Jingzhou said proudly, "We performed exceptionally well during the disciple selection. The Immortal Cult saw that we were absolute natural fits for a demonic cult, so they chose us."
Man Gu couldn't fathom what Meng Jingzhou found so proud about that.
Using plain language, Lu Yang explained how they had found Qin Yuanhao's letter in the tiger demon's lair, tracked down Qin Yuanhao using the letter, and consequently learned about the recruitment of cultists and the location of the Yanjiang Branch.
Lan Ting was filled with regret. Had she known earlier, she would have acted together with Lu Yang back then! Now she had squandered over a month for nothing, failing even to find the entrance to the Yanjiang Branch, while they had already worked their way into its upper management.
"Can you recruit ordinary believers just like Qin Yuanhao did? Could you recruit me into the cult?"
Lu Yang shook his head. "Ordinary believers don't have access to the Immortal Cult's secrets. You would have to undergo the trials organized by the Immortal Cult's headquarters. Frankly speaking, I don't think you could pass them, and the probability of your identity being exposed would be far too high."
Lan Ting lowered her gaze in disappointment, but Lu Yang spoke up again: "However, we can forge an identity for you. We can say you're a distant relative of mine who came to seek shelter with me. You can stay by our side, working at the barbecue shop on the surface, and assisting us when we take action. That would count as completing part of your mission, wouldn't it?"
"Really? That works?" Lan Ting hadn't anticipated such a good deal.
Man Gu hadn't anticipated that the barbecue shop would finally recruit a new employee, either.
Lu Yang nodded. "Of course. At the Foundation Establishment stage, you're a formidable combatant and would be a massive help to us. However, you're too conspicuous, so you'll need a disguise. By the way, do you know any transformation techniques? If not, I can teach you."
Chapter 83