"These are your elite troops?"
Outside Qulin City, the young man stood before five Qi Condensation cultivators and two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Setting aside Chu Xingchen's thoughts for the moment, even Xie Lingyu's gaze toward the young man carried a hint of coldness.
Undoubtedly, anyone with half a brain could tell this young man was purely going through the motions with deliberate half-heartedness.
Chu Xingchen's gaze swept across the scene, his eyes settling on the young man's innocent face—which looked utterly sincere—as he questioned him.
"Is this everyone you have?!"
The young man looked a bit wronged.
"I've already halted all missions and gathered everyone I could. This really is all there is."
Chu Xingchen sneered. "Where's that dark-skinned farmhand from last time?"
"He's a friend, not a subordinate."
The young man cupped his hands respectfully. "I only asked for his help last time because he's a friend. It concerned the Dark Crow Cult Master's secrets, so naturally I couldn't involve an outsider."
"But rest assured, Envoy—everyone here is willing to lay down their lives. Any mission, through fire and water, they'll die a thousand deaths over."
"I am no different."
The young man spoke with such righteous conviction, his gaze toward Chu Xingchen brimming with sincerity.
Never mind whether my men are fierce or not—that's debatable—but they can definitely die. However you want them to die, they'll die.
And don't ask what use these worthless fools are even in death. Even if they're useless, they're dying in your place.
Chu Xingchen more or less understood the young man's thinking. He also understood that behind that youthful face was probably the soul of a crafty old fox.
After all, only adults choose to have it both ways.
But it made sense. If these cowards who skulked about plotting to overturn the world—the [Demons]—were truly that stupid, and could be so easily lured out entirely, they'd probably have been wiped clean by the Buddhist Sect long ago.
This man most likely operated on the principle of "if I get intelligence, it's a massive gain; if I don't, dying is just the cost of doing business."
Rather than saying he trusted the Black Crow Direct Order, it was more accurate to say he was betting his life to gather intelligence.
Time slowly passed. Chu Xingchen watched calmly as the young man maintained his bow, hands clasped—as if he intended to hold the pose until Chu Xingchen spoke.
Xie Lingyu waited a moment, then shot Chu Xingchen an inquiring look.
Chu Xingchen had already scanned the people before him with his attribute tags. He'd found that these were ordinary human demonic cultivators—just warm bodies the young man had rounded up for appearances.
Chu Xingchen spoke slowly.
"Let me confirm one last time with you. All your men are here. There's no one else, correct?"
"Reporting to the Envoy, that is correct."
The young man straightened up, his gaze meeting Chu Xingchen's without flinching, as though he could transmit his sincerity straight through his eyes.
Chu Xingchen's voice carried a hint of pressure.
"In that case, any other cultivators we encounter during our upcoming operation—even other demonic cultivators—have nothing to do with your cult, and can be dealt with as we see fit. Correct?"
"Naturally."
The young man's tone was candid. "Is the Envoy perhaps doubting my willingness to commit?"
Chu Xingchen gave a cold snort.
"Whether I doubt you or not is the Cult Master's concern. My job is simply to report everything I hear and see to him, without holding anything back."
The young man didn't seem the least bit bothered by the sarcasm in Chu Xingchen's tone.
"Of course."
"But as Vice Hall Master, according to cult regulations, I have the right to meet the Dark Crow Cult Master. Might the Envoy take me to see him?"
Chu Xingchen replied, "Finish the mission, and the Cult Master will naturally see you."
Hearing this, the young man didn't press the matter of meeting the Dark Crow Cult Master further, and instead asked.
"Now that all my men are present, what mission does the Envoy have for me?"
"There's a group of demonic cultivators at the Silent Bone Forest causing trouble. Their leader is a Nascent Soul realm Blood Qi demonic cultivator."
"Three days from now, rally your forces and wait outside the Silent Bone Forest for orders. We'll send additional support for the operation."
Chu Xingchen's gaze swept over the young man, and he spoke again with what sounded like mockery.
"But with your early Spirit Transformation strength, you alone should be more than enough. No need for your followers to die needlessly."
The young man's tone remained calm as he cupped his hands once more. "As you command."
Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod, then a smile of unclear meaning appeared on his face before he turned and left with Xie Lingyu.
The young man straightened up, watching calmly as the two figures vanished in mere moments.
"The Silent Bone Forest...?"
A hint of confusion appeared on the young man's face. "Could it really be that much of a coincidence?"
The Blood Qi demonic cultivator at the Silent Bone Forest was undoubtedly the newly emerged one that Donggua had begun dealing with.
Donggua's first move had only yielded rough intelligence—word was that it had failed. But instead of eliminating him outright, Donggua planned to recruit him personally. It seemed the cultivator's abilities and the purity of his demonic nature had earned Donggua's approval.
Since Donggua was going to recruit him personally, the chances of successful recruitment were likely higher than the chances of negotiations falling apart.
If they actually attacked now, it would truly be a case of their own people fighting their own people... But alerting them to flee would make it nearly impossible to preserve his own cover.
The young man quickly made up his mind.
They would attack, of course—but not a total assault, and they'd avoid hitting the critical targets.
He'd send a message to Donggua, so that the key people who needed to escape would be gone by then. The expendable ones who deserved to die would still die there.
But... he feared this operation's true goal wasn't what it appeared to be.
Could it be that the Evil Spirit Cult had discovered traces of Donggua's movements?
The young man pondered this, ignoring the entirety of his forces standing beside him, and headed back to his base on his own.
Floating Immortal City. Chu Xingchen strolled leisurely toward the Floating Immortal Pavilion with Xie Lingyu in tow.
Xie Lingyu watched Chu Xingchen's carefree demeanor and couldn't help asking.
"Are you planning to lure him to the Silent Bone Forest to capture or kill him?"
They'd wanted to hook a big fish, but only a minnow had bitten.
Reeling it in felt like a waste, but not reeling it in meant they might not even keep the minnow.
Chu Xingchen shook his head slightly at the question.
"He's already prepared to die. Otherwise, no matter the reason, he wouldn't have slacked off that badly—he practically spelled out 'half-hearted' with those people he brought."
"Whether we capture him or kill him, it probably won't mean much."
Xie Lingyu was somewhat puzzled.
"Then why send him to Li Xingtian? He's only at early Nascent Soul. If we don't intervene, won't it be dangerous?"
"Because luring him away is just to settle the minds of the remaining fish."
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow slightly. "When I can't catch fish, I just drain the water and electrocute the pond. If they won't bite, I'll drag them out by force."
"I don't have the patience to deal with them slowly. Those people are cunning as ghosts, and I'd rather not waste my precious time on them."
"When we get back, I'll have Daoist Yuyang transfer a batch of people from the Great Dao Sect, and gather our own people as well."
"Three days is enough time for us to set up an airtight net across a hundred miles around Qulin City—all while remaining hidden."
"The reason the Eighteen Immortal Sects are the Eighteen Immortal Sects isn't because their investigation capabilities are particularly strong."
"It's because they not only have numbers—they're also devastatingly powerful!"
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