Central Starskiff Haven, a secluded alley.
Bustle and noise were shut out.
Shadows and filth intertwined here, and a damp, musty smell hung in the air.
Stelle followed the man who called himself Mauve Moon, stepping into this alley.
Her head tilted slightly, her eyes showing a hint of confusion. "Is this it?"
"This is it!" Mauve Moon suddenly stopped and turned, his face beaming with pride.
"This place is one of The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus's reception points in Central Starskiff Haven."
"However, to truly become one of us and meet a more esteemed person in charge, you must pass two trials."
Stelle raised an eyebrow. "Trials?"
"That's right!" Mauve Moon leaned closer, his voice extremely low. "This is to test your sincerity! And also to make you understand that the immortal path to longevity is not easily obtained!"
He changed the subject and began to ramble.
"As long as you successfully recommend other outsiders to join The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, you can prove your compassion!"
"Recommend three people, and you can get pills for strengthening your body! Recommend ten people, and you can get personal guidance from the person in charge!"
"If you can be like me and recommend a hundred people, then, immortality will be within reach!"
Stelle's eyelids twitched as he listened.
Why does this routine sound so familiar?
She couldn't help but ask, "Is there any difference between this The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and a pyramid scheme?"
"Difference?"
Mauve Moon looked as if he had heard the biggest joke. He suddenly puffed out his chest. "The difference is, they are fake, and we really have the elixir of immortality!"
His eyes were fanatical and sincere, not faked.
Stelle blinked and changed the question: "Listening to you, you're not the boss here yet?"
At the mention of this, the fanaticism on Mauve Moon's face collapsed, replaced by a look of self-mockery mixed with awe.
"Ahem, it used to count..."
He shrank his neck with lingering fear. "However, these past two days, a truly important figure has arrived!"
"That Lord..."
Mauve Moon's eyes burst with fanatical worship, and he began to praise wildly.
"Codename 'Reddish brown'! Highly skilled in martial arts, unfathomable! Exceptionally wise, calculating everything without fail!"
"Boss Reddish brown's footwork and aura, every move he makes is world-destroying! I can feel a scorching heat that burns everything!"
"Just by standing there, Boss makes us feel like our souls are burning!"
Stelle was stunned as he listened.
Hey, why does this person sound so familiar?
If he's really that powerful?
Qingzu's intelligence didn't mention such a person.
"As long as you can pass the trial," Mauve Moon's tone became seductive again, "I can recommend you to meet this Boss Reddish brown!"
"Now, your trial officially begins! Copy 'The Thousand-Hand Merciful Yao Wang Salvation Sutra' 500 times."
——
Another part of Central Starskiff Haven.
Phainon's figure emerged from the shadows, his eyes under the golden mask coldly watching the person in charge of the secret transmission stronghold, who was kneeling on the ground.
"The location of the stronghold."
His voice was devoid of warmth.
The person in charge trembled all over, respectfully holding up a jade talisman.
Ever since he received Dan Shu's hand Card, Phainon began the most efficient sweep.
The organizational structure of The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus was like a spider web, with Dan Shu at the center. All persons in charge communicated with her one-on-one, unaware of each other.
This confidential structure now became the most fatal flaw in Phainon's hands.
Control one, and he could ask about the next.
Relying on Dan Shu's hand Card and his unreasonable pressure, he was clearly imprinting every node of the entire spider web in his mind.
Just then, a fawning figure ran from a distance.
It was Mauve Moon.
He rushed to Phainon's front, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Boss Reddish brown! Boss Reddish brown! I caught a spy!"
Phainon slowly turned his head, the golden mask turning towards him, not uttering a sound.
"Absolutely true!" Mauve Moon gestured excitedly. "To tell you the truth, I was also a spy sent by the Divine Strategy Department before, codenamed 'Zhixin', but that person reacted when she heard these two words. Isn't that strange?"
"I've got her contained in the alley, and I've come specifically to ask you, Boss, how to deal with her!"
Phainon's tone remained flat, "Not interested..."
"Ah?"
Mauve Moon felt like he was punching cotton.
"Uh, well, okay Boss! I'll personally take care of this 'Gray Peony'!"
"Wait..."
[Current Emotion: Rational]
The surrounding air and temperature suddenly rose.
Gray Peony.
This codename stirred up a monstrous wave in Phainon's sea of consciousness.
Rationality, operating at high speed.
Countless fragmented memories were pieced together, filtered, and reorganized.
A clear image emerged.
Gray Peony... is Stelle's codename.
Yes, Stelle is also undercover.
"Hehe..."
[Current Emotion: Nearly Frenzied]
Beneath the mask, a cold laugh, barely audible.
Phainon slowly turned around and gently patted Mauve Moon's shoulder.
The gesture carried an indescribable 'approval'.
Mauve Moon was flattered, his entire body stiffening.
Phainon's ice-blue eyes peered through the mask, coldly watching him. His voice showed no emotion, yet it made Mauve Moon feel as if he were basking in a spring breeze.
"You did very well. I will... personally give you a grand gift of abundance."
——
At the same time.
A dark alley entrance somewhere in Central Starskiff Haven.
Stelle and the Cloud Knights undercover agent beside him exchanged glances.
Two words were written all over their faces.
Speechless.
"You're also a spy?" Stelle's eyes were half-open as he scrutinized the Cloud Knights in front of him.
"No, is this really The Disciples of Sanctus Medicusor a brewery? Also, how dare you come for an interview in military uniform?"
The Cloud Knights puffed out his chest, speaking with conviction.
"You don't understand this. This is called precise insight into user psychology! Think about it, what does this kind of secret organization lack most? Power infiltrated into the official ranks! If I come dressed like this, wouldn't they treat me like a treasure?"
Stelle gave him a solemn thumbs-up. "You really are a genius."
"You're too kind." The Cloud Knights undercover agent waved his hand, then changed the subject. "Sister, I'll take care of the remaining 495 sutras. You just keep watch for me at the entrance!"
Stelle's eyes lit up: "Really?"
"Truer than true gold!"
The Cloud Knights' efficiency was terrifying; the pen in his hand moved so fast it left afterimages, and his handwriting was as neat as print.
Stelle took the copied sutras and genuinely exclaimed, "Brother, don't be a Cloud Knightsanymore. Go work at a printing factory. With your skill, you could be the factory manager."
No sooner had he spoken.
The door at the alley entrance was pushed open, and Mauve Moon walked in with a beaming face.
Seeing this, Stelle handed over the sutras. Mauve Moon casually glanced at them, his smile widening. "Excellent, excellent! Sincere and insightful, you truly have an immortal destiny for longevity!"
"So, I passed?" Stelle asked.
"Of course not." Mauve Moon's face darkened. "One must trust people to use them, and test people to trust them! To become a true 'cultivator', you still need to pass the final trial!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Stelle and the Cloud Knights. "The trial is actually very simple."
"The two of you will duel here. The one who survives will be one of us."
The Cloud Knights undercover agent beside him suddenly changed color: "Don't! We're here to seek longevity, not to die! This sudden infighting, it's very difficult for us!"
"Difficult?"
Mauve Moon let out a sneer and clapped his hands sharply.
"If it's difficult, then let's not do it at all!"
His words were a signal.
Swish—
A dozen or so cultivators surged out like ghosts, surrounding the two of them tightly.
Everyone's eyes were incredibly fierce.
"It's fine if you don't want to fight." Mauve Moon's smile grew colder. "Then you can all die here together."
Stelle was utterly speechless. She stretched her wrists and sighed.
"I'm tired, let's just destroy it. All of you come at once."
No sooner had she spoken.
A terrifying wave of heat, without warning, swept through the entire alley!
The air became scorching, as if thrown into a furnace!
All the cultivators present held their breath, their souls trembling!
Stelle's body instantly tensed.
This aura... She suddenly looked up at the entrance; a familiar black-robed figure was standing there silently.
Phainon had arrived.
Stelle rubbed her eyes, almost unable to believe it.
"Ah?! You..."
She had only uttered two words when Phainon's figure had already passed through the cultivators and came directly in front of her.
He had eyes only for her. "Are your hands sore?"
...A little bit..." Stelle subconsciously touched her chin. "So, the 'Reddish brown' boss who destroys the world, as they say, is you?"
"Hmm."
Phainon responded, placing a cold jade talisman into Stelle's hand.
"This contains all the strongholds of The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus in Luofu. Give it to the strategists of the Divine Strategy Department; they will handle it."
He slightly turned sideways, clearing a path for Stelle and the Cloud Knights.
"You two go first."
After speaking, his ice-blue eyes finally swept over the completely stunned cultivators behind him.
His tone was flat, yet it sounded like a declaration, "I need to clean up some trash."
Although Stelle's mind was in a jumble, she had unconditional trust in Phainon.
She grabbed the still dazed Cloud Knights and quickly rushed out of the alley entrance. Before leaving, she didn't forget to look back and shout with all her might.
"Partner, be careful!"
Watching their disappearing backs, Mauve Moonfinally struggled out of his extreme shock.
He thought he had seen through everything.
"Boss Reddish brown! So you know that gray-haired girl!"
He eagerly stepped closer, his voice trembling.
"You're putting on a show! Letting her go on purpose is to bait the big fish behind the Divine Strategy Department!"
Phainon did not respond to him.
He merely turned around slowly and gently closed the heavy wooden door at the alley entrance.
Click—
The sound of the door latch locking echoed crisply in the dead silent alley, like a funeral bell.
The hearts of all the cultivators tightened with that sound.
Phainon raised his eyes.
Beneath the golden mask, his voice was devoid of any emotion, "Remember, my name is Phainon."
The next moment, a pitch-black greatsword that swallowed light silently condensed in his palm.
Where the sword pointed, all sounds ceased.
"Now, I shall help you ascend to bliss..."
Before he finished speaking, the black sword's edge traced a crescent moon... Not long after.
Phainon walked through the streets of Central Starskiff Haven, against the flow of people running and shouting.
"Fire! There's a fire in the alley! Hurry, someone!"
Anxious shouts brushed past him, but he remained unmoved.
Phainon's steps didn't falter, and his phone in his pocket vibrated slightly.
A new message popped up.
Sender: Dan Shu.
The content was only four words.
"Trial begins."