: The Visit

The main mountain gate of the Myriad Forms Sect.

A certain hall within the Martial Training Hall.

Liu Fu stood before his opponent with a gloomy face, sending a mental message: "Chen Er, why go to such lengths? What benefits did Ning Zhuo offer you, to make you offend Lord Yu Heye so stubbornly and even accept my challenge?"

Ning Zhuo had hired a group of people to rent out the mountain's cave dwellings on a large scale, forcing Liu Fu to confess and admit his fault to Yu Heye proactively.

Yu Heye then ordered his subordinates to trouble these cave-dwelling cultivators.

This was the main mountain gate of the Myriad Forms Sect, where internal conflicts among cultivators were typically resolved through the Martial Training Hall.

The Internal Affairs Hall primarily handled major disputes among the sect's members.

For minor conflicts, the Myriad Forms Sect encouraged its disciples to settle disputes privately through martial practice.

This system suited the Myriad Forms Sect's situation perfectly.

The sect had an enormous number of people! Frictions between them led to numerous conflicts. If they adopted the governance methods of conventional super sects, it would require a large number of personnel dedicated solely to resolving disputes.

Such rule by individuals would inevitably breed widespread corruption and even wrongful convictions.

After all, the Myriad Forms Sect wasn't a cultivation nation; the latter could rely on officials to investigate and judge cases, using divine insight and official power to often uncover the truth.

During the prelude to the Feiyun Assembly, with various forces pouring into the main mountain gate, the population swelled even more!

A large number of non-Myriad Forms Sect cultivators would temporarily station here.

Consequently, a massive number of disputes and conflicts arose.

The Myriad Forms Sect largely ignored these, letting the parties handle them privately.

This approach, on one hand, saved substantial governance costs, and on the other, fostered a survival-of-the-fittest atmosphere within the sect, allowing those who stood out in the Myriad Forms Sect to often possess considerable combat prowess!

High combat power and a large membership, coupled with irreconcilable internal conflicts, meant the Myriad Forms Sect couldn't restrain itself within old boundaries.

To avoid excessive internal strife, the sect's leadership naturally redirected internal conflicts outward.

This way, they could secure more space for internal members to maneuver.

Over time, the Myriad Forms Sect's influence continuously expanded. Those temporarily defeated in internal competition often chose to establish outposts outside the sect, aiming to turn the tables. This led to the sect's influence spreading wider and further.

So, when Yu Heye found someone meddling with the mountain peak he had chosen, he naturally opted for martial challenge to resolve the issue.

Most of the cultivators Ning Zhuo gathered chose to avoid the fight, not daring to claim the ten mid-grade spirit stones, and voluntarily canceled their cave rentals.

But a few, stubborn as mules, accepted the challenge.

The "Chen Er" standing before Liu Fu was one of them.

From Liu Fu's perspective, it was baffling.

He had found out that Ning Zhuo's recruitment pitch to these low-level cultivators was ten mid-grade spirit stones. Now, for ten stones that were no longer attainable, was Chen Er risking his life?

There were plenty of examples of deaths in martial contests.

Little did he know, Chen Er was just a temporary alias; his true identity was Chef Lao, who served by Ning Zhuo's side.

Chef Lao remained silent, merely hooking a finger at Liu Fu.

Liu Fu flared up in anger: "Stubborn fool!"

With a wave of his hand, he threw out ten talismans. The talismans ignited mid-air, transforming into water arrows that formed a wave of attacks aimed at Chef Lao.

Chef Lao focused his mind, summoning a "shield" to block in front.

Simultaneously, he stomped the ground, activating his movement technique to swiftly reposition.

Bang, bang, bang.

The "shield" moved agilely, following his will, circling around him to intercept all threatening water arrows.

Chef Lao reached into his robe and scattered a handful of glutinous rice into the air.

The rice swelled wildly mid-air, turning into giant milky-white worms that swarmed toward Liu Fu.

Liu Fu's heart skipped a beat: "A gu cultivator?"

He drew his signature magical tool, a sword box he had acquired from the market.

Channeling his magic power, he opened the sword box, releasing streams of faint golden sword energy.

The sharp sword energy pierced through the worms, its momentum unchecked, looping back to penetrate them again. After several rounds, one giant worm was slain.

Chef Lao chuckled inwardly.

Using sword energy to attack the giant worms was definitely a misstep by Liu Fu.

Chef Lao's intention was to use them for consumption; Liu Fu expended a lot of magic power to coalesce sword energy, only to kill worms, effectively handing over the initiative in the fight.

If the sword energy had been directed at Chef Lao, he would have had to defend with all his might, leading to a stalemate.

But now, Chef Lao faced no external pressure, easily freeing his hands to deal with Liu Fu.

He took out a gourd, spraying a shower of golden oily droplets.

Thousands of oil droplets formed a rainstorm, enveloping Liu Fu.

Having lost the upper hand, Liu Fu could only activate talismans to form a bell-like golden shield around himself, temporarily stabilizing his defense.

The golden bell shield was quite sturdy; the oil droplets shattered upon impact, splattering residue everywhere. For the moment, they couldn't break through.

"That's a talisman treasure," Shen Xi, who was observing the fight, noted.

A mere martial contest wouldn't have attracted him. But since it involved Ning Zhuo and affected his standing within the alliance, he was somewhat interested.

Shen Xi: "What do you think, cousin?"

He took the opportunity to train Su Lingkou.

Su Lingkou answered without hesitation: "Liu Fu isn't skilled in combat; he made two wrong choices. First, he voluntarily gave up the initiative; second, while seeming steady as a rock, he actually made himself a target."

"Especially the first move," Su Lingkou shook her head, full of disdain, "Liu Fu actually used sword energy to attack the worms? Utterly foolish!"

Shen Xi smiled slightly: "I can understand him. Gu cultivators' methods are always bizarre and strange. Liu Fu chose to deal with the worms first, which was a cautious approach."

"But his judgment is poor; Chen Er isn't a gu cultivator; he probably has some culinary skills."

The onlooker sees most of the game.

Shen Xi noticed the details, recognizing that what Chef Lao scattered was glutinous rice, not gu insects.

Su Lingkou: "Liu Fu is going to lose. This Chen Er must be Ning Zhuo's countermeasure."

"He hid the truly skilled ones among them. If Yu Heye's subordinates lose the challenge, they won't let it go. It might even lead to Yu Heye taking action himself."

"Mm," Shen Xi nodded.

He focused on the fight, pointing at Chef Lao: "Cousin, I want you to investigate him."

Shen Xi needed to determine whether Chef Lao was hired by Ning Zhuo at a high price or was a subordinate Ning Zhuo brought along. There was a huge difference between the two.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chef Lao delivered the winning blow, severely injuring Liu Fu.

After winning, Chef Lao didn't leave the Martial Training Hall. There were second and third matches to follow.

Because the challenges were concentrated, the Martial Training Hall scheduled the disputes between Ning Zhuo and Yu Heye's subordinates together.

The second match featured one tall and one short contestant.

The tall one roared, the muscles on his arms bulging like gnarled tree roots, and hammered the ground with both fists.

A earthen serpent cracked through the ground, charging at the short one.

The short one chuckled lightly, his body incredibly agile, leaping directly onto the serpent's back and dashing straight toward the tall one.

The tall one snorted coldly, throwing out over a dozen talismans that ignited instantly.

The talismans turned into numerous stone spikes, shooting toward the short one. The short one accelerated sharply, leaving afterimages behind as he charged into the barrage of spikes.

Amid the onslaught, he continuously shifted, swaying left and right, dodging all attacks, and closed in on the tall one.

The tall one excelled in long-range spells; under the short one's close-quarters dagger attacks, he quickly faltered.

Seeing the situation turn sour, the tall one had no choice but to concede defeat.

The third, fourth, fifth matches...

Yu Heye's side lost every one!

The one-sided results shocked Su Lingkou.

Shen Xi, however, had a glint in his eyes: "Where did Ning Zhuo find all these skilled people? Cousin, investigate each of them thoroughly; find out their identities."

He realized he had underestimated Ning Zhuo's strength and thought to himself, "I need to reassess this person."

Evening.

"They all lost?" In the cultivation room, Yu Heye looked up sharply, glaring at Liu Fu.

Liu Fu, pale-faced, stammered out the details.

Finally, he handed Yu Heye another visiting card.

It was still from Ning Zhuo!

Yu Heye frowned deeply, staring at the card. After a moment of silence, his brows relaxed, and he showed a faint smile: "A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, huh."

His impression of Ning Zhuo had shifted slightly.

Although still just a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator, it seemed there was a force behind him that warranted more attention in terms of overall strength.

Of course, not too much attention.

Yu Heye was well aware that the cultivators依附ing to him weren't particularly outstanding.

He primarily cultivated the "Reverse Five Elements Demonic Art," and his physical condition had been deteriorating daily; he had no choice but to risk breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

If there were elites at the Foundation Establishment stage looking to依附 to a stronger power, they certainly wouldn't choose him.

A flame rose from his palm, incinerating the visiting card.

Yu Heye flicked his hand and looked at Liu Fu: "The other side came prepared; you were caught off guard. Losing is understandable."

He didn't blame them; instead, he gave Liu Fu and the others an excuse.

"In that case, let's try another approach."

"If Ning Zhuo wants to gather rogue cultivators on a large scale to station here, there's a key link: the Internal Affairs Hall official helping him."

"Warn, threaten, or bribe—whatever it takes, deal with this key figure, and it might shut Ning Zhuo down."

Yu Heye started thinking.

He had already learned how Ning Zhuo operated, so he identified one of the crucial points in this action.

Breaking this would cause significant disruption to Ning Zhuo.

But the next moment, Liu Fu showed a bitter smile: "Sir, we just found the Internal Affairs Hall cultivator cooperating with Ning Zhuo."

"His surname is Cao, named Cao Gui."

Yu Heye frowned immediately: "That Cao family?"

Liu Fu was an old follower; otherwise, Yu Heye wouldn't have assigned him the task of驱逐 the cultivators.

Liu Fu nodded.

Yu Heye's frown deepened: "It seems the other side came prepared."

Years ago, he had offended someone from the main peak—the Cao family. To resolve that issue, he had nearly exhausted all his resources.

Although the Cao family didn't take action against him, he couldn't compete for the Golden Core true inheritance position—how could the Cao family allow an enemy to become a sect true inheritor?

Ning Zhuo hadn't spent his money on intelligence gathering for nothing.

That path blocked, Yu Heye thought of another method: "It's odd that these people can be used by Ning Zhuo. Investigate your opponents and try to bribe them."

With the Cao family involved, Yu Heye dared not make big moves.

He preferred to spend money to avoid trouble.

Liu Fu nodded and left to carry out the order.

Half a day later.

Su Lingkou reported back to Shen Xi with disappointment.

Shen Xi raised an eyebrow: "You mean, you couldn't find out anything about them?"

Su Lingkou nodded: "Yes, it's as if they appeared out of thin air."

A trace of gravity appeared on Shen Xi's face.

Bringing outsiders to the Myriad Forms Sect wasn't uncommon.

But if they weren't rogue cultivators, it indicated that Ning Zhuo was backed by some force.

In Shen Xi's impression, Ning Zhuo was now shrouded in a veil of mystery.

Liu Fu brought a similar response to Yu Heye.

After dismissing Liu Fu, Yu Heye fell into thoughtful silence.

This aspect wasn't a flaw either.

Like Shen Xi, Yu Heye once again raised his estimation of Ning Zhuo.

"Why is this person going to such lengths to trouble me? Just because I驱逐 him and he lost face?" Yu Heye was puzzled.

The answer was simple: confront Ning Zhuo directly.

But...

He had burned the visiting card!

Just as Yu Heye felt regret, his gaze sharpened. Right beside his hand lay a visiting card, placed quietly.

Yu Heye was startled immensely.

He had no idea when the card had been placed there.

If the other party could deliver the card, couldn't they just as easily approach him and take his life?

"Ning Zhuo, which force is backing you?!"

Yu Heye unfolded the card and read it quickly.

The content was simple: Ning Zhuo wished to visit Yu Heye to discuss the "Reverse Five Elements Demonic Art" together.

Yu Heye laughed in anger: "A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, discussing the Dao with a late Golden Core like me?"

This attitude of equal exchange displeased Yu Heye greatly.

But this time, he didn't tear up the card.

After deep thought, he summoned Liu Fu again: "Arrange it; tomorrow, I will host Ning Zhuo. Prepare good wine and dishes."

Liu Fu: "Yes."

The next day.

Ning Zhuo arrived punctually at the Rock Cave dwelling as agreed.

He observed all courtesies, addressing Yu Heye as "senior," which eased the latter's mood somewhat.

After the pleasantries, Ning Zhuo stated directly that he hadn't wanted this entanglement; taking the ten spirit stones and choosing another cave would have been easier. But Shen Xi had approached him with other important matters.

As for what those "matters" were, Ning Zhuo gave a brief explanation.

"I see," Yu Heye stroked his beard, expressionless.

Ning Zhuo: "So, Senior Yu, rest assured. Although I leveraged the Cao family's influence, this matter isn't the Cao family using me to trouble you."

Words are often meant to be understood inversely.

Meaning, if Ning Zhuo truly wanted to deal with Yu Heye, he could have used this power more deeply.

Yu Heye looked deeply at Ning Zhuo: "What do you intend to do?"

Ning Zhuo changed the subject: "This junior has been studying the 'Reverse Five Elements Demonic Art' recently and has some doubts. I'd like to seek your guidance, senior."

Yu Heye snorted coldly, impatient with Ning Zhuo's roundabout way, but he still stroked his beard and slightly raised his head: "Speak freely."

(End of )