Chapter 196: Chapter 85: The Mission Begins

The Holy Heart Grass was nearing maturity, estimated to ripen within the next ten days.

In accordance with his prior agreement with Yuan Zheng Taoist, Wang Ping was assigned to the team tasked with attacking the Celestial Water Sect. He was designated as the decision-maker and had two teammates: an Artifact Cultivator and a Cultivator who had merged with Demon Soldiers.

The Artifact Cultivator was named Sun Shulin. He had a refined, scholarly appearance and favored the brocade robes of a Scholar. The Magical Artifact he had refined was imbued with a Taiyin Aura. The other man was named Shang Ge. He wore a blue Cultivator Robe, and the Demon Soldiers he had merged with allowed him to create a massive domain centered on himself. Within this domain, he could alter the Spiritual Power fluctuations of Second Realm Energy and control Spiritual Qi to form new gravitational fields. His attack methods were similar to the ’Mountain Suppressing Technique’.

The three of them used an Elixir provided by the Upper Dan Sect to conceal their auras. They rode their horses like ordinary Jianghu Travelers, galloping along a rammed-earth road leading to the Sacred Heart Swamp.

After entering the Sacred Heart Swamp, Wang Ping scattered many herbaceous seeds along the way. He had already instructed Yu Lian before they left to stay hidden.

The trio on their swift horses ran into trouble just as they entered the borders of the Sacred Heart Swamp.

They encountered it at a three-way fork in the road, where two groups were brawling. They were ordinary Qi Cultivators, with some members of the Demon Race mixed in. Three bodies already lay on the grass by the roadside, blood staining the road red.

Seeing this, Sun Shulin and Shang Ge both turned to look at Wang Ping. As crafty old veterans who had cultivated for over a hundred years, they had no objections to Wang Ping being the decision-maker, because he was a Wood Cultivator.

Wang Ping moved his fingers, connecting to the Wood Spirit Qi in the air. After thoroughly scouting the surrounding area and the sky above, he looked at Shang Ge and ordered, "Make it quick."

A bloodthirsty glint flashed across Shang Ge’s face upon hearing the order. He vaulted off his horse and met the charge of several approaching bladesmen.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Three glints of cold light flashed as three silver flying daggers appeared in an instant, piercing the necks of several charging bladesmen and passing straight through the bodies of the three at the front.

Shang Ge, using his control over Spiritual Qi, was a perfect marksman with his flying daggers.

Seeing this, the other bladesmen paled in terror. Those farther away had already turned to flee, while those under Shang Ge’s gaze dared not move an inch. "YAAH!" one bladesman tried a desperate, last-ditch attack, but he was met with another life-stealing silver dagger.

The battle ended quickly.

Wang Ping was about to spur his horse onward when he noticed a three-ring mark on the neck of one of the people who had been killed by the bladesmen. It was a symbol sometimes used by the Internal Affairs department of Qianmu Temple.

"What is it?" Sun Shulin noticed the subtle change in Wang Ping’s expression.

"It’s nothing..."

Wang Ping looked away. ’It’s not surprising to run into one here,’ he thought. On this trip to Hu Mountain Country, he had dispatched at least two hundred agents from Internal Affairs and had also recruited some local peripheral members.

...

「Yingfeng Crossing.」

It was a ferry crossing on the bank of a murky river. Biyou Mountain was another hundred li from here.

At the crossing stood a teahouse and an inn. Outside the teahouse was a thirty-foot-tall wooden pole, from which hung a large black flag. One side of the flag bore the character for ’Tea’, while the other depicted a tea bowl. The inn also had a large flag, this one bearing the words ’Yingfeng Inn’, with the insignia of the Yuqing Sect visible at the end of the calligraphy.

Right now, the areas outside the inn and the teahouse were crowded with Jianghu Travelers and Qi Cultivators waiting to cross the river. They were a disorderly bunch, leaving the ferry crossing in a constant state of chaos.

The arrival of Wang Ping’s group of three riders didn’t attract much attention. After observing for a while, Wang Ping made the decision, and they headed towards the teahouse.

"Right this way, you three..."

A stablehand took the reins, and a waiter led the three of them into the teahouse.

The teahouse was packed. Most people were gathered in groups of three to five, holding various weapons, but no one was causing trouble. This was Yuqing Sect territory, after all.

"Upstairs. Private Room Jia-Three." Shang Ge produced a wooden token and handed it to the waiter leading the way.

"Right away... This way, please."

This exchange drew the attention of many. Some shot them wary glances, while others looked on with greed.

The trio paid them no mind and followed the waiter upstairs. As they reached the second floor, Wang Ping paused for a moment and glanced back at the main hall. There, he saw the Shopkeeper from Sea City, now disguised as a Swordsman and flanked by three Tiger Demon attendants. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"A pot of cold tea."

Shang Ge ordered the waiter as soon as he sat down. Taking the hint, the waiter closed the door and left after receiving the order.

CREAK.

Sun Shulin opened the window, which faced Biyou Mountain in the distance. From this vantage point, the mountain was wreathed in clouds and mist, as if some great power were casting a spell within.

"Those people outside are so damn noisy. I really want to go out there and slaughter them all."

"Don’t cause trouble. The mission comes first," Sun Shulin reminded him.

"Relax, I know my limits." Shang Ge took out two iron balls and began manipulating them with his spirit-controlling ability, his eyes fixed on Biyou Mountain outside the window as if he were concocting some wicked scheme.

"Fellow Daoist, you must have other arrangements, right? We’ve come this far; let’s not hide things from each other." Sun Shulin looked at Wang Ping. "To show my sincerity, I’ll go first. I started planning for this day three years ago. I have people placed in both the Celestial Water Sect and the Cyan Profound Sect."

Wang Ping nodded and turned to Shang Ge. The latter shrugged and said, "I have two other companions. This time, one is helping the Celestial Water Sect, and the other is helping the Cyan Profound Sect. If we run into them, I’ll give you a heads-up. As long as there are no outsiders, we’ll pretend we didn’t see anything, and they’ll do the same... We’re all just trying to survive. No need to fight to the death before we’ve even gotten our reward."

"I also have some arrangements. How about this: we’ll each take a quarter of an hour to gather our own intelligence, but we have to go one by one..." Wang Ping made his decision and looked at the other two. "Who wants to go first?"

"I’ll go," Sun Shulin answered decisively. He then took a metal box from his storage bag in front of them, placed it on the table, and left without a backward glance. Just then, the waiter came in with a pot of cold tea.

A quarter of an hour later, Sun Shulin returned on time.

"I don’t need to go. If we run into them during the battle, I’ll warn you," Shang Ge said in response to their gazes, then turned his eyes to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping didn’t hesitate either. He dropped a weed seed and left just as decisively.

Left in the room, Shang Ge and Sun Shulin exchanged a glance and sat in silence, just as Wang Ping had done earlier.

A quarter of an hour passed quickly.

Wang Ping returned to the private room, his expression normal. After he sat down, Shang Ge silently poured him a cup of cold tea.

"Guarding the Celestial Water Sect are two Gold Cultivators and a half-crazed Star God. This matches the intelligence provided by the Upper Dan Sect," Sun Shulin said first. "However, I’ve received word that the one at Celestial Water Sect who’s about to lose control has two close friends. Both are from the Hu Mountain Country branch of the Earth Cave Sect. And then there’s him... The Upper Dan Sect didn’t give us any information on these three."