Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 498 - 497: Heading to the Southeast

Judge Cheng flipped through the jade scroll in his hand, striving for brevity,

"Qi Country in the Southeast, one of the leaders of the Daoist Sects, is also the country most hostile to our Shan Sect in the Southeast region, closely associated with the Wu Sect.

In the capital city of Jianye of the Qi Sect, we have a very important contact point. His public persona is that of a well-known philanthropist surnamed Xu, who has been embedded in Jianye for decades. Many secrets of the Daoist Sects of the Southeast have been leaked through him, making him one of the most crucial pawns placed by our Sikong Mansion in the Southeast.

Two months ago, due to some accidental reason, his identity was exposed by the Qi Sect, who then attempted to use him as a point of leverage to crack down on more of our spies sent to the Southeast.

Mr. Xu, a veteran of our Sikong Mansion, quickly realized his exposure and used a top-secret channel to warn us; consequently, we dispatched two members from Sikong Mansion to meet him, hoping to safely extract him. After all, having labored diligently for the sect in a foreign land for many decades, he didn’t deserve an unsatisfactory end."

He sighed, "However, we underestimated the importance the Qi Sect placed on this lead involving Mr. Xu. They mobilized the most adept enforcement Daoists from their Six-Ear Palace, which resulted in one of our members being killed and another captured while injured.

What’s worse, the surviving member couldn’t withstand the Qi Sect’s tests and shockingly defected to the Qi Sect, leaving us in the dark about how much of Sikong Mansion’s secrets he knew after so many years within our ranks?"

Hou Niao felt overwhelmed. Just after a major confrontation with the Chasing Wind Bandits at Lizhi Sea and the Southeast, was he stirring up trouble in their stronghold now?

Fortunately, no one in Qi Country should recognize him, and it wasn’t likely that people like Gao Tianqi would return to their sects any time soon.

"My mission?"

Judge Cheng looked at him, "Rescuing Mr. Xu is now impossible, and we’ve made arrangements for that, which involves a spy exchange. We also hold some of their people, so you needn’t worry about that.

But that Sikong Mansion member who betrayed, You Chaoen, must die!

Firstly, for the reputation of our Sikong Mansion and secondly, for our spy network in the Southeast region, which is currently in a state of fear and uncertainty. Many long-time infiltrators don’t know whether to stay or go, unsure of just how much this damned defector knows."

He intensified his tone, "The mission is extremely challenging. Dispatching a Golden Core Cultivator could easily escalate hostilities, so we’ll keep it within the Tongtian level, and the Qi Sect will do the same.

This is not a simple assassination. You’ll have room for extensive preparations, then strike unexpectedly; the people from Six-Ear Palace are well aware of our Sikong Mansion’s methodologies. They know we would inevitably eliminate the traitor, which has been our style for centuries.

Thus, they surely are well-prepared, and you might be walking into a trap!

Given the difficulty of this mission, we are raising the reward to Special Merit. How about it, are you confident?"

In the Quanzhen Sect’s internal rules, achievements below great merit are only recorded for cultivators’ evaluations, while extraordinary and special merits could directly warrant fulfilling certain requests from the sect, within reasonable boundaries, of course.

Many Sword Cultivators may never achieve special merit in their lifetime; great merit is essentially the ceiling for ordinary cultivators. Thus, such a promise is quite generous.

Hou Niao shook his head honestly, "If I say I’m confident, would you believe me? On their turf, with their net already spread, just waiting for birds seeking death to fly in... I have several questions. If you can satisfy me, I’ll take on the mission; if not, I might just be going for a casual trip, sightseeing and playing around."

Judge Cheng’s gaze sharpened—bold indeed, but it showed that Hou Niao had a clear understanding of himself, aware that such matters couldn’t be handled by merely being enthusiastic.

Without a genuine effort, countless excuses upon return, that’s merely forgoing special merit, potentially ruining a significant operation of the Sikong Mansion.

"Alright, speak."

"How do I find him? I know the most critical aspect of this mission is time. If he spills all he knows, there won’t be much point left. So, having never been to Qi Country, how do I get the local information?"

Judge Cheng smiled, "We’ve, of course, considered that, and won’t have you fighting alone; for this, we’ll activate another pawn we have within the Qi Sect. He will provide the information, and you’ll act on it."

"But I can’t guarantee the accuracy, the completeness of the information he provides?"

"Of course, but I can assure you he is trustworthy, one of our highest security-level pawns in Sikong Mansion, never activated before. This is the first time. novelbuddy-cσ๓

The task is, of course, challenging; otherwise, why would it merit Special Merit? You think Sikong Mansion’s merits come easily?"

"If I can’t kill him, will the consequences be severe?"

"Yes, in the Southeast region, the Qi Sect is a backbone of hostility against our Shan Sect, so most of our arrangements are in Qi Country. It took countless manpower and resources over hundreds of years to establish a relatively smooth system.

Relatively speaking, Mr. Xu is just an isolated point who doesn’t know much. For all the spies who served in Qi Country, two others were sent just to set an example: the Shan Sect never abandons those who are loyal to us.

To facilitate the rescue, You Chaoen was sent as someone who was relatively familiar with the Qi Country spy system, to aid in coordinating local forces. Ironically, it was You Chaoen who had the issues."

"Was he severely injured?"

"Yes, we believe he didn’t intend to defect to the Qi Sect initially. Sikong Mansion is confident in its recruitment, so their resistance was fierce, probably with a suicidal resolve.

But you know, in the Cultivation World, nothing is absolute, especially for a Great Dao Sect like the Qi Sect, they have the capability to do so; if it weren’t for his severe injuries and the effort Qi Sect needed to turn him, we might not have had the time to react!"

"How likely is it that high-level cultivators will get involved?"

"Events like this are constantly happening across the Continent. If we have to involve great cultivation in everything, then the limited number of great cultivators wouldn’t be free to do anything else. Thus, this is a game, exclusive to you Tongtian realm cultivators, and all must abide by the rules of the game for everyone to continue playing. Otherwise, flipping the table ruins the game for everyone.

It’s also a kind of test for lower-level cultivators. Since there’s no great war, they can’t just idle around, can they?"

Hou Niao sighed, "Understood, alright, I’ll go."

Judge Cheng handed him the jade scroll, "This contains all the information about the mission, including about Mr. Xu, You Chaoen, and that pawn, as well as all the details of previous incidents we managed to gather.

Read it here, memorize it, and set off immediately. Time waits for no one; each day you delay, we may lose more men. You Chaoen’s injuries will heal quickly under Qi Sect’s care. Once he recovers, it will be a disaster for our spy network in the Southeast region."