Two Realms Shuttle Gate: Don't Call Me a Demon!-Chapter 658 - 399: Purple Mansion Cultivator

Three days later!

In the Ghost Ridge Palace, inside a pavilion, a chessboard was set up, with Taoist Qiu and Zhang Junwei seated opposite each other, while a disciple was serving tea and pouring water.

Clutching a white piece, Taoist Qiu played chess with Zhang Junwei and spoke, "Sect Master, have you heard any news about Su Jie?"

Zhang Junwei took a sip of tea, frowning at the chessboard as it edged towards a stalemate, and said, "I haven't got any news of him for the time being. Don't worry too much, though. His strength is considerable within Qingzhou Territory. As long as he doesn't run into someone from the Taoist Platform Realm, nobody can trouble him."

Taoist Qiu let out a sigh, but his moves were relentless, creating a checkmate situation on the board: "I know, but you're also aware that Su Jie is on the blacklist of the righteous sects. If his identity is exposed while he's out, the trouble could be great."

"Su Jie isn't new to being out and about; I believe he'll be careful on his own."

Zhang Junwei's brows remained tightly knit, his hand holding a chess piece without placing it.

As the two chatted, a sudden voice came from outside.

"Sect Master, Master, I've returned."

Hearing this voice, Taoist Qiu's face lit up with joy, and he looked towards the direction of the sound, where he saw his disciple Su Jie appearing in sight.

"Haha, I was just talking about you with your master, and here you are at the perfect time."

Zhang Junwei laughed heartily and took the opportunity to shove the chessboard, disrupting the assuredly losing game, and stood up to beckon Su Jie: "Come over and have some tea. Everything went smoothly, I hope?"

Taoist Qiu, seeing the chessboard messed up by Zhang Junwei, puffed up his beard and glared, but there was nothing he could do; he simply asked Su Jie, "Have you managed to take care of all your tasks?"

Su Jie approached the chessboard, picked up the tea poured by the disciple, and gulped two mouthfuls before saying, "The Fierce Ghost has been taken care of. Sect Master, you have no idea, my visit to the Heavenly Soul Pavilion this time coincided with quite a commotion."

After that, Su Jie succinctly recounted the events that had befallen the Heavenly Soul Sect.

However, Su Jie omitted his own experience of hunting down the Demon Cultivator in Chongzhou, focusing on the threats the Heavenly Soul Sect was facing from the righteous sects.

"...And at the end of my strategic planning, Sect Master Lu of the Heavenly Soul Sect has already agreed to an initial purchase of one thousand units of Rocket Artillery and accompanying rockets from our Puppet Hall."

"You little slicker, you never forget to make money even when you're out; you know how to provide for the household," Taoist Qiu commented as he saw Su Jie's smile, aware his disciple must have profited handsomely.

"Heh, Master, you know the Puppet Hall is having a tough time! Over two thousand disciples rely on me for their livelihood, and every morning when I wake up, all I see is the relentless consumption of Spirit Stones. The Sect funding alone is never enough. If I don't earn more, we'll go bankrupt sooner or later and won't even have food on our plates," Su Jie defended with a chuckle.

"Don't you start crying poverty to me; I know you well enough. If you're poor, then all of us Elders might as well go begging," retorted Taoist Qiu, rolling his eyes. He was aware of Su Jie's extravagant spending on various materials from the Ghost Ridge Palace and the Black Market, the epitome of wealth and power.

Nowadays, the Puppet Hall was one of the largest divisions within the Ghost Ridge Palace, and as its Hall Master, Su Jie enjoyed quite the flourishing status.

After a little back-and-forth with Taoist Qiu, Su Jie took another sip of tea to moisten his throat, then asked, "Sect Master, I need you to make a decision now about how we should handle the Heavenly Soul Sect situation."

Zhang Junwei tapped his fingers lightly on the table, speaking in a grave tone, "I didn't expect the Heavenly Soul Sect to follow in our footsteps. They've got some nerve, targeting Guan Chao Pavilion's Supreme Elders directly to assert their dominance in Qingzhou! No wonder Guan Chao Pavilion is targeting them."

"To think they had such audacity, I underestimated them," Taoist Qiu mused. Murdering a Supreme Elder from the Guan Chao Pavilion was an outright provocation. Elders are the backbone of a sect, especially those of the Taoist Platform Realm.

In most sects throughout Qingzhou, the Taoist Platform Realm cultivator would be the leader of the sect. Moreover, due to various reasons, many sect leaders only possess the strength of the Senior Secret Realm, which underscores the significance of a Taoist Platform Realm cultivator.

The actions of the Heavenly Soul Sect, in any regular sect, would be akin to assassinating a Sect Master, a blood feud beyond reconciliation.

It was just that Guan Chao Pavilion, being the foremost sect with vast resources in Qingzhou, openly had five Supreme Elders and countless regular Elders with a multitude of disciples. Still, the death of two Supreme Elders was an absolute heavy blow to them.

With a slight upturn of his mouth, Su Jie was aware that both Zhang Junwei and Taoist Qiu believed Zhuang Liangru and Zhao Junde, the two Supreme Elders of Guan Chao Pavilion, perished due to targeted assassination by the Heavenly Soul Sect.

"Could it be the doing of Ning Yunying, that woman..."

Su Jie harbored a hint of doubt; he had personally killed Zhuang Liangru, but the backup Zhao Junde, he clearly remembered his Dharma Form attack only severely injured and did not kill him.

Yet, according to what he heard from Lu Jingshi, Zhao Junde had died, and a woman's figure swiftly emerged in Su Jie's mind - Ning Xinyue's sister, Ning Yunying.

There was no sign of Ning Yunying on the battlefield then, but Su Jie strongly suspected it was her doing.

"Su Jie, you've had a fair amount of interaction with the Heavenly Soul Sect this time around. Tell us your thoughts. Is Guan Chao Pavilion actually going to make a move against them?" Zhang Junwei asked calmly, looking for an opinion.

"Sect Master, based on what I know, Guan Chao Pavilion might be seriously considering it this time. On my way back from the Heavenly Soul Sect, I already spotted quite a few scouts from Guan Chao Pavilion around Nanyang City."