Suspicious array reveals the secrets

“Haha, the beast soul orb you gave us last time was truly useful.”

“Especially the one that Sealed the remnant soul of Scarlet Nine-Headed; it was truly extraordinary. That fellow Lan Yuchang was originally just a slightly stronger Mortal with some martial arts skill.”

“But after absorbing it, his combat power surged. Even our ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivators were no match for him during sparring sessions.”

“According to Lan Yuchang, this was even when he was holding back.”

“If he fought all out, tsk tsk…”

Li Fan spoke freely and unreservedly, gushing out words without any hesitation.

Xiao Qing’s expression changed slightly upon hearing the name “Scarlet Nine-Headed.”

Then, hearing Li Fan say that someone had already been able to withstand the monstrous malevolence of the Nine-Headed Bird and successfully absorbed that beast soul orb, her delicate body trembled slightly, and she blurted out, “Impossible! How could a Mortal withstand that fellow’s fierce malevolence…?”

Li Fan, however, immediately showed displeasure: “How ignorant. Our Ten Thousand Realms Union has countless talented individuals. What kind of eccentric or extraordinary person haven’t we seen?”

“Just because your Empire can’t find a suitable candidate doesn’t mean we can’t.”

“You don’t actually think that just because you’ve traded with us once, you can be compared to us, do you?”

Li Fan was like a greenhorn who had just entered the world, speaking whatever came to his mind without knowing what “tact” meant.

He said with a look of disdain: “Our Ten Thousand Realms Union trades with you to help you.”

“There are so many Small Worlds around the Xuanhuang World; we don’t lack your one.”

“It is you who need the help of the Ten Thousand Realms Union, not that we cannot do without you.”

…

Xiao Qing’s face turned extremely unsightly upon hearing Li Fan’s extremely unpleasant words.

But in the end, she still held back and did not flare up.

Li Fan prattled on, but then realized the other party had no reaction. Perhaps feeling bored himself, he stopped midway.

Xiao Qing’s gaze towards Li Fan was somewhat unfriendly.

However, after this exchange, she no longer had any doubts about Li Fan’s identity.

She picked up the previous topic and softly asked, “Fellow Daoist, since both parties feel that the trade is beneficial, why was the decision made to suddenly suspend it?”

Li Fan sighed and honestly said, “We encountered an irresistible force.”

He leaned slightly forward, drew closer, and whispered, “According to our intelligence, a major war is likely to break out between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Old Men Association recently.”

“As you know, the period leading up to a war is often the most tense time for both sides.”

“As the saying goes, ‘to pacify internal threats, one must first secure external ones.’ If the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance were to discover any clues about our Ten Thousand Realms Union at this time, they might, in order to eliminate internal hidden dangers, concentrate their forces and flatten us before fighting the Five Old Men Association.”

Li Fan shook his head, showing no hint of embarrassment: “To be frank, although we have always used ‘counter-attacking the Cultivation World’ as our slogan, our organization’s strength is still somewhat lacking compared to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Old Men Association. This much we cannot deny.”

“We still need to accumulate more strength, so for now, we can only temporarily avoid their sharp edge.”

Suddenly, Li Fan’s expression became somewhat excited again: “What’s more, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Old Men Association haven’t had a major fight in many years.”

“This war will undoubtedly be unprecedented in scale and ferocity. While they fight like dogs, we will hide in the shadows, fishing in troubled waters.”

“Perhaps we can even reap the benefits and take advantage of the situation.”

Xiao Qing looked at Li Fan’s smug expression, but in her heart, she was somewhat skeptical about the “imminent war” he spoke of.

The Empire also had its own intelligence sources.

Over the years, although the Thieves of Law were not numerous, they were spread throughout the Xuanhuang World.

During the time Xiao Qing had returned to the Cultivation World, she had already established contact with most of them.

Precisely because of their existence, Xiao Qing actually had some understanding of the current situation in the Xuanhuang World.

As the saying goes, “a Great Wind rises from the tip of a duckweed.”

The outbreak of war must have a reason, right?

If the upcoming war was truly as fierce as the other party described, then there should be some signs of it breaking out now.

“Perhaps they missed some details…”

While Xiao Qing was deep in thought, Li Fan didn’t care what she was thinking at all.

Instead, he shamelessly began to ask Xiao Qing for “beast soul orbs.”

“Oh, when I came here this time, my brothers were all very envious. They insisted I bring back some local specialties.”

“Elder Qing, Saint Master Qing.”

“Anyway, you have as many of these things as you want in your Empire, so just give me a few casually. I need something to report back with.”

Looking at Li Fan’s cheeky grin, Xiao Qing almost laughed out of anger.

However, there was no need to argue with such a person.

Thinking this, Xiao Qing took out two beast soul orbs, equivalent to Golden Core strength, and handed them over.

But the other party was still not satisfied and shamelessly wanted more.

This time, Xiao Qing did not hold back and directly ordered him to leave.

“I truly have no more beast soul orbs with me, Fellow Daoist, please return!”

Li Fan’s face changed extremely quickly.

Just a moment ago, he was calling her “Saint Master” one after another, but now, hearing Xiao Qing say this, he immediately threw a tantrum.

He snorted coldly and flew away without even saying goodbye.

“How can there be such a person in the Ten Thousand Realms Union?”

“If he were in our Empire, he would have been thrown to feed the Void-Rending Whale long ago!”

Xiao Qing was so angry her teeth ached.

“The Fellow Daoist from last time was so much better.”

She recalled the previous trade, where both sides were very satisfied with each other.

The subsequent handover of materials was also handled very properly.

“It’s a pity that person must be busy and unable to spare the time,” Xiao Qing thought with some regret.

Collecting her thoughts, she began to contact the Empire’s secret agents, asking if there was anything unusual with the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance recently.

Were there any signs of an imminent war?

Soon, her subordinate Thieves of Law sent back replies.

Everything was as usual; there was no news of war at all.

Now, it was Xiao Qing’s turn to be a little unsure.

“Is it true or false?”

—

While this Imperial Saint Master was feeling a bit troubled, He Zhenghao was already counting money until his hands cramped.

His face was beaming with smiles. After receiving each transfer of contribution points, he would record it truthfully and reply to the creditors very responsibly.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, rest assured, the contribution points have been received. Just wait patiently to get rich!”

“Little Brother Wei, I have noted down your ten thousand contribution points. Oh, I know this is what you accumulated by losing everything. Who isn’t? Just rest assured, how could Lord Secret Envoy possibly shortchange you?”