None of Them Were Simple

But the shopkeeper, eager to flatter Yue Qianchou, refused to accept any money. No way! Someone with more influence than Princess was someone people would fawn over, not accept money. Even the slightest connection with such a person would be far more valuable than this ingot of gold.

Yue Qianchou glared at him coldly, and the shopkeeper felt a chill run down his spine. He trembled in fear and dared not linger any longer, watching the distinguished guest disappear into the street.

Walking into a secluded alley and finding no one around, Yue Qianchou "whooshed" into the air, determined his direction, and flew towards the Lan City branch of the World Commerce Association.

His original intention in stopping in Lan City of the Biyuan Kingdom was to find an opportunity to meet Wen Lanfeng and see what this guy who was backing him up really meant, lest he be betrayed without even realizing it. However, he didn't expect to run into Nong Zhu ahead of time and learn that Wen Lanfeng had no ill intentions towards him, which put his mind at ease.

The problem now is Yan Zhuixing. Since we've run into him, we should take this opportunity to eliminate him and avoid future trouble. If I were Yan Zhuixing, I would definitely kill Guan Zhongkai and Yu Landu to silence them. After all, four late Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators have a high chance of defeating two, and with such an uncanny guy as Yan Zhuixing, he would definitely be lying in ambush on the way to the Lan City branch.

Yue Qianchou made up his mind: if Guan Zhongkai and Yu Landu in danger, he would definitely find a way to rescue them and get them to spread the news...

Just as he expected... In a desolate area on the outskirts of Lan City, Man Hu and his men were discussing splitting into two groups to intercept and kill Guan Zhongkai and Yu Landu. However, what frustrated them was that while they could anticipate Guan Zhongkai going to the Lan City branch of the World Commerce Association to report, where was Yu Landu? Where was the contact point in the Purple Thistle Kingdom? Where could they intercept and kill Yu Landu? There were only a few of them; they couldn't just spread out and search everywhere.

As for that woman, Wen Qing, who cares about her now? They dumped her a long time ago.

"Damn it! How could we have missed this? What's the use of killing just Guan Zhongkai? Yu Landu spread the news just as easily." The Seventh Brother stamped his foot in frustration.

The Fifth Brother looked at Man Hu and said, "Senior brother, what do you suggest we do?"

Man Hu snorted coldly, "The Purple Thistle Kingdom isn't far from the Great Snow Mountain. We have no other choice now. Contact Master and ask him to take action personally. Ask him to go to the Purple Thistle Kingdom immediately and kill Shangguan Taiping and the others before they spread the news. I believe that with Master's cultivation, killing Shangguan Taiping won't be a problem. Even if they get the news, so what? The dead don't reveal secrets."

The Fifth Brother clapped his hands in agreement and said, "That's right, let's wipe out Shangguan Taiping's group. Yu Landu probably won't know the news for a while, so she won't spread the news. We'll definitely be able to find her easily."

"It's settled then. Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother, you two go find Yu Landu immediately. I'll send a message to Master first, and then Seventh Brother and I will go to the Lan City branch. The World Commerce Association doesn't have any experts here, Guan Zhongkai is no match for me. The two of us are enough to wipe out the Lan City." Man Hu waved his hand and said, "Let's split up."

Just as the Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother were about to leave, Yan Zhuixing, who had been frowning and deep in thought, called out, "Wait a minute."

The four disciples stopped abruptly. Man Hu asked in confusion, "Young Palace Lord, there's no time to lose. Is there anything else you want to say?"

Yan Zhuixing shook his head and sighed, "Do you really think that Niu Youde just mentioned it casually and will really stay out of it? No, if I'm not mistaken, he said those words on purpose for Guan Zhongkai and Yu Landu. If he really wanted to stay out of it, he would have known it in his heart, why did he have to say it out loud?"

"Maybe he just let it slip? It's not impossible!" Seventh Brother said casually.

Man Hu raised his hand to signal him to shut up, frowned and said in a deep voice, "Young Palace Lord is right, Niu Youde's last words did indeed seem to be inciting trouble. What do you mean, Young Palace Lord?"

"I have a feeling that Niu Youde is deliberately targeting me." Yan Zhuixing stared coldly and mercilessly towards Lan City, gritting his teeth as he said, "Since he deliberately wants Guan Zhongkai and Yu Landu spread the news, why would he let us kill them so easily? If I'm not mistaken, he will definitely try to stop us. With his cultivation level, who among us can stop him? Moreover, if we make a move, it will clearly show that we have something to hide, confirming that we want to kill them to silence them. At that time, there will be no chance to make amends. With the joint attack of several nations, how can Senior Bing withstand the combined attack of several top experts!"

"What a vicious plan! What is Niu Youde trying to do? We have no grudge against him!" Fifth Brother said with a shiver.

The Seventh Brother asked timidly, "Do you think it's possible that Master and he have some kind of grudge?"

"What's the point of talking about this now?" Man Hu glared at him, then turned back and said, "Young Palace Lord, do you have an idea?"

"We don't really have any ideas, we can only try anything as a last resort, at least there's a sliver of hope to turn things around." Yan Zhuixing quickly analyzed to the group, "The only thing we need to do now is to immediately send a message to Elder Bing so he can prepare. We also need to get back to the Great Snow Mountain as quickly as possible before the news spreads, otherwise it won't be safe to stay anywhere. Once we have a foothold, we can accuse Niu Youde of talking nonsense. After all, Niu Youde is a big liar, everyone in the Cultivation World knows that. In terms of credibility, we are better than him. In the end, it all comes down to whose words are more credible, this is our only chance."

The group nodded slightly, Man Hu clapped his hands and said, "Alright, it's decided then. You take the Young Palace Lord on his way first. I'll send the message to my master and then come immediately. Let's not delay, let's go!"

In the blink of an eye, the four of them swiftly soared into the sky and disappeared. Man Hu, alone in the mountains, grabbed a handful of Spirit Stone, located the direction of the Great Snow Mountain, and used his unique telepathic Secret Method to send a message...

Yue Qianchou flew along the route from Lan City to the World Commerce Association branch, he didn't hear any sounds of fighting, nor did he see any trace of it.

With the Lan City branch right in front of them, why was there no reaction at all? Yue Qianchou floated in the air, pinching his chin and muttering to himself, "Strange, could I have misjudged? Or can Yan Zhuixing and the others withstand the consequences of this news spreading? They're not that powerful! Logically speaking, the World Commerce Association has the greatest influence and the widest channels for spreading information, so they should have intercepted Guan Zhongkai first!"

Just as he was about to go to the Lan City branch to see if Guan Zhongkai was there, he heard someone call out, "Senior Niu, what brings you here?"

Yue Qianchou turned his head and saw Guan Zhongkai and Yu Landu approaching together, followed by more than a dozen people. The group gathered in mid-air and bowed to him in unison, saying, "Senior Niu!"

"No need for formalities." Yue Qianchou raised his hand, suppressing his doubts, and asked Guan Zhongkai, "Have you already sent the message back to the headquarters of the World Commerce Association?"

Guan Zhongkai rubbed his hands together excitedly and said, "That's right, my master received the news personally. At the same time, my master also asked me to thank you, senior, saying that if it weren't for you, such a major hidden danger would not have been discovered."

He was so excited because Sikong Jue praised him for handling the matter well and said he would personally inform his grandmaster Yin Baikang. As for his past mistakes, they would not be pursued further, and his authority in the World Commerce Association was restored.

Just kidding, this level of authority is no ordinary thing! In terms of seniority, he's the fourth most powerful figure in the World Commerce Association! Only second to his senior uncle, Jing Yuankong. Do you think he wouldn't be happy?

Sure enough, as soon as he regained the authority to mobilize manpower, he immediately and brazenly summoned fifteen experts from the local branch. Half of this was to show Yu Landu that he had not lost power in the World Commerce Association. The other half was for Yu Landu he went to deliver the message. After all, he was worried that Man Hu and the others would kill him to silence him. In case of any accidents, having these people to hold them off would be enough for the two of them to escape.

"Haha! Don't thank me, this has nothing to do with me. You all go about your business." Yue Qianchou said politely and modestly, dismissing the group. Watching them disappear into the distance, he was still full of doubts, feeling that something was amiss.

He then arrived at the Lan City branch, where the manager recognized him and immediately gave him a warm welcome. Yue Qianchou told the manager to go about his business and not to worry about him. Sitting in the inner hall waiting for Guan Zhongkai to return, he frowned, repeatedly pondering what had gone wrong; things shouldn't be like this!

At the headquarters of the World Commerce Association, on the Treasure Gathering Basin God of Wealth Peak, Sikong Jue received a message from his disciple and immediately went to the Jingcai Hall at the God of Wealth Peak, where he quickly informed Yin Baikang, who was sitting cross-legged.

"What? Such a thing is true?" Yin Baikang suddenly opened his eyes and stood up, staring at his eldest disciple and shouting, "Are you sure this news is true?"

"It must be true; Zhongkai saw it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears," Sikong Jue explained. "According to Zhongkai, Niu Youde seemed to know Nong Zhu. After seeing Nong Zhu off from the restaurant, he accidentally saw Yan Zhuixing and asked him a few questions on the spot. Although Niu Youde didn't take it seriously after asking, Zhongkai saw that Yan Zhuixing and the others became obviously nervous and quickly left. Zhongkai felt that this matter was of great importance, so he immediately returned to the Lan City branch to report it to me."

Yin Baikang squinted and said, "You mean to say that Bing Chengzi's disciples know this secret?"

"This was Zhong Kai's judgment based on the situation at the time, because he observed that when Niu Youde spoke about this, the expressions of Bing Chengzi's four disciples were clearly off. Moreover, it was Bing Chengzi's eldest disciple Man Hu first made an excuse to take Yan Zhuixing away."

Sikong Jue was telling the truth, but little did he know that Guan Zhongkai, in order to redeem himself, had exaggerated the matter considerably and was constantly trying to show off his brilliant insight.

"Hmph! Bing Chengzi, what exactly are you up to?" Yin Baikang said in a deep voice with a ferocious expression, "When everyone decided to replace the Yan family father and son, Bing Chengzi even came to persuade Hu Changshou and me to protect them. At the time, I found it strange, they were just two small fry. I couldn't figure it out and almost forgot about them. I never expected that they were hiding such a huge secret. You, Bing Chengzi!"

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