Ideology

The news that Five Spring Mountain was going to war with the Ghost Dao Sect was, at this stage, basically known to everyone.

Although they hadn't truly engaged in battle yet, the cultivators of the Demon Slaying Hall had been searching the West Outer City layer by layer for devilish cultivators. This tense atmosphere made the loose cultivators uneasy, and they wouldn't go out unless absolutely necessary.

Furthermore, it was heard that a devilish cultivator had been discovered by the Demon Slaying Hall and they fought in the street, resulting in innocent loose cultivators being caught in the crossfire and killed.

There were also loose cultivators who died for no reason in secluded alleys, reportedly killed by devilish cultivators as well.

But who knew if it was really devilish cultivators who did the killing?

For a time, the atmosphere was tense, and the streets were sparsely populated. Some streets had no loose cultivators at all. Only in the market did loose cultivators still come out to buy essential items, only venturing out when they had no choice.

Outside the market area, the streets were deserted.

It had to be said, Shopkeeper Yu was becoming more and more thoughtful. This made Wu Tao feel even more that cooperating with Shopkeeper Yu was the best decision he had ever made. If he hadn't commissioned the escort of Fellow Daoist Jin, who was at the Qi Refining Layer 7, in this situation, walking on such a deserted street would have made him quite nervous.

But now... he glanced at the Fellow Daoist Jin beside him, and a sense of security rose in his heart.

Qi Refining Layer 7, which was Late-Stage Qi Refining, was a strength that allowed one to walk sideways among loose cultivators. Most of the loose cultivators living in the West Outer City were at the Early-Stage or Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivation. Late-Stage Qi Refining was like a phoenix feather.

Once a loose cultivator reached Late-Stage Qi Refining, their wealth would inevitably increase. They wouldn't live in a poor place like the West Outer City. They would generally reside in the true Five Spirits Cultivation City.

As for this Fellow Daoist Jin, Wu Tao guessed that he might be someone sent by the people behind Shopkeeper Yu to guard the Spirit Material Shop, to prevent any reckless individuals from causing trouble.

Time rewound to when Wu Tao had just entered the Spirit Material Shop.

No. 36 New Spring Street.

It was a small courtyard with three entrances and three exits. The Mutual Aid Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiner Association was located in this courtyard. At this moment, Fang Ming looked at the bowing loose cultivator in front of him with a serious expression and said, "Li Feng, have you remembered what I just told you?"

"I remember, I remember. Please rest assured, President Fang. I will definitely tell President Xie exactly what you said, word for word." Li Feng said with a smile.

He was a member of the Nine Bright Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiner Association, a First-Rank Level 4 artifact refiner, and was at the Second Level of Qi Refining. At his level, he was merely a nobody in the Nine Bright Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiner Association, with no power, a lot of work, and very little share of the spirit stones.

Suddenly, Fang Ming, the Vice President of the Mutual Aid Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiner Association, approached him and asked him to tell a lie, offering him thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Although he knew that their president, Zhu Jiuming, and Xie Tao of the Mutual Aid Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiner Association had always been at odds, for the sake of spirit stones, it was just telling a lie. How easy was that? Only a fool wouldn't do it.

Fang Ming looked at the obedient Li Feng and breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought to himself: Li Mo, I will never let you join the association smoothly. Xie Tao doesn't have many years left to live. This presidency will definitely be mine.

With Li Mo's artifact refining talent, he could already refine First-Rank Level 4 magic robes at such a young age. Give him a few more decades, and he would surely grow to Xie Tao's level, or even higher.

Although Li Mo had always been unwilling to join the association, there was still Wu Zhongxing. That kid wasn't good at artifact refining, but he was excellent at networking. Many loose cultivator artifact refiners in the association had been brought in by Wu Zhongxing.

He feared that one day, Li Mo might not be able to resist Wu Zhongxing's persuasion and actually join the association, which would be a huge threat to him.

"Just as the outer city is in chaos, let's get rid of this threat." Fang Ming's killing intent surged in his heart, and he said to Li Feng, "Let's go, I'll take you to see President Xie, and by the way, please call me Vice President Fang later."

Li Feng nodded and smiled, "Don't worry, Vice President Fang, I know how to play along. Besides, when President Xie's lifespan ends, you are the only one fit to be the president of the Mutual Aid Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiner Association."

Only then did Fang Ming nod in satisfaction.

Xie Tao was slightly surprised to see Li Feng and asked, "Fang Ming, who is this?"

Fang Ming said in a deep voice, "President Xie, this is Li Feng, from the Nine Bright Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiner Association. I've bought him over, and he has some news that you might want to hear."

After speaking, he gestured to Li Feng.

Xie Tao looked at Li Feng, who quickly said, "President Xie, I heard news in our association that our president, Zhu Jiuming, has personally invited a First-Rank Intermediate artifact refiner named Li Mo to join. The induction ceremony will be held in a few days..."

Xie Tao's eyes turned cold upon hearing this, and he said sternly, "Fang Ming, is what he said true?"

Fang Ming nodded, "President Xie, what Li Feng said is true. It is said that Zhu Jiuming offered a great reward, which is why Li Mo agreed to join the other artifact refiner association. President Xie, I've told you long ago that Li Mo cannot be kept. You see, Xiao Wu couldn't persuade Li Mo to join us in a month, which shows we have no fate with him."

"But we can't let him join Zhu Jiuming's association. If Zhu Jiuming gets Li Mo, he'll be riding on your head."

Xie Tao was silent for a moment, and finally made up his mind in his heart, "What do you want to do?"

Fang Ming's expression lit up, "President, if it were usual times, we wouldn't dare to act in the outer city. We would have to lure Li Mo outside the city with a plan. But now, with the friction between Five Spring Mountain and the Ghost Dao Sect, the situation is tense. We can act amidst the chaos and then frame the devilish cultivators."

Xie Tao asked, "Can you guarantee it will be foolproof?"

Fang Ming vowed, "Don't worry, President Xie. I've asked two loose cultivators to help, both of whom are at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining. With Li Mo's cultivation at the Third Level of Qi Refining, he will surely die. Moreover, those two loose cultivators don't know that we are behind this."

Xie Tao said, "Good, this matter must be done flawlessly."

Li Feng listened to their conversation and felt increasingly uneasy. Cold sweat broke out on his back. The best strategy was to flee. With a flash, he wanted to escape.

But Fang Ming had already noticed him. With his cultivation at the Fourth Level of Qi Refining, Li Feng, who was only at the Second Level of Qi Refining, couldn't escape.

"Vice President Fang, spare my life!"

"Crack!"

Fang Ming expressionlessly twisted Li Feng's neck and then carried him in his hand. Since he was not as tall as Li Feng, Li Feng's feet still dragged on the ground.

"President Xie, I'll go and handle this now."

Xie Tao waved his hand. After Fang Ming closed the door, he sighed, "What a pity! What a pity!"

"President Xie!"

Just then, Wu Zhongxing's voice sounded from outside the door.

Xie Tao's regret vanished from his face, and he said calmly, "Little Wu, please come in."

Wu Zhongxing entered and cupped his hands at Xie Tao, "President, the matter of the shop is settled."

Xie Tao looked at Wu Zhongxing with satisfaction and praised, "It was right to entrust the shop to you. It's done so quickly. It's a pity about your artifact refining talent... Otherwise, after my lifespan ends, I would have handed over the association I personally founded to you, and I would have been at ease."

Wu Zhongxing replied, "President, my artifact refining talent is poor, so within the association, I will handle more miscellaneous matters. This will allow the artifact refiners in the association to practice more, which can make the association stronger and protect more Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners.

Besides, isn't there still Fellow Daoist Li Mo? Please rest assured, President. Give me some more time, and I will definitely persuade Fellow Daoist Li Mo to join our association."

Xie Tao had always been confident in Wu Zhongxing's dedication. He smiled gently, "Little Wu, you don't need to persuade Li Mo anymore."

Wu Zhongxing was stunned. "President, what do you mean?"

A trace of unnaturalness flashed across Xie Tao's face, but he still said in a deep voice, "During this period, the situation has become increasingly tense. Unexpected incidents are bound to occur at the shop. You should stay at the shop and handle any emergencies."

Xie Tao's evasive answer made Wu Zhongxing's heart sink completely. His expression dimmed, and he slowly said, "Did Vice President Fang say something to you?"

Xie Tao remained silent.

Wu Zhongxing turned to leave, "I'll go find Vice President Fang."

Xie Tao suddenly stood up and shouted, "Little Wu, stop right there."

Wu Zhongxing turned around and looked at Xie Tao steadily. He felt as if his heart was being twisted by a knife. He opened his mouth, but finally pressed on, "President, is Fang Ming going to make a move on Li Mo?"

Xie Tao pondered for a moment, then lowered his eyelids and said slowly, "Little Wu, you've done your best. That Li Mo is destined to have no connection with our association. But he... he shouldn't have joined Zhu Jiuming's artifact refining association."

Wu Zhongxing already knew the answer in his heart, but hearing Xie Tao admit it personally still made it difficult to accept. "So, President, if you can't have it, you'll destroy it? No, Li Mo was discovered by me, and I recommended him to the association. I can't let Li Mo die because of me."

Having made up his mind, Wu Zhongxing felt he couldn't waste any more time here. He had to stop Fang Ming.

Seeing Wu Zhongxing about to turn and leave, Xie Tao was furious and said sternly, "Little Wu, do you still have any respect for me as your President? Stop right there. If you dare to leave the association today, don't force me to take action against you."

Wu Zhongxing couldn't help but stop. He turned and saw that Xie Tao's face had turned completely cold. His own face showed pain. "President, you're going to take action against me?"

Xie Tao said, "Little Wu, I have high hopes for you. Don't disappoint me."

For some reason, Wu Zhongxing felt a sense of relief in his heart, as if he had finally let go of something. He asked earnestly, "President, do you still remember what you told me when I joined the association? The association was founded by you personally. Do you still remember the ideals at the beginning of the association's founding? Do you remember the ideals you solemnly promised to every new member who joined the association?"