The Plan Fails [Seeking Follow-up]

Ten Thousand Stars Mountain, Golden Cloud Sect.

At the summit of Golden Moon Peak, a vast sea of clouds churned without cease, like a cauldron of boiling silver broth.

The mountain wind was biting, yet it could not disperse the spiritual mist lingering around the pavilions atop the peak.

A green jade chessboard sat within the pavilion, with one person seated on either side.

Below, Lin Wanrou wore a crimson gown that made her skin seem whiter than snow.

She raised her delicate hand and set down a white jade chess piece. It landed with a crisp "snap," exceptionally clear amid the empty mountaintop.

"I concede."

Golden Cloud Sect's Supreme Elder, Wu Yong, seated above, stared blankly at the severed dragon of black pieces on the board before clicking his tongue in praise.

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!

Young Friend Lin's move of 'feigning east while striking west' truly caught this old man unprepared."

"Chess is like life, and life is like chess.

More often than not, opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye.

Senior Wu's chess skill is quite formidable, but you lacked decisiveness and let the opportunity slip away for nothing. Otherwise, this move would never have fallen to me."

Lin Wanrou smiled like a blooming flower, yet her words clearly carried another meaning.

Wu Yong, however, merely threw back his head and laughed. His laughter shook the sea of clouds and lingered for a long while.

Wu Yong understood perfectly what Lin Wanrou meant, but he did not take the bait. Having lived for nearly five hundred years, he had always been cautious around the scions of great clans.

Even though he had heard that Lin Wanrou was merely from a collateral branch and that her cultivation was far beneath his own, Wu Yong still did not dare slight her in the least.

This woman was able to persuade a prodigy from a supreme immortal sect like Ye Shaochen to personally kill He Sheng. Her influence must be considerable.

No one else on Ten Thousand Stars Mountain had noticed what happened outside the mountain that day, but Wu Yong, a false core cultivator, had watched it all with perfect clarity.

Seeing Wu Yong refuse to respond, Lin Wanrou quietly added more weight to her side of the scales. Yet she only smiled faintly and said, "Senior has dominated the Ten Thousand Stars Mountain region for centuries. Surely you understand the weight of the words 'right time' better than this junior.

"Now is precisely the perfect time for Golden Cloud Sect to expand. After all, the foremost cultivator of Silver Sand River has already been slain beneath Brother Ye's sword, while the He Family is only a newly risen clan, its foundations far too shallow. It is time for Long Sun Mountain to welcome a new master."

Wu Yong's brows drew together slightly. He knew Lin Wanrou was naming her price.

Though the Silver Sand River region was a place barren of spiritual energy and naturally beneath the notice of great sects, if Golden Cloud Sect's influence could seep into it...

Wu Yong shook his head. "Young Friend Lin, you jest.

"Back then, Supreme Mystery Orthodox Unity and the True Dao of Netherworld Communion made an agreement: no immortal sect force was permitted to enter the Silver Sand River region."

Clearly, the two behemoths intended to use Silver Sand River as a buffer zone.

Hearing Wu Yong still trying to fob her off with empty words, Lin Wanrou sighed softly. "Wanrou has already been this frank. Why must Senior pretend to be confused when you understand perfectly?

"If the Celestial Sea Commerce Association can establish itself in Silver Sand River, then Golden Cloud Sect naturally can as well.

"It is nothing more than a fine tale of some sect outcast or discarded child of a family claiming Long Sun Mountain for themselves and founding a power of their own."

With Lin Wanrou having laid things out so plainly, Wu Yong truly began to consider it.

*My Wu Family has been flourishing by the day. The spiritual veins around Ten Thousand Stars Mountain can barely accommodate the newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators anymore.

*If the Celestial Sea Commerce Association were to endorse us, we could indeed select a junior of the clan who is about to reach Foundation Establishment. Under the guise of being a discarded child of the family, they could occupy Long Sun Mountain after successfully reaching Foundation Establishment.

*First, it would grant my Wu Family another foundation.

*Second, it would allow Golden Cloud Sect's influence to gradually seep into the Silver Sand River region.

But...

Wu Yong remained hesitant and silent for a long time.

Lin Wanrou's fingers lightly traced across the chessboard, as though mapping out the realm with a gesture. "Though Silver Sand River is barren, its location is uniquely advantageous.

"So long as Senior is willing, Wanrou will certainly do all she can to help Golden Cloud Sect take complete control of Silver Sand River from end to end.

"By then, the boost to Golden Cloud Sect's strength would be far from insignificant."

Lin Wanrou looked at Wu Yong, her eyes brimming with confidence. She felt she had already yielded enough, while all she sought was Golden Cloud Sect's support.

In her eyes, Wu Yong had no reason to refuse.

Yet Wu Yong fell silent.

As the saying went, the longer one wandered the jianghu, the smaller one's courage became. Wu Yong was an old ghost who had lived for nearly five centuries; how could he be so easily dazzled by the profits before him?

Looking at Lin Wanrou's breathtakingly beautiful face, the wariness in his heart only deepened.

Lin Wanrou has gone to such lengths merely to promote the Eight Scenic Dharma Coin, so she can earn enough merit and continue climbing higher?

Wu Yong secretly shook his head. He had heard that the Lin family elder behind Lin Wanrou possessed an extraordinarily deep background, with countless hidden ties to the current sect master of the Eight Scenery Sect.

With his favor, Lin Wanrou could have simply kept herself in line and waited quietly for promotion in the future. Why did she have to stir up such storms?

"This woman must be plotting something else!"

Thoughts whirled through Wu Yong's mind. Lin Wanrou felt like a bottomless whirlpool to him—once one stepped into it, one might be swallowed whole.

"Fairy Lin's sincerity is indeed ample. This old man..."

Wu Yong was just about to deflect the matter again and offer a few excuses.

Just then, a jade talisman wreathed in azure light came speeding from the edge of the sea of clouds. It transformed into a streak of light and landed in Wu Yong's hand.

This was a transmission jade talisman reserved for the upper echelons of the Golden Cloud Sect. Wu Yong immediately swept it with his divine sense, and his expression could not help but change slightly.

The message within stated that the Lower River Branch of the Celestial Sea Commerce Association had been attacked several days ago.

What was even more unexpected was that the culprits had been Lin Wanrou's personal maid and the artifact-refining retainer Wu Feng!

The two had not only joined forces to loot the Lower River Branch clean, but had also assassinated Lin Wanrou's personal guard, Xu Qiancheng...

"A Foundation Establishment Early Stage retainer and an inconspicuous maid actually dared to break ground on Tai Sui's head—and succeeded? Could it be that... someone from the True Dao of Netherworld Communion is manipulating things behind the scenes?"

The information in the jade talisman was nothing short of explosive. Wu Yong could not help feeling that his caution had indeed been justified, and that the waters of the Silver Sand River were unfathomably deep.

Lin Wanrou had always been adept at reading faces. Seeing the change in Wu Old Ghost's expression, she could not help but ask.

Wu Yong came back to himself and said nothing more, merely handing the jade talisman in his hand to Lin Wanrou.

"Take a look."

Lin Wanrou accepted the jade talisman with a puzzled expression. The moment she swept it with her divine sense, she seemed to be struck by lightning, freezing stiffly where she stood.

Every word on the jade talisman was like a heavy hammer, smashing viciously into her heart.

Wu Feng had turned traitor? Kou Xiang'er had betrayed her? Old Xu... was dead?

"How is this possible?!"

Kou Xiang'er had been personally trained by her and was the most afraid of death. How could she possibly have the courage to collude with outsiders and assassinate a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

And Wu Feng—that artifact refiner who had always been so meek and obedient before her—how could he dare?!

Lin Wanrou's mind went blank. She had meticulously arranged this game of chess, believing victory was already in her grasp. All she needed was to add one more spark, and she could bring the Silver Sand River entirely into her hands.

Yet this sudden upheaval was like a massive hammer falling from the heavens, smashing her chessboard to pieces.

Without Old Xu, she had lost both her eyes and ears and her martial support in the Silver Sand River;

with the Lower River Branch utterly destroyed, she could no longer account for herself to the Commerce Association. She would likely have no choice but to resign and accept punishment.

In an instant, Lin Wanrou seemed to have had all the air let out of her. She slumped into her chair, with none of the sharp, aggressive edge she had displayed earlier even before a False Core cultivator.

It was over.

It was all over!