A Pleasant Partnership

At midnight, the night air was cool as water.

West of Tianfeng City, beside a desolate Mass Grave, stood a long-abandoned Land God Temple.

The temple was dilapidated and covered in cobwebs. Even half the statue's head had fallen off, making the place look gloomy and eerie.

On ordinary days, let alone people, even stray dogs were unwilling to approach it.

But tonight, this place was destined not to remain peaceful.

A black figure appeared soundlessly atop the Land God Temple's roof like a phantom.

It was Chen Chen.

He had arrived a full two hours before the agreed time.

He needed to survey the terrain in advance and arrange a few contingencies.

Though he believed Lin Yueru would most likely become his "ally," one must never lack the heart to guard against others.

Entrusting one's safety entirely to someone else was the most foolish thing one could do.

He pushed the Nine Nether Soul Refining Art to its limit. His powerful Spiritual Power spread like a spiderweb, shrouding the entire Land God Temple and everything within five hundred meters.

Not even the slightest stir could escape his perception.

He discreetly set up several simple warning arrays around the Land God Temple.

Those arrays had little killing power, but if anyone triggered them, he would notice immediately.

After finishing everything, he quietly lay in the roof's shadows, concealing all traces of his presence and blending into the night as he waited patiently.

Time slowly slipped by amid the silence.

When the midnight chime drifted leisurely over from the city,

two white figures finally appeared on the narrow path leading to the Land God Temple.

They were Lin Yueru and one of her personal maids.

Lin Yueru was still dressed in white, her temperament cold and aloof, though the night lent her an added air of grim killing intent.

Her gaze swept vigilantly across the surroundings like that of a hawk.

"Miss, the yin energy here is far too heavy. That person asked you to come to a place like this; I'm afraid he means no good," the maid quietly warned, gripping her sword hilt tightly.

"It does not matter." Lin Yueru's voice remained indifferent. "In Tianfeng City, no one dares lay a hand on me."

She had every reason for such confidence.

Her Qi Condensation Sixth Layer cultivation was enough to handle the vast majority of dangers.

The two stopped before the Land God Temple.

"Where is he?" Lin Yueru frowned slightly and said coldly, "He invited me here, yet now he is playing at disappearing?"

"Miss Lin need not be impatient. I have always been here."

A hoarse voice seemed to come from all directions, making it impossible to determine its exact location.

It was Chen Chen.

He remained hidden in the darkness and did not reveal himself.

He needed to test the other party's sincerity first.

Lin Yueru's pupils contracted slightly.

She released her Spiritual Sense again, trying to lock onto his position.

But the voice drifted unpredictably, as though it had merged with the night wind around them, leaving no trace to follow.

What an eerie soul-based Secret Method.

Lin Yueru was secretly startled, and her wariness of this mysterious person deepened further.

"Since you invited me here, why not show yourself?" she asked coldly. "Or do you simply enjoy skulking about with your head and tail hidden?"

"Showing myself is possible." Chen Chen's voice rang out again. "But before that, I need to confirm one matter."

"Miss Lin, do you truly want Wang Teng dead?"

His voice carried an undisguised thread of killing intent.

Lin Yueru's body jolted violently!

An equally intense killing intent erupted in her eyes!

"Wang Teng defiled my honor. I cannot live under the same sky as him!"

"As long as he can be killed, I, Lin Yueru, am willing to pay any price!"

Her voice was firm and decisive, brimming with endless hatred.

"Very good."

A trace of laughter entered Chen Chen's voice.

This was precisely the attitude he wanted.

The next instant, his figure appeared soundlessly at the Land God Temple's entrance like a phantom.

He was still dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat, his features impossible to make out.

Lin Yueru and her maid both changed expression. Neither of them had noticed when he appeared!

Such movement technique was simply terrifying!

"Who exactly are you?" Lin Yueru stared fixedly at Chen Chen and asked in a low voice.

"Who I am is not important," Chen Chen said calmly. "What matters is that we share a common enemy."

"Wang Teng will arrive in Tianfeng City three days from now. Traveling with him will be two Inner Sect Disciples from the Azure Cloud Sect, both at the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer."

"Besides meeting Liang Feng, his more important purpose is to contact the Blood Fiend Tower assassins lurking in Tianfeng City and trade for a batch of... contraband enough to shake the entire Azure Cloud Sect!"

"What?!"

Lin Yueru's expression changed completely!

Wang Teng was actually colluding with the Blood Fiend Tower, a demonic organization!

This was absolutely a world-shaking secret!

If this matter were exposed, forget Wang Teng—even the entire Wang Family would be doomed beyond redemption!

"Is what you said true?" Her voice trembled slightly with agitation.

"Whether it is true or false will become clear in three days," Chen Chen said blandly. "I came today because I wish to make a deal with Miss Lin."

"What deal?"

"I will help you kill Wang Teng, and you will help me deal with someone."

"Who?"

"An assassin who also comes from the Blood Fiend Tower." Chen Chen's voice turned colder. "He has been tracking me in secret, and his cultivation is at least above the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer. I need you to help restrain him."

Lin Yueru fell silent.

She looked at the mysterious man before her, her mind racing at breakneck speed.

The information he had given was too shocking—and too tempting.

If she could seize evidence of Wang Teng's dealings with the Blood Fiend Tower, not only could she avenge her hatred, but the Lin Family could also earn an immense contribution.

However, the risks involved were equally enormous.

The Blood Fiend Tower was an infamous demonic organization, ruthless in its methods and filled with powerful experts.

Once she became involved, the slightest misstep could leave her smashed to pieces and her bones ground to dust.

Moreover, this mysterious man's origins were unknown, and it was impossible to tell friend from foe. Who knew whether he was merely using her?

"Why should I believe you?" Lin Yueru asked coldly.

"You do not need to believe me." Chen Chen seemed to have anticipated this question long ago.

He flicked his finger.

A blood-red jade pendant carved with a ferocious tiger traced an arc through the air and landed before Lin Yueru.

"This is... the Wang Family's Soul Chasing Jade?"

Lin Yueru recognized the jade pendant's origin at a glance, and her pupils suddenly constricted!

This object was a symbol of identity for the Wang Family's core descendants, and it resonated with its mother jade.

This person actually possessed something from the Wang Family!

"You are... Chen Chen?!"

A name burst from her lips!

News of the Wang Family of Qingyang City being wiped out had long since spread through the surrounding cities.

And the instigator behind it all was said to be a young man named Chen Chen!

He had killed Wang Zhan, the Wang Family patriarch, as well as Wang Lie, the Wang Family's second young master!

This Soul Chasing Jade had most likely come from Wang Lie!

Chen Chen neither confirmed nor denied it.

He merely said calmly, "Now then, Miss Lin, do you believe in my sincerity?"

Raging waves surged within Lin Yueru's heart!

If the man before her truly was Chen Chen, the one who had destroyed the Wang Family's entire core strength by himself...

Then both his strength and his mind were far more terrifying than she had imagined!

Cooperating with such a person was no different from seeking the skin of a tiger.

Yet at the same time, the rewards would be incomparably immense!

She stared at Chen Chen in silence for a long while.

At last, she took a deep breath, and a flash of resolve passed through her eyes.

"Fine! I agree!"

"Three days from now, you will be responsible for drawing out Wang Teng and the Blood Fiend Tower's people. I will personally act and help you stop that assassin!"

"Deal."

Chen Chen nodded.

"However, I have one more condition," Lin Yueru added.

"Say it."

"After Wang Teng is killed, his storage bag will belong to me." Lin Yueru's voice carried not a trace of emotion.

What she wanted was not the wealth inside.

What she wanted was to personally reclaim her rightful "trophy" and wash away the humiliation of that day!

"Agreed."

Chen Chen accepted without the slightest hesitation.

What he wanted was merely Wang Teng's life and... the system's reward of Cultivation Points.

"A pleasant partnership."

"A pleasant partnership."

The two reached an agreement.

Chen Chen's figure merged into the darkness once more and departed without a sound.

Only after watching the direction in which he vanished did the maid beside Lin Yueru say with lingering fear, "Miss, that person... is far too dangerous. Are we truly going to work with him?"

"Danger also means opportunity."

A complicated light flickered in Lin Yueru's eyes.

"Pass down my order. Have the Lin Family Dark Guards watch the movements of the Immortal's Abode and the City Lord's Mansion with all their strength."

"Three days from now, the skies over Tianfeng City will change!"