The Western Sea Sword Sect had deliberately leaked the location of Heaven Near Person's cave abode to Yin San, hoping to work with the Profound Yin Ancestor to pull off this earth-shaking deal.
The man wearing a bamboo hat who had entered the restaurant in Haizhou City was an intermediary acceptable to both sides.
The Western Sea Sword Sect's scheme had failed, and humiliatingly so, with devastating losses. But the man in the bamboo hat was not worried about being punished, because he was a Guest Elder in the Western Sea, his own identity was also unusual, and he had many other important missions besides this one. He believed the Western Sea Sword God would have more than enough patience with him.
After leaving Haizhou City, he had not returned to the Western Sea Sword Sect. Instead, through his connections with the Pure Heaven Bureau, he had traveled in an Imperial Court carriage across several provinces and commanderies to Yu Commandery.
The north of Yu Commandery was already close to Yunmeng Mountain, and the chances of encountering orthodox cultivators were growing ever greater. Not wanting too much trouble, he went straight to the Precious Artifacts Pavilion in Guiyun City and offered a rare, though not particularly valuable, thousand-year lotus seed for auction.
This arrangement had been made over a decade ago. He did not know whether the people the other party had put in place could have held on until now.
Besides, the other party had now left the Zhongzhou Sect, his whereabouts unknown.
Someone bought the thousand-year lotus seed that very night, and it was delivered to Yunmeng Mountain the next day.
On the fourth day, the man in the bamboo hat saw Bai Zao.
"I didn't expect you to be the one who came," he said.
Bai Zao