Chapter 868
News of the Undercover Agent
The evil cult is always the most troublesome thing, especially in the current ambiguous situation, where we must be on high alert for any slight disturbance.
"These are truly turbulent times."
At the foot of Wanxiang Mountain, Song Changsheng couldn't help but sigh.
After selecting the treasures yesterday, Ji Shinian and the others learned that he was about to leave, so they brought him some fine wine to drink with him and see him off. During their conversation, he learned that they had been ambushed by a demonic Nascent Soul cultivator on their way back.
Regardless of whether this demonic nascent soul is related to the Shadow Demon Cult he discovered, it signifies that demonic cultivators are gradually becoming more active, acting increasingly arrogantly, and even revealing a sense of fearlessness.
Besides the demonic cultivators, the actions of other races such as the demon race and the sea race are becoming more and more frequent, with countless battles of all sizes.
That's one thing, but there are also many monsters and demons within the human cultivation world. Many destroyed lineages have been resurrected. Song Changsheng, for example, has encountered the Gu Immortal Sect and the corpse breeders of the Nine Nether Corpse Raising Sect.
It looks like the world is about to descend into chaos, and in a truly profound way.
These words may not seem like much in everyday life, but when they actually come, a wave of suffocation and tension washes over you, making it hard to breathe.
The Song family is far from being able to survive in a chaotic world; everything they have now is built upon order.
If the traditional order is broken one day, what will become of the Song family?
"Main person...is something about to happen?"
Hearing the exclamation, Chen Lingxiu, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask a question. Having grown up in the small world since childhood, she now only found everything novel and had no idea of the cruelty hidden behind this world.
Therefore, she didn't know why Song Changsheng would make such a remark.
"No, it was just a spontaneous thought. We should get going."
Song Changsheng did not choose to return directly to the Great Qi cultivation world, but instead arrived at Linhai City first.
There are many things going on in the East China Sea, a tangled mess that the younger generation of the clan cannot untangle. Only by resolving these issues can he return to the clan with peace of mind.
The reason for choosing Linhai City as the first stop is that the Wind Whisper Palace has a branch here, and this is the fastest way to learn about all the current information.
Compared to when the East China Sea branch was first established, thanks to Song Jingxiu's tireless efforts, the branch has expanded at a visible speed over the years.
Currently, it has become the largest branch of the Wind Whisper Palace besides the Qinghe branch. Judging from the current trend, it is only a matter of time before it rises to the number one position.
The Song family's development in the East China Sea did indeed require a larger intelligence station to serve them.
"Jingxiu pays his respects to the clan chief. The clan chief has won the top prize in the Five Academies Grand Competition, and his fame has spread far and wide. It is a great pity that I was unable to witness it in person."
Upon learning of Song Changsheng's return, Song Jingxiu had been waiting outside the city with several managers from the branch headquarters.
"When did you become as good as Youfu? Compile all the intelligence from this period and hand it over to me so I can inspect your work."
"We had already made preparations upon learning of your impending return. Please, clan leader, come and join us."
Upon returning to the branch headquarters, Song Changsheng was immediately stunned by the mountain of jade slips piled up on the table. He hadn't been away for long, so how could there be so much intelligence?
“Things have been turbulent lately, and the branch has cast a wide net, which is why there are more cases,” Song Jingxiu explained respectfully.
"It seems you've achieved quite a bit during this time. Let's talk about your situation first. Your branch will be of great use in the future, and we'll see if you have the capability to do so." Song Changsheng waved his hand, picked up the top layer of jade slip, and read it with his divine sense threads as he spoke.
Song Jingxiu's heart stirred, and he quickly said, "During this period, the family has added manpower to the branch, and the intelligence network has been initially established and is currently continuing to expand outwards."
We also connected with the River Guardian Elder of the [Brocade Banner] and used their intelligence network to monitor the major forces other than the Myriad Palaces.
Through continuous and persistent infiltration, our branch has now developed nearly four hundred informants in the Great Qian cultivation world, and most of this intelligence was provided by them.
Although most of the information is fragmented and doesn't seem to have much value to them, after we piece it together and compare it, we can basically grasp the slightest movements of these forces.
We are currently focusing on caravans that sail long distances, which have a large number of hired guards. These people, who are willing to embark on long voyages for money, are the easiest to bribe and have provided us with a lot of useful intelligence.
This is also our main channel for obtaining information about the surrounding cultivation world.
The grandson believes that efforts can be intensified to improve intelligence sources and also to provide a basis for comparing intelligence from others, thereby reducing verification costs.
Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng couldn't help but ask in surprise, "How could just one branch have developed so many informants? Can the economy in the East China Sea support that?"
The so-called informants are actually bribed with cultivation techniques or spiritual resources such as spirit stones and pills. It's essentially a cooperative relationship. The higher the status, the higher the fee. Every piece of information is bought with real money.
The cost of having so many informants is several times that of supplying cultivators of the same level each year, which is equivalent to supporting an extra one or two thousand people.
Therefore, intelligence gathering is a very expensive business. Whether it's training your own spies or developing informants, it requires a huge investment and cannot be taken lightly.
After all, it's a high-risk profession; only high returns can retain people's loyalty.
Originally, the funding for each branch was applied for and disbursed directly from the Wind Whisper Palace headquarters to the family, partly because the local garrison headquarters had limited assets and could hardly afford it.
Secondly, it is for the purpose of maintaining confidentiality.
The East China Sea branch is quite special because it is too far away and inconvenient to travel. Therefore, it has always been supplied by the Twin Islands Garrison. However, due to the construction of the protective array, it has incurred a huge debt. How can it still support so many informants?
He didn't want to see the intelligence network overdrawn again.
"Chief, you may not know this, but before the war with the sea creatures began, Uncle Youping had already captured the [Red Thread Worm King]. After multiplying it in large numbers, he used it in combination with a specially prepared spiritual liquid as feed for the spirit fish, which greatly improved their growth efficiency."
Because of the addition of a special elixir, other forces in the alliance were unable to imitate it in a short period of time, and thus made large-scale purchases.
The feed and spirit fish alone brought in tens of thousands of spirit stones.
In addition, after using the Silverwing Gold-Eating Insects to mine minerals, not only has efficiency been improved, but costs have also been reduced, resulting in many orders, especially from the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce, which has purchased hundreds of thousands of them.
Even the [Gold-Eating Insects] used in the previous retaliatory operation against the sea creatures were cultivated and bred by the family, but they were not taken as a favor.
Therefore, supplying the branch headquarters was not difficult at all.
"Of course, we have strictly controlled the number of people and have not expanded on a large scale," Song Jingxiu said respectfully.
"Your large-scale development is quite remarkable; it'll crush even the naval base," Song Changsheng joked with a smile, though he was secretly very pleased. The vitality that the East China Sea had shown in recent years was truly astonishing. Apart from lacking a Golden Core cultivator to stabilize the overall situation, intelligence, aquaculture, and the fleet were all flourishing.
If the Song family maintains this momentum, they won't be in a situation where they burst their belly if they are able to annex the Brocade Banner in the future.
Of course, this does not mean they do not need more allies to join them; on the contrary, it is precisely at this time that they need more fresh blood and strength.
His current targets are the Golden Crow Sect and the Heavenly Vein Sect.
These forces, such as the Huansha Sect, can also develop further in the future.
They are all forces within the cultivation world of the Great Qi, so they know each other well and have experience in cooperating. This allows them to better unite and fight back against external enemies.
As for internal conflicts, they did have many conflicts of interest in the past, and the Heavenly Vein Sect and the Golden Crow Sect even had several full-scale wars.
But none of these are problems. The reason for the internal conflict is simply that the resources of the Great Qi cultivation world are not enough to go around. After taking over the Ten Thousand Mountains, everyone became much more peaceful.
However, as their strength grows and these territories are fully absorbed, conflicts will inevitably arise again, which will be very detrimental to the development of the Great Qi. Their strength should not be wasted on internal strife, but rather saved to deal with the Demon Realm.
This is where the importance of recruiting them becomes apparent.
If the profits aren't enough, then just make the pie bigger. There's plenty of room for maneuver in the East China Sea.
Just like the cultivation world of the Great Qian Dynasty back then, internal conflicts were transformed into external conflicts. As long as the benefits gained were sufficient, no one would be so foolish as to start a war.
Unless one day, a faction produces a Nascent Soul True Monarch and wants to unify the cultivation world of the Great Qi.
Even so, recruiting them still has two advantages.
Their interests are already intertwined. Even if someone from the Golden Crow Sect or the Heavenly Vein Sect breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, they wouldn't dare to do anything to the Song family, because the East Sea is completely under the control of the Song family. If they want to take over, they have to get past the Myriad Manifestations Palace first.
As for Mu Guibai, when the Song family first joined them, they were only part of the Purple Mansion faction. Even if he breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, the Song family will not be greatly affected, so he will not be included for the time being.
If Song Changsheng breaks through first, it will be even simpler. Everyone's interests will be tied together, and the resistance will not be too fierce. After all, from the moment they joined the alliance, their activities in the East China Sea have already had to obey his command and mobilization as the alliance leader.
In any case, the Song family is in a superior and proactive position, which is absolutely fantastic.
As the two talked, Song Changsheng had almost finished reading the jade slips on the table.
At this moment, he was watching the defeat of the great battle. After watching it, he realized that what Jianxin Zhenren said yesterday was too conservative. Such a huge loss would have crushed any cultivation world in the borderlands outside of the Great Qian cultivation world.
However, the sea tribe suffered even greater losses. More than a dozen demon kings perished, and the two water lords were also driven to flee in a frenzy by the Thunder Elephant True Lord and the Dragon Elephant True Lord, who had freed up their hands. One of them was even severely injured.
That was a resounding victory.
The East Sea Alliance didn't gain much benefit, but fortunately, it also suffered no losses. Surprisingly, the Sea Yaksha didn't take the opportunity to cause trouble, which was quite unexpected.
"Why are these sea monsters holding back?" Song Changsheng asked, his brows furrowed.
Song Jingxiu said in a deep voice, "We didn't know before, but recently we got the answer. It seems that the Yaksha King Yeshinu is in seclusion breaking through to the fifth level."
"What? Where did you get this information? Is it accurate?" Song Changsheng frowned sharply.
If Ye Shi Nu truly breaks through to the fifth rank, then the situation of the East Sea Alliance and even the entire Great Qian cultivation world will deteriorate.
Generally speaking, it is more difficult for sea creatures to break through to the fifth rank than for humans, because there are too many factors that determine bloodline.
But Ye Shi Nu's clan, the Sea Yaksha, was once one of the strongest sea clans. His bloodline inheritance fully met the requirements, and the skeleton of that true dragon brought him a great boost, as Ji Shinian could see when they fought each other last time.
Furthermore, they are suspected of having close ties with some overseas human faction, which allows them to obtain related support.
All things considered, the possibility of him breaking through to the fifth rank is extremely high.
If this isn't stopped, things will get complicated.
However, before that, he needed to find out the source of the intelligence, since such secretive information could be a trap.
"This information wasn't actually obtained by us; it came from Uncle Youfu. It's said to be related to the Blood Soul Demon Sect, and the evidence is very convincing."
"So that's it."
Song Changsheng could understand it now; he must have used Yin Chou's channel.
From this perspective, it seems that the Blood Soul Demon Sect is colluding with the Sea Yaksha clan. This is not surprising, since the Sea Clan's use of the Demon Flower was their doing, and the Sea Yaksha may have been the middleman.
"It seems I need to deal with that old devil first," Song Changsheng thought to himself.
He originally planned to return to his family for seclusion after the [Heavenly Purity Jade Marrow Pill] was completed, and then deal with the Sea Yaksha clan after breaking through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm, which would give him a better chance of success.
But this time, the seclusion would last for decades, and he worried that by the time he broke through, Ye Shi Nu would have also succeeded.
Of course, he could inform the Myriad Manifestations Palace of this news. If they knew that a fifth-tier water lord might appear, they would definitely send someone to kill it.
However, Song Changsheng still wanted to know from Ye Shinu where he got the Enlightenment Pill from when he looted it.
Based on his extensive investigation, this [Enlightenment Pill] is most likely from the same sect as the person who left behind the [Star Fruit Tree], namely the reclusive sect "Treasure Bottle Sect".
The Treasure Bottle Sect, renowned for its alchemy, is capable of producing a heaven-defying pill like the Enlightenment Pill. How could its other pills and inheritances be any less impressive?
If we can figure out the origin, we'll have a chance to find out the location of the Aquarius sect's ruins, and Yashnu is the only clue.
If we had informed Wanxiang Palace, he would have at most had some soup, and we wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths.
After much thought, he decided that he had to take action himself.
However, with his current cultivation level, it's unrealistic to expect him to capture that Night Wet Slave alive and interrogate him for information, but he can still injure him. After all, he not only has a piece of [Gengjin Divine Thunder], but also the supreme killing intent of the [Third Killing Array in the World] that True Monarch Yingyue sealed for him!
...(End of chapter)