Chapter 168

Clear River Sect Headquarters.

Sect Master Situ Ye sat cross-legged on a stone seat, his eyes closed.

He had always been a highly self-disciplined man. Every hour of every day, his schedule was arranged in minute detail, and once confirmed, he would execute it without fail. Any unexpected event would make him extremely uncomfortable.

Many people assumed the Clear River Sect’s headquarters was located in the Mist Zone of the Outer City. After all, as a well-known faction that constantly stirred up trouble, the Clear River Sect always operated on the edge of the law, engaging in quite a few gray industries. However, calling them a purely criminal organization wasn't quite accurate either.

In fact, the Clear River Sect had always been located in the Inner City, within a subterranean hollow in the Middle Ring.

This massive underground hollow was less a cave and more an abyss leading to unknown depths. It was perennially sunless, relying entirely on countless patches of naturally growing purple luminescent moss on the walls for illumination.

Situ Ye’s seat was located in a fissure in the abyss wall. This fissure looked as if it had been sliced open by a single blade stroke; its shape was extremely regular and square, with smooth inner walls.

At this moment, Situ Ye sat on a rough black stone seat within it, gazing down into the boundless abyss, his mind wandering slightly.

This was his scheduled time for "mind-wandering."

Every day at this hour, he would give his mind a short vacation.

"Sect Master, how should we handle the matter of the Black and White Sabers? Who should fill the mission vacancy they left behind?" A figure quietly emerged from the shadows to the side, revealing half of a pale, bloodless male face.

"Let the Moon Tower arrange it. This is outside the plan." Situ Ye glanced at the other person, lowered his head, and continued to let his mind drift.

"The higher-ups implied that the highest strength level they can arrange is at this level. No one above that is willing to act personally. Therefore, the long-term losses caused by this incident must be borne by you personally," the pale man replied.

"This was not in the plan," Situ Ye frowned. "If they are dissatisfied, they can find someone else to be the Sect Master."

"...You... aren't you making things difficult for me?" The man squeezed out a helpless smile.

"So let them endure this gap," Situ Ye said impatiently. "We are all Truebloods. My willingness to shoulder this burden is already giving them enough face. Furthermore, have you found out how the Black and White Sabers disappeared?"

"Not yet, but the final clues relate to Xinyu Town. From the intelligence left by the Black and White Sabers, we confirmed that they intended to investigate the Clear Wind Temple together."

"Send someone to infiltrate and investigate the Clear Wind Temple. Do not engage them head-on for now. It is unnecessary," Situ Ye ordered. "There are only a dozen or so people at the level of the Black and White Sabers in the sect, and they have to be scattered throughout Tuyue. Facing a faction capable of dealing with the Black and White Sabers... if trouble arises again in the future, are you going to go yourself?"

A force capable of dealing with a High Divine Officer... if they really wanted to exterminate it, the cost and pressure required would be too great. They could not act rashly.

"Yes."

…

Time passed. With the continuous development of the Clear Wind Temple, exploration teams went out time and again to collect resources, and the properties belonging to the temple increased.

Clear Wind Temple branches were established in almost all the ten or so surrounding towns.

With the background of the Rain Palace, as well as relationships with the Wang family and the Inspectorate Division, basically no one would actively provoke them.

Lin Hui was also able to quietly cultivate Body Tempering.

But quiet as it was, the style of the Moon Tower's Deep Domain and the Truebloods still flashed through his mind from time to time. Whenever this happened, traces of insecurity would rise in his heart.

Building his own intelligence network was put on the agenda.

In addition to this, he needed to establish a private safe house. It had to be a mist-free zone hidden within the Mist Zone, serving as a final haven. If anything happened here, he could settle his family there to hide.

For now, Liu Wujun was still holding things up, so the situation was fine. But once there was the slightest slip-up on Big Brother's side...

Intelligence network, safe house, absolutely loyal personnel. These three points were the key issues Lin Hui was pondering now.

And after a period of inspection and observation...

A fellow he had almost forgotten appeared in Lin Hui's field of vision.

In the rear residence of the Clear Wind Temple.

Lin Hui stood in the courtyard, looking thoughtfully at the pond where the water was turbid, almost turning black-green.

At this moment, everyone around had been dismissed, leaving him alone.

"Rise," he said to the pond.

Splash.

The water in the pond suddenly bulged, rising rapidly like soft clay and transforming into a humanoid shape.

It was the Water Man, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

After more than a year, the Water Man had changed far more than before. First, its size had increased significantly. Second, the water inside its body had grown even more turbid and foul. And on top of that, it had gained a new ability.

It could now transform into a pure stream of water, entering and exiting through any pipes in batches. Before, it could only spit slime; now, it could also turn into flowing water.

Moreover, its intelligence seemed slightly higher than before. It could understand slightly more complex commands.

Perhaps I can build a surveillance system disguised as a stream. The absolutely loyal manpower I’ve been worrying about… aren’t these lifeforms enhanced by the Blood Seal natural, death-sworn soldiers?

Looking at the Water Man’s foolish appearance, Lin Hui’s thoughts suddenly opened up.

The Blood Seal can enhance anything. I can find a Mist Zone ruin, enhance it, seal it, establish a security perimeter, monitor that perimeter, and turn it into a completely hidden safe house.

I can also start building an intelligence network from here. I can use the Blood Seal to enhance a fast-growing, energy-boosting medicine and mass-produce it… No, I can even fully enhance certain equipment or artifacts—items that can be worn to strengthen the body and increase one’s energy…

Once the train of thought opened, inspiration erupted in Lin Hui’s mind like falling rain.

After letting the Water Man return to its original pond form, he went back to his room, about to start today's Internal Force cultivation.

"Temple Master, something happened to the Wang family! They sent someone to notify you and ask you to make a trip to the Inner City!" Outside the courtyard, a disciple responsible for guarding stood at the door and announced loudly.

"The Wang family?" Lin Hui paused.

Come to think of it, Wang Yueheng hadn't visited the Clear Wind Temple for some time. It seemed his family had indeed encountered trouble.

"Where is the person? Where are they now?" He stood up helplessly, interrupting his Internal Force cultivation.

"In the reception Council Hall."

Before the disciple could react, Lin Hui had already vanished. He leaped over the wall and arrived in front of the Council Hall in a few blinks of an eye, revealing himself as he slowly walked in.

Inside the Council Hall, an old woman in yellow clothes with graying hair was pacing back and forth, clutching an ironwood cane.

"Where is Wang Yueheng?" Lin Hui entered the hall, his gaze landing on the old woman.

"Wang Xinru pays respects to the Temple Master. The Young Master has encountered significant trouble. He provoked a very troublesome person, so we have come to brazenly ask the Temple Master for help, to ask the Rain Palace to speak up for us..." the old woman said helplessly.

"What did he do?" Lin Hui took the main seat, his expression unchanging.

His relationship with Wang Yueheng was okay, but it hadn't reached the level of heart-to-heart friendship; it was a relationship of interest. Whether to help or not depended on the situation. Just like before, when he asked Wang Yueheng to help find precious medicines, Wang gave some at the start, but later Lin Hui had to find them all himself in the Inner City.

"The Young Master… you know how he likes to make friends. Not long ago, he went to the Outer Ring to socialize again. Unexpectedly, he ran into a passerby who suddenly intervened and beat him so badly that he was seriously injured. Now, all those friends the Young Master made before have turned out to be problematic, and the matter of the Heart-Controlling Insect has been exposed…"

"Heart-Controlling Insect?" Lin Hui was speechless.

After they became familiar, he had advised Wang Yueheng not to use that harmful thing, warning that sooner or later he would encounter someone who couldn't stand it and would deal with him. Wang didn't believe it. Now, retribution had finally arrived.

"The situation now is that the Young Master knows he was wrong, but those people are relentless and insist that the Young Master give more compensation," the old woman, Wang Xinru, said indignantly.

"Since that's the case, then compensate them," Lin Hui said indifferently. "For such a matter, asking for more compensation is only right."

"We thought so too at first, but now that group is pushing their luck..." the old woman said angrily.

"I cannot help with this matter," Lin Hui said calmly. "Since Wang Yueheng used the Heart-Controlling Insect, he should have been clear about what he would face once it was exposed."

"Temple Master, you can't leave us in the lurch! Our two sides have cooperated for so long. If the Young Master falls, it will be hard to find a partner in the Inner City who cooperates as well as we do in the future!" Wang Xinru pleaded.

"Then we just won't cooperate," Lin Hui replied. "The Wang family has not shown the sincerity I need up to this point."

"B-but..." The old woman was stunned.

This was completely different from what she had expected before coming. Hadn’t they said the Young Master and the Clear Wind Temple Master were close friends? Hadn’t they said that as soon as the matter was brought up, it would be resolved immediately, that he would send people to pull strings and smooth things over with the Rain Palace?

So how did it end up like this…?

"Go back. I have a new guest arriving." Lin Hui couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense with her anymore. He waved his hand, signaling the disciple to take her away.

"Temple Master, you can't be like this! If my Young Master hadn't sponsored your cultivation at a critical moment back then, would you have your current status? If not for the Young Master fully supporting the Clear Wind Temple, could the Clear Wind Temple have developed to this scale?" The old woman's face flushed red, and her voice grew louder and louder.

"You may leave," Lin Hui said indifferently. "Or do you want to stay here forever?"

His gaze turned cold as it swept over the old woman. She shuddered at once, the rest of her words dying in her throat. She could only turn away resentfully and stride out the door.

After the disciple led her off, Lin Hui remained seated, quietly waiting for the so‑called new guest.

A few seconds later.

Swish!

A somewhat familiar figure abruptly appeared in the Council Hall.

The visitor wore a set of black-purple tight-fitting metal armor, a bull-horned helmet on his head, and a purple-black metal mask over his face.

"Wang Yueheng of the Wang family brought about his own death. He used Heart-Controlling Insects to control others and ended up provoking us. His fate is already sealed and cannot be changed." The visitor’s voice was clearly altered, thick and deep.

"Temple Master Lin has a firm sense of righteousness and did not allow himself to be dragged into the Wang family’s quagmire. I have come to thank the Temple Master." The visitor cupped his fists and gave Lin Hui a slight bow.

"Long time no see. It seems your movement technique hasn’t gotten rusty." Lin Hui did not respond to the other’s words, but instead suddenly said this.

The visitor instantly fell silent.

After a pause, he gently removed the mask from his face, revealing the familiar face of Tao Xuehai underneath.

"Master… it’s been a year… I took a short break this time and wanted to come see you first…"

"There’s something wrong with you… with your body." Lin Hui looked at this disciple—arguably the most talented under his tutelage—and frowned slightly.

"You’ve noticed it too?" Tao Xuehai smiled. "This disciple has grown much, much stronger… and I can also hear that voice constantly echoing in the void."

"You…" Lin Hui felt an even stronger sense that something was amiss. He stood up, intending to move closer and examine him.

"Master, don’t worry. This disciple has merely succeeded in fusing with the Imitation Insect Canon left behind by the Ancestors," Tao Xuehai said with a smile.

"The Imitation Insect Canon…!?" Lin Hui was stunned.