Chapter 781: Preparation (I)

The next day, the Ascension Assembly's closing ceremony concluded smoothly, without incident. Lin Zheyu had not seen Xiao Yiqing of the Vermilion Bird Sect again since their last encounter, which came as something of a relief. He always felt uncomfortable around her.

He had never felt this way even when facing the two Deity Transformation realm powerhouses, Jing Xinyue and Qin Hu, yet Xiao Yiqing was merely at the Nascent Soul realm. This made Lin Zheyu even warier of her.

Ji Haozhong glanced at Ning Ji'an and the others nearby as he sent Lin Zheyu a voice transmission. "Once you enter the Formation Hall, you must not let your guard down. As far as I know, several members of those ancient, esteemed martial families have joined the Formation Hall as well. Although cultivators of the Directorate of Celestial Observation are forbidden from harming their colleagues, there are still plenty of ways to circumvent that restriction with a few subtle tricks."

Ning Ji'an and the others looked over at Lin Zheyu from afar, mocking smiles playing on their lips and their eyes filled with disdain. Their expressions greatly irritated Ji Haozhong, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Are there many cultivators from those three families in the Formation Hall?" Lin Zheyu asked.

The two ignored the looks from Ning Ji'an and the others and led the Martial Alliance's young martial artists toward the teleportation plaza in an orderly fashion. The Ascension Assembly was over, and after spending nearly half a year here, it was time for them to return, cultivate diligently, carry out missions, and earn cultivation resources.

"I'm not entirely sure. I've only heard that the Kong Family has produced a powerful formation cultivator who is now capable of setting up fourth-tier formations. The three ancient martial esteemed families are closely allied, so you need to watch out for that fellow," Ji Haozhong warned.

Lin Zheyu nodded. "A fourth-tier formation cultivator... Don't worry. I'll keep an eye out."

When they arrived at the teleportation plaza, Lin Zheyu glanced at the Martial Alliance's young martial artists and said, "I'll leave them to you. I have something to take care of and will return later."

Ji Haozhong waved his hand with a smile. "All right. Go take care of your business."

The Ascension Assembly was over, and Heaven-Monitoring Formations had been installed throughout Great Wei's major cities. Combined with a powerful dharma treasure like the Sky-Patrolling Mirror, there was little chance of them encountering any danger.

***

After parting ways with Ji Haozhong and the others, Lin Zheyu teleported to a city near the Eastern Sea, then made his way to the Evilheart Sect. Because they cultivated demon arts, the sect's demonic cultivators had to endure the constant erosion of yao will and demonic qi.

Lin Zheyu had not visited in half a year, so he planned to help the Evilheart Sect disciples who had encountered problems in their cultivation. After all, he was now the sect master of the Evilheart Sect. Though he had left its affairs entirely to others, he could not neglect them too thoroughly.

Lin Zheyu once again assumed the identity of Xiao Zhe and leisurely stepped out of the void. His powerful senses spread outward. Half a year had passed, but little had changed within the sect. The only difference was that its members seemed far more motivated than before.

"Cao Hongchang has done a surprisingly good job as vice sect master." Lin Zheyu smiled. With a slight blur of his figure, he silently passed through the Evilheart Sect's island-protecting formation and entered the sect's main hall.

Inside the hall, Cao Hongchang was assigning the upcoming tasks to the other demonic cultivators. Suddenly, every hair on his body stood on end. His head snapped to the right as the demonic qi within him surged. When he saw Xiao Zhe, the absentee sect master who had vanished for half a year, sitting leisurely nearby, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He then impatiently waved the other demonic cultivators away. "All right, you may leave now."

"Yes, Sect Master," the demonic cultivators replied.

"Ahem... How many times have I told you not to call me Sect Master? I'm the vice sect master now. Your sect master is sitting right over there," Cao Hongchang said without batting an eye.

The expressions of the three demonic cultivators changed abruptly, and cold sweat instantly broke out across their bodies. They hurriedly turned around and, sure enough, spotted Lin Zheyu sitting nearby.

The three demonic cultivators bowed to Lin Zheyu with a trace of panic. "Greetings, Sect Master."

Calling the vice sect master 'Sect Master' in front of the true sect master could make him think they intended to rebel. If that happened, they would be finished! After all, apart from Cao Hongchang, the soul blood of nearly every demonic cultivator in the Evilheart Sect was in Lin Zheyu's hands. With a single thought, Lin Zheyu could decide whether they lived or died.

"Mm. Pass the word along. Anyone who has accumulated enough contribution points may come to me for help resolving the problem of the yao will within their body. Then have Kong Yujing and Wu Di come here. Oh, and tell Kong Yujing to bring the sect's recent account books. All right, you may leave. Sect Master Cao and I need to have a little chat." Lin Zheyu looked at Cao Hongchang with a half smile.

The three breathed a sigh of relief, acknowledged his order, and fled as though making their escape. Cao Hongchang's cheek twitched slightly.

"Sect Master Cao, has the sect's expansion gone smoothly while I've been away?" Lin Zheyu asked with a beaming smile.

"I wouldn't dare accept that title. You should just call me Fellow Cao," Cao Hongchang replied, somewhat speechless.

"Oh, so you don't like being called that? When I heard them address you that way, I thought you rather enjoyed it." Lin Zheyu regarded Cao Hongchang with a genial smile.

Under his gaze, Cao Hongchang could not help feeling a chill creep over him as he recalled this fellow's utterly wicked disposition.

"It was an oversight on my part. It won't happen again," Cao Hongchang promised.

He immediately changed the subject. "All the minor factions in the surrounding area without powerful backers have been absorbed. Things have gone fairly smoothly."

"However, continuing to expand from here will be somewhat troublesome," Cao Hongchang said. With a wave of his right hand, demon essence surged from his body and condensed into a map of the various powers in the Chaotic Star Sea.

Lin Zheyu looked at the map. All the Evilheart Sect's former territory that had been seized by other factions had been reclaimed, and every island within a radius of over a hundred kilometers was now under the sect's control.

"Not bad." Lin Zheyu nodded slightly, then continued after a moment's thought. "However, these places have few resources, so occupying them won't bring us much benefit. Managing these areas also takes considerable effort. Are there any nearby factions with substantial resources that we can target next?"

Only after joining the Formation Hall and beginning to cultivate the Formation Dao did he truly appreciate the staggering amount of resources it consumed. If he relied solely on completing missions to earn contribution points, he would probably be stuck as the Formation Hall's overworked lackey for a very long time.

Fortunately, spirit stones could be exchanged for contribution points at a fixed rate within the Formation Hall, though the price was rather steep. Thus, Lin Zheyu was now in desperate need of spirit stones. A vast quantity of spirit stones!

"There is one faction," Cao Hongchang said. With a thought, a particular region on the map suspended in the air began to shimmer faintly.

"Fellow friend, take a look. This island is called Redcloud Island, and there is a spirit stone mine in the deep sea nearby. The island master has no powerful faction backing him, but he and a Nascent Soul realm elder of the Hidden Moon Sect were once Dao companions. If we are to attack Redcloud Island, we must take down that old bastard swiftly and decisively. Otherwise, it will be difficult to withstand the fury of two Nascent Soul realm powerhouses at once," Cao Hongchang explained slowly.

He had never made a move against Redcloud Island because its island master was extremely powerful, even somewhat stronger than he was. With Cao Hongchang's strength, he was no match for the island master alone, much less the man's former lover as well.

"Then this will be our target. We'll take Redcloud Island first," Lin Zheyu said calmly after a moment's consideration.

He vaguely remembered Redcloud Island's master and the elderly woman from the Hidden Moon Sect. Back when Lin Zheyu and Cao Hongchang had first met and fought a fierce battle, the commotion had drawn the two of them over.