txolops Chapter 77 The Identity of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator
Chapter 77 The Identity of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator
Upon seeing this, Mu Chunfeng's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly stepped forward and sternly stopped everyone:
"Nonsense! This is the new leader of my Xuan Ce City branch! Pay your respects immediately!"
Those old subordinates who had followed Mu Chunfeng for many years were taken aback at first, but then suddenly realized what he meant.
Judging from the situation, their leader had clearly been completely defeated in the previous confrontation, and had accepted the defeat wholeheartedly, which was why he was willing to relinquish the position of leader.
This made them feel a deep respect for the young man before them.
What kind of terrifying strength would be needed to make the proud and arrogant Mu Chunfeng submit so readily?
In an instant, the awe in everyone's eyes deepened as they looked at Li Qingyi, and the same thought arose in their minds:
This kid is absolutely not to be trifled with!
"We pay our respects to the new leader!" the crowd shouted in unison, and were about to bow in greeting.
However, before they could finish speaking, Li Qingyi raised her hand to interrupt them.
"No need for formalities," Li Qingyi said calmly.
"The leader of the Xuan Ce City branch is still Chief Mu. I have no interest in this position. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, Chief Mu, please come with me to the inner room for a discussion."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, completely unable to understand what these two were up to.
One willingly stepped down, while the other refused to accept it?
Mu Chunfeng remained calm on the surface. Although he didn't understand Li Qingyi's actions, he wisely refrained from asking.
He simply waved his hand at his subordinates, his tone regaining its usual authoritative tone:
"What are you all standing there for? Those who need to carry out missions, go carry out missions; those who need to gather intelligence, go gather intelligence. Disperse!"
Having said that, he ignored everyone else, gestured for Li Qingyi to enter, and then led the way into the more secluded inner chamber deep within the secret room.
The interior room was simply furnished, with only a stone table and stone benches.
The two sat facing each other.
Without any pleasantries, Li Qingyi cut straight to the point: "Help me find someone."
"Whom is the landlord looking for?" Mu Chunfeng leaned forward slightly, his attitude respectful.
Li Qingyi pointed her fingers like a brush, using her own magical power as ink, and gently sketched in the air between the two of them.
In a short while, a clear portrait of a middle-aged cultivator floated in mid-air, lifelike.
Mu Chunfeng stared intently at the painting, her brows furrowing slightly. She felt that the person in the painting looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before.
He looked up, somewhat puzzled: "Could you please clarify, who is this person...?"
"Didn't Tingyu Pavilion organize a siege operation against a certain Foundation Establishment family a few years ago? In the end, it seems that he escaped."
Upon hearing this, a sudden realization struck Mu Chunfeng, and she instantly remembered, a look of sudden understanding appearing on her face:
"It's him! Lu Zhenxuan, the patriarch of the Lu family in Qingling City! That's right, he was the one who personally planned and led the hunting operation five years ago."
Unfortunately, at the last moment, a Purple Mansion True Person appeared out of nowhere and forcibly intervened, rescuing Lu Zhenxuan and causing the mission to fail.
"Qingling City Headquarters?"
Seeing that Li Qingyi seemed unaware of this, Mu Chunfeng immediately explained:
"Replying to the host, Tingyu Pavilion has established three headquarters within the Xuan Kingdom, located in the Imperial City, Qingling City, and Daoli City respectively."
Each headquarters has at least one Foundation Establishment stage cultivator in charge.
As for our Xuan Ce City, as well as Yi Shan City and Luo Yun City, they are considered branches directly under the headquarters. Our Xuan Ce City branch happens to be under the jurisdiction of the Qing Ling City headquarters.
Li Qingyi understood immediately. "This is quite a professional setup."
Mu Chunfeng cautiously and tentatively asked:
"OP...why are you suddenly looking for Lu Zhenxuan?"
"What else could it be? To find him, and then kill him."
Mu Chunfeng was startled and took a closer look at the young man in front of him who looked excessively young.
"I...I didn't hear wrong, did I? The OP wants to...kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator? What gives him the right? Could it be...?"
A startling thought flashed through his mind—
Could this young master's true cultivation level already be at the Foundation Establishment stage?!
The thought of this possibility filled Mu Chunfeng with awe.
The gaze directed at Li Qingyi was filled with awe.
Such a young Foundation Establishment cultivator! This must be the reincarnation of some powerful being.
"This is indeed the wisest choice I, Mu Chunfeng, have ever made in my life!"
He took two deep breaths to calm himself down:
"Your Excellency is wise, but... Lu Zhenxuan has been missing for five years and is difficult to find."
"What if I could provide his exact whereabouts? With the resources of Tingyu Pavilion, could we arrange for an assassination?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng shook his head with a wry smile:
"I'm afraid it still won't work. After this mission was personally accepted by the leader of the Qingling City headquarters, it has remained in the 'accepted' state and has not been released back into the mission pool."
This means that other assassins, including those in our division, are no longer able to take on this mission.
However, the price to be paid for engaging a Foundation Establishment stage assassin would be far beyond what our Xuan Ce City branch could afford.
Li Qingyi nodded in understanding, then asked:
"Why is the leader of Qingling City clinging to this mission? In the past five years, has he continued searching for Lu Zhenxuan's whereabouts?"
Mu Chunfeng shook his head again:
"I am not aware of the reasons behind this."
As for the search... to the best of my knowledge, the Qingling City headquarters has not conducted any large-scale search operations targeting Lu Zhenxuan in the past five years.
Li Qingyi leaned back in her chair and slowly exhaled.
He felt that the matter was far more complex than it appeared on the surface.
"Is he hogging the mission but not completing it because he received a severe warning from that mysterious Purple Mansion cultivator back then? Or is there another reason?"
There were too many things she couldn't understand, so Li Qingyi simply put them aside for the time being.
He changed the question:
"What's your opinion on the fact that the Sect Master's newly accepted disciple is loudly proclaiming his identity within the Xuan Kingdom?"
"Your information is truly excellent, OP."
Mu Chunfeng offered a timely compliment, and seeing that Li Qingyi remained calm and showed no reaction, he carefully chose his words and slowly said:
"Well... I'm not in a position to comment on this matter."
After all, the information on the assassin ranking list couldn't be faked; he was indeed a disciple personally acknowledged by the sect leader.
Li Qingyi's gaze deepened, and she pressed on:
"How long do you think it will take for this news to spread throughout the entire Xuan Kingdom?"
After a moment's thought, Mu Chunfeng replied:
"If no one secretly pushes things along, and it's just a matter of word of mouth among cultivators, it will probably take more than half a month."
"What if Tingyu Pavilion itself is secretly fueling this?"
"Within seven days."
Upon hearing Mu Chunfeng's answer, a cold glint flashed in Li Qingyi's eyes.
He knew in his heart that even if he didn't take the initiative, those enemies hiding in the shadows would never let go of this opportunity to stir up trouble.
Sooner or later, he, as the "personal disciple of the Pavilion Master," will be thrust into the spotlight.
Instead of waiting passively, it's better to take the initiative and firmly grasp the initiative in your own hands.
In any case, those potential enemies will only think that other forces are using this as an excuse to deal with them.
He quickly assessed his hand:
First, there's the Netherworld God-Slaying Talisman, but this thing can only be used outside the city; second, there's a low-grade magic weapon, a crystallization of the resentment of 300,000 undead.
Using the Green Puppet to lure Lu Zhenxuan out of the city might give us a chance to kill him.
But the biggest problem now is how to defeat this enemy without using the Netherworld God-Slaying Talisman and without destroying the Green Puppet.
I still have two spirit stones left...
Li Qingyi's eyes narrowed, and she immediately manipulated the green puppet back to the small courtyard in the south of the city to begin drawing the golden body talisman.
We must gather spirit stones as soon as possible to increase our strength.
"Chief Mu, does that chief of Qingling City have any enemies, either within the pavilion or outside?"
Li Qingyi suddenly asked.
Mu Chunfeng shook his head:
"Subordinates of insufficient rank know very little about matters concerning the headquarters leadership."
Seeing that Mu Chunfeng truly did not know, Li Qingyi did not press the matter further, but instead gave the following instructions:
"In that case, you should secretly arrange for people to spread the news that 'Li Qingyi is a disciple of the Listening Rain Pavilion Master' throughout Xuan Ce City, and the more people who know about it, the better."
Remember, the core message must highlight the six words "Disciple of the Listening Rain Pavilion Master"!
Mu Chunfeng lowered his head and respectfully replied, "Your subordinate obeys."
But after hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask:
"But... there is something I don't understand. Why is the Lord targeting that Li Qingyi?"
He is, after all, the sect leader's disciple. Wouldn't our actions... invite unnecessary trouble?
Li Qingyi snorted coldly, her tone carrying a hint of displeasure:
"Have you forgotten? That day at Huanzhu Tower, when I clashed with him?"
Mu Chunfeng then suddenly remembered that when the Lord of the Pavilion seized power from Yue Sha, he did indeed have a conflict with a young man in green robes, and they fought fiercely.
It turned out that the person was Li Qingyi.
"But...but the other party is, after all, the sect leader's disciple. Isn't what we're doing a bit...?"
Mu Chunfeng still had some concerns.
Seeing his appearance, Li Qingyi was actually quite satisfied.
This was exactly the effect he wanted: to make everyone wary of his identity as "Disciple of the Listening Rain Pavilion Master" and dare not touch him easily.
Li Qingyi's face darkened, and she said sternly:
"You're truly confused! What do you think the Pavilion Master did by publicly displaying his identity on the assassin's list? Was it to protect him?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng was startled. He instantly understood the key point, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face. His gaze towards Li Qingyi was filled with admiration.
"I see... I see! It was my foolishness that prevented me from understanding Your Excellency's deeper meaning! I understand now, I'll get to it right away! I guarantee I'll handle this matter perfectly, to Your Excellency's satisfaction!"
Watching Mu Chunfeng respectfully leave the inner room, Li Qingyi's lips twitched.
He was just talking nonsense and had no idea what the other person actually understood.
"Alright, let's go back to Huanzhu Tower first."
Li Qingyi stood up and returned to Huanzhulou.
Now, he is only one step away from the sixth level of Qi Refining.
As long as you solidify your current realm and then cultivate with spirit stones, you will definitely be able to break through in three to four or five days.
As for the source of spirit stones, it seems that the only way is to rely on Qingkui to earn them by drawing talismans day and night.
Once he breaks through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, he can simulate again and, with the help of the simulator's rewards, step into the late stage of Qi Refining and break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Just thinking about it made his heart burn with excitement.
Qingkui can now earn about eight spirit stones a day by drawing talismans.
After three days, the spirit stones he has earned should be enough to support him in breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining and conducting a simulation.
With these thoughts in mind, Li Qingyi stepped into Huanzhu Tower.
However, as soon as he entered, he keenly sensed a feminine aura permeating the top floor.
He remained secretly wary and headed straight for his room on the top floor.
Pushing open the door to the sixth-floor attic, one sees a graceful figure sitting lazily in the seat that rightfully belongs to him.
Hearing the door open, the person slowly turned around, revealing an incredibly beautiful face—it was Zhao Mengxi.
Her captivating eyes, tinged with amusement, brazenly scrutinized Li Qingyi, her red lips parted slightly, her breath sweet as orchids:
"Little brother, you're finally back... I've been waiting for you for so long..."