Chapter 1736: Secret Plans

“Hm?” The sect master’s eyes completely opened as he looked at Zhao Hai and said, “You don’t know? Where did you get it? Why are you confident that it can be refined into an artifact?”

Zhao Hai felt a tremendous pressure coming down on him. Although this pressure didn’t do anything to him, he still lowered his head and pretended to be frightened. After all, he was currently using Wei Tianchen’s ident.i.ty. Wei Tianchen was only at the Core Formation Stage, so it was impossible for him to withstand the pressure coming from a Transcending Tribulation Expert.

While trembling, Zhao Hai answered, “Replying to the sect master. I stole the material from someone while I was looking for Trembling Ice Gra.s.s in the Green Plain Mountains. The person should be from the Wandering Soul Group. He attacked me first, and I killed him. I found the material in his body. I didn’t know how to use the material when I found it. At that time, I thought that the cultivator’s artifact is good, it’s just a pity that it has a spiritual imprint. So I placed the artifact along with the material. But when I came back, I found out that the spiritual imprint had vanished. I felt that it was strange. Then I noticed that there is less material compared to before. So I guessed that the two are related. After several tests, I became certain that the material can remove spiritual imprints. Upon knowing this, I decided to make it into an artifact. All of this is true, I would never dare lie to the sect leader.”

The sect leader looked at Zhao Hai and believed his words. Although the relations.h.i.+p between the Roaring Flame Sect and the Wandering Soul Group has improved because of the Black Tiger Gang, both sides knew that their relations.h.i.+p was fragile and could break any time.

It was normal for the disciples of two sects to have conflicts. But whether it was Zhao Hai who attacked first or not, the sect leader didn’t care. What he cared about was the source of the Ancient Eternal Sand.

Zhao Hai’s lies were flawless. It wasn’t strange to meet the people of the Wandering Soul Group in the Green Plain Mountains. It was also common to put looted artifacts and materials together. And since the spiritual imprint has been removed, it was normal for Zhao Hai to notice it. Therefore, the sect leader didn’t doubt Zhao Hai’s words.

The sect leader nodded and said, “So that’s the case. Alright, you can go.” Zhao Hai nodded and then bowed before going out of the room. Once he was outside, he let out a long breath before going down and returning to his residence. 

Once Zhao Hai left, the sect leader turned to Disciple Lin and siad, “Little Wan, do you think Wei Tianchen is speaking the truth?”

Lin Wan replied, “He should be telling the truth. Although his morals aren’t good, he wouldn’t dare deceive the sect leader. Even if he borrowed some courage, he still wouldn’t lie. And from what I heard about him, he’s loyal and devoted to the Roaring Flame Sect.”

The Roaring Flame Sect’s sect leader nodded and said, “I believe him as well. It’s not strange for the Wandering Soul Group to have good materials. After all, they were once a powerful sect. They should have some heavenly materials on hand. However, since this is the case, we needed to guard against the Wandering Soul Group.”

Lin Wan nodded and said, “The ambition of the Wandering Soul Group is endless. They decided to attack the Black Tiger Gang ten years ago. If the Supreme Elder of the Black Tiger Gang didn’t take action, they would have already been swallowed. After that, the next target would be us. Master, I don’t understand. Why did you agree to ally with the Wandering Soul Group at that time?”

With a serious expression, the sect leader replied, “It’s because our territory is too small. Because of this, the strength of the Roaring Flame Sect has declined. If we could swallow some of the Black Tiger Gang’s territory, then our future would become brighter. At that time, the Wandering Soul Group would be the main force. Those people from the Black Tiger Gang are lunatics, they wouldn’t just let the Wandering Soul Group have their way. If they fought each other to the death, then we can seize the opportunity to profit. As long as we hold some of the Black Tiger Gang’s territory, we could develop to the point where we couldn’t be attacked by the Wandering Soul Group. Then we would become one of the most powerful sects of the Northern Divergent Province. Unfortunately, this plan has been spoiled by the Black Tiger Gang’s Supreme Elder.”

Only then did Lin Wan understood the sect leader’s plan. Lin Wan had unconditional trust in his master. This was because he knew that the reason why the Roaring Flame Sect was at its current state was because of the sect leader’s painstaking efforts. Naturally, Lin Wan wouldn’t object to his master’s plans.

The sect leader of the Roaring Flame Sect sighed and said, “I didn’t expect the Supreme Elder of the Black Tiger Gang to still be alive. Not only did we fail to gain any benefits, it also caused us to lose some of our strength. However, I reckon the Black Tiger Gang wouldn’t be able to attack us soon. I already checked, the Black Tiger Gang lost a lot of large artifacts defending against the Wandering Soul Group. It’s impossible for them to have the strength to attack us. Therefore, we need to use this time to increase our strength. Only through this could we be safe. We need to find the source of that material. Even if we can’t obtain it, we cannot let the Wandering Soul Group get their hands on it. Otherwise, they would become a threat to us as well.” Lin Wan nodded. Then he turned around and left.

At this time, Zhao Hai was already inside the s.p.a.ce listening in on the conversation between Lin Wan and the Sect Leader. Now that the silver needles have been scattered around the headquarters, Zhao Hai was able to monitor all that happened inside. It wouldn’t take long before Zhao Hai would have the entire Roaring Flame Sect under his monitoring.

The silver needles had shrunk to the size of a grain of dust. In the past, he couldn’t achieve this size. But ever since his strength increased, he could now do things he couldn’t do before. Now, he can release silver needles that could evade the detection of Transcending Tribulation Experts.

Moreover, it was impossible for Transcending Tribulation Experts to use their spiritual force all the time. No matter how strong they were, they would be exhausted doing that. As long as the silver needles moved carefully, they would not be noticed.

After hearing the conversation between the Roaring Flame Sect’s leader and Lin Wan, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but sigh as he said, “We really can’t underestimate sect leaders. Although the Roaring Flame Sect’s sect leader looks easygoing, his schemes run deep. He’s much more cunning compared to Tie Zhantian.”

Laura smiled and didn’t speak. Instead, Megan was the one who answered, “Big Brother, from what we heard, it seems like the Roaring Flame Sect is stronger than we thought. Are you still confident of our success if we attack them?”

Zhao Hai replied, “We can still succeed. However, we first need to deal with the Inferno Valley. Moreover, we need to kill as many refiners as possible. Only by doing so can the Black Tiger Gang deal with the Roaring Flame Sect with ease.”

The females nodded. Then Cai’er said, “Young Master, should we begin exploring the origin of the earth fire?”

Zhao Hai nodded and said, “We should” 

Cai’er nodded, “Then I’ll prepare. Once the artifact is made, we’ll begin. This way, people wouldn’t suspect you.” Zhao Hai nodded. Cai’er disappeared to prepare for the operation.

…………………………………

Zhao Hai and the others carefully recorded the map of the Roaring Flame Sect. These maps would be stored on jade slips to be delivered to the Black Tiger Gang. 

Although the s.p.a.ce’s map was accurate, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to send a perfect map to the Black Tiger gang. This was because a perfect map couldn’t be made by just infiltrating the enemy base. Moreover, the map of the s.p.a.ce was akin to a satellite view. Zhao Hai needed to simplify the map before handing it over.

While Zhao Hai was making the map, Cai’er suddenly appeared. Then she said, “Young Master, there’s someone outside the residence.”

Zhao Hai nodded. Then he moved and returned to Wei Tianchen’s cave residence. Just as he appeared, a voice was heard, “Brother Wei, are you in? It’s Xu Jin.”

Hearing this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but pause. He also knew who Xu Jin was. He was one of the top ten core disciples of the Roaring Flame Sect. His ranking was at the bottom, at tenth place. It could be said that he was the weakest among the top ten.

However, although he was the weakest, he was still one of the top ten Core Disciples. To personally come over, it seems like he was moved by the Ancient Eternal Sand.

Zhao Hai hastily went out to meet him. Outside Wei Tianchen’s residence was a cultivator. The cultivator looked to be over 30 years old. Zhao Hai quickly said, “Senior Brother, please come in.”

Xu Jin smiled faintly and said, “Junior Brother Wei, I came over without any notice. I hope you don’t get offended.”

Zhao Hai immediately replied, “Senior Brother is too polite. Senior Brother, please come in. It’s my honor to have you come over.” Xu Jin no longer hesitated as he walked inside.

Zhao Hai took a look outside and found that Xu Jin came alone. He didn’t even bring a large artifact with him. It seems like this visit was made in secret.

Zhao Hai followed Xu Jin inside the residence. After settling Xu Jin down, Zhao Hai asked, “Senior Brother, for what reason did you come over to visit?”

Xu Jin looked at Zhao Hai, then he smiled faintly and said, “I used to have contact with Junior Brother before, but I had been negligent, please forgive me for this. Actually, I came here for one reason. I want to ask you for some help. I don’t know if Junior Brother would accept.”

Zhao Hai stared and pretended to be surprised, “Thank you for the recognition Senior Brother. Please tell me your request. I’ll make sure to help you as much as I can.”

Xu Jin laughed and said, “Alright, now I’m more confident in Junior Brother. I heard that you recently came upon a good material. Do you still have more in hand? I’m preparing to refine an artifact and plan to use your material. Junior Brother can rest a.s.sured, I wouldn’t treat you unfairly. Here are some things I have prepared, see if Junior Brother has something you want.”

Zhao Hai stared when he heard Xu Jin’s proposal. He didn’t expect Xu Jin to have such an idea, but it was understandable. Xu Jin was at the tenth place among the top ten core disciples. It would be difficult for him to get the material himself. It was better to go to Zhao Hai directly. If Zhao Hai has it, then that’s good news. If Zhao Hai doesn’t, then he wouldn’t suffer a loss. He could also pull in an Inner Disciple into his faction, it was also expanding his power.

Zhao Hai’s thoughts revolved quickly and wanted to understand Xu Jin’s plans. He immediately replied, “Senior Brother is too polite. I still have some material in my hand. Senior Brother can use it. There’s no need to exchange for anything.” Zhao Hai waved his hand and took out a spatial bag. Then he handed the bag over to Xu Jin and said, “Senior Brother, take a look. I hope it’s enough for you to use.”

Xu Jin took Zhao Hai’s spatial bag and was stunned when he scanned it with his spiritual force. This was because Zhao Hai gave him too much Ancient Eternal Sand. Such a huge amount was enough to refine hundreds of artifacts. Xu Jin didn’t expect Zhao Hai to have this much Ancient Eternal Sand. He held the spatial bag in his hand as he looked excitedly at Zhao Hai and said, “Enough, this is enough. Thank you Junior Brother. Junior Brother, come with me to my base. I have something to give you.”

After he said that, he stood up. Zhao Hai didn’t decline and followed him out. Actually, Zhao Hai has a goal in giving that many Ancient Eternal Sand to Xu Jin. The main reason was that hidden on that huge pile of sand were silver needles. Giving the needles to Xu Jin would allow more silver needles to enter the Inferno Valley.

If Zhao Hai wanted to use the earth fire to deal with the Inferno Valley, then he would first need to make sure that n.o.body could escape from the valley. It wasn’t easy to seal the exits of the valley. Zhao Hai only thought about one thing, and that was to use liquid silver. With liquid silver sealing the exits of the valley, the cultivators inside wouldn’t be able to run even if they wanted to.

After Xu Jin obtained the Ancient Eternal Sand, he would definitely send the sand to the Inferno Valley. Because he has the weakest strength among the top ten core disciples, he would need artifacts to arm his subordinates. If the Ancient Eternal Sand was sent to the Inferno Valley, then that would mean that liquid silver would be there as well. When Zhao Hai begins to make a move, he would be able to use liquid silver to seal the exits.