Chapter 126: The Corrosive Web

In the back courtyard of the Qinghe County magistrate’s office, Magistrate Liao Yonghuai sank into deep contemplation as he reviewed intelligence reports filtering out from the Taiping Sect.

Money corrupts the heart. After some time and the use of his own secret arts, he had managed to plant several "nails" within the Taiping Sect, much like the former secretary Xu Wumao had once done.

"Before Gao Sixing was killed, there was a fierce battle on Muyu Island. The timing of this event is quite intriguing..."

His spherical body wedged firmly into his chair, Liao Yonghuai’s small eyes were filled with calculation.

"If that battle was fought between Gao Sixing’s subordinates and Jiang Chen, then the fact that Jiang Chen is still alive and well suggests he was the victor."

"Jiang Chen’s strength is certainly not weak, but he could never have faced the Corpse Daoist, the Gray Bone Daoist, and the Black-Hearted Old Man all at once. However, if the Corpse Daoist had already colluded with Jiang Chen, that would be a different story. With the Corpse Daoist’s demonstrated power combined with Jiang Chen’s swordsmanship, defeating the Gray Bone Daoist and the Black-Hearted Old Man was entirely possible."

At a certain moment, as these thoughts collided, a possibility occurred to Liao Yonghuai.

"Could it be that the Corpse Daoist is currently hiding within the Taiping Sect?"

Turning his gaze toward the Taiping Sect, a suspicious look crossed Liao’s plump face. The Gao family had conducted a rigorous search for the Corpse Daoist, yet he had vanished into thin air. For him to leave no trace for so long, besides his own astounding concealment skills, it was highly probable that some faction was providing him cover.

A moment later, Liao Yonghuai withdrew his gaze.

"Even if the Corpse Daoist isn't in the Taiping Sect, he certainly has an inseparable connection with them. If that is the case, my plans must change. Dealing with Jiang Chen alone is not difficult for someone of my strength, but if the Corpse Daoist is added to the equation, it is no longer certain."

"I could use this information to draw the Gao family in to destroy the Taiping Sect, but once the Gao family enters the fray, that particular opportunity for advancement will likely no longer have anything to do with me. I do not fear the Taiping Sect, but the Gao family is different. Does this mean I have to help the Taiping Sect cover their tracks?"

The thought that he might have to intervene to conceal the Taiping Sect’s traces made Liao Yonghuai feel a wave of revulsion. He held no fondness for Jiang Chen; had Jiang Chen not suddenly appeared, both the underworld and the respectable circles of Qinghe County would long ago have fallen under his complete control. If that had happened, his own cultivation would have undoubtedly progressed much more smoothly.

"Now that I think about it, Jiang Chen’s rise is inherently strange. If I dig deeper, perhaps I can gain even more."

Thinking of the potential grand secret hidden within the Taiping Sect, greed flickered across Liao Yonghuai’s face.

"It is only a pity that the few people I have bribed are not core members of the Taiping Sect, so the information they possess is quite limited."

"However, corruption is like a net. Once you open a tear, the rest is only a matter of time. A person might not accept money from a stranger, but they find it hard to refuse money from an acquaintance. Perhaps, whether in the secular world or the world of cultivation, corruption always pulls up a string of radishes along with the soil."

Contemplating the brilliance of his strategy, Liao smiled. He had a profound understanding of human greed. He believed that it would not be long before he could plant his agents directly beside Jiang Chen, and at that point, the Taiping Sect would hold no more secrets from him. While his methods had limitations, the Taiping Sect was, at its core, a mortal sect with only a handful of cultivators. Gold and silver might not move true practitioners, but most mortals found such temptations impossible to resist.

"Wait a little longer, just a little longer. I must strike with perfect precision. Every opportunity within this Taiping Sect belongs to me."

As his greed reached its peak, Liao Yonghuai seemed to see the day he would swallow the entire Taiping Sect whole.

While Liao Yonghuai plotted in secret, time slipped away silently, and the cultivation world of Qingyuan Prefecture briefly returned to a veneer of peace. Though the cultivation world had stabilized for the moment, the overall situation in Qingyuan Prefecture remained dire. The floods had receded, but the aftermath remained unresolved. Vast tracts of fertile land and countless homes had been submerged, leaving the populace displaced; disaster relief had become the most urgent priority.

The Prefecture Governor’s office issued a call to the various major clans, demanding they contribute to the relief efforts. However, the response was tepid. Most families had suffered losses during the flood and were unwilling to spend more resources on relief.

Inside the Prefecture Governor’s office, Governor Qi Xiuning stood with a somber expression, staring at reports from various regions without uttering a word.

"These cultivation clans are truly the parasites of the dynasty. They usually suck the lifeblood from the common people, yet in times of crisis, they only care about preserving themselves."

From the balcony, looking out into the distance, Qi Xiuning manifested a searing flame in his hand and burned the letters to ash.

"Old Yu, what word from the Lu family?"

His voice was low, carrying an inexplicable air of authority. A figure emerged quietly from the shadows.

"Reporting to your Excellency, the Lu family has entered a state of alert and has fully retracted their resources, stating they cannot spare more manpower or supplies. However, to assist the disaster victims, the young master of the Lu family, Lu Xuanping, has organized a relief team that has been working to dredge the river channels."

His tone was one of absolute respect. As the leader of the secret guards and Qi Xiuning’s old servant, Old Yu laid out the current situation. He was also a Qi-refining cultivator; though not strong in direct combat, he possessed unique methods for concealment and gathering intelligence.

Hearing this, Qi Xiuning furrowed his brows.

The dynasty and the cultivation clans governed the world together. In Qingyuan Prefecture, the Lu family was the undisputed local hegemon. If one wanted to move the other clans to participate in disaster relief, the Lu family leading by example was the best choice. In such matters, even his own orders as the imperial governor were not as effective as the Lu family’s influence.

Moreover, because this was a flood, dredging the river channels was essential to quickly quell the secondary waves and prevent further disaster. In Qinghe Prefecture, the Lu family, who primarily cultivated River Qi, were the most skilled in this area. If the Lu family’s Qi-refining cultivators were to go all out, the difficulty of the relief efforts in Qingyuan Prefecture would drop by at least thirty percent. In this regard, the common folk were no match for cultivators.

However, Qi Xiuning was not entirely surprised by the Lu family’s reaction. Ever since the Lu family ancestor was injured by the leader of the Yellow Wind Sect, the family had been in a state of external relaxation but internal tension. His eyes within the Lu family had reported this long ago. In such circumstances, it was understandable that the Lu family was unwilling to divert a large number of personnel to participate in relief.

"It seems the old ghost of the Lu family is indeed seriously wounded. Could the spirit wind refined by the Yellow Wind Sect leader possess some peculiar mystery?"

His thoughts drifted. Thinking of the Yellow Wind Sect leader, Qi Xiuning fell into deep contemplation. The situation in Changfeng Prefecture had already spiraled out of control, and as the governor of the neighboring Qingyuan Prefecture, he had been closely monitoring the Yellow Wind Sect. Based on the intelligence gathered, the strength of the Yellow Wind Sect leader was truly formidable; he had once faced two opponents alone, holding his own against the combined assault of the Changfeng Governor and the Zhou family ancestor—both at the pinnacle of Qi-refining—without suffering defeat.