Chapter 545

Chapter 545: Acting on Orders

Crack!

The ancient temple door opened. A middle-aged man wearing a jade crown and sumptuous robes emerged. His aura was deep and powerful, naturally imposing, radiating a terrifying pressure.

"Just a few juniors, not worth mentioning. Your mission this time wasn’t primarily them, but to probe the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion," the man in sumptuous robes said lightly. "I wonder what action the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion will take?"

His lips pursed slightly, his gaze carrying a rather intrigued look.

"Poisonous Hand Demon Lord."

"Your servant is here."

"You lost an arm. Focus on your recovery." The man in sumptuous robes waved his sleeve. A luminous, jade-like pill flew towards Poisonous Hand Demon Lord. "This pill will restore your severed arm within three days."

"You serve me well. There is hope for you to advance to Celestial Sovereign in the future."

"This servant understands! Many thanks, Lord, for granting the pill!"

Poisonous Hand Demon Lord’s expression brightened with delight. Taking the pill, he departed.

The man in sumptuous robes turned and walked back into the Ancient Temple. Layers of space shifted and warped around him. He navigated effortlessly into the deepest part. Moments later, an Immortal Palace came into view, floating amidst the clouds.

Palaces stood in a great, unending expanse.

Immortal cranes glided gracefully through the ethereal mist, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

"Palace Master."

Wherever the man in sumptuous robes passed, all who encountered him bowed deeply in reverence.

He entered the Jade Capital Palace. After purifying himself with incense and aromatic smoke, he proceeded to the inner chamber. There, he regarded a divine tree statue with an expression of utmost piety and reverence, akin to pilgrimage.

"Master, this disciple has dispatched agents to probe Heaven’s Secret Pavilion," the man stated solemnly. "Without fail, its master will likely trace this action back to me in the near future. What should your disciple do then?"

"I humbly request your guidance."

_Hum!_

The next instant, the face of the divine tree statue subtly writhed. Two eyes slowly opened and fixed upon the man, stating, "I have already shielded against celestial phenomena. If he truly can trace it to you… then he wouldn’t save me some effort."

The man in sumptuous robes gave a slight start.

His master’s implication seemed to be… he wanted Heaven’s Secret Pavilion to succeed in tracing it?

"Master, is the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion truly so formidable as to warrant your attention?" the man questioned, perplexed.

He understood his master’s supreme power all too well.

In the past, it was solely due to his master’s guidance that he had taken that critical step, achieving Celestial Sovereign status and becoming a hegemon ruling over vast domains.

"Knowing too much is not a good thing," the divine tree statue slowly intoned. "If there is nothing else, you may withdraw."

"Yes," the man responded, brows furrowed with doubt as he bowed low and retreated.

…

In the Canglan Immortal Domain, at Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

A phoenix boat landed in front of the pavilion, and Su Mu and his companions returned without any danger.

The moment they caught sight of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, everyone’s worries calmed down.

"Master, we have returned."

Su Mu and the others stepped into Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Ye Xu did not even bother to lift his eyelids.

Li Ruoyu had already departed, Luo Nishang was again in closed-door cultivation, Yi Tianxing and Dao Sovereign Qingyuan were occupied with establishing the Tianxia Divine Kingdom, so only he remained alone in Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, utterly bored.

"This trial journey was quite successful."

Ye Xu regarded Ning Wudao; this fellow’s cultivation progress was incredibly swift, he had already attained the level of a true immortal, and every single realm he had mastered flawlessly.

Xixi’s cultivation had advanced rapidly as well.

However, Feng Wuji reaped the greatest benefits.

With just one glance, Ye Xu understood the complete story and details.

Yan Changkong’s maneuvers had gifted the Star Master as a grand prize to Feng Wuji, enabling his rapid growth; once Feng Wuji refined the Star Master’s Dao fruit, his advance to Dao Sovereign appeared hopeful.

He and Li Ruoyu both had extraordinary encounters.

Only, Li Ruoyu faced no risks, whereas Feng Wuji was quite likely to perish.

"Feng Wuji, you profited big this time."

Ye Xu said with a laugh.

"Master, do not mock me," Feng Wuji stated. "I have a pact with Yan Changkong; if I cannot solve the fatal flaw of Dutian Dao Xuanjing, no matter how powerfully I cultivate, I remain a mere piece of harvested grass."

Take lessons from the blunders of others.

When he spoke of the Star Master, Feng Wuji sighed deeply with regret.

He and the Star Master could be said to have some karmic connection.

"Master, how many divine stones are needed to kill Yan Changkong?" Huang Zimo asked.

"You could not afford it."

Ye Xu did not even deign to inquire of the system.

Although Huang Zimo had advanced to the level of Seven Tribulations Dao Lord, given her wealth, how could she possibly kill Yan Changkong?

"The task of killing Yan Changkong, let us postpone it for now."

Su Mu’s expression turned grave; he collapsed to the ground with a thump, wailing with tears and snot, "Master, you must stand up and seek justice for us."

"On our return journey, some vile schemers actually ambushed us covertly, trying to end our lives…"

"Stop, stop, stop…"

Ye Xu was speechless.

Su Mu’s actions left him entirely dumbfounded.

It felt akin to funeral weeping…

"Get up first."

Ye Xu’s gaze gradually darkened.

Naturally, the attack on Su Mu and others by the Five Tribulations Dao Sovereign hadn’t escaped his notice. Ye Xu truly hadn’t anticipated that someone would dare target members of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Moreover, it was underhanded tactics!

If they were dissatisfied with him, why not confront him directly at Heaven’s Secret Pavilion? Resorting to striking against juniors; wasn’t that just poor sportsmanship?

"The people I’ve interacted with most closely are all connected to the nine young masters…"

Pensive, Ye Xu appeared thoughtful.

Since arriving in the upper realm, the number of Celestial Lord-level experts he had encountered was quite few.

There was Taotie, Celestial Lord of Fortune, and Luo Qingcheng.

Beyond those, no others.

Yet, none of these three had a motive.

"Master, here’s an arm. It belongs to the one who ambushed us. He was wounded and left this behind after facing your divine power. Tracing the information from this arm should lead us to its owner," said Feng Wuji.

"Put it away."

Ye Xu looked thoroughly disgusted. "Felt nauseous just looking at it."

"…"

The crowd was dumbfounded.

Admittedly, the Poisonous Hand Demon Lord was indeed repulsive.

"When I want to know something, it simply can’t remain hidden."

Ye Xu stated coldly.

He added silently in his heart.

If it could, that just meant he didn’t have enough money.

‘Query the identity of the one who gave orders to this arm’s owner,’ Ye Xu thought to the system.

[That would be two questions.]

"One!"

[Still requires two separate payments.]

Ye Xu felt speechless.

‘Fine. Query this person’s identity first, then the mastermind behind him.’

Regardless, Ye Xu was determined to unearth the culprit.

[Answering the first part of the query requires 800 million Hongmeng points.]

"Query it!"

His account still held nine trillion Hongmeng points. Eight hundred million wasn’t even nine cows losing a single hair by comparison.

Ding!

Name: Poisonous Hand Demon Lord.

Cultivation Level: Five Tribulations Dao Sovereign.

Identity: Rogue cultivator.

Techniques: Five Poisons Blood Prison Demonic Codex.

Supernatural Power: Five Poisons Blood Prison…

Life Story: Originally a rogue cultivator, Poisonous Hand Demon Lord was subdued by the Palace Master of Yuqing over a thousand years ago and has been performing shady tasks for him ever since…

Numerous pieces of information flooded Ye Xu’s mind, and within moments, he knew everything.

"This damned System is truly cute and silly. The second question was actually embedded within the first question. Ha, I only paid the price of one query…"

Ye Xu felt incredibly satisfied.

After all…

Even gaining the tiniest upper hand in dealings with that dog of a System filled Ye Xu with indescribable comfort.

"The Palace Master of Yuqing!"

Murderous aura radiated from Ye Xu’s body.

Yuqing Palace was one of the sovereign-level powers. Its Palace Master was the sole Supreme Sovereign among them, whose strength placed him only in the middle tier among his peers.

Ye Xu racked his brain, utterly perplexed.

He held no grudges nor conflicts with the Palace Master of Yuqing. Why would this man target members of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?

It couldn’t simply be out of jealousy over Ye Xu’s handsome looks, could it?

"Master, have you found anything?" Su Mu inquired.

"The one who wanted to kill you is Poisonous Hand Devil Lord," Ye Xu confirmed. "However, he’s merely a pawn. The true mastermind behind this is none other than the Palace Master of Yuqing."

"This man… is a Supreme Sovereign."

"A Supreme Sovereign?"

The group paled in shock.

"For no reason at all? Why would the Palace Master of Yuqing attack us?" Su Mu demanded angrily.

Heaven’s Secret Pavilion and Yuqing Palace had never interacted before. The Palace Master’s motive for wanting them dead remained completely baffling.

"If something is abnormally unreasonable, there must be a demon behind it," Feng Wuji interjected thoughtfully. "Could this be related to the Nine Young Masters?"

Recently, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion had maintained frequent contact with the Nine Young Masters. Such proximity inevitably fueled speculation.

One must remember:

Unseen assumptions are the deadliest.

"System, investigate the Palace Master of Yuqing’s motive," Ye Xu commanded internally.

After a second’s thought, he added, "Keep it brief. Give me the most cost-effective answer."

[Four hundred billion Hongmeng points.]

"So expensive?"

Ye Xu’s eyes widened.

He had asked only for the most concise answer, yet it cost a staggering four hundred billion.

He suspected the System was getting revenge.

"Investigate!"

Ye Xu gritted his teeth.

This concerned the safety of everyone in Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. As long as the cost was bearable, he absolutely had to uncover the truth behind the Palace Master’s motive.

[Congratulations, Host. Four hundred billion Hongmeng points have been deducted.]

One breath later.

Three words appeared in Ye Xu’s mind.

[Being instructed by someone.]