10: Chapter 10 Qingyang County, Liu Family

Seeing that no one had any objections.

Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan's smile deepened, he cleared his throat, and smiled as he said, "I presume everyone already knows the details of the mission. This time, our target is a Cultivator Family with the surname Liu in Qingyang County, which is affiliated with our Chiyun Valley."

"According to the mission details, there are over sixty Cultivators in the Liu Family. Most of them are in the Early and Middle Stage of Qi Refining, with no more than five in the Late Stage. The strongest among them is merely that elderly Cultivator at the 8th Layer of Qi Refining."

"The mission is very simple. On the surface, there is no danger to us at all."

"However, although the Liu Family is weak, they are still a Cultivator Family that has entrenched themselves in Qingyang County for over a hundred years. We must guard against whether they are hiding any secret trump cards."

"During this operation, no one can be careless. You must act cautiously and personally investigate the Liu Family's strength before making a move."

"And once we strike, we must do so with the force of a thunderbolt. We must absolutely not let a single fish slip through the net, otherwise, we will be leaving hidden troubles for ourselves in the future."

"After all, our lives belong to us. Who knows if those escaped heads of fish will encounter any fortuitous encounters in the future?"

"In everything we do, either we do nothing at all, or we carry it out to the bitter end!"

"Only those who stay alive are winners. Once you die, you are worth less than dog shit..."

Hearing Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan's words, everyone nodded in deep agreement.

None of them were fools.

No one would place themselves in a dangerous situation.

Especially Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan's last sentence, which made Lin Shen cast a few extra glances at him.

This person was indeed someone with a ruthless Heart-Nature and a cautious disposition.

His thoughts happened to coincide with Lin Shen's own, especially the phrase "only those who stay alive are winners," which was identical to Lin Shen's survival philosophy.

This person must definitely not be befriended deeply!

Since he himself was such a person, he naturally knew how dangerous such people were.

Once there was sufficient temptation of benefits, such a person would never show mercy when stabbing others in the back.

Furthermore, once they acted, they would definitely devise a foolproof plan and never leave any hidden troubles behind.

"Alright, since that is the case, there is no time to lose. Let us set off immediately right now!"

Seeing everyone nod in agreement with his words, Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan took out a Flying Sword from his Storage Pouch and said, "As for the other detailed information about the Liu Family, we can discuss it on the way."

As his voice fell.

Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan stepped onto the Flying Sword, his body turning into a streak of light as he headed into the distance.

Lin Shen and the others did not dare to delay, quickly stepping onto their respective Flying Swords and following Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan toward the Liu Family in Qingyang County.

Three days later.

Lin Shen and his party of five quietly entered Qingyang County.

Qingyang County was located to the east of Chiyun Valley, considered the fringe area of Chiyun Valley's jurisdiction. Traveling less than a hundred miles further east would bring one into the territory of the Bishui Sect, one of the five major Sects.

Precisely because Qingyang County was extremely close to the jurisdiction of the Bishui Sect, the entire Qingyang County was bustling with activity.

Besides Mortal Martial Artists, one could occasionally see many Loose Cultivators at the Early and Middle Stage of Qi Refining on the streets.

Upon entering Qingyang County, Lin Shen and his party did not cause a stir, nor did they charge directly at the Liu Family.

They found an inn relatively close to the Liu Family to stay at and gathered detailed recent information about the Liu Family.

Another two days passed in this manner.

The entire Qingyang County was calm and peaceful, and the Liu Family had no idea that they had already made it onto Chiyun Valley's must-kill list.

Members of the Liu Family could be seen everywhere on the main streets, and some people with status in the Liu Family were even swaggering around smugly, bullying and defrauding nearby merchants.

Inside the inn, in a private booth.

Lin Shen and the others gathered together and successively brought out the information they had collected over the past two days.

This collected information was indeed somewhat different from the description in the Task Hall.

According to the information they gathered over the past two days, the Liu Family's strength was slightly stronger than they had imagined. Compared to the news in the Task Hall, there was an additional newly promoted Cultivator at the 8th Layer of Qi Refining and two Cultivators at the 7th Layer of Qi Refining.

But everyone did not take this to heart.

It was merely two or three more Cultivators in the Late Stage of Qi Refining. Relying on the luxurious lineup of their mission squad—where even the lowest was at the 8th Layer of Qi Refining—they could easily handle it. They only needed to guard against some unknown hidden methods.

Seeing that everyone was sharing their information with one another, the leading Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan also took out a slip of paper from his sleeve.

He handed the slip of paper to everyone, letting Lin Shen and the others view it in turn.

After everyone finished reading it, Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan then spoke: "Liu Pingzhi, a collateral descendant of the Liu Family and also a secret agent of our Chiyun Valley, has written all the intelligence regarding the Liu Family's secret doors, hidden paths, and guard deployments on it."

"Furthermore, Liu Pingzhi also controls a portion of the Liu Family's guard unit. I have already arranged with him that tonight at the hour of Zi, we will coordinate from the inside and outside to strike together."

"Tonight at the hour of Zi?" Wu Qingfeng couldn't help frowning slightly. "Doesn't that mean we have to wait more than half a day? Since we have already grasped the specific situation now, why not strike directly? We can just display the prestige of our Chiyun Valley in broad daylight!"

Zhao Xue also nodded from the side: "That's right, that's right. With Senior Brother Lin and Senior Brother Wang here, this tiny Liu Family cannot stir up any storms. We might as well complete the mission earlier and return to Chiyun Valley."

The Spiritual Qi in Qingyang County was far thinner than that in the inner Sect of Chiyun Valley. Having stayed here for two days, Zhao Xue had long wanted to return to Chiyun Valley.

Lin Shen glanced at Wu Qingfeng and Zhao Xue, shaking his head helplessly in his heart. He really didn't know how these two people had managed to survive until now?

Or perhaps under the protection of their Elder master, they thought of these matters far too simply.

"It is inappropriate to strike in broad daylight. There are too many eyes and ears, too many pedestrians on the street, and quite a few Liu Family Disciples are outside. It is very easy to let some fish slip through the net for the Liu Family."

Lin Shen stood up and said: "At the hour of Zi at night, it is quiet and desolate. The Liu Family has this rule that members of the Liu Family cannot spend the night outside. This point is very advantageous to us and can prevent any fish from slipping through the net."

Hearing Lin Shen say this, Wu Qingfeng and Zhao Xue only nodded and didn't say much else.

However, Lin Shen secretly noted these two people down in his heart. If there were any team missions in the future, he must never associate with these two.

Otherwise, judging by the current state of these two, something would go wrong sooner or later. Associating with them would only harm oneself.

Lin Shen's words also made Wang Zhan and Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan nod in approval from the side.

"That's right, Junior Brother Lin makes sense."

Senior Brother Lin Zhiyuan also smiled and said: "At night, people are exhausted and horses are weary, which is precisely when the Liu Family's guards are most lax. Although we have a certain grasp of victory, it is best to prioritize safety in our actions and strive not to leave behind even a trace of hidden trouble."

"Since the time has already been decided, everyone should prepare yourselves accordingly."

Wang Zhan stood up and left.

However, just as he was about to step out of the private booth's door, he looked back at Wu Qingfeng and Zhao Xue: "From now on, everyone must not act alone, and it is best not to leave this inn. Prepare everything for tonight's operation. If anyone fails to abide by the rules and ruins this mission, you will bear all the responsibility yourselves."

This sentence was said to everyone, but it was mainly targeted at Wu Qingfeng and Zhao Xue.

There was even a hint of threat in his tone.

Hearing Wang Zhan's words, Wu Qingfeng and Zhao Xue were quite depressed.

They hadn't done anything wrong, and naturally knew the gravity of the matter.

It was just that they were a bit anxious, wanting to return to the Sect to Cultivate as soon as possible, and couldn't stand this place where the Spiritual Qi was relatively thin.