381: Scheming, a poison that seeps into your bones

In the pavilion at the heart of the lake, Ji Wuchang and Zhou Guangrong sat opposite each other.

Seeing that Ji Wuchang was truly about to leave, Zhou Guangrong called out to stop him; everything just now had merely been a test!

"Lord City Lord, what exactly do you need Ji to do? As long as it is within my power, I will certainly not refuse!"

Ji Wuchang looked at Zhou Guangrong, a look of wariness appearing in his eyes!

He would not easily trust Zhou Guangrong, even if the man had been recommended by his own Revered Master, Zhou Haotian.

When the other party had mentioned the Fifth Prince just now, a flash of killing intent had crossed his eyes; he could not have been mistaken.

This meant that while he seemed to be testing him just now, the things he said might actually be true.

If he truly agreed and something went wrong later, the City Lord could also shift the blame!

Hearing Ji Wuchang's words, Zhou Guangrong's expression couldn't help but turn solemn.

"Wuchang, as you know, for this Thousand Cities Great War, my Aries City needs ten people, but currently, including you, there are only five."

"Aries City has over a dozen influential families, and they all have Disciples they've cultivated."

"I once made an agreement with them to hold an internal challenge."

"As long as the person sent by the City Lord's Estate can defeat someone from their Family, they will send people to participate."

"Of course, the person sent by the City Lord's Estate can only participate in one match."

"Currently, I have already arranged matches with four families. There is one more, the most important one, that I want you to challenge. What do you think?"

Zhou Guangrong spoke slowly, revealing his purpose.

Ji Wuchang was slightly stunned and muttered to himself inwardly. Could it really be this simple? He was a bit skeptical; there must be something he didn't know!

However, he truly had no reason to refuse this request, so he could only ask:

"Lord City Lord, I wonder when the challenge will be? And what is the opponent's cultivation?"

Zhou Guangrong smiled slightly and then said: "The challenge is tomorrow. As for cultivation, the opponent is at the fifth level of the Six Gods Realm!"

Ji Wuchang nodded, having a good idea of the situation, and then said: "In that case, I can only try my best, but I dare not make any guarantees!"

Zhou Guangrong nodded slightly and then smiled: "Good, then it's settled!"

Ji Wuchang nodded slightly, cupped his fists to Zhou Guangrong, and then turned to leave!

Zhou Guangrong watched Ji Wuchang's departing back, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Once Ji Wuchang's figure disappeared, a figure appeared—it was an old man.

"What, do you not trust this young fellow's ability?"

The old man spoke with a smile and sat directly in the spot where Ji Wuchang had just been sitting.

This old man's name was Li Xiongdong, a close friend of Zhou Guangrong; the two had a life-and-death bond.

By Zhou Guangrong's side, there was a formidable intelligence network, and it was precisely Li Xiongdong who was in charge of it.

Zhou Guangrong smiled and then said: "It's not that I don't trust him. Since that old fellow Zhou Haotian let him come, his strength must be decent."

"However, to know oneself and know the enemy is to win a hundred battles! This plan is quite important to us; there can be no mistakes!"

"By the way, has Jia Yi's identity been confirmed? Does she really come from the Ancient Pavilion?"

Hearing this, Li Xiongdong couldn't help but smile and said: "Confirmed, she indeed comes from the Ancient Pavilion!"

"But you might not know that this young girl was originally from the Heavenly Star Dynasty as well. She's participating in the Thousand Cities Great War this time to seek revenge."

"Her original name is Ying Rou, a member of the Ying Family of the Heavenly Star Dynasty. Her father is none other than Ying Zhanguang, who was executed by waist-cutting decades ago!"

"After she escaped from the Heavenly Star Dynasty, she took the initiative to join the Ancient Pavilion and became an assassin."

"Over the years, she has almost never failed a mission, becoming the top person on the Ancient Pavilion's Grade A list, also known as Jia Yi!"

"Ying Rou did not have a good life in the Ancient Pavilion; she was bullied many times, and even the Pavilion Revered Master of the Ancient Pavilion, Gu Liuyang, was involved!"

"Ying Rou hates the Ancient Pavilion to the bone; she herself wants to break free from this tumor that is the Ancient Pavilion!"

"Some time ago, Jia Yi was ordered to assassinate Ji Wuchang. After gaining a general understanding of Ji Wuchang's strength, she decided to screw over the Ancient Pavilion!"

"So, under her arrangements, many assassins from the Ancient Pavilion were killed one after another by Ji Wuchang."

"Later, after she snatched a supreme treasure of the Ancient Pavilion, the Mystic Light Stone Mirror, she vanished without a trace!"

"Who would have thought she would appear in Aries City now? It seems she is preparing to strike against the Imperial Family of the Heavenly Star Dynasty."

After Li Xiongdong finished speaking, a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. He controlled a vast intelligence network; it was not difficult to gather some information!

Hearing this, Zhou Guangrong's eyes couldn't help but light up, and he said with a smile: "That's excellent. It seems she is much more suitable than Ji Wuchang!"

Li Xiongdong also nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with Zhou Guangrong's words, but he still gave Zhou Guangrong a reminder.

"City Lord, this Jia Yi is not easy to control, and she possesses a special ability to hide in the Void Realm. You should still be extra careful!"

Zhou Guangrong smiled and then nodded. What he wanted was very simple: the essence blood of the Heavenly Star Dynasty's Imperial Family.

If he had the Imperial essence blood, his cultivation could instantly leap to the next major Realm.

Of course, he wouldn't miss out on the Heavenly Essence Fire, the Thousand Star Flame, either!

Ji Wuchang returned to his courtyard, holding a porcelain bottle in his hand—it was the Seven Star Pill that Zhou Guangrong had given him.

"Yaoyao, help me check if there's anything wrong with this Medicinal Pill?"

Ji Wuchang spoke to Ji Yaoyao. He didn't dare trust Zhou Guangrong.

A man whose heart was filled with the hatred of a murdered son was capable of anything!

A massive wave of Divine Soul power surged out, sweeping the porcelain bottle from Ji Wuchang's hand and making it disappear into the Storage Ring on his finger.

A moment later, Ji Yaoyao's voice came through.

"Ji Wuchang, whoever gave you this pill, you need to be careful."

"This pill is indeed a Seven Star Pill, but some special things have been added to it!"

"This stuff is called Bone-Clinging Powder. It will contaminate your Divine Soul and Dantian, but you won't be able to sense it yourself."

"Normally speaking, this kind of thing is used during Possession."

"Or when stripping some special things from someone's body, like Heavenly Essence Fire and the like, this Bone-Clinging Powder will be used."

"Wait a moment, I'll process it for you and remove the stuff inside!"

Ji Yaoyao's voice stopped abruptly at this point.

A cold light flickered in Ji Wuchang's eyes. He knew Zhou Guangrong had designs on him, but he hadn't expected him to start laying the groundwork so early.

If he guessed correctly, the man would help him open his Star Meridians so that he would have a way to obtain the Thousand Star Flame.

Then, through methods already laid out, he would strip the Thousand Star Flame from his body so that he could refine it himself.

At the thought of this, killing intent flashed in Ji Wuchang's eyes. If possible, he would certainly find a way to kill this Zhou Guangrong.

Even if he couldn't kill the man himself, he had to find a way to let someone else do it!

Since the man didn't care about his relationship with Ji Wuchang's Revered Master, Zhou Haotian, Ji Wuchang was even more unscrupulous. After all, to him, Zhou Guangrong was just a stranger.