234: Chapter 234 is 80% fictional and 20% real.

"After the coalition enters the valley, regardless of victory or defeat, it shouldn't end in a short time.

They have to deal with not just the Foundation Establishment Cultivators guarding the Formation, but the underground Formation itself.

Even if those Foundation Establishment Peaks win against the people in the valley, breaking the Formation will take time."

"You mean, there's enough time?"

"Should be enough." Su Chengyuan's voice paused, "But there's a prerequisite: the coalition can't win too fast, nor can they lose too fast.

If they win too fast, they'll snatch the items, and we won't be able to intervene.

If they lose too fast, they'll all run back, and the people of Ten Thousand Snakes Valley will strengthen their defenses, giving us even less of a chance.

Besides, those people in the valley are so emboldened; heaven knows what trump cards they're hiding.

Those Golden Core forces daring to send people probably aren't easy to deal with either.

Both sides have hidden cards; the muddier the water when they fight, the better it is for us."

"So we should pray they are evenly matched and stalemated for a while?"

"No praying." Su Chengyuan stood up, "I'll arrange it for them.

First, leave the city and then re-enter with a hidden identity. Find a few talkative Loose Cultivators, give them some Spirit Stones, and have them discuss something."

"What thing?"

"Say that although the Cultivators in Ten Thousand Snakes Valley are strong, their weakness lies in the underground Formation.

The Formation is an evil technique Formation powered by flesh and blood. As long as the peripheral energy supply channels are cut, the entire Formation will collapse on its own within half a day.

There are three nodes in the energy supply channel: fifty zhang below the dry streambed at the valley floor, at the base of the rock wall on the east side of the valley, and directly below that patch of Red Iron Shrubs deep inside.

The three nodes form a triangular support; they must be destroyed simultaneously to be effective. If even one is left intact, the Formation can repair itself."

Li Shi looked at Su Chengyuan, not responding for a long while.

"Mr. Su... is this real or fabricated?"

"Eighty percent fabricated, twenty percent real.

The underground Formation is real, and that it needs energy is real. The rest is all made up by me just now.

After all, no one from these five forces has personally inspected the underground structure; they can only piece together information from rumors and their spies' reports.

My explanation's logic holds up, and I gave three specific locations. Even if they don't fully believe it, there's a high probability they'll send people to investigate first after entering the valley.

Investigation requires splitting forces, and splitting forces takes time. The three locations are scattered in different parts of the valley; just running a circuit to verify the truth will consume most of the day.

More importantly, the five forces each have their own agendas; they'll likely fight their own battles once inside.

When the scene becomes chaotic, no one will care about unified command. This back-and-forth will waste their time inside."

"So it's just stalling?"

"Just stalling. Stall for as long as possible. As for who wins or loses in the end, or what changes occur at the bottom of the valley, that's unknown.

But as long as the battle isn't decided within a day, we have a chance."

Li Shi was silent for a while before speaking: "Mr. Su, this kind of thing can happen once or twice, but not thrice.

Leaving Jade Slips and spreading news once or twice was fine, but doing it three times in a row in the same period—anyone should be able to see someone is pulling the strings from behind."

"I've thought about that too." Su Chengyuan leaned back in his chair, "But there's no choice; at this critical moment, we can only take a gamble.

Fortunately, we have Second-Grade Concealment Talismans. As long as you are careful, your identity won't be exposed.

As for those from the Golden Core forces, they will indeed notice a hidden hand stirring the pot, but since they're already here, they have to investigate whether the news is true or false themselves.

Moreover, since the person behind the scenes dares not show their face and only spreads rumors in tea houses, it shows they lack overwhelming strength. Otherwise, they would have snatched it themselves; why hide in the shadows?

They can figure this out, so they won't be wary. Instead, they'll lose interest in tracing the source of the news, as they probably don't want to waste any more time."

Li Shi pondered for a moment and slowly nodded; the logic indeed held up.

The leaders of those major forces were all old foxes; they likely knew someone was muddling the waters, but at this moment, their attention was entirely on Ten Thousand Snakes Valley. A small character who didn't even dare show their face wasn't worth the distraction to investigate.

Su Chengyuan leaned back in his chair.

The battlefield belonged to others; he only had one thing to do.

Wait for Zhao Shan.

This wait lasted three days.

On the morning of the third day, the five-force coalition set out as scheduled.

Forty-five Foundation Establishment Cultivators took to the air on their tools, their spiritual light covering half the sky as they flew grandly toward Ten Thousand Snakes Valley to the south.

Most of the Loose Cultivators in the city swarmed the streets to watch the spectacle, whispering and discussing.

Su Chengyuan didn't go to watch; instead, he reviewed the simple terrain of Ten Thousand Snakes Valley once more.

From the coalition entering the valley to approaching that Formation and then encountering those Cultivators, it would take at least two hours.

Then comes the direct confrontation, attrition, and tug-of-war.

Each of the five forces has its own calculations; once inside, they will most likely fight individually, and the more chaotic the scene, the longer it will be delayed.

If the fake news he spread also worked, at least another half-day would be spent on investigation.

Conservatively estimated, it would take at least three days from the coalition entering the valley to a winner being decided.

And Zhao Shan's team... should be arriving.

Just as Su Chengyuan was thinking, the communication talisman in his robe lit up.

He took it out and saw it was a message from Zhao Shan.

"Mr. Su, your subordinate has arrived thirty li outside Luoxia City. All thirteen members of the team have arrived with no casualties. Requesting instructions on whether to enter the city?"

After reading this, Su Chengyuan let out a long breath.

He called Li Shi up: "Zhao Shan is here. Let them enter the city and stay in different inns as Loose Cultivators; don't cluster together. Then have Zhao Shan come see me alone."

Two hours later, Zhao Shan sat across from Su Chengyuan.

Su Chengyuan didn't exchange pleasantries and directly summarized all the intelligence on Ten Thousand Snakes Valley in the shortest possible way.

From the underground Formation to those dozen or so Foundation Establishment Cultivators, from the initial destruction of the Loose Cultivator coalition to the entry of the five Golden Core forces, and from the coalition's departure this morning to his spreading of fake news to delay progress—he said it all in one breath.

Zhao Shan remained silent for a long time after listening.

"Mr. Su means... we wait for the coalition and the people in the valley to both be exhausted, and then we reap the benefits?"

"Correct, but not entirely." Su Chengyuan took a Storage Pouch from Zhao Shan and removed the Restriction in front of him.

The pouch opened, revealing twenty small porcelain bottles lined up inside, all identical.

Su Chengyuan picked one up, unscrewed the cap, and a round, full Medicinal Pill rolled into his palm.

spirit burst pills, twenty bottles, one pill per bottle.

Zhao Shan's breath hitched; he recognized this thing. The counterattack in that bloody tunnel battle was because of this.

He didn't expect to see it again, and twenty at once.

Su Chengyuan put the pill back in the bottle, capped it, and looked up at Zhao Shan: "Given by the Master."

Zhao Shan was stunned for a moment.

Master? He hadn't heard those two words in a long time.

In the first few years, the President often had it on his lips; whenever something big happened in the chamber of commerce, it was 'The Master said' or 'The Master's meaning.'

But in the last two or three years, it had always been Su Chengyuan and his son dealing with the chamber of commerce. The Master had never appeared again, and Zhao Shan sometimes even forgot that such a figure stood behind the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.

Now that these twenty bottles of spirit burst pills were on the table, he remembered again.

Zhao Shan didn't ask further and pulled his gaze back from the pills: "Mr. Su, what do you want me to do?"