611: Chapter 611 Mountain Top

As the saying goes, the more beautiful a woman is, the less she can be trusted. Naturally, Liu Xuan did not dare to fully trust Lady Yaoguang.

After dismissing True Monarch Gao Qian, Liu Xuan immediately went to see Zhou Qingwei at the Artifact Refining Workshop, utilizing his connections in the Dao Court's Tiangong Immortal City to gather some intelligence on the Dao Court.

In name, Liu Xuan was Zhou Qingwei's Junior Brother, having obtained his status as a Tiangong Immortal City Artifact Refiner through the back door.

Long ago, he had used this identity to plant his own people among Zhou Qingwei's subordinates, using them to collect intelligence regarding the Central Region.

However, out of fear of the Dao Court's terrifying power, he didn't dare go too far, collecting only ordinary intelligence.

While ordinary intelligence is often useless, it has one advantage over the secret information of high-level officials: it is highly credible.

Many times, secret information is hidden within seemingly insignificant trifles and cannot be ignored.

After meeting Zhou Qingwei, Liu Xuan immediately went to see Liu Xiaowan and Yin Lizhi. He also had them find the other two Saintesses of the Joyous Union Sect, Saint Daughter Gu Yujing and Dong Xiangjun, to deepen his connection with the Joyous Union Sect through them as quickly as possible.

The East Sea Joyful Union Sect was the escape route Liu Xuan had prepared; if the situation in the Southern Border reached a dead end, he would simply leave.

...

A month later.

Liu Xuan found that things were far from as serious as he had imagined. The Dao Court people first arrived at the Azure Profound Sect and then stopped there.

The army of Cultivators sent down was not large in number, and most remained at the Azure Profound Sect, with only a small portion entering the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.

These Dao Court Cultivators showed no ill will toward the Liu Family; on the contrary, every one of them was extremely polite.

The City Lord's Mansion.

In the center of the hall, a group of outer Disciples from the Joyous Union Sect's Red Dust Branch danced gracefully, the elegant sound of the zither echoing through the rafters.

Liu Xuan sat high in the main seat at the top. To his right below sat True Lord Guanxin, True Monarch Gao Qian, Li Xihe, and other True Monarchs from the Academy.

On the left sat Lu Chen, Heavenly Sword True Monarch, and several unfamiliar True Monarchs wearing mysterious black Daoist robes.

These people were the arrivals from the Dao Court. The leader, who possessed a Peak Nascent Soul cultivation, called himself True Monarch Tachuan.

"Fellow Daoist Liu has impressive skills!" True Monarch Tachuan listened to the zither music for a while, swaying his head, then clapped and laughed. "This is the first time this old man has seen someone keeping the Joyous Union Sect's Hongchen Courtyard at home, hahaha..."

He wasn't being sarcastic; he truly found Liu Xuan interesting. He had never seen a Fellow Daoist who knew how to enjoy life more than Liu Xuan.

"If Fellow Daoist is interested, you can do the same. They are just some low-level female Cultivators; they don't cost many Spirit Stones," Liu Xuan said casually, raising his wine cup.

True Monarch Tachuan had been in Biyou City for some time. Initially, Liu Xuan was very guarded, but he later found the man to be straightforward and open about matters within the Dao Court. Through their interactions, the two had become superficial friends.

"I'll pass!" True Monarch Tachuan shook his head repeatedly. "Lust is a bone-scraping knife. This old man's Dao Heart is not as firm as yours; I wouldn't dare keep them by my side."

After some small talk, Liu Xuan looked at Lu Chen, Heavenly Sword True Monarch, and the others behind True Monarch Tachuan and asked, "Fellow Daoist's visit today surely isn't just to listen to music. There must be another purpose?"

True Monarch Tachuan's smile vanished, and he said solemnly, "Indeed. This old man's sudden visit is because I have a matter to discuss with Fellow Daoist Liu."

Liu Xuan waved his hand to signal the musicians and dancers to withdraw. Then, True Monarch Tachuan stood up, pointed at Lu Chen and Heavenly Sword True Monarch, and said, "The Azure Profound Sect asked this old man to act as a mediator. They want to ask Fellow Daoist Liu about your thoughts on opening border trade."

"Oh~" A cold sneer curled Liu Xuan's lips, and he said in an unfriendly tone, "Business is about mutual benefit. It's not that I, Liu, am unwilling to open border trade, but that the Azure Profound Sect's conduct is too unsightly!"

"What Fellow Daoist says is absolutely correct!" True Monarch Tachuan nodded, then shifted the topic. "In the past, the Azure Profound Sect was indeed in the wrong. However, now that there is Dao Court supervision, everything will follow the law."

"Could Fellow Daoist Liu consider it? Any issue can be discussed!"

Liu Xuan toyed with the wine cup in his hand. After a moment of silence, he nodded. "Fine! For the sake of Fellow Daoist Tachuan's Face, we shall discuss it properly."

"Hahaha!" True Monarch Tachuan laughed heartily and drained his cup in one gulp. "Fellow Daoist Liu is indeed straightforward. We'll talk business later; let's keep drinking."

The musicians and dancers waiting outside quickly returned to the hall, and the atmosphere became lively once again.

After the banquet ended, Li Xihe, Demon Lord Chixia, Green Luo, and Yun Miao represented the Liu Family in negotiations with Lu Chen, Heavenly Sword True Monarch, and the Dao Court personnel regarding the opening of border trade.

This negotiation was primarily because the Dao Court wanted to do business with the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance. True Monarch Tachuan showed great sincerity, offering exceptionally generous terms, and everything was finalized in just one day.

According to Yun Miao's report, if the Dao Court kept its promises, once border trade opened, the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance's profits would increase by at least thirty percent.

All the world's bustle is for profit. Because True Monarch Tachuan's terms were too good, Liu Xuan was instead uneasy.

Initially, Liu Xuan thought True Monarch Tachuan and the Dao Court had some other objective, but after a detailed investigation, he found he had overthought it.

True Monarch Tachuan had two purposes for this trip: one was to investigate the cause of the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the Southern Border; the other was to represent the Dao Lord behind him and take the opportunity to grab a share of the spoils from the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.

True Monarch Tachuan represented the Dao Court in name, but in reality, he didn't have much power in his hands.

The Azure Profound Sect was also a Dao Court power, but one was an appointee from the central government while the other was a local regional official; their interests were not aligned.

"No wonder True Monarch Lu Chen and Heavenly Sword True Monarch barely spoke during the banquet!"

If Liu Xuan's guess was correct, this opening of border trade was likely True Monarch Tachuan's own idea, rather than him acting as a mediator for the Azure Profound Sect.

The reason the Dao Court's terms were so generous was True Monarch Tachuan's way of showing goodwill, using Liu Xuan to stabilize his own influence within the Azure Profound Sect.

"The Dao Court's strength is terrifying, but it's full of internal factions. Their involvement might not be a bad thing in the short term."

The more he learned about the Dao Court, the more Liu Xuan felt its depths were unfathomable.

Just taking True Monarch Tachuan's group as an example, their backgrounds were mind-bogglingly complex. Behind him were a Family, a local Sect, a master's lineage, and a central government post... Even now, Liu Xuan hadn't figured out which Dao Lord in the Dao Court he actually represented!

However, this was not a bad thing. Liu Xuan didn't fear a chaotic situation in the Southern Border; he only feared everyone uniting to target him.

"The more chaotic, the better. Fishing in troubled waters is what I'm best at!"

"It's a pity the arrivals weren't Nascent Soul female Cultivators; otherwise, I could have utilized my strengths to infiltrate the Dao Court's interior."

The Dao Court's intervention seemed to be exactly as Lady Yaoguang had said: these people didn't care about any Spiritual Qi fluctuations at all; they only wanted to take the opportunity to make money.

True Monarch Tachuan not only wanted to make money from the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, but he even wanted to squeeze money out of the Azure Profound Sect.

"From the current perspective, the Dao Court's interests are quite aligned with mine. We can definitely cooperate!"

Liu Xuan only needed to focus on one thing: whether the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the Southern Border were related to him and whether the Dao Court would find out. As long as they didn't, the situation had actually improved.