163: Hehuan Sect enters the game

Feeling the whistling punch, imbued with the might of the Core Formation Stage, if this punch were to land on Mu Qianqiu, who was at Foundation Establishment Perfection, he would likely not survive.

But at this moment, Mu Qianqiu's expression shifted from his previous playful panic to a familiar, artificial smile.

Then, he simply extended one finger and blocked Zhou Yan's fist.

His attack blocked, Zhou Yan leaped back a few steps, creating distance, then assumed a stance, his expression serious, ready to undergo Dragon Transformation and fight at any moment.

"Can you tell me how you found out?"

Mu Qianqiu still smiled, but there was an indescribable emotion added to that smile.

It should have appeared even more sinister, but because his original smile was already strange, the two combined made it seem somewhat normal, even with a touch of humanity.

Zhou Yan maintained his combat posture and replied indifferently.

"Whether it's the Physical Body or magical power, the information reflected by my Golden Eyes shows you are Mu Qianqiu."

"But my Soul denies it!"

"You are Meng Ke, aren't you!"

As soon as the words fell, the figure opposite trembled slightly, and the smile became even more chilling.

"Soul, huh... that's truly incredible."

Actually, there was no Soul perception; Zhou Yan just wanted to brag.

At first, he hadn't noticed at all. He recognized the other party's identity entirely because their highly distinctive panel had already been exposed.

[???]

[Realm: Nascent Soul Stage Perfection]

With such a distinctive panel, the identity was self-evident.

Even after he attacked, it only displayed the Realm, not even the health bar.

"This bizarre panel hasn't been fixed as a bug?" Zhou Yan thought.

So, Zhou Yan and Meng Ke, who had somehow transformed into Mu Qianqiu, stared at each other in the room.

Finally, with no other option, as the other party just smiled eerily, the combination of Mu Qianqiu's Face and that expression was truly unsettling, Zhou Yan had to speak first.

"Where is Mu Qianqiu? And what exactly do you want?"

Hearing this, the other party finally put away the eerie smile, and their expression returned to normal.

"Originally, I wanted to discuss cooperation with you in this form; it would be more convenient."

"But now I've changed my mind. I plan to invest in you, invest in your future."

"Huh?" Zhou Yan's expression was strange; the change in tone was too sudden.

"I don't need your investment; my future is my own to decide."

Meng Ke again gestured for Zhou Yan to sit down and talk, but Zhou Yan still didn't appreciate it.

Meng Ke didn't mind, waving his hand to clear the clutter on the table and taking out three scrolls, arranging them in a line on the table.

"I admit this might seem to lack sincerity, so I'm putting my sincerity on display, hoping our future cooperation can proceed smoothly."

Zhou Yan glanced at them. The three scrolls were labeled "Dragon Vein," "Flood Dragon," and "Dragon Scale" respectively.

"What are these?" Although he had some guesses, he still couldn't be sure.

Meng Ke smiled wickedly.

"Stop, stop, stop, please don't smile anymore," Zhou Yan interrupted him. "It's really disgusting when you make that expression with this Face. If you're going to smile, at least change back to yourself, okay?"

Meng Ke's expression stiffened, and he shook his head helplessly.

"Changing back to my original form takes a lot of effort, so let's just leave it like this for now. Since you don't like this Face smiling, I'll try to control it."

With that, he adopted a deadpan expression, which at least was no longer uncomfortable.

"You should be familiar with these three items."

"They are clues to the 'Dragon Transformation Items' held by Prince Kang Song Jie, Duke Zhenguo Chen Jingyuan, and Prime Minister Zhang Feng, respectively."

Meng Ke gestured for Zhou Yan to examine them.

Seeing that the other party had no further actions and indeed harbored no ill will, and the marker on the mini-map had also turned green, Zhou Yan no longer hesitated.

He sat down and perused them one by one.

The first one, concerning Prince Kang, stated that his Dragon Transformation Item was a section of a Dragon Vein, speculated to be currently in Prince Kangs Residence.

The second, concerning Duke Zhenguo, was the corpse of an evil Flood Dragon he had slain in his early years, speculated to be located at the Northern Abyss border.

The third, concerning the Prime Minister, was a Dragon Scale of unknown origin, speculated to have been acquired through a trade with the Truth Cult's main church in the Eastern Domain, its current location unknown, most likely in the Kaifeng.

"Good heavens, everyone wants to transform into a Dragon, huh?"

Zhou Yan had originally thought there might only be one 'Dragon King,' but now he understood that this 'Dragon King' title was practically an honorary trophy, even turned into a competition.

Could the Dragon Transformation Ritual in the Kaifeng be the grand finale? Would the 'safe zone' even shrink then?

Only after Zhou Yan finished reading did Meng Ke speak.

"You said before that our cognitions were different, making cooperation difficult."

"After learning of this, we specifically investigated further. We didn't know until we investigated, and when we did, we were shocked."

"This Great Yu is so chaotic it's almost catching up to Nightless City."

"Everyone wants to stir up trouble using the national destiny, and they're causing quite a stir."

At this point, Meng Ke looked at Zhou Yan meaningfully:

"You were unwilling to cooperate before because you were worried we were involved with Prince Kang, right?"

Zhou Yan didn't speak, just quietly watched Meng Ke, who returned his gaze.

"Hiss—" Zhou Yan gasped, and though he no longer had goosebumps, he still felt uncomfortable all over.

"Damn it, don't look at me with that kind of gaze; it's too gay."

"Yes, I did think that at the time. You following the Grand Princess clearly meant you wanted to lead me into a trap. If it weren't for Mu Qianqiu's Face, I would have punched you both already."

Zhou Yan had intended to remain silent and wait for the other party to state their position, but that gaze was unbearable, so he simply admitted it directly.

"You probably won't accept 'misunderstanding' as an excuse, as we did indeed cause you trouble. So, let's talk about something that might interest you."

"The Grand Princess's faction will soon make a comeback, and we will participate in this so-called 'Dragon Transformation' as her supporters."

"At the same time, we will persuade the Grand Princess to prioritize the Great Yu and fully support you in resolving the crisis, including but not limited to opposing Prince Kang."

To be honest, one of Zhou Yan's objectives for this trip was indeed to win over the Joyous Union Sect.

If the Sect didn't help, his lineup would be quite stretched.

With the Joyous Union Sect joining, at least they could suppress the Truth Cult and reduce one problem.

But the other party agreed so readily that Zhou Yan felt a bit unaccustomed.

"You... don't need to ask your Grand Princess for her opinion?" Zhou Yan asked, puzzled.

Although he believed that someone of royal birth wouldn't be completely brainless, Prince Kang had saved her after all. If she were to turn against her own uncle just because of an outsider's words, it would seem abnormal.

Meng Ke appeared very calm.

"We support her simply to have a reason to enter the game."

"Since we are already bound to her and have entered the game, her actions represent our attitude, and our actions represent her stance."

"If we want to help you get rid of Prince Kang, it means she 'should' also have this attitude."

It seemed this Grand Princess had truly invited trouble upon herself.

"But how can I believe that you are sincerely helping me this time?"

The other party's attitude was too compliant, making it hard for Zhou Yan not to suspect ulterior motives.

"You don't need to believe in our sincerity; you just need to know that I will sign a contract with you next, the content of which will be drafted by you."

"We will mobilize all our forces to assist you."

So generous? Even letting me write the contract? The more Zhou Yan listened, the more he wanted to run away.

"I'll also include a piece of intelligence as a bonus," Meng Ke, seeing Zhou Yan's doubts, added at the opportune moment.

"The current Duke Zhenguo Chen Jingyuan's cultivation is at Soul Transformation Late Stage, and with the blessing of the War Soul, he can temporarily reach the Body Integration Stage."

"His two strongest subordinates, the Grand Military Commissioner and the Minister of War, both possess Soul Transformation Early Stage combat power."

"This means the Duke Zhenguo's faction has three Soul Transformation Cultivators, and he himself can temporarily reach Body Integration."

"Zhang Feng himself is at Soul Transformation Early Stage, and his subordinate, the Minister of Revenue, is also at Soul Transformation Early Stage."

"As civil officials, their combat power is weaker among Soul Transformation Early Stage Cultivators, but don't forget, the Truth Cult also has a Soul Transformation Cultivator, who is the one who ambushed you in the Secret Realm that day."

"So they actually also have three Soul Transformation Cultivators."

"On Prince Kang's side, it's currently confirmed that he is the only Soul Transformation Early Stage Cultivator, but he achieved Soul Transformation during his regency, and his strength is enough to rival Zhang Feng plus the Minister of Revenue, so he shouldn't be underestimated."

"And your Senior Brother Li Wenbo only recently broke through to Soul Transformation Middle Stage. Although the Minister of Justice in his faction is also at Soul Transformation Early Stage, that person only joined his command because they belonged to the same Sect faction, so it's not certain they would fight to the death for him."

"You didn't cooperate with us back then, nor did you tell us there were so many people who wanted to 'grow horns on their heads.' Most likely, it's because Qingxu Grotto-Heaven didn't support your current actions, which is why you're so wary of us now that you don't have Sect support, right?"

Zhou Yan truly hadn't expected the other party to have investigated so much in such a short time.

They knew nothing just a few days ago; how did they manage it?

Meng Ke smiled slightly.

"You need the Joyous Union Sect's help. We can help you resist the Truth Cult and suppress Zhang Feng."

"This should be of great help to your upcoming plans."

"And as you can see, we are sincerely cooperating, and you can write the contract as you wish."

"I personally guarantee that two Joyous Union Sect Nascent Soul Cultivators can be dispatched to assist."

Looking at the other party's sincere expression and confirming the green dot on the mini-map, Zhou Yan fell into contemplation.

Meanwhile, Sage Xiao and Wang Yao arrived at a cave outside the Kaifeng.

"Is Senior Brother Zhou really in here?" Wang Yao frowned, feeling something was amiss.

Sage Xiao, however, was very certain.

"Definitely here. I've divined it; this place is closely related to Old Zhou."

Wang Yao knew Sage Xiao's capabilities well and chose to believe him but still suggested,

"But will it be dangerous if we go deeper? Why don't we go back and ask for help first?"

Sage Xiao waved his hand.

"No need to worry, I have a trump card to keep us safe. It's just a rescue; we'll save him and leave."

"Every second we delay, Old Zhou is in more danger."

Saying that, he took out the wooden sword he had used for setting up altars before and strapped it to his back.

"If you're worried, go back and get help first; I'll go in by myself."

Although Wang Yao felt what the other party said made sense, he still hesitated. Seeing that Sage Xiao had already resolutely gone deeper, he couldn't bother with much else and quickly followed.

"Wait for me, I'll go with you!"