Chapter 591: Chapter 402: A Happy Accident (2)

Fang Yun agreed with Bai Qinying’s decision.

The current situation did indeed require deploying more people to keep an eye on the Black Ghost Cave and the Ghost-Controlling Sect.

"Where was the situation with Ghost Head Castle discovered?"

"Right in the Dragon Demon Palace’s territory. Ghost Cultivators from Ghost Head Castle were found conspiring with Demons."

"For their conspiracy to be discovered... It seems Ghost Head Castle intends to cooperate with the Dragon Demon Palace. Perhaps it won’t be long before we cross swords with Ghost Head Castle’s Ghost Cultivators."

Thinking of the cooperation between Ghost Head Castle and the Dragon Demon Palace, Fang Yun’s first thought was of the Demon Spirit Sect’s cooperation with the Black Ghost Cave and the Ghost-Controlling Sect.

When the Demon Spirit Sect first moved against them, he had suspected they had at least formed a partnership with the Black Ghost Cave. But afterward, he heard no news on that front, and with the Ghost-Controlling Sect even attacking the Demon Spirit Sect, he abandoned the idea that they were cooperating.

It wasn’t until the very end, when the Demon Spirit Sect was on the verge of being annihilated by them, that he learned the Demon Spirit Sect had indeed been cooperating with the Black Ghost Cave and the Ghost-Controlling Sect.

Only, it was a false cooperation. The Black Ghost Cave and the Ghost-Controlling Sect had simply sold out the Demon Spirit Sect in the end.

This time, the cooperation between Ghost Head Castle and the Dragon Demon Palace was likely genuine.

"Junior Brother, I think the reason we learned this news before Ghost Head Castle has truly made a move is that the Dragon Demon Palace might have leaked it to us intentionally."

"That’s very likely." Fang Yun thought for a moment. "The Dragon Demon Palace must have learned a lesson from the Demon Spirit Sect’s cooperation with the Ghost Cultivators. But to us, this is just a piece of information. Until Ghost Head Castle formally moves against us, we’ll act as if the Dragon Demon Palace isn’t cooperating with them."

"Junior Brother, do you think it’s likely that Ghost Head Castle will sell out the Dragon Demon Palace?"

"This time, it’s unlikely," Fang Yun replied.

The cooperation between the Dragon Demon Palace and Ghost Head Castle was quite different from the previous one between the Demon Spirit Sect and the two major Ghost Cultivator Influences. This was evident just from their geographical locations.

"As for what Ghost Head Castle is really up to, I can go issue a warning."

"When do you plan to act?"

The moment she heard him, Bai Qinying knew what Fang Yun was planning.

’The mysterious Spirit Refiner spoken of by the Demons is about to appear again.’

’Annihilating two or three of the Dragon Demon Palace’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences will test Ghost Head Castle’s intentions.’

"In about eight or nine days," Fang Yun said, arranging his schedule.

...

...

「Dragon Demon Palace.」

Inside the Palace Master’s residence.

’The mysterious Spirit Refiner really did appear.’

The Dragon Demon Palace Master had just received news that three of their subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences had been wiped out without a sound.

Currently, the only one capable of such a feat was the mysterious Spirit Refiner.

Not long after learning the news, the Dragon Demon Palace Master went to find Elder Jin Daolei of the Black Dragon Hall.

Jin Daolei had previously said that if there was any news of the mysterious Spirit Refiner, he was to be informed immediately.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, the mysterious Spirit Refiner has appeared." Upon seeing Jin Daolei, the Dragon Demon Palace Master stated his purpose directly.

Hearing the name ’mysterious Spirit Refiner,’ Jin Daolei was instantly alert.

The sect had sent him to lead the efforts here at the Dragon Demon Palace. Dealing with the Celestial Cloud Sect wasn’t his primary objective; the first objective was to eliminate this mysterious Spirit Refiner from the Purple Mist Sect. The second was to eliminate the Celestial Cloud Sect.

Anything related to the mysterious Spirit Refiner was the highest priority.

"Are you one hundred percent certain it was the mysterious Spirit Refiner?"

"Of course. Three of our subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences were wiped out without a trace. Right now, only the mysterious Spirit Refiner is capable of that," the Dragon Demon Palace Master replied.

"Very good."

’As long as we can confirm it’s the mysterious Spirit Refiner, that’s all that matters.’

With this news, Jin Daolei knew it was time to begin the next phase of his operation.

"Palace Master Han, which of your Dragon Demon Palace’s subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences do you think the mysterious Spirit Refiner will go to next?"

"Ah?"

The Dragon Demon Palace Master was taken aback.

’How would I know that?’

"It’s like this, Fellow Daoist Jin. The mysterious Spirit Refiner’s movements are unpredictable; that’s one of the reasons for his title. The only pattern with the three Foundation Establishment Influences is that they were all close to each other. Beyond that, there’s no other pattern."

"That’s not right, Palace Master Han. According to the information I’ve received, the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s actions in the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory followed a clear pattern."

"That was decades ago. The mysterious Spirit Refiner hadn’t even reached the Core Formation Stage back then. Things are different now," the Dragon Demon Palace Master said, correcting Jin Daolei’s outdated information.

This time, the three subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences of their Dragon Demon Palace that were wiped out weren’t close to the Celestial Cloud Sect, nor were they close to the Wind Ling Sect.

Compared to the Celestial Cloud Sect and the Wind Ling Sect, they were actually closer to Ghost Head Castle.

Realizing this, the Dragon Demon Palace Master immediately added another sentence.

"If you insist on finding a pattern, aside from the three destroyed subordinate Foundation Establishment Influences being close to each other, they were also much closer to Ghost Head Castle."

"Closer to Ghost Head Castle..." Jin Daolei muttered, then fixed his hawklike eyes on the Dragon Demon Palace Master.

"Palace Master Han, is there anything else you’d like to say?"

The Dragon Demon Palace Master’s heart pounded under Jin Daolei’s stare. After some consideration, he decided it was better to tell Jin Daolei the news.

Jin Daolei didn’t know now, but he would find out eventually, once Ghost Head Castle made its move.

"We have a deal with Ghost Head Castle. They will help us deal with the Celestial Cloud Sect."

"Cooperating with Ghost Cultivators again... Palace Master Han, have you forgotten how the Demon Spirit Sect was destroyed? They cooperated with Ghost Cultivators, and that’s precisely what led to their downfall."

It would have been better if Jin Daolei hadn’t brought that up.

The moment he did, the Dragon Demon Palace Master was filled with rage.

The Demon Spirit Sect had believed the Ghost Cultivators’ nonsense and taken the initiative to attack the Celestial Cloud Sect. This was an undeniable, proven fact.

But their Dragon Demon Palace had been forced to attack the Celestial Cloud Sect under pressure from the Black Dragon Hall.

At least the Demon Spirit Sect had acted of their own accord.

The Dragon Demon Palace had no desire to attack the Celestial Cloud Sect whatsoever, and now Jin Daolei from the Black Dragon Hall was bringing this up.

The Dragon Demon Palace Master cursed Jin Daolei endlessly in his heart, but on the surface, he pretended to be pondering the question.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, I had no choice," the Dragon Demon Palace Master sighed. "Without Ghost Head Castle’s help, we will suffer disastrous losses under the pincer attack from the Celestial Cloud Sect and the Wind Ling Sect!"

"But you have our Black Dragon Hall’s support."

"I’m not talking about the Core Formation battlefield."

"It’s just Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment. If they die, they die."

Jin Daolei acted completely nonchalant. In his eyes, anyone who hadn’t broken through to the Core Formation Stage couldn’t be considered part of a sect’s core strength.

The Dragon Demon Palace Master was rendered speechless.

To an Elder from a Nascent Soul Influence, Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators were indeed disposable.

The Black Dragon Hall also had a cruel rule: to become an Elder, one basically had to kill their way to the top. This was different from their Dragon Demon Palace.

This brutal model required an immense amount of Demon Beast bloodlines, something only a powerful Nascent Soul Influence like the Black Dragon Hall could afford to supply.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, our cooperation with Ghost Head Castle this time could be considered a blessing in disguise. It has allowed us to find a pattern in the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s movements." Seeing Jin Daolei’s current expression, the Dragon Demon Palace Master decided to bring this up.

Just as he expected, Jin Daolei’s expression softened considerably when he mentioned it.

"Explain in detail."

"Yes." The Dragon Demon Palace Master nodded. "Although Ghost Head Castle hasn’t officially supported us yet, I suspect the Celestial Cloud Sect already knows about our cooperation."

"From the sound of it, you deliberately let the Celestial Cloud Sect know."

"Not deliberately told, but rather we made it easier for the Celestial Cloud Sect to notice something was amiss. And clearly, having noticed the anomaly, the Celestial Cloud Sect has already contacted the mysterious Spirit Refiner!"

"They didn’t necessarily contact the mysterious Spirit Refiner at the Purple Mist Sect. There’s an eighty percent chance the mysterious Spirit Refiner is now living within the Celestial Cloud Sect," Jin Daolei said.

The mysterious Spirit Refiner from the Purple Mist Sect was not living in the Purple Mist Sect, but in the Celestial Cloud Sect.

This was the conclusion their Black Dragon Hall had reached after taking action.

Whether the mysterious Spirit Refiner was originally from the Celestial Cloud Sect was no longer important to them. Regardless of whether he was born in the Celestial Cloud Sect, with his current battle record, he could very well be a Cultivator of the Purple Mist Sect.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.