Two figures wearing dark golden masks stood there. Although their auras were not comparable to Hei Bai Wu Chang, they had reached the Quasi-Heavenly rank.
These two were Xue He and Gu Hai, absolute confidantes who had followed him the longest.
Upon seeing them, Hei Bai Wu Chang’s gaze faltered slightly. They had only recently pledged allegiance to Kong Ling and were eager to showcase their strength and establish new merits.
However, Kong Ling’s arrangement clearly handed the opportunity to earn merit to the other two. This undoubtedly indicated greater trust in them, which made the former feel extremely displeased.
But this was Kong Ling’s arrangement nonetheless. Despite their dissatisfaction, they dared not utter a word.
On the other side, Kong Ling paid no heed to Hei Bai Wu Chang. He glanced at Xue He and Gu Hai and slowly said, "The two of you monitor from the shadows. Report any developments to me..."
Besides monitoring Po Xiao, Kong Ling had other intentions.
As his voice fell, Xue He and Gu Hai immediately responded and then withdrew from the great hall.
Hei Wu Chang looked at Kong Ling and said, "Lord Kong Ling, I observe Ye Cang Tian’s character to be extremely stubborn. I fear these minor tactics may not be enough to subdue him. I think it would be better..."
"Hei Wu Chang, you must understand that my disagreement with Xing Yuan is merely a difference in stance, not a mortal enmity!"
"Whether it’s Xing Yuan or Po Xiao, they are ultimately members of the Dark Association!"
"Furthermore, with the Holy Hall launching a strong offensive now, we must prioritize our objectives. Do you understand!"
Kong Ling glanced at Hei Bai Wu Chang and spoke slowly.
He then stopped paying attention and directly left the great hall.
He could indefinitely weaken Xing Yuan’s influence, but he absolutely could not deal a fatal blow to Xing Yuan.
After all, Xing Yuan was one of their own. If they completely fell out, the Dark Association's strength would be significantly affected.
Watching Kong Ling’s retreating figure, Hei Bai Wu Chang exchanged glances. Their eyes flickered, and they eventually fell into a silent resignation, filled with unwillingness.
...
Hoo!
On the other side, after leaving the great hall, Ye Cang Tian also let out a sigh of relief.
The moment he turned to leave, he instantly sensed four extremely faint auras in the hidden corners of the great hall.
Moreover, the strength of these auras had actually reached the Quasi-Heavenly rank.
With such strength, it was no wonder Xing Yuan was wary, and no wonder he could hand over authority to Xing Yuan.
With that thought, Ye Cang Tian left the great hall and soon arrived at a teahouse in Ghost City.
Along the way, he had left some secret signals, attempting to find members of the "Yin" organization within Ghost City.
It was unavoidable. With the unpleasant parting with Kong Ling, and without Man Tuo Luo and Fei Yan present, he hadn’t gathered any news. He could only contact the Yin organization first.
He also wanted to see if the members of the Yin organization here had suffered any losses under the onslaught of the Holy Hall.
In just the time it took to drink a cup or two of tea, a figure arrived in the private room of the teahouse.
This person was none other than Xiao Feng, who had been undercover in Ghost City all along.
When Xiao Feng saw Ye Cang Tian, he was immediately overcome with excitement. He extended his hand and shook Ye Cang Tian’s hand firmly.
Ye Cang Tian poured Xiao Feng a cup of tea and pushed it over. "Long time no see. How have you been recently?"
Alas!
Hearing this, Xiao Feng sighed bitterly and said, "I’m doing alright, but life here is getting harder and harder..."
Xiao Feng did not hide anything from Ye Cang Tian.
The reason he had been having a difficult time recently was that Ghost City had a new leader.
Since Kong Ling took over Ghost City with his men, he had essentially overturned Xing Yuan’s previous practices.
He began to strictly investigate the informants of various factions, including them, of course.
Therefore, in recent times, Xiao Feng and the intelligence personnel had been constantly on the run and hiding.
As of now, they had not found a sufficiently safe hiding place.
"Kong Ling actually made a move against you?"
Hearing Xiao Feng’s words, Ye Cang Tian’s eyes widened.
This news seemed incredibly insane to him; it even felt like digging his own grave.
Now, with the Holy Hall launching a strong offensive, the Dark Association was already in a precarious situation. Offending these factions further, wasn't he afraid they would join forces with the Holy Hall?
Coupled with the fact that Xing Yuan and Kong Ling did not have a good relationship, wasn't this action akin to inviting a tomb?
"Why would I joke about something like this!"
Xiao Feng rolled his eyes at Ye Cang Tian, knowing the reason for Ye Cang Tian’s confusion.
In fact, when the Dark Association made a move against them, he also didn’t believe it. It was precisely because of this that the Yin organization’s intelligence personnel suffered some losses.
Later, after a series of investigations, he understood Kong Ling’s approach.
In Kong Ling’s view, the Dark Association possessed two Heavenly rank powerhouses and countless experts within the Dark Ruins. With such strength, they had no need to tolerate any faction.
Therefore, it would be best to eliminate them all with swift and decisive action.
In other words, he intended to clear out all other factions in the Dark Ruins, allowing the Dark Association to monopolize the Dark Ruins.
Heh.
Hearing Xiao Feng’s explanation, Ye Cang Tian let out a dismissive smile.
Truly arrogant and foolish!
If other factions were that easy to clear out, why would Xing Yuan have tolerated their development for so many years? Wouldn’t he have destroyed them long ago?
With that thought, Ye Cang Tian looked at Xiao Feng and said, "Just keep this matter hidden. Let Kong Ling make a fuss. I believe it won’t be long before he pays the price for it."
After a pause, Ye Cang Tian changed the subject. "By the way, do you know the whereabouts of Xing Yuan and the others from the Dark Association?"
Hearing this, Xiao Feng nodded and said, "I do know some things about this."
The information he obtained was that the Dark Association’s people were divided into two teams.
One team, personally led by Xing Yuan, was heading south to provide support.
The other team, led by Hong Mo, was heading west.
Currently, the Holy Hall was advancing in three routes, while the Dark Association could only deal with two.
Under these circumstances, Kong Ling was still thinking of eliminating dissidents and making a move against other factions. This was truly pushing the Dark Association towards a dead end!
He even began to suspect if Kong Ling was a mole for the Holy Hall!
With that thought, Ye Cang Tian took out a pill and handed it directly to the other party. "I cannot stay and help you much. The matter here will depend on you."
The bottle contained, of course, the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir.
Xiao Feng, like him before, was a peak Profound rank powerhouse, perfectly suited to take the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir.
If the other party could become an Earth rank powerhouse, Ye Cang Tian would feel a bit more at ease.
On the other side, looking at the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir in the bottle, Xiao Feng’s eyes immediately lit up.
His staying in Dark City was, on one hand, to gather intelligence on the Dark Association, and on the other, to find the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir to break through the bottleneck that had restrained him for a long time.
However, he was not lucky. After several raids on tombs and secret realms, he had not obtained a single Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir.
Therefore, upon seeing the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir, he was immediately so excited that he couldn’t speak.
"Alright, time is about up, and I should be leaving."
"You’ve worked hard during this time. Also, do not transmit any messages outwards recently!"
"Not only are there people from the Dark Association at the entrance, but there are also powerhouses from the Holy Hall. Do not make any pointless sacrifices. Just lie low."
Seeing that the other party had accepted the elixir, Ye Cang Tian stood up, offered some advice, and then left the teahouse.
...
Nan Huang City.
Xuan Si Liu, along with guards from all sub-branches, lined up in two rows below the city gate, as if welcoming some important figure.
After a gust of wind and sand, a vast procession finally appeared in sight.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Si Liu immediately stepped forward without a word, directly reaching the most imposing carriage in the middle of the procession.
"Your subordinate Xuan Si Liu, respectfully welcomes Lord Xing Yuan!"
That’s right, the leader of the approaching procession was Xing Yuan.
He led the team, pursuing small squads of the Holy Hall along the way. Finally, as they neared Nan Huang City, he decided to settle here and rest for a few days.
After all, after continuous pursuit of the Holy Hall, everyone was exhausted.
"Xuan Si Liu, are there any bandits in Nan Huang City?"
Xing Yuan inquired authoritatively.
Without a word, Xuan Si Liu quickly replied, "Reporting to my lord, we have not detected any traces of the Holy Hall’s scum recently. It seems that your arrival has scared away these rats..."
Xuan Si Liu took the opportunity to flatter him.
Although Xing Yuan had stepped down, he was still a Heavenly rank powerhouse. Providing him with some benefits or guidance would be enough for him to use for the rest of his life.
However, Xing Yuan was not interested in these matters and directly ordered everyone to enter the city.