Heiyou recounted the situation in Dragon City, while the old farmer listened and contemplated.
He was well aware of Long Xuefeng's injuries; his survival for so many years could be described as merely clinging to life, a deathbed struggle.
If such severe injuries could be healed by a mere girl from the outside world, it would be nothing short of a miracle.
Therefore, there was no need to concern himself with Long Xuefeng; they could be left to their own devices.
The one truly requiring attention was this Ye Cangtian. Ye Cangtian had been a troublemaker even in the past.
His coming to the farming village was partly to conceal himself, and partly to instigate a confrontation for power between Dongfang Mingyue and the Bai family.
However, after Ye Cangtian joined the Hidden Group, it didn't take long for him to pacify the Bai family and completely dismantle the old farmer's intricate plans.
Now that the opponent had returned, Dongfang Mingyue had immediately boosted the strength of four of her trusted subordinates.
It could thus be confidently assumed that the Nine Revolutions Golden Pills required for this would be directly related to Ye Cangtian.
With this thought, the old farmer glanced at the other party and continued, "Heiyou, are there any other movements in Dragon City?"
"Yes, there's a piece of unconfirmed gossip!"
Heiyou quickly replied, "It is said that Ye Cangtian and Dongfang Mingyue are secretly gathering loyal and talented subordinates."
"They are preparing to invite Long Xuefeng out of seclusion to guide them and these individuals, thereby enhancing their strength..."
Invite Long Xuefeng out of seclusion?
The old farmer's eyes darted around. This seemingly ordinary piece of news gave him an unusual premonition.
After all, Long Xuefeng had once been a Heaven-tier expert. With his guidance, the combat power of the Hidden Group members would undoubtedly improve.
Why hadn't this been done before?
Long Xuefeng had been in Dragon City for some time; why hadn't he been invited out of seclusion until now? And why choose this particular moment?
Furthermore, Long Xuefeng was not a god. With his guidance, talented youths could indeed avoid detours and have a chance to break through to the Earth-tier realm.
However, this was limited to those with exceptional talent.
For the vast majority of Hidden Group members, the Nine Revolutions Golden Pills were essential for completing their breakthroughs.
Then, let's consider the significance of Long Xuefeng's emergence from seclusion this time.
If they couldn't achieve breakthroughs through his guidance, and then proceeded to the entrance of the ruins, these students would be of little use.
After all, Earth-tier experts were not something Xuan-tier experts could resist. If the Guangming Hall were to attack forcefully, their chances of survival would still be slim.
In this regard, the significance of Long Xuefeng emerging from seclusion was also minimal.
But Dongfang Mingyue would surely consider such matters; so why expend so much time and effort?
With this thought, the answer was already on the verge of being revealed.
Long Xuefeng's emergence from seclusion this time would not be without purpose; it was highly probable that multiple Earth-tier powerhouses would be cultivated!
If he wasn't mistaken, Dongfang Mingyue already had quite a few Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, and they were provided by Ye Cangtian.
In this case, Long Xuefeng's emergence from seclusion was merely a pretense to conceal Dongfang Mingyue's possession of the Nine Revolutions Golden Pills.
With this realization, the old farmer understood everything.
A faint, calm smile appeared on his face. Needless to say, Dongfang Mingyue's actions were aimed at him.
"Heiyou, it seems that little girl Mingyue has been disobedient. She thinks she's grown wings and is now guarding against us..."
Hearing the old farmer's playful tone, a murderous glint flashed in Heiyou's eyes. He stood up and said, "Old Sir, since she's been disobedient, your subordinate is willing to serve and eliminate her!"
"No, your target is not her, but Ye Cangtian."
The old farmer slowly shook his head.
Dongfang Mingyue posed no significant threat at present.
Moreover, if anything were to happen to Dongfang Mingyue, the old fellow Dongfang Hongwu would likely return, which would be unfavorable to their situation.
In his opinion, the real threat now was Ye Cangtian.
It was evident that Dongfang Mingyue placed great trust in Ye Cangtian, and even he had to admit that Ye Cangtian's capabilities were exceptionally strong.
If he were to remain by Dongfang Mingyue's side, it would likely bring considerable trouble.
Furthermore, Ye Cangtian's continuous investigation into the case of Tang Qingshan and his wife from years ago was also a path that would inevitably lead to death.
Therefore, after much deliberation, the old farmer ultimately decided to eliminate Ye Cangtian.
"Your subordinate understands."
Upon hearing this, Heiyou immediately nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, the old farmer calmly said, "Remember to act cleanly and decisively. Also, if Long Xuefeng manages to train any experts, deal with them as well."
"Old Sir, rest assured, I will not disappoint you."
"However, your subordinate has a question. If Dongfang Mingyue interferes during the operation, how should your subordinate handle it?"
Heiyou responded and then asked.
Hmph!
As his voice fell, the old farmer snorted coldly. Such a question was truly foolish, as if everything he had just said had been in vain.
He glared at Heiyou and said sternly, "If she is disobedient, just teach her a lesson. In any case, spare her life. You decide the rest!"
"Yes, yes, your subordinate understands!"
Seeing that the old farmer was getting angry, Heiyou's body suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. After acknowledging, he quickly took his leave.
He then departed the bamboo house.
After Heiyou left, the old farmer gazed at the bamboo forest covering the mountain and said faintly, "Dongfang Hongwu, after all these years, where are you? What are you busy with? You don't think one or two youngsters can prop up the Hidden Group, do you..."
...
Dragon City.
Under Dongfang Mingyue's urgent mobilization, within just half a month, at least a hundred experts were gathered.
They were all the cream of the crop from various city branch offices, uniformly at the peak of Xuan-tier strength, with some even having one foot in the door to the Earth-tier realm.
However, for various reasons, they had never successfully broken through.
Dongfang Mingyue selected them for two reasons: firstly, their absolute loyalty, as they had contributed significantly to the Hidden Group in the past.
Secondly, their strength was closest to the Earth-tier, and their talent was decent. With the consumption of Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, their chances of breaking through to Earth-tier were high, thus preventing any waste.
Currently, all these individuals were brought to a secluded corner within Dragon City. This area was heavily guarded by Dongfang Mingyue's people and was kept quite private.
It served as the primary location for these individuals to cultivate and absorb the medicinal effects.
At this moment, Ye Cangtian was having tea with Elder Long in the room.
This was the first time Ye Cangtian had visited Elder Long in half a month.
Ever since Dongfang Mingyue had brought these people here, she had consumed the Enlightenment Pill and entered seclusion.
Before entering seclusion, she had temporarily handed over all affairs of the Hidden Group to Ye Cangtian.
This kept Ye Cangtian extremely busy, and he was now stealing a moment of leisure to relax and check on the situation here.
"Elder Long, how is the situation here?"
Elder Long picked up a cup of hot tea, blew on it, and slowly took a sip.
Only then did he look at Ye Cangtian and say with a smile, "It couldn't be better. Their conditions are very stable. The first batch of thirty people is expected to successfully advance in the next two days..."
Mentioning this, Elder Long couldn't help but look at Ye Cangtian with an admiring gaze.
As someone who had come from the Hidden Group, he naturally wished for the Hidden Group to be powerful.
The fact that Ye Cangtian had risked his life to obtain the pills and had given most of them to the Hidden Group to enhance its strength was truly moving due to his selflessness.
One must understand that this was not something an ordinary person could achieve.
After obtaining such treasures, most people would choose to establish their own forces.
In their view, only when their own power was consolidated would they have more say and could gradually break free from certain constraints.
Such things were not uncommon within the Hua Xia ruins.
Otherwise, the Hua Xia ruins would not have so many factions and families.
And the Hidden Group's strength would not have remained stagnant for decades.
Ye Cangtian's actions, however, had greatly enhanced the Hidden Group's strength, far exceeding its development over the past few decades.
"Elder Long, let's proceed as planned. Once this first batch of powerhouses comes out of seclusion, send them all to the entrance of the Hua Xia ruins. I am very busy and cannot attend to these matters, so I will have to trouble you."
Ye Cangtian said hurriedly.
He and Dongfang Mingyue had previously formulated a plan for these powerhouses, dividing them into three batches.
Firstly, the immediate crisis at the ruins entrance needed to be resolved.
Secondly, they would be dispatched to various cities for defense, effectively returning to their original positions.
The remaining last batch would stay in Dragon City to strengthen its defensive forces.
In this way, with experts stationed in various cities throughout the Hua Xia ruins, there would be no fear of petty troublemakers causing disturbances during this special period.
"Don't worry, leave it to me..."
Elder Long nodded with a smile. These were all trivial matters and not troublesome at all.
However, as soon as he spoke, a phoenix-like cry echoed, and then the door of a nearby room opened, revealing a white figure.
She was clad entirely in white, her skin crystal clear, as if emanating a faint halo.
This person was none other than Dongfang Mingyue, the controller of the Hidden Group.