"Excellent! Excellent! You have solved a major problem for me!"
Ye Cangtian's eyes shone with unparalleled brilliance. Once he knew the locations of these informants, eliminating them would be no difficult task.
After they were all eliminated, the Five Poisons Sect would be akin to a blind man, unaware of anything happening within Jilong City.
In the worst-case scenario, the Five Poisons Sect might still have some scattered informants along the road to Jilong City, but these would be far easier to detect than those within the city.
He could use his powerful perception to resolve these individuals first.
With this thought, Ye Cangtian looked at the other person and said, "Du Chuan, I have a mission for you. Cooperate with the people from the Imperial Dragon Villa and eradicate all these informants!"
After speaking, Ye Cangtian took Du Chuan back to his room.
He briefly introduced Du Chuan to Zuo Bai, and then the two of them left the room together.
Only after they had left did Yao Bao'er sidle up to Ye Cangtian.
She hesitated for a moment before quietly asking, "Boss, can this Du Chuan be trusted? Won't he stab us in the back?"
Yao Bao'er was still uneasy about Du Chuan's change of heart.
After all, Du Chuan's previous attitude had clearly indicated his firm allegiance to the Five Poisons Sect. His sudden turnabout made Yao Bao'er deeply suspicious.
*Bang!*
Hearing her words, Ye Cangtian unceremoniously rapped her on the head and said irritably, "Do you think your boss is that easily fooled?"
*Hiss!*
Yao Bao'er gasped in pain and then pouted, no longer bothering him.
In terms of judging people, she really didn't need to worry about Ye Cangtian.
After this minor interlude, Ye Cangtian and the others waited quietly in the room.
It wasn't until the sun set and night fell that Zuo Bai and Du Chuan returned.
"Villa Master, we have not failed our mission. All informants of the Five Poisons Sect have been rooted out by us!"
Zuo Bai stepped forward, reporting excitedly.
This operation was a resounding success. With the full cooperation of the Hidden Group, the Imperial Dragon Villa achieved a perfect victory with zero casualties, completely eradicating the Five Poisons Sect's informants.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian's gaze was filled with approval.
He glanced at the two of them and said, "Very good. I didn't expect you to cooperate so seamlessly on your first joint operation. I'll note your contributions first, and we'll discuss rewards after we've destroyed the Five Poisons Sect!"
"Thank you, Villa Master!"
The two of them smiled at each other upon hearing this and quickly cupped their fists in a salute.
The next moment, Zuo Bai stepped forward and asked, "Villa Master, now that the informants are dealt with, when do we launch the main assault?"
They had been in Jilong City for some time with no significant action. Zuo Bai's men were all eager to fight and had long been anticipating the day of the main assault.
Listening to Zuo Bai, Ye Cangtian slightly relaxed and asked, "Are you sure the brothers don't need any rest?"
"No need!"
Zuo Bai looked at Ye Cangtian resolutely and continued, "Operations like today's are mere skirmishes for the brothers. They don't need any recovery."
"Very good!"
Ye Cangtian smiled with satisfaction, then stood up and declared, "I command! All members of the Imperial Dragon Villa and the Hidden Group are to assemble! We depart for the East City Gate in one hour!"
"Yes!"
Zuo Bai and Du Chuan immediately responded and then left the room to make their preparations.
...
Deep within the rainforest, in a small mountain village, stood a magnificent palace.
From the outside, the palace exuded an ancient aura, suggesting it was a remnant of ancient times.
As for who built it during the ancient era or who resided there, that remained unknown. Nevertheless, it had now become the headquarters of the Five Poisons Sect.
Within the grand hall, the Sect Master sat in the main seat, his gaze somewhat unfocused as his mind wandered.
With the Imperial Dragon Villa launching a forceful assault, he truly did not understand their intentions or what gave them such audacity!
After all, not long ago, the Imperial Dragon Villa had been cooperating with the Five Poisons Sect.
If not for the sudden emergence of a 'God of Death,' the Imperial Dragon Villa would likely have already become the possession of the Five Poisons Sect!
Even though the attempt to annex the Imperial Dragon Villa had ultimately failed, the Sect Master was aware of the situation within the Villa.
In his opinion, the Imperial Dragon Villa was nothing more than a paper tiger, no longer possessing the strength of a peak force among the five great powers.
While the Imperial Dragon Villa's overall combat strength was indeed stronger than the Five Poisons Sect, one must not forget that the Five Poisons Sect excelled at using poisons.
When combined with their poisonous concoctions, the Imperial Dragon Villa stood no chance of victory.
Therefore, he was perplexed as to why the 'God of Death' would send those soldiers to their deaths!
Could it be that relying on the 'God of Death,' a single Heavenly-tier expert, could annihilate the Five Poisons Sect's headquarters? How could that be possible!
*Tap, tap, tap...*
At that moment, a sound of hurried footsteps echoed.
The Sect Master snapped back to attention, his gaze fixed on the entrance of the hall. The next moment, he saw a familiar figure.
It was none other than Du Xin.
"Du Xin, why are you in such a sorry state?"
Seeing Du Xin's appearance, the Sect Master immediately inquired, his expression turning grim.
He had sent Du Xin to investigate Du Chuan. Now that the latter had returned in such a disheveled state, had something happened to Du Chuan?
"Sect Master, Du Chuan has very likely betrayed us!"
"The squad I took with me was annihilated by the people from the Imperial Dragon Villa, and the Imperial Dragon Villa only sent a little over a dozen Earth-tier experts this time..."
On the other side, hearing the Sect Master's question, Du Xin quickly recounted what had transpired in Jilong City.
This included the scale of the Imperial Dragon Villa's contingent, the two rewards bestowed upon Du Chuan by the 'God of Death,' and the conversation between the 'God of Death' and Du Chuan, among other details.
In essence, anything Du Xin knew, he revealed without omission.
"Damn it, it seems Du Chuan has indeed betrayed us!"
Upon hearing this news, the Sect Master's eyes darted around, and he then spoke ferociously.
It was evident that if Du Chuan had not provided significant assistance when eliminating the Five Poisons Sect's squad, the 'God of Death' would not have been so generous with him!
Moreover, whether it was the Nine Heavens Life Continuation Pill, the Enlightenment Pill, or that long sword, none of them were ordinary treasures, and they would certainly not be given to someone untrustworthy!
With this thought, he spoke again, "Du Xin, take your men immediately and bring Du Chuan back. I will let him know the consequences of betraying the Five Poisons Sect!"
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Du Xin quickly responded but did not leave.
He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Sect Master, I have some concerns. Du Chuan has deep ties with our Five Poisons Sect. He knows our informants in Jilong City. What if..."
"There are no 'what ifs'!"
The Sect Master looked coldly at Du Xin and stated, "Didn't you say the Imperial Dragon Villa only sent a dozen or so people? Even with the 'God of Death' included, they couldn't have possibly eradicated all my informants in such a short time!"
He paused and then added, "Therefore, your second mission this time is to redeploy these informants and minimize any losses."
"I understand. Please await my good news, Sect Master!"
Du Xin responded, then cupped his hands and retreated from the hall.
...
On a forest path within the rainforest.
Ye Cangtian, accompanied by Yao Bao'er and Hei Cheng, slowly made their way towards the headquarters of the Five Poisons Sect.
Zuo Bai and Xue Qi, along with others, fanned out on either side of the trio, advancing in a fan formation. Their purpose was to clear any Five Poisons Sect informants encountered along the way.
Approximately half a kilometer behind these individuals was the main contingent of the Imperial Dragon Villa.
"Ahead lies the Five Poisons Village of the Five Poisons Sect."
After walking for an unknown duration, a village came into view, appearing to house at least several thousand households.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed, and he asked, "Are all the people in the village members of the Five Poisons Sect?"
"No!"
Hei Cheng shook his head and replied, "The village is mostly populated by ordinary villagers. Their daily work consists of farming and animal husbandry, and they also refine some poisons for the Five Poisons Sect..."
Hei Cheng explained that refining poisons was a tedious task.
Therefore, the Five Poisons Sect entrusted some of the basic work to these ordinary villagers to reduce their own workload.
*Phew!*
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian breathed a sigh of relief.
This was good. These villagers were only involved in simple tasks and did not deserve death. He did not have to resort to extreme measures of slaughter.
With this thought, he looked at Hei Cheng and asked again, "In which direction is the Five Poisons Sect's barracks located relative to the village?"
Hei Cheng quickly replied, "The Five Poisons Sect has two barracks, located to the south and north of the village. Additionally, there are some strong individuals within the headquarters..."