Chapter 651: Intelligence from the Yulai Pavilion

He appeared to be a middle-aged man of around forty, with graying temples, and carried on his person the pair of black-and-white long swords once used by True Person Minghua, Xie Shouzhuo of the Kongshan Sect back in the day.

Moreover, he always wore a look of profound grievance and bitterness.

The Training Grounds Elder of Qingchan Peak at the Kongshan Sect, Li Haowen.

The same "Li Godslayer" who was perpetually called "Li Dog" and "Li Dog" by the world at large.

It was only natural that Steward Zhang could recognize this harbinger of doom.

Although the Yulai Pavilion was merely a first-rate cultivation sect on the Chenping Continent, it possessed the most intricate intelligence network on the entire continent.

Perhaps the Yulai Pavilion's efficiency in gathering intelligence was far inferior to that of the Five Great Sects.

But its advantage in intelligence lay in the fact that the coverage of its network was far more extensive, and its sources were more numerous.

As a Passable God Realm steward of the Yulai Pavilion, Zhang Tao's command of resources and intelligence was naturally not to be underestimated.

Li Haowen was clearly well aware of this as well.

The reason he had exposed the Yuanji Sword and Xiaohua Sword at his waist was precisely to let this Steward Zhang before him know his identity.

A Guardian of the Dao on Du Cang Mountain, an elder of the Kongshan Sect, had personally graced this place with his presence to inquire about intelligence related to Du Cang Mountain.

Zhang Tao had absolutely no right to refuse.

Moreover, after Li Haowen revealed the two swords at his waist, this steward of the Yulai Pavilion harbored no suspicion whatsoever toward the middle-aged man in light-gray daoist robes before him.

Because the possibility that the Li Haowen before him was someone impersonating him was simply too small.

To find a middle-aged man with a face of profound grievance, who was also a Passable God Realm cultivator, and who happened to carry two spiritual swords that could be recognized at a glance as extremely precious...

For those cultivators with ulterior motives, the cost of impersonating Li Haowen was simply too high.

And those factions capable of impersonating Li Haowen had no need to go through such elaborate lengths to do so in the first place.

After recognizing Li Haowen's identity, a flicker of panic passed through this Yulai Pavilion steward's eyes.

Because this steward was well aware that Li Haowen would absolutely not harbor any favorable impression of the Yulai Pavilion.

After all, the fact that Li Haowen was now so infamous across the Chenping Continent definitely owed some credit to the Yulai Pavilion.

Could it be that he had come to demand an explanation?

With so many branches of the Yulai Pavilion on the Chenping Continent, why had he come to him specifically?

In just the span of a breath, countless thoughts raced through Steward Zhang's mind.

But since the other party had already revealed his identity, he could no longer continue playing dumb.

Thus, Steward Zhang hurriedly made a respectful bow in Li Haowen's direction:

"Zhang Tao of the Yulai Pavilion, greetings to Elder Li!"

"Go on then, after Liang Qianbo's death, what has been happening recently over at Du Cang Mountain and Wind Ravine Valley?"

Li Haowen ignored the slightly stout, gray-haired steward of the Yulai Pavilion bowing to him in salute.

He simply continued pressing the other man with his questions.

"Very well, I ask that Elder Li kindly wait a moment."

With that, Steward Zhang trotted over to the bookshelf behind the desk in the room.

Two walls in this room were completely covered by bookshelves, upon which rested at least ten thousand scrolls, arranged and sorted according to a classification system known only to Steward Zhang.

He retrieved two scrolls from the shelf, came to the desk, and spread them out on the surface.

"The day before yesterday, word came from the Eastern Domain of the Chenping Continent that Wind Ravine Valley had already located the culprit who killed Liang Qianbo near Hongdong Mountain in the Eastern Domain."

Steward Zhang spoke up:

"It was done by an early-stage Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator from Danyang Sect, named Jiang Da, who has been on the path of cultivation for over five hundred years and has cultivated a total of more than three hundred strands of innate true energy."

No hope of breakthrough.

Upon hearing how long this Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator named Jiang Da had trodden the immortal path, and the number of innate true energy strands he had cultivated, Li Haowen quickly arrived at this conclusion.

Indeed, the path of immortality had always been about who ultimately walked further, not who walked faster.

But when your cultivation speed could not keep up with the rate at which your lifespan was draining away, that meant your journey on the immortal path had come to an end.

Then... Danyang Sect?

Li Haowen had heard of this cultivation sect before. It was somewhat well-known in the Eastern Domain of the Chenping Continent, but because it had no Upper Three Realms cultivators in its ranks, the Danyang Sect could not be considered a top-tier sect.

Yet among those first-rate cultivation sects, the Danyang Sect was undoubtedly ranked at the forefront.

However, Li Haowen had only ever heard of this cultivation sect in passing. After all, with the Danyang Sect's scale, it was not even qualified to enter the sight of an elder like him, one who came from one of the Five Great Sects.

He had heard that the Danyang Sect had several Myriad Transformations Realm cultivators stationed there, though exactly how many there were was something Li Haowen did not know.

But based on what he was hearing now, if the intelligence held by the Yulai Pavilion was accurate, this Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator named Jiang Da should be one of those several Myriad Transformations Realm cultivators of the Danyang Sect.

"The one who went to Hongdong Mountain to apprehend Jiang Da was a Unity Realm Grand Elder of Wind Ravine Valley, named Yu Yulong. When this Grand Elder of Wind Ravine Valley captured Jiang Da, Jiang Da had at one point considered taking his own life, but in the end, he was stopped by Yu Yulong."

Steward Zhang continued:

"After that, Jiang Da was brought back by Grand Elder Yu to Wind Ravine Valley. As for what happened after returning to Wind Ravine Valley, that far exceeds the capabilities of our Yulai Pavilion."

What happened in the secret prison of Wind Ravine Valley was indeed something the Yulai Pavilion could never know.

If the Yulai Pavilion's intelligence network could extend even into the secret prison of Wind Ravine Valley, then the Yulai Pavilion would either have become the sixth great sect of the Chenping Continent, or it would have been uprooted entirely by Wind Ravine Valley.

"So then, how much connection does this matter have with the Danyang Sect?"

Li Haowen continued to ask.

"That is unclear. The Danyang Sect has been very cooperative with all of Wind Ravine Valley's actions. At present, the Danyang Sect has been completely sealed off, and all affairs within the sect are being managed by Wind Ravine Valley on its behalf."

Steward Zhang answered.

After saying this, he opened another scroll, briefly skimmed through it first, then continued:

"As for the situation over at Du Cang Mountain, the biggest thing that happened recently is that another of the 'Three Heroes of Spirit Connection' on Du Cang Mountain, Bai Jinye of the Lingxiao Temple, was also attacked. He is now severely injured, but managed to keep his life."

Li Haowen's pupils sharply contracted.

Even Bai Jinye too?

If Liang Qianbo's ambush and death could be treated as an isolated incident and one could remain composed about it...

But now that Bai Jinye had also been attacked, these actions undoubtedly signified that someone on the Chenping Continent was currently provoking Du Cang Mountain.

Who on earth had such audacity?

Li Haowen could be certain that under the current circumstances, Du Cang Mountain would absolutely not let this matter rest.

Otherwise, what would become of the dignity of the sacred ground of cultivation?