Chapter 80

The Prince of Southwest is the sixth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, in his thirties. Although he is not very capable, he has a good understanding of himself. He knows that the title of Prince of Southwest sounds good, but in reality, he has little power.

He does not manage civil affairs himself, and he is even less capable of managing military affairs. He is merely a symbol of the Ming court in the southwest. Therefore, he consults with Jin Jiuling about everything.

Jin Jiuling is the strongest person in the southwest, openly representing the Ming court. He manages the affairs of the Southwest Prince's palace and the city of Jingzhou.

The Prince of Southwest trusts Jin Jiuling greatly because he knows that they rely on each other. The Prince relies on Jin Jiuling's military strength, while Jin Jiuling relies on the Prince's status to help him accelerate his cultivation and enjoy material comforts.

Jin Jiuling is a person who loves to indulge in luxury. In his life, he wants the best of everything. As a result, even the money he earns from his position and status is far from enough to cover his expenses, let alone the costs of his cultivation.

He cares deeply about his cultivation because he knows that the stronger he is, the more he can enjoy.

So, in this situation, he betrayed the Prince of Southwest and became the Embroidery Thief. However, it cannot be said that he betrayed the Prince, because he was already the Embroidery Thief before he started working with the Prince.

He only becomes the Embroidery Thief when he is short of money. Recently, he has also felt something is amiss. The number of experts in Jingzhou City has inexplicably increased, and it seems that the leaders of the eight major forces have all come to Jingzhou City. In such a situation, no matter how bold he is, he dares not act as the Embroidery Thief.

Now, he is discussing this matter with the Prince of Southwest.

"Manager Jin, do you think we should report this to the court?" the Prince of Southwest said with a worried look.

"Your Highness, the court is likely too far away to help! Moreover, the appearance of the eight major forces does not seem to be a threat to us. As long as the court does not confront the eight major forces, they will not unite against us. Therefore, I do not recommend reporting to the court," Jin Jiuling said after some thought.

From his position, he absolutely does not want the court to intervene at this time. He is happy enough that the eight major forces are not targeting the Southwest Prince's palace. Why would he want to get involved?

"Hmm." The Prince of Southwest nodded, finding it reasonable. He does not want to cause trouble. As long as the eight major forces do not target him, he does not care what they are up to.

"In that case, we will have to trouble you, Manager Jin!" the Prince of Southwest said politely to Jin Jiuling.

"Your Highness, rest assured. This is my duty," Jin Jiuling replied equally politely.

"Ah! What a troublesome time! The matter of the Embroidery Thief is not yet resolved, and now the eight major forces are causing trouble again," the Prince of Southwest sighed, frowning.

Jin Jiuling remained silent, his thoughts unknown.

At the base of the Sun Moon Sect, Gu Santong returned and immediately began discussing with Yan Shisan and others. In the end, they decided on one word: delay.

They would delay until after the two-month period. By then, it would be much simpler. Once the Liancheng Treasure truly appears, who would care about them?

At the same time, they meticulously reported the situation to Hei Mu Cliff, waiting for Dongfang Bubai to emerge from seclusion and quickly understand the situation before coming to their aid.

Afterward, they became even busier. Since the other seven major forces were so actively searching for the Liancheng Decree, they could not afford to be idle.

Time passed, and another half month went by. On the surface, Jingzhou City remained calm, but beneath the surface, the entire region of Jingzhou was in turmoil. The eight major forces were frantically searching for something, and the commotion was growing.

Especially Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang, who moved together, attracting the curiosity of many. The entire southwest region became increasingly lively.

Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang walked out of the Sun Moon Sect's base, their faces grave. They exchanged a glance and saw the same answer in each other's eyes.

"What should we do?" Lu Xiaofeng asked, seemingly both to Chu Liuxiang and to himself.

"No evidence!" Chu Liuxiang touched his nose and smiled helplessly.

"Probably there is no evidence left anywhere else!" Lu Xiaofeng looked back at the Sun Moon Sect's base.

"Shall we try?" Chu Liuxiang suggested.

"It won't be that easy. Since there is no evidence, let's wait!" Lu Xiaofeng suddenly smiled.

"You mean to lure them out!" Chu Liuxiang also smiled.

The two smiled at each other, their mutual respect growing.

"Let's do both!" Chu Liuxiang said firmly.

"Agreed," Lu Xiaofeng nodded.

They then visited the other seven major forces together.

At the Sun Moon Sect's base, Gu Santong and others sat solemnly, their moods clearly not good.

"Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang have visited us three times in the past few days. Do they...?" Ren Woxing said with a dark look.

"They probably know it's us, but they have no evidence," Gu Santong said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"We left no clues. How did they find out?" Zhang Chengfeng frowned.

"Under various circumstances, we are the least likely, but also the most likely. Once Lu Xiaofeng and the others rule out the other seven major forces, only we remain. I didn't expect them to investigate so quickly," Gu Santong said gravely.

"Will they tell the other seven major forces?" Zhang Chengfeng asked worriedly.

"Given their character, they won't tell the seven major forces without evidence. Moreover, this is all speculation. The seven old foxes won't easily believe them," Gu Santong said, still with his eyes closed, a confident smile on his lips.

"What should we do now? We can't just keep waiting!" Ren Woxing said.

"Advance the plan," Gu Santong suddenly opened his eyes and said firmly.

"Advance the plan?" Everyone exclaimed, their faces changing.

"Advancing the plan might exceed our control!" Ren Woxing frowned.

"Only by creating chaos can we continue to delay. Otherwise, if Lu Xiaofeng and the others find evidence, none of us will be able to leave Jingzhou City," Gu Santong continued firmly.

"These two are a nuisance!" Zhang Chengfeng said angrily.

Everyone's faces darkened, then they all looked at the cold Yan Shisan.

Yan Shisan nodded coldly under everyone's gaze, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Since Gu Santong and Yan Shisan agreed to advance the plan, they no longer needed to think about it.

"Qichangfa can't be left alive. He is our biggest weakness and cannot be found by Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang," Ren Woxing said cruelly.

"Agreed," everyone nodded. Initially, they kept Qichangfa to use him later to delay time and spread the location of the treasure to make things more plausible. Now, he is just a liability.

"I'll take care of him," Zhang Chengfeng stood up and looked at Gu and Yan.

Gu Santong nodded expressionlessly, agreeing.

Zhang Chengfeng left immediately.

Afterward, everyone went to make arrangements. Since the plan was advanced, they would be even busier.

That night, the Sun Moon Sect's base suddenly became noisy.

The noise came and went quickly, and in the end, only Gu Santong, Yan Shisan, and a few others gathered again with grim faces.

"It was Chu Liuxiang! No one in Jingzhou City has such good lightness skills," Ren Woxing said angrily.

Everyone nodded in agreement, their faces grim. They were also relieved that Chu Liuxiang was clearly looking for evidence. More importantly, he was discovered by Gu Santong and Yan Shisan after being there for a while. Fortunately, they had already killed Qichangfa, or it would have been a real problem.

"Everyone, be more careful. For the next actions, I and Pavilion Master Yan will lead personally. At other times, do not go out unless you are with me or Pavilion Master Yan," Gu Santong said firmly.

Everyone nodded, understanding that Gu Santong was worried that Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang might take drastic actions and kidnap one of them to force out the evidence.

At the base of the Ten Thousand Plum Blossom Manor, Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang had been staying there for the past few days.

"How did it go?" Lu Xiaofeng asked Chu Liuxiang, who had just returned.

Chu Liuxiang shook his head solemnly, took out a fan, and gently fanned himself. "I searched a large part of the area, but found nothing. Then I was discovered by Gu Santong and Yan Shisan."

"It seems we can only implement the second plan!" Lu Xiaofeng said without much disappointment.

"Yes, this is the safest plan. Maybe it's not the Sun Moon Sect after all?" Chu Liuxiang continued to fan himself, his brow furrowed.

"Ah! Tomorrow we have to deal with those old foxes again. It's going to be tough!" Lu Xiaofeng suddenly complained with a bitter smile.

"Ha ha!" Chu Liuxiang also shook his head and laughed helplessly.

The next day, a piece of news suddenly appeared in Jingzhou City, stating that the location of the Liancheng Treasure had been discovered, and it was in Jingzhou City. The leaders of the eight major forces had all come to Jingzhou City to search for the Liancheng Treasure.

Once this news appeared, it quickly spread throughout Jingzhou City and then rapidly to the entire southwest region.

Wherever the news spread, all the forces were in a frenzy. Considering the recent activities of the eight major forces in Jingzhou City and the unusual actions of Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang, everyone immediately believed the news.

Many forces were rushing to Jingzhou City, including minor, third-rate, second-rate, and even first-rate forces with grandmaster-level experts, as well as countless independent cultivators, all harboring hopes and enthusiasm, heading to Jingzhou City.

Of course, this was a few days later. On the day the news appeared in Jingzhou City, the eight major forces gathered again.

...

(Chapter 2, to be continued.)