After returning to the Ni Sect, Su Li had free time, so she cooked some delicacies for Hua Yan and others with the things she got in the Jiuli Region.
Although the memories of Yan Ziye, Dongfang Wuxue and others in the Reincarnation Mirror did not faded, they never thought that Su Li would be willing to cook for them after returning to the Qingshui Circle, and then…the delicacies were very delicious. After all, they did not have the luck in the Reincarnation Mirror.
Lv You and others, who didn’t know the origin of Su Li, were more surprised.
Su Li was happy when she saw the reaction of everyone.
It lasted for several days, and was finally disrupted by the person who came here.
There was the hall covered with grey tiles on the top of the mountain, and its gates on four sides opened. The breeze blew gentle, and it was very comfortable and pleasant.
The woman dressing makeup stepped into the hall cautiously. Looking at the casual and simple layout in the hall, she felt that she didn’t fit in here at all, and was also very surprised.
How could the master who was so overbearing and surly live in such a simple and elegant place?
“What are you thinking about?”
A familiar voice sounded in her ears. The woman dressing makeup shuddered, and immediately turned to look at the small door to the back hall. Su Li was walking to her with a smile.
Unlike the cool and malicious style of black robe in the past, Su Li dressed in pure white gauze and walked quietly, like a gentle fairy who was otherworldly.
The woman dressing makeup had already learned what a cruel face was hidden in the fragile appearance, and she immediately knelt down.
“Maid Mu Hong pays homage to the master!”
Su Li nodded gently and said, “In the future, you don’t have to call yourself maid. Since you came to find me, you must have learned something, right?”
Mu Hong only regarded it as a means of the new master to win popular support. So, she didn’t feel anything inside and quickly replied, “Master, I have been in the Wanli Sect for hundreds of years and only see the Grand Elder of the Sect once. After that, he has been practicing in isolation. If it’s not about the Sect’s survival, he will not come out. The Wanli Sect has never established an Elders’ School, and the real power lies in the deputy lords and the lord. I am the chief deputy lord. Therefore, as long as we control the lord, we can control the whole Wanli Sect.”
Su Li nodded and showed an appreciation look, “It’s rare for you to be honest after rising to this position.”
With her eyes flashing, Mu Hong lowered her head and said, “Master, in fact, you are a mighty person. In the cutthroat cultivation circle, the strong usually dominate over the weak. Although I am rebellious, I respect the mighty person very much. You are more powerful than the Grand Elder of the Wanli Sect. Why don’t I attach to you?”
“Ho-ho…”
Su Li chuckled and said meaningfully, “I hope you are telling the truth.”
Mu Hong was panicked. She raised her head and said, “I come here to show my fealty to you, and also bring the commitment. Although the twelve of us are all pawns of the Immortal Cultivation Sect, we have long gone on our own ways. I have planted many informers in sects of other twelve people and heard that Nie Mingzhe seems to defect from you. It is unclear whether he has exposed your existence. This matter is critical and needs careful handling!”
“Is it true?”
Su Li still smiled, “I will order someone to deal with this matter. You just stay here for a while, and I will order someone to exchange information with you.”
After that, Su Li waved her hand and left, “I get a dish on the stove, and I need to see it in case it burns.”
The new master didn’t seem to care about what she said, and Mu Hong’s heart sank. She began to wonder if she took a step in the right direction.
“It’s no wonder that anyone who controls the twelve sects will be proud and treat any sect like dirt. However, the strength of the twenty-five sects is unevenly distributed. If the Yuxu Sect knew it in advance and cooperated with Nie Mingzhe…”
Mu Hong was frustrated. Soon, strange footsteps sounded, and Yan Ziye walked over with a cold expression. A familiar oppression rushed over Mu Hong’s face and surprised her. But she also got a faint hope in her heart.
He was not a normal person!
“Belch—”
A harsh burp broke the silence, and Mu Hong stiffened immediately.
Yan Ziye showed an embarrassed expression in his eyes.
“Damn it, Master, your dish is so delicious, and I ate a little more…”
Lv You, who was looking at him secretly, almost laughed out.
A little more? If it weren’t for you, Master would not make another pot of dish!
“Ahem…”
With a cough, Yan Ziye concealed his embarrassment forcibly, and said coldly, “Follow me.”
Mu Hong followed Yan Ziye to arrive at a side hall. The decoration of it was extremely simple. Around the wall were shelves, on which a large number of jade slips were piled up and encircled by the Isolation Tactic Matrix. In the center, there was a set of wooden tables and chairs.
“Sit down.”
As Soon as she sat down, Mu Hong was about to emphasize the importance of Nie Mingzhe’s matter. But Yan Ziye waved his hand and said, “Stay calm. I have heard it from the Master. It’s not urgent. Recently, the lord of the Liyang Sect has gone out and not returned. If you are right, Nie Mingzhe will definitely contact the Grand Elder of the Sect. I can figure it out by asking Dong Minglan.”
Mu Hong was startled. Dong Minglan? Was he the Grand Elder of Liyang Sect?
Ask him directly?!
Before she asked any questions, a crystal and unique carrier rune popped out. Then it melted into the void and disappeared. After a short time… another same carrier rune was transmitted back. A familiar voice sounded through the carrier rune. The dignified voice of the female practitioner in Mu Hong’s memory was gentle now.
“Deputy Lord Yan, it is true. Nie Mingzhe has been controlled by me. I will never let him influence Master’s plan. So, how to deal with Nie Mingzhe?”
Hearing that, Mu Hong finally realized that, no wonder the new master was not anxious about it. It turned out that the Liyang Sect had been infiltrated long ago.
“Dong Minglan is the master’s subordinate, and then Liyang Sect…”
Mu Hong remembered what Su Li had said before and couldn’t help asking, “Didn’t the master say that she only controlled eleven sects?”
Yan Ziye raised his eyebrows, just like Su Li, “It is only eleven sects that are completely controlled by Master. But she never says we only infiltrates eleven sects.”
Mu Hong was shocked by the huge amount of information, and almost couldn’t breathe. Her pupils constricted, and then she asked tentatively, “So, the lord of my Wanli Sect…”
Yan Ziye smiled, “He has not worked for us yet. Except for you, there are only a few terrible deputy lords who submitted to us.”
Only…
Mu Hong was frightened. Could she believe him?
She originally thought she had seen everything about the new master. But after coming here today, she realized that what she saw was only the tip of the iceberg.
“It’s really ridiculous that I still faltered before.”
Mu Hong thought with fear. If she swayed, she would not end well just like Nie Mingzhe.
“Relax.”
Yan Ziye smiled and began to comfort Mu Hong expertly, “Master is not as terrible as you think. Although you are controlled by Master, you still retain your mind. You are lucky. As long as you don’t betray us, there will be many benefits in the future. You will know that later.”
Mu Hong managed to force a smile and nodded, while her pale face still demonstrated her inner anxiety.
Yan Ziye was not in a hurry. He had run into this all the time in these years and already been experienced in comforting others. So, he asked Mu Hong to go back firstly and look for opportunities to trick the lord out. When the Wanli Sect fell into them, Mu Hong couldn’t affect the big picture.
Thinking of this, Yan Ziye beckoned, and a register flew out of the shelf, which was covered with a mass of names.
Yan Ziye turned to the last page and wrote with a writing brush.
“Mu Hong, Huashen Realm. Although she has mettle, the state of mind is relatively bad. She can barely be rated as the third class, and whether she will be cultivated in the future or not remains to be seen.”
He drew three red circles and threw the writing brush. Then he stood up and touched his stomach, muttering, “Working really consumes energy. Well, I need to scrounge a bowl of rice from Master, just one bowl…”
After Mu Hong went back, she did her best to deceive the lord of the Wanli Sect out. With the cooperation of both sides, Su Li controlled the Sect without much trouble. Especially, the lord of the Wanli Sect was a tough one and didn’t give in. Su Li could only make him become a member of Soul Tactics.
Seeing this, Mu Hong was more frightened. The original thought in her mind had long been thrown to the wind.
The remaining ten people followed the example, Mu Hong. They tried hard to deceive their own rulers as fast as they could and were afraid of falling behind.
As for Nie Mingzhe, he had been put where he belonged to by Dong Minglan.
“Deputy Lord Nie has not returned since he left. Now his soul tablet has gotten broken. I am afraid that he suffered misfortune. During a period of trouble in the Jiuzhou Region, don’t spread this matter in case anything goes wrong.”
Dong Minglan said cautiously and all elders of the Sect nodded. The lord sighed in his heart, but agreed on the surface, “Minglan is right. The Jiuli Region is undergoing a rocky patch, so we should integrate the forces of the Sect in case of a sudden war.”
Upon hearing this, Dong Minglan squinted and said while nodding, “Lord is foresighted, and we will obey you!”
The two leaders of the Sect all agreed with each other. Other elders naturally did not dare to raise objections, and all agreed on it.
“Your Excellency, it doesn’t matter if you can’t understand me now. I definitely chose a right way. From now on, you and I are in the same boat. I look forward to working with you.”
The woman next to him transmitted sound to him. The lord closed his eyes and fell silent.
After that, Su Li attacked for twelve times in just eight months, completely eliminating the remaining entrenched forces and unifying the twenty-three sects in the Jiuzhou Region!
Then Mu Hong finally knew that nineteen sects had been infiltrated by the new master before. Even if they didn’t appear, the new master would unify those sects, only to spend a little more time.
“Look, Yan, I thought it would take me ten years to get there. Actually, it’s only three years.”
Su Li sat by the lake of the back mountain and smiled.
Hua Yan was fiddling with the spiritual plant in her hand, while smiling helplessly. She didn’t say anything, because she was afraid that Su Li would be very cocky with her praise.
However, Hua Yan’s eyes still filled with an unconcealable amazement. Her friend Su Li always did what nobody else couldn’t imagine.
“Next, when will we take actions?”
Su Li stopped smiling, and said with a careless look, “We are not in a hurry. Next, I’m going to practice in isolation, but it won’t be long.”
Hua Yan was stunned, and then smiled brightly. Her gentle tone of the day rarely revealed the air of killing.
“The day you stop practice is the day we attack!”