Chapter 264: The Longevity Demon Cult Reappears!

A defector like Zhu Jiuchuan, and he can cooperate with someone like Deputy City Lord Dan Yufeng?

What is he relying on?

Chen Mu was startled and quickly replied.

【Do you know the specific details?】

Buzz~

The bamboo slip flickered with flowing light.

【The details aren't clear, but it can be confirmed the cooperation didn't work out】

Interesting...

Zhu Jiuchuan wanted to negotiate cooperation with Dan Yufeng, and not only did it fail, he still got away unscathed.

Whatever Zhu Jiuchuan is holding in his hands is no simple matter!

Buzz~

The bamboo slip's flowing light flickered again.

【Zhu Jiuchuan's whereabouts are under investigation, please wait two days】

Seeing this, Chen Mu channeled his true Qi to reply 【No worries, no rush】

This kind of thing can't be rushed.

Knowing Zhu Jiuchuan is in the city is already a big gain.

……

The next day, the Heartlink bamboo slip in Chen Mu's arms trembled slightly, delivering a message from Su Donglai.

【Zhu Jiuchuan has made contact with Deputy City Lord Han Ming】

On the third day, the bamboo slip delivered another message.

【Zhu Jiuchuan has dealings with the Huang family, to which the late former Deputy City Lord Huang Hualong belonged】

A picture was gradually forming in Chen Mu's mind — this Zhu Jiuchuan was indeed cunning, making contact with multiple parties, waiting to see who would pay the highest price.

However, the news that came on the fourth day truly startled him.

【Zhu Jiuchuan has made contact with 'Hundred Herbs Pavilion'】

"Hundred Herbs Pavilion?"

Chen Mu's gaze sharpened.

He recalled the matter of the "sect rules" he had heard about before.

This "Hundred Herbs Pavilion" was no ordinary pill shop — behind it stood a hidden sect.

Zhu Jiuchuan had actually gotten in touch with them too?

It seemed the "thing" in this defector's hands had wider implications and greater value than expected, stirring up greed among all the factions both inside and outside Bai Yun City.

Chen Mu's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.

……

That night, the moon was bright and the stars sparse.

Chen Mu was meditating and regulating his breath in his inn room, tempering his true essence.

Suddenly, a faint yet fierce clashing of blades and the dull thuds of true Qi colliding came from afar, shattering the night's tranquility.

He swiftly ended his cultivation and rose, pushed open the window, and a faint whiff of blood carried by the night wind immediately pierced his nostrils.

"That direction..."

Chen Mu thought briefly, then decided to go investigate.

At once, he swiftly restrained his aura, slipped out the window like a phantom, darted between eaves and wall shadows, and sped toward the direction of the fighting.

Along the way, Chen Mu noticed he wasn't the only one roused — quite a few figures were also using their own methods, converging on the same spot from different directions.

All of them had impressive lightness skills, clearly wandering martial artists or agents of various factions drawn by this sudden slaughter.

Still several hundred meters away, Chen Mu stopped on a higher rooftop and strained his eyes to look.

At one glance, his heart stirred.

The core area where the fighting sounds came from was unmistakably the location of "Hundred Herbs Pavilion"!

He saw roughly forty-odd black-clad, masked men furiously attacking "Hundred Herbs Pavilion."

These men's cultivation was uniformly at the Innate Realm, and among them four had overwhelmingly powerful auras — unmistakably masters of the Earth Altar Realm!

Chen Mu activated the "Wolf Sniffing the Moon" skill and keenly caught from these men a thick, bone-deep smell of fish and sea breeze — clearly people who had been active at sea for years.

The two sides were fighting with extreme ferocity — sword Qi crisscrossed, blade light split the air, spear shadows coiled like dragons, constantly colliding and exploding.

Sturdy walls were easily smashed through, bluestone ground was torn apart, nearby buildings suffered even worse, collapsing and crumbling under the onslaught of violent shockwaves and air blasts.

However.

Strangely, in such a fierce battle, neither side let out any shouts or screams — even those whose arms were severed only let out a muffled grunt and kept fighting, their discipline chillingly strict.

Chen Mu gazed from afar, listening to the low murmurs of other hidden onlookers around him.

"Sea bandits! What nerve, daring to sneak into the city to commit violence!"

"How did Hundred Herbs Pavilion end up offending these desperadoes?"

"Strange, what are both sides fighting to the death over? Haven't heard a whisper of it."

"..."

Amid the murmuring, urgent and orderly footsteps came from afar — clearly the Bai Yun Guard was rushing over.

Among the sea bandits, a leader-like figure sensed the movement and growled low.

"Retreat!"

The moment the order was given, the surviving sea bandits lingered no longer, peeling off from the fight like a tide, nimbly vaulting over walls and vanishing into the shadows of the labyrinthine alleys.

The "Hundred Herbs Pavilion" side did not pursue, but Chen Mu keenly sensed that the two Earth Altar realm auras originally hidden within the pavilion had quietly moved, slipping into a corner of the rear courtyard, seemingly diving underground and vanishing.

Immediately after.

The Shopkeeper Wang of "Hundred Herbs Pavilion" rushed out from the damaged main gate, his face bearing panic and grief, meeting the arriving Bai Yun Guard squad and began pouring out his grievances with snot and tears, claiming he had been attacked without cause, suffered heavy losses, and requesting the City Lord's Manor to investigate thoroughly, and so on.

Chen Mu listened from afar for a moment, then silently approached "Hundred Herbs Pavilion."

【Corpse discovered. Pick up?】

"Yes!"

【Corpse discovered. Pick up?】

"Yes!"

……

Circling around "Hundred Herbs Pavilion" once, he picked up the cards.

Chen Mu did not linger, turned and quietly left.

……

Early the next morning, the linked bamboo slip in Chen Mu's arms trembled again.

Su Donglai sent the latest news.

【The situation has changed. Zhu Jiuchuan was originally set to trade with the Huang family, but after last night's attack on Hundred Herbs Pavilion, he switched back to making deeper contact with Hundred Herbs Pavilion】

Deeper contact with "Hundred Herbs Pavilion"?

Chen Mu's brows rose, true Qi surged, and he inquired through the bamboo slip.

【Do you know which force is behind Hundred Herbs Pavilion?】

After waiting a moment, the bamboo slip transmitted a reply—only four brief characters, yet they made Chen Mu's gaze suddenly sharpen.

【Longevity Mo Sect】

Zhu Jiuchuan actually dares trade with such evil, unorthodox beings—he truly deserves death!

Suppressing the killing intent and pounding heart, he immediately pressed further through the bamboo slip.

【What exactly does Zhu Jiuchuan hold in his hands?】

The flowing light on the bamboo slip stirred slightly, replying with two characters: 【Wait】

This one wait lasted an entire day.

Chen Mu sat quietly in his room, his aura settled and condensed, yet his mind ceaselessly deduced various possibilities.

Something that could interest the Longevity Mo Sect, the Huang family, and the Vice City Lord of Bai Yun City was certainly no ordinary item.

The next morning at dawn, the bamboo slip finally transmitted news again.

Even though Chen Mu was mentally prepared, upon clearly reading the contents, he still felt a chill surge from his spine straight to the crown of his head.

【Zhu Jiuchuan has in his hands a list of secret agents from the Zhenwu Bureau's Southeast Circuit and Jiannan Circuit】

"Bastard!"

Chen Mu could not help cursing aloud, the aura around him surging.

The Southeast and Jiannan circuits—one bordered the great sea, the other was mountainous and watery, the situation complex. The Zhenwu Bureau had operated there for years, burying countless hidden stakes and secret agents, forming a vital foundation for monitoring the localities and suppressing the jianghu.

If this list were leaked, the secret agents within the two circuits would undoubtedly face an catastrophic disaster; the Zhenwu Bureau's efforts of years, even decades, would be destroyed in an instant, and the imperial court's control over the two circuits would be severely shaken.

Although Chen Mu was not so blindly loyal to the Zhenwu Bureau, he was, after all, currently eating from the Zhenwu Bureau's bowl.

He was extremely disgusted by Zhu Jiuchuan's behavior of biting the hand that fed him, betraying his own people.

Just as he was pondering, the bamboo slip held in his hand flickered with light again, transmitting Su Donglai's new information.

【Zhu Jiuchuan has made contact with the sea bandits who attacked Hundred Herbs Pavilion—the Flying Shark Island pirates】