Chapter 3736: Winning Through Wisdom

Countless experiences of posing as the enemy to slip into their camp have tempered his mental composure to the point that even a mountain collapsing before him wouldn't make him flinch.

Yes!

Jiang Yuanhang, his face excited, answered with a single "yes" and then returned to guard the Cave entrance.

The Elder was lecturing that useless son; looks like I guessed right—he's been playing dumb with me all along! That stinky kid, he kept me in the dark so painfully, all this effort for nothing.

Some nearby strong individuals rushed over to check the situation, but Jiang Yuanhang stopped them and sent them back.

When everyone heard that the Elder was instructing Jiang Lan, they found it odd but didn't dare force their way in and withdrew.

Inside the Cave, Ye Liuyun, seeing himself safe, decided to act without hesitation, siphoning all the spring water inside into the Space World.

This ice‑type cultivation resource can not only be used by everyone for body refinement, but also effectively aids Wu Qingcheng, Yu Er, Man Shu and Lei Ming in cultivating Ice Power.

Then Ye Liuyun tossed Jiang Lan straight into the dried‑up pool and swaggered out of the Cave. "Yuanhang, I think I've identified the mysterious person behind these events.

You stay here; I'll go out to verify. That kid is still cultivating; wake him up tomorrow morning, and don't disturb him in the meantime."

Ye Liuyun, mimicking the Elder's tone, instructed Jiang Yuanhang.

"Yes. But would it be dangerous for the Elder to go alone? Should I have Jiang Tao and others accompany you?" Jiang Yuanhang asked anxiously.

"No need. You all stay on guard; I can go alone. In this northern dynasty, there are hardly any who can harm me!" Ye Liuyun said with full confidence, stepping away slowly as if on a casual stroll.

Having those unlucky bastards follow me would only bring me bad luck.

Jiang Yuanhang dared not ask, and could only watch the Elder's departure in silence.

"What has the Elder discovered? Why is he moving so slowly? He must be pondering as he walks!" he guessed wildly in his mind.

In fact, Ye Liuyun dared not reveal his aura, fearing others would see his cultivation level was mismatched. The Jiang family Elder is at the fifth layer of the Cave Heaven Realm, and Ye Liuyun cannot mimic that strongman's sky‑riding speed.

Midway, Ye Liuyun encountered other patrolling and guarding Martial Cultivators, and he fooled them using the same method.

After moving farther away, he finally exhaled, released the Clone Puppet, and handed it the Jiang family Elder's Storage Ring.

Ye Liuyun instructed him: "First go to the second house; once you've dealt enough, rush straight to the third target!"

With that said, the two simultaneously altered their appearances: the Clone Puppet took on the Jiang family Elder's looks, while Ye Liuyun transformed into an ordinary Martial Cultivator and headed for the third target.

The "second house" Ye Liuyun mentioned is the Marquis of Military Might's residence, located on a slightly distant Xingqiu. The Marquis has consolidated the major local forces; not only are the Martial Cultivators strong and numerous, but he also commands a hundred‑thousand troops.

Although the Marquis acknowledges Wang Wenli's status as Heavenly King, he never submits to his authority. The Clone Puppet masquerading as the Jiang family Elder can stir up a clash, giving the two families' strongmen a preliminary bout.

These forces either have a master seated as a pillar or wield military authority. A direct assault would inevitably cause heavy losses, and any setback would undermine the newly appointed Heavenly King's deterrence.

The optimal plan is to silently dismantle their strongmen and military power, then have Wang Wenli strike the final blow, both eliminating the opponents and bolstering Wang Wenli's prestige.

After the Clone Puppet departed, Ye Liuyun used a Teleportation Array to rush to Tiantong Mountain on another Xingqiu. A bandit gang of over ten thousand has long entrenched there. The terrain is easy to defend and hard to attack, and sending a large army would incur massive casualties.

They are also especially skilled in Formation. Whenever the dynasty attempts to eradicate them, they retreat into the mountain stronghold. Once the army leaves, they emerge again to cause trouble.

The surrounding cities have in fact already fallen under their control; they have many eyes everywhere, making them hard to deal with.

Moreover, Tiantong Mountain's location is peculiar; its Xingqiu serves as the northern gateway to the outside realms.

As a portal, their presence would block the connection to the outside.

According to information gathered by Wang Wenli, the leader of the Tiantong bandit gang is a Demon Cultivator. He rarely shows himself and moves unpredictably; to root them out, one must first locate the gang leader.

Wang Wenli also dispatched many Mercenaries to infiltrate around Tiantong Mountain for reconnaissance. After Ye Liuyun arrived, he immediately eliminated a bandit and then assumed his appearance.

He then changed his appearance several more times, finally killing a minor leader of the bandit gang and using that visage to infiltrate Tiantong Mountain.

Before entering the mountain, he left Hei Hu, Bà Tiān and Shadow outside to cover him, and also to study how to break the Formation from outside.

Tiantong Mountain hosts numerous Formations; the bandits each have their own activity zones, and no one may wander freely. Many areas are concealed by Formations, preventing him from gathering information.

Moreover, he constantly felt as if being watched, so after entering the bandits' lair, he refrained from acting and simply lay low.

It was then he learned the entire bandit gang numbered over twenty thousand, with only half on the mountain; the other ten‑plus thousand had long blended into the surrounding cities, lurking under various identities.

The complete roster of the bandits' covert personnel is in the hands of Deputy Leader Han Tong.

Ye Liuyun also used his Golden Pupil to locate one of their Treasure Vaults. However, the resources inside were of low quality, mostly ordinary daily goods. He surmised the bandits must have another hidden cache.

Another odd phenomenon: every day, someone herds twenty‑to‑thirty Martial Cultivators of the Taixu realm to the back mountain, and they never return. As for what lies in the back mountain, Ye Liuyun cannot investigate.

He lay low on the mountain for several days, still unable to locate their leader; all matters were being handled by Deputy Leader Han Tong.

"We need to devise a way to lure them out."

Ye Liuyun thought it over; ordinary minor tricks wouldn't draw out their leader, so he needed to cause a big commotion. Thus he began quietly poisoning the bandits on the mountain.

With his current poisoning technique, he need not approach the target; the toxin spreads outward, affecting an entire area at once.

Soon, a large number of bandits on the mountain died from the poison, and the effect spread rapidly. Within half a day, twenty percent of the mountain's bandits had been incapacitated.

Initially, the poisoned bandits were low‑rank, but as more strong individuals arrived to investigate, even the gang's strongmen showed signs of poisoning, and even a Protector Elder of the gang was poisoned.

In an instant, the entire bandit gang was thrown into panic. Everyone constantly monitored their own condition, because the toxin is extremely potent and highly contagious. There is no cure; once infected, death is certain.

At that moment, Han Tong suddenly led over a dozen strongmen of the Cave Heaven Realm, sprinting down the mountain. Recently the transcoding is severe, giving us more motivation, updating faster, please take a moment to exit reading mode. Thank you.