Chapter 757

Dong Shouzi pinched the jade slip in his hand, a flash of wild joy in his eyes: "Good! Good! Good!" He sprang to his feet, "Yan Buji has been captured!"

"How could he suddenly be captured?"

Zhang Wang stood nearby and said confidently, "Our scouts hidden in the Great Sinful Sect's mining zone reported that the Great Sinful Sect's mine has unexpectedly uncovered a huge quantity of Precious Light Ore, and they even joined forces, locating Elder Yuan Zhen at his joint Dao period and together pocketed a lot! When the Great Sinful Sect learned of this, Yuan Zhen, to protect himself, naturally painted Yan Buji and his group as the chief culprits!"

"So that's it!"

"Then, in that case, we don't need to act against the Great Sinful Sect's mining area, right?"

"Yeah, truly provoking the Great Sinful Sect brings us no benefit."

After all, the people around still feared the Great Sinful Sect a bit; aside from that, that Blood Dao Patriarch—what kind of person is he?

The Grand Commerce Guild isn't at total war with the Great Sinful Sect, so why make such a big scene?

Dong Shouzi's expression turned cold: "Your words sound nice, but do you really think that when we previously seized the Youming Jie market, the Great Sinful Sect couldn't trace who did it?"

"This… this is just normal commercial competition; it's not a back‑and‑forth slaughter, just a competitive relationship."

"Yes, Administrator Dong, our Grand Commerce Guild is in business; no matter how the Great Sinful Sect acts, they previously snatched business from others. Now it's their turn—could they really dare to fight us?"

Dong Shouzi hummed, "Sounds nice, but have you thought, if the Great Sinful Sect dumps all their Precious Light Ore from their mine into a new round of market share grabbing, all our days of effort would be wasted? If they keep competing in the market, we'd have to pour massive resources to match their strength and momentum—does that really benefit us?"

Sss....

Hearing Dong Shouzi say that, the others also caught on.

Indeed, the Great Sinful Sect has made a fortune from Youming Jie Spiritual Material business, so they surely won't be content to let others take the market later. Though they have discovered a way to cultivate Youming Jie Spiritual Material, it's still inferior to native Youming Jie Spiritual Material. Its quality is lower; if the Great Sinful Sect truly fights to the death over it, the Grand Commerce Guild's initial and additional investments would become astronomical.

At that point, the others looked at Dong Shouzi and asked, "So, Administrator Dong, what's your high opinion?"

"We still have to follow the original plan and first destroy the Great Sinful Sect's mining area. Even if we can't wipe it out completely, we must make it so they cannot resume extraction for a while!" Dong Shouzi said gravely.

Although business competition shouldn't involve private grudges and bloodshed, how can a businessman keep his hands clean?

Suppressing rivals and seizing market share—these are common phenomena.

And the number of people who use underhanded tricks in secret is countless; isn't their goal simply to earn those Spiritual Stones?

Although the Grand Commerce Guild members were wary of the Great Sinful Sect's strength, regarding their own business and subsequent plans, everyone voiced unanimous support for Dong Shouzi's proposal.

Dong Shouzi smiled with satisfaction: "Alright, I'll figure out a way to lure Elder Yuan Zhen away. The rest of you split into two squads—one to sabotage the mine, the other to kill Yan Buji! Zhang Wang, you'll take care of that guy!"

"Got it!" Zhang Wang exhaled in relief.

This is the best opportunity, not only because the Great Business Association itself wants to strike at the Great Sinful Sect, and in the end it was Zhang Wang who devised the plan for Yunhua, but it still caused him to die on Luohuang Zhou.

If Yunqing were to leave the pass and learn of this, even if the murderer were not himself, he would probably never have a chance to rise again in the Great Business Association.

He must make amends by killing Yan Buji!

Yan Buji, you must die!

A few days later.

The night fell as deep as ink, and hundreds of black silhouettes moved like ghosts, taking advantage of the thick, impenetrable darkness to glide silently toward the mysterious and abundant mining area. These shadows moved swiftly and nimbly, as if merged with the night, making them hard to detect.

The leading few figures exuded a chilling aura; they were the elite forces from the renowned and powerful Great Business Association. Each wore heavy armor, brandished sharp blades, and their eyes were cold and resolute.

When this mysterious squad finally reached the mouth of the mine, they hesitated not a moment and surged in like a tide. Yet, to their surprise, the mine that should have been brightly lit and bustling with voices was now utterly silent, empty of any figure. Only the unmined ore and scattered tools lay on the ground...

"Bad! We've been tricked!" the leader's face changed dramatically.

At that moment, countless sigils suddenly lit up around the mine, trapping everyone inside. Several figures appeared at the mine entrance—Yuan Zhen and a group of Elders.

"Dong Shouzi," Yuan Zhen said calmly, "you think I would let you get away so easily?"

Dong Shouzi stepped out of the shadows, his expression grim: "Yuan Zhen, you..."

"No need for more words," He Yun raised his hand, "today, surrendering now will spare your life, otherwise..."

"Don't even think about it!"

Dong Shouzi's face changed dramatically; he hadn't expected that just as he arrived to lure Yuan Zhen away, he would be surrounded by members of the Great Sinful Sect, leaving the team still unspread, with only Zhang Wang's squad having already slipped into the mine's dungeon area.

But now it's too late to say anything; when did they...?

"You had planned this all along?!" Dong Shouzi said with a dark face.

Yuan Zhen let out a cold laugh and struck simultaneously with several surrounding Elders!

The great battle was about to erupt.

On the other side.

Li Wan Hua crept up to Yan's cell and whispered, "Hall Master, I'm here to rescue you!"

Yan Buji looked up, a flash of surprise in his eyes: "Hall Master Li?"

Li Wan Hua's face was full of anxiety, fine beads of sweat even forming on his forehead. Speaking at a rapid pace with a slightly trembling voice, he said, "Hall Master Yan, you must trust me! My mind is as clear as a bright mirror—I know you're being wronged! The situation is extremely urgent; the Grand Commerce Guild's forces are already surging in like a tide! If we don't seize the chance to flee now, we'll be trapped with no way out!"

Yan Buji's heart stirred, feigning hesitation: "But… if I flee, wouldn't that cement the accusation?"

Li Wan Hua stamped his foot anxiously: "Hall Master Yan, now is not the time to hesitate! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

Yan Buji stood up: "Alright, I'll go with you."

The two had just left the dungeon when a deafening battle cry rang from afar. Li Wan Hua dragged Yan Buji, sprinting all the way until they reached a secluded mountain cave.

"Hall Master Yan, stay hidden here first; I'll go draw the pursuers!" Li Wan Hua said before departing.

Yan Buji suddenly spoke, "Administrator Li, wait."

Li Wan Hua turned back: "What is it?"

Yan Buji gave a faint smile: "You… are you really here to save me?"

Li Wan Hua's expression changed: "Hall Master Yan, what does that mean?"

Yan Buji slowly raised his hand, and a jade slip materialized in his palm: "This is the evidence you sent to the Grand Commerce Guild. Li Wan Hua, you are the real traitor."

Li Wan Hua's face turned deathly pale instantly: "You… how could you…"

"I've known all along," Yan Buji said calmly, "just playing the game to the end."