Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 744: Eerie silence



Zhao Xieren wasn't idle after his meeting with the Three Pillars Sect, as he then visited quite a few small local Sects that were present that day on the plateau. This time he was in the company of Sui Luxiao's son, and the two truly engaged in negotiations, without making any heavy-handed proposals like they did with Yu Zhen.

But his recent reputation, along with the fact he effectively helped everyone present that day, helped make the negotiations smoother.

The rumors of him being seen visiting other Sects, exerted pressure on the Three Pillars Sect, as they did not know whether he was searching for other prospective partners to replace them.

In the meantime almost all Major powers on the continent were satisfied with just obtaining information about Zhao Xieren, which revealed he was not a mysterious force, but just a fixer for others.

He turned from a possible enemy into a wildcard that could become useful in the future, so not many bothered with him for now.

The only ones actively pursuing him were the Crystal Wood Sect and the Seven Scars Guild, but he was not tied to any specific location, and sometimes disappeared like smoke when they were looking for him, so they were currently unsuccessful in their pursuit.

The reports Wu Long read also included Zhao Xieren's meeting with the Tiebi Mountain Sect, which territory, or at least area of influence, the World Stone to the Great Wilderness was technically located in.

The Tiebi Mountain Sect did not have much prominence, and was only noted by Wu Long for that reason.

The meeting went rather smoothly, as Zhao Xieren's proposal included a secret alliance, just as he offered Yu Zhen, but this time he did not disclose that he made a similar proposal to the Three Pillars Sect, leaving the Tiebi Mountain Sect without knowledge of any larger plan.

All they had to know, was that the Trading Company would supply them with a batch of free Alchemy Pills each month, while the Tiebi Mountain Sect would in return lend out a piece of their Spiritual Land for the Trading Company to use as a logistical point.

The Sect's larger territory beyond the Spiritual Land would also be open to the Trading Company members and their affiliates, and the two entities would cooperate as allies as far as it did not hurt both sides.

Overall, the deal was fairly harmless from the standpoint of the Tiebi Mountain Sect, which prompted them to quickly agree.

That agreement, however, was to be held top secret among the top brass of the Sect until the logistical point became operational.

"Hmm, seems to be progressing quite smoothly", Wu Long nodded as he looked through the rest of the reports.

Another short report from Zhao Biren informed him that the plan to induce a rift between the Seven Extreme Swords Sect and the Crystal Wood Sect has been successful, since the latter accumulated too many weaknesses to poke at, making it quite hard to pick a better target for the former.

The last one was from Old Yen who informed that all three Major Sects vying for control had 'secured partnerships' with local Sects which Spiritual Lands were of good quality and located in good positions relative to the Battle God's Cradle World Stone.

In short, they took over those Sects and made them their subordinates, as well as future branches of their Main Sects.

"Daoist Wu", Madam Liang entered the room, both surprised and delighted to find him out of his seclusion.

"I have burdened you with a lot of work while I was absent, Madam Liang", Wu Long smiled standing up to welcome her.

"I just did my part", she shook her head with a smile, and gratefully sat down as he personally moved the chair for her.

"I suppose since you were hoping to see me, it's about time to throw out the bait", Wu Long smiled, since it was risky to do the step they were planning with him being unavailable to pick up any fallout.

"Indeed, my Thousand Eyes Palace has accumulated enough credibility, and with the groundwork laid out by Old Yen we have successfully stabilized", she nodded.

After all, a business dealing with information wasn't just about selling information, as it would quickly run out, but also about collecting it.

There were many tactics, like making some specific information only available in exchange for other information, and not for purchase. Or buying up information for cheap from individual customers who wanted to make some money.

But a big part of it was having ties to places where fresh information could be found.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

With Old Yen's prior research, and Madam Liang's expertise in dealing with such people, they have successfully established ties with most of the brothels and many of the inns in the backstreets.

This meant that now, Thousand Eyes Palace entered an equilibrium of information being sold and bought, ensuring stable business, and it was time to make the next move.

"Haha, as impressive as ever, only five days", Wu Long shook his head, visibly impressed by the results.

"The preparations and groundwork in the months prior were too meticulous, and the opportunity your plan gave us was too powerful. If we didn't manage to seize that moment and establish ourselves quickly, it would have been quite embarrassing instead", Madam Liang puffed a cloud of herbal smoke into the air.

"Haha, if you say so. In any case, we can throw out the bait to the Ember Palm Pavilion", Wu Long nodded, since he now could back the Thousand Eyes Pavilion if anything went wrong. "I'll instruct my people", Madam Liang nodded, picking up a communication talisman. "Anything from the Obsidian Moon?", he asked as the flames of the used talisman reflected in his eyes.

"Not as of yet", she shook her head while watching the smoke swirl in the air, and then turning her eyes to him again.

"Hmm", Wu Long touched his chin in thought.

It was odd that they didn't react to such a swift and rather flashy debut of an upstart group in

their area of influence.

"A wait and see approach? How unusual...", he muttered.

"It seems their Parlor Owner is a careful one", Madam Liang nodded, "He hasn't done anything, but it is reasonable to assume that he's watching the situation closely"

"If he was someone reckless he wouldn't be put into a leadership role at the Obsidian Moon, they're not a ragtag group", Wu Long spoke while shaking his head, "no, this isn't just carefulness, there's something we don't know"

He didn't like that there was no response at all. It was far too unnatural.

"Just in case, we have to mentally prepare to fail making allies with them", he then said as Madam Liang widened her eyes.

"But if we can't make allies with either of the two Divine Palaces of the underworld, wouldn't that...", she didn't finish, a worried look appearing in her eyes.

"We have to be prepared for any outcome, it's just a possibility at this point", Wu Long spoke in a calm, calculative tone, "But the fact they don't approach someone unknown, who is making waves in their backyard pond can mean they know something about us which we didn't think they do"

It was dangerous to underestimate an organization as old and influential as the Obsidian Moon Palace. It has existed longer than Wu Long could remember, and survived many purges and trials over those countless years.

It was also true that out of the underworld organizations, the Obsidian Moon Palace was the one he knew least about, as there were almost no points of interaction with them in his past life. Rather, it was the reason he at least entertained a possibility of becoming allies, since at least with them he had no prior hostilities.

It was still highly unlikely that they could know something about what happened in the Battle God's Cradle at this point in time when it should not have opened up completely yet, but that possibility wasn't completely nonexistent either.

In any case, this complete silence from their side was quite eerie.

Dear readers, there is an very important announcement in the Auxiliary Chapter. It is a bit lengthy but I hope you can spare a bit of time to read it. Thank you very much.