Chapter 586
"First, we need to establish an early warning system through the Tongjian, issuing alerts of varying levels against different adversaries. I, along with Sister Zhang, Xie Xianzi, and the Blood River Ancestor, will take turns on duty to provide support."
Sister Zhang and the others stood up and cupped their hands in acknowledgment to Zheng Fa.
"Second, Han Qi and his team need an action manual."
"There are two key points: First, no splitting up; always be ready to support each other. Second, in times of crisis, prioritize saving lives over wealth."
Currently, Han Qi's merchant fleet consisted of over thirty Shenxiao warships, and they could still handle threats at the Golden Core level.
If they truly couldn't win, they could at least hold out until Zheng Fa and the others arrived for support.
After laying out these two immediate strategies, Zheng Fa turned his gaze to Old Han and suddenly asked, "Old Han, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Me?"
"Old Han, I want to consolidate the resources of the Wushuang Alliance and train a group of Jiu Shan Sect disciples to gather intelligence. In other words, I want to establish a department directly under my command—an Intelligence Office."
"…"
A look of realization flashed across Old Han's face.
Everyone understood that Zheng Fa was not only interested in Old Han's keen hearing technique but also valued his ability and experience in gathering intelligence.
Old Han glanced at Yan Wushuang, fell silent for a moment, and then spoke:
"What can I do?"
"Our current target is to keep an eye on the loose Yuanying cultivators coming from Haori Mountain. They have no ties and are essentially desperate rogues, posing the greatest threat to our Jiu Shan Sect disciples."
No matter how strong the Shenxiao warships were, encountering Yuanying cultivators was still dangerous for Han Qi and his team. The best approach was to keep a close watch on them.
"The long-term goal is to establish an intelligence network within Haori Mountain..."
Zheng Fa's expression turned somewhat cold.
Haori Mountain had caused so much trouble, and the Jiu Shan Sect had taken note of it all.
"Internally, find some promising candidates. In the future, once they cultivate the 'Tiangang Disha Transformation'…"
As soon as he said this, Old Han's face changed dramatically, and he felt a chill run down his spine.
The 'Tiangang Disha Transformation' was incredibly useful for espionage, as Zheng Fa had demonstrated.
The current issue was that the Jiu Shan Sect didn't have enough Yuanying cultivators capable of practicing the 'Tiangang Disha Transformation.'
But according to the "First Fifty-Year Plan," the vision of having five hundred Yuanying cultivators in fifty years...
And that was just fifty years; what about a hundred years?
Or five hundred years?
In the future, Haori Mountain might even have to be called a branch of the Jiu Shan Sect.
After sharing these three ideas, Zheng Fa looked at Sister Zhang and the others and asked:
"Do you have anything to add?"
Sister Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "This only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. Madam Xuanhua mentioned before the idea of combining the immortal formations with the Shenxiao warships, and I believe there is potential there."
Hearing this, Zheng Fa shook his head slightly and said softly, "This matter likely has some relation to formations... The methods of immortal formations are, after all, somewhat different from traditional formations."
"Our accumulation in the field of formations may not be sufficient to refine this idea in a short time."
At this point, Zheng Fa glanced at Xie Qingxue.
In his view, with the Four Swords of Zhu Xian already in hand, the Tianhe Sect should be quite adept at formations.
But it seemed that the Tianhe Sect didn't have any particularly powerful formation legacies, or perhaps... like the 'Nine Transformations Golden Core Method,' it was considered taboo.
At least, Xie Qingxue didn't know.
This left him somewhat regretful. After thinking for a moment, he said to Old Han, "I can also gather some intelligence at the Chongxuan Sect... at least I can keep an eye on those few Transformation Stage cultivators at the mountain peak..."
To be honest, Zheng Fa was somewhat looking forward to the Transformation Stage cultivators from the Divine Fire Mountain coming down—if he could capture one, he could finally figure out what was going on with the Xian Sword Trap.
...
The Transformation Stage cultivators of the Chongxuan Sect remained inactive, but many of their disciples had come down the mountain.
"Fourth Senior Brother, many of our fellow disciples have left the sect..." Junior Sister Ye had been visiting Zheng Fa's cave every day recently, looking quite anxious. She said, "Once they feast, we won't even get a drop of soup..."
Zheng Fa looked at her and asked, "What's wrong? Can't you wait?"
"Senior Brother, if the Jiu Shan Sect is on guard..."
Zheng Fa's expression darkened, and he looked at her with a cold gaze: "You said before that you would follow my lead, and now you're here urging me?"
As he spoke, a flash of authority emanated from him.
Junior Sister Ye's face turned pale, and she looked at Zheng Fa in horror, stammering, "S-Senior Brother..."
"If you don't want to listen to me..."
"I will! I will!" The fear in Junior Sister Ye's eyes faded, replaced by a hint of fervor as she quickly said, "I'll listen to everything you say, Senior Brother!"
Zheng Fa nodded slowly and asked, "Tell me, which of our sect members have come down the mountain? Where did they go?"
Junior Sister Ye's expression was somewhat puzzled, but she didn't dare to ask too many questions and shared what she knew.
After she left, Zheng Fa's consciousness sank into the Zao Hua Jade Codex, and he sent a message to Sister Zhang and the others:
"Sister, these individuals left the Divine Fire Mountain three days ago..."
...
In a market of the Bai Xian Alliance, five Golden Core disciples from the Chongxuan Sect were secretly communicating as they observed the market:
"Senior Brother, when will the Jiu Shan Sect people arrive?"
"Tomorrow!"
"What is their cultivation level?"
The leading Golden Core disciple chuckled:
"At most, they are just Foundation Establishment..."
Upon hearing this, the other four felt relieved.
One of them calculated:
"Excluding those goods, a Foundation Establishment disciple from the Jiu Shan Sect... Haori Mountain has offered a bounty of nearly two hundred spirit stones..."
But the leading disciple scoffed:
"How can we not count those goods? You have no idea how wealthy the Jiu Shan Sect is! Every time they come to this market, the pills, spirit tools, and talismans they bring will make us rich!"
"As long as we do this two or three times, we can gather enough resources for Yuanying!"
Hearing this, the others' breaths became heavier.
The five waited for a day.
"They're here!"
Sure enough, a peculiar flying boat slowly approached from the distant sky.
When it reached the market entrance, two Foundation Establishment disciples disembarked, accompanied by about ten Qi Refinement disciples, all adorned with the Jiu Shan Sect insignia and carrying storage bags at their waists.
"Attack!"
Unable to contain themselves, the five launched their magical treasures at the group of Jiu Shan Sect disciples.
The market was thrown into chaos.
In their minds, among the Jiu Shan Sect disciples, the highest cultivation level was just two Foundation Establishment cultivators. With all five Golden Cores attacking together, it would be an easy victory.
But unexpectedly, three figures suddenly appeared from the strange flying boat, performing hand seals.
A blue-purple light burst forth from the bow of the Shenxiao warship, showering down a stream of light that enveloped the group of Jiu Shan disciples and transported them onto the ship.
"Outer Dan!"
A cry of alarm rang out in the market.
The five Golden Core cultivators from the Chongxuan Sect also tensed up.
Previously, no one dared to openly attack the Jiu Shan Sect's merchant fleet in the Bai Xian Alliance's territory, and the power of the Shenxiao warships had never been revealed.
At this moment, everyone realized that this peculiar flying boat actually possessed the ability of an Outer Dan!
Looking at the three Foundation Establishment disciples at the bow of the ship, the cultivators in the market were somewhat bewildered—if they were all Foundation Establishment, why didn't they have such treasures when they went out?
"One Outer Dan! Not worth fearing!"
The leading Golden Core disciple not only did not retreat but gritted his teeth and shouted.
Although the other four looked serious, there was little fear in their eyes.
Outer Dan was inherently inferior to a proper Golden Dan.
They still had five Golden Dan, so they had the advantage in numbers.
"I've heard that the Outer Dan from the Jiu Shan Sect is valuable, and Haori Mountain has a bounty on it..." he whispered, "Looks like we're going to make a fortune today!"
Upon hearing this, the other four Golden Dan disciples' eyes lit up.
Then, their expressions brightened.
Thirty Shenxiao warships slowly rose from the horizon, their purple-blue light illuminating their bewildered faces.
Half the sky was aglow.
The shadows of the thirty massive ships loomed over the market.
The bustling market, which had just been in chaos, now fell eerily silent.
The Shenxiao warships, meticulously crafted by Zheng Fa, revealed their menacing side for the first time to the Xuanwei cultivators.
Outer Dan was already precious, and with over thirty Shenxiao warships, that was equivalent to more than thirty Outer Dans...
The cultivators in the market were unaware of the production capacity of the Jiu Shan Realm and had no idea that within the Jiu Shan Realm, Shenxiao warships were being churned out like dumplings.
They looked at these warships and thought that the Jiu Shan Sect was being overly extravagant in using them for transport.
One disciple from the Chongxuan Sect swallowed hard and said dryly:
"This fortune... is it a bit too much...?"
The leading Golden Dan disciple looked at the light above his head, his expression crumbling—
Who among the Foundation Establishment cultivators goes out with over thirty of these things?
...
"Senior Brother!"
Junior Sister Ye rushed into Zheng Fa's cave, her face filled with panic as she shouted, "Senior Brother, those disciples haven't returned!"
"Not a single one of the more than ten Golden Dan disciples has come back!"
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