Less than forty miles away from Lingxiao City, there was a small county town.
Inside an ordinary triple courtyard, Yang Kan’s face looked particularly grim.
He stared at the young disciple of the Gu family before him and said coldly, "Is this the arrangement Gu Jinlai made for me?"
"The Patriarch has already prepared enough food for you, Elder. There are two wells in the courtyard and some locals outside to divert attention. You just need to live quietly in the courtyard with your disciples, and no one will notice."
This Gu Family Disciple spoke.
"You seem to be deliberately mocking me."
Yang Kan slowly stood up. "There are fifty-three of us, twelve at the Peak of Hugging Pill and forty at Gang Condensation. Both Hugging Pill and Gang Condensation disciples, in our Purgatory Sect, belong to True Inheritance Level One. Even though they exceed the age limit for disciples, they are also stewards and protectors of our sect. Yet, Gu Jinlai’s arrangement is for eight of our sect’s stewards and protectors to cram into one room?"
"There have been changes in the situation in Lingxiao City. The Patriarch is presently occupied with urgent matters and cannot attend to this. Therefore... I hope Elder Yang can endure this inconvenience."
This Gu Family Disciple said, "Elder Yang’s presence here is intended as a surprise tactic, to prevent us from having to mobilize people from the sect to Baihe City and leave traces that might alert them. It’s not suitable to draw too much attention."
"The situation only changed because Gu Jinlai is not capable enough. Couldn’t he have just taken people and dealt with Su Tong and her group directly?"
Yang Kan looked at this junior from the Gu family who had just entered the Blood Exchange Realm and scoffed, "Or is it that Gu Jinlai, under the guise of carrying out our Purgatory Sect’s orders, actually can’t bear to give up his position as the garrison commander of the Meteor Star Guard and is thinking of serving two masters?"
"Among those who came with Su Tong were the Heavenly Gang Sect’s Refining God expert Yan Xuejian and a group of elites. Even if we wanted to eliminate them, it’s easier said than done. Please understand our difficulties, Patriarch."
"I am tired of wasting words with a junior like you. Send for Gu Jinlai to meet me!"
"The Patriarch is currently being watched by Su Tong and must remain hidden. If he shows himself again, it would surely draw Su Tong and her people here, potentially exposing Elder Yang. You wouldn’t want to compromise Elder Xue’s plan by exposing yourselves too early, would you?"
This Gu Family Disciple quickly apologetically said, "Once the situation eases, the Patriarch will come to meet Elder Yang at the earliest opportunity."
"Gu Jinlai holds too much prestige; I cannot wait that long."
Yang Kan waved his hand fiercely, "Tell him to gather people and prepare. The orders from Elder Xue will be dispatched at any moment."
The Gu Family Disciple responded, and quickly withdrew.
Once he had left, a middle-aged man with a Peak of Hugging Pill cultivation approached.
He scanned the surroundings and spat out two words: "Perfunctory."
"At least they bothered with a perfunctory effort, rather than directly handing us over to the Meteor Star Guard as a token for promotion."
Yang Kan gave a cold laugh, "Although what Lin Xiao said when he came had an element of incitement, I am still dissatisfied with Gu Jinlai’s actions."
"What should we do next..."
"Baihe City’s major plan cannot afford any failures. If Gu Jinlai wants to be a fence-sitter, not only will I not allow it, but Elder Xue Wuqing will not agree either."
Yang Kan said, producing a letter, "It needs to be said, Lin Xiao’s ability to become Deputy Sect Master definitely shows his cunning. Deliver this letter to Elder Xue."
"I will create conditions for Gu Jinlai to make a move against Su Tong, even though I do not believe Gu Jinlai would dare betray our Purgatory Sect for the Meteor Star Guard. However, we must be prepared for any eventuality. Thus, please ask Elder Xue to provide support and exert pressure to ensure that nothing goes wrong."
"If Elder Xue rashly leaves Baihe City..."
"You only see one aspect but are unaware of another."
Yang Kan smiled, "Su Tong’s identity is very sensitive. If she dies, Su Wen will certainly be furious and thereby hold Star Master Zhang Luu accountable. In order to satisfy Su Wen, Zhang Luu would surely lead elites to attack Lingxiao City."
The middle-aged man suddenly realized.
"Baihe City is Star Master Zhang Luu’s stronghold. If he leads forces to attack Lingxiao City, Baihe City will inevitably be left vulnerable. In that case..."
"It’s as if we’re setting a trap for Gu Jinlai."
The middle-aged man said, "He might not be able to hold Lingxiao City then."
"Do not underestimate him. He possesses strange objects like explosives; even characters like Red Saber Ancestor can be besieged. Zhang Luu might not have an easy time against him."
Yang Kan scoffed, "Besides, he is supposed to cooperate with us to complete the mission. Our task is to take down Baihe City, and for that goal, other concerns can be sidelined."
The middle-aged man nodded, "Moreover, this plan could cause Gu Jinlai and Zhang Luu to fight a damaging battle against each other, weakening their forces to prevent Lingxiao City from eventually becoming the Lingxiao City of the Gu family."
Yang Kan nodded slightly.
He had been a Golden Robed Elder for many years, waiting just for the opportunity to seize Baihe City and ascend to the rank of Red Robe.
What did it matter if he offended some people in the process?
In politics, the struggle had always involved every conceivable scheme to elevate oneself and suppress others, with countless individuals acting out of self-interest.
In the cave, Gu Jinlai was still waiting.
After several days of expansion, the intensity of the spatial ripple suddenly surged.
Gu Jinlai’s spirit was uplifted.
His gaze fixed on the spatial ripple, he was fully focused.
Less than an hour into this surge a crack seemed to appear in the core of the ripple, and shadowy figures began to emerge simultaneously.
These were Demon Spirits!
Similar to the ghosts on Blue Star.
However, unlike ghosts, Demon Spirits appeared more tangible, clearly visible to the naked eye as a faint blue luminescence, and their forms were bizarre.
Animals, plants, humanoids, hybrids—there was every imaginable type.
The strength of a Demon Spirit was proportional to its size.
The larger the Demon Spirit, the more powerful it was.
According to the Heavenly Master’s Scripture, some catastrophic Demon Spirits could obscure the skies. Merely sweeping over a city could devour the souls of all living beings within.
The crack that had just formed was releasing only the most common small Demon Spirits.
As soon as these Demon Spirits appeared, they dashed towards Gu Jinlai, who was the closest to them.
However, before they could get close to Gu Jinlai’s body, a blazing brilliance burst forth from him.
The small Demon Spirits, around one meter in length, instantly screamed like snow under the fierce sun and rapidly melted away.
As they melted, a vast amount of spiritual fluctuations dispersed.
Gu Jinlai seized the opportunity, quickly channeling these spirits into the visualization of the Great Sun, where violent power washed over them. In an instant, these spirits were extracted and refined, then further infused into the Treasure Armor he was wearing.
At that moment, he clearly felt a significant increase in the spirituality of his Treasure Armor.
It was almost equivalent to a year’s worth of co-spirit collecting in his usual practice.
Gu Jinlai’s eyes brightened, "Indeed, hunting Demon Spirits and extracting their spirit essence is the correct way to refine artifacts for a Heavenly Master. A single small Demon Spirit can add a year of co-spirit accumulation; if I get a dozen or more, wouldn’t it directly produce a Spiritual Artifact?"
Besides, above the small Demon Spirits, there were medium, large, and catastrophic Demon Spirits.
The crack to the Demon Realm was still expanding, and beyond the small Demon Spirits, medium Demon Spirits were squeezing through the gap, seemingly eager to descend into this world.
A flash of brilliance sparked in Gu Jinlai’s eyes.
The resplendent Great Sun radiated endless brilliance.
The light formed by the Great Sun Eternal Radiance Secret Technique could easily incinerate a small Demon Spirit.
A vast amount of spirit essence was extracted and infused into his Treasure Armor.
Late into the process, the Treasure Armor struggled to dissolve such immense spiritual power, forcing him to shift transmission to his War Sword.
This scenario persisted until he had refined more than twenty Demon Spirits, and even the War Sword was beginning to feel the strain.
Eating too much, too fast, without the time to digest.
If this continued, these concentrated spirits would dissipate uselessly.
Immediately, Gu Jinlai issued an order, "Gu Junlei, bring in all the ’Thunder’ Gatling models."