Elder Shan Ying from Twin Success Valley and Meng Zhang had some dealings in the past. When Twin Success Valley called for its subordinate forces to besiege the sand monsters, Meng Zhang was the first to discover the nest of the sand monsters and reported it to Xiao Shenqiang and Shan Ying.
After Xiao Shenqiang's death, Twin Success Valley still kept its promise and exempted Taiyi Sect from offerings for three years.
Later, when Meng Zhang attended Forest Mountain School's Foundation Building dharma meeting, Shan Ying and Dan Yihu appeared, and Meng Zhang glanced at them from afar.
As for any deeper relationship, there wasn't any.
The Foundation Building cultivator from Twin Success Valley was a prominent figure in the area, but Meng Zhang had no interest in currying favor with him.
Now, when Xu Chengxian mentioned Shan Ying, Meng Zhang was unsure of his intentions.
While contemplating Xu Chengxian's motives, Meng Zhang honestly replied, "Elder Shan Ying may seem cold, but he actually values nurturing younger disciples."
"Back then, the Zhao Family cultivator was not honest and dared to take Twin Success Valley's Lesser Foundation Building Pill, which angered the Twin Success Valley Sect Master. This incident is still fresh in the minds of many in Twin Success Valley."
"For the past few years, Elder Shan Ying has been tirelessly investigating the killing of Elder Xiao Shenqiang. Recently, I heard that some people saw him in Singing Sand City."
Meng Zhang had been the one responsible for Xiao Shenqiang's death. Now, hearing Xu Chengxian mention those past events, Meng Zhang felt somewhat uneasy.
After listening to Xu Chengxian's words, Meng Zhang carefully pondered and understood the implication.
Although he didn't know why Xu Chengxian pointed him to seek help from Elder Shan Ying, Meng Zhang expressed his gratitude with a bow. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. I will keep it in mind."
"I haven't given you any guidance. These are all your own thoughts," Xu Chengxian chuckled. "Remember, I'm not being polite with you. I really didn't teach you anything, and you must remember that."
Xu Chengxian's tone became stern. "If you speak casually about this after leaving, I won't remember any friendship between us."
Now Meng Zhang completely understood.
Xu Chengxian had directed him to seek help from Elder Shan Ying at Twin Success Valley, but he must not reveal that it came from Xu Chengxian. There was some hidden significance behind this, but Meng Zhang didn't have the time to dwell on it now.
Since Xu Chengxian had shown him a clear path, he would act accordingly.
Meng Zhang couldn't help but slap himself on the head. How could he be so foolish? When the Zhao Family offended Twin Success Valley in the past, he had witnessed it firsthand. How could he have overlooked the possibility of leveraging Twin Success Valley's power to suppress the Zhao Family?
Of course, Meng Zhang understood that due to killing Elder Xiao Shenqiang, he always felt a bit uneasy when facing Twin Success Valley cultivators. Thus, he had always kept his distance from them.
As for secretly mining scarlet copper without Twin Success Valley's knowledge, Meng Zhang wasn't too worried. Among Twin Success Valley's subordinate forces, not everyone was willing to be exploited by the sect.
According to Li Xuan, many forces had concealed their income and reduced their offerings to Twin Success Valley. As long as they weren't too obvious about it, Twin Success Valley would often overlook such matters.
After leaving Linshan, Meng Zhang rushed to Singing Sand City at the fastest speed.
Li Xuan, who was familiar with Singing Sand City, put aside his formation practice and came over when Meng Zhang called him.
Through Li Xuan's connections, Meng Zhang finally learned where Elder Shan Ying lived.
Shan Ying didn't reside in Twin Success Valley's territory but lived with a friend on the west side of Singing Sand City in a secluded and rarely visited location.
Armed with gifts, Meng Zhang visited Elder Shan Ying alone.
It was a secluded courtyard, and an inconspicuous old man guarded the entrance. The old man was quite old, only at the Refining Qi Triple realm of cultivation.
Meng Zhang skillfully handed him a few low-grade spirit stones and presented his gifts, stating his purpose to meet Twin Success Valley's Elder Shan Ying.
Having received the benefits, the old man was not difficult to talk to. He asked Meng Zhang to wait for a moment and then went inside to announce his arrival.
The wait took quite some time. Meng Zhang didn't show any impatience and continued waiting patiently.
After more than half an hour, the old man came out from the courtyard and said coldly, "Elder Shan Ying asked you to come in."
The old man led the way, guiding Meng Zhang to meet Shan Ying.
Shan Ying was sitting on a reclining chair in the garden, seemingly half-asleep with his eyes closed.
Meng Zhang entered, and Shan Ying still didn't open his eyes or make any gesture to welcome him.
Meng Zhang didn't dare to be negligent and immediately paid his respects.
"Junior Meng Zhang from Taiyi Sect pays respects to the Senior."
Shan Ying made a faint hum as a response.
Seeing that Shan Ying didn't speak, Meng Zhang hesitated for a moment before deciding to employ his acting skills to the fullest.
With an extremely aggrieved tone, Meng Zhang began to plead his case to Shan Ying.
He narrated how domineering the Zhao Family was and how they oppressed Taiyi Sect, and how helpless he felt in the face of such injustice.
As he continued, Meng Zhang's tone became more emotional, and he even shed tears, delivering a heart-wrenching performance.
The sorrow and helplessness in his words were enough to evoke sympathy and tears from the listeners.
Meng Zhang secretly admired himself. He couldn't believe he could put on such a convincing act. If he had entered the entertainment industry before transmigrating, he might have become a renowned actor.
Still, Shan Ying remained unmoved, and Meng Zhang had to keep up his act, even though he had a feeling that Shan Ying had seen through his act from the beginning.
"Your petty affairs between Taiyi Sect and the Zhao Family hold no interest for me. I, as a member of Twin Success Valley, won't get involved in your disputes," Shan Ying finally spoke.
"The most important thing for Twin Success Valley is to ensure fairness and justice, which allows us to govern so many forces."
Shan Ying's words disappointed Meng Zhang. Was his trip all in vain?
Just then, a middle-aged man entered the garden.
Pointing to the man, Shan Ying said to Meng Zhang, "This kid is Zhou Shengkao, a descendant of an old friend of mine. He is always meddling in other people's business without anything better to do."
"Whatever you have to talk about, go talk to him. I'm too lazy to listen, and I don't want to meddle either."
With that, Shan Ying waved his hand, dismissing Meng Zhang.
Zhou Shengkao led Meng Zhang out, but instead of leading him outside, he took him to a nearby room.
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