Chapter 757: Cracked Earth Sect

**Mortal Realm**

"Still trying to argue!" Xiang Yi roared, his eyes extremely cold. "Cui Ji, do you think my blade isn't sharp enough, or that I hesitate to kill? If you jeopardize the Merchant Alliance's crucial business, I'll take your life first!"

Seeing the tense atmosphere, the stout man in luxurious robes flashed between them, interjecting to mediate. "Fellow Daoist Xiang, please calm your anger. I'm sure Fellow Daoist Cui only acted because he was certain it wouldn't impact the crucial matter. At that moment, the fierce beast appeared suddenly, the situation was urgent, and you were inside the stone hall, leaving no time to consult you..."

As the stout man spoke, he subtly winked at Cui Ji.

"Fellow Daoist Cui, you're so eager to kill Daoist Qingfeng. I heard you've been stuck at a bottleneck for over ten years, with no progress. Could this person be your inner demon, hindering your breakthrough and trapping you at this bottleneck?"

Cui Ji lowered his head, admitting his mistake to Xiang Yi, and shook his head, saying, "This bottleneck is unusually stubborn. I've wasted many years, almost to the point of despair. Later, I received news that the Seven Killings Hall has a spiritual medicine that might help me break through. I'm not sure myself if that demonic cultivator is my inner demon. Originally, killing him wasn't strictly necessary. It was a minor grudge from over twenty years ago, and I wasn't entirely unable to let it go. However, the moment I saw him on Great Barren Island, an uncontrollable malevolent fire ignited within me, which must be an influence. To be safe, it's naturally better to kill him, lest this inner demon cause me to waste the spiritual medicine..."

The stout man in luxurious robes nodded. "Fellow Daoist Xiang, both of us have followed your orders and have constantly paid attention to others' actions. I also secretly approached and investigated just now. Apart from this fellow surnamed Pan, everyone else seems fine. Didn't you say six people would be enough to break the formation? Although Fellow Daoist Cui acted somewhat impetuously, thankfully, it didn't disrupt the main objective."

Seeing Xiang Yi's expression soften slightly, both the stout man in luxurious robes and Cui Ji secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The stout man in luxurious robes pointed at the half-severed corpse on the ground and asked, "Fellow Daoist Xiang, have you confirmed his identity?"

"Shattered Earth Sect!" Xiang Yi kicked the giant beast's corpse. "See this Earth-Rending Lizard? Earth-Rending Lizards are vicious creatures, and only the Shattered Earth Sect in the cultivation world possesses the secret art to tame them. This person's Earth-Rending Lizard possesses astonishing power at the late Demonic Core stage, which is rare even within the Shattered Earth Sect, indicating this person's extraordinary status. Furthermore, he was also concealing his strength; his cultivation was only slightly inferior to mine. If the Alliance Leader hadn't bestowed upon me a Water-Aura Divine Thunder, he truly might have succeeded."

"Water-Aura Divine Thunder? No wonder there was such a commotion! I heard it's a water-element secret treasure; only those Nascent Soul Grandmasters who cultivate the 'Water-Aura Divine Art' are qualified to condense it, and it takes a considerable amount of time. Its power is astonishing." The stout man lowered his head, examining the cultivator surnamed Pan, and tsk-tsked twice. "Shattered Earth Sect? Are they from the Demonic Dao? I never would have thought it. It seems our Merchant Alliance has been targeted by the Demonic Dao."

Xiang Yi nodded.

"What's so strange about that? Our three great Merchant Alliances have always been seen as thorns in the side of both the Righteous and Demonic Dao. If not for the three Alliances being united and always minding their own business, never revealing any ambition, they would probably have been jointly annihilated by the Righteous and Demonic Dao long ago. In the Demonic Sea, there are quite a few cultivators from both the Righteous and Demonic Dao recruited by various merchant guilds, but they all serve as guest elders. Someone like this, infiltrating the core of a merchant guild, definitely has an agenda. He only revealed himself and acted to seize something because he encountered the task arranged by the Alliance Leader this time. As for whether this person was instructed by the Demonic Dao or acted on his own, we don't know yet. Earth-Rending Lizards specialize in earth-burrowing techniques. This person must have released the Earth-Rending Lizard in the canyon. Given his strength, it wasn't difficult to evade our detection. Then he commanded the Earth-Rending Lizard to attract the Violet Star Vulture amidst the chaos, allowing him to fish in troubled waters."

The stout man in luxurious robes chuckled. "This person is indeed cunning and calculating, but still a step behind Fellow Daoist Xiang. He could never have imagined that we were already prepared for this, and the real task is yet to come. This stone hall was merely the first stage of the task. Fellow Daoist Xiang, with a small trick, forced this person out. However..." The stout man in luxurious robes changed his tone, a puzzled expression appearing on his face. "From what Fellow Daoist Xiang implies, the difficulty of this mission isn't great. The Alliance could simply send a Nascent Soul Grandmaster, and it would be completed effortlessly. Why go through all this trouble, even allowing a spy from the Demonic Sect to infiltrate?"

Xiang Yi glanced at him. "How do you know there isn't a Nascent Soul Grandmaster here?"

Cui Ji and the stout man exchanged astonished glances.

"Our three great Merchant Alliances are watched by both the Righteous and Demonic Dao, so they won't easily dispatch Nascent Soul Grandmasters. Those seniors surely have their own missions. Furthermore, it's inevitable that spies infiltrate. After all, the Merchant Alliances are not like sects; the various merchant guilds operate independently, unable to enforce strict obedience. To appease all parties, the Alliance Leader cannot monopolize the quotas. We can only be careful ourselves and dig out the spies."

Xiang Yi turned to face the battlefield. "Alright, we've wasted enough time. First, let's go rescue Fellow Daoist Liu and the others, lest they die at the hands of the fierce beasts. Regarding what happened before, I, Xiang, can let bygones be bygones. However, if anyone dares to abandon their post again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The stout man in luxurious robes chuckled. "Thank you for your trust, Fellow Daoist Xiang. We will certainly work diligently to complete the mission. Besides, I, An, am still counting on Fellow Daoist Xiang to help retrieve the treasure, so how could I dare to be negligent?"

Cui Ji also nodded profusely.

Xiang Yi led the charge towards the battlefield. He suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Cui Ji, "Are you certain Daoist Qingfeng is dead?"

Cui Ji patted his chest. "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, I was well-prepared. I severely wounded him. I personally saw him engulfed by the poisonous mist and then overwhelmed by the beast horde. He's certainly dead and won't cause any trouble for Fellow Daoist Xiang."

As they entered the battlefield to rescue the others, Qin Sang's figure silently appeared at the edge of the large pit.

The situation was very different from what he had imagined.

It turned out Xiang Yi was fishing. The stout man in luxurious robes and Cui Ji had already been recruited by Xiang Yi.

Looked at this way, Cui Ji's unauthorized ambush wasn't a bad thing. Otherwise, he might have faced an encirclement and attack from Xiang Yi and the other two later, which would certainly have been more dangerous than the current situation.

If Cui Ji was a man-eating viper, the stout man in luxurious robes was a smiling tiger, and Xiang Yi was even worse.

He had no grudges with either of them, and they had just been chatting amiably, yet they could agree to help Cui Ji kill him without any hesitation.

Qin Sang looked down at the cultivator surnamed Pan and the Earth-Rending Lizard.

The moment the anomaly appeared earlier, they were sent flying by the Earth-Rending Lizard and couldn't see clearly. It turned out it wasn't a fierce beast from the forbidden zone, but the spirit beast of the cultivator surnamed Pan.

"Shattered Earth Sect... Demonic Dao..." Qin Sang overheard their conversation.

Qin Sang had heard the name Shattered Earth Sect before. It seemed to be one of the major sects of the Demonic Dao.

Qin Sang had always been active in the Demonic Sea and only had a slight understanding of the Inner Sea.

To his knowledge, in the Inner Sea, humanity flourished, the Righteous and Demonic Dao were locked in opposition, and the three great Merchant Alliances had risen suddenly. Additionally, there were many other large and small forces and rogue cultivators who either lived in seclusion or chose neutrality.

Coupled with the covetous Witch Tribe, the situation could be described as intricate and complex.

Opening up the Demonic Sea had clearly eased the situation in the Inner Sea considerably. Otherwise, they would have been embroiled in a full-scale war long ago.