Li Yan stated his and Bai Rou's thoughts in one breath. In fact, he and Bai Rou also had Chu Weixiong as a potential choice. However, his younger brother, Chu Weili, was still cultivating at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, which meant that the brothers' telepathic Heaven-Locking Interlocking Four Symbols Formation could not unleash its proper power. Otherwise, even if both brothers were only at the initial-stage of Foundation Establishment, this formation, when laid down, could definitely rival the joint efforts of several cultivators of the same rank. He would have removed two of the current three.
After listening, Wei Zhongran smiled faintly and then looked at Elder Chigong. "Senior Brother, I think all three are acceptable and mutually beneficial. What do you think, Senior Brother?"
Elder Chigong stood up directly. "It's settled then. This is already the best choice for both offense and defense. If not for the fear of this matter getting out, there might be more suitable candidates in other squads. Alright, time is of the essence. I have some matters to discuss with Bai Rou alone. In a quarter of an hour, Bai Rou and Li Yan, you are to notify the other three. After some brief preparation, set off immediately."
With that, Elder Chigong strode towards the cave entrance, gesturing for Bai Rou to follow.
Seeing this, Bai Rou quickly put the jade slip and the small iron scroll book into her storage pouch and glided away with light, graceful steps.
After the two of them left the cave, Li Yan did not leave immediately. Wei Zhongran flicked his sleeve, and the cave entrance closed again. Then, Wei Zhongran cast a sound-isolating restriction light shield before looking at Li Yan once more.
He saw Li Yan standing in place, with no surprise on his face, as if he had long known he had more to say. Wei Zhongran nodded in satisfaction at Li Yan's astuteness.
In truth, Li Yan had only guessed that Wei Zhongran probably had more to instruct him on, but he hadn't expected his master to be so cautious. This was beyond his expectations. However, Li Yan did not ask, simply standing with his hands down, listening.
"What I'm about to say to you, Elder Chigong will likely say the same to Bai Rou. For this mission, do your utmost to escort the two 'Luoshu Lake' disciples back. If the situation becomes impossible..." Wei Zhongran paused his words, then immediately switched to voice transmission. This time, the voice transmission was extremely faint even in Li Yan's mind, almost inaudible. This showed just how careful Wei Zhongran was being.
"If the situation becomes impossible, you are to kill those two, but you must make it look as if they were killed by the Demon Clan, or that the restrictions on their bodies took their lives. As for that cultivator you chose, Sun Guoshu, it would be best to kill him as well afterward. As for Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun, I will secretly place restrictions on them. If they have the slightest evil thought, they too must disappear. Of course, all of this is a last resort." Li Yan's mind reeled as he listened. He had never expected that Wei Zhongran had kept him behind for such matters. It was far beyond his expectations.
This was the first time Li Yan had seen Wei Zhongran reveal his murderous intent. Indeed, a cultivator who could reach the Golden Core stage and become the head of a peak in one of the Four Great Sects was no kind soul.
However, Li Yan was also moved. For Wei Zhongran to tell him this, he was risking his life. It was no wonder he was being so cautious. If things went wrong and that mid-stage Nascent Soul expert from "Luoshu Lake" found out about the Malevolent Spirit Sect's methods, he would most likely, in a fit of rage, defect to the Demon Clan. Wei Zhongran could not bear such a consequence. He would definitely be severely punished by the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and that mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator might even come to kill Wei Zhongran personally.
That's right, and Elder Chigong too. From what Wei Zhongran had said, if the mission failed, the most important thing for him and Bai Rou was to save their own lives. It was clear that Wei Zhongran had already discussed this with Elder Chigong. When Elder Chigong took Bai Rou outside, he was likely instructing her on this matter as well.
Being targeted by a Nascent Soul cultivator, no matter how high Wei Zhongran's status was in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, was dangerous. It was even possible that for the sake of the war's direction, the sect might directly abandon Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong.
Li Yan never thought that Wei Zhongran would have such thoughts for his sake.
After a slight hesitation, Li Yan also sent a voice transmission. "Disciple will do his utmost to bring the two back."
Since Wei Zhongran could go to such lengths, at this moment, a feeling of surging blood that he hadn't felt for a long time welled up in Li Yan's heart. As for the matter of Sun Guoshu, he didn't plead for him at all. If the mission failed, it would either be the complete annihilation of his entire squad, or he would have no choice but to create a false scene. The result would be that the "Luoshu Lake" mid-stage Nascent Soul expert would be enraged and become irreconcilable with the Demon Clan. Sun Guoshu would have to be abandoned.
It wasn't that Li Yan was ruthless. Since Wei Zhongran could do so much for him, he couldn't, for his own selfish reasons, harm Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong. As for Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun, being Malevolent Spirit Sect disciples, Wei Zhongran had still left them a way out. From this, one could see that Wei Zhongran could be considered kind-hearted. Li Yan would not worry about these things.
"Good. When you tell the other three about the mission later, just say you are going to retrieve an informant left in the Demon Clan. They have important information, and these two must be brought back. Say nothing else. When you are about to truly carry out the mission at the end, you can reveal a little more."
The sharp glint in Wei Zhongran's eyes slowly faded as he instructed Li Yan further.
...
Half an hour later, a bewildered Hu Xiaowang, Yan Feijun, and Sun Guoshu arrived at the peak of a subsidiary mountain of Windy Cool Mountain. They looked at the indifferent Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong, and then uneasily at Bai Rou and Li Yan, who were standing to the side in silence.
They had been in their respective caves when they suddenly received a message from Bai Rou, asking them to come to this mountain peak without alerting anyone, as a sect elder had something to ask them. This frightened the three of them. Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun had established themselves in the sect through their own diligent cultivation, but their talent was still quite a bit behind the prodigies of the younger generation. As a result, both had been stuck in the Foundation Establishment stage for many years, but fortunately, their foundations were becoming more and more solid.
Therefore, the two of them were usually extremely cautious. Why would a Golden Core elder suddenly seek them out in the middle of the night, and forbid them from making a sound? They immediately felt uneasy, wondering if they had done something wrong or unintentionally offended a fellow disciple with a powerful backer. Of course, the first people Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun thought of were Li Yan and Bai Rou. But after thinking it over, they couldn't recall offending them in any way. They had always been polite to Li and Bai.
When Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun arrived at the mountain peak and saw Li Yan and Bai Rou beside them, smiling and gesturing to them, they finally felt a little relieved. But the subsequent appearance of Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong once again made the two of them nervous. They had never expected to see two Golden Core cultivators at once, and both were people of extremely high status in the sect.
Of the three, the last to arrive was Sun Guoshu. After receiving Bai Rou's message, he had been hesitating. From his experience, he judged that there could be no good reason for a Malevolent Spirit Sect elder to look for him in the dead of night. Since he had been requisitioned, his performance could only be considered average. He judged that it was definitely not a good thing. In terms of cultivation, he was just average. In terms of aptitude, if he had good aptitude, wouldn't he have joined one of the Four Great Sects long ago? Why would he need to be a rogue cultivator?
But he didn't dare not to come. So he flew very slowly along the way, trying to discover something in the surroundings. But to his disappointment, apart from the passing patrol cultivators who checked his identity token, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't until he saw Bai Rou and Li Yan that he felt a surge of joy and hurried forward to greet them. Li Yan just nodded and said nothing more. Bai Rou was even less likely to speak. Sun Guoshu glanced at Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun and saw that they also had bewildered looks in their eyes. It seemed they had been called out individually like him and were also in the dark.
After Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong arrived, Wei Zhongran immediately spoke. "You have been summoned to carry out a secret mission. You cannot speak of this matter to anyone else. Even if you encounter other squads during the mission, you must avoid them as much as possible. This mission must be completed within fifteen days, otherwise, your mission will be considered a failure. If you delay the battle opportunity, all five of you will be punished. Your cultivation may be crippled, and you will be made into mortals."
Wei Zhongran's voice was still calm, but his words made Sun Guoshu and the other two tremble. To have one's cultivation crippled—they knew better than anyone what that meant for a cultivator pursuing eternal life. Why was the punishment for this mission so severe? And it even included Li Yan and Bai Rou. But all three of them knew in their hearts that when the time came, Li and Bai would likely not "enjoy" the same treatment as them.
This was also the first time Li Yan had seen Wei Zhongran directly issue a command. He was like a completely different person from the gentle, plump young man on Little Bamboo Peak. Li Yan naturally knew that Wei Zhongran's command was actually only directed at Sun Guoshu and the other two, but he still felt Wei Zhongran's hidden, thunderous might.
Sun Guoshu and the other two couldn't help but curse their luck inwardly, never expecting to run into such a misfortune.
Just then, the immortal-like Elder Chigong took over from Wei Zhongran, smiling gently.
"You don't have to worry too much. If this mission is completed well, the rewards will also be very generous. Besides spirit stones, each person can choose a mid-level cultivation method from any peak in the Malevolent Spirit Sect. By the way, Hu Xiaowang, Yan Feijun, neither of you has been taken in as a disciple by an elder, have you? If this mission is completed smoothly, I can recommend you two."
Elder Chigong was truly like an immortal from a painting, bestowing blessings upon the land.
When Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun heard this, their anxious hearts suddenly became excited, and their faces showed expressions of overjoyed delight.
After exchanging a glance, they quickly knelt and kowtowed to Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong, their voices ringing out. "Please rest assured, Martial Uncles. We will definitely complete this mission and not fail the sect's trust."
To become a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator was what Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun had always desired most. Without any backing, although they cultivated diligently, they had to fight for their cultivation resources bit by bit. Even so, it was not enough to fully support their daily cultivation. If they could become disciples of a Golden Core elder, then they would have some hope of forming a Golden Core in the future, instead of lingering in the Foundation Establishment stage for so many years like now.
Wei Zhongran smiled faintly, even taking a step forward personally. With a gentle flick, he lifted Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun from the ground, and then patted them on the shoulders as a sign of encouragement.
"That's good. Remember, although this mission is not a major one, it is extremely urgent. Do it with a free hand. The fact that you were chosen is enough to show your ability."
At this point, Wei Zhongran looked to the side, where Sun Guoshu was standing with an envious expression. Wei Zhongran pondered for a moment before saying, "Your inclusion in this mission was strongly recommended by Bai Rou and Li Yan. This is a rare opportunity. If you return smoothly from this mission, you can enter the Outer Sect of the Malevolent Spirit Sect."