"But they have backing from the Eastern Domain and only deal in major business."

Xiao Chen immediately understood. A power like that would naturally possess an impressive intelligence network.

This meant the information about Demon Cultivators infiltrating from Wangyan Mountain was likely true.

’In that case, I might run into some Demon Cultivators who deliver themselves right to my doorstep.’

’This is great news!’

This even improved Xiao Chen’s opinion of Chang Shunping. ’He must have a good information network to know something like this.’

’Since that’s the case, I might as well get some more intelligence out of him.’

With one eager to talk and the other intending to build a connection, the two ended up chatting for a full three hours.

The information Chang Shunping had was quite comprehensive and rich. He spoke with clarity and detail about the overall situation in Hezhou, its current state, and the status of its various powers, large and small.

This information wasn’t exactly profound, but it wasn’t superficial either.

Someone who hadn’t spent several decades in Hezhou definitely couldn’t have understood things in such detail.

"Take care, Chang. When I have time, I’ll be sure to pay you a visit."

After seeing Chang Shunping off, Xiao Chen sat alone in his courtyard, carefully recalling the information he had just received.

He had to admit, different people saw the world in different ways.

According to Chang Shunping, Hezhou was currently a chaotic mix of all sorts.

The Lingyuan Sect was currently facing the threat of the Divine Fire Sect while also having to guard against the resurgence of the White Bone Sect.

From the bits and pieces he’d gathered, Xiao Chen felt the White Bone Sect was a bit like the Luotian Sect, but even more outrageous.

Its main goals were to overthrow the Lingyuan Sect, enslave the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, and completely eradicate the Cyan Cloud Sect.

Because of these goals, the three major sects had joined forces in Hezhou to hammer them into oblivion. A few years ago, they had been on the verge of extinction.

But for some unknown reason, they had suddenly become active again in the last two years.

They had continuously tried to stir up major trouble. Although they never succeeded, they did have a considerable impact on the Lingyuan Sect.

In addition, Xiao Chen also heard news about the Celestial Secret Pavilion from Chang Shunping.

The Celestial Secret Pavilion was a rather mysterious organization. Its headquarters were said to be in the Central Domain, and all its official members were Divination Masters.

Besides divination, they also sold all sorts of secret intelligence on the side.

As long as one was willing to spend Spirit Stones, one could buy all kinds of intelligence from the Celestial Secret Pavilion, and it was said to be highly accurate.

Of course, this wasn’t the main point at the moment. The key issue was that the Divine Fire Sect had blockaded Quanzhou and showed the Celestial Secret Pavilion no respect whatsoever.

As a result, the Hezhou branch of the Celestial Secret Pavilion had now lost contact with the Central Domain.

To gain the power to protect itself, the Celestial Secret Pavilion had been frequently contacting various powers and consciously gathering nearby Loose Cultivators.

They had become a force that could not be ignored.

Besides that, many Loose Cultivators in Hezhou were now pretending to be Tribulation Cultivators, killing and committing arson.

As long as they weren’t caught in the act, they would blame it on the Demon Cultivators from the Divine Fire Sect.

Although many people were well aware that this was just an excuse.

But under the current circumstances, without concrete evidence, the Lingyuan Sect couldn’t afford to investigate too deeply.

All in all, the situation in Hezhou was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

.

After sorting through the current situation, Xiao Chen found that although things had indeed become more complicated, his original plan was unaffected.

’What I need to do now is still to first master the Eye of Truth and then earn points.’

’As for all the other changes and power struggles, they have nothing to do with me.’

’If I happen to run into some Demon Cultivators from the Divine Fire Sect who deliver themselves to me, that would be even better.’

With this mindset, Xiao Chen continued his routine just as he had at the Li Huo Sect, spending every day either practicing his Cultivation Technique or drilling his Magic.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

He smoothly handed over the Qingyang Stone mined that month to the Lingyuan Sect Cultivator responsible for transporting resources.

Xiao Chen felt a little bored. ’Seriously, where are the Demon Cultivators I was promised? Where did they all run off to?’

Back at the Li Huo Sect, when he felt restless from training, he could chat with Su Wanqing or take a stroll through the Marketplace.

But here at the Qingyang Spirit Ore mine, he opened his eyes to mountains and closed them to ore. Even he was starting to get stir-crazy.

Of course, his mood also had something to do with a notice he had just received.

When he handed over the Qingyang Stone, he had also received the monthly notice issued by the Lingyuan Sect.

The notice’s contents were actually very simple, just two pages in total.

The first page was a commendation, listing twenty Cultivators who had performed exceptionally well in the fight against the Divine Fire Sect last month. It was specifically split into ten Cultivators from the Lingyuan Sect and ten from Li State.

The second page was a reward announcement, listing the ten most valuable Spiritual Objects that had been redeemed as rewards last month, as well as the Cultivators who redeemed them.

Xiao Chen saw a familiar name on it—Ye Fei.

Not only had the kid killed three Demon Cultivators, but he was also ranked second among Li State Cultivators for points earned.

Furthermore, he had directly redeemed twelve Twin Green Lotus Seeds. It seemed he was trying to master some kind of Magic.

’They said a whole bunch of Demon Cultivators infiltrated, so where is everyone?’

Xiao Chen waited and waited, but no attack from the Demon Dao came. He was tempted to just run out and find some Demon Cultivators himself.

However, he wasn’t a Demon-slaying Guard yet and was responsible for guarding the Qingyang Spirit Ore mine.

Therefore, he could only remain stationed at the mine and couldn’t just abandon his post.

After thinking it over, Xiao Chen sent someone to invite Chang Shunping over, wanting to get an update on the latest intelligence.

"Xiao, I was just about to come see you."