Chapter 255: Chapter 234: Refining Requirements 2

"I just received word. We don’t need to go to the Shen Family’s ancestral land anymore," Elder Gao replied.

"Why? Did something happen there?"

"It’s good news. The trouble over there has been resolved. All four elders from the Stone Demon Sect have been eliminated."

"What...? What are the details? Who did it?"

Elder Gao shook his head. "I don’t know. I only received the message canceling the mission and informing us that the Foundation Establishment Demons have all been wiped out. We’ll have to go back to learn the specifics."

"Then let’s hurry back."

"Right."

...

「The Celestial Demon Sect’s Earth Realm.」

The headquarters of the Stone Demon Sect.

One Foundation Establishment Stage Demon remained here: Elder Mo Yuanhai of the Celestial Demon Sect.

At that moment, Mo Yuanhai was resting comfortably.

He knew all about the plan the Stone Demon Sect’s Sect Leader and the others had concocted. In his eyes, the plan was a feint—ostensibly to destroy some of the Foundation Establishment Shen Family’s territory, but in reality, to lure out and assassinate elders from the Celestial Cloud Sect.

’The overall plan is quite good.’

Now, all he had to do was wait for the good news.

"Senior, Senior! This is terrible!"

An elder from the Stone Demon Sect burst in, disturbing the resting Mo Yuanhai.

"Has no one taught you any manners?" Mo Yuanhai shot the Stone Demon Sect elder a displeased look before asking, "What is it? Spit it out."

"If this is about something trivial, you’re dead."

"Yes, yes." The Stone Demon Sect elder nodded frantically before speaking. "The Demon Jars of the Sect Leader and the three Vice Sect Leaders have all shattered."

For the elder, this was a catastrophe.

The deaths of the Sect Leader and all the Vice Sect Leaders meant their Stone Demon Sect no longer had a Foundation Establishment Stage expert to hold the fort.

A Stone Demon Sect like this was no longer a Foundation Establishment Influence and had no right to occupy such a large territory. Even their own headquarters might soon be taken from them.

"What did you say? Say that again."

"Yes, sir."

The Stone Demon Sect elder repeated his words.

A shattered Demon Jar meant certain death, with no possibility of survival.

After confirming the news, the Celestial Demon Sect elder, Mo Yuanhai, fell silent.

This was indeed huge news.

The Stone Demon Sect’s entire leadership had been wiped out in one fell swoop.

At this moment, Mo Yuanhai suspected that the Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leaders of the Stone Demon Sect had been ambushed.

If it wasn’t an ambush, the losses couldn’t have been so catastrophic, and it’s unlikely that no news would have made it back.

The fact that no message had been sent back was particularly important.

If they had managed to send a message, he would have been the one to receive it.

"Let me ask you, did their Demon Jars shatter at the same time?"

"Not simultaneously, but the interval was very short—about a single breath." Recalling the sequence, the Stone Demon Sect elder added, "At the start, two of the Vice Sect Leaders’ Demon Jars shattered at almost the same time."

Mo Yuanhai understood. ’So the battle was over within three breaths.’

’If this wasn’t an ambush, what else could it be?’

’How did the Spirit Refiners find out about the plan?’

’Was there a spy inside the Stone Demon Sect?’

Mo Yuanhai, who had been so relaxed just moments ago, now found his mind in turmoil.

The sect had sent him not only to support the Stone Demon Sect but also to coordinate their actions.

He was responsible for this situation.

He had to find a way to shift the blame.

Mo Yuanhai took a deep breath.

"You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

Not daring to look up at Mo Yuanhai, the Stone Demon Sect elder backed out of the room with his head bowed.

A moment later, Mo Yuanhai began sending messages, ordering the Foundation Establishment Demons from Iron Tiger Manor and the Feng Family to return from their ambush positions immediately.

He needed to ask them some questions.

As Mo Yuanhai waited for their return, he continued to ponder the situation.

"Elder Mo, what exactly happened?"

The Manor Master of Iron Tiger Manor was the first to ask upon his return.

He had been stunned when he received the message.

According to the plan, they were supposed to remain in ambush for at least two more days.

During that time, elders from the Celestial Cloud Sect could have arrived as reinforcements at any moment.

"The Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leaders of the Stone Demon Sect are all dead," Mo Yuanhai announced, his expression now perfectly calm.

It was as if the news was of little importance to him.

"What!"

The exclamation of shock came from one of the Foundation Establishment experts of the Feng Family.

Including Patriarch Feng, the Feng Family had three Foundation Establishment experts lying in ambush.

They processed the news Mo Yuanhai had just delivered.

Patriarch Feng and the Manor Master of Iron Tiger Manor exchanged a look. Both of them were already having other ideas.

With the Sect Leader and all the Vice Sect Leaders dead, the Stone Demon Sect could no longer be considered a Foundation Establishment Influence. For them, this had its pros and cons.

Their territories were adjacent to the Stone Demon Sect’s.

’This might be an opportunity.’

"I know what you’re thinking," Mo Yuanhai spoke again. "Don’t get any ideas. The Celestial Demon Sect will temporarily take over the Stone Demon Sect’s affairs. The territories of your Feng Family and Iron Tiger Manor are already large enough."

Mo Yuanhai’s words did little to dispel their ambitions.

’Just because there’s no opportunity now doesn’t mean there won’t be one later.’

For the moment, they all remained silent.

"I have some questions for you," Mo Yuanhai said, breaking the silence.

"Please ask, Elder Mo."

"Did the Stone Demon Sect know your specific ambush locations?" Mo Yuanhai asked. With so little information to go on, this detail was crucial, and he had to be certain.

"They didn’t know the Feng Family’s ambush location."

"The same goes for Iron Tiger Manor."

Their ambush locations weren’t the same, but they were close enough to provide mutual support.

Iron Tiger Manor and the Feng Family had already agreed that whoever successfully ambushed an elder from the Celestial Cloud Sect would receive a larger share of the credit.

"I see."

’If the Stone Demon Sect didn’t know the specific ambush locations, then the possibility that they themselves were betrayed and ambushed couldn’t be ruled out.’

’The Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leaders of the Stone Demon Sect are gone, and now I have to clean up their mess.’

’This way, it will be much easier to shift the blame.’

’A problem arose within the Stone Demon Sect. As an outsider elder from the Celestial Demon Sect, I had limited information, so it’s only natural I couldn’t have prevented it.’

"Elder Mo, what are our next steps?" Patriarch Feng asked.

"I’ll decide after I return to the sect."

Mo Yuanhai couldn’t give them an answer.

The entire leadership of the Stone Demon Sect had been annihilated without a single message getting out. He would have to report all of this truthfully upon his return to the Celestial Demon Sect.

He would just have to slightly modify any information that was unfavorable to him.

For instance, the fact that he had felt his side was strong enough and had relaxed instead of going to the Shen Family’s territory—that could be changed to him having been busy coordinating the overall plan from within the Stone Demon Sect.

He had previously thought that deploying two major vassal Foundation Establishment Influences would be enough to deal with the Celestial Cloud Sect’s vassals. Well, now the Stone Demon Sect was no longer a Foundation Establishment Level influence, leaving only the Feng Family and Iron Tiger Manor under his temporary command.

In an unexpected way, the situation now aligned with his original thought.

This was clearly not the outcome Mo Yuanhai had wanted.

...

「Celestial Cloud Sect.」

Artifact Casting Peak.

"Senior Sister Bai, how long have you been waiting here?"

Upon his return, Fang Yun saw Bai Qinying pacing back and forth in front of his cave residence.

Bai Qinying didn’t answer his question. As Fang Yun landed, she asked one of her own.

"The four Foundation Establishment Demons who appeared at the Shen Family’s ancestral land... did they all die by your hand?"

There was so much she wanted to know right now.

She hadn’t been selected to go with the Battle Peak elders to reinforce the Shen Family this time, a fact that had disappointed her for a while.

Later, her master, Feng Tianrui, had come to see her with some incredible news: the four Foundation Establishment Demons at the Shen Family’s ancestral land had all been dealt with. According to Management Elder Miao Qinghong, it seemed they had all died at Fang Yun’s hands.

"That’s right," Fang Yun nodded.

The first thing he did upon returning to the sect was go to the Evil Extermination Hall.

For hunting Foundation Establishment Demons not affiliated with the Celestial Demon Sect, one could earn 3,000 Sect Contribution Points for an early-stage kill and 5,000 for a mid-stage kill.

In a flash, he was in and out.

He now had an additional 16,000 Contribution Points.

"It seems that Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact you refined for dealing with Demons works like a charm, Junior Brother."