Two months passed since the start of the monster invasion as well as the monster fighting competition. The Immortal Association had their face slapped for suffering a monster invasion during their sect competition. They weren't about to take it without a proper reply and the counterattack of human cultivators was fierce and coordinated.
Cultivation sects, mercenaries, loose cultivators, they all saw the dangers as an opportunity. While it wasn't a huge draw for immortals, it captured the attention of the mortal population in the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent. It was also an opportunity for a certain brand-new immortal sect to slowly increase its fame.
This particular sect was also the target of jealousy and consternation among the other immortal sects in the area, particularly the Beast God Sanctum...
A heavy first struck a dining table, sending glasses tumbling and making plates clatter. The turbulent spiritual aura threatened to extinguish the light from the lamps around the room.
He Xinghan was in one of his foul moods. The servants standing around the room shivered and kept their eyes down. Yuwen Bing and Yuwen Tian who were accompanying him looked at each other nervously.
"Ten Thousand Flower Valley... Chen Wentian..." He Xinghan muttered to himself.
He Xuange sat opposite his father and was obliviously wolfing down a large roast of beast meat. He had finally recovered from his ordeal during the Immortal Sect Competition after many agonizing treatments and had regained his stamina and vigor. But it was unfortunate that he didn't know how to read the mood.
Bam! He Xinghan slapped the table again, "He Xuange! Stop eating like a god damn pig! The task I gave you, did you finish it?"
He Xuange choked on his food from shock and coughed and spluttered before finding his voice, "F... father! Yes! Wu Qianyu... she is the third disciple that Chen Wentian recently accepted. Her background is that of an ordinary cultivator and a member of an insignificant Green Leaf Sect. Her sect was destroyed due to a demon infestation and she was sole survivor. There's no other information on her."
He Xinghan glared at him, "Nothing else? Useless!"
All the top sects and their top contenders were trying their best every day but this Wu Qianyu seemed to take days and weeks off and it was like she wasn't even trying. Despite this, she still remained at the top of the leaderboard. It was like she was mocking everyone else.
Wu Qianyu had once again taken back the top spot today after dropping down outside of the top fifty a couple weeks ago. It didn't matter how far she dropped; she would climb back without fail. All the other cultivators were being driven mad by her seesaw rankings, especially He Xinghan.
"You're telling me a random woman he took off the streets is dominating our best disciples? And his other disciples?"
There was nothing new to report on Lin Qingcheng and Zhou Ziyun but He Xuange reported the info he found on Li Yuechan and her four sisters. He explained that they used to be Glacier Palace disciples that met an unfortunate accident and were cast out of the sect before being picked up by Chen Wentian. They had been mere afterthoughts in the competition but within the last two weeks, they had made steady movements up the rankings until they had broken into the top one thousand.
This was an incredibly alarming development for anyone that paid attention to the competition. This was because those five were at the very bottom of the rankings until two weeks ago. It could be said that overall rankings were pretty much decided within the first month and a half. If a cultivator was strong, they would stay strong. The weak would stay weak unless they obtained a breakthrough. The way Chen Wentian's five new disciples skyrocketed upwards in their rankings was a huge consternation for the other sects.
He Xuange finished his report and looked on helplessly. His father had a sore spot for anything related to Chen Wentian and it was driving him insane.
"Father, please excuse my impertinence... but shouldn't we be focusing more on the Eagle faction? They are getting rowdier and less reasonable every day." He Xuange tried to change the subject.
"Yeah, master!" Yuwen Bing chimed in as well, "Sis and I, we got harassed today by some Eagle faction bastards today on the streets. In broad daylight even."
"You guys don't have to worry." He Xinghan waved them off, "The lord and I are thinking of ways to deal with the Eagle faction. Report your incident to the law executive elder. As long as it's in Beast God City, there are still laws that even Qu Shen must obey."
Yuwen Bing looked at her sister who just shrugged in confusion.
"Indeed, junior sisters, you don't have to worry." He Xuange said, "In the city, Qu Shen is bound by oath..."
Woosh!
He Xuange suddenly lost his voice. He clutched at his throat as he looked in horror at He Xinghan, who was on his feet and livid. He realized too late he shouldn't have uttered that.
The four servants also realized and immediately bowed to the ground, trying to plead for their lives. Escaping was futile and He Xinghan was not merciful. He didn't bother with their pitiful begging and ended their lives with spiritual force.
"Master! Spare me! Please us!" Yuwen Bing and Yuwen Tian were also terrified.
They kowtowed over and over, tears flowing and sobbing wretchedly.
"Relax. Of course, I won't kill you." He Xinghan said impassively, "But I'll have to place a memory lock on you. It will hurt less if you calmed down."
---
Chen Wentian chuckled as he listened in on the interesting conversation. One of his shadow anchors he had managed to place in a random dining room had finally paid off. He could pretty much assume what the oath He Xuange mentioned was. It most likely prevented the three lords from attacking each other or their factions within Beast God City, assuming also that death would negate the oath for the living like what happened with the Snake Lord's faction.
Qiu Jingyi saw him laugh during dinner and pouted, "Husband, what's so funny? Is my red braised pork not good?"
Chen Wentian looked down at the half-bitten piece of pork on his chopsticks, "Oh, no, no! Of course not, Xiao Yi. The pork is delicious. I was just thinking about the mercenaries I hired that botched their cooking assignments while on mission."
He made a show of eating the entire piece and making a satisfied face.
"I've had to each too many overcooked, or burnt, or bland meals. You're cooking is the best!" He piled on the praise.
Qiu Jingyi was finally placated and they continued their dinner.
Chen Wentian used half a mind to converse with her while he kept the other half alert for shadow anchors, ready to spy on anything interesting. Even while out on hunting missions, he would still keep up the surveillance as the soul art made distance within the real world an inconsequential matter.
The tidbit from He Xinghan was the first big gain among an ocean useless information. His mind spun with several possibilities on how to take advantage of it. In the end he found it still lacking and he resumed his patient waiting game.