He barely looked up as I entered.
A core formation cultivator this close to my tower did put my planning slightly askew.
One move from him could seriously disrupt all of my plans.
I bowed slightly when I reached the head of the table. He was unconcerned.
The cultivators who had brought me here, immediately got down on their knees as if in prayer to him.
"I didn't realise the Ghostly Devouring Sect had to influence out this far."
That did get his attention. It was true. There were several large and medium-sized sects between here and our area of influence.
He still had insignia for a team in the sect, meaning there were several people of similar power to him, somewhere in the nearby area, whether that was working for the Demon Hair Sect to fight against the Flowing Stream Sect as a whole, or they were more interested in this location in particular.
I would have to find out.
"It is strange someone this far from our headquarters would know of us."
Sitting down as if I owned the house, got him to notice me a little more.
"I am well-traveled."
His gaze tried to bore into me steadily, but I had been playing this game far longer, with far more powerful people. It was like a puppy trying its best to bark.
"Is the Ghost Devouring Sect assisting the Demonic Hair Sect in their bid to become a neutral sect."
His eyes flashed dangerously, speaking of untold violence that was soon to be coming my way.
I was confident I could escape. Not if his whole team was in the same building true, but he alone was very doable.
"You know a lot for someone who claims to be a wanderer."
With a simple nod as a response, which he took even worse. I looked at the spread before me. Even this was subpar for cultivators. The taxes from the town couldn't supply much better true, but I would expect them to have their own resources, which would be a little more nutritious for cultivators then mortal food.
"Wanderer, what are your plans, surely someone with your strength could find gainful employment almost anywhere."
Her hair reached under the table. It was quite unpleasant. She began to curl it up the side of my leg, into places that I would have better left private. A flare of my power easily forced her hair from my legs.
A glare from the Ghost Devouring Cultivator stopped her from doing anything any further.
"My plans are simple. I wish to see all the world has to offer. That is my only dream."
She began to raise a glass to me.
"A lofty goal certainly, but wouldn't you prefer to be in with a chance for a few months of work to travel the world for years to come?"
I was surprised she was still trying to get me to her side. I suppose she wasn't used to hearing the word no.
There didn't seem a need for the extra assistance; there was quite an operation here already. Far more Cultivators in this little town then I thought possible.
"I have more than enough to last me quite some time, thank you for the offer."
The meal really was quite bland; there wasn't even poison inside it, or anything interesting.
"Well, I can't just let you leave after you have seen all our operation."
The cultivators surrounding me started to get ready for a bit more violence than a casual dinner.
Brandishing all manner of weapons, all of which were actually pretty bad quality, with quite a bit of disrepair.
Was this some rogue force that was working outside the boundaries of the Demonic Hair Sect.
They didn't have the funding or the gear of the team we encountered in the tower. This seemed to be getting even more complicated.
My mind raced through all the possibilities. All I really could be sure of was that they had no connection to the team in the tower. Otherwise, they would be a lot more worried and would have created defenses around their base, even if it revealed that cultivators were there.
"Okay, how can I get out of here alive?"
With a slight nod, the combatants stopped, they still held their weapons aloft, ready to take action at any moment. Naked aggression was always a good bargaining tool, so I appreciated that from him, at least.
"Very simple, we will be finished with this area in the next two months, all you have to do is swear an oath on your cultivation and your soul, that you will assist us in any way, and keep quiet about our organisation."
He moved quickly towards me, faster than I could blink, he had his sword out, just under my chin. A very dangerous position for him.
Still, it was easy to act afraid; I'd long since mastered such acting.
"Of course, I would be more than happy to swear on my soul."
Getting close to me, his breath stinking of untreated demonic energy, far more than he should have access to in this place.
"There is no need for that. You just need to swear on your qi."
Just like that, It all clicked into place. He was corrupting a contingent of the Demonic Hair sect, whose expertise would be far off in terms of soul work and qi, the treatment of the townsfolk was just the icing on the cake. The amount of demonic energy you could leech long term off many cultivators was no small amount.
So that was why his team was here. They must have set up in various places, taking advantage of the Demonic Hair Sect, teaching them small amounts of formations and arrays, gifting them hope to neutrality.
The Golden core leader of the team must be communing with them, while the core formation cultivators benefit from being leaders of small unknown rogue forces, taking over small citys and towns, corrupting both the cultivators and the townfolk.
This would be fun to dismantle.