As Liang Yifei looked over his shoulder, he noticed a shadowy figure emerging. It was Yang Wu, who raised his hand to wipe his forehead and commented, "Whoa, that woman was really intimidating, Aren't phoenixes supposed to be gentle creatures?" Yang Wu commented.
With an amused tone, Liang Yifei responded, "Nothing is that simple in the cultivation world."
Yang Wu chuckled and questioned, "Is that why you let her go? You haven't even drawn your sword yet. I think it would have been a significant boost to your battle prowess !"
Shaking his head, Liang Yifei explained, "As she said, I don't have the ability to keep her here. and most likely she's only used half of her power."
Surprised, Yang Wu exclaimed, "Half? How can that be?"
Liang Yifei shrugged and said, "Phoenixes aren't just good at using fire. Their ability to manipulate space is just as impressive as mine. If things go wrong, I could be making an unnecessary powerful enemy."
Yang Wu nodded in understanding but asked, "Aren't you worried about her exposing your identity?"
Smiling, Liang Yifei replied, "Who do you think is more tempting, a serpent or a real divine phoenix?"
Yang Wu agreed and questioned, "I concur with your statement, but I am still puzzled. Why do you worry about people discovering your identity? Your abilities are comparable to those of a cultivator in the Late or Middle Dao Integration Realm, and I doubt that anyone can threaten you with such power. Plus, with our current foundation, controlling the world wouldn't present much difficulty."
Liang Yifei laughed and remarked, "Ambitious indeed, wanting to control the world. Even the heavenly Conqueror couldn't achieve that feat."
Perplexed, Yang Wu inquired, "Is there anyone or anything more powerful than the heavenly Conqueror, a Void Transformation Realm cultivator with an unbeatable physique, in this world or lower dimension?"
With a mysterious smile, Liang Yifei responded composedly, "I used to believe the same way as you, but the true formidable entities prefer to manipulate events from behind the scenes."
After a momentary silence, He remembered something and said, "Oh, make sure someone collects what remains of the four Grazers' bodies and their storage rings. Each of them was a half-step Dao Integration Realm cultivator, and they should have many valuable items."
Liang Yifei laughed and asked, "You don't need to remind me of that. How are the arrangements for the opening of the Heaven Peak City branch?"
Yang Wu replied solemnly, "Everything is almost ready."
Liang Yifei smiled and said, "Great. Let's head to Heaven Peak City now. There's no meaning in staying here any more."
Yang Wu nodded in agreement.
Liang Yifei said, "Oh, that's right. Let's assign that girl on the counter as the manager here."
Impressed, Yang Wu commented, "As expected of my teacher. Even without me telling you, you already figured out that Yan Er is my disciple."
Liang Yifei was momentarily stunned , but cleared his throat and remarked, "It's not a big deal."
The Heaven Peak was the only city that had remained almost unchanged, except for the disappearance of the Heavenly Conqueror sect.
Strangely enough, it experienced fewer deaths of spirit cultivators compared to other cities during the devil's invasion.
After a few hours, Liang Yifei and Yang Wu arrived at Heaven Ascension Mountain where the city is located.
As they approached the city, they saw that it was surrounded by a vast wall that seemed to go on forever. The wall was made of black stone and appeared to be impenetrable. As they entered the gates, they were greeted by the sight of towering buildings made of white marble, and paths lined with cherry blossom trees.
Liang Yifei and Yang Wu made their way through the bustling city, passing by shops and restaurants filled with bustling people. The air was filled with the faint scent of incense and the sound of bells ringing from temples and shrines.
Liang Yifei and Yang Wu made their way to the centre of the city, where the Free Heart Pavilion branch is located. It was a grand building, with a shining golden emblem emblazoned on the gates.
They were greeted by one of the disciples who bowed respectfully and led them inside.
Inside the building, they were welcomed by a group of disciples who had been eagerly waiting for their arrival. Liang Yifei and Yang Wu exchanged pleasantries and discussed the arrangements for the opening of the new branch.
After all the details had been sorted out, Liang Yifei clasped his hands. "That's great. The opening would be one week from now. I have great expectations for it. If everything goes well, our plan would be much easier to execute."
He waved his hand and said, "You are all dismissed. keep up the good work."
After everyone left, Yang Wu took out a jade scroll and presented it to him. "These are a list of all powers and factions in the city now."
Liang Yifei took the jade scroll and inspected it with his divine sense. After a while, he sighed, "It's almost the same outside of the Heavenly Conqueror sect and the new Heavenly Mist Palace."
Yang Wu nodded in agreement. "Yes, after the demise of the Heavenly Conqueror sect, the new Heavenly Mist Palace has emerged as the dominant power here. They have a strong hold on the city, but there are some new rising factions that we need to keep an eye on."
Liang Yifei pondered for a moment before saying, "We'll need to gather more information on these factions and their leaders, and investigate them thoroughly before making any moves, We don't want any surprises during our plan."
Yang Wu nodded and said, "I'll have The Wandering Shadow Tavern gather as much information as they can. We'll brief you on everything when we have something substantial."
Yang Wu handed him another jade scroll and said, "This is a list of potential factions that we could use when the time comes."
Liang Yifei nodded and said, "Good work. Let's go through this together and narrow down our options."
As they went through the list, they discussed each potential ally and their strengths and weaknesses. They finally narrowed it down to a few that they could use.
Liang Yifei looked up and said, "We need to be careful. We don't want to tip our hands too early and expose our plans. Keep everything discreet and only inform those who are absolutely necessary."
Yang Wu nodded and said, "You don't need to be worried about that."
Liang Yifei smiled and patted his disciple on the shoulder. "Good, Yang Wu. You're becoming quite adept at this."
Yang Wu smiled back and said, "Thank you, Master. I still have much to learn from you."
With that, Liang Yifei and Yang Wu left the Free Heart Pavilion branch and made their way to their temporary residence in the city.