Recently, Li Zhanying, the ancestor of the Li family, had noticed something different in Lingxian Sect's actions. It seemed they had some plans for the spies that were planted in the mortal realm.
Suppressing the excitement that surged within him, Li Zhanying resolved to handle this matter meticulously.
Soon, many countries and sects surrounding the Pusi Kingdom received large-scale sound transmission talismans from the Li family patriarch.
Upon hearing the content, even though Li Zhanying didn't explicitly mention that Lingxian Sect was involved, those receiving the message all had a similar thought: someone was finally planning to deal with the spies sent by the Immortal Realm, and it was likely that this someone was Lingxian Sect — the sect rumored to now have a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Among these recipients were several sects and royal families already involved in trading with Shuishui City. With their enthusiastic responses, even those who hadn't previously interacted with Lingxian Sect quickly and willingly provided the detailed information they had on the Immortal Realm's spies.
Not only that, but they also used their networks to further expand the effort, spreading the word to more sects and royal families, thus gathering more detailed information about the Immortal Realm's spies.
Messages were swiftly relayed by the Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators of these sects and royal families, all converging rapidly at the capital of the Pusi Kingdom.
Li Zhanying carefully compiled and documented all the secret information, recording it in the jade slips Lin Xiao had given him.
In a dark chamber, heavily sealed with powerful isolation barriers, located in a city within a certain mortal kingdom:
"What?! You're saying the Sect Leader of Tianxin Sect, Zhi Yu Zun, has already reached the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage and is preparing to break through to the Divine Transformation stage?"
A young man, dressed in a gray robe, stood up in fury, glaring at his subordinate kneeling on the floor below him. "Didn't I tell you to keep a close watch on him? Where are agents Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four? Are they dead?!"
The trembling subordinate responded, "Honored Zun, agents Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four have gone missing."
"Missing? Doesn't someone make contact with them every month? How could they have gone missing? And you only just realized this? What about last month? And the month before? Did they disappear then too, and you only noticed now?" The young man's fury intensified as he roared, "Do you expect me to believe Zhi Yu Zun just reached the Great Perfection stage in the last two months and immediately began preparing to break through to the Divine Transformation stage?!"
This young man was none other than the chief supervisor of Wan Wan Tong's spies in the mortal realm, code-named Gui Jia.
Gui Jia's cultivation wasn't weak—he had already reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm and had been overseeing Wan Wan Tong's operations in the mortal realm for nearly two hundred years.
Originally, his code name within Wan Wan Tong was Gui Jia, but upon arriving in the mortal realm, he insisted that all his subordinates address him as "Gui Jia Zun" (Honored Gui Jia).
This wasn't because Gui Jia Zun was particularly loyal to Wan Wan Tong, willing to forsake his cultivation path to oversee operations in the mortal realm, a region devoid of rich spiritual energy.
In reality, his potential had initially capped at the Golden Core stage, and it was only thanks to the vast resources of Wan Wan Tong—spiritual medicines, treasures, and support—that he had managed to reach his current level.
In exchange, he was required to serve Wan Wan Tong, and Gui Jia Zun had eagerly agreed, hoping that if he could keep things under control in the mortal realm for three hundred years, he would return to the Immortal Realm with a chance to break through to the Divine Transformation stage.
The higher-ups had even promised him that if he successfully managed his responsibilities, reaching the Divine Transformation stage would not be out of reach.
Unfortunately, just as the remaining hundred years of his assignment neared completion, this disaster struck!
Accurately monitoring and preventing cultivators in the mortal realm from reaching the Divine Transformation stage was one of his most critical duties. If he failed in this, not only would his return to the Immortal Realm be jeopardized, but his very cultivation might be at risk.
The subordinate kneeling before Gui Jia Zun trembled, bowing even lower until his forehead nearly touched the floor. His voice shaking, he explained, "Honored Zun, the reports from agents Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four had always indicated everything was normal at Tianxin Sect. There was no sign of any unusual activity. It wasn't until a few days ago, when they failed to make contact at the scheduled time, that we sent investigators to Tianxin Sect. We found that their residence had been abandoned for almost a month…"
"I immediately dispatched more agents to investigate and even utilized the detection treasures provided by our superiors. Despite our efforts, we couldn't locate agents Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four. However, we did uncover suspicious activity at Tianxin Sect. After exhausting ten of the detection talismans provided by headquarters, we confirmed that Zhi Yu Zun is indeed preparing to break through to the Divine Transformation stage."
Gui Jia Zun stood in silence for a long time, his eyes fixed on the floor, his lips tightly pressed together, fury simmering beneath the surface.
The kneeling subordinate, sensing the prolonged silence, nervously lifted his head, hoping to gauge Gui Jia Zun's reaction and determine whether he should offer further explanation.
Suddenly, Gui Jia Zun broke the silence, issuing a cold command, "Send word to headquarters immediately. Report this matter to the higher-ups. Make sure the message reaches the Ling Zun directly and that the Ling Zun personally reviews it!"
Though his tone was still filled with anger, it carried a calm that suggested he had regained some composure.
After a pause, he added, "Send agents Eleven through Eighteen as well! I want them to deliver the message as quickly as possible!"
The agents Gui Jia Zun referred to—numbers Eleven through Eighteen—were eight Golden Core stage spies dispatched to the mortal realm fifty years ago. Among all of Wan Wan Tong's spies, these eight were the most efficient at conserving spiritual energy while traveling at high speeds.
Though the chances of successfully breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage were slim, Gui Jia Zun knew that Zhi Yu Zun of Tianxin Sect had immense talent. He was someone Gui Jia Zun, who had relied on external resources to reach the Nascent Soul stage, could only envy.
Gui Jia Zun was well aware that if someone as talented as Zhi Yu Zun wasn't interfered with, his chances of successfully breaking through might not be small.
While breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage could take anywhere from two or three years to ten years or more, even with agents Eleven through Eighteen rushing back as fast as possible, crossing the desolate zone between the mortal and Immortal realms would still take them at least half a year.