Mo Yan's voice was calm and steady. "Elder Chou, you're joking. Whatever happened between Elder Wei and Elder Qiu has nothing to do with us."
Elder Chou chuckled lightly, her eyes flashing with a sharp glint. "Elder Mo, why pretend? Those rumors you spread, weren't they meant to stir up chaos within Alchemy Peak?"
She paused, her tone carrying hidden weight. "Now that your goal's achieved, you want to wash your hands of it?"
Mo Yan was silent for a moment before asking, "What do you want, Elder Chou?"
"Cooperation." Elder Chou didn't waste words. "I'll help you deal with Alchemy Peak, but afterward, Formation Peak takes Alchemy Peak's place."
"If you already know this much, why bother seeking me out for cooperation?" Mo Yan paced slowly, his black robes fluttering in the night. "With Elder Chou's ability and means, letting Formation Peak replace Alchemy Peak shouldn't be difficult."
But a complicated look flickered in Elder Chou eyes. "Elder Mo flatters me. The three forces within the sect keep each other in check. Neither the three peaks nor the sect master would allow Formation Peak to rise so easily."
"Even if Artifact Peak's on good terms with you?" Mo Yan pressed.
She didn't reply, but her silence was answer enough.
Xie Zhaolin caught the look in her eyes and understood. If Formation Peak showed even the faintest ambition to climb higher, Artifact Peak would crush that thought before anyone else had the chance. Allies were always more dangerous than enemies, because they knew your weaknesses best, and exactly how to make sure you'd never recover.
Mo Yan sneered, his tone mocking. "Formation Peak's rise gives me no benefit, and I'd be taking on even greater risk. Why should I cooperate with you?"
Regret flashed across Elder Chou's face before she sighed. "Since that's how it is… then I'll have no choice but to use some special means to force your hand."
Her gaze shifted to the young disciple behind her.
The boy's face instantly twisted in terror, his body trembling uncontrollably. "M-Master, please spare me!"
Elder Chou's expression turned ice-cold. "Why do you think I let him lure you here?"
Before her words faded, the boy's body convulsed violently. His eyes rolled back, blood seeped from his orifices, and painful moans escaped his lips.
Xie Zhaolin's expression sharpened. She immediately realized Elder Chou's plan—she intended to kill this disciple with a slave contract backlash and frame them for it!
The boy thrashed, blood spilling as his life force crumbled under the savage counterforce of the contract.
Elder Chou's voice was cold, laced with threat. "Perhaps you think his death has nothing to do with you, that you can't be blamed…"
Her eyes gleamed cruelly. "But I have my ways to make the sect master and the other peak lords see you as a threat."
Her gaze swept over Xie Zhaolin and Mo Yan, her tone colder still. "And when that happens… it won't just be this one disciple who dies."
Xie Zhaolin's heart sank at the hidden meaning.
This boy wasn't the only one Elder Chou had bound with a slave contract. If she could enslave even disciples from the sect master's peak, who knew how many more she controlled…
Xie Zhaolin didn't care about those lives, nor about being targeted. But Qingxi Sect was the best foothold for now, and with the Heaven Ruins secret realm slots at stake, there was no way she'd walk away so easily.
Mo Yan clearly thought the same. His aura turned sharp. "Elder Chou, are you threatening me?"
"No, only stating facts," Elder Chou said flatly. "Cooperation benefits everyone. If you refuse…"
She paused, her voice dropping to an icy edge. "Don't blame me… for using dirty tricks."
Mo Yan's eyes flashed cold, and without hesitation he struck with a powerful palm!
But the figure in front of him dissolved like smoke, reforming a short distance away.
"Why be angry, Elder Mo?" Elder Chou's voice was calm, as if she'd expected it. "That was only a clone formed from spiritual power."
She didn't look offended, instead letting out a soft laugh. "It seems… Elder Mo agrees to cooperate?"
Mo Yan frowned. At Xie Zhaolin's signal, he asked coldly, "What do you want from us?"
Elder Chou pulled out a jade slip and tossed it to him. "Inside are some… incriminating details about Lian Jiqing."
Her voice turned deliberate. "At the crucial moment, I'll need you to help me restrain him."
Mo Yan swept his divine sense over the slip, his brows tightening faintly.
Through their contract, Xie Zhaolin caught a glimpse of its contents, and her heart stirred. The jade slip held proof of Lian Jiqing's secret dealings with the demon race!
"Well?" Elder Chou smiled lightly.
Mo Yan was silent, then finally nodded. "Fine. I'll agree."
"A wise choice," Elder Chou said with a nod.
"Once this is done, Formation Peak will become Qingxi Sect's foremost peak. And you'll have Formation Peak's full support."
Her form slowly dissolved into the night, vanishing like smoke.
The young disciple, left behind, endured the pain and scrambled away.
Back at their quarters, Mo Yan immediately laid down several layers of barriers to prevent eavesdropping.
"Master, why agree to her?" he asked, puzzled. "Even if that was just a clone, I could infiltrate Formation Peak and kill her without much trouble. Elder Chou's only early Golden Core, I can handle her."
Xie Zhaolin shot him a glance, exasperated at the demon race's tendency to act before thinking.
"You're certain you could kill her without fail? Someone who can bind disciples from the sect master's own peak with contracts, and you think she's just an ordinary Golden Core cultivator?"
She paced slowly, her eyes glinting. "If Elder Chou dared show only a clone, it means she's already made preparations for her safety. Formation Peak may have a net already waiting for us. Do you really want to walk right in?"
Mo Yan frowned. "But with my strength—"
"Strength doesn't solve everything." Xie Zhaolin cut him off, her voice meaningful. "A prepared formation master, even at early Golden Core, can trap a Nascent Soul cultivator. Are you sure you want to risk it?"
Mo Yan was silent, then finally bowed his head. "Master's right. I was careless."
She let out a soft laugh. "Besides… what do we gain from killing her? Better to make use of her strength."
Turning the jade slip in her hand, Xie Zhaolin's smile deepened. "Still… she seems to have forgotten one thing. Anyone who dares threaten me… must be ready to pay the price."