Chapter 1230: Progress
When Zhao Dingshi was drunk by the two men, two disciples of Qinjian Villa who received the message overnight had already rushed to the temporary residence rented by Zhou Yiqiao and Xu Hanchang.
After welcoming the two disciples into the mansion, Xu Hanchang pointed at Zhao Dingshi who was drunk not far away and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Since Junior Sister Qing has chosen you two to carry out this mission, you must have something extraordinary."
“Although Zhao Dingshi is determined to save the Spirit Sword Sect, his own strength is limited. Otherwise, he would not have cultivated to the late stage of the Spiritual Transformation and would not be ostracized like this.”
"What you two have to do first is to promote the conflict between the Spirit Sword Sect and several surrounding forces."
"The second is to collect information about these sects through the Spirit Sword Sect's intelligence network and hand them over to us."
"Finally, I helped Zhao Dingshi control the Lingjian Sect and seize the power of the Sect Master!"
Xu Hanchang's voice was cold and stern, and he no longer looked like the close friend he had been when talking to Zhao Dingshi just now.
Although the two disciples of Qinjian Villa did not know the reason, they felt a chill in their spines for some reason and nodded in agreement hurriedly.
Xu Hanchang nodded with satisfaction.
"Remember, my plan is this..."
......
The next morning, just after daybreak, Zhao Dingshi bid farewell to Xu Hanchang and Zhou Yiqiao, then quietly returned to Lingjian Sect with two disciples from Qinjian Villa.
After seeing them off, Zhou Yiqiao and Xu Hanchang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“So we have taken the most difficult step.”
Zhou Yiqiao stood up and stretched his body, which was a little stiff from sitting for a long time, with doubt flashing in his eyes.
"But whether our plan can be successfully implemented depends on the cooperation between Zhao Dingshi and the two disciples."
"If you ask me, Brother Xu should have listened to my advice and let me follow Zhao Dingshi into the Spirit Sword Sect. Wouldn't that be more direct and effective?"
After Zhou Yiqiao finished speaking, he couldn't help but rub his hair in annoyance.
After all, they were now placing all their hopes on someone they had only known for a few days, and this uncertainty really made Zhou Yiqiao feel uneasy.
Xu Hanchang cursed with a smile.
"Brother Zhou, Brother Zhou, why are you so anxious?"
"As the military strategy says, if you know yourself and your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger."
"Although we need Zhao Dingshi's help, directly interfering in the internal affairs of the Spirit Sword Sect is tantamount to playing with fire and burning ourselves, and it is even more likely to alert the enemy."
"Furthermore, although Zhao Dingshi is being ostracized, he is still a force that cannot be ignored in the Spirit Sword Sect. If he really wants to change the status quo, he will definitely go all out."
"We just need to manipulate behind the scenes and guide him towards our goal."
"To take a step back, the two disciples from Qinjian Villa were also carefully selected. Not only are they highly skilled in cultivation, they are also good at intelligence gathering and infiltration."
"With their assistance to Zhao Dingshi, even if Zhao Dingshi's expectations are not realized, our task of collecting intelligence on these nearby sects can still be easily accomplished."
Having said that, Xu Hanchang walked to Zhou Yiqiao and patted the latter on the shoulder.
"Brother Zhou, just put your mind at ease. You will be busy when the time comes."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yiqiao couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head.
“I hope so.”
......
In a blink of an eye, it was already evening one month later.
In the past month, Zhao Dingshi has made remarkable progress with the assistance of two disciples from Qinjian Villa.
As soon as the two disciples from Qinjian Villa entered Lingjian Sect, they followed Xu Hanchang's instructions and used the name of Taixu Sect to help Zhao Dingshi win over dissatisfied people within the sect.
As they could not offer much reward for the time being, Zhou Yiqiao and Xu Hanchang told the two disciples of Qinjian Villa that they would only recruit those disciples who were dissatisfied with the status quo, eager for change but unable to resist, especially those elites who were marginalized or excluded for various reasons.
Perhaps the Lingjian Sect was really as Zhao Dingshi said, too weak towards the outside world. Even after layers of screening, it quickly recruited a group of like-minded disciples.
At the same time, two Qinjian Villa disciples used their superb intelligence gathering skills to quietly infiltrate various key departments of the Lingjian Sect, including the library, the alchemy room, and the department responsible for external liaison.
Not only did they collect a large amount of intelligence about the internal conflicts and external threats of the Lingjian Sect, they also gradually figured out the subtle changes in the sect's internal power structure, as well as the hostile forces hiding in the dark and ready to make a move.
This day was the day when Zhao Dingshi and Zhou Yiqiao met as agreed.
The few of them met in the house where they had made the covenant.
Different from Zhao Dingshi's decadent state a month ago, he was radiant at this moment. The moment he stepped into the room with two monks from Qinjian Villa, he couldn't wait to tell Zhou Yiqiao and the others the good news.
Zhao Dingshi excitedly revealed an important news to Zhou Yiqiao and Xu Hanchang.
Recently, a nearby force called "Xingyun Pavilion" accidentally discovered an ancient secret realm named "Youxuan Secret Realm" while exploring an ancient secret realm.
This secret realm is said to contain rich cultivation resources and ancient treasures, which has aroused the covetousness of all surrounding forces.
However, the strength of Xingyun Pavilion was not enough to develop this secret realm on its own, so they were forced to negotiate with several other forces to jointly develop this secret realm.
These forces include the "Yunyin Sect", "Bi Bo Mansion" and "Xuan Tian League". They are all puppet forces of Lingxiao Palace and their strength should not be underestimated.
Zhao Dingshi believed that this was a great opportunity.
If they could enter the secret realm, they would not only be able to obtain valuable resources, but also stir up conflicts between these forces, thereby achieving the goals of Zhou Yiqiao and the others while also giving the Lingjian Sect a chance to develop safely.
He believed that as long as the operation was carried out properly, the Lingjian Sect would have a good chance of gaining unexpected benefits from this battle.
After hearing this, Zhou Yiqiao and Xu Hanchang both thought this was a rare opportunity.
Both of them are the kind of people who do what they say. After seeing off Zhao Dingshi, they immediately went to the suburbs to meet up with Qing Jimeng and others.
Qing Jimeng and others had been waiting in a residence in the suburbs for more than a month. When they saw Zhou Yiqiao and Xu Hanchang hurried over, they all stood up to greet them.
"Brother Xu, Fellow Daoist Zhou, is this finally any progress?"
Because she had to discipline the disciples sent by Qing Lietian, Qing Jimeng had not participated in any planning during this period. There was a bit of eagerness and expectation in her words, and her eyes moved between Zhou Yiqiao and Xu Hanchang, eager to get a positive answer.
Zhou Yiqiao nodded, looking solemn and excited.
“Indeed, there has been significant progress.”
"Zhao Dingshi sent a message that an ancient secret realm called 'Youxuan Secret Realm' was discovered nearby. This secret realm contains rich cultivation resources and ancient treasures, which has attracted several major forces in the surrounding area to make moves, including the Yunyin Sect, Bibo Mansion, Xuantian League and other puppet forces of Lingxiao Palace."
"Zhao Dingshi believes that this is a great opportunity for us to sneak in and stir up trouble."
