Trigger Side Quest

In the room, the Bearded Man sat upright, his earlier dazed expression completely gone. The scantily clad young woman who had been on the bed had long since left.

Chu Xingchen’s gaze remained fixed on the Bearded Man before him.

[Target: Zhao Yang]

[Cultivation: Golden Core (Mid Stage)]

[Blue Trait: Quick-Witted]

[White Trait: Mediocre Talent]

[White Trait: Naturally Optimistic]

[Black Trait: Live for the Moment]

[Does not meet disciple recruitment criteria.]

If judged solely by the blue trait "Quick-Witted," he could indeed be considered a skilled intelligence gatherer.

But that "Live for the Moment" trait was truly hard to take seriously.

Zhao Yang observed Chu Xingchen, whose aura was completely restrained, revealing not the slightest fluctuation. The fact that he hadn’t even reacted to that simple, unadorned punch earlier was proof enough—this was undoubtedly a true powerhouse standing before him.

Zhao Yang promptly forgot about the punch he had just taken—though his left eye socket still throbbed—and spoke respectfully, "May I ask which peak the esteemed senior hails from—"

Before he could finish, Chu Xingchen retrieved a token from his spatial ring, the one given by Bai Xuanling.

At the sight of the token, Zhao Yang’s mind immediately conjured an image of Bai Xuanling’s fierce glare.

Tsk… So the Tianyan Sect was planning to go all out this time.

Was the situation really that dire? Had the Tianyan Sect already decided the nature of this incident so quickly?

Chu Xingchen withdrew the token. "She said to come here and listen to your intel, and then I’d know what to do."

"I’m not entirely clear on the specifics myself…" Zhao Yang began, only to notice Chu Xingchen’s displeased expression.

Clearly, the senior was far from satisfied with that answer.

Hastily, Zhao Yang added, "But there’s reliable intel—the Mist Mystic Temple has been dabbling in some kind of Divine Path of Faith here. Their recent movements have been unusually active, and there are rumors that something’s not quite right."

Chu Xingchen frowned slightly. "Is the Mist Mystic Temple connected to the Tianyan Sect?"

"No… This is Taidao Sect’s territory. The Mist Mystic Temple has ties with them," Zhao Yang replied in a low voice. "Some sources claim the Taidao Sect might also be involved, but that intel’s a bit dubious."

"After all, the Taidao Sect is one of the Eighteen Immortal Sects of the Central Continent. Direct involvement in something like this would be beneath them. I’d sooner believe they’re tacitly allowing it."

"At the very least, there’s no concrete evidence of their participation yet."

Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod. "So, what exactly does she want me to do here?"

Zhao Yang blinked. What else would the "Living King of Hell" of the Central Continent be sent for?

Surely not just to chat with them, right?

"Well, given that senior’s usual style…"

Zhao Yang raised a hand and drew a finger slowly across his own throat, then gave Chu Xingchen a knowing look.

Chu Xingchen was speechless. What kind of mess was this? He had assumed it would be some secret realm where he could prove himself, but instead, he was being dragged into some Divine Path of Faith nonsense.

Forget about how the spoils would be divided—just hearing about it made it sound utterly worthless and definitely not something Chu Xingchen needed.

Even a 10% cut would be meaningless to him.

So why was Bai Xuanling so confident that he’d take the mission instead of just turning back?

And on top of that, she wanted him to play the role of a mere butcher.

Chu Xingchen turned to Chen Baiqing. "Let’s just wander around for a couple of days and then head back to pick you—"

Before he could finish, his gaze shifted toward the door, his expression turning serious.

A moment later, the door wasn’t knocked on—it was kicked open.

A young man in light-blue martial attire stormed in, his face twisted in anger.

"Jixiang, how is it that 80% of the intel you gave me was completely wrong? Tell me honestly—do you just make this stuff up as you go?!"

The young man’s eyes quickly landed on Chu Xingchen before shifting to Zhao Yang.

Chu Xingchen observed him.

[Target: Chen Mouguang]

[Cultivation: Nascent Soul (Mid Stage)]

[Purple Trait: Decent Talent]

[Blue Trait: Quick Thinking]

[Blue Trait: Steadfast]

[White Trait: Decisive]

[Does not meet disciple recruitment criteria.]

Zhao Yang, seeing that the two didn’t seem to know each other, asked in confusion, "You’re not from the same group? You don’t know each other?"

Chen Mouguang studied Chu Xingchen, finding his face unfamiliar. But the Tianyan Sect was vast—it wasn’t unusual to encounter someone he didn’t know.

That said, it was rare for anyone in the sect not to recognize him. Since he couldn’t sense Chu Xingchen’s cultivation level, it meant the man’s strength surpassed his own.

Was he an outside ally?

Or had Zhao Yang been duped?

Recalling the garbage intel Zhao Yang had fed him earlier, Chen Mouguang leaned toward the latter possibility.

Noticing Chen Mouguang’s suspicious gaze, Chu Xingchen wordlessly took out Bai Xuanling’s token again.

Sometimes, actions spoke louder than words—especially when the situation was this absurd.

The moment Chen Mouguang saw the token, his expression softened.

This token was perfect—it meant they’d sent him a ruthless killing machine!

Chen Mouguang exhaled heavily and began speaking rapidly, as if unloading a burden.

"Finally, reinforcements! I sent out a request for aid over a month ago, but there was no response. I was starting to think the higher-ups had abandoned this operation."

"You’ve come at just the right time. Any later, and we wouldn’t even get scraps from this."

"This Divine Path of Faith isn’t the low-grade wish-power nonsense from before. It seems they’ve actually figured something out this time."

"Aside from our Tianyan Sect, at least a few other factions from the Eighteen Immortal Sects are already here. We just don’t know their numbers or how much they’ve uncovered."

"But there’s bad news—the Taidao Sect seems to be considering paving the way for this Divine Path themselves. Rumor has it they’re preparing to intervene directly."

"This is Taidao Sect’s territory. If we want to uncover the truth, we have to get our hands on the intel or key items before they make their move."

"Once the Taidao Sect steps in, even the Tianyan Sect won’t be able to salvage anything."

Chu Xingchen looked at Chen Mouguang with mild surprise.

Compared to Zhao Yang’s vague ramblings, this man had laid out the situation with far greater clarity.

After dealing with someone like Qinghe—that top-tier headache from the Tianyan Sect—encountering a normal, competent person was almost refreshing.

That said…

Chu Xingchen shrugged. "You’ve misunderstood. I’m not here to reinforce you. I’m just passing through. If you need backup, I’ll relay the message."

Chen Mouguang froze, then turned to Zhao Yang—what the hell was going on?

Zhao Yang could only offer a helpless shrug. Whoever these two were, he wasn’t in a position to question them.

Without further delay, Chu Xingchen prepared to leave with Chen Baiqing.

"Wait!" Seeing that Chu Xingchen was serious about walking away, Chen Mouguang gritted his teeth and pulled a pale-yellow seal from his spatial ring.

Chu Xingchen’s steps halted instantly.

[Side Quest Triggered!]