Must Not Forget

Cui Hao's smile appeared relaxed, but in his heart, he let out a heavy sigh—the stone in his heart had finally fallen to the ground.

Although he knew his master wouldn't break a promise once made, this matter was not so easy to handle. He would have to properly thank him when he returned.

However, he had to admit that his master was resourceful, actually managing to pull off a trick of hiding in plain sight.

He had asked for a month and a half, but his master's letter guaranteed at least two months.

These extra fifteen days of leeway would indeed allow him to accomplish much more.

Cui Hao looked at Zhu Tu's increasingly flattering expression and decided to broaden the pig demon's horizons. Glancing over, he said with a half-smile:

"Do you know what it means to have a background now?"

Zhu Tu said in a fawning tone,

"Envoy, your background truly reaches the ears of the heavens!"

"Who are you insulting?" Cui Hao looked disgusted and said coldly, "We are the heavens!"

Hearing this, Zhu Tu nodded repeatedly. To be able to have Zheng Zhaoling of the Yunmeng Pavilion personally make a trip at this critical juncture, no matter what method was used, it meant they were the absolute highest authority among the heavens.

Even if it racked its brains, it could never have imagined such a method existed.

Zhu Tu repeatedly said,

"Yes, yes, the Envoy is right."

Cui Hao withdrew his gaze and then said in a leisurely tone,

"Now that you know how solid our background is, it's time to get to work and push hard."

"Spend more money and food on promotion. As long as they are willing to come to our Huaze Village, they will get all the subsidies they deserve. If there isn't enough land to distribute, you must take the initiative to reclaim more. The roads that need to be built must be built properly."

"I'll draw a planning map for you later and set up some legal regulations."

Zhu Tu didn't care what Cui Hao was actually saying; it just nodded frantically in agreement.

Whatever the heavens said, went. Why should it care about the purposes and thoughts of the heavens? Its only responsibility was to follow orders.

Furthermore, knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Cui Hao's mind constantly recalled the maps he had memorized in the past, continuously making plans in his heart.

Things have momentum. Often, all that is needed is a forceful push.

Then it will turn into an unstoppable torrent on its own.

A thousand years of silence is also a thousand years of gathering strength.

Yunmeng Ze, Golden Wing Heavenly Cave.

Originally, this was the cave dwelling of a Nascent Soul stage eagle demon, but this demon eagle encountered another heavenly authority.

Although the heavenly authority did not reveal their identity, their methods made the eagle demon obediently refrain from causing any trouble.

In Yunmeng Ze, aside from the method of gathering faith, another common spell for the demon race was cultivating a human form. After all, the statues in the shrines they built couldn't possibly be carved as an eagle.

Human faith has a degree of isomorphism; you might not be human, but you must at least look like one.

At this moment, the eagle demon had transformed into a white-haired young man. He looked down at the floor, not saying a word, as if he couldn't hear anything.

Chen Baiqing sat in the main seat, her brows furrowed. She looked at the news Lu Lingyi had just sent with slight confusion and casually asked:

"Zheng Zhaoling, the current core disciple of Yunmeng Pavilion? What is she doing here at this time?"

Lu Lingyi spoke calmly:

"They say she is here to inspect the situation in Yunmeng Ze."

Chen Baiqing pressed further, "Is there any precedent of a current core disciple of Yunmeng Pavilion coming to inspect?"

"None." Lu Lingyi had clearly looked into it, and she said firmly,

"Yunmeng Ze has a great deal of autonomy. Yunmeng Pavilion only nominally sends elders to rotate supervision duties. They call it supervision, but in reality, they don't manage much. For many things, they just turn a blind eye."

Hearing this, Chen Baiqing nodded slightly and then said:

"When things are abnormal, there must be a reason. I'm afraid the news of our arrival wasn't that well hidden. They probably knew we came and knew our identities, which is why they sent Zheng Zhaoling."

"As it stands, she doesn't know our location yet, otherwise she would have come looking for us. The situation is not without a chance to turn around."

"Not being able to make a move is indeed a restriction for us, but it is also a restriction for them."

Chen Baiqing slowly began to ponder, and finally, her gaze turned cold:

"Time waits for no one, and we lack the geographical advantage. At this point, pulling chestnuts from the fire and confusing their line of sight is the only way."

"At the very least, we should shift Zheng Zhaoling's attention to the evil cultivators."

As Chen Baiqing spoke, she looked toward Wang Chuan and Li Zhuhua on the side and said coldly:

"Wang Chuan, temporarily stop investigating the demons trading with evil cultivators. Go and find out Zheng Zhaoling's purpose and her movements first. We must understand what she is trying to do."

"Li Zhuhua, you don't need to distract yourself with what my junior brother is doing for now. Let him play around for a bit. I generally understand his thoughts; there might be a time we need him in the future."

"Also, take this eagle and go stir up some trouble. Specifically target the demons we have confirmed to have traded with evil cultivators. Some groundwork needs to be laid in advance."

The two agreed in unison.

Chen Baiqing let out a soft breath, her gaze returning to the intelligence in her hands.

It was her first time coming out to handle a mission; she had to do it well and handle it appropriately.

Yunmeng Ze, Yunmeng Grotto-Heaven.

This was the place with the most profound spiritual energy in Yunmeng Ze.

As the absolute core of Yunmeng Ze, besides being the cave dwelling of the highest God of Yunze, it was also the residence of the elders sent by Yunmeng Pavilion.

In the initial conception, having demons manage demons would always be more convenient than having humans manage demons.

The God of Yunze had already gone through two terms. According to the rules, the most important point for every God of Yunze was—obtaining the approval of Yunmeng Pavilion.

After all, Yunmeng Pavilion was one of the Eighteen Immortal Sects. Although its reputation was not as dazzling as the other immortal sects, its strength was unquestionable.

As long as they were willing, they could naturally manage the entirety of Yunmeng Ze from top to bottom.

It was just that many things couldn't be solved simply by being willing; complex relationships and past events could also affect the present.

Zheng Zhaoling sat calmly in the seat of honor in the banquet hall, her gaze peacefully watching the humans or demons performing enthusiastically below.

The three elders of Yunmeng Pavilion also sat in the upper seats to the left and right. The main seat belonged to the nominal master of this place—the God of Yunze.

A stunningly beautiful woman wearing a pale white lace-embroidered blue dress, her white hair falling naturally. Her face was extremely pale but also extremely beautiful, and her eyes held a watery tenderness.

Zheng Zhaoling could not see through the cultivation level of this God of Yunze, but estimated that she had at least reached the middle to late stages of the Body Integration realm.

As for the true identity of this God of Yunze, it was kept strictly confidential by Yunmeng Pavilion.

Zheng Zhaoling also did not know what the true form of this God of Yunze was.

This banquet had already been held for three days.

Zheng Zhaoling did not decline; instead, she accepted the invitation and attended the banquet three times.

Firstly, she had to give the face that was due. Secondly, giving face now would better prepare her for not giving face later.

As a core disciple of Yunmeng Pavilion coming to inspect Yunmeng Ze, Zheng Zhaoling naturally had to go through the sect's internal procedures. Her identity was prominent, and acting selfishly on her own would bring no benefits other than giving people something to gossip about.

Investigations should be conducted openly and aboveboard.

Zheng Zhaoling also understood that there must be things in Yunmeng Ze that they did not want her to see.

Otherwise, why would they throw a grand banquet for three consecutive days?

Zheng Zhaoling cast her gaze down, looking at the delicacies on the dining table in front of her.

She instinctively remembered the words Chu Xingchen had said.

Hunger and cold must not be forgotten.