Master of Strange Dao

"If they are weak, you can wipe them out and bring back a few survivors; I have ways to make them talk.

If they can kill you, then it's fitting that you die by their hands.

I've wanted to do this for a long time, just didn't have the right time or person. Now, no one is more suitable than you for this task.

I've given you life, what happens next is all up to you."

"What if I die?"

"Then dig up the people who once kidnapped Qing Ziyu and send their heads to Jinlan Mountain.

If he has the strength and ability to control me, then for the greater good, I would accept being controlled by him.

Even if it means that I must humble myself, apologize, and admit my mistakes, I would accept that too.

But it cannot just be empty words convincing me to trust that Evil Dao, I can't possibly trust it.

No matter the risk, I mustn't trust it.

Even if I believe today, what about tomorrow? The day after that?"

Cui Changping remained silent, he had no choice.

The one being manipulated, the person driven into a corner, was actually him.

When he received the message, he knew he was doomed.

He knew all too well that the dozen chairs in this secret chamber represented Ninth Tier Strong.

And most of them had the ability to kill him, his power here was indeed weak.

Precisely because of this, he needed to do many things himself.

An exception would be someone like the Black Robed Man, who did things for money.

...

Yu Ziqing entered the Seventh Floor, Song was already sitting there waiting.

As soon as they met, Song pointed through the air with a flick of his finger, and long records were projected out.

"The intelligence you wanted is quite extensive.

But I don't trust anyone to deliver it to you, so this is the only way."

"No problem, this is the best way."

Yu Ziqing read very quickly, ten lines at a glance, a whole page in the blink of an eye.

It was apparent that Song was truly attentive, providing incredibly detailed intelligence.

He even obtained the original text of the Dharma Method practiced by Cui Changping.

Although for cultivation, such an original text is of little use and can easily lead one astray.

The most proper classics are always the original copies, and these originals are always kept at the bottom of the chest by each school, usually only masters of the sect can observe and comprehend them.

The original contains the author's heart, blood, and insights, and its meaning contained within is the strongest, the most perfect, and the most accurate.

Aside from the original, the handwritten copy by top cultivators practicing this Dharma Method, with their own heart blood, is the secondary choice.

This can't compare to the original but is exceptionally precious as well.

Old Yang mentioned that almost all the classics in the Langya Library were of this nature.

There were several copies of some dharma methods, looking the same but subtly different inside.

The lowest type is the one without any thought, heart blood, or insights, where one's cultivation success completely relies on personal understanding.

Cultivators with low strength, insufficient accumulation, and inadequate foundation might not even understand such an original text.

Yu Ziqing couldn't quite grasp it either; he could understand the first three realms of the original text, but beyond that, it became increasingly difficult, and by the time he reached the seventh, eighth, and ninth tiers, it was like reading the heavens, utterly incomprehensible.

But it wasn't important, he didn't need to understand.

He was merely accumulating information; though understanding it would indeed be better, gaining personal insight through cultivation even better, it just wasn't necessary.

Yu Ziqing skimmed page by page, much like quantum reading, doing so for an hour.

Accruing this information, Yu Ziqing felt that he should have already reached the minimum statutory threshold for judgment.

For individuals in the open, their growth could be traced; detailed records existed inherently, leaving Jinyi Wei with no secrets to uncover.

Perhaps only some confidential matters weren't accessible to Jinyi Wei.

However, under normal circumstances, the minimum criteria for assessment didn't necessitate knowing many confidential matters.

The maximum strength achieved by meeting the minimum criteria, Ninth Tier Peak, was sufficient for Yu Ziqing.

Yu Ziqing suddenly thought that if he had spare time later, he needed to figure out a way to protect Song, to ensure he doesn't die.

Having Song around made acquiring information about many prominent figures much easier for Yu Ziqing.

Although many powerhouses might be in situations similar to the Black Robed Man, where Yu Ziqing didn't even know their names.

Song probably couldn't obtain detailed intelligence on the Black Robed Man either.

As long as Song was alive, at least some powerhouses could be excluded from the threat range.

As he pondered, Yu Ziqing spoke.

"I have some intelligence that I think you might find interesting."

"Oh?" Song perked up immediately.

"Someone is operating in secret, and many powerhouses are within that force.

I've roughly figured it out now, and it's a loose alliance.

The goal of this is to bring Dadui back, and Dadui's purpose for returning is to open the Tenth Tier path.

I don't know more than that.

Do you know about this?"

Song Chengyue suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his heart and shook his head.

"I don't know."

"I think you should know."

"I know."

For a moment, Song Chengyue's heart was filled with complexity.

He understood perfectly well what Yu Ziqing meant by those words.

His identity, in Yu Ziqing's eyes, was as if defenseless; the other must already know what his identity was.

If it were any other matter, of which he had no knowledge, it wouldn't have mattered.

But upon hearing this, he knew for sure that Daqian's involvement was inevitable.