"Junior Brother Yang, how much information does your Evil Extermination Hall have on the Vortex Cave?"
"The Vortex Cave..."
The moment Yang Yingjie heard those two words, he immediately thought of the Foundation Establishment Influence affiliated with the Celestial Demon Sect. He then realized why Fang Yun needed this information.
The memory of Fang Yun single-handedly wiping out the Feng Family, a Foundation Establishment Demon clan, was still fresh in Yang Yingjieâs mind.
Thatâs why as soon as Fang Yun came asking for information, Yang Yingjie made the connection.
"Senior Brother, are you planning to make a move against the Vortex Cave?" Yang Yingjie asked immediately, wanting to confirm his suspicion.
"Thatâs right."
"The Vortex Caveâs overall strength is not to be compared with the Demon Feng Familyâs. Are you sure..."
Yang Yingjie, somewhat worried about Fang Yun, trailed off and didnât continue.
At that moment, he remembered something from just a moment ago: Fang Yun was now at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, no longer the early stage.
Fang Yun had also mentioned that his breakthrough from the peak of the early Foundation Establishment Stage to the mid-stage had happened not long ago. This meant that having broken through to a new Realm, he was confident in his ability to deal with the Vortex Cave.
Since Fang Yun himself was confident, he wouldnât say any more.
Yang Yingjie recalled that from the Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Establishment Stage, Fang Yun seemed to have never failed in his operations against Demons.
And so, Yang Yingjie quickly shared all the information he had on the Vortex Cave.
"...Senior Brother, if you want to infiltrate the Vortex Cave, you should strengthen your concealment techniques before you go. Otherwise, youâll be easily discovered, and it will be very difficult to kill their Foundation Establishment Demons."
After sharing all the information, Yang Yingjie added this last piece of advice.
For Fang Yun to achieve any success in his move against the Vortex Cave, the first priority was to prevent them from activating their Grand Array.
Once the Grand Array was active, even with Fang Yunâs strength, there would be little he could do.
This wasnât because Yang Yingjie lacked confidence in Fang Yunâs strength. Rather, it was because a Grand Array, drawing upon Earth Vein Power, was incredibly formidable. Many Second Tier, Upper Grade defensive Grand Arrays would take even a Core Formation Stage Cultivator a very long time to break.
"Yes, Junior Brother. I understand what youâre saying."
As for concealment, Fang Yun was now more confident in himself than ever.
His Half-Hidden Spirit Boots had been upgraded from four Spirit Patterns to Eight Spirit Patterns, his Combat Talent had leveled up from five stars to six, and his Realm had advanced from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the mid-stage.
Compared to when he dealt with the Demon Feng Family, his concealment abilities were now far stronger.
"Senior Brother, if you can wipe out the Vortex Cave like you did the Demon Feng Family, or even just deal them a heavy blow, it would also extinguish some of the Celestial Demon Sectâs recent arrogance."
On that topic, Yang Yingjie couldnât help but bring up the recent situation.
They could clearly feel that the Demon Spirit Sect had greatly increased its covert support for the Celestial Demon Sect, which made it much easier for the Celestial Demon Sect to act.
They had more to deal with and were becoming increasingly passive.
Yang Yingjie also wished he could do something in the Celestial Demon Sectâs territory like Fang Yun, but he was well aware of his own limitations.
If he entered the Celestial Demon Sectâs territory, he could only hide and cautiously gather information. As for proactively attacking one of the Celestial Demon Sectâs affiliated Foundation Establishment Influences?
That was something he wouldnât even dare to dream of.
Even attacking a Demonâs Qi Refining Influence would be difficult enough; one careless mistake, and he would end up buried in the Celestial Demon Sectâs territory.
ăBy dusk.ă
Fang Yun left Yang Yingjieâs cave residence at that very moment.
After getting better information, Fang Yun didnât act immediately. He still needed to make more preparations.
During his preparations, there was one more thing he needed to do.
He needed to spread the news of his breakthrough to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. This would help increase his influence within the sect.
The sooner he increased his influence, the sooner he could enjoy more benefits.
Currently, of his total influence in the sect, the influence from his Realm was the smallest component. This was part of his direct influence. His indirect influence, however, was roughly on par with that of a Supreme Elder.
Things didnât go as Fang Yun expected.
After the news of his advancement to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment spread among the sectâs upper echelons, his sect influence, which had long been stagnant, finally rose by one percent.
Going from 71% to 72% was proving somewhat difficult for him, even at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.
To reach 72% sect influence, he would have to boost his influence in other areas.
...
ăCelestial Demon Sect.ă
ăIn the main hall of the Soul Destruction Hall.ă
At this very moment, many Elders of the Soul Destruction Hall were gathered here.
The Spirit Destruction Hall Master was currently beaming. In recent years, under his arrangements, they had finally achieved some decent results.
If they had kept suffering losses, the sectâs Supreme Elders would have come looking for him sooner or later.
"Whatever you have to say, say it."
"Yes, Hall Master."
"A few days ago, I killed an early-stage Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiner in the Celestial Cloud Sectâs territory."
"Elder Hu, are you saying it was a Spirit Refiner from the Celestial Cloud Sect itself?"
"No."
"Then thatâs not so bad."
"Elder Zhuo, what do you mean by that? What do you mean, ânot so badâ? Let me ask you, have you ever killed a Foundation Establishment Stage Spirit Refiner?"
"Of course not," Elder Zhuo replied with righteous confidence.
"And you seem proud of it?"
"If I were to act, the first one Iâd kill would definitely be a Spirit Refiner from the Celestial Cloud Sect!"
In the eyes of Celestial Cloud Sect Cultivators, the Demons of the Celestial Demon Sect were different from other Demons.
The same was true for the Demons of the Celestial Demon Sect. Killing an early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from a power affiliated with the Celestial Cloud Sect was completely different from killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Celestial Cloud Sect itself.
"Elder Zhuo, why donât you come back and say that after youâve actually killed a Celestial Cloud Sect Spirit Refiner? Elder Hu has done a fine job in the Celestial Cloud Sectâs territory." The two Eldersâ argument ended as the Spirit Destruction Hall Master spoke.
The Spirit Destruction Hall Masterâs favoritism toward the Elders who had achievements versus those who didnât was very obvious.
If every Elder were capable of killing a Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiner, more than half of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiners in the Celestial Cloud Sectâs territory would already be dead.
Among the Celestial Demon Sect Elders, those with results to report spoke up, while those without achievements rarely said a word.
Afterward, the discussion shifted mostly to the current situation.
"Hall Master, I feel the Demon Spirit Sectâs level of support is still insufficient. Think about itâduring this time, not a single one of the Demon Spirit Sectâs Elders has killed a Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiner in the Celestial Cloud Sectâs territory."
"I think Elder Lu has a point. The Demon Spirit Sectâs support really is lacking. If they were sincere enough, they would have killed at least one Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiner by now."
Hearing this, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master fell silent for a moment.
âThese guys have never negotiated with the Demon Spirit Sect Leader,â he thought. âThey have no idea how hard it was to get that old fox to make the decisions he has.â
Although the Demon Spirit Sectâs covert support hadnât resulted in the death of any Foundation Establishment Spirit Refiners in the Celestial Cloud Sectâs territory, it had helped draw a lot of attention away, making their own operations much more convenient.
"How about this? You two go talk to the Demon Spirit Sect Leader on my behalf," the Spirit Destruction Hall Master said, looking up at the two Elders. "If you can negotiate a better outcome, Iâll give this position of Spirit Destruction Hall Master to one of you."
"This... on second thought, never mind."
"The Hall Masterâs position is still best suited for you."
To become the Spirit Destruction Hall Master, oneâs Realm was a strict prerequisite. For a Demon who hadnât broken through to the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment, ascending to this position was basically impossible.
Even for an Elder at the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment, it was very difficult. Historically, the position of Spirit Destruction Hall Master had been held by extraordinarily powerful Elders at the Peak of Foundation Establishment.
"You two are the only ones talking so much. Thanks to the Hall Masterâs efforts, the Demon Spirit Sect is already supporting us much more than before."
"Thatâs right. In the past, I wouldnât have even dared to imagine the Demon Spirit Sect supporting us like this."
After the Spirit Destruction Hall Masterâs remark, many Elders spoke up in his support. As for how many of them truly felt that way, that was another matter entirely.
After the topic of the Demon Spirit Sect was concluded.
They continued to discuss the current situation.
With their relentless attacks, it was only a matter of time before they captured their ultimate target.
Just as the Elders were all saying this, the Spirit Destruction Hall Master received an urgent message.
It was an urgent call for help.
After understanding the message, the Spirit Destruction Hall Masterâs expression changed drastically.
"Hall Master, what happened?" an Elder immediately asked.