"What plan do you have? Or are you just making excuses because you don't want to go back to the Fire God Church with me?" Fletcher Toba stared coldly at Ian Song, his eyes full of suspicion and wariness.
"Is your sister locked up in Ten-Thousand-Ghost Valley mainly because I took her virginity?" Ian Song continued.
"What, you think I'm trying to fool you with lies?" Fletcher's tone grew harsher.
"Brother Fletcher, calm down!"
Ian Song raised his hand. "To solve a problem, you have to get to the root of it, right? If I didn't want to save Diana Toba, why would I take such a huge risk to come find you?"
Hearing this, Fletcher's expression softened a bit. He said, "When my sister and I returned to the Fire God Church, our master found out about her losing her virginity." At this, Fletcher glared fiercely at Ian before continuing, "Master was furious and wanted to kill her. I begged and pleaded, and only then did Master spare her life, but he stripped her of her Divine Daughter status and locked her in Ten-Thousand-Ghost Valley. That valley is bone-chillingly cold, and there's not a trace of spiritual qi inside. Anyone who enters has to constantly release true essence to resist the cold. Once their true essence runs out, they'll die in there. With my sister's cultivation, she can last at most a year, so we have to save her as soon as possible!"
After listening to Fletcher's explanation, Ian Song lowered his head to think. After a moment, he said, "Brother Fletcher, do you think that if you bring me to the Fire God Church and hand me over to your master, he'll let your sister go?"
Fletcher didn't reply, but his meaning was obvious.
Ian Song continued, "I think, even if you hand me over to your master at the Fire God Church, he still won't spare Diana Toba!"
Hearing this, Fletcher's face turned cold again. "Enough with the useless talk. Either way, you have to come back to the Fire God Church with me!"
Ian Song waved his hand again. "Brother Fletcher, don't rush. Listen to me. Back on Myriad Spirits Island, inside that grand formation, your sister, Lila Li, and I were all affected by the life beast. None of us could help ourselves. So not only did I take Diana Toba's virginity, but the same thing happened to Lila Li as well."
However, the two of them faced different consequences. With Master Mingtan's cultivation, he surely noticed that Lila Li had lost her virginity, but he didn't punish her.
But your master reacted far more strongly, which means he took this matter very seriously. He was so furious he wanted to kill her. Even though he spared her because you begged him, he never really intended to let Diana Toba go. Locking her in Ten-Thousand-Ghost Valley is just a suspended death sentence. So your master's real goal is to kill Diana Toba. That's why I'm certain—even if you take me to the Fire God Church and let your master kill me, he still won't release your sister!"
Hearing Ian Song's analysis, Fletcher's face turned deathly pale. He stared hard at Ian. "Do you have any solution?"
"That's exactly why I came to see you!" Ian Song continued, "The Fire God Church and Prime One Church are natural enemies. Just yesterday, I killed all the Soul-Split experts at the Prime One Church's Dragon-God Province branch and crippled the rest of their disciples."
"What?"
Fletcher was visibly shocked when he heard this. "You really wiped out the Prime One Church's branch altar?"
Ian Song sneered, "Everything I've done in the capital was to marry Lila Li. The day before yesterday, I went to the Prime One Church to meet Master Mingtan and propose marriage, hoping he'd let me marry Lila Li. Instead, that old bastard tried to kill me. I'm the type who always repays kindness and grudges. Even if I can't beat Master Mingtan, I can still destroy their branch altar!"
"Destroy their branch altar?" Fletcher scoffed. "The Dragon-God Province branch master is only late Soul-Split, but other provinces have Fusion-stage experts in charge. How could you destroy those?"
Ian Song replied in a deep voice, "I have my own ways. You don't need to worry about that, Brother Fletcher. Right now, we're talking about saving Diana Toba. You can go back to the Fire God Church and tell your master: as long as he releases Diana Toba, I'll help him destroy twelve Prime One Church branch altars bordering the Song Dynasty's territory. How about that?"
After thinking for a moment, Fletcher said, "Master might not agree!"
"True, your master is furious about Diana Toba losing her virginity, but what's done is done. If he kills her, he gets nothing. But if he lets her live, he can weaken the Prime One Church. One option gets him nothing, the other gives him a real benefit. Which do you think he'll choose? Even if your master is reluctant, don't forget—he's the Fire God Church's sect master. He has no reason to refuse something that benefits the Fire God Church!"
Hearing this, Fletcher nodded in agreement. "But Master might not believe you have that kind of strength!"
"That's easy. Within ten days, I'll wipe out the Prime One Church's branch altar in Taiyin Prefecture. The branch master there, Monty, is early Fusion-stage!"
"Are you serious?"
"Brother Fletcher, just wait here in the capital for my news."
"Fine, I'll trust you this once!"
"Farewell!"
Ian Song stood up, cupped his fists to Fletcher, and with a flicker, disappeared.
Taiyin Prefecture, in the provincial capital, at an inn near the Prime One Church's branch altar.
Disguised as Jason Stone, Ian Song sat by the window, drinking alone. He was lying in wait here, hoping to see when Cullen Chu would come out.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Cullen Chu still remained holed up inside the branch altar, and Ian Song was starting to get anxious.
But that afternoon, something happened. Prime One Church disciples all mobilized, searching everywhere for his whereabouts. It seemed the kill order for Ian Song had reached here.
Suddenly, an idea struck Ian Song.
That night, in a private box at Ascension Pavilion, Cullen Chu sat alone in a blue robe, drinking quietly. Two guards stood outside the box, both late Soul-Split cultivators.
That afternoon, he had received a letter. The sender had invited him to meet at Ascension Pavilion.
He had agreed to the meeting because the sender claimed to know Ian Song's whereabouts.
But after waiting in Ascension Pavilion for a full hour, the sender still hadn't shown up.
Finally, after Cullen Chu finished another pot of wine, the man appeared.
"You know where Ian Song is?" Cullen Chu stared coldly at the middle-aged cultivator who had appeared.
"That's right," the middle-aged man nodded.
"Tell me, and you'll be well rewarded!" Cullen Chu said excitedly. The kill order had been issued by Master Mingtan himself—if he could kill Ian Song and complete the mission, he'd surely catch Master Mingtan's eye.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man gave a strange smile. "Far away in the horizon, right before your eyes!"
"You're Song—!"
Before Cullen Chu could finish, a stilled small-world domain appeared and enveloped him. In the next instant, the middle-aged man pointed a finger at Cullen Chu's brow.