185: Chapter 185 Sending spies to infiltrate the Alliance and create chaos

Moyuan withdrew his consciousness from that nearly invisible crack. He felt that the seeds of conspiracy had been sown; now, it was time to push them to sprout and grow.

Deep in the Void Realm, twelve mechanical Puppets were arranged in a circle, floating silently, their rune patterns trembling slightly on their surfaces as if they had a life of their own.

Their shells shone with a dark, cold-iron luster, and the rune patterns pulsated slightly on the surface like blood vessels, as if some sleeping living creature were breathing slowly.

The head of one of the Puppets lifted slightly, a faint green light flashing in its eye sockets, and immediately the other eleven opened their eyes in unison, their pupils reflecting the same emptiness.

Moyuan's consciousness flowed uncertainly between these twelve shells.

He had just finished his deduction— "disintegrating trust" was the only viable strategy. Now, it was time to execute it.

His main consciousness slowly sank into the Puppet in the center, while the other eleven instantly cut off their external senses and entered standby mode.

His thinking began to coalesce, no longer dispersed across multiple senses, but concentrated on a single command: dispatch a spy.

The memory bank opened, and the data stream poured in like a rushing galaxy.

The list of agents he had lurking on the edge of the Eastern Wasteland emerged one by one; their identities, abilities, and past action records flashed by at high speed.

Finally, it locked onto an individual with the code name "Shadow Shifter."

This person had once infiltrated the Cangling Clan as a Loose Cultivator for three years, during which time he participated in seventeen scheduling meetings, contacted nine core members, and was never exposed.

Most shockingly, when he withdrew, he even swiped the Cangling Clan's ancestral Incomplete Manual of the Spiritual Vein map, and the other party did not discover the theft until half a year later.

A perfect candidate.

A silent command was issued from the Void Realm: "Depart immediately and head to the core area of the Alliance. Entry identity: medicine peddler accompanying a West Desert Sand Clan caravan. Mission objective: create suspicion, amplify contradictions, do not seek merit, only sow rifts."

With the command issued, Moyuan cut the connection with the memory bank.

He knew that the distance was too great and the spiritual link was intermittent, making it impossible to control everything in real-time, but he only needed to sow the spark; when the wind rose, the fire would ignite on its own.

Meanwhile, on the ancient yellow sand road, dust billowed.

A caravan consisting of six camel carts was traveling through the wind-eroded canyon.

The wheels ground over the gravel, making a dull creaking sound.

Several men draped in gray cloth cloaks sat on the cart shafts, squinting to block the wind, with dry grass roots hanging from their mouths.

At the end of the procession, a gaunt man followed slowly.

He wore a faded, coarse hemp robe, carried a medicine chest on his back, and had the lower half of his face covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of eyes—pitch-black and calm, like two deep wells.

He was "Shadow Shifter," and at this moment, he had officially adopted a new identity: the traveling apothecary Lu San.

The checkpoint ahead appeared in his field of vision. A triple Spiritual Sense scanning array spanned the mouth of the valley, with green light interwoven like a net, constantly scanning passersby.

This was the Alliance's newly established inspection mechanism, specifically designed to prevent the infiltration of foreign enemies.

Lu San stopped, took a token from his sleeve, and gently pressed it under the skin of his left arm.

His skin undulated slightly, completely swallowing the token.

Immediately afterward, he adjusted his breathing rhythm; the rise and fall of his chest became regular and long, and the Spiritual Qi fluctuations on his body surface climbed to the level of the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

He took a step and walked into the light net.

"Name?" the guard asked.

"Lu San."

"Where are you from?"

"The West Desert Sand Clan, my family has lived in the border town for five generations."

"What are you carrying?"

"Three bottles of common healing pills, two boxes of Miasma-repelling pills, and a few samples of rare mineral materials, prepared for sale to the Beipo Liu Clan."

The guard nodded, recorded it on a Jade Slip, and waved him through.

Just as he passed through, in the distant wind and sand, a faint spiritual fluctuation quietly penetrated the spatial barrier and connected to his mind—it was Moyuan's remote monitoring signal, brief and blurry.

"Entered," Lu San thought silently, blending into the caravan without changing his expression.

He took the initiative to approach a young camel driver, seeing that his arm had been stung by a sand scorpion, causing it to swell and fester.

He took a pale green pill from his medicine chest, crushed it, applied it, and handed over a small cup of clear water.

"Drink it, it will detoxify faster."

The boy looked at him gratefully, "Thank you, Master Lu."

"A small matter." Lu San smiled, his eyes gentle, "When traveling, who doesn't have their own difficulties?"

This scene, seen by the other merchants, added a bit of intimacy.

Some began to strike up a conversation with him, asking about medicine prices, market conditions, and safety along the way.

He answered them one by one, his tone humble, his information precise but not ostentatious.

In less than half an hour, he was already able to call out the names of seven people in the team and learned that their destination was the temporary market area at the outer perimeter of the Alliance.

Upon arrival, the setting sun was slanting across the earth.

The market was built against the mountain, with each clan setting up stalls in designated zones.

The Xuansha Tribe occupied the eastern high ground, mainly dealing in metal ores; the Beipo Liu Clan set up wooden sheds in the northwest corner, displaying timber and spiritual plants; the Nangu Lin Family set up cloth tents on the south side, selling talisman paper and low-grade Magical Artifacts.

Lu San did not rush to settle down, but first walked around the grounds, observing the flow of people, trading habits, and the frequency of interaction between the various clans.

Afterward, he found an open space located at the boundary between the Xuansha and the Beipo Liu Clan, set up a simple stall, and hung out a cloth banner that read "Buying Exotic Ores, Exchanging for Good Medicine."

The first customer came from the Xuansha Tribe, a burly man with a full beard, bringing a crystal that glowed with blue light.

"This is called 'Cold Marrow,' are you buying?"

Lu San took it and examined it carefully for a moment: "The quality is not bad, but this type of ore has been heavily price-suppressed in the market recently. I can offer at most three Spiritual Coins."

The burly man frowned: "The Beipo Liu Clan offered four yesterday!"

"Oh?" Lu San feigned surprise, "They offered four? Then you might as well sell it directly to them."

The burly man snorted coldly: "They talk a good game, but when you actually ask, they say they have no funds for goods. It's clearly meant to suppress our prices!"

Lu San shook his head and sighed: "No wonder the relationship between the clans has been tense recently; it turns out even this little bit of trade is watered down."

As he spoke, he quietly noted the dissatisfaction in the other party's tone.

Half an hour later, a young steward from the Beipo Liu Clan also strolled over, bringing several gray-brown rock fragments.

"This is 'Earth Vein Bone,' are you buying?"

Lu San weighed it, "The quality is average, at most one Spiritual Coin."

The young man immediately retorted: "The Xuansha Tribe bought similar ores the day before yesterday and gave two!"

Lu San gave a wry smile, "They gave two? But I heard that they are privately complaining that you occupy the good locations in the scheduling center but never share the profits, and even keep the mineral prices suppressed."

The young man's expression changed, "Who said that?"

"Heard it on the road." Lu San lowered his voice, "It's not just one person saying this. Everyone says you are relying on your good terrain to hog all the profits."

The young man gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

Lu San watched his back disappear into the crowd, the corners of his mouth lifting imperceptibly.

He did not do anything else. One sentence, one look, one price difference—it was enough.

Night fell, and the market lights gradually dimmed.

And in the distant Void Realm crack, Moyuan received a fragment of intermittent memory: Lu San standing in front of the stall, people passing by; the Xuansha burly man leaving in anger; the Beipo youth walking fast with clenched fists...

The image flickered a few times and then cut off completely.

Moyuan was silent for a moment, then activated a backup spiritual energy node.

A Puppet located at the edge suddenly self-destructed, turning into a ball of blinding energy sparks, briefly lighting up the night sky over the Eastern Wasteland.

In an instant, the channel reconnected.

He received a clear image again: Lu San was packing up the stall, rolling up the cloth banner, his movements calm. He looked up at the starry sky, as if confirming the direction.

Then, he turned and walked into the depths of the market area, his figure disappearing into the alleys.

Moyuan slowly closed twelve pairs of eyes.

"The spark has fallen." He said in a low voice, his voice echoing in the Void Realm, "Just waiting for the wind to rise. Hahaha——!"