177: Lin Zhiyi

Xun Xiuyuan pondered, realizing it was truly possible he had been set up.

The fact that even the Soul Control Technique didn't detect anything meant those two Quasi-God Realm scouts were also kept in the dark.

Seeing Xun Xiuyuan deep in thought, Chen Sheng stopped disturbing him and quietly sipped the tea in his cup.

"Seniors, since you are willing to support this junior, would it be possible to gather all the elders for a vote to resolve this?"

Chen Sheng said indifferently, "My brother and I have always been neutral, rarely calling all the elders together for discussions. That would not be appropriate."

Chen Li chuckled, "Young Friend Xun, aren't you suspicious of Lin Zhiyi? You can go directly to the Lin Manor and ask him to convene a meeting. That might clear up many of Young Friend Xun's doubts, and then you'll know that my brother and I haven't deceived you."

Young Friend Xun respectfully took his leave, and after he and Wei Tieshan departed, they headed to the manor where Lin Zhiyi resided.

Chen Sheng watched the two leave, seeing them off without a word.

"Elder Brother! What do you think?"

Chen Li, who had been drinking tea, straightened his expression and asked Chen Sheng seriously.

"What can I think? The War God Hall is still very friendly. This is good news for the Cage Domain. I wonder what the Divine Martial Sect's attitude will be?"

Chen Sheng also put down his teacup and said with a frown.

Chen Li picked up his teacup again, poured water, and drank tea.

After a long while, he spoke again, "I'm not asking about that. I'm asking what we, as brothers, should do? What's your opinion?"

Chen Sheng knew his brother's intentions, and seeing him ask again, he couldn't help but smile, "What do I think? Of course, it's returning to our roots."

Chen Li also smiled at this.

Young Friend Xun didn't see the stone lions at the entrance of the Lin Manor and questioned Wei Tieshan with a look.

Wei Tieshan smiled, stepped forward, and directly knocked on the door with his hand.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"!!!

The sound was loud, surely audible. The two then stepped back, standing at the door to wait.

The door opened, and a middle-aged man walked out, seeing Young Friend Xun and Wei Tieshan.

He said arrogantly, "No manners. Who knocks on a door like that?"

Wei Tieshan didn't waste words; he directly released his aura, enveloping the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man immediately found it difficult to breathe and stood unsteadily.

By the time Wei Tieshan withdrew his pressure and looked at him with a smile, the middle-aged man's legs were still trembling.

"Do you two distinguished guests have an invitation?"

It was the same question, but the attitude, tone, and demeanor were completely different from before.

It perfectly illustrated the idiom of being haughty at first and deferential later.

Wei Tieshan replied impatiently, "An invitation? For a mere Heavenly God Realm expert, do I still need an invitation?"

The two deliberately made a big show in front of the Lin Manor because Xun Xiuyuan wanted to see how the Lin family would react, to confirm his own suspicions.

The middle-aged man had no choice but to go inside and report.

Moments later, a voice came from within the manor: "Distinguished guests have arrived. I apologize for not greeting you sooner. Please enter."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man reappeared, leading the two into the Lin Manor.

Upon entering the deliberation hall, Young Friend Xun saw an elder with an immortal-like demeanor sitting at the head, looking at the two of them with piercing eyes.

Young Friend Xun cupped his hands and said, "We are envoys from the Heavenly Palace, and we wish to form an alliance with the Defying Heaven Pavilion to jointly resist Ghost Valley."

He then proceeded to give an overview of the situation, repeating what he had said at the Chen family's residence.

Young Friend Xun sighed, realizing that a simple alliance had become so complicated.

After listening, Lin Zhiyi asked, "Heavenly Palace? What is its strength?"

Wei Tieshan had completely become the face of the Heavenly Palace. After Lin Zhiyi asked, he directly released his aura, then retracted it, controlling it with ease.

Lin Zhiyi's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Good! Ghost Valley is powerful, so an alliance is an excellent thing. Moreover, one in the east and one in the west, we can perfectly flank Ghost Valley."

Xun Xiuyuan was again puzzled. It seemed highly unlikely that Lin Zhiyi was colluding with Ghost Valley.

He then said, "Senior Lin, we have already visited the Chen family, and there are no major issues. We have also been to the Flowing Stone Domain."

However, as soon as he said this, Lin Zhiyi frowned instead.

"Did The Two Elders of the Chen Family agree?" Lin Zhiyi asked.

Xun Xiuyuan nodded.

"What did Shi Potian of the Flowing Stone Domain say?" Lin Zhiyi asked again.

After a moment of thought, Xun Xiuyuan informed Lin Zhiyi of Shi Potian's statement.

"Flowing Stone Domain, Shi Potian. Heh heh, that man is unreliable."

Lin Zhiyi stated directly.

Since Xun Xiuyuan and his companion were also at odds with Ghost Valley, they naturally became his allies.

Such an alliance would be unbreakable when Ghost Valley was powerful.

Therefore, Lin Zhiyi gradually became more open in his words to the two.

At this moment, Xun Xiuyuan also felt that Shi Potian likely had issues, and those two Quasi-God Realm scouts were probably deliberately arranged by Shi Potian.

However, he couldn't say so.

After all, Lin Zhiyi and Shi Potian were nominally fellow elders. Who knew which words were true and which were false from these old foxes?

Seeing the look of doubt on Xun Xiuyuan's face, Lin Zhiyi slowly began, "A Vice Valley Master of Ghost Valley once met me in a secret realm. Although we weren't friends, we got along quite well."

"Ever since the Ghost Clan arranged for envoys to enter the Chaotic Realm, attempting to integrate us, this Vice Valley Master and I gradually got in touch."

"This person was wanted by the Ghost Clan and fled to the Chaotic Realm. Therefore, he opposed the Ghost Clan's integration of the Chaotic Realm, but the Valley Master of Ghost Valley was wavering, which made him uneasy. He contacted me, looking for a fallback plan."

Xun Xiuyuan interjected, "So, we can turn him?"

Lin Zhiyi did not answer, motioning for Xun Xiuyuan not to rush, and continued, "During our contact, we discovered something."

Xun Xiuyuan immediately asked, "What is it?"

Lin Zhiyi stroked his long beard and said, "He inadvertently discovered that Shi Potian of the Flowing Stone Domain was communicating closely with Ghost Valley. Although it was very secretive, some clues were still found."

"That Vice Valley Master feared this matter would affect his fallback plan, so he launched an investigation into it. The result was not unexpected."

"Shi Potian and the Valley Master of Ghost Valley have always been in contact, or to put it another way, Shi Potian has always been a member of Ghost Valley."

Xun Xiuyuan was truly a bit stunned. He had initially thought there might be some minor internal conflicts within the Defying Heaven Pavilion, but he never imagined it would be something like this—a complete game of 'Infernal Affairs.'

The key was that the outside world still rumored the Defying Heaven Pavilion to be a solid block of iron, and he wondered how that rumor even started.

This was a block of iron rusted beyond recognition.

Xun Xiuyuan found it difficult to discern the truth for a moment and didn't know what to say.

Wei Tieshan spoke directly, "Since we know, why not just eliminate those guys from the Flowing Stone Domain? Are we keeping them for the New Year?"

Lin Zhiyi's eyes lit up upon hearing Wei Tieshan's words.

He said, "Brother Wei makes a good point, but I only have three Heavenly God Realm peak powerhouses here, while Shi Potian has four. I've always had the idea, but I lack the strength!"

At this, Lin Zhiyi paused, turned to look at Xun Xiuyuan, and continued:

"If Young Friend Xun can persuade The Two Elders of the Chen Family to eliminate the internal traitor, then it would be much simpler."