Chapter 1140: Chapter 1140

After Liu Xuan finished speaking, he waited for the other person to respond. However, the man simply brewed tea for himself, sipping leisurely without acknowledging Liu Xuan at all.

Only after draining an entire pot did he finally glance at Liu Xuan with a faintly scornful look in his eyes.

"If Zhang Gao was exposed as a Spirit God Sect cultivator, does that mean your cooperation with us has also been discovered? Let me guess. Are you here today to atone for your crimes? Were you sent by that Monarch Fang to investigate Dangyin Mountain, to see if we're merely collaborators of the Spirit God Sect, or if we're part of it ourselves?"

"You're overthinking. I came here simply to protect myself." Liu Xuan sneered. "The operatives you asked me to plant are all in place. When will your young lord fulfill his promise and hand over the Yin Lifespan Coins? I want to advance to become a great Yin Demon and never return to the Lesser Underworld."

He continued coldly, "Back then, it was Zhang Gao who manipulated things behind the scenes and got me involved with your Young Mountain Lord, wasn't it? Now that he's dead, I'd say he got what he deserved. I have no interest in dying alongside him. Chen Lingding, why isn't your Young Mountain Lord here today? In the past, I always met with him directly."

As he spoke, a flicker of suspicion crossed Liu Xuan's face.

Chen Lingding stared at Liu Xuan for a moment before suddenly saying, "The Young Mountain Lord was ambushed and killed not long ago."

Liu Xuan's eyes widened, and he started shaking involuntarily from the shock and fear.

Chen Lingding, who had been watching him closely, slowly nodded. "So you truly didn't know."

"The Young Mountain Lord... he was a second-transformation great Yin Demon. How could he have been killed? He was also the only son of the Mountain Lord. With the Mountain Lord present, who would dare touch him..." Liu Xuan murmured, clearly shaken.

This was no bluff; his reaction was genuine. Yet, soon after, he began to make guesses about who could have possibly killed the Young Mountain Lord, and a deeper understanding of that person's methods began to form in his mind.

"No wonder people like Shentu Cang obey his every word... His strength far exceeded what I imagined..."

"The Mountain Lord was furious and ordered a full investigation. That's why no one's had time to deal with Zhang Gao's matter. Besides, he wasn't truly one of ours," Chen Lingding said calmly. "I can give you the promised Yin Lifespan Coins, but you cannot remain in the Floating Pagoda Realm. You're more useful to us in the Underworld. We still need to plant people there, preferably someone in a position like a Day Walker God or Day Walker Commander..."

Liu Xuan immediately refused. "No way! Zhang Gao's already been exposed. It won't be long before they trace it to me. The newly formed divisions in the Lesser Underworld, the Yin Walker Division and the Killing Spiritual Division, are all filled with unfamiliar faces. They won't care about my identity. If anything gives me away, I won't be able to escape unscathed. I never intended to go back when I came to the Pagoda Realm. You give me the coins, and I'll stay here!"

Chen Lingding suddenly smiled. "If not for your identity in the Lesser Underworld, now that Zhang Gao has been exposed, we would've had you stay behind as well. We would have ended you, just to be safe. But precisely because of that identity, we feel you're still useful. If you really want to stay, then let our people... take your position. When that's done, I'll arrange a comfortable new role for you here in Dangyin Mountain."

"Staying in the Lesser Underworld..." Liu Xuan's face was full of reluctance, but Chen Lingding's words forced him to relent. "That's fine too. But the benefits you offer must increase. I'll only stay for one more year. After that, I leave. If you won't agree, then keep me here. Either way, I'm dead."

"One year... very well."

Chen Lingding nodded, then took out a jade box and handed it to Liu Xuan.

"These are the benefits the Young Lord promised you. As for your future position, you'll get an extra ten percent on top of the original price. That's the most I can authorize. If you get too greedy, you'll have to talk to the Mountain Lord directly."

"The Mountain Lord...."

Liu Xuan waved his hands repeatedly. "Forget it. With my status, I probably wouldn't even be able to speak clearly in his presence."

He then opened the jade box in front of Chen Lingding. Inside, the Yin Lifespan Coins were neatly stacked.

From the looks of it, there were at least 8,000 coins!

A flash of greed flickered in Liu Xuan's eyes before he quickly closed the box and stood up to take his leave.

"I'll go now. As usual, I'll drop by once a month, but I won't stay long. Wouldn't want to be noticed."

Chen Lingding nodded. "Mm. I won't see you off."

After Liu Xuan left, the door to the private room opened again, and several figures entered. At the same time, multiple figures around the teahouse silently began tailing Liu Xuan. Others fanned out to search the surrounding area, as if investigating something.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you're really letting Liu Xuan leave? Zhang Gao was extremely cautious. He had others do most of his dirty work. If his identity got exposed, I think Liu Xuan is the one who slipped up," one man said with a frown.

"Didn't you see how terrified Liu Xuan was? He was even willing to give up all his power and status in the Underworld just to stay in the Floating Pagoda Realm," Chen Lingding replied with a calm smile.

"It could be a ruse," someone muttered.

Chen Lingding nodded. "That's possible. But we have fewer and fewer people in the Lesser Underworld. With all the suppression we've faced, Liu Xuan still has his uses. Keeping him for now won't hurt. Even if something goes wrong, it won't trace back to us. Next time he visits, just feed him a few inconsequential names. We'll see what ripples they cause."

As he spoke, another person entered the room and whispered, "No one was following Liu Xuan."

Chen Lingding stood up, his expression serious. "Good."

"The affairs in the Lesser Underworld don't require immediate concern. What matters is the Young Mountain Lord's death. We need to offer Mountain Lord an explanation, lest he blame us. The Spirit God Sect invested a great deal of time and energy in establishing ties with that man. He's far too valuable to discard carelessly."

Someone let out a sigh. "The Young Mountain Lord died en route to Jiangguang City. As for that city, we were the ones who first noticed something off. This matter... will be difficult to handle."

"The Killing Spiritual Division," Chen Lingding said. "Most likely, the Young Mountain Lord was killed by them. It seems Dangyin Mountain has been infiltrated. That Jiangguang City you discovered earlier... It's related to them."

"We've already sent people to investigate Jiangguang City. To avoid alarming anyone, I ordered them to act discreetly."

"That's fine. By the way, I heard that Monarch Fang is from Tuxiong Star. Have you checked with our sect's members?"

"Where exactly is Tuxiong Star? Do we have any operations there?"

From the shadows, Fang Chen quietly observed Chen Lingding, a faint smile flickering in his eyes.

He had been right. When it came to intelligence transmission, the Spirit God Sect had a glaring weakness.