Volume 1 Chapter 36: Senior Brother, Mastermind Behind the Curtain
Tn: Edited at 6 / 2 / 2025
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After sending the man off, Ye Anping returned to the lounge chair in the main hall, flopped into it, and chewed on a stalk of foxtail grass, mulling over the Seven Killers Sect situation.
He could, if he wanted to make things easier, inform Bai Yuelin in advance and have her report it to the elders of the Profound Star Sect—then they could step in and stop that black-clothed man from abducting Feng Yudie.
But that would only solve the problem temporarily.
Even if they stopped the black-clothed man today, who's to say a red-clothed one wouldn't show up tomorrow? Or a white-clothed one the day after? That bounty on Wu You's storage bag was still out there—worth ten thousand spirit stones. That kind of prize would drive countless wandering cultivators to throw their lives away in pursuit.
As for Feng Yudie… Ye Anping wasn't too worried. She was the protagonist. Talented, and now with the protection of the Profound Star Sect, she definitely wouldn't die so easily.
What Ye Anping was really worried about was that the Seven Killers Sect might pursue her for a while and eventually figure out that she wasn't the one who took Wu You's storage bag. If they traced the clues back to him, Pei Lengxue, or even the Hundred Lotus Sect, then things would get truly messy.
He had just wanted to be a background character. Lie low with his junior sister, live quietly, survive until world peace. But ever since they killed "Wu You"—a key figure in the main plot—they'd been caught up in the storm with no way out.
"Ugh—such a pain…"
He rubbed his temples with his fingers, thinking it over for a bit before finally coming to a decision.
Might as well use this opportunity… to wipe out the Seven Killers Sect.
After all, they weren't some virtuous group. In the game, their storyline was a long, stinky side quest with poor rewards. There was no real value in letting them hang around.
But… how to wipe them out?
He clearly couldn't just charge into their headquarters—that would be suicide. He was still just at the Qi Refining Realm, far from qualified to play the brute.
This called for a strategy.
If he remembered right, the one in charge of the Seven Killers Sect was a late-stage Core Formation realm cultivator, loaded with magical tools. Even two regular late-stage Core Formation realm cultivators couldn't take him down easily.
To guarantee the destruction of the sect, the operation would need at least one Nascent Soul cultivator, a handful of Core Formation realm cultivators, and several Foundation Establishment realm teams.
"Looks like I'll have to be the scheming bastard for once and sow some discord between the Profound Star Sect and the Seven Killers Sect… Hmm…"
Resting his chin on his hand, Ye Anping thought for a bit. Before long, a plan started to form in his mind.
Just like how he prepared ten years to kill "Wu You," he immediately got to work. He stuck a sign outside the clinic that read "I'm here, shout if you want to go in", then headed straight into his bedroom to draft a plan for eradicating the Seven Killers Sect.
Though it sounded like a massive operation, his actual objectives boiled down to just two:
Enrage the Profound Star Sect enough to act against the Seven Killers Sect.
Lure the Profound Star Sect's forces straight to the Seven Killers Sect's base.
And for Ye Anping, that was child's play.
He quickly pulled out a brush and some paper, sketched a rough map of the Profound Star Sect's layout, and marked the key nodes of their sect protection formation.
Time passed quickly as he strategized.
Before long, night had fallen—and Bai Yuelin returned.
Just as expected, after she'd returned to the sect with Senior Brother Chen and the others, she'd been immediately surrounded by curious senior sisters all wanting to hear about Ye Anping.
Despite her desperate attempts to clarify, repeating again and again that she and Ye Anping were not like that, rumors travel fast—and denial always lags behind. Especially when the rumor was such an entertaining one.
Eventually, her senior sisters just smiled knowingly without even asking further.
"Oh, so this is the shop run by your Dao Companion?"
"Junior Sister! He's not my Dao Companion! I've explained this so many times already…" Bai Yuelin furrowed her brows.
But the junior sister just smiled slyly and nodded.
"Right, right. We get it. Just friends, huh?"
"…"
Bai Yuelin stood there awkwardly, then quickly led the two into the shop. Peeking around for a bit and seeing Ye Anping wasn't in the main hall, she called out:
"Anping, are you in the back? I brought a junior sister and junior brother with me."
"… …"
"Anping—?"
Ye Anping immediately emerged from the backyard upon hearing the call and cut in sharply, "Senior Bai, my surname isn't An. It's Ye."
"Oh, come on now… why so stiff? Aren't we friends?" Bai Yuelin quickly stepped forward with a smile and handed over the gift she brought. "Let's not be so formal. Just call me Yuelin, alright?"
Watching the interaction, the two disciples behind her covered their mouths and snickered quietly.
Seeing their reactions, Ye Anping sighed softly, then walked forward and said with polite detachment, "Please come in, seniors. Did Senior Bai already explain the therapy process? If not, I can give a brief introduction."
"She did, she did. We're here to try it out. Senior Brother Chen also recommended it to us while we were practicing sword techniques today."
"Then please, come in. Would you like something to drink? I have Dragon Well tea and Heavenly Spring tea…"
"Dragon Well tea's fine."
"Same for me."
As soon as the two placed their orders, Bai Yuelin jumped in before Ye Anping could speak. "Two cups of Dragon Well tea, right? I'll go make them."
Ye Anping glanced at her with thinly veiled disdain. "Why are you making the tea?"
"I'm helping out, obviously."
"I didn't hire you."
Bai Yuelin averted her gaze and muttered, "Helping for free and still getting an attitude? Geez. Fine, I don't want your money. It's just tea—I'll handle it. You go do the therapy…"
With that, she dashed off to the back to boil water.
Ye Anping watched her run off and got the distinct feeling that he was being latched onto. But after weighing the pros and cons, he simply let it slide.
It's free labor, after all.
And with that black-clothed man from the Seven Killers Sect showing up soon, he could even use Bai Yuelin's identity as an inner disciple of the Profound Star Sect to cover any awkward explanations.
He shrugged, then led the two disciples into the therapy room and began their treatments.
Just as he was working on them, the black-clothed man indeed arrived as promised.
Seeing the sign on the door that read "I'm here, shout if you want to go in", he called out:
"Boss!!"
"Coming, coming!" Bai Yuelin, hearing the customer arrive, quickly ran out from the inner room.
The black-clothed man froze the moment he saw her.
She was wearing a full Profound Star Sect inner disciple uniform.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
After all, he was planning to infiltrate the Profound Star Sect next—seeing one of their inner disciples pop up here was like a mouse spotting a cat.
But he composed himself quickly and asked, "Is the young boss not here? I came by this afternoon."
"Ah… he's doing therapy for a couple of guests. You'll have to wait a bit. I'll bring you some tea in the meantime—would you like Dragon Well tea or Heavenly Spring tea?"
The man's eyes narrowed as he studied the fine embroidery on Bai Yuelin's robes.
Not only was she an inner disciple, but judging by the detail, she wasn't some newcomer—she had clearly been with the sect for years.
That realization left him inwardly rattled.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked cautiously, "Do you sell Vermilion Birds here?"
Bai Yuelin blinked in confusion. "Vermilion Bird? Isn't that a regional guardian beast? How could you sell something like that?"
"Ah…" The man laughed awkwardly. "No, no… not the divine beast. I meant Vermilion Bird Tea."
Bai Yuelin tilted her head, a question mark practically popping above her head.
"Vermilion Bird Tea? What's that?"
"…Never mind. Just bring me Dragon Well tea."
She gave him a puzzled look and narrowed her eyes slightly. "You are here for therapy, right? If not, the tea costs money—fifty spirit stones a cup."
"Fifty…?" The black-clothed man's expression twitched.
He'd lived a long time, but he'd never heard of tea costing that much. He gave an embarrassed smile and quickly nodded. "Yes, yes, I'm here for therapy. I arranged it with the boss this afternoon. Said I'd come by in the evening."
"Alright then! Please wait a moment!"