Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 292 - 292 291 Anhe's Unease

292: Chapter 291 Anhe’s Unease 292: Chapter 291 Anhe’s Unease Liuyang City, Anfu Inn.

Anfu Inn is the most luxurious inn in Liuyang City, where only the rich and noble stay; however, during this time, the entire Anfu Inn was booked, and no independent travelers were admitted anymore.

Those who had the capability to do such a thing were certainly no ordinary people, not even those who could be weighed by wealth or power.

In Liuyang City, aside from cultivators, there were no others who could achieve this.

Inside the inn, the shopkeeper stood obsequiously behind an elderly man with a pale face, who wore a look of deep concern and unease.

Treading carefully, the shopkeeper reassured, “Master San, you needn’t worry too much.

Isn’t Second Master still negotiating with them?

Since there are negotiations, there’s hope.”

The pale-faced elderly man sighed, “Negotiate?

How can it be easy to negotiate?

If a tiger talks to you about eating your leg, what outcome can you negotiate?

Change it to an arm instead?”

The elderly man’s surname was Bai, a prominent merchant from Divine City, and his family had businesses in various countries to the southwest, and even expanded to the southeast, northwest, and the north… They were one of the few most renowned heritage brands in Divine City, and Anfu Inn also belonged to the Bai Family, though not many knew about it.

In recent years, Anhe had been unstable, with undercurrents surging; the constraints agreed upon during the southwest’s cultivation conference years ago had long since vanished.

Wu Sect continued their infiltration plans within Anhe Country with the help of certain cultivators from the Anhe Daoist Sect.

In the independent practitioner realm and business circles of Anhe, they began to eliminate those who were different, uniting only with like-minded allies.

This caused many civilian cultivation forces unwilling to collude with corruption to leave Anhe, seeking elsewhere to settle;

Gusu was such an example—being alone, he could easily leave with no attachments or burdens, but it was not so easy for prominent merchants, as leaving Anhe would mean abandoning their businesses.

What would become of the numerous shops, employees, and connections?

They couldn’t just be discarded.

The Bai Family faced just such a predicament.

The family cultivator referred to by the shopkeeper as Second Master, advanced to the Golden Core stage, was the biggest guarantee for the Bai Family to survive in the cultivation business realm.

However, Second Master’s good relations were with those in the Anhe Daoist Sect who advocated for independence and opposed amalgamation; hence, his situation was very difficult now.

In the Divine City commercial circle, several large merchant families and countless small-scale business owners were waiting and watching to see how the Wu Sect dealt with the unyielding Bai Family, to use it as a basis for deciding their allegiances.

The Bai Family had now become the bellwether of both the Divine City and Anhe business circles; this was the Bai Family’s misfortune, but also an inevitable consequence of the times.

A speck of dust from the era, when landing on a family, becomes a mountain.

Because of this, the Bai Family put up a fight, with the steadfast support of the independent Anhe Daoist forces in the background.

It was a power struggle between the two sides, and countless eyes were watching this event to judge the waxing and waning powers—was it Wu Sect, the mighty dragon crossing the river, or was the Anhe Daoist Sect, the local snake, stronger?

Being dragged into such a focus of conflict was something no merchant desired, but it wasn’t something they could decide on; they could only passively endure.

Because of this, the Bai Family made thorough preparations and also planned for the worst; Bai Family’s head, Elder Bai, who was based in Divine City, couldn’t move as he controlled the overall situation.

His presence attracted much attention; Second Master was a Golden Core cultivator dealing with Wu Sect’s pressure along with his supportive friends from Anhe Daoist Sect, now in the midst of negotiations.

As a backup, Bai San, a business genius from the Bai Family, secretly left Divine City, quietly sneaking to the border town of Liuyang with only a few close kin.

To avoid drawing the Wu Sect’s attention, they dared not bring along any of the family’s top experts.

For their group, Bai Sanye was after all a Tongxuan Cultivator, and several of the younger generations were also at various levels from Bridge Connection to Fasting.

For a wealthy family that didn’t have to worry about resources, they knew how to use those resources to cultivate a cultivator well.

As for actual strength, well, that wasn’t important.

It was enough to be able to use treasures effectively.

Why come to Liuyang?

Because the Quanzhen Sect across the way was the only force in the southwest region that dared, and could, confront the Wu Sect.

Of course, the Daoist stationed in Liuyang was also an independent faction, which was why they dared to come here.

This place was separated from Shan Country by a mere Poplar Forest, making it very convenient to just get up and go.

Bai Sanye decided to stay here and wait for news; for a family that had lived and operated in this country for hundreds of years, no one wanted to leave unless it was absolutely necessary.

Because they all knew, once they left, they could never come back.

Hearing Bai Sanye say this, the shopkeeper couldn’t really say much.

He was just an old servant of the Bai family.

Because Bai Daye had seen him work diligently all his life and knew he had no talent for mixing in the business of the Cultivation market, he had set up such an industry in the remote border city of Liuyang.

It didn’t require any business talent—just honesty and diligence were enough.

It could settle an old servant and also leave a way out for himself.

“Sanye, I’ll go check the kitchen.

Today I’ve gotten some rare local items for you…”

Bai Sanye waved his hand.

How could he be in the mood for that now?

But since it was offered with good intentions, he couldn’t really complain.

Standing in the courtyard for a long time, reflecting on the current situation, he found not the slightest clue.

He was a genius in business, but powerless in the world of the Cultivation World where power ruled.

With a long sigh, he returned to his room, where in the luxurious living room, three young men and two young women were idly chatting.

They were all outstanding candidates of this generation in the Bai family, the direct descendants, some gifted in business and others showing promise in cultivation.

They were the future of the Bai family.

Bai Sanye had brought them along this time also to leave seeds for the Bai family, so in the event of existential threats, whether it were Cultivation forces, businesses, or nobility, all would have such a seed plan in place, avoiding being wiped out at once.

These people were all cousins among the grand family of the Bai’s, and you can imagine what their usual relations were like.

Yet, when the family faced an insurpassable hurdle, it was exactly the relations among them that acted as a bonding agent.

“Zongsheng, what are you talking about?”

Bai Zongsheng, from Bai Daye’s line, rose respectfully, “Third Granduncle, we are discussing how we’ve been here for over half a month and still have no idea how things are going in Divine City.

Liuyang is isolated, communication is inconvenient, and since you won’t let us use Cultivation methods to contact them, should we send someone back to inquire?

We can’t just keep waiting indefinitely, can we?”

It was normal for young people to be impatient, especially those who had been subject to the strict elite education of the family from a young age.

Had it been others, impatience would have set in much sooner, let alone waiting half a month to speak up.

Beside him, Bai Zongfang also said, “Since we’ve been able to discuss for such a long time, is there a possibility of reaching an agreement?

After all, if there were uncompromisable principles involved, it should have come to a head by now, right?”

Bai Sanye was noncommittal and instead focused on a calmly seated woman in the corner, like a solitary orchid in a desert, her whole being radiating an intellectual aura.

Among these juniors, he actually favored this grandniece the most.

It’s a pity she was a woman.

“Qingqian, what do you think?”