Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 411 - 411 410 The Substitute

411: Chapter 410: The Substitute 411: Chapter 410: The Substitute “Senior Brother, are you troubled by something?

Why not speak plainly?

Do you not consider me a brother?

I will be leaving the city soon after this visit, and if you don’t talk now, there might not be another chance.”

After some casual conversation, Hou Niao keenly detected an issue with Daoist Wang.

Of course, it might have been that Daoist Wang intentionally let him notice because it was not easy to start such a conversation directly; an introduction was always needed.

Daoist Wang was startled and shook his head with a bitter smile.

“I am ashamed.

Cultivating the Dao Heart is tough.

There are things I want to say but lack the courage, and not saying them makes it impossible to face alone.

It’s all clearly written on my face.

In my heart, I want to say it, but I force myself to keep quiet, the situation extremely awkward.”

After calming himself, he decided to stop pretending, “Ouyang, the Capital Commandant, assigned me a task as a part of his office’s performance review.

If I succeed, I stay; if I fail, I find my own way.

The task is like this…”

Shan Country borders four nations, respectively Anhe Country, Wei Country, Xinye Buddha Country, and Upper Qiu Country.

Hou Niao had been stationed at three borders before, such as Da Feng Plain which borders Anhe Country, Yinling opposite Wei Country, and Xionger, which is a three-realm boundary in contact with both Wei Country and Xinye.

The only border he hadn’t been to was the one between Shan Country and Upper Qiu Country.

The national religion of Upper Qiu is the Bai Shen Sect, also barely considered a branch of the Demon Sect Alliance, but it was not a core member in the alliance.

In the Demon Sect Alliance of the five countries in the Southwest, the staunchest is Shan Sect Quanzhen, Lie Xia Hun Cheng, and Yun Zhang Blood Transformation.

These three have a very tight connection, almost dependent on each other; the remaining two, whether Linhai Wo Sect or Upper Qiu Bai Shen, always feel somewhat aloof overall.

They are within the order yet somewhat detached from the mainstream;

Linhai Wo Sect is because its vast commercial interests are closely linked with the Daoist Sect, inseparable; Upper Qiu Bai Shen, on the other hand, is due to historical reasons that are not publicly disclosed.

The location of Daoist Wang’s assignment lies at the border of Shan Country and Upper Qiu, in a place known as Qiunan Grand Canyon.

“Qiunan Grand Canyon, famously treacherous within the Southwest region, is incomparably more dangerous than Da Feng Plain’s Yinling Black Swamp due to the terrain, not only rampant with demon creatures but also marauding bandits.

Thanks to the harsh environment and joint management by two countries, responsibility and power are unclear, leading to an uncontrollable situation.”

Pulling out a map, he pointed to a winding, intricate line that spanned thousands of miles, “This is the boundary line between the two countries, interlocked like dog’s teeth; though it appears as a single line, the actual space inside is a wide canyon up to hundreds of miles across, capable of hiding millions of troops.

According to historical divisions, this grand canyon should belong to Upper Qiu Country, but since it’s a semi-subterranean space, ownership isn’t clear.

Bai Shen Sect has the ambition but not the strength, while we Quanzhen are reluctant to reach out because the canyon space doesn’t suit sword cultivators for vertical escape fighting, resulting gradually in a terra nullius, a lawless land.”

Hou Niao nodded, “Who’s making a move now?”

Daoist Wang’s expression turned grave, “Bai Shen Sect is making a move.

Those fellows have gone too far, ambushing a merchant caravan from Upper Qiu.

The mastermind behind it is an influential Nascent Transformation Supreme Elder from Bai Shen Sect, hence the directive for a clean sweep.

You know, after centuries of entanglement, the gangs within the canyon have become inseparably intertwined with the border forces of Bai Shen Sect; it’s unclear how many have been bought off.

So, that elder contacted us in Quanzhen Sect through private connections.”

Hou Niao chuckled lightly, “This Supreme Elder must be a supporter of the Alliance?”

Daoist Wang lowered his voice, “Yes, Bai Shen Sect wavers within the Alliance, wanting to rely on it for stability while also staying neutral and opportunist.

This Supreme Elder understands the situation well and advocates for Bai Shen Sect’s integration into the core of the Alliance, so we cannot refuse his request.

This elder has a close relationship with Sikong Mansion in Quanzhen Sect.

His request is not about how many people we send to assist in the purging, but rather that the Sikong Mansion dispatch someone to monitor the battle, ensuring no corruption or collusion during the cleanup.

With Sikong Mansion itself unable to spare personnel, they required state commands under it to dispatch competent individuals.

Ouyang, the new Capital Commandant, eager to make a mark, secured a placement.

Unfortunately, I am that unlucky one; after avoiding for five years, I got stuck with this task.”

Hou Niao shook his head, there were things he couldn’t say.

If Daoist Wang had taken the initiative to perform well when the new official took office, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a mess now.

When Shan Sect Quanzhen goes to battle, the main force usually comes from the military command, but if the fight is of any significant scale, a cultivator from the state command inevitably accompanies to control and constrain potential zealotry, embodying the tri-command structure’s purpose.

Yet, expanding the oversight to other forces is rare and challenging; even internally within Quanzhen, state command monitoring military command during battles is unwelcome and resisted by military cultivators, let alone monitoring outsiders, making resistance almost inevitable.

Such circumstances demand that the supervising cultivators possess formidable control, mature minds, and robust strength, otherwise they risk being disparaged.

Weak-willed ones might even be led astray.

Clearly, Daoist Wang is not a suitable candidate.

He can’t believe Ouyang the Capital Commandant can’t see this; is there such enmity between them to push Daoist Wang into a fire pit?

If pushed into an uncontrollable situation, what impression would it leave with Li Chuping?

Li Chuping now serves in Sikong Mansion, an authority figure.

Is he someone easily offended?

“Senior Brother, when did you receive the order?”

Daoist Wang looked melancholic, “Just an hour ago, they asked me to reach the Grand Canyon within five days.

It was sudden, catching me off guard.”

Hou Niao nodded, calculating internally yet not pointing it out.

“It seems the scale of this operation is not small, perhaps not just Jin City dispatching people?”

Daoist Wang nodded, “That should be the case, but to maintain secrecy, Ouyang the Capital Commandant didn’t reveal much to me; however, being part of the commandant’s office, I still know a bit more about some specials areas.

The disorganized forces in the Grand Canyon are not weak, with many cultivators and demon creatures in the three realms, even forming their own system, not ruling out the presence of Golden Core cultivators; Sikong Mansion probably knows these details, and they are unlikely to be without eyes in the Canyon.

Therefore, the cleanup must definitely involve Golden Core cultivators from Bai Shen Sect leading the team, but I don’t know if there will be any Golden Core judges from Sikong Mansion supervising?”

Hou Niao pondered for a moment, realizing that this secrecy was typical for the Commandant’s office, famously tight-lipped.

“Senior Brother, how about I take this trip for you?”