Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 618 - 618 617 Impending Storm 2

618: Chapter 617 Impending Storm 2 618: Chapter 617 Impending Storm 2 In the sky, an ordinary Daoist Sect-style floating raft slowly descended outside Zhongqing City.

Within the light and shadow, two female cultivators appeared, looking at the tall city walls of Zhongqing City with solemn expressions.

“Every time we come here, it’s like we’re sneaking around like thieves.

What used to be an open and honest trade is now fraught with difficulty, secretive and furtive.

Who knows when this will end?”

Lan Ting furrowed her delicate brows, her voice tinged with dissatisfaction.

The woman traveling with her spoke calmly, “You’ll get used to it.

As long as we can get our hands on the crude Geng Ore, a little bit of hardship doesn’t matter.

The masters back home are in urgent need of this batch of Geng Ore.

Without it, many artifact productions cannot proceed.

Everyone is waiting for the materials, like waiting for rice to cook…”

These two were old acquaintances of Hou Niao from the Anhe Daoist Sect, sisters Lan Re and Lan Ting.

Over decades, as outstanding talents among the disciples of their generation in Anhe Daoist Sect, they had successively ascended to the Tongtian Realm.

Lan Ting was now at the Tongxuan Realm, and Lan Re, with a better temperament, had reached the God Sensing Realm.

They were commissioned to Pingliang State specifically for the increasingly scarce Geng Ore, a strategic material broadly applied in artifact control.

Due to some special reasons, some were continuously hoarding it, making it increasingly difficult to obtain on the market.

It was no longer a matter of price, but rather an issue of it being priceless and unavailable.

The sisters were not merchants, but they had a good appearance, spoke sweetly, were meticulous and thorough in their endeavors, and did not easily provoke those with ulterior motives.

Therefore, in recent years, they were responsible for sourcing this kind of material.

They had also managed to build some connections.

Even though they still couldn’t purchase in large quantities, they were able to secure small amounts.

Composing themselves, the sisters entered Zhongqing City and began to contact their familiar suppliers.

What they thought would be relatively straightforward had become incredibly tough this time.

They visited both familiar and unfamiliar shops, only to find one result—no stock.

Even though they had lowered their purchase quantity as much as possible, they still found themselves with no leads.

It was during this process that they learned why.

The new Capital Commandant of Pingliang State was tyrannical and greedy, demanding exorbitantly.

His conduct had outraged everyone, making him an unwelcome visitor.

This Capital Commandant was labeled as a greedy wolf by many merchants in Zhongqing City.

Rather than attending to his duties, he brought about numerous inexplicable troubles.

The Geng Ore robbery might not be traced back to him, but the subsequent investigations by his Criminal Investigation office were truly annoying to all the merchants involved in Geng Ore trade.

His subordinates took advantage of his authority to constantly pay visits, harass during their investigations, and shamelessly extort.

Seeing the rising public discontent within Zhongqing City and feeling a tide of momentum building, they sensed this unrest and did not dare participate.

Still, they found themselves at an impasse regarding their own objectives.

Because a large part of the mine’s output had been hijacked in previous years, what remained in the market was priced exorbitantly high.

Moreover, nobody had any stock on hand, or if they did, they preferred to hoard it in anticipation of higher profits.

After three days of effort, they came up empty.

“Sister, what should we do?

It seems that nobody has any stock, nor is anyone willing to sell.

If we just wait like this—even if this year’s supply of Geng Ore slowly enters the market—it’s like a drop in the bucket.

I’m afraid we might not even get a fair share.”

Lan Re also furrowed her brows, “If we don’t wait, what else can we do?

But I don’t think this difficult situation can last forever.

It will gradually improve.

Right now, there’s no clear explanation on the market.

Why don’t we wait until this month’s output is released and then reassess the situation?”

The sisters were worried but could not think of a better solution at the moment.

They could not just leave, as their home was still counting on the materials they were meant to procure.

Over the years, the internal conflict of ideas within the Anhe Daoist Sect had led to a definitive split between the two opposing factions.

One faction, allying with the Wu Sect and consisting mostly of members from the southern cities of Anhe—including Divine City—was known as South Anhe.

The cultivators who chose independence, mostly based in the northern regions of Anhe, came to be called North Anhe, establishing their stronghold in Three Rivers Prefecture, equally prominent as the Divine City.

Even their territories had been divided, and their conflicts could no longer be reconciled.

They were on the brink of an overt showdown that could easily turn to a life-and-death struggle.

The elders of their sect had chosen their sides, with three from South Anhe and two from North Anhe.

Below them, Golden Core cultivators and those in Tongtian Realm also began aligning with factions, with a few who could no longer stand by choosing to flee far away.

Naturally, the Lan sisters sided with their master, Daoist Yan, and joined the independent North Anhe faction.

Over the years, they had had many conflicts with South Anhe, even involving bloodshed.

Still, in the grand scheme of things, North Anhe was on the defensive, slightly weaker than South Anhe.

Considering the Wu Sect’s far greater support compared to the Shan Sect, this made those determined for independence within the Anhe Daoist Sect face great difficulties.

Being excessively independent in their philosophy, they were full of wariness towards any help from others, fearful of losing their own identity.

That was the issue with North Anhe.

Unlike South Anhe, which had wholeheartedly thrown its lot in with the Wu Sect and had major advantages in many aspects.

Even in the field of artifact production, there were many Daoists skilled in handling external things within the North Anhe faction, which was a network yet also indicated a massive demand for materials.

While other materials could be substituted from different sources, only Geng Ore was so scarce across the Continent and could not quickly quench their pressing needs.

They did not want to disappoint their master or those artisans eagerly awaiting Geng Essence, not only the Wu Sect preparing, but they were also making preparations.

When the breath of heaven and earth underwent subtle changes, it was a fair opportunity for every cultivator, every power.

In Zhongqing City, countless forces were vying to obtain Geng Ore.

Shan Sect’s Quanzhen was a part of it, and their share was unquestionable—no one dared interfere.

But as sword cultivators have less demand for external materials, their share was not large.

As for the majority of the Geng Essence production, it became an all-out display of divine skills as the Immortals crossed the sea.

The intricate pathways of the Geng Ore could hardly be discerned, with merchants concealing the truth amid complex multilateral trade, on the surface looking normal but oddly not so.

It felt off because when you tried to buy a large quantity of Geng Ore, you would find no reliable source, just piecemeal supplies, and many of lower quality.

And now, the sisters could not even get their hands on this lower-quality Geng Essence.

The two wandered aimlessly through the streets, reflecting on the difficulty of persuading acquaintances to part with such materials—it was like asking them to give up their profit margins.

Entering a tea house, they sat down with a pot of clear tea between them, wordless.

Suddenly, Lan Ting rubbed her eyes,

“Sister, I think I just saw someone we know?”