Lingxiao Immortal Clan.

"Should we directly target the person behind the Lingxiao Business Alliance through the Shadow Tower?"

"Alliance Leader, isn't this matter a bit too extreme?"

"If this matter succeeds, all will be well. But if it fails and the person behind the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance discovers our alliance's little schemes, I'm afraid our Qiuye Merchant Alliance will bring about a huge disaster."

"After all, with the current strength of my Qiuye Merchant Alliance, it is difficult to withstand the wrath of a powerful expert who is suspected to have reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Moreover, the current size and financial resources of the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance are no less than those of our Qiuye Merchant Alliance. If they also hire the Shadow Tower to assassinate our alliance's experts, it will be troublesome."

"Furthermore, the cost of hiring Shadow Tower experts is extremely high. Even if my Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance were to do this, it would probably be a huge financial blow, costing at least tens or hundreds of years of pure profit."

The other elders of the Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance were somewhat tempted upon hearing this, but the price was too high, so they intended to refuse.

"You old folks, stop arguing. If this matter succeeds, the benefits won't just be that we'll avoid a big problem. We might even be able to swallow up some of the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance's assets and increase our resources."

"Secondly, I know exactly what you're thinking."

"I'm willing to pay 50% of the cost of hiring Shadow Tower, and you can cover the remaining 50%, right?"

After all, Qiu Ye, the leader of the alliance, had been with those elders of the merchant alliance for a long time, and therefore knew that those elders probably had long wanted to hire the Shadow Tower, so he spoke directly.

"We'll cover the remaining 50% of the cost? That's still a bit too much."

"If you, our leader, are willing to pay 70% of the cost yourself, we will follow you in this matter."

Upon hearing this, the elders of the merchant alliance's eyes lit up. After a brief discussion, they made the suggestion again.

Furthermore, although they are elders of the Qiuye Merchant Alliance, the size of the alliance is limited.

Furthermore, the Qiuye Business Alliance was established by the ancestors of the original Qiuye Alliance Leader, who invested a significant amount of money. Moreover, because the ancestors were quite capable in business, they had always intended to suppress the other elders of the Business Alliance.

Therefore, as time goes by, the Qiuye Alliance Leader's faction now occupies a larger share of the Alliance's profits.

It even occupies nearly 30-40% of the business alliance's profits.

The remaining 60-70% of the profits belong to the other elders of the Merchant Alliance.

In addition, there are a large number of elders in those business alliances.

Upon closer examination, most of the Chamber of Commerce elders only hold half of the Chamber of Commerce's profits.

Only a very small number of individuals or groups have a share of the profits of around 10%.

Therefore, their financial resources are nowhere near those of the Autumn Leaf Alliance Leader.

They didn't want to miss any opportunity to save money.

Of course, their family background is much stronger than that of ordinary cultivators of the same level.

"I'll pay 70% of the cost myself?"

"You guys really dare to think big."

"At most 60%. If you keep stalling, this matter is off. As for the price war you mentioned, I won't care anymore, and I won't participate in this matter. Do whatever you want."

"I only care about the dividends; whether it's a lot or a little, it's none of my business."

The leader of the Autumn Leaf Alliance turned extremely cold and snorted angrily.

"Alliance Leader, please don't be angry. You can pay 60% of the price..."

"We'll cover the remaining 40% of the cost."

Knowing Qiu Ye's temperament, the other elders of the Merchant Alliance dared not provoke him further. In addition, the price Qiu Ye had paid had met their expectations, so they went along with it.

"That's pretty much it."

The leader of the Autumn Leaf Alliance gave them a cold look.

At the same time, he secretly vowed that if he could one day reach the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, he would kick them all out of the Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance, or even kill them.

After all, those elders of the merchant alliance were really an eyesore.

Moreover, Alliance Leader Qiuye was truly unwilling to share so much of the Alliance's profits with those parasites.

As for now, he also wants to kill them.

However, their strength was insufficient.

After all, most of the elders of the merchant alliance had good cultivation levels, at least in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and some even in the middle stage.

Moreover, behind those elders of the merchant alliance, there are more or less some powerful Nascent Soul cultivators.

The overall strength of those business alliance elders was particularly impressive.

In addition, they are quite wealthy.

If a conflict breaks out, not only will the Qiuye Business Alliance fall apart, but the Qiuye Alliance Leader will also be in great danger.

Furthermore, even if the current leader of the Qiuye Alliance really did kill them.

I'm afraid that even the mighty Qiuye Alliance leader alone wouldn't be able to support the massive Qiuye Business Alliance.

After all, running a business alliance requires not only a strong business mind but also formidable strength.

However, things would be different once their lineage produces a cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

It is precisely for this reason that Alliance Leader Qiuye is even more eager to break through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

"I am determined to enter this realm in this lifetime; whoever stands in my way shall die."

The leader of the Autumn Leaf Alliance secretly made a vow in his heart.

Immediately afterwards, Qiu Ye, the leader of the alliance, and the elders of the merchant alliance began to pool their money together.

After all, they had some family wealth, and there were many of them.

Therefore, even though hiring Shadow Tower was extremely costly, they managed to scrape together the money.

Subsequently, they were all worried that the other party might be carrying a large sum of money when they went to find the Shadow Tower, lest the other party run away with the money.

Therefore, they went together.

The Shadow Tower, on the other hand, had a stronger financial backing, coupled with substantial rewards from Alliance Leader Qiuye and others.

Dark Shadow Tower readily agreed to the matter and even dispatched three Nascent Soul stage cultivators to carry it out.

This matter greatly excited Qiu Ye and others.

'The Lingxiao Merchant Alliance's backer is, after all, only rumored to be at the initial stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Under such circumstances, even if Black Stone Valley, where the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance's backer is located, has a high-level formation for protection, they will likely only be waiting to die.'

'Now, all we need to do is wait for Shadow Tower to get things done.'

The leader of the Autumn Leaf Alliance and others were secretly overjoyed.

They even returned to the Qiuye Merchant Alliance immediately, intending to target and even kill Ling Wantong, the leader of the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance, as soon as the matter was accomplished, so as to seize the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance's assets.

Moreover, most of Ling Wantong and his group were of average strength, and even the Qiuye Merchant Alliance could accomplish this task without needing to ask the Dark Shadow Tower to take action.

……

at the same time.

Immortal City, Lingxiao Business Alliance Main Store.

Because this place is extremely important, the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance has placed a large number of spiritual items here, and the quality of these items is also quite high.

Among them were even high-level spiritual treasures and spiritual foods refined by Yan Siyi and Ling Pengyun.

Therefore, this place is the most successful of the more than 30 shops under the entire Lingxiao Business Alliance.

It's bustling with people every day, living up to its name as the flagship store.

In addition, the Lingxiao Business Alliance flagship store is a five-story building.

The first to fifth floors sell spiritual items for the five stages of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Deity Transformation.

In addition, there is a small courtyard attached to the back of the building. This place is also the core area of ​​the Lingxiao Business Alliance.

This place is not only rich in spiritual energy, enough to support more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators at the same time, but it was also rented by the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance at a high price.

Furthermore, the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance has also set up a fifth-grade high-quality formation here.

The defenses here are particularly strong.

And this moment.

This is a quiet room.

"The Eye of Heaven's ability to gather information is truly remarkable. I never expected they would even discover that the Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance's higher-ups were concealing their presence and seeking help from the Shadow Tower to target Ancestor Siyi, who was stationed in Black Stone Valley. Indirectly, I can start making preparations as soon as possible."

'Furthermore, those people from the Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance were definitely not good people.'

"However... fortunately, they were misled by the information I spread. They only thought that Ancestor Siyi had possibly reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, but they didn't know that this was false. The true backer of my Lingxiao Merchant Alliance is Ancestor Pengyun, who recently returned to Black Stone Valley from the Frost Immortal Sect."

'In this way, the Shadow Tower only sent three Nascent Soul stage cultivators to Blackstone Valley, so there's still a chance for things to turn around.'

"Furthermore, according to the rules of the Shadow Tower, regardless of whether this operation succeeds or fails, they will only act once. If they fail, they will not act again unless the price is increased."

'But given the size of the Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance, it's difficult for them to afford further price increases.'

"Indirectly, if my Lingxiao Merchant Alliance and Ancestor Pengyun can resolve this calamity, it will likely be enough to intimidate the Qiuye Merchant Alliance, and even the surrounding regions, further enhancing the reputation of my Lingxiao Merchant Alliance."

Ling Wantong, the current leader of the Lingxiao Merchant Alliance, was cultivating when he noticed a slight change in the communication mirror in his hand. He was overjoyed after only slightly sensing the information within it.

In addition, he had long anticipated that conflicts would inevitably arise between his Lingxiao Merchant Alliance's many shops and Qiuye Merchant Alliance's shops, which were located close to each other and sold similar spiritual items.

Therefore, he actually intended to avoid this matter in his early years.

However, after Ling Pengyun, who had been in Blackrock Valley recently, learned of this matter, he rejected his idea and instead suggested that he take this opportunity to use the Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance as a stepping stone.

Indirectly, that's why he has been blatantly encroaching on the Qiuye Business Alliance's business share recently, despite their attempts to negotiate with them.

Secondly, although he knew that the strength of the Qiuye Business Alliance was about the same as that of the Lingxiao Business Alliance.

But he was still somewhat uneasy about Qiuye Business Alliance.

Therefore, he recently spent a lot of money to have a force called Tianyan Hall in the black market of Xunxian City keep an eye on Qiuye Merchant Alliance's every move.

Like the Shadow Hall, the Heavenly Eye Hall is quite mysterious, but unlike the Shadow Hall, the Heavenly Eye Hall is a force that specializes in searching for intelligence and information.

In addition, its methods are unique.

Therefore, he had previously noticed that the senior members of the Qiuye Business Alliance had all gone to seek help from the Shadow Tower.

At the same time, they also informed Ling Wantong of the matter as promised.

Immediately afterwards, Ling Wantong relayed the news to Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi, a couple located in Black Stone Valley outside the Immortal City, and also intended to seek out a group of powerful individuals to support Black Stone Valley in exchange for their benefits.

"There's no need for that. After all, the Shadow Tower only sent three Nascent Soul stage cultivators to Black Stone Valley. I can handle that."

"Besides, you are quite thoughtful, kid. I didn't expect you to have prepared for this so early. You arranged for Tianyan Hall to help keep an eye on Qiuye Merchant Alliance. It seems that it was the right choice to let you oversee the business in Immortal City."

Upon learning of this, Ling Pengyun, who was stationed in Black Stone Valley, couldn't help but give Ling Wantong a quick compliment before declining his offer.

However, Ling Wantong was still somewhat uneasy after hearing this.

But no matter how much he tried to persuade him, Ling Pengyun wouldn't let him get involved, so he had no choice but to give up.

'We can only hope that Ancestor Pengyun can truly resolve this crisis through his own efforts.'

'If I cannot, I will be committing a grave sin.'

Ling Wantong was filled with unease, staring intently at the communication artifact in his hand, hoping to receive news from Black Stone Valley.

……

at the same time.

Countless miles away from the immortal city.

Inside the Blackstone Valley, a fifth-tier superior-grade site.

"Husband, are you really confident that you can deal with three Nascent Soul stage cultivators at the same time?"

"It is said that the Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Shadow Tower in Immortal City are all quite strong, and they are extremely experienced in combat and very difficult to deal with."

Yan Siyi asked Ling Pengyun with a hint of worry.

"Don't worry, madam."

Ling Pengyun smiled and reassured him.

Then he began to wait quietly for the three Nascent Soul stage assassins from the Shadow Tower to arrive.

Yan Siyi, being very familiar with Ling Pengyun's personality, would never do anything without a certainty.

Therefore, looking at Ling Pengyun's expression, she couldn't help but feel more confident.

At the same time, she prepared for the worst-case scenario and planned to fight alongside Ling Pengyun.

In addition, she also informed Ling Chengxia and others who had recently returned from the outside world about the Shadow Tower, and told them to prepare for battle.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in Blackrock Valley became somewhat tense.

……

About half a day later.

night.

Dozens of miles away from Blackstone Valley, in a dense forest, three cultivators dressed in black, with black veils on their faces, and whose auras were extremely obscure, appeared silently.

The three of them were assassins sent by Shadow Tower to deal with Blackrock Valley.

"According to the information provided by the Shadow Tower, that place is Blackrock Valley."

The three assassins gazed at Blackrock Valley from afar, revealing a hint of excitement.

After all, if they succeed in this endeavor, they can all reap a considerable share of the profits.

Moreover, according to the rules of the Shadow Tower, all the spoils of war from any cultivator they kill belong to them.

In this way, they can make another profit.

Upon closer examination, there is quite a bit of profit to be made from helping the Shadow Tower assassinate cultivators.

That is why they do such dangerous things.

In addition, although they were not the core assassins trained by the Shadow Tower, they were just ordinary cultivators who happened to have some free time and wanted to earn some extra money.

However, they had done a lot of killing for the Shadow Tower in the past, and they had also been practicing Taoism for many years.

They also possessed some skills.

They were particularly cautious, not directly confronting Blackrock Valley, but instead carefully employing various advanced detection techniques to investigate the situation there, in order to avoid any unexpected incidents.

To their surprise, the top-tier fifth-grade protective formation in Blackstone Valley also possessed a powerful concealment effect.

In addition, some special concealment methods were set up inside.

Therefore, even cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage are temporarily unable to see through the situation inside.

"The Lord of Blackstone Valley is indeed a high-level spiritual chef; he does have some skill."

Upon seeing this, the three assassins at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage frowned slightly.

………………(End of this chapter)