Starting with the consumables of the Demonic Sect, one can barely achieve immortality.

"I originally thought that my senior brother would keep the ring for himself."

The fourth floor of the Hall of Longevity is the law enforcement office, which is also the place where the spiritual artifact [Soul-Observing and Fate-Seeing Treasure Basin] is kept.

Twelve giant coffins were arranged in two rows on the east and west sides of the dark chamber.

A bright moon hangs high in the north, which is the [Heavenly Yin Moon] that helps Yin cultivators reach the pinnacle of their cultivation.

Since Tiantong hung this item up high, Yu Caiying has been coming to report on her duties more and more frequently.

If she hadn't felt it was going too far, she would have liked to bring her own coffin over as well.

Upon hearing her question, the child monk, who had been staring at the copper basin, raised his head, his gaze seemingly meaningful:

"Junior sister probably thinks our Senior Sister Huang is mentally challenged. How dare she hold onto something that Senior Sister Huang promised to bestow?"

Yu Caiying chuckled:

"There are no outsiders here, so senior brother might as well speak a few words from the heart."

"Neither the black gold corpse-controlling ring nor the Heavenly Tracing Yin Moon were ordered to be given to you by your senior sister."

"That ring is fine, but Yin Yue would find it useful for her own cultivation, so why would she so readily hand it over to you?"

"Is it the Palace Master's intention... or is it not?"

Tiantong smiled without speaking, and after a long while said:

"The Palace Master has been in seclusion for a long time."

Yu Caiying rolled her eyes inwardly.

What seclusion? It's just a lie to fool the people below. Do you really think she's some kind of lowly cultivator who believes everything she hears?

Huang Tong wasn't just using the excuse of seclusion; he was secretly orchestrating the escape of the silk weaver.

Her plan had succeeded, and now it was the Saintess's turn to claim seclusion and avoid her sharp edge.

In this Hall of Longevity, seclusion is either a tactic to lure out the enemy, a gesture of weakness, or, more often than not, a combination of both.

As for the true seclusion necessary to break through cultivation bottlenecks, how can that be made public? Wouldn't that be blatantly allowing opponents to use underhanded tactics?

As such scheming became prevalent in the hall, even if a cultivator was truly in seclusion, others would interpret it as a feigned seclusion, a trap to lure others into making a move, and would therefore dare not act rashly.

At the same time, the upper cultivator's seclusion is also a means to entice the lower cultivator to act arbitrarily.

If a lower-level cultivator truly feels that no one is watching and acts recklessly, the upper-level cultivator will teach the lower-level cultivator a lesson in the immortal sect's art of managing subordinates.

Yu Caiying knew the reasoning behind it, but deliberately asked such a stupid question in order to test Tiantong's reaction.

This senior brother has been stuck in the mid-stage of Qi Refining for a long time. All the cultivators guessed that the reason he had not broken through to the late stage was to avoid surpassing Huang Tong in realm.

Now that Senior Sister Huang has broken through, can Tian Tong also be free of worries and move on to the later stages?

If that's the case, then Tendo's quick and easy way of bestowing the ring becomes quite interesting.

"He wanted to let the higher-ups know that even though he had reached the later stages of his cultivation, he wouldn't abuse his position to arbitrarily control those in the mid-stages or seize resources from the palace."

'In that case, the cultivators who were initially unhappy about his breakthrough might soften their stance a bit...'

Tiantong gazed at her for a long while, then suddenly exclaimed:

Instead of asking those stupid questions, you'd be better off focusing on your cultivation.

"Strategic maneuvering is only useful against those of similar strength. Against those whose level of understanding far surpasses one's own, all such calculations are futile."

"Most of the guys in this hall are like you, who spend all their time scheming and that's why they always end up accomplishing nothing."

"If you've reached the late stage of Qi Refining, what does it matter if you're completely clueless about scheming? Do you think lower-level cultivators would dare to try and outmaneuver you?"

Seeing that Yu Caiying only outwardly appeared to be receptive to instruction, he sighed softly.

Then, the leisurely smile on the signboard reappeared:

"However, there was indeed a calculation behind my giving the ring to Yan Cheng."

"If he really is Senior Sister Huang's backup plan, knowing what this backup plan is used for will be helpful for our future arrangements."

He gently stroked the head of the female corpse beneath him, a kind smile on his face.

"If you were Yan Cheng, what would be the first thing you would do after obtaining this ring?"

Yu Caishun replied:

"Then naturally we should go to the second floor as soon as possible and find a suitable early-stage corpse cultivator as a servant."

"The sooner we find a candidate, the more value we can extract from them in the initial stages; there's absolutely no reason to delay!"

Tian Tong laughed:

"What about the other mid-stage corpse cultivators?"

"They know Yan Cheng possesses this valuable item for extracting Yin Corpse Fiends, will they just stand by and watch?"

"The benefits of the Black Gold Corpse Control Ring are too great. No matter how many times I scare these people, some will still take the risk!"

Yu Caiying's eyes lit up:

"I see."

"Senior brother wants to use the other mid-level players to test Yan Cheng's true strength."

"If Yan Cheng really had Senior Sister Huang's backup plan, she wouldn't have been dealt with so easily."

"But what if he's so weak that he can't even handle a few of his peers..."

Tiantong picked up where she left off, and said with a smile:

"Then Senior Sister Huang will no longer regard him as a serious matter, but will only consider him a useless piece!"

……

The Hall of Longevity, two stories high.

The long corridor was completely dark, with only the sound of footsteps as light as falling leaves passing through the tightly closed doors.

This was the first time Yan Cheng had ever strolled so leisurely on the second floor. In the past, this place was not a good place to walk around, as various creatures such as the Silk Weaver and the Corpse-Eating Puppet took turns appearing here.

No matter who they encounter, they are not people that an early-stage corpse cultivator can handle.

He is different now.

Having mastered the three fundamental techniques of complete deduction, he would have the ability to escape even if he encountered the Weaver Girl or the Corpse-Eating Yin Puppet.

A mid-stage cultivator who has only recently broken through to the next level has no chance against him.

Those qualified to attack him are only veteran mid-stage cultivators who have also mastered several techniques and opened at least several of the eight extraordinary meridians.

These old fogies have no shortage of motivation and ability to make a move. If they attack in droves, Yan Cheng will have a hard time dealing with them.

But will they attack him in groups?

Yan Cheng's mind was perfectly clear:

"Absolutely impossible!"

"There's only one Black Gold Corpse Control Ring. If several people team up to take it from me, a bloody battle will ensue for it."

"If you calculate it that way, the cost of teaming up to kill me far outweighs the potential gains!"

He didn't believe that any mid-level player could single-handedly take him down.

At this moment, I am only focused on activating the wondrous [Insightful Insight] to find a suitable target to control with the Black Gold Corpse Control Ring.

Within a hundred paces, the strength of the corpse cultivator's aura in each room is completely revealed under the reflection of this mirror!

Yan Cheng stopped in front of a room, his eyes revealing a subtle meaning:

"This is it."

"Initial stage of perfection... I didn't expect that after Huang Tong's pressure that day, there would still be someone in the hall who had reached perfection but hadn't broken through."

"Such a person is definitely very cautious, and the more cautious a person is, the less likely they are to fight to the death with others; they will only blindly comply."

"If you happen to encounter someone who would rather die than submit, getting splattered with blood wouldn't be pleasant."

Yan Cheng knew that the ring's power was not absolute.

If you encounter a corpse cultivator who is extremely stubborn and cannot accept that all the fruits of their cultivation will benefit others, they may self-destruct their Qi Palace before their mind is controlled by the ring.

No problem, I'll just wait until the other person is completely dead before I collect the body.

I don't know when it started, but his way of thinking seems to have become as cold and ruthless as the high-ranking monks in the hall.

Yan Cheng pushed open the door and saw a girl dressed in a light veil kneeling on the coffin, the gleaming short sword in her hand pointing directly at him.