"There are no direct confrontations yet… but everything points toward a war breaking out soon," Bai Qi informed. "Both sides are still gathering strength—possibly stalling until they finish some preparations or something else."
"That sounds interesting. This could very well be my golden opportunity, too," Ye Wuji thought, a smirk creeping onto his lips.
"If I play my cards right, not only could I profit from their chaos, but I might even find a chance to shed my current identity and turn over a new leaf." His eyes gleamed at the thought, the possibilities dancing vividly in his mind.
He remained silent for a while, slowly sipping his mind-soothing tea as he considered the paths opening up before him.
Then, he shifted his gaze to Bai Qi and asked, "Do you know where our elders Mo Sheng and Xue Mo are right now?"
"I don't have their exact location," Bai Qi replied, "but I know the general region. The problem is, they're constantly moving, spreading chaos throughout the Crimson Phoenix Empire."
"Which means," Ye Wuji said, analyzing, "that even though we have a rough idea of where they are, we won't be able to catch up to them unless they completely stop or at least significantly slow down."
Bai Qi nodded in confirmation.
Ye Wuji frowned, thinking, "That means for now, I can't rely on the elders. I'll have to make the most out of this situation with my current, pitiful cultivation base."
"The best I can do now is wait for the war to break out. And when it does, I'll pour oil into the flames, fanning the flames to worsen it for all sides… and scoop up as many benefits as I can during the chaos."
He turned his attention back to Bai Qi. "Good job. This information is valuable. From now on, focus solely on any developments in the conflict."
Then, he took out forty medium spirit crystals, sixty blood essence crystals, and a regenerated yellow petal from the mother plant. "Here, your reward. And take this regenerated petal as well."
Bai Qi caught the items and immediately tucked them into his storage bag, not wanting anyone to see what he had received.
Without another word, Bai Qi stood and quietly left the restaurant.
Ye Wuji didn't leave right away. Instead, he calmly finished his tea, and then, after he left, he ducked into a nearby alley and altered his disguise once more.
After waiting a few minutes, he returned to the restaurant and rented a new room. He had no intention of leaving just yet, since he was expecting two more contacts in the coming days. It would be a waste of time to travel back and forth between the city and his hiding place repeatedly.
Besides, the conflict between the Heavenly Mountain Sect and the alliance of the White Cloud and White Crane Sects was about to explode soon, and when it did, he needed to be able to act as fast as he could if he wanted to benefit from it.
"Most people believe the Heavenly Mountain Sect is now just a paper tiger that'll crumble with a gentle push… but they're wrong." He thought.
"Even though the White Crane Sect is considered the strongest of the four righteous sects in the Crimson Phoenix Empire, and they've now allied with the White Cloud Sect, which is roughly equal in strength to Heavenly Mountain, the situation isn't as simple as it seems."
"Heavenly Mountain likely still holds some trump cards. And more importantly, neither White Cloud nor White Crane Sect can afford to go all out. If one side overextends or reveals too many cards, the other might take advantage and strike them when they're weak… maybe even together with the enemy."
"And then there's the Golden Lotus Temple…"
"The fourth righteous sect that's known for its reclusive nature. Rarely intervening in most worldly matters."
"If the Golden Lotus Temple chooses to intervene this time… to reap the spoils," he muttered with a sigh, "the entire battlefield could shift."
With that thought lingering in his mind, Ye Wuji entered his room and no longer delayed.
He pulled out the black lotus artifact from his storage ring and poured his Qi into it.
|>>======|✦|======<<|
Once again, he stood on the highest floor of the Arasaka Hotel, gazing down at the situation inside the Blood Essence Harvesting Array, checking that it remained completely intact.
He summoned Si Wei and Xue Sha from the Corpse Tower and gave them their usual orders—to guard the array and consume the corpses only after their blood essence had been fully extracted by the array.
Then, he returned to seclusion and resumed his cultivation.
Ye Wuji took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began refining blood essence crystals once more, operating his Scarlet Soul Blood-Refining Art with precision.
Time passed swiftly. Two weeks blinked by in a meditative silence.
Sitting cross-legged in his chamber, Ye Wuji cultivated without rest. Blood essence crystals were consumed like flowing water, and his Qi grew thicker, heavier, and more refined.
With a constant supply of blood essence crystals fueling his cultivation over the two weeks, Ye Wuji's realm had improved dramatically, now peaking at the final nine stage of the Qi Refining realm.
But now, his collection of blood essence crystals had dwindled to just a few. If it continued like this, he would have to stop his cultivation and go down to the array center to refill them.
He clenched his fists and growled.
"I'll break through today!"
He took blood essence crystal into his hand and began absorbing it, the energy roaring through his meridians like wildfire.
Vital energy surged through him.
His blood boiled. His bones creaked. His skin tingled.
Veins bulged across his arms and neck as the pressure built.
BOOM!
A thunderous pulse of Qi erupted outward, swirling dust across the floor. His aura stabilized, and he had broken through.
Ye Wuji opened his eyes slowly, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
"Ninth Layer of Qi Refining…" he muttered with deep satisfaction. "Finally."
He clenched his fist and took a deep breath.
"Now, all that remains is to completely fill my dantian and prepare for the breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm."