Chapter 286: Acting Early

Back in Jiuhu City, before Ma Chun could send the first manager of Linji Inn there, Lin Dong informed Yun Lan. After saying goodbye to Huang Wanli, they boarded the carriage, whose appearance had completely changed, and set off once again on the journey to open another branch.

It was seven days later when they arrived at the nearest Jiaoyi City. Lin Dong arrived at the inn through the transport gate and learned that Yu Mudan and the others had already arrived at Linji Inn two days prior.

The Fenglin Restaurant, which relied on these top chefs from Qiufeng City, was completely stunned. According to Ma Chun, the only thing Ling Zhengyang could do now was grit his teeth, eat Vitality Beef Balls, and turtle stewed in maple leaves, while suffering from sleepless nights.

Lin Dong couldn’t refute this. Yet, he disagreed somewhat with Ma Chun’s assessment. The main reason was that Ling Zhengyang seemed overly calm. In his estimation, Ling Zhengyang’s confidence shouldn’t have been shattered so quickly. Otherwise, he would have been living up to his reputation. If his confidence hadn’t been broken, he should have tried to find a way out by offering more discounts, even if cash was tight.

With Yu Mudan and the others joining forces, Linji Inn’s cooking skills far surpassed those of Fenglin Restaurant. Even if those allies turned against Linji Inn, its culinary skills would still be significantly better.

If Ling Zhengyang refused to mobilize funds and chefs from Lingnan Commandery, it was almost certain that Linji Inn would bring Fenglin Restaurant down.

But certainty didn’t mean everything was resolved. Lin Dong racked his brains but couldn’t think of any way Fenglin Restaurant could turn the situation around. Yet, he felt Ling Zhengyang shouldn’t lose confidence so easily and give up without even fighting back. He should at least struggle a bit.

Since he couldn’t figure it out, Lin Dong stopped overthinking it. With Linji Inn’s superior strength and the Ling Shi Fan as a trump card, he didn’t believe Fenglin Restaurant could pull off any miracle.

At present, Lin Dong’s real concern was You Qinxang.

Besides Fenglin Restaurant, Ma Chun had another piece of news: the conflict between the Ningjizong and Xinglizong factions was intensifying, reaching a point where one side would be destroyed. According to Xiao Tianchi, in about another month, it would be time for the Guhuanzong to step in.

But You Qinxang couldn’t wait. She was worried that the Xinglizong would be destroyed, and even more concerned that the former leader of Xinglizong, her father You Beide, might not bear to see its disciples suffer heavy losses and join the war faction with the imprisoned disciples.

According to Xiao Tianchi’s investigations, the Ningjizong sect is united in hostility, giving them a clear advantage. Currently, the sect still has over a thousand disciples, and as many as sixteen elders at the seventh level or above of the Mental Energy stage.

On the other hand, the Xingli Sect has suffered significant losses due to internal strife. Aside from the three or four hundred disciples and a few elders who are completely loyal to You Beide, Qian Changjian now has less than five hundred disciples, with only three elders at the seventh level or above of the Mental Energy stage.

After another month, the Xingli Sect will be almost destroyed, while the Ningjizong Sect will also be severely weakened. The only advantage the Guhuan Sect has now is its number of elders—twenty-two in total. With the help of the Qinglan Fruit, each of them has advanced by one or two minor levels, making their overall strength comparable to that of all the elders in the Ningjizong and Xingli Sects combined.

Their weakness, however, is that there are only a little over five hundred disciples who are fully loyal to the Guhuan Sect. Although they have also advanced by two or three minor levels with the help of the Qinglan Fruit, their numbers are still too small. Facing a one-vs-two situation would result in heavy losses.

These disciples and elders are utterly loyal to the Guhuan Sect. They can be considered its greatest asset and foundation for development. Even a loss of more than one-tenth of them would, in Lin Dong’s eyes, not be worth the rewards from completing missions or destroying the Ningjizong Sect.

Therefore, even though You Qinxang was anxious, Lin Dong merely pretended to be away, unaware of the situation. But Xiao Tianchi was also worried.

Although Ma Chun didn’t fully understand what was going on, he was sure that Xiao Tianchi seemed equally anxious about it.

Lin Dong couldn’t figure it out. Xiao Tianchi’s thoughts should be the same as his own—why would he become so anxious instead of avoiding You Qinxang and her siblings?

After all, You Qinxang was merely the heir to the sect leader position and couldn’t possibly offer a price that would satisfy Xiao Tianchi. Just based on her offer, it was uncertain whether the Xingli Sect would even agree to it. Moreover, despite her distinguished status, only You Beide seemed to know the sect’s secrets and treasures, so she couldn’t possibly come up with anything valuable.

With no other choice, Lin Dong asked Ma Chun to go outside and check the situation, ensuring there were no outsiders around before knocking on Xiao Tianchi’s room.

The door creaked open. Before Lin Dong could speak, Xiao Tianchi exclaimed joyfully, “Shopkeeper Lin, I’ve been waiting for you!”

Lin Dong frowned, puzzled. “Sect Leader Xiao, what exactly is going on?”

“Master Lin, talk inside!” Xiao Tianchi smiled as he led Lin Dong into the room, poured him a glass of water, and explained, “I understand Master Lin’s concerns, but in the face of huge profits, it’s hard not to be tempted.”
“Huge profits?” Lin Dong looked puzzled.
Xiao Tianchi nodded firmly. “With Xingli Sect’s crafting methods and spiritual techniques, our Guhuan Sect will not only see a significant improvement in our crafting skills but also won’t have to worry about recruiting disciples in the future. The seventh-tier spiritual techniques you gave are good, but we can’t use them as a means to recruit disciples. With such huge profits, do you think Master Lin, I could refuse?”
Lin Dong was stunned. “How is that possible? If You Qinxang does this, no matter the reason, it’s tantamount to betraying the sect. Moreover, even if Guhuan Sect obtains Xingli Sect’s crafting methods and spiritual techniques, unless they destroy Xingli Sect, they’ll face endless troubles in the future.”
Xiao Tianchi shook his head, stroking his long beard leisurely, and said, “Miss You isn’t betraying the sect.”
Lin Dong was at a loss. Passing on any spiritual technique that the sect had kept secret was considered betrayal by any major sect. Giving away all the sect’s most valuable crafting methods and spiritual techniques, even if the goal was to save the entire sect, still amounted to betrayal—a crime with no forgiveness. Even a sect leader with high prestige within the sect couldn’t bear such a charge unless they gained even greater benefits.
“To be honest with you, Master Lin…” Xiao Tianchi smiled. “Miss You has agreed to draft an alliance agreement between us. From now on, Xingli Sect and Guhuan Sect will be allies, and we’ll share our spiritual techniques and various crafting methods as well.”
Lin Dong frowned. “Exchanging seventh-tier spiritual techniques for fourth or fifth-tier ones and crafting methods—it’s hard to say who’s gaining an advantage. But if we consider the heavy losses for the sect, it seems we’ll still be at a disadvantage, right?”
“Our Guhuan Sect doesn’t have any seventh-tier spiritual techniques,” Xiao Tianchi said slowly, shaking his head.
Lin Dong was speechless.
“Additionally, Miss You has agreed that to prevent Qian Changjian from destroying Xingli Sect’s spiritual techniques and crafting methods out of desperation, our Guhuan Sect can send people to guard Xingli Sect’s treasure vault first.” A sly expression appeared on Xiao Tianchi’s gaunt face.
Lin Dong was convinced. In this case, since the spiritual techniques and crafting methods were already in their hands, no matter how dissatisfied You Beide and the elders of Xingli Sect were, they would likely have to accept this so-called alliance. Firstly, with You Qinxang’s talent, ensuring her safety meant securing the foundation for Xingli Sect’s future development.

Secondly, since everything has already fallen into their hands, trying to retrieve it would mean resorting to force, and likely no one would come out ahead. There’s an 80-90% chance that the Xingli Sect will be destroyed. Moreover, forming an alliance could help the Xingli Sect recover. Without an ally, given its current strength and the benefits of its destruction, it will eventually attract the attention of other sects.

To be honest, in Lin Dong’s eyes, the Xingli Sect’s crafting methods and spiritual techniques still fell short compared to those of the disciples loyal to the Guhuan Sect. Unfortunately, Xiao Tianchi was the master of the Guhuan Sect, and no matter how reluctant Lin Dong was, he couldn’t interfere with Xiao Tianchi’s decisions. After all, his relationship with the Guhuan Sect was merely allied—one provided spiritual materials and elixirs, while the other was responsible for managing plantations and guarding territories.

“Since Sect Master Xiao has made up his mind, let’s go ahead with it. When does Sect Master Xiao plan to take action?” Lin Dong asked.

“If possible, we can set off today. Of course…” Xiao Tianchi smiled, “it depends on when Miss Yun is available.”

“I’ll ask her. She should be available at any time,” Lin Dong said, not being entirely sure.

Xiao Tianchi nodded, his gaze intense. “Could Manager Lin ask Miss Yun if she can modify third- or fourth-tier spiritual arrays in a short time and make them work for us? If that’s possible, this trip to Qingmei Mountain will allow us to infiltrate the Xingli Sect’s treasure hall effortlessly and achieve our original goals. We can wait until the Xingli Sect and the Ningji Sect are both exhausted from fighting each other before stepping in to clean up the mess.”

Lin Dong frowned, then his mind stirred slightly. “Are you saying that by leveraging Yun Lan’s strength and her skills as a high-level spiritual array master, we can first infiltrate the Xingli Sect, steal one or two of their most precious treasures to lure their people out of the sect, then alter the spiritual arrays around them, forcing the Xingli Sect to fight to the death against the Ningji Sect outside?”

Xiao Tianchi nodded firmly. “Miss Yun is absolutely crucial for this mission to Qingmei Mountain.”

Lin Dong suddenly laughed. “Sect Master Xiao, with such a huge contribution from Yun Lan, I deserve some reward, right?”

Xiao Tianchi was at a loss. “Everything in the Guhuan Sect—whatever Manager Lin desires—just ask. Even if Manager Lin wants my position as sect master, I won’t hesitate.”

Lin Dong was speechless. He suddenly remembered that the sect master’s token of the Guhuan Sect was still on him.

All those spiritual artifacts, materials, and silver accumulated over hundreds of years—where could they be used to exchange for spiritual stones to grow Qinglan fruits? Given the Guhuan Sect’s current situation, aside from a few loyal disciples, it was practically penniless.

This request was asking for too much.

“Let’s pretend I never said that…” Lin Dong said helplessly.

“Don’t worry, Master Lin,” Xiao Tianchi said mysteriously. “The Xingli Sect has already suffered heavy losses; with the mundane items in their treasure hall gone, they probably won’t care too much.”
“Master Xiao is really willing to bear others’ burdens! How generous!”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but give Xiao Tianchi a thumbs up.