Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 791 - 790: Colluding with the Corrupt

Xiang Tianxing clenched his teeth in secret, Liu Yishou had finally revealed his true nature, not only was he greedy, but he had also slyly dragged everyone down with him.

If he agreed, then he’d be implicated too, and there’d be no issue of anyone reporting anyone else, everyone would be tarred with the same brush, like grasshoppers roped together.

If he refused, he’d anger everyone, blocking their way, and one shouldn’t underestimate these people just because they were warehouse servants—they were cultivators too, with ambitions for cultivation. To cut off someone’s path to the Great Dao was to make an enemy who shared no common sky, and it was entirely possible that they’d lose their lives over it. They could easily pin any charge on him, and with everyone’s testimony, the higher-ups could only minimize a major issue and dissolve a minor one.

Liu, the elder brother, used to like keeping everything for himself, but this time the benefit was so great, he had opted for sharing profits, only this time, the extent of the share was so significant that everyone found it irresistible.

Why not? Weren’t the warehouse servants in the Elixir Furnace Hall doing the same? The guys in the Talisman Department weren’t any better. With such a rare opportunity, it wouldn’t hurt to sneak a bit for themselves, just not too much. They had made arrangements both up and down the chain, among the roughly forty thousand artifacts they only meddled with a thousand, even the Heavens would turn a blind eye.

Could punishment really be enforced?

No matter how dissatisfied everyone was with Elder Brother Liu before, this time they all stood unanimously by his side.

Xiang Tianxing was successfully isolated, Hou Niao gave a faint smile, "You can also take leave, I’ve approved it!"

Torn between duty and self-interest, that was Xiang Tianxing’s state of mind at the moment. Recalling the earnest instructions and great expectations of Hu Daoist before coming to the Inner Warehouse, he felt entrusted with a great responsibility; to take leave was to desert, later on, he would not know anything that happened in the Inner Warehouse, and Hu Daoist would never trust such a coward ever again.

He firmly discarded the option to take leave, "I agree, let’s do that. Elder Brother Liu, you can set aside two hundred pieces, and everyone else one hundred each."

He couldn’t refuse, because to do so would be to make it clear that he was unwilling to be complicit in their scheme, readying himself to blow the whistle. In such situations, was there ever a chance to come out clean? Only by dragging everyone down could a united front be formed, ensuring everyone’s safety.

He had to stay here, at least then these guys wouldn’t go overboard, or else who knew if it would really just be a thousand pieces? Lust for profit could drive people mad, and once they started, how could they control themselves?

Moreover, he never believed that Liu Yishou would be so generous this time; there had to be a bigger scheme at play, and this tactic was meant to force him out.

Everyone was content, and with that settled, there was no need for further talk. Work enthusiasm surged, gazes sharp as lightning, movement swift as the wind. They tidied up everything in just half a day, locking up the A, B, C, D, and E warehouses, their eyes gleaming as they looked upon the remaining five thousand artifacts as if they were five thousand beauties.

Before they started, Hou Niao spoke with moral righteousness, "Restraint, that is what I must emphasize; try to choose those obscure items that are ambiguous in age and condition. Don’t get greedy for more Spirit Stones and wrongfully label top-grade treasures as defective."

"You must know, the final decision lies with the higher-up Golden Core Pill Masters, and we need to make it easy for them to save face; otherwise, they’d have a hard time explaining."

"Remember this, if nothing goes wrong, these benefits are ours; if something happens, they become others’ spoils."

With that said, everyone cheered and scattered, each looking for those items that seemed old but were actually practical treasures, except for Xiang Tianxing, who dragged his feet reluctantly.

He chuckled to himself, every sect had such naive young men, who hadn’t yet been beaten down by the Cultivation World, unaware that unspoken rules were also a type of rule, and a very important one at that.

Did he think that with Hu Daoist backing him he could bring integrity back to the Inner Warehouse? How naive!

Little did he know that Hu Daoist and several other Golden Core Director were the real big fish of corruption, except they manipulated things from behind the scenes without showing themselves.

The reason they pushed Liu Yishou and Xiang Tianxing into the spotlight was to keep their options open for the future; if everything went smoothly without any reaction from above or below, then naturally Liu Yishou would continue as the warehouse manager, and everyone would revel in the benefits; if the situation was exposed, the Golden Cores could argue they had sent someone to supervise all along...

It’s possible to walk by the river without getting one’s shoes wet, it’s just a matter of method.

With everything arranged, he could focus on his own matters.

Xiang Tianxing didn’t need to worry anymore; even if he chose to blow the whistle, it would be after the entire Inner Warehouse was sorted and they had secured their benefits without leaving any evidence. freёnovelkiss-com

He could move freely in and out of the five Five Elements Sublibraries, picking the most precious treasures without care, wasting Heaven’s gifts by treating precious artifacts crafted through tireless efforts as junk, using them to bolster his own power.

On the third day late at night, pretending to patrol, he sauntered to the Inner Treasury Formation. He had no fear of being seen; inspecting and maintaining the formation was his duty, a daily task to ensure that the Formation Stone Spirit had abundant energy.

He took out the Seasonal Silkworm and examined it carefully, his heart filled with wonder.

While the Jinxiu Continent was not rich in miraculous items, there were still some, and the Seasonal Silkworm was one of the renowned ones.

Its marvel lay in possessing a thread of the Time Great Dao’s ability; it did not control or change formations through brute force, but rather subtly infiltrated over time, like moisture soothingly seeping in without noise. When the time came, it could restart and take advantage of the formation in a vulnerable moment; that was the general principle.

The Time Great Dao was incredibly lofty and incomprehensible; he had no understanding of it, and even powerful cultivators at the Nascent Transformation level in Jinxiu Continent had no one who could master it, as it belonged to a Dao accessible only to a higher level of cultivators than Masters, which is why Fairy Zhuang said it was infallible.

This item was a real treasure, tempting enough for him to consider fleeing with it, but after careful consideration, he abandoned the idea. Managing his affairs and focusing on his Flying Sword was his primary concern. Besides, he genuinely didn’t understand any other uses for the Seasonal Silkworm; he wouldn’t want to unwittingly mark himself.

He felt this task was doable, it could weaken the Heartless Dao and implicate Wu Sect, and if any ties arose between the two, it would be perfect. The pressure on Anhe Daoist Sect would be greatly reduced.

But the precondition was not to expose himself or involve the Shan Sect.

How to provoke a conflict between the two without detection was what he needed to consider; it wasn’t easy and not something that could be resolved by simply blaming the Treasure Stealer on the Heartless Dao. Further planning was necessary.

Today was the Spring Equinox, and the Seasonal Silkworm would activate at the Summer Solstice; he had three months.

While harboring wicked thoughts, he tossed the Seasonal Silkworm into the Array’s crucial point and watched as it turned into a stream of energy and disappeared into the formation. Fortunately, no one detected the intrusion.

Without paying further attention to the formation, he concentrated all his efforts on cultivating his Flying Sword. The Cultivation World was full of temptations, but to him, only the sword mattered.