Chapter 787: Section 575: The Purple Vine’s Secret Cache Is Here?
Yuan Ci, the elder, also knew about the Purple Vine’s secret treasure, and it didn’t surprise Zi Di.
But combining her own ambush and the arrangements of the empire’s spies in the Purple Vine Shop in the Royal Capital, she had another hypothesis!
Why would the empire’s spies exert so much effort to make arrangements in the Purple Vine Shop in the Royal Capital? The Teleportation Array they set up was of an extremely high specification, capable of both teleporting and concealing one’s aura, and it definitely wasn’t cheap to construct.
And to reach the Alchemy Laboratory in the Ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake, there were Golden Level fighters on guard all year round.
Golden Level!
That was by no means an ordinary level.
In any force on the Main Plane, it was considered a core Transcendent level.
The empire’s spies had expended so much effort here in making arrangements, they must have noticed something, made some conjectures. An operation by such a massive organization, even if based on conjecture, was logical and had a rationale behind it.
Although Zi Di was not an outstanding vice admiral like Zong Ge, as a distinguished merchant, she was adept at guessing her opponents’ thoughts.
She deduced many things from the actions and arrangements of the empire’s spies.
Immediately, Zi Di turned to Yuan Ci, "I understand now!"
"Elder Yuan Ci, you are the person appointed by the former Chairman to take charge, specifically responsible for guarding the Purple Vine’s secret treasure, right?"
"The Purple Vine’s secret treasure... Could it be inside the Ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake?"
Elder Yuan Ci was startled, then chuckled and shook his head, "What are you thinking of?"
But Zi Di’s gaze was calm and composed as she continued to analyze, "The empire’s spies would not deploy such significant forces here to arrange and stage ambushes for no reason."
"The former Chairman’s placement of the Purple Vine’s secret treasure actually had many limitations. It had to be secretive and secure, and to satisfy both requirements is very difficult."
"If it were set up on some deserted island or in some wilderness, one would have to start from scratch in constructing a secret chamber."
"If the Level of the secret chamber is too low, it cannot conceal the extraordinary aura of the treasure. Since it’s the Purple Vine’s secret treasure, there must be a large number of Extraordinary Items, and valuable resources."
"If the Level of the secret chamber is too high, it would require significant manpower and resources to build. But in doing so, the construction process would not be secretive enough, leaving all sorts of clues."
"A more ideal location would be to choose a secret chamber that was already built, with a high level. The chamber would have been excavated, its contents taken by whoever discovered it, and then abandoned."
"Such a chamber could be utilized by simply renovating and repairing it on the original foundation. Although this approach is secretive, it is not safe. The original discoverers are the biggest vulnerability. Even if these people are all dead, they might leave records. And even without records, the manpower and resources used during repairs are flaws."
Ever since learning about the "Purple Vine’s secret treasure," Zi Di had spent her free time pondering its location.
These were all conclusions of her independent reflection.
Zi Di went on to say, "Now, seeing the Ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake, and looking at the ice skating Alchemy Room, I feel that the Purple Vine’s secret treasure is highly likely to be here!"
"Because it’s safe and secretive here!"
"This place is underground of the Ice Sculpture Royal Capital, and the empire’s spies would not dare to dig recklessly. Any existence of the Holy Domain Level entering the Kingdom must be reported. If their infiltration were discovered, it would cause a serious diplomatic disaster."
"There are four layers of ice here, many Magic Beasts, limited visibility, and, most importantly, Alchemy Rooms as numerous as the stars. It’s very easy to either build our own or find previously abandoned structures."
"I believe that the Alchemy Rooms our Guild has built here are not limited to the one we are in, right?"
Zi Di spoke with a questioning tone but her expression was very certain.
Elder Yuan Ci looked at her blankly for a while before giving a bitter smile and nodding, "Since you’ve guessed to this extent, I won’t pretend anymore."
"That’s right, I am the elder appointed by the Chairman to take charge of watching over the Purple Vine’s secret treasure!"
Zi Di’s pupils constricted.
"No wonder Elder Yuan Ci you have always hidden here..."
"It’s because the Purple Vine’s secret treasure is here!" Zi Di let out a long sigh, then quickly asked, "The empire’s spies are the Holy Bright Empire’s intelligence agency, but I don’t believe the whole Empire is searching for the Purple Vine’s secret treasure. There must be some high-level official or some force leveraging the power of the spy agency for their private deeds!"
"Who is this person or this force, and are they the greatest culprits behind the destruction of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce?"
The empire’s spy agency was a vast organization, serving the Holy Bright Empire.
The current strategy of the Holy Bright Empire was to occupy the Beast Race Continent, and a small target like the Purple Vine’s secret treasure would definitely not be the entire focus of the Secret Spy Organization.
Elder Yuan Ci sighed again and nodded, "You’re not wrong on this point either."
"Who is it?" Zi Di’s eyes sharpened, and she immediately pressed on.
"It’s the Seventh Prince," answered Elder Yuan Ci.
Zi Di was tremendously shaken.
The Seventh Prince...
A child of the Holy Emperor, a Son of God?!
Immediately, a profound doubt surged in Zi Di’s heart, "Why? Why would someone as high and mighty as the Seventh Prince come in search of a mere Purple Vine’s secret treasure?"
Twin Eyes Island.
A hidden place, within a secret chamber.
Tan Mo, under the guidance of Hun Tong, secretly arrived here and met someone already waiting in the secret chamber.
"The Bishop of the Wealth Sect?" After the man’s self-introduction, Tan Mo raised his eyebrows, suddenly realizing.
He looked at Hun Tong and instantly understood why Hun Tong said they could offer Tan Mo a full fifty thousand gold in return.
The reason was only one—the other party was the Wealth Sect!
Wealth Sect... Just from the name, one could tell that the sect was very wealthy.
As for why the Wealth Sect’s people came to find him, Tan Mo had long been aware of Twin Eyes Island’s intelligence, and knew it all too well—the conflict between sects.
Twin Eyes Island was originally a territory of the Wealth Sect, but after the Fishmen attacked, Twin Eyes Island won a Pyrrhic victory. The real winner was only one, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
In this battle, the Wealth Sect’s leading priest died in combat.
With no leader, the initial chaos presented Hun Tong with an opportunity.
Hun Tong’s performance was perfectly disguised, seamless, convincing everyone else that he had salvaged a fortune of war booty from the seabed, becoming filthy rich.
Hun Tong was in a strong position, manipulating power and using his influence to pry open gaps and set the stage for the introduction of the Justice Sect.
Once the Justice Sect’s presence became firmly established, Twin Eyes Island would become a battleground for the two sects. And the so-called secular lord, Hun Tong, would take a passive stance, easily balancing the religious authority, becoming the biggest winner.
This undoubtedly severely infringed upon the Wealth Sect’s interests.
So, this time, the Wealth Sect sent a bishop secretly to take charge of the situation, and Hun Tong was still in the dark.
"To be able to bring a Golden Level Bishop of Wealth onto Twin Eyes Island, Shadow, your ability is indeed excellent," Tan Mo probed.
Yan Yi hastily waved his hands, humbly expressing a few sentences.
The Bishop of Wealth said, "Vice Admiral Tan Mo, you are so rich in wisdom, surely you can understand our position."
Tan Mo frowned, "I do understand your motives, but I have yet to see any sincerity."
With a laugh, the Bishop of Wealth stated, "Our Wealth Sect might lack people, might lack land, but we definitely do not lack money!"
"50,000 Gold, if you agree to cooperate, we can transfer 30,000 to you right now."
Tan Mo’s heart skipped a beat, but his brow furrowed even more.
Such sincerity from the other party indicated they had major plans!
Hence, Tan Mo didn’t agree immediately, instead he asked, "Tell me about your plans."
The Bishop of Wealth and Yan Yi exchanged glances, with the former saying, "We want to replace the Island Master."
Tan Mo’s brow locked into a knot; he hadn’t expected the other party to play such a big hand.
In his own plans, he simply wanted to force Hun Tong to submit and acquire a sum of money.
But the Bishop of Wealth wanted to bring down Hun Tong directly!
This involved the change of a local lord!
In an instant, Tan Mo realized he had fallen into a vortex.
The vortex of political struggle.
He had become a gun used by others!
His first thought was to leave this secret room, to withdraw from the vortex.
However, he hesitated.
After all, the other party had promised 50,000 Gold, not a small sum.
On further thought, he began to see this as an opportunity!
"Since the other party wants to deal with Hun Tong, it surely won’t be an assassination."
"This is not a conventional approach to political conflict within the Empire!"
"Especially now, as the Empire is fully engaged in the invasion of the Beast Race Continent. If the infighting is so outrageous, the Wealth Sect will face the Holy Emperor’s wrath!"
Tan Mo quickly surmised that the political conflict wouldn’t be too intense, staying within the rules of engagement.
Another piece of evidence for this speculation was himself.
If the Wealth Sect wanted to use assassination, they wouldn’t inform him, an outsider, of their intentions.
After a moment of silence, Tan Mo turned to the Bishop of Wealth, "You want to replace Hun Tong? Who do you plan to support?"
This was a crucial question.
Because it involved a basic policy of the Holy Bright Empire—aristocratic succession.
If the Wealth Sect supported an outsider, then Tan Mo would just walk away.
But if the Wealth Sect had found their target from the Duomu family, then there was something to discuss.
Because Twin Eyes Island was the territory of the Duomu family, and the new lord had to be from the Duomu family.
This was the legal principle of the Holy Bright Empire, the rule of the nobles!
Confronted with this question, the Bishop of Wealth just smiled without speaking.
Yan Yi took a small step forward, bowing slightly towards Tan Mo, "Do you think I’m suitable, Lord Tan Mo?"
Even as greedy as Tan Mo was, he was dumbfounded when he saw Yan Yi’s calm face and the calm Bishop of Wealth.
"Are you serious?" he asked incredulously, looking at the Bishop of Wealth, who simply nodded slightly in response.
Tan Mo then turned to Yan Yi and said directly, "You’re just Bronze Level, and you actually aspire to the position of lord?"
"You’re even greedier than I am!!"
Tan Mo felt as if he was seeing Yan Yi for the first time, incredulously examining him from head to toe.
Yan Yi laughed, "It’s precisely because I am only Bronze Level that the Wealth Sect took notice of me, isn’t it?"
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