"Qing Chi arrived just in time!"
Ning Zhuo immediately frowned, feigning surprise: "Oh, really? Who's trying to harm me?"
Yang Weida: "Quite a few."
"Jiao Ma, you've just arrived at the Yang Enhancement Institute and might not understand the dynamics here."
"I entered the institute a little earlier than you and found out about the three most powerful male concubines here. They are Shen Bing, Chen Sui, and Sun Tiesheng."
"Shen Bing is a local of the Yin Soul Black Swamp Wetland, the youngest child of a pearl-cultivating family. He obtained a Jue Pearl in childhood and relied on it to start his cultivation. He has an ice spirit root and mainly practices the Extreme Cold Technique."
"Chen Sui is an outsider. During a locust plague in his childhood, he was traded by his parents for food and eventually sold to White Paper Immortal City. He has been here for over twenty years."
"Sun Tiesheng is a citizen of White Paper Immortal City, an illegitimate child of a blacksmith. This blacksmith is an important member of the Sun Family, a prominent clan in the city."
Yang Weida provided a brief introduction.
Ning Zhuo frowned even more deeply: "So you're saying that even though I haven't been here long, I've already faced suspicion and scheming from these three?"
Yang Weida nodded: "Jiao Ma, don't underestimate yourself. Your family's main cultivation technique is renowned throughout the wetland, and with your clever response when you were framed, you've already caught the City Lord's attention."
"Give you some time to develop, and you'll surely become their strongest competitor."
"I understand." Ning Zhuo nodded, gesturing a thank you to Yang Weida, "I'll be sure to watch out."
Yang Weida, seeing Ning Zhuo's intent to see him off, quickly said: "Jiao Ma, although I am from out of town, we came here together, so we're on the same side."
"To be honest, I'm here to form an alliance with you."
"With these three above us, how can we rise to prominence?"
"Jiao Ma, you're just starting and already being suppressed by them. What will you do in the future?"
Ning Zhuo frowned, pondering for a moment, then turned to Yang Weida: "You're right; given our close relationship, we can certainly join forces."
"But what can you do for me?"
Yang Weida laughed.
Ning Zhuo immediately waved his hand: "Don't bring up the aphrodisiac ointment. You know that more aphrodisiac pills have been distributed from above."
Yang Weida's smile froze momentarily and then he gritted his teeth: "Though I'm just an ordinary traveling merchant, my elder brother is no common figure."
"My brother is called Yang Sanyan, a Golden Core True Transmission of Myriad Images Sect and also a member of the Evil Slaying Hall!"
"This time, the Ghost Tide is formidable. Even if White Paper Immortal City offers large rewards to attract cultivators from surrounding towns and villages to help, it's difficult to resolve the current crisis."
"So, they might seek external assistance. They've done this several times before."
"The primary target for assistance is the Myriad Images Sect!"
"By then, if I can stand out by your side, I'll be able to leverage my brother's strength to accomplish many things."
Ning Zhuo couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, scrutinizing Yang Weida from head to toe.
He hadn't expected this person to have such a connection with Myriad Images Sect.
"My mother is a True Transmission of Myriad Images Sect, as is Wen Ruanyu, so how could his brother Yang Sanyan also be... Are there really so many Golden Core True Transmissions in the Myriad Images Sect?"
In a few breaths of time, Ning Zhuo's mind was racing with thoughts.
He said to Yang Weida, "A Golden Core True Transmission of Myriad Images Sect, this is indeed extraordinary!"
"There's no issue with us working together."
"But let me make it clear beforehand; I don't intend to rely on the status of a male concubine to make a name for myself."
"I still have unresolved feelings with Qing Chi!"
"I don't want to use Zhuangyang to gain the City Lord's favor. It's only due to family interests and orders that I do this."
"Once we get through the current Ghost Tide, everything will restart, and Qing Chi and I will also have a new opportunity."
Yang Weida hesitated and said, "This..."
"That's why when I was at Cangyang Villa, I didn't fully exert myself, but instead exchanged for a lot of Spirit Food for soul cultivation." Ning Zhuo said.
Yang Weida's expression flickered, recalling this to be true.
Ning Zhuo, seeing Yang Weida off: "I have to continue my cultivation, so let's stop here. We'll discuss things later."
Yang Weida had no choice but to leave Ning Zhuo's residence for now.
Sun Lingtong felt puzzled and asked privately: "Little Zhuo, what are you really thinking?"
"Obviously, you don't want any involvement with Qing Chi, so why say that to Yang Weida?"
Ning Zhuo: "Do you remember the ointment Yang Weida sold to us?"
Sun Lingtong: "Yes, the Mechanical Ring warned us that the ointment had issues. But Yang Weida himself seems to be fine."
"Based on what we knew before, he was suspected of being the Savior. So, before entering the city, he was scrutinized."
"Sang Le Youling must have done their best to test him."
Ning Zhuo nodded: "If I were the Wangchuan Lord or the City Covering Alliance, I wouldn't send an insider like a traveling merchant at this point."
"But that doesn't mean Yang Weida is free of suspicion."
Saying this, Ning Zhuo's gaze turned profound.
Sun Lingtong gasped, realizing, "Do you think this could be Yang Weida's setup? Did he secretly leak information, allowing Qing Chi to find you?"
Ning Zhuo nodded slightly: "Yang Weida, being from the same village, naturally knows more about the dynamics between Jiao Ma and Qing Chi."
"He also has a deep understanding of the power of the Jiao Family's main cultivation technique."
"If he wants to leverage my strength to counter those three, using this plan to force me to join him is entirely possible."
Sun Lingtong suddenly understood why Ning Zhuo's attitude seemed inconsistent.
So indeed, one speaks differently to people and ghosts.
Sun Lingtong frowned: "This situation is complicated. Who's really setting you up, Yang Weida, the three he mentioned, or the traitor?"
"A traitor also has strong motives to act against you."
"First, my previous identity as Iron Tuo was your close follower and witnessed the traitor's attack on Jin Yangzi."
"Second, you caught the City Lord's clone's interest, appointing you to investigate the traitor. Even though you've disguised as Wen Ruanyu's deputy, this status is enough for a traitor to target you."
Ning Zhuo smiled faintly: "I have a plan already."
He actively contacted Wen Ruanyu.
"I've devised a strategy that might lure the traitor into acting again." Ning Zhuo straightforwardly told Wen Ruanyu.
Wen Ruanyu's eyes lit up. He had been planning this matter, and with many ideas in mind, he immediately expressed his interest: "I'm eager to hear more."
Ning Zhuo then gave a brief account of his strategy, causing Wen Ruanyu to frown and remain silent.
Ning Zhuo, seeing through the doubts beneath Wen Ruanyu's expression, openly addressed it: "Do you think this plan is too simple and straightforward?"
Wen Ruanyu nodded: "That's indeed the impression I got."
Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and convinced him with just one sentence: "The effectiveness of a plan is what matters. The greatest truths are simple; the more complex a plan is, the harder it is to execute, and the more variables it contains. This is an open strategy! Even if the traitor hesitates, would the Wangchuan Lord's forces just sit idle as their army mobilizes?"
Wen Ruanyu clapped and laughed: "That's exactly it; Jiao Ma, your thought process is clear! Let's implement this plan."
Thus, that night, the Yang Enhancement Institute enacted a lockdown, announcing important news—the institute would set up the Spirit Contract Treasure Refining Array.
This array is quite classic, capable of lowering the master recognition standards and refinement difficulty for magic treasures, expediting the master-recognition process.
The sole target for the refining array is the Golden Swallow Fork.
Anyone who manages to refine the Golden Swallow Fork can trigger its immense yang energy, allowing the City Lord's true form to recover, thus resolving the crisis in White Paper Immortal City.
The male concubine who achieves this will naturally perform a monumental feat and ascend to a high position in one fell swoop!
The Yang Enhancement Institute distributed Array Flags, allowing each male concubine to have a place to reside, releasing yang energy with full effort, competing for the identity of the magic treasure's master.
One night passed.
Morning.
The institute was in uproar.
"There's been a death, a death!"
Shen Bing was dead.