“No upper limit.”
Upon hearing this, the relaxed smile on Qing He’s face instantly faded, replaced by a solemn respect.
A business with no upper limit—she had never heard of such a thing.
Qing He took a quiet, deep breath, and felt her heart rate quicken.
“Specifically, what is the investigation about?”
Qing He steadied herself, asking in a low voice, her eyes fixed firmly on Chen Yuyang’s face.
Such a deal looked good, but if the requirements were too harsh… or if the risk was enormous… then it might not be worth it.
No matter how many spirit stones, one still needed to live to spend them.
Beside her, Cloud Lian heard this and couldn’t help but feel a surge of curiosity.
’Did Shixiong bring this up because he wants to investigate the murderer who wiped out his family, and that’s why he’s offering such a high price?’ she thought, holding her breath.
Chen Yuyang revealed a meaningful smile and continued unhurriedly, “First, investigate the strength growth of all core disciples and elders of the Qiankun Sect over the past fifty years. Especially those with rapid cultivation progress—their training pace, encounters, and the pills and spirit materials consumed—all must be as detailed as possible.”
He paused, then went on, “Second, across the entire North Domain, help me find a specific type of puppetry art.”
“A puppetry art that refines living people into puppets to assist in one’s own cultivation.”
“Do not miss any clues related to this.”
Chen Yuyang stated his demands clearly.
Qing He listened and nodded slowly.
Although these two tasks were detailed and broad in scope, they still fell within the intelligence-gathering realm that the Hidden Sect was best at—so they were fairly normal assignments.
Cloud Lian, listening nearby, felt somewhat disappointed.
‘So it’s not about investigating the extermination of his family.’
But that only made her more curious.
What exactly did Shixiong need these things for—the Qiankun Sect’s power changes and that kind of puppetry art?
“How long will it take to look into these?”
Chen Yuyang asked Qing He.
Qing He pondered for a moment, then said, “The Qiankun Sect part isn’t too hard. We’ve been secretly tracking the strength changes of their core disciples and elders over the years—many basic records exist. If we hurry, we can compile a detailed report within two months.”
“As for the puppetry art you mentioned…”
Qing He frowned, her tone serious.
“That’s truly hard to investigate. The North Domain is vast, with countless sects and even more rogue cultivators. Such evil arts are usually hidden, and practitioners go to great lengths to conceal them. I can’t give you an exact date.”
Chen Yuyang had expected this.
He nodded calmly, showing no surprise.
“That’s fine. In any case, you’ll be paid based on the value of whatever you find. In other words, the more capable the Hidden Sect is, the more intelligence you uncover that I need, the more spirit stones you’ll earn from me.”
Qing He nodded but then showed some hesitation.
“But, from what I know, the Hehuan Sect isn’t exactly wealthy.”
She spoke with considerable tact.
In truth, the Hehuan Sect wasn’t just not wealthy—it was outright poor.
At least, that was before the Qiankun Sect’s compensation arrived.
Chen Yuyang didn’t explain.
He simply turned his wrist, and a ring flew toward Qing He.
Qing He caught it instinctively and sent her spiritual sense inside.
A quick sweep left her jaw hanging.
Even with just a rough glance, she could clearly sense that the ring was filled with a mountain of high-grade spirit stones—so many that it would be hard to count them quickly.
A preliminary estimate put the number of high-grade spirit stones at no less than five million!
Even for the Seven Great Sects, this was an astonishing fortune.
Only then did Qing He truly understand the weight behind Chen Yuyang’s words, “no upper limit.”
With both hands, she solemnly returned the ring to Chen Yuyang, no trace of doubt left in her eyes.
Chen Yuyang took the ring and casually tucked it away.
Then he added, “Oh, and also help me look into every detail of the Yun Family annihilation case. If you can find the real culprit behind it, even better.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Cloud Lian beside him.
“This task is the same—investigate as much as you can, with no upper limit on the reward.”
Qing He nodded heavily, inwardly amazed.
This young man, not very old, was investigating the Qiankun Sect, that puppetry art, and the Yun Family massacre.
None of these tasks were simple.
But that also meant once completed, the Hidden Sect’s reward would be substantial.
Even if she did nothing but act as a liaison for the elders to handle everything, she could still earn a decent commission.
With that in mind, Qing He didn’t hesitate.
She took out a green jade token from her storage pouch and respectfully handed it over.
“Friend Chen, this is my Hidden Sect’s communication token. Once we obtain the information you need, we’ll contact you through this immediately.”
Chen Yuyang took the token, glanced at it, and stowed it away.
Qing He then cupped her hands again.
“Then I’ll take my leave, Friend Chen. Once I return, I’ll arrange for people to start the investigation immediately.”
With that, her figure flickered and vanished like a ghost, leaving only a faint trace of aura.
Only Chen Yuyang and Cloud Lian remained.
However, Chen Yuyang kept his spiritual sense locked onto Qing He until she completely disappeared from his detection range.
After Qing He left, Cloud Lian couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore.
She looked up at Chen Yuyang, her eyes full of questions.
“Shixiong, I understand why you’re having her investigate my family’s matter, but why the Qiankun Sect and that puppetry art? And that ring—did it really have that many high-grade spirit stones? Where did you get them?”
The girl’s curiosity was strong, and a string of questions tumbled out.
Chen Yuyang looked at her, reached out, and tapped her on the head.
“Don’t pry into adult matters, little kid.”
Cloud Lian covered her head, pouting discontentedly.
“I’m not a kid! I’m already seventeen!”
Chen Yuyang just smiled at that.
Seventeen?
To him, even seventeen hundred or seventeen hundred—still a child.
But he didn’t say that.
Cloud Lian shook her head, not dwelling on it.
“Alright, Shixiong, let’s keep moving. This place isn’t safe to stay long.”
Chen Yuyang shook his head again.
His gaze drifted toward the distant skyline, and his voice, calm yet piercing, rang out.
“You’ve been watching for so long. Aren’t you going to show yourself?”
Hearing this, Cloud Lian’s expression changed dramatically.
’Another expert? And that person has been spying on us all along? Who could it be? Could it be… someone coming to silence us?’
She tensed up, her body instinctively tightening.
She clenched her fingers and unconsciously pressed closer to Chen Yuyang, nearly leaning against him.
But Chen Yuyang showed no tension.
He looked into the distance, his smile still warm, though a trace of helplessness flickered in his eyes.
Ahead, spiritual power rippled, and a petite figure slowly materialized.
It was Yan Luo, who had rushed out in a hurry!
The moment she recognized the newcomer, Cloud Lian sighed in relief, but then tensed again.
’How did this woman find us? What does she want with Shixiong?’
“Yuyang, so you already noticed me!”
Yan Luo flew forward, her face red with embarrassment.
What Chen Yuyang didn’t say was that her concealment ability was quite poor.
He had sensed her presence long before Qing He left, but since he was in the middle of a conversation with Qing He, he hadn’t bothered with her.
“Alright, what is it this time?”
Chen Yuyang asked bluntly.
Yan Luo bit her lip, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.
Then she abruptly lifted her head, her bright eyes fixed on Chen Yuyang.
“Well, I… I want to be with you!”
The words hit Cloud Lian like a thunderclap.
Her eyes went wide, her face full of shock.
’A confession? So direct, so blunt!’
’But… is she declaring her love right in front of me? Am I invisible?’
A surge of inexplicable anger rose in Cloud Lian, and she was about to say something when Yan Luo seemed to realize what she had just said and quickly waved her hands in explanation.
“Ah! No! I don’t mean that kind of ‘together’—between a man and a woman! I misspoke! I meant… I want to train with you, Yuyang! Yes, travel together! That kind of together!”
Yan Luo grew flustered, her cheeks bright red.
Chen Yuyang felt a helpless smile inside.
’I’m planning to blow up the Qiankun Sect’s lair later. How can I drag two troublesome women along?’
“Yuyang… is it… okay?”
When he didn’t respond, she stepped forward and gently tugged at his sleeve, her voice pleading.
“I… I was planning to go out for training anyway. Grandfather has already agreed.”
“I… I’m not very sharp. If I trained alone, I might get tricked by others… So I thought it would be safer to follow you. At least you wouldn’t bully me…”
Chen Yuyang: “…”
Looking at Yan Luo, he had to admit that if she really went out alone, she’d probably end up in all sorts of trouble.
Even if she carried life-saving trump cards from Yan Dangmo, those were only for emergencies.
Letting her wander the world alone—not only would Yan Dangmo worry, but even Chen Yuyang wasn’t at ease.
If she was unlucky enough to meet someone good at acting or scheming, she really could be sold and still count the money for them.
Still, she was already an Nascent Soul cultivator.
It was indeed time for her to gain some experience and broaden her horizons.
Otherwise, she’d never develop her own fighting style.
’Oh well. Leading one person or two—it’s the same. What else can I say?’