Zhong Busan looked at Zhao Hai and said, “How is your seclusion?”

Zhao Hai smiled bitterly and said, “Replying to the Gang Leader. It wasn’t great. I wasn’t able to achieve a breakthrough. However, I was able to stabilize my cultivation.”

Zhong Busan nodded and said, “You should not be disappointed. This is normal. Don’t expect to reach the heavens in a single step. Go take some missions to settle your mental state. Now that the gang has absorbed Blood Child City, we have a lot of missions that need to be done. Right, go see Shen Yue. He says you owe him a drink.”

Zhao Hai stared, he didn’t expect Zhong Busan to say such words. But he nodded and said, “Gang Leader can rest assured. After heading back, I’ll go see Senior Brother Shen.”

Zhong Busan waved his hand and said, “Alright, you can go. When you head out, pay attention to your surroundings. Now that we have eliminated the Green Zombie Gang, the surrounding gangs are paying close attention to us. It’s possible that they’ll attack.” Zhao Hai gave a nod. Then after giving a bow to Zhong Busan, he turned around and left.

Zhao Hai returned to his room and sat inside for a while before heading out. Just as Zhao Hai exited his room, he saw another member of the Ghost Child Gang. Zhao Hai had seen this person before, he hurriedly cupped his fist and said, “Senior Brother, I’d like to ask for directions to Senior Brother Shen’s courtyard. This Junior Brother wants to pay him a visit.”

As soon as the person heard Zhao Hai, he couldn’t help but stare. Then his complexion changed as he said, “You know Senior Brother Shen?”

Zhao Hai knew why this person would ask this question. Shen Yue wasn’t just anybody in the Ghost Child Gang. Shen Yue was being groomed by Zhong Busan to become the next Gang Leader. Therefore, Shen Yue’s status in the Ghost Child Gang was extremely high.

Although Zhao Hai had some fame, his time in the Ghost Child Gang was still short. Even if he gained the Gang Leader’s favor, its effect was only a good image in the eyes of the other gang members. Zhao Hai’s position in everyone’s eyes didn’t increase. In their minds, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to have something to do with Shen Yue.

Zhao Hai smiled faintly at the cultivator and said, “Last time when we attacked Blood Child City, I was able to introduce myself to Senior Brother Shen. At that time, I promised Senior Brother a drink. But when I returned to the gang, I immediately went into seclusion. Just now, the Gang Leader reminded me of this matter. If I don’t see Senior Brother Shen, I might not have any good fruits to eat.”

The Ghost Child Gang member’s complexion changed. He was really envious of Zhao Hai. He wasn’t only recognized by the Gang Leader, he was also able to establish a relationship with Shen Yue. Zhao Hai was able to connect himself to two powerful ends of the thread. It was clear that his future development in the sect would be extremely smooth.

Although the cultivator was envious of Zhao Hai, he wasn’t planning on harming Zhao Hai over this matter. If he dared to plot, then when Shen Yue finds out, accounts would need to be settled. Moreover, Zhao Hai has obtained the Gang Leader’s favor. Offending Zhao Hai at this time would be an extremely dumb move. It would be a better idea to get Zhao Hai’s good side.

The cultivator’s expression immediately turned normal as he finally replied, “So it’s this. Since it’s Senior Brother Shen, you really shouldn’t delay. Brother, you just need to walk along this road and take a left turn after three intersections. There you will see a courtyard with two Ghost Children in front of the door. That is Senior Brother Shen’s residence.”

Zhao Hai expressed his gratitude and then followed the directions. The person looked at Zhao Hai’s back with an envious gaze. He knows that nobody would be able to stop Zhao Hai’s rise in the Ghost Child Gang.

It didn’t take long before Zhao Hai arrived at Shen Yue’s courtyard. Just like the person said, there were two Ghost Child carvings in front of the residence. The carvings were lifelike. One could see at a glance that it was done by a master.

Just as Zhao Hai was about to knock, he discovered that the residence didn’t have a knocker. He could only pat on the door gently and said, “Is Senior Brother Shen at home? Zhao Ling wants to seek an audience.”

Just after Zhao Hai finished talking, Shen Yue’s voice was heard, “Come in.” Zhao Hai pushed the door open and walked in. He discovered Shen Yue standing inside looking at him.

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and cupped his fist before saying, “Junior Brother has seen Senior Brother Shen. Senior Brother, I invited you last time for a drink, but I had to go into seclusion when I returned. I apologize for being late.”

Shen Yue laughed and said, “Alright, it’s a small matter. Now that you’re here, we must drink a few more cups.”

Zhao Hai quickly replied, “Senior Brother, why don’t we head out to eat? It will be this Junior Brother’s treat. How can we just eat here?”

Shen Yue smiled and said, “I don’t like to go out to eat. There are a lot of people who want to greet me. It gets too tiring after a while. Let’s just eat inside.” Zhao Hai had no choice but to enter Shen Yue’s house.

When the two entered the residence, Zhao Hai discovered that Shen Yue’s residence was very simple. There aren’t too many things inside. This came as a surprise to Zhao Hai.

The two went to the kitchen where several Red Goblin women were putting dishes on the table. All of the dishes looked simple.

Before long, all of the dishes were placed down, and the Red Goblin women retreated back. Shen Yue invited Zhao Hai to sit down. Then he looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Zhao Ling, I must thank you for what happened back in Blood Child City. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to completely eliminate the Green Zombie Gang.

Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “That’s not my accomplishment. The only thing I did was recognize the mechanism used by the Green Zombie Gang. Senior Brother Shen doesn’t need to be polite.”

Shen Yue nodded and said, “Alright, let’s not talk about this. I’m glad that you came to visit. Come, let’s share a few drinks.” Zhao Hai nodded. He understood Shen Yue’s message. Shen Yue was the future Gang Leader of the Ghost Child Gang. Because of this, he doesn’t have someone to call a true friend. The people around him were those who befriended the rank he had, not the person. Shen Yue doesn’t treat these people as friends.

However, Zhao Hai’s situation was different. Shen Yue knew that Zhong Busan was grooming Zhao Hai to be sent to the Battle Corpse Sect. Therefore, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to threaten Shen Yue’s status. Zhao Hai might even have a higher status than him in the future. It was because of this that Shen Yue can make friends with Zhao Hai.

The two drank as they chatted, looking like two good friends. Zhao Hai usually liked these events, but he knew that the person in front of him would never be his friend. The moment Zhao Hai entered the Tyrant Blade Sect, the Ghost Cultivators became his enemies.

Zhao Hai sighed inside, but he didn’t stop drinking. He also chatted with Shen Yue. To be honest, Zhao Hai wasn’t envious of Shen Yue’s life. After all, he has killed more people than Shen Yue. This was the case with cultivators. If you don’t kill others, others will still come to kill you. The distinction between good and evil always depended on who’s looking.

The two drank until it was late. Then Zhao Hai set out to return to his residence. When he returned, Zhao Hai immediately entered the Space. He wanted to see what’s going on with the Water Ghost Sect.

After seeing Water Ghost Lake, Zhao Hai was shocked. He didn’t expect the seeds that he spread out to multiply this quickly.

Seeing the seeds, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but wonder how they were able to multiply so fast. He could remember the experiments he did in the Space. The seeds weren’t multiplying as fast as in the lake. It seems like the Water Ghost Sect was fated to be eliminated.

Now that the seeds were spreading, Zhao Hai immediately went back. He would wait to hear if there were any news.

In the following days, Zhao Hai lived a normal life in the Ghost Child Gang. By this point, a lot of people were aware of Zhao Hai. He doesn’t only know the Gang Leader, his relationship with Shen Yue was also good. Because of this, his position in the Ghost Child Gang became special. Most of the Ghost Child Gang members would deliberately befriend him.

Three months passed. In these three months, Zhao Hai would return to the Water Ghost Lake once in a while to take a look. But a month ago, Zhao Hai stopped going. He found that the seeds he spread had fulfilled their purpose. The outbreak that he was planning for was about to happen.

Recently, Zhao Hai went out on missions while also collecting things unique to the underground world. Fortunately, the Ghost Child Gang was a place filled with rogue cultivators. With ghost cultivators coming from all directions, information was very easy to acquire. However, none of the these information were related to the Water Ghost Sect.

On this particular day, Zhao Hai went to the Mission Hall inside the Ghost Child Gang. This Mission Hall was where members of the gang received their missions. Most of the cultivators inside knew Zhao Hai. As soon as they saw Zhao Hai, they immediately gave their greetings. Zhao Hai didn’t neglect them and returned their greetings with a smile.

At this time, a voice was suddenly heard, “Junior Brother Zhao, you’re here. Come and take a seat. You’ve been doing missions crazily. Aren’t you tired of doing them?”

Zhao Hai turned his head and saw that it was Li Mu who he met back in Blood Child City. Li Mu was a very lively person who liked to joke. Moreover, he didn’t take himself very seriously. Because of this, he was also quite popular in the gang.

In Zhao Hai’s eyes, Li Mu was an outlier in the Ghost Child Gang. Ghost Cultivators were self-centered and would generally hide their true emotions in their hearts. On the other hand, Li Mu expressed himself fully. It might be because of his character that Li Mu was able to become popular in the gang.

Zhao Hai smiled at Li Mu and said, “So it’s Senior Brother Li. How are you? You didn’t go on a mission today?”

After Zhao Hai said this, a person next to Li Mu said, “If he’s as hardworking as you, he would have progressed very far a long time ago. It might be normal for you to do two or three missions a day. For him, it would be a miracle if he does a mission every two or three days.” This caused the surrounding cultivators to laugh.

Li Mu didn’t mind the jokes as he smiled and said, “It’s already fine for me to be like this. Look at Junior Brother Ling, he looks too tired while I’m very relaxed.” This caused another round of laughter. All cultivators know that cultivation was like sailing against the current. If you don’t advance, then you will retreat. If you don’t work hard, then your cultivation will regress. There weren’t a lot of people who had the same mindset as Li Mu.

Zhao Hai sat beside Li Mu and said, “Senior Brother Li, what are you all chatting about? Did something happen?”

Hearing Zhao Hai, Li Mu immediately became excited. He laughed and said, “It’s good that you asked me. Something huge happened in the underground world. And it has something to do with the sects!”

Zhao Hai stared. He looked interested as he probed further, “Really? Something happened to the sects? Which sect was hit?”

Li Mu laughed, “That’s right. But the one affected isn’t one of the big sects. Do you know the Water Ghost Sect?”

It was also the first time the surrounding people heard about this matter. Upon hearing Li Mu’s words, the people immediately quieted down. Although the Water Ghost Sect wasn’t a huge sect in the underground world, it was one of the special sects.

Li Mu looked at everyone and nodded. As if showing off, he continued, “A catastrophe hit the Water Ghost Sect. As everyone knows, the Water Ghost Sect is famous for their water ghosts. And the place where their headquarters is located is called Water Ghost Lake. I heard that something happened to the lake. A special type of plant began to grow in large numbers in the lake. Most importantly, these plants began to drastically reduce the amount of water ghosts in the lake. Nobody knows how many water ghosts are still left in the lake.”

Hearing this, the people around Li Mu couldn’t help but stare. Zhao Hai also stared, but his heart was beating with glee. His actions have reached its goal. With the water ghosts in Water Ghost Lake being decimated, the Water Ghost Sect was akin to a shop with no walls. It was waiting to be attacked by bandits.