In a certain sense, Su Xiuwan was indeed very "honest".

She was not familiar with the affairs inside the Treasure Pavilion, and possibly, having received some kind of instruction, she delegated authority to Li An, showing immense trust.

As the chief and with the support of the Pavilion Master, within three months of returning to the main pavilion, Li An had turned things upside down.

He directly dismissed several artifact evaluators, promoted many newcomers single-handedly, and replaced key positions in the treasury, auctions, and other areas with his own people.

After replacing them with his own people, the Pavilion Master, to some extent, became a mascot, with the power in the pavilion held in Li An's hands, allowing him to manipulate the appraisal, storage, registration, and auctions of materials at any time.

He also appeared very greedy, grabbing anything he fancied!

Li An was utterly reckless!

The main reason was that he now clearly understood that the owner of the mysterious demonic qi valued him highly, desperately hoping he would reach Core Formation sooner.

Thus, not only was he not angered by Li An's corrupt behavior, but he secretly supported it.

If that's the case, why wouldn't he be greedy and corrupt?

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

In just a year, Li An had embezzled quite a lot, his wealth rebuilt.

That evening, while Li An was having his meal, he suddenly heard someone on the street calling out to sell vegetables:

"Selling spirit vegetables, selling spirit vegetables...fresh spirit vegetables, spiritual cabbage, cat's ear herbs, and wild spirit vegetables from the mountains..."

Li An frowned instantly.

It's finally happening...

Spiritual cabbage, cat's ear herbs, wild vegetables from the mountains...White Tiger Mountain!

"Go and get the vegetable vendor in here; I want to pick some fresh vegetables. My appetite hasn't been great lately," he commanded.

The old servant swiftly left, and before long, a man selling vegetables walked in. Li An casually picked and chose, simultaneously whispering, "From the northwest?"

White Tiger City is northwest of Celestial Yang City.

"Yes, Master Zuo, these are all good vegetables from there..."

The man handed a handful of vegetables to Li An, among them tucked a storage bag.

Li An accepted it and, in return, discreetly handed him another storage bag.

The man thanked him profusely and then left promptly.

...

"Three Third Grade Celestial Slayer Stones."

Three in total!

Li An naturally understood the intentions of the White Tiger Master.

He had been back for a year, and it was time to act.

After a careful inspection, he quickly discovered that inside each of the three Celestial Slayer Stones was hidden another kind of mysterious demonic qi.

This mysterious demonic qi was at a level higher than blood flesh demonic qi and Yin Yang demonic qi, and although not originating from the same source as the mysterious demonic qi in Li An's body, the level was comparable.

"There is also a terrible demon cultivator hiding around White Tiger Mountain, likely not weaker than the one from the Third Princess's side..."

Instantly, everything became clear to him!

Li An pondered the risks associated with this matter.

The Demon Sect associated with the Third Princess quite obviously had a rift with the Prince Mansion; otherwise, they wouldn't have concealed Li An's affair from them.

But what was their attitude towards White Tiger Mountain's side?

If Li An was working for White Tiger Mountain, it would definitely get exposed, unable to be hidden from the Third Princess's side.

The main thing was, he was already being watched closely by the Third Princess's side—not something White Tiger Mountain was aware of.

It could be said that White Tiger Mountain made a mistake from the start by looking for Li An to act as an infiltrator and puppet; their strategy would be completely exposed before the Third Princess's faction.

After much contemplation, Li An decided to probe the situation.

Because, for him working for White Tiger Mountain, there were essentially two scenarios:

First, if the tasks White Tiger Mountain wanted Li An to do were aligned with the interests of the Third Princess's faction, their side would remain silent.

Second, if Li An's actions for White Tiger Mountain harmed the interests of the Third Princess's faction...

If that were true, Li An thought it wouldn't be much of an issue!

His biggest confidence was his own self.

Before he reached Core Formation, the Third Princess's faction couldn't possibly make a move on him, or else all their previous efforts would be in vain, at most, they would use other means to obstruct Li An in his efforts for White Tiger Mountain.

No matter how it played out, he wouldn't lose!

Through this, understanding the interest relations between White Tiger Mountain, the Prince Mansion, and the Third Princess's faction was crucial.

...

The next day.

Under his arrangement, three Celestial Slayer Stones were sent to the Treasure Pavilion for evaluation.

Li An did not appraise them himself but had another ordinary artifact evaluator do it.

The artifact evaluator reported it layer by layer.

"Pavilion Master, these three Celestial Slayer Stones are indeed Rank Three, invaluable..."

Li An said, "I recall the Prince Mansion once entrusted the pavilion to collect them; I suggest we buy them directly!"

Su Xiuwan looked at Li An with a meaningful expression, "How many Spirit Stones does Chief Zuo think is appropriate for purchasing them?"

"Thirty thousand Spirit Stones!"

Li An spoke directly.

Even Su Xiuwan couldn't help but be a bit startled, this Li An, his appetite was truly massive...

If she approved the thirty thousand Spirit Stones, whether even twenty thousand of them would be genuinely spent on purchasing the Celestial Slayer Stones was another question, a large portion would surely be pocketed by Li An...

But she said nothing, "Keep them for now, I'll decide tomorrow, also, bring up the Celestial Slayer Stones for me to examine closely."

Li An respectfully withdrew.

...

That night.

"Interesting, very interesting,"

In a certain secret chamber, before the Life-taking Horse-Faced, the blood-shadowed woman looked at the three Celestial Slayer Stones on the table and couldn't help but laugh:

"I told you, there's no way White Tiger Mountain's side wouldn't react, turns out they've bought off this Li An to work for them..."

"Having Li An act as an infiltrator, supplying questionable materials to the Prince Mansion, when King Jingbei really hits Nascent Soul, White Tiger Mountain will suddenly strike, and my sister will take the opportunity to deal with me..."

"A good play."

She was full of praise.

"This Li An... It's unbelievable he's colluding with White Tiger Mountain!"

Life-taking Horse-Faced asked, "Senior, should we..."

"Should do what?"

The blood-shadowed woman sneered, "I want this Li An to be safe and sound, happy and content."

Life-taking Horse-Faced was bewildered, what did she mean by this?

"First, White Tiger Mountain sent a female cultivator with an extreme yin destiny over, and now they're using Li An to help with the arrangements... The fish have indeed started to bite."

"The smoother things go for Li An, the tighter the fish will bite."

"Only then can we successfully catch it."

The woman smiled slightly, "Spread the word, help him."

"This Li An, amazingly fooled my sister, became her infiltrator, and my sister doesn't even realize he's a natural demon body..."

"Quite interesting."

...

The next day.

"The Prince Mansion is very satisfied with these three Celestial Slayer Stones."

Su Xiuwan remarked, "Being able to collect these rare treasures this time, Chief Zuo has performed a great service!"

"The Prince Mansion has said more of such items in the future will be welcome."

Hearing this, Li An felt a weight lift off his heart!

It seems, the Third Princess's faction...chose to aid White Tiger Mountain against the Prince Mansion!

Of course, this didn't necessarily indicate that the Third Princess's faction and White Tiger Mountain's Demon Sect shared common interests or were allies.

It's also very possible that the Third Princess's faction was deliberately using White Tiger Mountain.

But for Li An, it didn't matter either way.

The current situation was enough!

This way, Li An could navigate freely, acquiring resources from both sides without worrying about obstruction.

Currently, the Third Princess's faction considered him a furnace, thinking he's unaware, secretly "raising a pig".

To White Tiger Mountain's side, he was "Xu Qiuhui", their "infiltrator".

But Li An, fully aware of both sides' plans, maintained a delicate balance amidst the turmoil.

This game...was becoming increasingly interesting.

...

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