Lan Qiaoyan pondered and nodded her head, "Considering this, there indeed might be a possibility."

Listening by, Miao Yilan interjected, "What about the tall one, and the lead courtesan from the Cloud Building, could it be the same for them?"

"Yes," Lan Qiaoyan was reminded, "It must be so, conveniently pushing the three outsiders to the front. It can't be a coincidence. By running to Wukang Mountain, they've fallen into a pit, which Wukang Mountain surely could contrive. But it's also understandable. Offering a brothel woman as a bride to the Wu Kang Mountain Sect Master, anyone would be furious, not to butcher them on the spot is already merciful. Alas, those two lads are recklessly audacious, I don't even know what to say about them."

Miao Dingyi smiled slyly, "You mother and daughter really take this to heart."

"After all, there have been many dealings before," Lan Qiaoyan explained as she poured him a drink, "You know many people; if possible, why not say hello and try to get them out, if you can."

"If they were really your son and your son-in-law, rescuing them would be one thing," Miao Dingyi joked, making one person blush and another roll her eyes, while he himself grew increasingly amused, soon returning to calmness. Picking up food with his chopsticks, he spoke softly, "Those who are on the betting lists are now in the capital, under supervision. It's not easy, not worth it."

With that, Lan Qiaoyan understood. This conference involved high-level concerns, attracted too much attention. People were already caught in the scheme; rescuing them wasn't impossible but would require considerable favor and raise many difficulties. In short, the cost was not small, and the mention of 'son and son-in-law' really wasn't a joke.

In that case, Lan Qiaoyan could only sigh lightly, "That lad Shi Chun seems quite promising. If he were to give up at this point, returning to look at those people in the Land of Exile would seem even more meaningless, alas." She then changed her expression and pointed to a bowl of soup, "I've simmered it for a long time, try it and see how it tastes."

"Not bad, quite good actually."

"By the way, how many people like Shi Chun are there who've been offered a thousand-fold reimbursement?"

"They say there are several thousand, all with cultivation below High Martial, probably in a similar situation, just there to fill numbers, the kind you should have no expectations for. Otherwise, why offer a thousand-fold reimbursement..."

The married couple talked and laughed, but at the table, Miao Yilan appeared somewhat somber.

To this, the couple was understanding; after all, they had known Shi Chun for many years, to some extent, he was considered a friend.

Neither of the spouses offered any advice; this was a lesson their daughter would, sooner or later, have to learn...

The capital flourished like a peerless painting, with Shi Chun and Wu Jin witnessing from the Earth Immortal Mountain a side of the Royal Court they had never dreamed they would see.

Normally, someone residing on the Royal Court's Earth Immortal Mountain would only be an employed personnel of the Heavenly Court, and many buildings on Earth Immortal Mountain were, thus, offices of the Heavenly Court. Obviously, the Royal Court here represented the Heavenly Court.

Having the chance to stay here even once, Shi Chun and Wu Jin felt their journey was worthwhile.

However, the check-in process was troublesome, involving repeated searches to ensure no external contact Magic Artifact or poison was brought, fearing competitors might send someone to poison them.

Indeed, external contacts were forbidden, as the Earth Immortal Mountain activated its Array Barrier. Without permission, those inside couldn't leave and those outside couldn't enter.

Want to wander around the capital? No way!

You can roam wherever you want after the Sky Rain Meteor Conference is over, but not before.

"Chun Tian, will we one day have a house here?" Wu Jin suddenly asked, pointing at the buildings below.

Shi Chun replied calmly, "I've heard they are quite expensive."

Wu Jin leaned on his large sword placed on the ground and casually pointed, "With my sword in hand, why worry about petty external possessions?"

Shi Chun looked at him askance, irked to discover that since Wu Jin's cultivation had reached High Martial, he was becoming increasingly boastful, even declaring he would protect him.

Beside them, Xiang Laner looked at them somewhat unexpectedly, her gaze flickering. Without saying anything else, based on their spontaneous remarks just now, they really didn't seem like people from organized power groups.

"Ha, that big dummy is quite interesting. These three are the ones you just brought into Wukang Mountain, right?"

A mocking voice came from behind.

The three by the rail turned to look and saw a young man in white, distinguished and elegant, with a handsome face and a proud mien, standing beside Bian Weiyin as they walked out from a building.

This person, dressed in the same color as his surname, was Bai Shuchuan from Jieyun Mountain, the largest Sect in Sheng Province. The three men and one woman who followed him were all in white, reportedly all at High Martial Upper Realm, having reached the cap for the conference's rules in terms of cultivation.

Just as the people from Wukang Mountain had settled in, these individuals came looking for them. Bian Weiyin seemed to know they would come, both greeting the guests and sending Shi Chun and his companions outside to enjoy the view, unaware of what he discussed with the group inside.

Bai Shuchuan's sarcastic remark secretly alarmed the accompanying Bian Weiyin, who worried that Shi Chun and Wu Jin would erupt into chaos, as these two were truly fearless, proven more than once in Wukang Mountain.

She was taken by surprise.

Wu Jinliang not only showed no signs of anger, but also greeted the mocking guest with nods and bows.

Beside him, Shi Chun also smiled and nodded politely to the mocking guest.

Bian Weiyin was a bit shocked. Were these the same two guys from Wukang Mountain who would explode at the slightest provocation? This made her realize that these two were not ignorant of the situation, but selective, no, Wukang Mountain had many more powerful experts than Bai Shuchuan, wasn't Wukang Mountain more formidable than Bai Shuchuan?

Initially, Xiang Laner was also stunned, but soon a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She probably understood what was going on. Bai Shuchuan's side didn't have undercover agents from the Demon Path establishing a baseline; they really would push them to death, these two could bend and stretch very well.

Her smile made Bai Shuchuan's eyes light up. After descending the stairs, he walked straight toward her, his gaze scrutinizing her somewhat unrestrainedly, displaying an unusual admiration, and said quite elegantly, "Jieyun Mountain and Wukang Mountain joining forces now, as Mr. Bian's woman, that makes you one of us. If you need anything later, just ask me, don't worry about a thing."

His words clearly indicated he knew about Xiang Laner's background.

Xiang Laner, neither servile nor overbearing, nodded in acknowledgment, "Thank you for your attention, Jieyun Mountain."

In front of everyone, with seemingly much to say, Bai Shuchuan still nodded and took his leave, "See you later."

Bian Weiyin followed to see him off, accompanied by Gan Tangyu.

By now, Shi Chun and the others also knew that Gan Tangyu was among the most capable fighters in the High Martial Upper Realm of Wukang Mountain, essentially sent to protect Bian Weiyin, as Xiang Laner had secretly informed them.

"Chun Tian, I'm so mad, but I can't beat him, what should I do?" Wu Jinliang, leaning on his blade, now showed an appearance of being so angry that his blade trembled.

Shi Chun really wanted to ask him where the bravado he had with the blade in hand just a moment ago had gone.

Of course, he also knew that Wu Jinliang hated being called a big fool, but Shi Chun couldn't do anything about it either—it was five people from the High Martial Upper Realm.

Shi Chun didn't ignore him, instead, he gestured towards Xiang Laner by curling his lips.

Wu Jinliang immediately got the hint, his eyes lit up, he had understood. They were now part of the Demon Path. He quickly leaned closer to Xiang Laner and whispered, "Don't you have your men who will intervene? Give them a heads-up to help me out, I want him alive, I want to personally smash his mouth."

Xiang Laner gave him a look that told him to be wiser, we are here for what, are my people here for your revenge?

Wu Jinliang felt discouraged and began stroking the blade at his side, his face full of hatred!

Bian Weiyin, after seeing off the guest, also returned.

The people from Jieyun Mountain coming at this time were seeking help, not manpower as they didn't rate the manpower of Wukang Mountain. They were interested in the power of talismans. Before coming here, Bian Weiyin had also been advised by the Sect; Jieyun Mountain had given prior notification to Wukang Mountain, it wouldn't be good to refute them outright.

The Sect's intention was not to offend, to provide appropriate support, while maintaining distance, to ensure self-preservation and safely get through this conference.

"What are they here for?" Shi Chun asked as he approached.

Bian Weiyin replied, "To ally and support them in their quest for dominance. Once the conference starts, we'll team up and go together."

Shi Chun frowned, "Didn't we agree not to compete this time? Supporting them is okay, just some talismans would be fine, but why team up and travel together? Our side is not strong, we can easily be forced to be scouts if we encounter danger."

He had experienced such situations too many times in the Land of Exile, and he knew well that what he described would inevitably happen, so he didn't deem this cooperation optimistic.

Bian Weiyin calmly said, "That's the Sect's intention."

Actually, the Sect's intention was similar to what Shi Chun thought, but Bian Weiyin didn't want to return empty-handed; she wanted to make some achievements. Being teamed up with the strongest group from Sheng Province, the chances of achieving something were quite high.

Strength in numbers, Bai Shuchuan's side naturally welcomed it; both parties hit it off right away.

Before coming, Elder Ke had given her another important task besides accompanying Xiang Laner, Shi Chun, and Wu Jinliang: once their use was exhausted, to get rid of them, not giving them a chance to return alive to Wukang Mountain. This was also the main reason she was sent, trusting that she would consider her own brother's interests.

Regarding this, she verbally agreed, while mentally she had no intention of carrying it out.

Shi Chun's frown didn't ease; he believed Bian Weiyin's words. Seeing the interactions, he knew there had been communication between the two factions beforehand. However, for him and Wu Jinliang, their situation was going to be very dangerous, dangerous for the reasons he had mentioned.

Even Xiang Laner's situation would be much better than theirs, evident from Mr. Bai's lecherous expression.

Regarding this matter, he didn't say anything more. Since it was the Sect's decision, he knew anything he said would be superfluous. However, faced with such a perilous environment, he wouldn't blindly follow; he had to consider his own safety. He decided not to listen to them, to act freely to ensure he and Wu Jinliang could survive and leave the scene.

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