Wu Wang never expected that the first major task he did at Renhuang Pavilion...

didn't require him to take action personally!

The Star-Praying Technique, which explores the souls of gods and humans, is also considered an advanced technique. It is a secret technique that is not passed down by the North Wilderness unless one is a high-ranking priest.

Wu Wang's spiritual consciousness when he investigated Wang Lin back then was far inferior to today's, and he would feel somewhat tired.

In this matter, it couldn't be entirely blamed on Poverty-stricken being too arrogant.

In the Human Realm, cultivating the self has a somewhat tricky problem - the 'Heart Demon.'

Poverty-stricken feeds on the heart demons of others and uses the gaps in the cultivators' hearts to control them. The experts in the Human Realm lack the means to 'Peek into the Heart.'

In the early years, Poverty-stricken caused great chaos in the Human Realm and was hunted by the Fuxi Clan for thousands of years. Since then, it has not dared to cause trouble in the Human Realm and only makes a token appearance when the Evil God appears.

But now, under the pressure from the Heavenly Palace, Poverty-stricken has returned to its old ways, only to encounter Liu Bairen, who knows how to play the game.

Wu Wang can use the power of the Star God to examine the souls of others, which happens to be the nemesis of Poverty-stricken's abilities.

It is not that Poverty-stricken's abilities are flawed, but as the big shot from the Heavenly Palace, Wu Wang, who is her 'faithful servant,' is sitting on the side of the Human Realm.

And the Star God has no control over Wu Wang.

Poverty-stricken was originally a strange beast and was sealed as the Evil God by the Heavenly Palace, so its own divine position was completely suppressed by the Star God who 'exclusively occupied the North Wilderness.'

Seeing through Poverty-stricken's methods is just a necessary condition for Wu Wang's plan.

Wu Wang has already taken the first step in this plan.

- Secretly released those three pieces of news.

In the Warm Pavilion, the Lord of the Pavilion looked at Wu Wang with burning eyes and smiled, "Wu Wang, what should we do next?"

"The following steps are a bit complicated, and the overall layout will take at least half a year.

But there's no need to rush for now. Keep a close eye on Xue Kailong and don't let Poverty-stricken have a chance to harm others."

Wu Wang sat cross-legged on the soft couch, pondered for a moment, and said again:

"To make Poverty-stricken not notice anything unusual, we need more cooperation from the Lord of the Pavilion. I also need to continue acting as an opponent to Xue Kailong."

Liu Bairen sighed, "If it's just playing tricks on him, it's fine. But secretly competing with the Evil God, I always feel that the risk is too great."

"What about the Evil God? Aren't they all living beings?"

Wu Wang laughed, "Poverty-stricken can peer into people's hearts, but my secret technique can only determine if their souls are different. The spies sent by the Ten Calamities Palace may not necessarily have different souls."

"Are you saying..."

"The main point is to use Poverty-stricken's help to find those spies whose souls are not different but have joined the Ten Calamities Palace."

Liu Bairen pondered for a moment and nodded slowly.

"If you are confident, I will fully cooperate."

"With the support of the Lord of the Pavilion, there is still a good chance of success."

Wu Wang reminded, "Of course, to prevent Poverty-stricken from pretending to be someone else, those whose souls are not different must be repeatedly questioned and investigated. We are only using the Evil God, so don't really trust the Evil God."

Liu Bairen said, "You should also pay attention to your own safety."

"The Lord of the Pavilion is always ready to take action," Wu Wang said, "I will also try to keep my distance from him... Besides, I need to provide Xue Kailong with a reasonable opportunity to make a move."

Liu Bairen looked puzzled, "A reasonable opportunity to make a move? What do you mean?"

Wu Wang reminded, "That bronze mirror of Xue Kailong's."

"Understood!"

Liu Bairen raised an eyebrow and smiled, "But only you and I know about this for now. I'll hint to a disciple to let the people below pay attention to Xue Kailong."

Wu Wang smiled, "Just a casual hint from the Lord of the Pavilion is enough. Don't show too much importance. There are so many noble families in the Human Realm, and there is only one Lord of Renhuang Pavilion. You, as the Lord of the Pavilion, are also a powerful figure in the Human Realm. If you pay too much attention to Xue Kailong, it will reveal flaws."

Liu Bairen scolded with widened eyes, "How did I become a treacherous minister and flatterer when you said that?"

"If you insist on understanding it that way, then I won't argue."

"Hey! Do you want to fight?"

"Hahaha! I'll take my leave first!"

Liu Bairen pretended to strike, and Wu Wang agilely jumped to the side.

"What will you do next?" Liu Bairen asked with some concern.

"Cultivate," Wu Wang waved his hand without looking back, "It's not time for me to take action yet. Wait for another month or two."

Liu Bairen hesitated to speak, but seeing the bright light in Wu Wang's eyes, he didn't say much.

Forget it, let the young man go on his adventure.

As the semi-old Lord of the Pavilion, it's enough to secretly protect the grandson of the Emperor.

A few more days passed.

Xue Kailong, who was patrolling the outer perimeter of Renhuang Pavilion, was taken to the Punishment Hall by an official;

In the Punishment Hall, there were hundreds of immortals from Renhuang Pavilion, including two individuals whose souls were confirmed to be different by Wu Wang.

This time, the main seat in the Punishment Hall was empty, and Wu Wang did not appear.

An official said, "Kailong, can I borrow your Mirror of Clear Mind and True Nature to take a look?"

Xue Kailong deliberately showed a slightly hesitant expression and gestured for the internal affairs official who spoke to talk to him outside the hall.

He didn't hide it and directly said that the mirror was just an ordinary bronze mirror, and he had deceived those two people that day.

Xue Kailong said, "Sir, if someone has a guilty conscience, their expressions and demeanor will always be slightly different. By placing them in a constantly changing environment, it is easy to find flaws in their hearts."

The official held the bronze mirror and looked at it for a long time, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked up and down at Xue Kailong.

"It's worthy of being from a noble family. Kailong, you have such intelligence and wisdom!"

Xue Kailong smiled modestly and whispered, "It's just that my father and elders often teach me."

"Good," the official nodded slowly and smiled, "Then I'll take the liberty to make a decision. You go and see if you can find the spies in this place."

Xue Kailong smiled, "I won't let you down, sir. Can you please bring a few experts over to intimidate them with their aura? This way, it will be easier for them to reveal their true colors."The steward nodded slowly and said, "I will think of a solution."

After speaking, the middle-aged man hurriedly left, while Xue Kailong's gaze fell on the two individuals with peculiar souls.

"Should I take action against the others again? Make them reveal their flaws?"

The poverty-stricken Qiong Qi in the Northwest Region's cave dwelling shook his head slightly.

These insiders in the Ten Calamities Palace were of no use;

The entire Ten Calamities Palace seemed to be a wrong decision, wasting a lot of their divine power and achieving nothing remarkable.

What they needed now was a newcomer who could interact with the higher-ups in the Human Realm.

If Xue Kailong could become a stepping stone and allow himself to come into contact with some "old people" with problematic Dao hearts, the value...

Would be immeasurable.

In the cave dwelling, a faint smile appeared on Qiong Qi's lips.

In the punishment hall of the Renhuang Pavilion, Xue Kailong stood quietly on the side, his back straight, his head held high, exuding extraordinary confidence and a sense of justice.

After a while;

The steward brought several old men at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm, and following Xue Kailong's suggestion, they emitted their own majesty.

Then, Xue Kailong began to ask questions one by one, inquiring about the affairs of each person's family, even asking about their birth, as if searching for some clues.

In fact, it was just a play.

After two hours, Xue Kailong felt that the "preparation" was almost done. He used the same trick again, took out the bronze mirror, and secretly injected black energy into the hearts of the two individuals from the Ten Calamities Palace, destroying their Dao hearts without leaving a trace.

Second Battle of Exposing Spies · Great Success!

The steward was completely unaware of the truth and at this moment, he looked at Xue Kailong as if he was looking at a treasure.

"Come with me, I will introduce you to a few important people and see if they can let you handle this matter."

Xue Kailong hurriedly said, "It is all thanks to the guidance of the important people. I dare not take credit."

"Hey! We don't play these tricks of pretending in the Renhuang Pavilion," the steward laughed, "You are from a noble family, and now you have successively exposed spies from the Ten Calamities Palace. How can the Renhuang Pavilion not cultivate you?

Come, let's talk on the way."

Xue Kailong smiled and said, "I would like to invite the important person to have a meal later."

"Forget it, I just think you have this talent."

The steward waved his hand and led Xue Kailong to a large hall.

Qiong Qi secretly sensed for a while but did not find any flaws in the steward's Dao heart. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

Such an upright guy, he really wanted to turn him into his new toy.

Three days later.

Hundreds of immortals gathered in the punishment hall, and Xue Kailong interrogated them for a day and night, finally identifying three spies.

The entire Renhuang Pavilion was in an uproar, Xue Kailong's reputation soared, and he was given the nickname "Young Master Spy Catcher".

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In Qiong Qi's opinion, the development of the situation was quite smooth and reasonable.

He displayed his ability to expose spies, and the Renhuang Pavilion naturally began to pay more attention to him;

But the Renhuang Pavilion couldn't promote him to a high position all at once. They would use his cultivation level and position as bait to make him continue to contribute.

Qiong Qi also observed the power factions within the Renhuang Pavilion, making it convenient for Xue Kailong to join one of them...

Half a month later, with an official appointment from the Immortal and Mortal Pavilion, Xue Kailong officially advanced to the third rank official, able to freely move around the outer perimeter of the Renhuang Pavilion. The Renhuang Pavilion provided him with a "Spy Catching Squad" consisting of more than twenty people.

Xue Kailong felt at ease, patrolling with his team every day;

He also racked his brains to think of ways to "encounter spies" and make his actions appear normal.

If it weren't for Wu Wang's early exposure of Qiong Qi's methods, anyone who saw Xue Kailong now would think of him as a clever and promising rising star in the Human Realm.

In just over a month, relying on continuously discovering spies and accumulating merits, Xue Kailong officially became a fourth rank internal affairs official of the Renhuang Pavilion!

Wu Wang finally made his move.

He made his move at the perfect moment, just before Qiong Qi was about to think, "This matter is quite boring."

On this day, while Xue Kailong was patrolling with his team, a large group of immortal soldiers suddenly rushed in and surrounded them, taking them all to the punishment hall.

In the punishment hall, several officials of the Renhuang Pavilion had cold and stern expressions as they interrogated Xue Kailong's subordinates, suspecting that there were spies among them.

Xue Kailong's face turned black at that moment, and Qiong Qi cursed loudly in his cave dwelling.

The interrogation lasted for several hours, but naturally, there were no results.

Not only did this matter not have a substantial impact on Xue Kailong, but it also seemed to have ignited his fighting spirit.

In the following half month, Xue Kailong achieved great success after great success. Because of his outstanding performance, he even attracted an ambush planned by the Ten Calamities Palace, almost losing his life.

The Renhuang Pavilion's commendation came once again, and Xue Kailong was only half a step away from becoming a fifth rank official!

On this day, Xue Kailong was drinking with his subordinates when he suddenly heard a loud voice from all over the Renhuang Pavilion:

"The Renhuang Pavilion announces to the entire pavilion! The Inspector General Wu Wang has successfully destroyed the Ten Calamities Palace's conspiracy and has achieved great success in external operations, eliminating dozens of internal spies!

Wu Wang has been promoted to the sixth rank Inspector General and leads the special worship of the Renhuang Pavilion!"

Crack!

Xue Kailong's wine glass shattered in his hand, and his subordinates also wore displeased expressions.

They said:

"Sir, Wu Wang is truly despicable!"

"There must be a conspiracy behind this! Why did Wu Wang get promoted to the sixth rank!"

"Everyone, be careful what you say!"

"Cough," Xue Kailong cleared his throat and smiled, "Everyone, don't say these things. We are all working for the Renhuang Pavilion, working for the Human Realm. Inspector General Wu Wang has his own unique qualities."

"Sir, let's work harder and not lose to Wu Wang!"

"That's right, we all recognize your abilities."

Xue Kailong sighed lightly but continued to cheer up and toast with his subordinates.

A few days later, Xue Kailong took the newly captured spies to the punishment hall and coincidentally encountered Wu Wang.

Their gazes met, and it was as if lightning flashed and thunder roared.Following that, they each revealed a slight smile, shifting their gaze to the side. After meeting, they simply greeted each other with a bow of their hands, without any small talk, and passed by each other.

This encounter marked the beginning of a competition.

The attention of everyone in the Ren Emperor Pavilion was now focused on these two individuals.

Xue Kailong, who had been tirelessly working day and night, had stopped cultivating. Instead, he was constantly patrolling inside and outside the main pavilion of the Ren Emperor Pavilion, interrogating anyone who seemed suspicious.

Wu Wang often left the main pavilion to visit the various branch pavilions, and every time he went out, he would gain something.

The number of spies caught by the two of them was increasing, and there was not a single mistake or wrongful accusation.

Some busybodies even set up a 'Spy-Catching Ranking' outside the Immortal Mortal Hall, with only two names standing out on it.

Xue Kailong had become a killing frenzy!

...

In a hidden cave dwelling in the southeast region of the Great Wasteland, several shadows and jade talismans gathered together. The jade talismans were flickering with light, and sighs could be heard from time to time.

"Everyone, since the rise of our Ten Calamities Palace, we have never suffered such a great loss."

"With the divine power given by our fathers, we can cultivate immortals in batches, even True Immortals."

"But those insiders who infiltrated the Ren Emperor Pavilion and the Four Seas Pavilion... even the moles who infiltrated them three thousand years ago, have all been rooted out recently."

"Is heaven trying to destroy us?"

"That damned Xue Kailong! One day, I will annihilate their Xue family!"

"How did he see through the disguise of the people we sent?"

"It is said that there is a bronze mirror."

"Great Elder, we need to send out new insiders..."

"Send what? To add merit to Xue Kailong and Master Wuwang? Let those who have already been sent retreat if they can. Preserving our strength is the most important thing. This time... we have met our nemesis."

"Sigh."

"That damned Xue Kailong, how are we going to explain to our fathers?"

The elders sighed long and short, and the jade talismans seemed to carry a bit of worry.

...

Meanwhile.

In the main pavilion of the Ren Emperor Pavilion in the central part of the Human Realm, the pavilion master's warm pavilion was filled with rising heat.

Wu Wang and Liu Bairen were standing next to an iron pot, scooping out the boiling rare ingredients inside, and eating with a plate of oil, sweating profusely.

Liu Bairen muttered, "This Qiong Qi doesn't seem to be very smart."

"This is a mature routine, it has nothing to do with whether the person being trapped is smart or not," Wu Wang laughed, "What's important is whether this person is lonely or not."

Liu Bairen was puzzled, "Oh? How so?"

Wu Wang raised his wine glass and clinked it with Liu Bairen, laughing:

"The small pieces of information we started to spread out are actually creating an atmosphere, an atmosphere of 'you can get promoted by catching spies'.

This is the basis of this routine—the pleasure of leveling up."

"The pleasure of leveling up?"

Wu Wang said, "Yes, if we compare this calculation to a game, we are the designers of the game, and Qiong Qi is the player of the game. We need to give the player a goal, a basic source of pleasure, to make him look forward to it.

This is the main significance of accumulating merits and promoting ranks."

"And then?"

"A single path can easily bore the player."

Wu Wang laughed:

"In this process, appropriately increasing some difficulties can make the player feel more real.

I secretly asked someone to deal with Xue Kailong, and had someone interrogate Xue Kailong's subordinates. This was a deliberate move to suppress him and create difficulties for him.

Xue Kailong is just a puppet of Qiong Qi, what we want to stimulate is Qiong Qi's fighting spirit."

Liu Bairen's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "That guy really took the bait."

The pavilion master pondered for a moment, swallowed a piece of spirit beast meat, and asked, "So you've been personally competing with him lately, and even had someone make a 'Spy-Catching Ranking', is that also to suppress him?"

Wu Wang tapped his fingers on the table and spoke slowly:

"This is the essence of the routine.

A ranking list, seemingly simple, just organizes the existing numbers and presents them to others, but it can give the people on the list a great sense of satisfaction and achievement, and will make them maintain their position, investing more energy and resources.

And my constant comparison with him is to make him feel a sense of crisis in his current position, and to make him feel that he is not playing alone.

This is the importance of setting up."

Liu Bairen: ...

"I've always thought that the Evil Gods were cunning, but now I find that they are still naive."

"Hahaha," Wu Wang shook his head, "They just haven't experienced this kind of routine before. It's just that I took advantage of the situation, and these things are not created by me."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I accidentally saw a fragment in the books of the Human Realm," Wu Wang vaguely explained, "The age is unknown, it seems to be called the Album Flower Taoist, the surname is Condition or something."

"How do we end this?"

Wu Wang laughed, "Of course, we need to have a celebration, publicly ridicule Qiong Qi, and protect Xue Kailong's life and reputation. After all, he is the son of the Xue family, and it is not appropriate for him to be harmed."

"This might be a bit difficult, Qiong Qi should have already devoured his divine soul."

"Even if only the shell is left, we have to protect him... Have all these previous events been recorded with the Shadow Recording Pearl?"

"They have been recorded."

Wu Wang pondered for a while, a glint flashing in his eyes.

"Pavilion Master Liu, please invite a few more experts to do a detailed editing.

Since we have come this far, making Qiong Qi lose face is a small matter, why not try to see if we can sow discord between the Ten Evil Gods and the Ten Calamities Palace!"

"Good! Let's do it!"