Having been given a second chance at life, I choose to join the Demonic Sect!

Han Sijing realized that Cao Meng's move was aimed at Nie Xuan.

Cao Meng's move was so devastating that it was utterly inhumane.

If the other party stops now, everything will be fine.

If this continues, not only will Nie Xuan be affected, but the city lords of the three protective cities of Hua, Xue, and Yue will also suffer!
Han Sijing estimated that if things continued to get worse, other gangs would also be affected!
"Junior Sister Peixu, quickly contact Junior Sister Nie Xuan and tell her to keep her men in check, so that Cao Cao's treacherous scheme doesn't succeed!"

Han Sijing gave some instructions to Pei Xu, the leader of Qingcha Peak, who had a good relationship with Nie Xuan.

The two are fellow students and also best friends.

At Han Sijing's prompting, Pei Xu immediately took out the Immortal Inquiry Machine and sent a message to Nie Xuan.

"That scoundrel Cao hasn't paid those people their monthly salaries yet. As long as the salaries haven't been paid, it's just a rumor, not the truth!"

Yuwen Jing then voiced her opinion, even though the news of Cao Meng's high-salary recruitment had already spread.

But now everyone hears about it, but no one has actually seen their salaries being paid!
Who knows if that traitor Cao will actually give out such a high monthly salary a month from now!
Based on her understanding of Cao Meng, Yuwen Jing felt that this scoundrel was despicable and shameless, and was absolutely capable of shirking his monthly salary.

"That traitor Cao wouldn't be so stupid as to spread this news, which means he definitely would!"

Han Sijing glanced at Yuwen Jing; this woman really was all looks and no brains.

Do you really think Cao Meng is as brainless and beautiful as her?

If Cao Meng were to release this information and then try to renege on the deal, wouldn't that be digging his own grave and courting death?
He squandered his own position as city lord.

Moreover, even if Cao Mengzhen couldn't afford to play the game, Duanmu Fei and Xia Yulan would still cover the cost of the spirit stones to help him save face.

"Junior Sister Nie Xuan only has one month of peace left. Within this month, we must come up with a way to break this deadlock!"

Han Sijing may seem helpless on the surface, but in reality, she already has a plan and a way to break the deadlock!

"If this traitor Cao uses low-grade spirit stones to pay his monthly salary, I can understand it."

But he uses mid-grade spirit stones to pay the monthly salary, where did he get so many mid-grade spirit stones!

Song Yafei then voiced her doubts, knowing that mid-grade spirit stones were strictly controlled by many forces.

Cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage rarely have access to mid-grade spirit stones.

Even cultivators from top sects like the Hehuan Sect can only come into contact with it after reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

Mid-grade spirit stones contain a purer spiritual energy than low-grade spirit stones.

Giving it to cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage would be a waste!

According to Song Yafei, Cao Meng had only recently advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, and the warehouse had not yet distributed mid-grade spirit stones to him.

Even if Cao Meng has mid-grade spirit stones, he probably doesn't have many.

To put it bluntly, even these peak masters are reluctant to use mid-grade spirit stones to distribute to their subordinates.

It's really strange that Cao Meng is so extravagant as to use mid-grade spirit stones to pay people their monthly salary!
"Could it have been given by Consort Duanmu?"

Pei Xu then voiced her suspicion: she suspected it was Consort Duanmu.

After all, Consort Duanmu is Cao Meng's master and also the sect leader. She must have a lot of mid-grade spirit stones, so it's not impossible that she would use them to support Cao Meng!

"impossible!"

"Consort Duanmu should be preparing to break through to the Void Refinement stage, there's absolutely no way she would waste a mid-grade spirit stone on Cao Meng like this!"

Han Sijing refuted Pei Xu's conjecture, saying that as Duanmu Fei's enemy, she understood Duanmu Fei better than anyone else.

Originally, Consort Duanmu's cultivation level was only at the half-step Void Refinement stage.

Cao Meng, the disciple, had already reached the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Besides the surprise, Duanmu Fei also faced pressure.

To uphold her master's dignity, Consort Duanmu will definitely try to enter seclusion and break through to the Void Refinement stage.

Reaching the Void Refinement stage requires a large amount of resources, and even Duanmu Fei herself might not have enough resources, so how could she have extra resources for Cao Meng to exploit?

"Could it be Xia Yulan?"

After Duanmu Fei was ruled out, Song Yafei began to suspect Xia Yulan.

Xia Yulan is Cao Meng's Daoist partner, so it's possible that she would give Cao Meng spirit stones to use!

"impossible!"

Yuwen Jing refuted Song Yafei's guess and then explained:

"Xia Yulan might give Cao Meng some mid-grade spirit stones for cultivation, but she would absolutely not agree to Cao Meng giving mid-grade spirit stones to these ants in the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages!"

Despite Yuwen Jing's intense hatred for Xia Yulan, the two were once fellow students and best friends!
Yuwen Jing knew Xia Yulan's personality all too well; this woman was ruthless, stingy, and petty...

"So, that means it's Cao Meng's own mid-grade spirit stones!"

"When those bald monks at Jinfo Temple were wiped out, Cao Meng was present. Perhaps he seized the opportunity to obtain it!"

Han Sijing estimated that if her speculation was true, Cao Meng should have a lot of resources.

Cao Meng only wanted to say:
If I were to actually obtain the resources of the Golden Buddha Temple, I might already have reached the Fusion Stage by spending all my money!
Although I didn't obtain the resources from the Golden Buddha Temple, I have a cheat code. My cheat code can automatically convert low-grade spirit stones into mid-grade spirit stones at a ratio of 100:1!
Song Yafei then changed the subject and said:
"Senior Sister Han, Junior Sisters, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, so I'll just say some things to you frankly."

"You've probably guessed what happened to Bai Yuexuan. Not only did that scoundrel Cao trick me, he also wants my Bai Yuexuan."

Song Yafei gets furious whenever this is mentioned.

She had cultivated for hundreds of years and had never seen such a shameless person!
"Senior Sister Song, you didn't agree, did you?"

Yuwen Jing is now somewhat worried that Song Yafei will succumb to evil forces and hand over Yuexuan to Cao Cao.

"How can it be!"

"I would rather burn Baiyuexuan down than give it to that traitor Cao!"

Song Yafei spoke from the heart, truly embodying the saying, "Better to be a broken jade than a whole tile!"

"That traitor Cao has already made a threatening statement, saying he's going to target our businesses and investigate our taxes!"

Song Yafei knew that Cao Cao would definitely target her, so she decided to tie the other three together and fight against Cao Cao together!
Upon hearing that they were going to be investigated for taxes, Pei-hsu and Yu-wen-jing panicked.

Neither of them had ever paid taxes on their businesses in Spring Breeze City. This investigation revealed a whole new set of problems!

"It doesn't matter!"

Only Han Sijing remained calm and unconcerned when she heard the words "tax investigation."

Song Yafei, Pei Xu, and Yu Wenjing were puzzled by Han Sijing's calm demeanor.

"I own property in Spring Breeze City, so taxes are not a problem!"

Seeing the three of them looking so confused, Han Sijing immediately began to explain.

Han Sijing has always paid her taxes honestly and hasn't evaded any taxes, so what is she afraid of?

Han Sijing has been trying to remove Consort Duanmu from her position as sect leader for years, so she must ensure that she herself is free of blemishes.

Therefore, she was able to bear the stain of tax evasion.

She never imagined that the very thing she used to guard against Consort Duanmu would now be used to guard against Cao Meng. "Senior Sister Han, what should we do?"

Pei Xu was in a bit of a predicament. Her junior sister Nie Xuan used to be the city lord, and she didn't even know how to write the word "tax".

Now Cao Meng suddenly wants to investigate taxes, how annoying!
"I'm not paying taxes. I want to see what this Cao traitor can do to me!"

Yuwen Jing's attitude was extremely firm. She was the peak master, so what if she evaded some taxes?

She refused to believe that the sect could punish a peak master like her just for evading some taxes.

"I have a suggestion. Isn't Cao Cao going to investigate our property taxes?"

Let's cut off his supply lines completely and move all our assets to Junior Sister Nie Xuan's place!

Wasn't Cao Meng going to play ruthlessly? Song Yafei also wanted to follow Cao Meng's example of playing ruthlessly.

Between her and Cao Cao, someone has to cry, and that person can only be Cao Cao, not her!

"I think it's feasible!"

Pei-hsu was the first to agree. Nie Xuan was her junior sister, and as her senior sister, she naturally wanted to move her business to Nie Xuan's territory.

"That traitor Cao became the city lord just to cut off our assets. If we move the assets away, he won't be able to cut off any more assets."

Yuwen Jing nodded in agreement; she wholeheartedly supported any effort to combat the evil forces like Cao Meng.

After hesitating for a moment, Han Sijing nodded in agreement.

"Cao Cao, didn't you and Xia Yulan create a food delivery group?"

"Maybe we can make one too!"

Han Sijing kept a close eye on the takeout business that Cao Meng and Xia Yulan were running, and her intuition told her that this was a good way to make money.

Now that Cao Meng is going against her, she doesn't mind lowering herself, starting to copy his homework, and even creating a food delivery group.

"Senior Sister Han, that's a great idea!"

Song Yafei thought Han Sijing's move was brilliant!
They simply copied the work that Cao Cao and his accomplices had painstakingly created—it's brilliant!

Moreover, the businesses of the four of them cover a wide range of types, far more diverse than Cao Meng's.

Although Han Sijing and the others decided to copy the homework, they still needed to discuss how to do it!
After all, they copied Cao Meng's homework to take down his food delivery group, not to live under someone else's roof!

……

Wanqi Peak, inside the main hall...

Shen Aoxue sat upright, exuding an imposing aura without being angry!
Ying Ling'er, Shen Tiantian, and Xi Tianyue, who were standing below, were extremely nervous when they saw Shen Aoxue so angry!
"You three are my most valued disciples. I tell you that you should repay even the smallest kindness with the greatest gratitude!"

Cao Meng has been kind to you, and you went to help him defend the city as a way of repaying that kindness. How can you have the nerve to ask for a monthly salary, let alone so much?

Shen Aoxue learned about the monthly stipend from the Hehuan Sect's chat group.

Shen Aoxue was so angry when she found out that her three disciples were the ones who led the attack that she wanted to beat them to death.

I made them defend the city for Cao Meng for free, but they want a monthly salary, and such a high one at that! It's shameful!
What should I do if Cao Meng thinks that I instructed them to do this and misunderstands me?
With these three traitors causing this mess, how can I possibly face Cao Meng?

"Master, we've asked Junior Brother Cao Meng for his monthly salary. We just want him to give it to us as a regular Golden Core cultivator!"

"It was Cao Meng who voluntarily gave us such a high monthly salary, so it's really not our fault!"

Xi Tianyue knew her master Shen Aoxue's temper. Her master was usually not angry, but once she got angry, it was a disaster!
"Master, Junior Sister is right. We may have made mistakes, but they weren't serious!"

"But the senior sister is different. She keeps shouting about backbone, but she wants a monthly salary of five hundred mid-grade spirit stones!"
Fortunately, Junior Brother Cao Meng didn't agree; he only promised to give her two hundred and fifty!

While admitting her mistake, the second sister, Shen Tiantian, shifted the blame to Ying Ling'er, using her to provoke Shen Aoxue's anger!

"Master, Senior Sister has really gone too far! We can't stand it anymore!"

Xi Tianyue also cooperated with Shen Tiantian, wanting to sacrifice Ying Ling'er.

The two of them had been calling Ying Ling'er their senior sister for so long, and now it was time for the other to sacrifice herself.

"You two wait for me!"

Ying Ling'er glared fiercely at Shen Tiantian and Xi Tianyue, those two traitors.

Shen Tiantian and Xi Tianyue felt that their sacrifice of Ying Ling'er was not wrong.

Firstly, they didn't embellish the story, and secondly, those things were actually done by Ying Ling'er herself.

"Ying Ling'er, I've taught you that you should be grateful and repay kindness. Is this how you repay kindness?"

Shen Aoxue was very disappointed in Ying Ling'er. The disciple she had painstakingly trained had turned out like this!

"Master, this is something Cao Meng owes me, and Cao Meng himself hasn't said anything about it, so why are you so angry?"

Ying Ling'er felt that Shen Aoxue had changed a lot recently, especially today when she actually cursed her twice for Cao Cao's sake.

Ying Ling'er even doubted that she was not Shen Aoxue's eldest disciple, but that Cao Ze was Shen Aoxue's eldest disciple.

Cao Meng: Although I am not Shen Aoxue's eldest disciple, I am her husband!
Shen Aoxue doesn't favor her husband, so why would she favor you, her yaoi-loving disciple?
"You heartless bastards, you not only embarrass yourselves, but you also make your teacher lose face!"

After scolding Ying Ling'er and the others, Shen Aoxue continued:

"I will tell Cao Meng right now to cancel his monthly salary!"

As soon as Shen Aoxue finished speaking, she took out the Inquiry Machine and communicated with Cao Meng.

……

Back in Chunfeng City, Cao Meng carried Hong Qi on a patrol but didn't find anything of value.

Left with no other choice, Cao Meng returned to the Xuantian Pavilion.

Now that Cao Meng is the city lord, he has a group of people to support.

As for relying on one's own efforts, that's impossible; one can only rely on the system!
Open the properties panel...

Host: Cao Meng!
Cultivation level: Sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage! (Each level up in the Nascent Soul stage costs 250 million mid-grade spirit stones!)
Physique: Ten-Day Sacred Body (Triple Yang!) (Upgradeable with ten million mid-grade spirit stones!)

Innate Metal Body (Great Completion) (One hundred million mid-grade spirit stones, can be upgraded!)
Occupation: Rank 3 Refiner (100% success rate for Rank 3 Spiritual Weapons)
(100,000 mid-grade spirit stones, upgrade possible!)
First-Class Spiritual Cuisine Master (100% success rate for first-tier spiritual cuisine)
(One hundred mid-grade spirit stones are needed for an upgrade!)
Balance: 223 million mid-grade spirit stones! (Low-grade spirit stones will be automatically converted to mid-grade spirit stones at a ratio of 1:100)
If we're talking about what brings Cao Meng the fastest way to acquire spirit stones, then it's naturally the Supreme Yang Pearl and the Immortal Inquiry Technique!

Cao Meng felt that it was time for him, a third-grade weapon refiner, to upgrade!

So Cao Meng decisively upgraded his weapon refiner side profession, two upgrades in two steps!

"Ding! After deducting 2.1 million mid-grade spirit stones, your cultivation side job of Rank 3 weapon refiner has been upgraded to Rank 5 weapon refiner. You have 130,000 mid-grade spirit stones remaining!"

"Friendly reminder: A fifth-grade weapon refiner has a 100% success rate in upgrading a fifth-tier spiritual weapon. Upgrading to the next level will cost 50 million mid-grade spirit stones!"

Cao Meng thought the spirit stones were gone really fast; just one click and over two million mid-grade spirit stones were gone!

Fortunately, I've upgraded to a level 5 weapon refiner, which comes with a guaranteed level 5, tier 5 spirit weapon.

Now I can refine a large number of Immortal Inquiry Machines and fifth-order Supreme Yang Pearls.

Occasionally, you can also rely on the fifth-tier spirit weapon guarantee mechanism to refine some fifth-tier spirit weapons and sell them!
With its own systematic weapon-refining guarantee mechanism, what can these fifth-tier weapon refiners use to fight against it!
It seems Shen Aoxue is the number one fifth-tier weapon refiner in the Hehuan Sect. If my husband and I work together, we'll definitely be able to dominate the fifth-tier spiritual weapon market in the Hehuan Sect! (End of Chapter)