If the sect doesn't accept geniuses, they will become giants once they leave?

Chapter 240: The Land Where the Half-Step Sword Immortal Fell
The small state lacks spiritual energy, and the Taoist sect and Dayu check and balance each other, leaving enough room for operation.

Dayu couldn't send more people, and the people in the open couldn't move around, but Dayu had many aliases. So it wasn't difficult to set up caves in small states to forge ancient heritage and place rare treasures.

So there are not many problems with the expansion plans for small states, but the problem lies in the middle states.

There are at least two first-rate sects of both righteousness and evil in Zhongzhou. Although their ancestors are not like the two ancestors in Jingzhou who are half a step away from transcending the tribulation, and may even have reached the tribulation period, they are at least at the peak of the fusion stage.

Of course, the peak fusion masters will naturally be watched by the peak fusion masters.

The key point lies in the manpower that these first-class sects can mobilize.

There are as many golden elixirs as dogs in the first-rate sects, Nascent Souls are everywhere, and occasionally there are even people in the God Transformation stage walking around freely.

Zhongzhou is dozens of times larger than Xiaozhou and has ample space for operations, but the problem is that the caves and rare treasures they want to prepare have to be arranged within the range of activities of those princes, and if they are not careful, they may be discovered by disciples of first-class sects.

They could also explain it away by saying that Tianxu Tower was planning to get involved, but the problem was that this plan was intended to cause trouble for the sect and increase the costs of its actions. According to their plan, by the time the expedition to Zhongzhou came around, the sect would have been forced to increase costs many times, sacrificing many lives.

Once the link in Zhongzhou is exposed, the sect is likely to follow the clues and suspect the cave that happened to appear several times in Xiaozhou before.

Then all efforts will be in vain.

"Yanzhou has two first-rate demonic sects and one first-rate righteous sect. The two demonic ancestors last fought three hundred years ago, when they were already at the peak of their combined power. However, the righteous ancestor has already demonstrated the ability to cross half a tribulation. However, the abnormal phenomena caused by reaching the tribulation stage are extremely conspicuous and cannot be concealed. Dayu did not send any additional tribulation cultivators, so the righteous ancestor is probably still at the half-step tribulation stage."

As an intelligence collector, Shen Ziqing also took on the task of analyzing intelligence.

"Although this expedition won't completely wipe out these two first-rate sects of the Demonic Path, it will definitely wipe out most of the second-rate sects."

"By the time of the expedition to Zhongzhou... no matter how fast those princes cultivate, they can only reach the half-step Jindan stage at most, so they will most likely be assigned to eliminate second- or third-rate demon sects."

"The expedition to eliminate demons is a secret of Dayu. The Daoist sect only knows that Dayu is going on an expedition, but they don't know where. The sect can only act randomly, which is our advantage."

"Yanzhou is affected by the Fire Vein, and there are volcanoes everywhere. Most sects are built on volcanoes and practice with the Fire Vein. However, the Fire Vein is extremely violent, and only cultivators at the Divine Transformation stage can enter it."

"In Zhongzhou, cultivators above the Spiritualization stage are only listed in third-rate sects. They usually stay in the corresponding first-rate sects to cultivate. Therefore, the most capable people in charge of third-rate sects are those at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. With the help of Dayu's forces in Zhongzhou, it is not difficult to build caves in the fire veins near third-rate sects."

"Over 70% of Shazhou's land is desert, and its population is only a quarter of that of an ordinary Zhongzhou. Resources are scarce. If it weren't for its vast territory, it probably wouldn't even be considered a Zhongzhou. Mirages appear from time to time, and there are only two first-rate sects, one righteous and one evil. Although their ancestors have reached the half-step transcendence stage, their lifespans are approaching, and there's no chance of a breakthrough."

"The Daoist sect doesn't care much about Shazhou, so Dayu has a significant influence on Shazhou."

"The expedition to the sandbar is more like a military parade, not a serious undertaking. Building cave dwellings on the sandbar is the easiest, but also the least effective, so it probably won't entice sects to invest too much." "As for Zhuozhou... I happen to know a few people from the Yuanluo Sect, a top-tier demonic sect, so I took them to Jingzhou Tianxu Tower for a visit. We're lucky, so I should be able to do something about it."

Shen Ziqing laughed meaningfully.

Li Yanmo had a long-lost ominous premonition again. Just when he wanted to ask Shen Ziqing what the "operation one or two" meant, Shen Ziqing suddenly looked bitter.

"The biggest problem is still in Hanzhou. There is no difference in the sect. The problem is that there is a secret place in Hanzhou that everyone knows about!"

Shen Ziqing's squinting eyes opened slightly.

"The place where the Half-Step Sword Immortal fell - the Cold Realm."

Jian Xin, who was pretending not to care and just coming to drink tea, paused when he heard the word "cold realm", but then continued to drink tea as if nothing had happened.

"Legend has it that the Half-Step Sword Immortal, left alone to comprehend the Supreme and Merciless Sword Intent, battled three late Tribulation Crossing Stage cultivators, ultimately defeating them at the cost of his own life. The small worlds nurtured by the three Tribulation Crossing Stage cultivators, along with the small world nurtured by the Half-Step Sword Immortal, were both infected by the Supreme and Merciless Sword Intent, blending into a single secret realm."

"The super sect that controls that secret realm is the Cang Tian Jian Sect. To prevent Dayu from interfering, the Cang Tian Jian Sect handed the secret realm over to the Yue Han Sect, a first-class sect in Hanzhou, for management. When the Supreme Ruthless Sword Intent begins to weaken, the secret realm will be opened to cultivators to explore and search for the treasures left behind by the Half-Step Sword Immortals and the three Tribulation Crossing Stage cultivators."

"The Yuehan Sect is a first-rate righteous sect, and it controls the Frost Realm. Therefore, within Hanzhou, the demonic sects are extremely low-key. Logically speaking, Hanzhou would not be involved in this expedition to eliminate demons, but..."

"I've heard some gossip. Four years ago, when the Supreme Merciless Sword Intent was weakening, the Yuehan Sect seemed to have discovered something within it. That discovery also attracted the attention of several super sword sects, including the Cangtian Sword Sect. However, due to the Chi Che incident, those super sword sects didn't take any action."

"I'm afraid that thing... is related to the original Jianmen. Otherwise, Dayu would not have launched an expedition to Hanzhou."

Shen Ziqing raised his hand and patted his forehead. "There's a good chance that the Yuehan Sect will open the Cold Realm during the expedition. Anyone in the Foundation Establishment Stage can enter the Cold Realm. Once the Yuehan Sect opens the Cold Realm, no matter what we build, it won't attract the attention of those princes."

Li Yanmo frowned, then nodded after some deliberation. "Then let's remove Hanzhou from the plan. Since it might be related to Jianmen, Dayu will most likely go all out. Maybe... he'll take advantage of the situation and attack Dazhou. That's no longer something we can get involved in, and the sect won't have time to mobilize commoner marquises."

"Master is right," Shen Ziqing nodded with a smile.

"Okay, second brother, I'll leave the project to you. Don't be reluctant to spend money. If it's not enough, go to Dayu for a loan in my name. As for Zhuozhou... after all, you have to operate it yourself. Pay attention to your own safety. If there is any danger. It doesn't matter if you don't do this project," Li Yanmo thought about it and decided to hand over the project to Shen Ziqing.

When it came to spending money, Shen Ziqing had never let him down. No matter how much funding he was given, he would spend every penny within the stipulated time. This time, the project was so large, and it was financed with a loan, so Shen Ziqing would definitely give him a satisfactory bill.

"I will never let Master down."

(End of this chapter)