Chapter 39: The Value of Intelligence
Lin Feng's voice transmission, which was filled with all his spiritual power and was filled with urgency and determination, was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, penetrating the protective formation of the quiet room. Although it was weak, it was clearly transmitted to the ears of Ye Li, who was at the critical moment of breaking through to the Condensation Vein Realm.
"...Zhan Kuangfeng hired someone to do something...the miasma rain forest...is bad for Senior Sister..."
The key words were like ice cones, instantly piercing Ye Li's highly concentrated mind!
The spiritual energy that was surging through her body and attacking the barrier suddenly stagnated, nearly losing control and backlashing! Even though she had a firm heart, she couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat at this moment!
Forcibly suppressing the surging blood and spiritual power, Ye Li slowly opened his eyes, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. Where was the tranquility of seclusion?
Hiring a killer? Miasma rain forest?
She instantly understood what was happening outside. Gao Sheng, Shi Feng, and the others were indeed ruthless, resorting to such despicable tactics! If Lin Feng and Zhao Xiaoyi hadn't risked their lives to report the incident, the consequences would have been disastrous if she had stepped into the miasma forest unprepared.
The retreat was interrupted, and the best time to break through to the Condensed Veins Realm has passed. Forcing it to continue will only result in half the effort and twice the results, and may even leave hidden dangers.
But at this moment, she did not feel too angry. Instead, she felt a rare... appreciation and gratitude towards the two outer disciples outside the sect.
Especially that one named Lin Feng. He was able to keenly detect the conspiracy, manage to verify key information (time, location), and even had the courage to make the decision to disrupt the retreat at a critical moment... This kind of intelligence, courage, and decisiveness are not something that ordinary people can possess. Zhao Xiaoyi is also loyal and commendable.
"Come in." Ye Li's cold voice came out, and at the same time he waved his hand to open the protective formation of the courtyard.
The courtyard door creaked open, and Lin Feng and Zhao Xiaoyi walked in nervously. Seeing that Ye Li was not as angry as they had imagined because of the interruption, but instead looked calm, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief and bowed quickly.
"Greetings, Senior Sister! We deserve to die for disturbing your retreat!" Zhao Xiaoyi's voice was trembling.
Lin Feng was relatively calm, but his forehead was also covered with sweat. He quickly and clearly reported their findings and speculations again, including Sun Hu's difficulties, his use of the photo stone to scare the other party away, the conspiracy he accidentally heard, and the subsequent investigation and the final confirmation of key information such as "miasma rain forest" and "three days later".
Ye Li listened quietly, her gaze fixed primarily on Lin Feng. His narrative was clear and well-organized, with key points highlighted. His meticulousness far exceeded what one would expect from someone of his age and cultivation level. For an outer disciple in the middle stage of the Spiritual Awakening Realm to be able to investigate to this level was truly remarkable.
"You did a great job." After Lin Feng finished speaking, Ye Li slowly spoke. Although his tone was calm, it was full of affirmation. "I already know about this matter. You have done nothing wrong."
When the two heard this, they felt relieved and looked happy.
"Senior Sister, what should we do next? Should we go to the Law Enforcement Hall to report it?" Zhao Xiaoyi asked hurriedly.
"Report?" Ye Li's lips curled up in a cold arc. "How can you report it with nothing but your one-sided statement? It will only alert the enemy and make them defensive. The next time they attack, they will only be more covert and vicious."
"Then..." Zhao Xiaoyi was stunned.
Lin Feng seemed to be thinking: "Senior Sister, what you mean is... to take advantage of the situation?"
Ye Li glanced at him, her eyes filled with admiration. "That's right. They've already set up the plan, so if I don't go, wouldn't that be a waste of their 'good intentions'?"
She paused, her eyes sweeping over the two of them. "Don't worry about this anymore. I know what's happening. Don't mention anything about what happened today to anyone. This includes you hearing about the conspiracy, reporting it to me, and me knowing about it. Forget all of that. Do you understand?"
"Yes! Disciple understands!" the two answered in unison.
"Yes." Ye Li nodded, and after a moment's hesitation, he took out two bottles of pills from his storage ring and handed them to the two of them. "These are two bottles of 'Ning Yuan Dan'. They are very beneficial for stabilizing your cultivation and increasing your spiritual power. I give them to you as a reward for this trip."
The Ningyuan Pill is a top-grade medicinal pill. For outer disciples, it is a treasure they only dream of! Zhao Xiaoyi's hands were shaking with excitement. Lin Feng's breath also hitched as he solemnly accepted it: "Thank you, Senior Sister, for your generous gift!"
"Go away. If you don't have anything important to do in the near future, don't come to my place to avoid arousing suspicion." Ye Li waved his hand.
The two men saluted again and retreated respectfully.
Even far away from Ye Li's courtyard, Zhao Xiaoyi was still very excited: "Senior Brother Lin Feng! Ning Yuan Dan! Senior Sister is so generous!"
Lin Feng stroked the cold jade bottle, his eyes unusually bright, and whispered: "Xiao Yi, Senior Sister's reward of elixirs is not only a reward for merit, but also a kind of... recognition and investment."
"Investment?" Zhao Xiaoyi was puzzled.
"Senior Sister needs us, and it's not just for a quick report." Lin Feng looked off into the distance, his voice lowered. "The threat from Zhan Kuangfeng won't go away. Senior Sister needs eyes and ears. She needs someone to tell her in advance when the storm is coming."
Zhao Xiaoyi seemed to understand: "Then what should we do?"
Lin Feng stopped and looked at Zhao Xiaoyi with a burning gaze: "Xiaoyi, do you want to be an outer disciple who does nothing and is bullied? Do you want to be anxious but powerless at such a critical moment?"
Zhao Xiaoyi shook his head vigorously: "No!"
"Then follow me, follow Senior Sister Ye." Lin Feng's tone became firm. "Senior Sister Ye is extremely talented and will definitely have an extraordinary future. But she needs help, she needs the power hidden in the dark. And we may be her eyes and ears."
"But...we are just outer disciples, what can we do?"
"Outer disciples have their advantages." Lin Feng's eyes gleamed with wisdom. "We are numerous, spread across the sect, well-informed, and less likely to attract attention. We can consciously gather information—which areas have resource output, which tasks are lucrative but low-risk, the movements of disciples from different peaks, the sect's rumors, and even... which brothers are unhappy and might be able to be won over..."
Zhao Xiaoyi was stunned: "This...isn't this intelligence gathering?"
"It's intelligence!" Lin Feng said in a deep voice, "Information is power! Isn't this incident enough to prove it? If we had spies in Zhan Kuang Peak earlier, perhaps we could have discovered their conspiracy earlier!"
"But... this is too dangerous..." Zhao Xiaoyi was a little scared.
"Risks and opportunities coexist," Lin Feng said. "Working for Senior Sister Ye will never treat us unfairly. Moreover, we don't need to directly conflict with others. We just need to observe, listen, analyze, and summarize useful information. In the initial stage, we don't even need to recruit others, just you and me."
He looked at Zhao Xiaoyi and said, "You're popular and know a lot of people, so you'll be responsible for keeping an eye out for scattered news and rumors. I'll be responsible for analyzing and sorting them out, judging their authenticity and value. We'll regularly summarize any information we deem valuable and look for the right opportunity to pass it on to Senior Sister. How do you think?"
Zhao Xiaoyi was shocked by Lin Feng's plan, but thinking of Ye Li's kindness and the possibilities for the future, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! Senior Brother Lin Feng, I'll listen to you!"
From that day on, an extremely primitive and simple intelligence network prototype with Lin Feng as the core and Zhao Xiaoyi as the tentacles began to quietly sprout in the outer gate area of Xuanyun Sect.
Lin Feng began to move more purposefully between the Merit Hall, the Dining Hall, the Lecture Hall and other places where outer disciples gathered. He no longer just read silently, but would seemingly chat with people unintentionally, listen to discussions, and pay attention to seemingly trivial information.
"Have you heard? The Spirit Beast Garden recently lost a few medicine-seeking martens, and they're offering a reward!"
"That Senior Sister Liu from Danxia Peak seems to have had a falling out with her Taoist partner. She's been very irritable about accepting missions lately..."
"It seems the Law Enforcement Hall is cracking down on private fights recently..."
"The contribution points for the gathering mission in the Black Wind Cave have increased again, but I heard there seem to be mutated poisonous spiders in there. Three waves of people went there and none came back..."
This information might seem useless, but Lin Feng would silently memorize it and analyze it carefully after returning. The bounty offered at the Spirit Beast Garden might be an opportunity; Senior Sister Liu from Danxia Peak was in a bad mood, so he should be cautious when accepting her missions; the Law Enforcement Hall was conducting a strict investigation, so he needed to keep a low profile for the time being; the Black Wind Cave mission was unusual, and might conceal risks or opportunities...
Zhao Xiaoyi took advantage of his honesty and many friends to capture information from various casual conversations.
"Senior Brother Wang has been looking worried lately. It seems like his sister is sick and he needs contribution points to buy medicine..."
"Senior Sister Li seems very dissatisfied with the inner sect senior brother she's following, complaining that he's stingy..."
"Those guys from Zhan Kuangfeng seem to be running out of the mountain gate quite often recently..."
Lin Feng often pieced together more valuable insights by combining the fragmented information provided by Zhao Xiaoyi with his own observations. For example, if Senior Brother Wang was in urgent need of Contribution Points, perhaps he could recommend it to Senior Sister Ye, asking her to grant him a chance to earn Contribution Points and grant him a favor? Senior Sister Li, dissatisfied with the original owner, might be a potential target? Could the frequent absences of Zhan Kuangfeng's disciples be related to the "Black Cave"?
Although he could not access the core secrets, he was able to keenly grasp the subtle pulse of the sect's operations and the emotional trends of various people.
A few days later, Lin Feng passed the first compiled "intelligence summary" to Ye Li through Zhao Xiaoyi in the most covert way (hidden in the returned food box).
The information recorded in the jade slips includes:
1. Recommendations and analysis of recent popular and unpopular but cost-effective tasks.
2. Brief profiles of several inner disciples with good reputations who may be worth making friends with or hiring.
3. The recent unusual behavior of some of Zhan Kuangfeng’s disciples (frequent outings, increased consumption, etc.).
4. Information about several outer sect disciples who have special skills (such as tracking, stealth, and poison making) but are unsuccessful.
5. A rumor about a recent purchase of a batch of specific unpopular medicinal materials by "Baicaoge" and the price increase.
Ye Li was polishing her reinforced dagger when she received this "intelligence summary" that far exceeded her expectations. She carefully read the contents of the jade slip, and a hint of surprise flashed in her cold eyes again.
This Lin Feng was truly a rare talent! His meticulous thinking and thorough analysis far exceeded her imagination. The value of this intelligence to her was even greater than dozens of contribution points.
She pondered for a moment, then wrote a few words in reply, mainly recognizing their work and providing a small amount of "activity funds" (contribution points) for them to use to manage relationships or obtain more information. At the same time, she reminded them to put their own safety as their top priority.
Lin Feng and Zhao Xiaoyi were energized by the feedback and support they received. Although their network was still small and fragile, with limited coverage and mostly marginal information, it was undoubtedly a crucial start.
Ye Li looked at the information, and her eyes finally fell on the three words "miasma rain forest".
The other party has already spread the net, so it's time to "keep the appointment".
However, perhaps the roles of hunter and prey should be reversed.
She needs to make some special preparations for this "date".
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