Chapter 147: Planting a Spy

"Since you have all elected me as the commander of this temporary alliance, it is settled. We still need to gather more intelligence on Ye Immortal Village before discussing a specific plan." City Lord Gao stood up, surveyed the group, and spoke in a deep voice.

"Agreed. Let us proceed as City Lord Gao suggests. We shall split up to gather intelligence and prepare our warships and supplies. Five days from now, we will choose an auspicious day to launch our war against Ye Immortal Village," said City Lord Min.

The various city lords left with different expressions, returning to their respective immortal villages to consult with their trusted confidants.

Kong Immortal Village.

Kong Zhonghai summoned three of his most trusted subordinates, explained the situation, and asked for their opinions.

After a long silence, a cultivator dressed as a scholar in his forties coughed softly, drawing everyone's attention. "City Lord, I have heard about the previous instance where four villages joined forces to attack Ye Immortal Village, as well as the naval battle between Min Immortal Village and them. Ye Immortal Village is not an easy opponent."

"Oh? Does Uncle Liang believe that ten villages combined cannot defeat a single Ye Immortal Village?" Kong Zhonghai asked.

"If everyone were united, sincere, and cooperative, victory would naturally be within reach. However, based on your description of the alliance meeting, I see a group that is united in name only. Each city lord has their own agenda; how could they possibly cooperate in good faith? I fear that the moment they finish fighting Ye Immortal Village, they will immediately turn on each other. A loose alliance without a core does not necessarily win just because of superior numbers. In the East Sea cultivation world, there have been stunning battles where one side successfully fought off ten." Uncle Liang shook his head, took a sip of tea, and spoke slowly.

"That is only one point. The second is that with so many people, word is bound to leak. Since we plan to attack in five days, Ye Immortal Village will likely be well-prepared. As for how City Lord Ye will respond, that is beyond my ability to predict."

"I am aware of this. But my Kong Immortal Village has only one main island and not a single sub-island. If I do not participate, where am I to find a sub-island?" Kong Zhonghai smiled bitterly. "I have no choice. The dire situation of my Kong Immortal Village forces me to join the battle against Ye Immortal Village. If we win, we might gain the resources of a sub-island, which would go some way toward alleviating our lack of spiritual resources."

"City Lord, have you considered what happens after we defeat Ye Village? If the other villages immediately start fighting each other, what are the odds of Kong Immortal Village winning?"

"I fear less than ten or twenty percent."

"Ultimately, we would still lose the sub-island to another immortal village."

The confidants looked at each other, helpless. Neither time nor geography was on the side of Kong Immortal Village, and its future looked bleak.

Kong Zhonghai gazed at the tea leaves floating and sinking in his cup, thinking of his village's plight and the strength of Ye Village. He sighed, "I wonder what kind of person Ye Mo is. I would like to meet him."

"Should I pay a visit to Ye Village on your behalf, City Lord?" Uncle Liang whispered suddenly.

"Visit Ye Village?" Kong Zhonghai was puzzled, but his expression soon turned to shock. From Uncle Liang's tone, he realized another option—it was not just about teaming up with City Lord Min and the others; he could actually consider an alliance with Ye Village.

After pondering for a long time, Kong Zhonghai finally made up his mind. He looked at his confidants. "I am tired from the day's travel and cannot hold my liquor well. I am going to sleep. You all may handle the arrangements."

The cultivators exchanged a knowing look, understood the City Lord's intent, and retreated from the City Lord's residence. Uncle Liang hurried toward the spiritual island's pier.

Ye Immortal Village, City Lord's Residence.

Inside the Ancient Painting Immortal Village, a small green fox was focused on operating an alchemy furnace, adding refined coal and controlling the heat. Ye Mo watched from the side, carefully verifying the alchemy methods he had memorized.

Ah Li flicked her right paw, and the flames in the furnace dimmed slightly. The lid vibrated gently, releasing a rich, medicinal aroma.

"It's ready! This time it must succeed!" Ah Li looked nervous. With a wave of her small paw, the lid flew off, revealing a pale yellow medicinal slurry. She waved her paws rapidly, casting spiritual incantations. Under the constant churning, the slurry began to coalesce into the shape of individual pills.

Ah Li opened her mouth, shouted, and danced her paws, casting one final incantation. The entire furnace trembled; the pills spun rapidly, losing moisture until they became plump, round, and firm, bouncing around inside the furnace.

The little fox grabbed a medicine bottle, caught the pills accurately, and then, with a joyful spin, landed on Ye Mo's shoulder.

"Master, second-tier Vitality Pills. Ah Li made another batch! I'm so tired." As she spoke, she rubbed her head against Ye Mo's.

"Next time, I'll buy you some fourth-tier spiritual beans." Ye Mo laughed, took the bottle, and inspected a pill carefully.

"Hmph, Master just likes to lie," Ah Li said, dissatisfied. "You promised to buy me spiritual beans last time, but when you went to Qingyun Immortal City, you didn't bring anything back."

Ye Mo offered a bitter smile. The last time he went to Qingyun Immortal City was before the beast tide; he had been in a rush and forgotten. Ah Li had nagged him about it for a long time, and now she was bringing it up again.

"Fine, fine, I'll go again in a few days. I will definitely remember this time!" Ye Mo comforted her before exiting the ancient painting scroll.

Second-tier Vitality Pills were difficult to refine. Even with Ah Li's talent, it had taken her over ten days to gradually improve the success rate. Wang Hu and Yang You had taken even longer, over half a month, to barely succeed in refining second-tier spiritual tools; they could currently only meet the needs of the village's cultivators and could not sell them externally.

Ye Mo stepped out of his meditation room.

Xian Yu, the immortal guard, was already waiting outside. Upon seeing Ye Mo, he immediately said, "City Lord, there is a rogue cultivator here who says he has important information regarding the immortal villages and wishes to speak with you in person."

Xian Yu was now the gate guard for the City Lord's residence. The name "Xian Yu" (Salted Fish) wasn't very flattering, but it was a nickname he had become accustomed to during his decade on pirate ships, and he kept it even after becoming a cultivator.

"A rogue cultivator?" Ye Mo looked at Xian Yu with surprise.

"Yes. He claims to be a rogue, dressed in mysterious black robes and a bamboo hat. I don't feel right about him. When I asked what the information was, he refused to say, insisting on meeting you. His cultivation level is low, but if he hadn't voluntarily handed over his spiritual sword, I wouldn't have dared to let you see him alone."

Even though the man's cultivation was low, he did not dare to be careless regarding Ye Mo's safety.

"Even if he has ulterior motives, he cannot hurt me. I will go see him." Ye Mo nodded gently.

Ye Mo had Xian Yu bring the rogue cultivator into the study. He looked at the man in black robes and a bamboo hat, then dismissed Xian Yu. The cultivator removed his cloak and hat, revealing a middle-aged scholar in his forties.

"I am Kong Renliang, an envoy from Kong Immortal Village. Greetings, City Lord Ye." The middle-aged scholar bowed.

"An envoy from Kong Immortal Village?" Ye Mo recalled the location of Kong Village, about two hundred miles away from his own. He asked calmly, "What is this about?"

"Is City Lord Ye aware that City Lord Min has recently invited several village lords to a banquet?" Kong Renliang watched Ye Mo's face to gauge his reaction.

"To discuss how to attack my Ye Immortal Village?" Ye Mo's expression remained unchanged. He didn't actually know the details of the banquet, but by observing City Lord Min and City Lord Gong, it was easy to guess their intentions.

"Uh... City Lord Ye already knows the inside story?" Kong Renliang was stunned.

"City Lord Min has been running around lately, making connections. I am neither blind nor deaf; how could I not know? As for the banquet, with so many people attending, word was bound to leak." Ye Mo smiled faintly, looking at Kong Renliang meaningfully. "However, City Lord Min is too naive. Does he think that by pulling together a dozen half-hearted city lords, victory is guaranteed?"

"City Lord Ye is so confident in dealing with this anti-Ye alliance?" Kong Renliang asked cautiously, feeling a sense of alarm.

"It is not about confidence. City Lord Min is luring these city lords with profit, dangling my six sub-islands in front of them to make them greedy. But if a greater profit is presented, this alliance will crumble in an instant. City Lord Kong sent you here clearly for a greater interest. City Lord Kong comes from the Ice and Snow Immortal City and arrived in the Aolai sea region quite late. Currently, he doesn't even have a single sub-island. He surely hopes to gain some and eventually upgrade to an immortal town or city. Teaming up with them would net him at most one sub-island. But if he cooperates with me and we defeat them thoroughly, dividing eight or nine sub-islands among us would be no problem."

Kong Renliang fell silent, then sighed. "City Lord Ye is indeed quick-witted; it is no wonder you have held the upper hand in your previous confrontations with the Min faction. My City Lord wishes to form an alliance with you. What does City Lord Ye think?"

"Mr. Kong, please state your proposal."

"Kong Immortal Village is one of the ten villages in the alliance, but this is only a verbal agreement; no formal treaty has been signed. They are eyeing your six sub-islands, and the alliance's ultimate goal is to besiege and blockade you on Ye Immortal Island, cutting off all contact with the outside world. My Kong Village is willing to act as a spy for Ye Village, providing information and even turning against them at the critical moment to stand with you. As a condition for cooperation, my City Lord requests half of the sub-islands and a formal alliance treaty to prevent betrayal later."

"Very well, a formal treaty is fine." Ye Mo pondered for a moment and asked, "By the way, what does your village need the most right now?"

"Spiritual grain," Kong Renliang answered immediately. "To be honest, our main city in the north is colder, and spiritual grain grows slowly there. What grows in a year here takes at least a year and a half there. My Kong Immortal Village does not have much stock."

"Oh, wouldn't growing spiritual grain in the Aolai sea region and transporting it there for sale be highly profitable?" Ye Mo asked with interest.

Kong Renliang shook his head. "Shipping spiritual grain by sea is expensive. Furthermore, the spiritual grain business in the Ice and Snow main city is already carved up by several major clans. The Kong family has no business ties in that area and cannot easily get involved."

"I see. How about this: I have one sub-island dedicated to spiritual fields that I currently lack the manpower to cultivate. I will transfer it to City Lord Kong. Since he took the initiative to seek cooperation, I will reciprocate with this gesture to show the sincerity of Ye Immortal Village."

Ye Mo felt a slight regret—he had hoped for a high-profit venture—but then he realized that with the ancient painting in his hands, he had many ways to earn spiritual stones; there was no need to engage in long-distance grain trading.

"City Lord Ye is truly a person of great vision and generosity. My status is insufficient to sign the treaty, but I will return immediately to report to my City Lord and sign the formal agreement as soon as possible." Kong Renliang was stunned, his face filled with unconcealed excitement. They hadn't even begun the battle, yet they had already gained a sub-island. Cooperating with Ye Mo was indeed far better than working with the Min faction.