Chapter 691: Bribery

This was Dai Bufan's first time hearing of a demonic cult taking the initiative to offer benefits.

"Is the demonic cult treating you two as a protective umbrella, or what?"

"How is it that I suppress the demonic cult every single day, yet I never see them beg for mercy or offer me a bribe?"

"It cannot be called a bribe; it is merely that they insisted on giving it to us, and since we are thin-skinned, we felt too embarrassed to refuse," Meng Jingzhou corrected.

"Furthermore, the target of the crime of bribery is government officials, whereas Old Lu and I are bona fide common citizens." Lu Yang chimed in as well: "In order to infiltrate the enemy's interior, we endured humiliation and bore heavy burdens, forced to accept the gifts."

Dai Bufan: "..."

"Forget it, forget it. This is all the intelligence regarding the Radiant Sun Sect; you two study it well."

Dai Bufan thrust a massive stack of dossiers into the hands of the two, letting them read here, to be returned to him once they finished, treating it as cultivating the future Chief and Deputy Hall Masters ahead of schedule.

He still had quite a few matters piling up on his side.

In a few more months, it would be the new round of disciple recruitment for the Daoist Sect. Considering that no preparations had been made in advance for the last recruitment, they had ended up recruiting Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou—two good junior brothers who kept him in constant fear every single day—while excellent prospects such as Bai Ming and Lan Ting had been recruited in advance by other sects.

This time, Dai Bufan decided to unearth a few excellent prospects with superior character, disposition, and skeletal structure in advance. What he needed to do now was to find these individuals from the intelligence of the Vast Ocean Cloud and Mist.

There was much intelligence regarding the Radiant Sun Sect that they could not hide even if they wanted to.

For instance, regularly sending two Fusion Stage cultivators to the sun to meet their deaths; for instance, the Radiant Sun Sect's hope that all people would worship the sun; for instance, their treating the Laurel Immortal Palace as an imaginary enemy, and so forth.

The Radiant Sun Sect had been established for sixty thousand years and had studied the sun for sixty thousand years; it was conceivable to what profound heights their research into the techniques of the power of the sun had reached.

Yet no matter how profound, it certainly could not match what Lu Yang knew.

In the newly acquired study of the Immortal Fairy, there happened to be the Nine-Layered Immortal's understanding of the powers of the Lunar and the Solar. No matter how powerful the Radiant Sun Sect was, could they possibly be stronger than the Nine-Layered Immortal who possessed the Yin-Yang Dao Fruit?

The two of them studied for three whole days, finally thoroughly mastering all the intelligence of the Radiant Sun Sect.

"Finished reading?" Dai Bufan raised an eyebrow, and with a shift of his intent, the dossiers of the Radiant Sun Sect automatically returned to their original places. "More or less."

"How many elders do you need to accompany you?" Dai Bufan certainly would not allow two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators to go and meet a demonic cult leader; it was far too dangerous.

"Four elders."

"Very well, wait here, I will help you contact them."

Dai Bufan rose and left the Mission Hall to invite elders from various mountain peaks to take action.

Upon hearing that there was another opportunity to act as Guardian Heavenly Kings, the elders' attitudes were each more enthusiastic than the last, to the point where it looked like a fight was about to break out. Fortunately, under Dai Bufan's persuasion, the elders agreed to resolve it by drawing straws.

In the end, it was Old Man Ba, the Third Elder, the Fourth Elder, and the Seventh Elder who accompanied Lu Yang and his companion.

At the same time, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou took out their respective tokens to notify the leaders of the two cults, subsequently selecting a restaurant to meet at, the time set for two days later.

In the matter of meeting and presenting gifts, the Heavenly Court Sect held the initiative. The leaders of the two cults quickly gave their responses, stating that they would definitely arrive.

..

Two days later, the restaurant was booked out, and the three sects once more gathered together.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou sat in the primary seats, with four Guardian Heavenly Kings standing behind them like iron towers. The Guardian Heavenly Kings' tiger-like eyes glared perfectly round, majestic without anger, exerting an ephemeral pressure upon others.

Neither Mu Baiyi nor Cult Leader Chi had expected to meet each other here, rendering the atmosphere somewhat awkward for a moment. Cult Leader Chi had also not expected that Young Cult Leader Lu would come as well.

Was it not said that Young Cult Leader Lu had a rift with Saint Son Long? Why was it that when he wanted to present a gift to Saint Son Long privately, he even let Young Cult Leader Lu tag along?

Could it be that some transformation he was unaware of had occurred in the interim?

"It has been many days since our parting, yet you two still possess your past elegance, hahahaha." Cult Leader Chi clasped his hands, greeting them in the posture of a peer, taking the lead to break the awkwardness.

Standing behind Cult Leader Chi were two young maids, appearing delicate and charming, their skin so tender it seemed water could be squeezed from it.

Cult Leader Chi gave a meaningful glance, and the two young maids obediently walked over to Meng Jingzhou's side, completely submissive, causing Meng Jingzhou's eyelid to twitch.

"Cult Leader Chi, what is the meaning of this?"

"A small token of appreciation. Both you and I cultivate pure Yang-type techniques, which require periodic venting of fire. Let these two girls serve as a meeting gift; I ask Saint Son Long to accept them."

Cult Leader Chi felt that merely giving cultivation techniques might not necessarily tempt Saint Son Long, so it was better to increase the stakes.

Naturally, Meng Jingzhou would not accept them, feigning anger as he said: "Could it be that you wish to seize this opportunity to arrange two spies by my side!" Cult Leader Chi hurriedly said: "Saint Son Long, please appease your anger; I have absolutely no such intention."

No matter how Cult Leader Chi tried to persuade him, Meng Jingzhou remained vigilant throughout, refusing to accept the two maids. Seeing Saint Son Long's resolute attitude, Cult Leader Chi could only let the matter drop and have the two maids return.

Meng Jingzhou narrowed his eyes: "Does Cult Leader Chi truly possess a method to improve the absorption of the power of the sun?"

Cult Leader Chi had not expected his actions just now to actually create a rift with Saint Son Long, which ran contrary to his original intention.

Lu Yang laughed heartily as he patted Meng Jingzhou's shoulder: "You think too much. How would Cult Leader Chi dare to plot against us? No such thing exists."

Seeing Lu Yang smooth things over for him, Cult Leader Chi looked at Lu Yang with a trace of gratitude, then took out a wooden box with a restriction on its surface.

He opened the restriction; inside the wooden box were several books, precisely cultivation techniques related to utilizing the power of the sun.

The Fourth Elder stepped forward, flipping through the several technique books, then turned and respectfully said to Meng Jingzhou: "Saint Son, they are indeed cultivation techniques that utilize the power of the sun; they can be used for reference."

Meng Jingzhou gave a casual grunt, waving his hand impatiently: "Then accept them."

Cult Leader Chi had not prepared a gift for Lu Yang, so he could only temporarily extract precious natural treasures from his storage ring: "I request Young Cult Leader Lu to kindly accept this."

With a single glance, Lu Yang recognized the origins of these items and smiled: "Hundred-Herb Pills, True Dragon shed skin, Ginseng King whiskers... Cult Leader Chi has been most thoughtful; then I shall not be polite."

The Seventh Elder stepped forward from the side, accepting these treasures on Lu Yang's behalf.

Seeing Cult Leader Chi put in so much effort, Mu Baiyi knew that if the item he brought out was inferior, it would easily leave a bad impression on the Heavenly Court Sect.

Perhaps this was the very reason why the Heavenly Court Sect had gathered their two cults together.

With a pained heart, Mu Baiyi took out treasured items from his storage ring and presented them to Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, both of whom accepted everything without exception. Once the two cult leaders finished presenting their gifts, they suddenly said at the same time: "I have a matter to consult upon."

The two glared at each other.

Lu Yang smiled genially and raised his hand, signaling the two not to be anxious: "Time is still plenty; let us go one by one." "How about this: just now it was Cult Leader Chi who spoke first, so this time we shall let Cult Leader Mu speak first. What do you two think?" Cult Leader Chi could only agree.

Mu Baiyi asked: "Our barbecue shop's business is flourishing, raking in gold every day, but the government's taxes are too high. I wonder if Young Cult Leader Lu has a solution?"

Mu Baiyi first pulled Lu Yang into the same camp.

The four Guardian Heavenly Kings frowned in their hearts; this was an unexpected question, how should it be answered? Lu Yang smiled slightly, not answering, but instead turned his head to look at Cult Leader Chi: "And you?"

"It is like this. As Young Cult Leader Lu also knows, our Radiant Sun Sect has been studying the power of the sun in order to make the world believe in the sun. Recently, multiple attempts to ascend the sun have failed. I wonder if Young Cult Leader Lu has a solution?"

Cult Leader Chi was anxious in his heart; if the ascension to the sun failed again, then he would have to resort to tax evasion again to enter the great prison for several decades to take refuge.

The four Guardian Heavenly Kings frowned in their hearts once more. What solution could there possibly be for this? The sun was the most unyielding and powerful; whoever touched it died. Could it be that the Radiant Sun Sect wanted to have Yun Zhi take action?

Hearing this, Lu Yang interlaced his ten fingers, placing them in front of his chest, leaning his body back slightly against the back of the chair. "The problems your two houses have encountered can actually be resolved through a single method."

"Cult Leader Chi, have you ever heard of solar energy?"