After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 39

Lin Feng’s whispered message, condensed with all his spiritual power and filled with urgency and determination, was like a stone dropped into a calm lake. It penetrated the protective formation of the quiet room, faintly but clearly reaching Ye Li’s ears just as she was at the critical juncture of breaking through to the Meridian Condensation stage.

“…War Maniac Peak bought a hit… (Miasma Rain Forest)… detrimental to Senior Sister…”

The keywords were like ice picks, instantly stabbing into Ye Li’s highly focused mind!

The spiritual power surging within her body, poised to break through the barrier, suddenly stagnated, almost causing a backlash and loss of control! Despite her unwavering Dao heart, she broke out in a cold sweat!

Forcing down the tumultuous qi and blood and the spiritual power, Ye Li slowly opened her eyes. Her pupils flashed with a cold light, devoid of the slightest serenity expected of someone in secluded cultivation.

Bought a hit? Miasma Rain Forest?

She instantly understood what had happened outside. Gao Sheng, Shi Feng, and those others were indeed relentless and had resorted to such despicable means! If Lin Feng and Zhao Xiaoyi hadn’t risked their lives to bring the warning, the consequences would have been unimaginable if she had entered the Miasma Rain Forest unprepared!

Her seclusion was interrupted, and the best time to attempt the Meridian Condensation breakthrough had passed. Forcing it now would yield half the result for twice the effort, or even leave hidden problems.

However, at this moment, she didn’t feel much anger. Instead, a rare sense of… admiration and gratitude rose toward the two outer sect disciples outside the door.

Especially the one named Lin Feng. To be able to acutely sense a conspiracy, manage to verify key information (time, location), and have the audacity to interrupt her seclusion at the critical moment… this level of intellect, courage, and decisiveness was truly extraordinary. Zhao Xiaoyi was also commendable for his loyalty.

“Come in,” Ye Li’s cool voice transmitted, as she simultaneously lifted the small courtyard’s protective formation.

The courtyard gate creaked open, and Lin Feng and Zhao Xiaoyi hesitantly entered. Seeing that Ye Li was not enraged by the interruption as they had feared, but instead looked composed, the two slightly relaxed. They quickly bowed in salute.

“Greetings, Senior Sister! For disturbing your secluded cultivation, we deserve death!” Zhao Xiaoyi’s voice trembled.

Lin Feng, relatively more composed but with a forehead covered in fine sweat, quickly and clearly reported their discoveries and deductions again. This included Sun Hu’s deliberate obstruction, how he used the projection stone to scare him off, the accidental overhearing of the plot, and the subsequent investigation and final confirmation of the key details: “Miasma Rain Forest” and “three days from now.”

Ye Li listened quietly, her gaze mainly focused on Lin Feng. The youth’s narration was logical and highlighted the key points. His meticulousness far exceeded what was expected for his age and cultivation level. It was truly rare for an outer sect disciple in the Spirit Initiation mid-stage to investigate to such an extent.

“You both did very well,” Ye Li finally spoke after Lin Feng finished. Her tone was light but carried affirmation. “I am aware of this matter now. You are meritorious, not at fault.”

Hearing this, the two disciples felt a wave of relief, their faces showing joy.

“Senior Sister, what should we do next? Should we report it to the Hall of Discipline?” Zhao Xiaoyi asked eagerly.

“Report it?” Ye Li curved her lips into a cold smile. “Without evidence, how can you report it based only on your side of the story? Doing so would only alert them, making them cautious, and their next attempt would be even more secretive and malicious.”

“Then…” Zhao Xiaoyi was stunned.

Lin Feng, however, was contemplative: “Senior Sister means… to turn their scheme against them?”

Ye Li glanced at him, the approval in her eyes growing deeper: “Precisely. Since they have set the trap, if I don’t go, wouldn’t I be wasting their ‘good intentions’?”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the two: “You don’t need to concern yourselves with this matter anymore; I have my own plan. What happened today must not be mentioned to anyone, including your overhearing the plot, reporting it to me, and my being aware—forget all of it, understand?”

“Yes! We understand, Senior Sister!” the two replied in unison.

“Mm.” Ye Li nodded, pondered for a moment, and then took out two bottles of medicinal pills from her storage ring, handing them over. “These are two bottles of ‘Condensing Origin Pills.’ They are quite beneficial for stabilizing cultivation and enhancing spiritual power. I reward them to you as compensation for your efforts this time.”

The Condensing Origin Pill was a Grade 1 high-tier medicinal pill—a dream treasure for outer sect disciples! Zhao Xiaoyi was so excited his hands trembled slightly. Lin Feng also caught his breath and solemnly accepted them: “Thank you for the generous reward, Senior Sister!”

“You may leave now. Unless there’s an urgent matter, come to my place less often recently, so as not to arouse suspicion.” Ye Li waved her hand.

The two bowed again and respectfully retreated.

Far away from Ye Li’s small courtyard, Zhao Xiaoyi was still ecstatic: “Senior Brother Lin Feng! Condensing Origin Pills! Senior Sister is too generous!”

Lin Feng rubbed the cool jade bottle, his eyes exceptionally bright, and he whispered, “Xiaoyi, Senior Sister rewarding us with pills is not just compensation for our merit, but also a form of… acknowledgment and investment.”

“Investment?” Zhao Xiaoyi was puzzled.

“Senior Sister needs us, and not just for a one-time warning.” Lin Feng looked into the distance, his voice lower still. “The threat from War Maniac Peak won’t disappear. Senior Sister needs eyes and ears. She needs someone who can tell her in advance when the storm is coming.”

Zhao Xiaoyi seemed to half-understand: “So what should we do?”

Lin Feng stopped walking, his gaze fixed on Zhao Xiaoyi: “Xiaoyi, do you want to remain a mediocre outer sect disciple who is bullied by others? Do you want to always feel anxious and powerless during such critical moments?”

Zhao Xiaoyi shook his head vigorously: “No!”

“Then follow me, and follow Senior Sister Ye,” Lin Feng’s tone became resolute. “Senior Sister’s talent is unparalleled, and her future is bound to be extraordinary. But she needs assistance, a hidden force in the dark. And we, perhaps, can become her eyes and ears.”

“But… we are just outer sect disciples. What can we do?”

“Outer sect disciples have the advantage of being outer sect disciples,” a light of intelligence flickered in Lin Feng’s eyes. “We are numerous, spread throughout various parts of the sect, our news is well-circulated, and we’re not easily noticed. We can consciously gather information—where resources are produced, which missions offer good benefits with low risk, the movements of disciples from various peaks, any rumors within the sect, and even… which fellow disciples are having a tough time and might be recruited…”

Zhao Xiaoyi listened in stunned silence: “This… isn’t this building an intelligence network?”

“It is intelligence!” Lin Feng said solemnly. “Information is power! Isn’t this incident proof enough? If we had eyes and ears at War Maniac Peak earlier, perhaps we could have discovered their plot much sooner!”

“But… that’s too dangerous…” Zhao Xiaoyi was somewhat afraid.

“Risk and opportunity coexist,” Lin Feng said. “Working for Senior Sister Ye will absolutely not leave us unrewarded. Moreover, we don’t need to confront anyone directly; we only need to observe, listen, and analyze, compiling useful information. In the initial stage, we don’t even need to recruit others—just you and me.”

He looked at Zhao Xiaoyi: “You have good people skills and know many people, so you’ll be responsible for keeping an eye out for fragmented news and rumors. I’ll be responsible for analyzing and organizing it, judging its authenticity and value. We’ll regularly compile the information we deem valuable and find suitable opportunities to pass it to Senior Sister. How about it?”

Zhao Xiaoyi was shocked by Lin Feng’s plan, but thinking of Ye Li’s kindness and the potential future, he finally grit his teeth: “Good! Senior Brother Lin Feng, I’ll follow your lead!”

From that day on, a rudimentary and simple intelligence network, with Lin Feng at the core and Zhao Xiaoyi as the feeler, quietly began to sprout within the outer sect area of the Xuan Yun Sect.

Lin Feng began to traverse the Hall of Merits, the Refectory, the Lecture Hall, and other places where outer sect disciples gathered, with a more purposeful goal. He no longer just read quietly but would seemingly casually chat with people, listen to discussions, and pay attention to seemingly trivial information.

“Did you hear? The Spirit Beast Garden lost a few Herb-Seeking Ferrets recently and is offering a reward!”

“That Senior Sister Liu from Danxia Peak seems to have fallen out with her Dao companion. She’s been taking on missions with a terrible temper lately…”

“The Hall of Discipline seems to be cracking down on private duels recently…”

“The contribution points for the collection mission in the Black Wind Cave have gone up again, but I heard there might be mutated venomous spiders inside. Three groups went in and didn’t come back…”

These pieces of information might seem useless, but Lin Feng silently noted them down and analyzed them carefully upon returning. The reward from the Spirit Beast Garden might be an opportunity; Senior Sister Liu’s bad mood meant caution was needed when taking missions she issued; the Hall of Discipline’s crackdown meant they needed to be more low-profile recently; the abnormal Black Wind Cave mission might hide risks or opportunities…

Zhao Xiaoyi, meanwhile, leveraged his advantage as an honest, well-liked person with many friends, capturing information from various casual conversations.

“Senior Brother Wang has been looking worried lately. It seems his sister is sick and urgently needs contribution points to buy medicinal pills…”

“Senior Sister Li seems very dissatisfied with the inner sect senior brother she is currently following, complaining that he is stingy…”

“Those guys from War Maniac Peak seem to be frequently running outside the sect gate recently…”

Lin Feng combined the fragmented information provided by Zhao Xiaoyi with his own observations, often piecing together more valuable content. For example, Senior Brother Wang urgently needed contribution points. Perhaps they could recommend him to Senior Sister Ye, allowing her to give him a chance to earn contribution points and bestow a favor? Senior Sister Li’s dissatisfaction with her current superior might mean she was a potential recruit? Were the frequent outings of the War Maniac Peak disciples related to the “Black Cave” plot?

Although he couldn’t access core secrets, he could keenly capture the subtle pulse of the sect’s operations and the emotional trends of various individuals.

A few days later, Lin Feng, using the most discreet method (tucked inside a returned food box) through Zhao Xiaoyi, delivered the first organized “Intelligence Summary” to Ye Li.

The information recorded in the jade slip included:

1. 1. Recommended and analyzed current popular missions, as well as less popular but cost-effective ones.

1. 1. Brief profiles of a few inner sect disciples with good reputations who might be worth befriending or employing.

1. 1. Recent abnormal movements of some disciples from War Maniac Peak (frequent outings, increased spending, etc.).

1. 1. Information on several outer sect disciples with special skills (such as tracking, stealth, or poison-making) who were currently struggling.

1. 1. A rumor about the “Hundred Herb Pavilion” recently increasing the price of a batch of specific, unpopular medicinal herbs.

When Ye Li received this “Intelligence Summary,” which far exceeded her expectations, she was wiping down her reinforced short sword. She carefully read the content in the jade slip, and a hint of surprise once again flashed in her cold eyes.

This Lin Feng was indeed a rare talent! His meticulousness and accurate analysis far surpassed her imagination. The value of this information, for her, even exceeded a few dozen contribution points.

She pondered for a moment, then penned a brief reply, mainly acknowledging their work and providing a small sum of “operating funds” (contribution points) for them to appropriately use to build connections or acquire more information, while reminding them to prioritize their own safety.

With the feedback and support, Lin Feng and Zhao Xiaoyi were more motivated than ever. Although their network was still small and fragile, with limited coverage and the information acquired mostly peripheral, this was undoubtedly a crucial beginning.

Ye Li, meanwhile, looked at the intelligence report, her gaze finally resting on the words “Miasma Rain Forest.”

The opponent had laid the trap. It was time to “keep the appointment.”

However, perhaps it was time to change the roles of the hunter and the hunted.

She needed to make some special preparations for this “appointment.”