Sure, here is the translated text:

In other words, No. 5 should be a family member of Duke Lin. At this time, still willing to put in the effort to save Duke Lin, coupled with their tone of voice and the timing of appearances, he was likely someone very close to Duke Lin.

Most probably one of Duke Lin's sons.

Only they could make important decisions and commitments so swiftly.

Yu Ziqing kept the internal power shifts of Dali in mind. These matters didn't affect him much now, but they would impact what he intended to do in the future.

Because No. 2 from the Seventh Floor should be a senior figure in the Shadow Department of Dali.

Upon his return to Dali, just as he had expected, Su Li encountered no danger, and, in fact, received a promotion.

His arm was also slowly regrowing, and it would surely fully recover in the future.

Su Li intended to find the traitor in the Shadow Department he sought, and then personally eliminate them.

Yu Ziqing's plans were much simpler; he aimed to kill No. 2 sooner or later.

He didn't care if No. 2 initially intended to kill Su Li; once he made that decision, anyone standing with Su Li was part of his assassination plan.

You wanted to kill me but failed, and since I survived, I'll hold a grudge until I have the chance to kill you; it was perfectly reasonable.

Once he learned No. 2 was the person behind the assassin, Yu Ziqing started compiling a list.

Codename: No. 2.

His true identity remained unknown.

In a surprising twist, he owed a debt of gratitude to Duke Lin, so it was noted down. Since No. 5 was willing to express a sense of indebtedness in a situation where no one knew anyone else, he was naturally not a heartless individual, and there could be future interactions.

Such debts, if revealed openly, wouldn't build any friendships.

Moreover, Yu Ziqing intended to find additional sweet rain agents.

The current relationship with Uncle Fu behind the Eastern Palace was still pleasant.

However, he preferred not to rely solely on someone who planned three steps ahead in everything they did.

Especially since her opponent was the Crown Prince of the Dali Divine Dynasty, destined to ascend the throne.

Friendly exchanges were fine, but as the sole channel, it was best avoided.

If the Crown Prince held a unique and valuable resource, without playing it to achieve tenfold or a hundredfold its original value, Yu Ziqing would have overestimated her.

This Duke Lin, for instance, had not belonged to the Eastern Palace before, but his position and command over vast armies meant he was destined to be loyal to Emperor Li and would remain so after the Crown Prince ascended the throne.

For now, he could serve as a backup expansion channel.

If discussions went well, continued trade would be possible.

At the rate of thirty-seven drops per Void Escape Scroll, the first transaction included a bonus drop and didn't count.

Two days later, at the pavilion in the locust forest, a Posthouse Official arrived carrying a young foal.

He placed a jade box on the table and held the foal tightly, preventing it from taking food and drink from Yu Ziqing.

Yu Ziqing chuckled, took out another drop of sweet rain and placed it on his fingertip, offering it to the young foal.

The foal stretched its neck, rolled out its long tongue, swallowed the drop of sweet rain, then lay down with its eyes closed, completely ignoring the Posthouse Official, who began to jump about in frustration.

"This little foal seems to have grown a bit; I'd love to see what it looks like fully grown."

"Can you not give it to Little Black next time? It's started to misbehave," the Posthouse Official said with some embarrassment.

"No worries, once it's grown, it'll be able to carry you around."

The foal nodded repeatedly. Although it had agreed with the Posthouse Official earlier, it didn't count as cheating when fed directly.

"Next time, I won't charge you; though I promised two free times, I still charged you."

"No worries, those two free times can be saved for later."

After amusing the Posthouse Official and Little Black for a while and seeing them off, Yu Ziqing opened the jade box.

Inside the jade box was a foot-long scroll; the material appeared to be either beast skin or some kind of synthetic material, its exact nature uncertain, and it was sealed with a talisman to prevent premature activation.

Using it was simple; just activate it with a bit of force, True Yuan, or Qi-Blood would suffice. If there really was no power to activate it, tearing off a corner would do. This item was safe enough for mortals to use.

After all, it was initially something Dao Cultivators kept to save their own lives.

Holding the jade box, Yu Ziqing sought out Old Yang.

"Old Yang, care to authenticate this, real or not?"

Old Yang glanced at it, then nodded.

"It's real."

"Won't you take a closer look?"

"No need, it's definitely genuine.

And it was made within the last ten years, not a hint of its power lost. Once you use it, it should teleport you thousands of miles away.

I know what you want to ask.

It won't teleport you into the sky, underground, or to dangerous places.

Although it claims to teleport randomly, there's no need to worry about safety.

With its power intact, as long as you have a general direction in mind, the teleportation will pretty much stay on course."

"Cough, what's there to worry about? If Dao Cultivators can trust something to save their lives, I surely can too."

Yu Ziqing chuckled awkwardly, putting it away in a readily accessible spot.

He was just asking casually. When the time came to genuinely rely on the Void Escape Scroll for survival, he wouldn't bother with other concerns.

Old Yang, some things you just need to know silently; saying them out loud isn't much fun.

It makes him seem as if he's overly afraid of death.

"By the way, have your mushrooms sprouted yet?"

"No, the underground exploration is ongoing, and Jinlan Mountain's earth energy has connected with the land. Now, we just need to find a way to guide some Earthfire Branch down there to stabilize it, and we might be able to grow Jinlan Mushrooms again."

"Alright, keep up the effort. I'm off to cultivate; I've been feeling close to advancing to the Yin God Realm recently."

"In your spare time, you might want to have someone keep an eye on the White Sun Evil Cult's activities."

"Hmm?" Yu Ziqing asked in puzzlement, "It's only been a few months; that soon?"

"Their High Priest might seem inconspicuous among the top cultivators, but at the Seventh Tier, he's a Great Cultivator.

Decades ago, all the upper echelons of the White Sun Evil Cult fell, practically wiped out, yet he survived.

Just decades later, he quickly rebuilt the White Sun Evil Cult, allowing the White Sun Holy Mother to descend.

Ultimately, when the Evil Dao was exterminated once more, even more perished than before, yet he still survived.

You mustn't underestimate him."

Old Yang spoke with great caution.

"I understand; I've never underestimated him. In my mind, he's even more troublesome than the White Sun Holy Mother.

In just a few decades, he's done meticulous preparation, and each time trouble arose, he managed to escape with his life, whether empowered or not.

I even speculate he has more contingencies in place.

The next descent of the White Sun Holy Mother might be quicker than the ten years I anticipated."

"What do you plan to do?" Old Yang was curious but soon shook his head. "Never mind, better not to say."

"Don't worry, I'm prepared."

Routine cultivation had allowed him to refine over six hundred and eighty orifices. The remaining orifices were relatively easy to open; the hardest ones were already done, and his cultivation in the Returning to the Orifices Realm was nearing completion.

Meanwhile, his Refining God Cultivation, using hungry ghosts as its foundation, was progressing even faster, with the completion of the initial three realms within reach, advancing to the Yin God Realm imminent.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

Simultaneously, Yu Ziqing hoped that the High Priest Liu Xin's efforts to hasten the next descent of the White Sun Holy Mother would be equally successful.

Waiting ten, twenty, even dozens of years or longer might cause him to miss the opportunity to eradicate these troublesome Evil Dao from the root by becoming too powerful.

At that point, he'd just have to keep eliminating the White Sun Holy Mother every time it emerged, which, truth be told, offered no satisfaction. Just the thought of having these annoying being obstructing his cultivation path irked Yu Ziqing.

Therefore, while his power was relatively weaker, he'd take risks to find a chance to annihilate them completely.

Since they were mortal enemies, it was best to thoroughly eliminate them.

Here's hoping they acted swiftly.

That High Priest must have more than one backup plan in place.

...

Of course, Liu Xin had contingency plans.

Several for personal survival, and more for the White Sun Evil Cult.

He urgently wanted the White Sun Holy Mother to descend because, without the Incense Fire Crystal, the slow cultivation pace was making him anxious. Conveniently, there was a vague wish from the White Sun Holy Mother before death to descend as swiftly as possible.

Naturally, Liu Xin aimed to fulfill the wish of his most revered White Sun Holy Mother.

Intelligence he had acquired revealed that the White Sun Holy Mother died in Bianlan City at the northwest corner of Dali, at the hands of a Devil Dao cultivator named Lin Fu.

Of course, whose hands caused her demise was less of a concern for Liu Xin.

His real concern was the villagers in Bianlan City.

Every mortal who came into contact with the hiding White Sun Holy Mother had definitely received her personal baptism, making them the most loyal base.

Consequently, to prevent any tracks from being found, Liu Xin spent months slowly arranging to secretly relocate all of these villagers.

Considerable effort was needed to move these people.

After all, to the Shadow Department's eyes, these mortals had no privacy, no secrets. If they employed the Dynasty Skill magical treasures of the Shadow Department, tracking a mortal required little effort or cost.

If the Chief Venerate of the Shadow Department was willing to employ the Shadow Great Mirror personally and pay the appropriate price, even the entire life reflection of a mortal could be shown.

But Liu Xin couldn't abandon these mortals, who were his most loyal core base, thus extra thought was needed.

In the new base.

Still within a realm of ice and snow, it appeared to be a typical pastoral village, but the animals were not cattle, sheep, or horses, rather reindeer suited to the extremely low temperature, which regular livestock couldn't endure.

The loyal disciples brought by Liu Xin not only had to adapt to life here, but also engage daily in fixed time slots of chanting and worshipping the White Sun Holy Mother.

This location was in the northern part of Dazhen and was one of the backup plans; currently, the central area of Dazhen was embroiled in conflict, so it was highly unlikely anyone would come.

Liu Xin hadn't planned on immediately gathering all the followers since he currently lacked resources to support millions.

First, stabilize the situation, and following the White Sun Holy Mother's wish, try to bring about her descent, and afterwards, gather some Incense Fire Crystals before gradually developing his followers.