Ye Qing was just looking for an opportunity to get rid of these people, after all, with them watching him, he couldn't sneak into the attic to eavesdrop on the sect leaders. Now that these people even let him leave, it was exactly what Ye Qing wanted.

"Yes, yes, I... I forgot..." Ye Qing laughed awkwardly, quickly turned around, and left.

"Damn it, these new recruits are getting lazier by the day."

"Exactly, it's nothing like when we first joined!"

The people behind laughed heartily, but none of them noticed anything unusual about Ye Qing.

Ye Qing quietly slipped out from the attic, immediately moving to the back of it, and climbed up to the window on the third floor through a dark corner. The sect leaders were just sitting on the third floor, but none of them noticed Ye Qing outside.

Although Ye Qing's skills hadn't reached the level of a peak master, he was far superior to top-level masters. Moreover, having learned some basics of Carefree Movement, his qinggong surpassed ordinary people. Even though he climbed outside the window, the people inside couldn't hear a thing, but Ye Qing could hear their conversation clearly.

"So, have you contacted Big Brother?" Ye Qing heard one of the sect leaders speaking as he climbed up.

"I have, Big Brother is on his way back." The Third Sect Master said in a low voice, "However, even if Big Brother starts heading back now, it will take at least a day for him to get home. We need to handle this matter quickly."

Outside, Ye Qing was puzzled. With air travel so convenient now, just where did their Big Brother go that it would take him a whole day to return?

The people inside were silent for a while, then suddenly someone said, "If you ask me, we should just grab that dead fatty and force him to hand over the Dragon Blood Wood!"

Ye Qing's heart skipped a beat outside. He didn't expect to hear about the Dragon Blood Wood here again. And from their tone, the dead fatty they talked about was likely Handsome Fatty Wang. After all, Ye Qing had tricked Handsome Fatty Wang last time, and almost everyone thought that the Dragon Blood Wood ended up in his hands.

Not many people knew about the Dragon Blood Wood, and not many participated in the fight for it. Aside from the Wanyan Family, those who tried to snatch it did so mostly because it was valuable, not knowing much about its secrets. In fact, apart from Ye Qing and the Wanyan Family, very few people knew the secrets of the Dragon Blood Wood.

And now, the South Ridge Sect also wanted the Dragon Blood Wood. Just what were they planning?

These people from the South Ridge Sect had been purchasing famed instruments in large numbers under the guise of buying and selling, surely with some ulterior motive. Now that they were getting involved with the Dragon Blood Wood, Ye Qing couldn't help but suspect they knew some of its secrets. Otherwise, if it was just for money, they wouldn't be so invested in it!

"That's not gonna work!" As the words fell, an older man next to him immediately shook his head, "If it were that easy to find the Dragon Blood Wood, would it be our turn to take action? Don't forget, the Wanyan Family searched that dead fatty several times but couldn't get the Dragon Blood Wood from him. You know that dead fatty's personality, he values money over his life. Even if we kill him, he won't hand over the Dragon Blood Wood. Besides, if we alert the snake this time and don't get the Dragon Blood Wood, humph, all our efforts over the years will be in vain!"

Ye Qing's heart jumped. The last sentence revealed some information: they had been busy with the Dragon Blood Wood for years. But why didn't they just rob the Wanyan Family? Instead, they were massively purchasing famed instruments in Bei Wu City. What was the connection between these two things?

"Fifth Brother is right." The Third Sect Master nodded in agreement, speaking in a deep voice, "We painstakingly gathered one hundred and eight famed instruments to open the Great Tomb, now we just need the map. We've been working for this opportunity for years. A moment's impatience could ruin years of planning. That dead fatty is in Bei Wu City, it's as if he's in our hands. Are you worried he will fly away? Take your time, I want to see what tricks he can play!"

The Third Sect Master's words shocked Ye Qing even more. He suddenly realized that the South Ridge Sect was indeed hiding a big secret. According to the Third Sect Master's words, they've been collecting famed instruments to open a Great Tomb, which required one hundred and eight famed instruments. It seemed that was the main reason for their collection over the years. But which Great Tomb were they planning to open? This matter was related to the Dragon Blood Wood; could it be that they were planning to open Guiguzi's tomb?

Ye Qing remembered when he found the Netherworld Taoist and Broom Star to translate the characters carved on the Dragon Blood Wood. According to those inscriptions, the Gold Silk Armor sealed inside the Dragon Blood Wood was related to the tomb of the Great Sage Guiguzi of the Taoist Sect, inside which a great secret of the Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Gates was hidden. Therefore, the Wanyan Family saw it as crucial and kept it for years.

However, even though the Dragon Blood Wood noted the matter, it didn't specify how to open Guiguzi's Great Tomb, nor did it give the exact location, only mentioning its existence.

After hiding the Dragon Blood Wood and Gold Silk Armor, Ye Qing had almost forgotten these matters. Unexpectedly, this visit to Bei Wu City uncovered such information. The sect leaders of the South Ridge Sect knew about Guiguzi's Great Tomb and even knew how to open it. This was indeed shocking!

"Since that dead fatty wants money, let's just give him money!" one sect leader suggested.

"Nonsense, if it were that simple, it wouldn't be our turn! The Wanyan Family would have retrieved the Dragon Blood Wood long ago!" another sect leader retorted, "That dead fatty isn't just greedy for money, he's extremely greedy. Do you know how much he asked for a piece of Dragon Blood Wood?"

"How much?"

"Five billion USD!" The sect leader paused before saying, "And that's in US dollars!"

"Goddamn, that fatty's insane for money, huh? Five billion US dollars, who in the world can afford it? Who the hell can shell out that price!"

"Five billion USD, and he dares to ask for that!"

"Is this dead fatty planning to become the world's richest person in one go?"

Several sect leaders immediately began to rant, finding Handsome Fatty Wang's price hard to swallow.

"That's why I say, this dead fatty is hard to deal with." The Third Sect Master said gravely, "Let's just string him along for now. I want to see what tricks he can pull. Lao Qi, you send someone to keep a close eye on him, make sure that dead fatty doesn't slip away. Since he's in Bei Wu City, if we don't get the Dragon Blood Wood this time, when Big Brother returns, you know what will happen!"

The other sect leaders' expressions changed, clearly fearing this Big Brother.

"Third Brother, don't worry, that fatty won't be able to escape!" the Seventh Sect Leader said confidently.

"That's the best!" The Third Sect Leader nodded, speaking sternly, "Alright, that's settled for now. The most important issue now is to figure out who snuck into our estate tonight. This person managed to escape our Dragon Slaying Formation; his skills aren't simple, at least at the top-level master!"

"Top-level master!" The Seventh Sect Leader frowned and spoke solemnly, "Third Brother, top-level masters rarely come to Bei Wu City. Even if they do, no one would want to provoke us. Not just top-level masters, even a peak master wouldn't want to mess with us easily. Something's strange about this!"

"Indeed, that's why I said to be extra cautious!" The Third Sect Leader spoke in a deep voice, "We've spent so much time gathering all these famed instruments. If we get the Dragon Blood Wood and find the map, we can open that Great Tomb. Years of effort are about to pay off. If anything goes wrong at this critical juncture, humph, all our efforts will be for nothing!"

The sect leaders were all furious, and one of them slammed the table angrily, "Damn it, whoever dares mess with me will definitely regret it."

"Alright, Fourth Brother, don't get so worked up." The Third Sect Leader said, "I'm saying this to keep you alert; the situation isn't as bad as it seems."

"Oh?" The others immediately looked at the Third Sect Leader in surprise, "Third Brother, someone even made it to our doorstep, and it's not serious?"

"Even if they entered our estate, it's not serious." The Third Sect Leader chuckled, "Let's not forget, our most critical items aren't hidden in this estate. The most valuable things here are those antiques. The fact that someone entered means they have no idea about our secrets or where we keep our most important items. In fact, I suspect they know nothing about our plans and might just be opportunistic thieves. If they were truly prepared, they wouldn't target our estate but go for our secret warehouse instead!"

Outside, Ye Qing's heart skipped a beat when he heard this: these people had a secret warehouse. What was hidden there? Could it be the famed instruments they've been collecting?

"Yes, why didn't I think of that!" The Fifth Sect Leader was immediately pleased, "Third Brother is right, this person entering our estate means they have no clue about our secret warehouse; they know nothing about us!"

Another sneered, "Even if he knows of our secret warehouse, so what? Second Sister guards it; he's better off not going there. If he does, Second Sister will make sure he has a hard time!"