Yuan Ming chuckled softly, by now fully aware they were merely putting on an act with Hou Chou; they probably never had the courage to truly strike out against him in the first place. What was just said allowed for facesaving and substance, if they failed to break the array, the fault would lie on his own planning, but if they succeeded, then Hou Chou would share in the credit—a rather clever calculation indeed.

Indifferent to exposing Hou Chou's ulterior motives publicly, he turned his head and glanced at Wan Tianren, signaling him to make the decision.

"That is well, the Wu Yue Sect certainly has heavy guards at the Array Eye. Divine Envoy Yuan going alone would still entail some risks," Wan Tianren hesitated for a moment then nodded at Yuan Ming.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming knew Wan Tianren also had his suspicions and was being cautious, so he didn't say more and accepted Hou Mo's suggestion.

Then, they discussed the finer details that could arise in the upcoming battle and set the date for action ten days later before dispersing.

However, when Wan Tianren also wanted to leave, Yuan Ming stopped him.

"Does Alliance Leader Wan have any Recording Artifacts on hand?" he asked.

"I do, but why do you ask, Fellow Daoist Yuan?" Wan Tianren wondered.

"Naturally, I've noticed some rats moving about within the alliance and wanted to see if I could catch their tails," Yuan Ming narrowed his eyes, a hint of sharp light flickering within.

"Fellow Daoist Yuan has discovered a spy from the Wu Yue Sect?" Wan Tianren was startled.

"Correct, but there's no evidence yet; Alliance Leader Wan, please do this..."

...

An hour later.

Chen Yunqian found an excuse to return to his temporary Cave Mansion on Purple Nan Island.

He carefully activated all the formations of the Cave Mansion to ensure no one could peer inside from outside before finally taking out a seemingly unremarkable nanmu box.

Inside the box was a palm-sized black Token, with no patterns or markings, and not a trace of Spiritual Energy, looking just like a wooden toy carved on a whim.

But Chen Yunqian handled the Token with extreme caution, not daring to relax even slightly.

He knew that by opening this wooden box, his life as an undercover agent was finally coming to an end.

As one of the many dark agents from the Wu Yue Sect, he infiltrated Kongling Island during the Qi Refinement Realm and then devoted himself to cultivation. As he made achievements, he ran side to side for the interests of Kongling Island, more than once facing life or death crises. Fortunately, his luck was good and he encountered some opportunities. Ultimately, he became one of the Nascent Soul Ancestors of Kongling Island, but he never once forgot his mission—to contribute towards the Wu Yue Sect's conquest of the East Sea.

He had played no small part in the fall of Kongling Island, and afterwards, he disguised himself as a leader of the survivors to gather followers, preparing to undermine the situation further when the opportunity arose. However, before he could make a move, he ran into Wan Tianren and others who had returned to the East Sea.

Thus, he turned the situation in his favor, joining the East Sea Alliance. To avoid suspicion, he had not contacted the Wu Yue Sect since then, just waiting for a day when he could provide critical information.

Now, that opportunity had finally arrived.

"Venerable, the dark agent Chen Yunqian reports that the East Sea Alliance has found the location of the Array Eye of the Red Blood Sand Formation and will launch an attack on Red Mountain, Fan Yun, Cui Lin, and Hongguang four islands in ten days. A mysterious Returning Void will join with Senior Jin Chao for the offensive. Please be extremely cautious," Chen Yunqian took a deep breath and, while pouring Mana into the Token, spoke swiftly.

Because the scope of the Red Blood Sand Formation was so vast and its power astonishing, it couldn't be run at full power all the time due to the high consumption. With advance preparation, they could catch the attackers unaware. At that time, the East Sea Alliance might weaken considerably.

The Token flickered with spirit light twice, with no response. Chen Yunqian felt puzzled, considering the White Bone Venerable was likely tied up with countless matters and might just be preoccupied.

But given the significance of this intelligence, Chen Yunqian couldn't be careless. As he was about to activate the Token again, he suddenly heard a cold voice from behind.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, there's no need to try anymore; the White Bone Venerable won't hear your report," the voice said.

Chen Yunqian shuddered, whirled around, and saw Yuan Ming standing behind him, holding a bronze mirror, watching him expressionlessly.

The mirror was playing back the scene of him just reporting to the White Bone Venerable, the sound clear and unmistakable.

"How, how did you get in!" Chen Yunqian stepped back in shock, pointing at Yuan Ming as he shouted.

"Instead of worrying about how I got in, Fellow Daoist Chen might want to think about how you're going to explain your recent actions to Alliance Leader Wan," Yuan Ming said with a sneer.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yunqian's eyes flashed with murderous intent and he suddenly stomped forward, his right foot unleashing a swarm of White Frost, freezing Yuan Ming's ankles into ice pillars in an instant.

Yuan Ming, however, appeared nonchalant, his Emotion Manipulation Ability having long exposed Chen Yunqian's true emotions. Chen's astonishment was genuine, but he had harbored the intent to kill the moment he laid eyes on Yuan Ming.

At this moment, seeing Yuan Ming make no attempt to resist being frozen by Chen Yunqian, a trace of doubt flickered in Chen's mind, yet it did not hinder him from swiftly forming hand seals, activating the Forbidden Array within the cave mansion.

With the next instant, the floor of the cave mansion cracked open, and over a dozen Spiritual Power iron chains burst forth, but instead of lunging at Yuan Ming, they swirled through the air and locked Chen Yunqian's limbs in place.

"How is this possible!" Chen Yunqian cried out in shock.

"Heh, the array and restrictions you set up in the room were not meticulous enough; there were too many loopholes. I got bored waiting for you, so I took the liberty of patching them up for you. No need to thank me." Yuan Ming smiled faintly, and with a shake of his legs, he shattered all the ice on his ankles.

Chen Yunqian was both shocked and furious. He immediately spat out a Cold Frost Jade Ruler from his mouth, which drew through the air, scattering countless pale frost mists to envelop both Yuan Ming and himself.

However, Yuan Ming casually waved his hand, and with a flash of spirit light on the Cold Moon Ring at his fingertip, all the surrounding frost mist was absorbed into it.

As the frost mist dissipated, Chen Yunqian was once again exposed to Yuan Ming's view. He had been using the cover to attack the Spiritual Power chains with a magical treasure, and when the frost mist vanished in an instant, he was first taken aback, then quickly began reciting a spell, guiding the Jade Ruler to strike at Yuan Ming.

But at that moment, a Blood Shadow suddenly emerged from behind Yuan Ming and caught the Jade Ruler Magical Treasure squarely, with filthy blood qi immediately crawling up the Jade Ruler.

Chen Yunqian was terrified, trying to recall the Jade Ruler, but his limbs were again firmly locked by the Spiritual Power iron chains, preventing him from forming any hand seals. He could only invoke the magical treasure with a mnemonic, but it was utterly inadequate to unleash the full power of the magical treasure.

Yuan Ming did not plan to continue fighting him, and after commanding the Blood Shadow to take the magical treasure away, he raised his hand slightly, and the door of the cave mansion thundered open automatically. Wan Tianren and other Nascent Souls from the East Sea Alliance, who had been waiting outside, walked in one after another.

In their hands, they too held a bronze mirror, which appeared to be identical to the one Yuan Ming was holding; and at that moment, it was displaying the scene of Chen Yunqian passing on intelligence.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, I need an explanation." Wan Tianren looked at Chen Yunqian, his expression grim.

Chen Yunqian was stunned. Gaping at the Nascent Souls before him, his lips moved as if wanting to defend himself, but he understood that anything he said now would be too late.

"...How was I exposed?" he asked with a bitter laugh.

At these words, Wan Tianren glanced at Yuan Ming, and the other Nascent Soul cultivators he had summoned also cast curious looks his way.

"The Lord Nether Moon God once bestowed upon me a Divine Skill that allows me to know what a person holds dear or dislikes. Earlier, during the meeting, when Alliance Leader Wan mentioned that Senior Jin Chao would also come to our aid, everyone else was pleased, but you, you alone, felt disgust towards this matter. It aroused my suspicion, so I came to your cave mansion in advance and made some preparations." Yuan Ming explained.

The facts were largely as he described, although he deliberately kept the description of the Emotion Manipulation Ability vague by using terms such as likes and dislikes. After all, most people do not wish to have their inner thoughts seen through by others. Downplaying the ability's strength would not only make the Nascent Souls from the East Sea Alliance less resistant to him but would also confuse any potential adversaries. This chapter was uploaded by the team at *.

"So that's how it is. I cannot believe that after all this time I've been undercover, I was undone by just that. The False God does possess some tricks after all. It's a pity, though—no matter how much you resist, you are no match for the divine authority of the Wu Yue God! It is only the Wu Yue God who is the True God! You should all surrender sooner rather than later—that's the righteous path!" Chen Yunqian suddenly let out a laugh, and his presence surged dramatically.

"Not good, he's going to detonate his Nascent Soul!" Wan Tianren realized with a start.

But just then, Yuan Ming stepped forward, and the soul splitting from within the Stealing Heaven Tripod took action, pulling Chen Yunqian into a Nightmare in an instant.

Chen Yunqian's previously building momentum plummeted, and his body completely relaxed as if he had been strangled to death mid-air by the Spiritual Power chains.

The members of the East Sea Alliance were startled, and then they saw Yuan Ming lay a hand on Chen Yunqian's face. After pondering for a moment, he sadly shook his head.

"No good, someone has placed a Forbidden spell on his Nascent Soul, preventing a Soul Search." Yuan Ming let go with a hint of regret and turned to speak.

"Then..." Wan Tianren looked at Yuan Ming, seeking his advice.

"Let's lock him up for now, to prevent the Wu Yue Sect from knowing his status through any means they might have." Yuan Ming suggested.

"We'll do as Divine Envoy Yuan says." Wan Tianren nodded.

Seeing his response, the expressions of the Nascent Soul cultivators from the East Sea Alliance varied.

It was common knowledge that Wan Tianren had put Yuan Ming forward to contend against Hou Chou. But looking at the current situation, whether Wan Tianren was really the leader of the East Sea Alliance started to seem uncertain.

However, the thought of Chen Yunqian's fate made them shiver inwardly. Aside from considering Yuan Ming's real strength, just the Mind Reading Divine Power and such calculating methods alone were enough to put them on alert—they did not want to be caught out, fearing they might share a fate like Chen Yunqian's. To die in humiliation, unable to showcase one's abilities or even self-detonate, was too great a loss of face for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

After all, this was Wan Tianren's worry. The various Nascent Souls exchanged glances and then dispersed to make their preparations for the forthcoming battle.