Everyone took their seats, while Chen An stood at the side. Aside from them, several upper echelons of the Peace and Stability Merchant Association were also present. They had all reached the True Immortal Realm, and their cultivation even surpassed Chen An's.

Everyone began taking turns toasting Liu Wuxie. After all, he had saved their shipment to Fourfold City's City Lord Mansion and helped them earn the city lord's favor. This meant the City Lord Mansion would likely entrust them with more escort missions in the future, giving the Peace and Stability Merchant Association a tremendous boost in status and influence.

Most importantly, they had successfully formed a connection with the City Lord Mansion.

A guard rushed into the main hall and interrupted the banquet. "Master, our shop on the southern street has been attacked!"

Several true immortals immediately stepped forward, preparing to investigate the attack. "It must be the White Tiger Merchant Association! Let's go take a look!"

After all, the White Tiger Merchant Association had become increasingly aggressive recently. They probably could no longer maintain their composure after hearing that the Peace and Stability Merchant Association had established ties with Fourfold City's City Lord Mansion.

"Father, I plan to investigate this matter myself," Chen An declared.

As a profound immortal and one of the strongest cultivators in Moon Reverence City, Chen Ping normally didn't handle ordinary matters. After all, if someone at his level fought, the conflict would eventually escalate into a large-scale war.

At that point, the two merchant associations would enter a life-and-death conflict. Likewise, the White Tiger Merchant Association wasn't foolish enough to mobilize its profound immortals. They merely allowed the lower-ranking cultivators to fight for territories among themselves.

Only Liu Wuxie and Chen Ping remained in the main hall, and Liu Wuxie had no intention of interfering with the Peace and Stability Merchant Association's internal affairs for the time being.

"Young Master Wu, I apologize for the disturbance at the banquet," Chen Ping said with an apologetic expression as he picked up a cup and toasted Liu Wuxie.

"Chief Chen, if you have other matters to handle, you don't have to stay here and entertain me," Liu Wuxie said before draining his cup. Liu Wuxie didn't need anyone to attend to him.

"It's fine. They can handle such minor affairs," Chen Ping said. He was no longer the wandering child he had once been; he had truly grown up. Bringing the Peace and Stability Merchant Association to its current height in only two decades had not been an easy feat.

Liu Wuxie said nothing more after hearing Chen Ping's reply.

"Chief Chen is from Moon Reverence City?" Liu Wuxie asked after setting down his cup.

"Yes and no," Chen Ping replied, also placing his cup on the table. He gazed into the distance as his thoughts seemed to drift back more than a century.

"What do you mean by that?" Liu Wuxie asked curiously.

"I became a wanderer in my teens and met several companions along the way. Later, I chose to settle here. Now that I think about it, one of my brothers founded the Peace and Stability Merchant Association for me," Chen Ping said, a trace of loneliness flashing across his face.

"Oh? Then, where is your brother who helped you establish the Peace and Stability Merchant Association?" Liu Wuxie asked. He closely observed Chen Ping, capturing every change in his eyes.

Chen Ping didn't answer immediately. He drank three cups of wine in succession before letting out a long sigh. Pain flickered across his face as he said, "He died."

"Oh, that's a pity," Liu Wuxie replied with a nod. It seemed Chen Ping already knew that he had died at Soul-Severing Cliff.

"But I believe my brother wouldn't die so easily! I heard that he has already returned, and it won't be long before he comes back and kills all those bastards who spoke of righteousness while hiding filth in their hearts," Chen Ping exclaimed, slamming his palm on the table.

Liu Wuxie's eyes narrowed. He didn't know how Chen Ping had learned about his return.

Liu Wuxie asked, steadying his mind, "Chief Chen, how do you know that he has returned?" He had to find out whether the entire celestial realm already knew about it.

If everyone knew about his return, matters would become extremely troublesome for him.

"Let's not speak of that. An'er told me your clan declined, and you wandered here?" Chen Ping asked. He didn't continue because he needed to keep Liu Wuxie's matter secret. Even if he took it to his grave, he would not reveal it to another soul.

Liu Wuxie didn't press further since Chen Ping refused to speak. He could tell that news of his return had not yet spread on a large scale.

Over the past few days, he had also asked around indirectly, but few people in the celestial realm knew Liu Wuxie's name. After all, he had only been a newly ascended immortal emperor in his past life, and only the upper echelons of the celestial realm knew about him. Ordinary immortals had no right to know of him at all.

Moreover, the events from back then were a concealed scandal that they could never reveal. Those who had attacked him were all influential figures in the celestial realm. If others learned of their deeds, countless people would trample their reputations into the mud for years to come. That was why many people chose silence.

"Mhm." Liu Wuxie nodded.

The atmosphere turned somewhat dull. The two waited for about two hours before Chen An and the others returned, injured.

Chen An reported, "Father, those black-clad figures were disciples of the Azure Bamboo Gang. We managed to repel them, but we also lost three brothers in the process. Two are heavily injured, and five suffered minor injuries."

Chen Ping frowned upon hearing the news. The Azure Bamboo Gang felt like a massive boulder weighing down on the Peace and Stability Merchant Association.

Liu Wuxie pondered for a moment but couldn't remember any gangs near Moon Reverence City. He began wondering whether the Azure Bamboo Gang had only risen recently.

Chen Ping said after pondering briefly, "I understand. Send compensation to the families of the brothers who died, and do everything possible to treat the injured."

"Understood!" Chen An said before leaving, plunging the main hall back into silence.

"Chief Chen, I'll return to rest and won't disturb you any longer," Liu Wuxie said, rising to his feet and cupping his hands before leaving.

"Alright. Once I finish handling these matters, I'll host another banquet for Young Master Wu," Chen Ping said. He didn't wait with Liu Wuxie this time. Since the Azure Bamboo Gang had openly invaded the Peace and Stability Merchant Association, they naturally had to retaliate.

Liu Wuxie couldn't fall asleep after returning home. He hadn't enjoyed a single proper night of rest since ascending to the celestial realm. He thought he could relax slightly after arriving at the Peace and Stability Merchant Association, only to realize that an unprecedented crisis now loomed before them.

The Peace and Stability Merchant Association had first suffered an attack from the White Tiger Merchant Association, followed by the Azure Bamboo Gang.

As the night deepened, Liu Wuxie changed into stealth clothing and slipped out of his courtyard, vanishing into the darkness like a black shadow.

Not long after Liu Wuxie left, another black shadow slipped out as well. That shadow had been secretly following Liu Wuxie ever since he had entered Moon Reverence City, relying on her high-level Profound Immortal Realm cultivation to avoid his detection. If she had been an Immortal Spirit Realm cultivator, Liu Wuxie would've definitely noticed her traces.

......

The Azure Bamboo Gang occupied a place between two mountains, where the terrain made it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Mountains flanked both sides, while a cliff stood behind it. There was only one entrance, making it difficult to attack this place.

A black shadow silently appeared outside the Azure Bamboo Gang's walls. Several Azure Bamboo Gang disciples stood on the walls, dozing off as the torches crackled around them. Unless one could fly, entering the Azure Bamboo Gang would not be easy.

"What is he doing here in the middle of the night?" Ye Linghan murmured from far behind. She still hadn't given up on Liu Wuxie and wanted to learn more about him. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

When Liu Wuxie landed on a large tree, he kept his distance to avoid being discovered by the Azure Bamboo Gang's disciples. He activated Ghost Pupil and looked through the wall, seeing everything inside clearly.

At the current level of his Ghost Pupil, he could only see a few hundred meters away, while the Azure Bamboo Gang's core region lay several thousand meters within the wall.

He could clearly see everything happening behind the wall. There were ten Azure Bamboo Gang disciples in total, three standing on the wall and two guarding the gate. The remaining five were resting while waiting for their turn for guard duty.

Liu Wuxie moved closer to the walls with a flash.

What is he trying to do? Is he planning to break in? Ye Linghan wondered. She also moved, maintaining a distance of a thousand meters. If she drew any closer, Liu Wuxie would likely detect her.

Liu Wuxie's divine sense couldn't enter the depths of the valley, but Ye Linghan's could. She had already enveloped the entire Azure Bamboo Gang with her divine sense, and she detected the aura of a profound immortal who was no weaker than her.

If Liu Wuxie entered, escaping alive would not be easy. Aside from the profound immortal, there were also four guardians in the Spirit Immortal Realm and twelve envoys in the True Immortal Realm.

With such a lineup, the Azure Bamboo Gang could easily destroy the Peace and Stability Merchant Association. If Liu Wuxie encountered any of the four protectors, he would never return alive, let alone if he ran into the profound immortal.

But for the sake of the Peace and Stability Merchant Association, Liu Wuxie still intended to investigate the Azure Bamboo Gang tonight. Only by knowing his enemies could he win every battle. He couldn't bear to watch his brother walk into a dead end. He had founded the Peace and Stability Merchant Association for his brother, so he naturally wouldn't watch it collapse.

Ye Linghan stopped moving, curious to see how Liu Wuxie would infiltrate the Azure Bamboo Gang with ten disciples guarding the entrance. Although the ten disciples were only ninth-level Heavenly Immortals, dealing with them silently would not be easy.

With a wave of his hand, Liu Wuxie summoned the Divine Mystic Yin Needle.

"I'll leave it to you," Liu Wuxie murmured. The Divine Mystic Yin Needle was extremely stealthy, and it would be difficult for anyone to detect it, even if they knew it existed.

Ye Linghan also cultivated ice-attributed energy, making her highly sensitive to it. The instant Liu Wuxie summoned the Divine Mystic Yin Needle, disbelief appeared on her face.

After all, since ancient times, anyone who possessed ice-attributed energy would find it difficult to refine pills, and she herself was a living example. Thus, it felt unbelievable that Liu Wuxie could refine pills while possessing such formidable mystic yin energy.

Ye Linghan had originally planned to stop investigating Liu Wuxie after tonight. But now, she realized that she had barely scratched the surface with whatever information she had gathered on him so far. Her curiosity burned even stronger, and she desperately wanted to know what secrets Liu Wuxie carried inside him.

The Divine Mystic Yin Needle shot out like a streak of light.

The shock in Ye Linghan's eyes deepened at the sight. The power released by the Divine Mystic Yin Needle had far exceeded the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

"What terrifying mystic yin energy!" Ye Linghan murmured, clenching her fists. She suddenly felt an impulse to rush over, drag Liu Wuxie out, and question how he cultivated.

The three Azure Bamboo Gang disciples on the wall yawned as the Divine Mystic Yin Needle easily pierced through their primordial spirits. They died before they could even scream.

That was what made the Divine Mystic Yin Needle so powerful and famous. Ordinary assassination methods would easily alert the enemy. Even if one target cried out just once, the entire Azure Bamboo Gang would be alarmed.

Under Liu Wuxie's control, the Divine Mystic Yin Needle continued toward the gate.