"A mournful tune to stir the soul, a single dance to capture the heart."

"All men are creatures of desire, a perfect target for the sublime power of Celestial Fragrance. Yet, those from the Sects who left... their Spirit and will are remarkably resolute."

"It seems these Sects are using the Fragrance Tower to perform some kind of screening."

The girl in the white veil was the famous prospective courtesan of the Fragrance Tower, Bai Xian’Er. Of course, she had another identity: the Saintess of the Celestial Fragrance Sect.

The cultivation of the Celestial Fragrance Sect was unlike any other. It required the use of Human Fragrance, which was imparted through the sublime power of Celestial Fragrance. This process generated a specific kind of Human Fragrance within a man’s body.

This scent was nurtured within the body. When the man next returned to the Fragrance Tower, the scent would merge with the tower’s own ambient fragrance and be extracted.

Throughout the entire process, the man was merely a vessel. He would not undergo any changes, nor would his body be harmed. One could even say the impact was less than the weakness these men felt after their strenuous efforts in the Fragrance Tower.

Each man could only provide it once, so many were needed to aid in cultivation. This was why a place like the Fragrance Tower, one of the Capital City’s Twelve Floors, was the natural choice. It made the cultivation process both effective and swift.

"I’ve made a record of them all. We will investigate their identities later. If any are suitable, they can assist you, Saintess, in cultivating the *Earth Fragrance Scroll*."

The old woman said in a serious tone.

The cultivation of the *Earth Fragrance Scroll* had stricter requirements than the *Human Fragrance Scroll*. It was no longer about quantity, but Top Quality. Only those with exceptionally strong Spirit and will could provide Earth Fragrance Qi, so the standards for the men they contacted were much higher.

This was why cultivators of the Celestial Fragrance Sect became entangled with so many men. Of course, there was nothing necessarily wrong with that.

Being well-connected on all sides also had its benefits.

"I have complete faith in your work, Granny Rao."

Bai Xian’Er said, pleased.

After screening them at the Fragrance Tower, their subsequent cultivation would become much easier. Their targets were now much clearer.

They might not have a use for these suitable candidates right now, but they might become useful one day. These preparations didn’t require much effort, but the future payoff would be immense.

"The Six Gates isn’t targeting the Sects right now, but it looks like this situation won’t last long."

"Divine Constable Jin Feihua has wanted to restore the prestige of the Six Gates for years. Now that the Crown Prince is making his move, the Six Gates is bound to act. They might even stir up some trouble behind the scenes. We should have them watched. If they don’t affect us, we can ignore them."

"But if they interfere with our plans, we’ll give them a little ’help’—expose them and let the Imperial Family deal with the mess."

Bai Xian’Er said to the old woman, her thoughts turning to the Six Gates.

The Six Gates might not seem like a threat, but the Combat Power of its four Divine Constables was not to be underestimated. If they targeted them, they would have to ensure their destruction beforehand.

Using others to do their killing was second nature to the people of the Celestial Fragrance Sect. They knew many powerful people. Sometimes, leaking a single piece of information was enough to upend the entire situation.

They never had to lift a finger themselves. That was the way of the Celestial Fragrance Sect.

"Rest assured, Saintess. We have people watching the Six Gates at all times. We know everything that goes on over there, clear as day."

"If they make a move against the Celestial Fragrance Sect, word will reach us immediately."

the old woman said with great confidence.

The Celestial Fragrance Sect had already planted agents within the Six Gates. They were normally loyal to the Six Gates and would only be activated if a move was made against the sect.

They were disposable assets, extremely useful, and almost impossible to expose.

They were like hypnotized subjects. Under normal circumstances, they behaved just like anyone else. Only a specific keyword would awaken them, and then they would become like a completely different person.

The sleeper agents from the No-Life Evil Cult that Yang Chan encountered in Tan City were a similar case. Otherwise, they never would have passed the Cyan Yuan Sect’s screening.

Of course, the No-Life Evil Cult used the Soul Capturing Technique. Yang Chan had seen the details of it, but he currently had no interest in focusing on such Evil Techniques.

He might cultivate it in the future if he got the chance; perhaps it would prove useful.

"Is there still no news from the Imperial Palace?"

Bai Xian’Er asked, continuing her line of questioning.

Compared to the somewhat chaotic situation in White Jade City, the Imperial Palace had been very quiet recently, as if nothing had happened at all.

No useful information had come out for days. If they hadn’t confirmed that their few moles in the Imperial Palace were still alive, they would have assumed they’d been eliminated and were being forced to send out false, pre-arranged messages.

"It’s the same as yesterday. No particular news."

The old woman shook her head.

"This must be the calm before the storm. Never mind. As long as it doesn’t involve the Celestial Fragrance Sect, we’ll ignore it for now. We should keep a low profile and wait for the two sides to make their move."

"Making a scene right now and becoming a target would be a terrible idea."

Bai Xian’Er said, lowering the hand that had been caressing her own cheek.

The Celestial Fragrance Sect could only gather intelligence within the Imperial Palace; they had no way to interfere directly. The Emperor of Great Zhou, Yang Yu, was old, and his grip on the palace had grown ever tighter. He refused to let anyone he found questionable hold an important post. Essentially, only those he knew through and through were ever granted key positions.

The older one gets, the more one fears death—a truth he embodied perfectly.

As a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster, he placed immense importance on his own protection. If he were to break through to the Martial Saint Realm, everything would change again.

At a time like this, Emperor Yang Yu naturally wanted stability throughout the land to buy himself more time for his breakthrough.

"Rest assured, Saintess. Aside from our intelligence-gathering operations, all other assets have been pulled back. No one will ruin things at this critical juncture."

The old woman heard this and said with absolute assurance.

The Celestial Fragrance Sect was not headquartered in White Jade City, but in another province. Their forces in White Jade City were currently centered on Saintess Bai Xian’Er, allowing her to cultivate the *Human Fragrance Scroll* while also managing the situation here.

Crown Prince Yang Qian had secretly sought an audience with the Sect Leader of the Celestial Fragrance Sect but was flatly refused. This represented the Celestial Fragrance Sect’s stance: they would not take part in the struggle for succession.

Bai Xian’Er nodded at her words.

"For now, just focus on running the Fragrance Tower. And keep an eye on the various Sects’ outstanding Pharmacists. They are the very foundation of their Sects. If something were to happen to them, things would get very interesting. Let’s see if our Crown Prince dares to make such a move."

"The Saintess of the Supreme Sect over at the Baihua Building is cultivating Supreme Forgetting Emotions. She’s also been lying low in White Jade City. I’m curious to see what she’s really planning."

Bai Xian’Er suddenly seemed to recall something, a flicker of interest on her face. But at the mention of the Supreme Sect, her smile vanished.

Clearly, she was deeply wary of this Saintess from the Supreme Sect.

"Rest assured, Saintess. We receive daily reports on the situation at the Baihua Building. If the Saintess of the Supreme Sect makes any move, we will receive the intelligence immediately,"

the old woman quickly added.

There was a deep-seated feud between the Celestial Fragrance Sect and the Supreme Sect.