This time going there, He Lei thought he could mock the other side a bit.

"Envoy Lord..." Qu Feng still wanted to try to negotiate, but Cheng Yu just shook his head at him, so Qu Feng had to give up.

He Lei is a decisive person; once he decides to leave, he leaves immediately. He gave a brief instruction to his subordinates to entertain Cheng Yu and Lu Lin well, then set off directly.

Three days later, He Lei returned from the Four-eyed Spirit Monkey Clan, accompanied by more than ten Star Emperor strong members of the Four-eyed Spirit Monkey Clan. They brought a horse carriage filled with specialties from the Northwestern Domain, herbal medicine, and ore on it.

After arriving at the Kongming White Ape Clan, under He Lei’s guidance, these strong individuals found Elder Cheng Yu, constantly expressing apologies and respect. Besides the dozens of carts of goods, they offered a yellow gourd as a gift.

However, they did not reveal what medicine was in the gourd, only informed Elder Cheng Yu that this was the sincerity of the Four-eyed Spirit Monkey Clan.

Elder Cheng Yu did not open it on the spot, but he seemed quite satisfied with their attitude, casually said a few words, and sent them away.

As for returning the gesture?

Elder Cheng Yu never thought about it, how could he even consider returning a gesture to these ordinary Demon Race.

As for the Four-eyed Spirit Monkey Clan, they never had this idea. Asking for a return gift from General Mountain’s envoy would be seeking trouble.

Thus the matter was resolved.

Elder Cheng Yu summoned Qu Feng, dividing half of the goods from the dozen carts to him, asking him to take them back to compensate for Yunlan Xianzong’s losses.

Whether it was enough to cover the previously lost Lanruo Gold Crystal was not Elder Cheng Yu’s concern.

Then, regardless of the invitations from He Lei and Qu Feng, he left with Lu Lin riding a Flying Boat.

Once on the Flying Boat, Elder Cheng Yu had Lu Lin sit beside him, and took out the Message Conch, beginning to contact his subordinates near the Northwestern Domain.

This incident probably wasn’t man-made, but Qu Feng’s repeated impulsive attitude—wanting either to take down Kongming White Ape or to battle the Four-eyed Spirit Monkey—while General Mountain’s upper and lower levels were warlike, the subordinate’s forces wouldn’t be like this, Qu Feng’s behavior has been somewhat suspicious.

"Teacher, do you think Qu Feng has other intentions, or is being used by someone?"

Lu Lin couldn’t help but ask.

"Hmm, if he’s being used, it’s better; it only suggests he’s not thinking clearly. But if he has his own ideas, then preparations need to be made early."

"Lu Lin, managing a Sect can be as simple or as complex as you make it. The Sect and Holy Land are just illusions; what we truly need to manage is the people."

"Regarding the subordinates’ forces, and even the disciples inside General Mountain, we must be strict; but after all, they’re human—they’re not machines, occasional laziness or indulgence, perhaps seeking some personal benefit, is human nature. As long as it’s not excessive, I won’t investigate within a certain range."

"However, there must be limits; a little indulgence is fine, but if it leads people to think the Holy Land is easy to deceive, then it’s unacceptable."

"This time, Qu Feng repeatedly wanted to involve the Holy Land in the power struggles in the Northwestern Domain; I suspect there’s another force lurking behind him."

"Though it’s still a bit early to talk about this, let’s have someone investigate first."

"Your performance this time was very commendable—strong in action, thoughtful, not overly enthusiastic, neither fanatical nor lacking in judgment. If it weren’t your first time out with me, I’d suspect you had done similar work before."

"Oh, the intelligence on Qu Feng has arrived."