"What brings you here?" Chu Xuan prepared to quickly brush off this person’s entanglement.

Jiang Yiyi, upon hearing this, remembered the main issue. She put her hands on her hips and demanded in an impolite tone:

"Well, you little brat, you’ve made one of my most beloved disciples cry. How do you plan to compensate for that?"

Chu Xuan frowned, "What disciple?"

"It’s Yue’er."

Seeing Jiang Yiyi looking as if it was only natural, Chu Xuan suddenly realized that since their last meeting, the relationship between these two probably improved quite a bit.

However... "Yue’er cried? What does that have to do with me?"

"Hmph, still playing dumb, Chu Xuan, I’m telling you, your little secret got leaked."

Chu Xuan was getting more confused, but luckily Jiang Yiyi continued to explain:

"Yue’er already knows that you and Qin Mengyao plan to take the junior disciple out to hunt beasts. Are you still holding onto the grudge from last time, so you purposely didn’t invite her?"

After an earful from this elder, Chu Xuan finally understood. Qin Mengyao had just informed Ye Xingming, and that guy went around boasting to everyone.

Xiao Yue didn’t know how dangerous this journey would be and thought it was something like a countryside tour.

Seeing that they preferred taking the junior disciple instead of her, she felt a bit wronged, thinking that Chu Xuan still refused to forgive her.

Chu Xuan was speechless," I’ll deal with that guy Ye later. You tell Yue’er that this beast hunt is extremely dangerous, and she shouldn’t overthink it."

Jiang Yiyi was about to say more, but Chu Xuan directly used his sword control to get away.

Time was limited, and he wasn’t in the mood to handle these trivial matters now.

...

The next day, Chu Xuan, according to the original plan, proceeded to the Scripture Repository, also hoping to see if he could encounter the Ice Sea Demon Monarch again.

What he didn’t expect was that as soon as he got to the fourth floor, he saw Li Xingchuan waiting at the stairway.

To be precise, he was positioned between the fourth and fifth floors.

The moment he saw Chu Xuan, Li Xingchuan coldly proposed, "How about a deal?"

Chu Xuan was somewhat puzzled, "Deal?"

Li Xingchuan was not only talking about a deal openly in the Scripture Repository with Chu Xuan, but he also wasn’t even using Divine Sense, leaving Chu Xuan unsure of his intentions.

Is it because even Divine Sense can’t hide from Li Fanzhou?

It’s said that if there’s a significant realm suppression or some special means between both cultivators, Divine Sense isn’t necessarily foolproof or entirely secretive.

Hearing Chu Xuan’s question, Li Xingchuan nodded, "With my current rights, I can only reach up to the fourth floor here in the Scripture Repository."

"I know you’re the head disciple; the seven layers of this place are open to you."

"What I want is something you can easily obtain."

As previously mentioned, each layer of the Scripture Repository required different permissions. The seventh layer was accessible only to the head, supreme elders, and true immortals.

But now upon hearing this, Chu Xuan slightly frowned, "What do you want?"

"The ’Eternal Green Lotus Technique,’ the cultivation techniques for the fifth, sixth, and seventh realms," Li Xingchuan said without the slightest hint of concealment.

But Chu Xuan’s expression changed, and he flatly refused: "Impossible!"

This was the core heritage of the Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace, a Celestial Tier cultivation technique, essentially the foundation of the Daoist Palace.

Given that the head doesn’t trust Li Xingchuan as it does Chu Xuan, keeping his access only up to the fourth layer, it indicates Wu Yunzi allowed him to see the techniques up to the fourth realm at most.

If Chu Xuan agreed to this deal, it would undoubtedly equate to betraying the sect. Especially since there was a Supreme Elder in the building listening in.

Li Xingchuan wasn’t surprised or frustrated, merely presenting his bargaining chip:

"I have a drop of the [Intelligent Stone Monkey]’s essence blood."

Chu Xuan was taken aback upon hearing it; the Intelligent Stone Monkey! Isn’t that what he desired most right now?

Wu Yunzi had mentioned that since Chu Xuan wasn’t a descendant of the original Divine Command keeper and didn’t know how to unlock the relic, attempting to locate the essence blood of the Mischievous Four Monkeys might provide a crafty way to access it.

As for how Li Xingchuan knew Chu Xuan needed this, it was simple. When Wu Yunzi borrowed the Divine Command to study, he probably also asked other members if they knew how to unlock it?

Perhaps he even inquired if anyone had treasures like the Mischievous Four Monkeys’ essence blood?

Given Li Xingchuan’s high Divinity Transformation Stage cultivation, and Wu Yunzi being on speaking terms with him, it was natural he’d ask him too...

Chu Xuan showed no expression, but internally he was a bit hesitant.

Undoubtedly, he greatly desired this drop of essence blood. Although it could only unlock a quarter of the Divine Command’s functions, it was a significant gain for him.

Moreover, in half a month he’d go fight against Golden Core Stage beasts. If he could, during this period, leverage the Divine Command to quickly boost his power, it would certainly increase his chances of surviving.

However, ultimately, Chu Xuan still slowly shook his head, "I refuse."

The reason was straightforward; this essentially was still betraying the sect. Even if it was just one drop of Intelligent Stone Monkey essence blood, even if all the Mischievous Four Monkeys were gathered, Chu Xuan wouldn’t agree to the deal unless he didn’t want to stay here any longer.

Li Xingchuan still wasn’t surprised, "Don’t be too hasty to refuse. Maybe you should consult the elders and see what they have to say."

Hearing these suggestive words from him, Chu Xuan hesitated for a moment but finally nodded.

He went down to the first floor and bowed slightly towards the void, "Supreme Master Uncle, your disciple seeks an audience."

But Li Fanzhou did not appear, only saying in a calm tone, "This is not something I can decide on, go ask your master."

Anticipating this response, Chu Xuan bowed again in acknowledgment.

As he stepped out of the Cloud-Born Sea Tower, Chu Xuan was still pondering why Li Xingchuan had lured him out of the Scripture Repository for negotiations yesterday and was being so open about it today.

After careful consideration, Chu Xuan guessed that Li Xingchuan believed: Jiang Yiyi’s appearance wasn’t a coincidence, but a warning.

So after thinking it through, he figured this matter is hard to hide from the high ranks of the Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace, and it was better to be forthright, treating it as an overt plot.

However... Chu Xuan thought, it was probably a mere coincidence, and the Ice Sea Demon Monarch was overestimating Jiang Yiyi.

Moreover, even if the headmaster and other high-ranking members genuinely wanted to reprimand Li Xingchuan, they certainly wouldn’t send such an unreliable ancestor to do it.

Shaking his head, Chu Xuan decided not to dwell on it, heading straight to the Daoist Palace main hall.

...

After telling his master the purpose of his visit, Wu Yunzi stroked his beard with a smile and said:

"Tell me your thoughts. Do you think this deal is worth making?"

Chu Xuan was a bit surprised by this; is this a test for me?

Is it to sell out the sect for personal gain; or resist the temptation and firmly say no to evil paths.