Chapter 23: Fang Che—I’m So Frustrated (Revised)

Sun Yuan still felt somewhat stifled. With a cold hum and an eye-roll, he said:

"Once you attain an official position within the sect, a communication jade will naturally be issued to you. At that time, once the aura of the Five-Spirits Gu permeates the communication jade, you will be able to control the Gu and communicate at any time.

"The personnel responsible for communication vary according to their duties. The volume of communication channels is also determined by one's status.

"In short, your designated position dictates who you can reach out to. Whenever you wish to contact someone, you simply need to communicate with your Five-Spirits Gu through your thoughts, and it will naturally locate that person for you. Unless that individual is dead—in which case the Five-Spirits Gu will notify you that the transmission has failed—otherwise... no matter the ends of the earth, as long as you send out a message, it will be received instantly. The Five-Spirits Gu on the other end will also immediately notify its master that a message has arrived."

Sun Yuan continued, "To put it bluntly, it is all thanks to the properties of the Five-Spirits Gu. This is also why the Gu carries such extreme danger; because ordinary human bodies cannot withstand it, countless individuals suffer a miserable death during every disciple selection process."

"I see."

"Of course, there are also a few exceptional individuals highly regarded by the higher-ups who are granted the authority to communicate directly with the Sect Master, even while holding very junior positions."

A smug smile appeared on Sun Yuan's face as he said, "Che'er, the Sect Master thinks very highly of you!"

These words carried a profound meaning.

Fang Che's eyes lit up, and he replied, "I will definitely execute my missions flawlessly and strive to earn the qualification to report directly to the Sect Master at any time."

"Mhm. You must work hard toward this, and I will also do my utmost to secure it for you."

Sun Yuan smiled, feeling a slight internal puzzlement as to why Fang Che showed virtually no reaction to the fact that the Five-Spirits Gu could prove fatal.

Could this kid be so naive that he didn't even suspect whether his Brother Su was trying to harm him?

In truth, Fang Che had initially wanted to react, but fearing he would interrupt Sun Yuan's explanation, he simply chose to say nothing.

Besides, Su Wu was already dead. Reacting or not... he was still his good sworn brother!

He would still need to use that name in the future anyway.

……

Sun Yuan left.

Fang Che began to study the Five-Spirits Gu.

So everything was because of this little creature?

No wonder!

Fang Che had only previously known that the Five-Spirits Gu guaranteed absolute loyalty. If someone harbored rebellious intentions while harboring the Gu inside their body, it would instantly trigger a backlash, causing sudden death.

One could say its sensitivity was extraordinary.

It was just a pity that the Five-Spirits Gu inside Fang Che's body possessed no such function. Fang Che harbored rebellious thoughts every single day—rebellious intentions that were utterly blasphemous to the Gu—yet the creature couldn't kill him.

Not only that, but it was completely at Fang Che's mercy, subjected daily to his torturous conditioning until it hovered on the verge of emotional collapse.

Yet, Fang Che genuinely hadn't known before that the Five-Spirits Gu also possessed a communication function.

"It seems this little thing has a most extraordinary background. I truly have no idea how it was ever manufactured."

Circulating the Immeasurable True Scripture, he slowly guided his energy into the vital meridian passes.

The Five-Spirits Gu was terrified of such spiritual energy and instantly curled up into a tight ball.

With a shift of his will, Fang Che began to project gentle, soothing intentions and fed a portion of the spiritual energy flowing through his meridians directly to it.

The Five-Spirits Gu paused in astonishment, then immediately began to devour the offering ravenously.

It was moved to tears!

It had finally tasted food.

Ever since entering this fellow's body, it had essentially never enjoyed a single square meal, living in a constant state of starvation that left its vision blurred.

Now, its host had finally found a conscience.

Thank goodness!

This time, Fang Che fed the Five-Spirits Gu until it was completely full.

Immediately, he sensed a faint wave of blissful emotion rising from within.

Clearly, the Five-Spirits Gu was thoroughly satisfied.

He once again soothed it with gentle emotions, leaving the Gu feeling flattered and bewildered, having never experienced such supreme treatment before.

It hurriedly began to transmit friendly feedback in return without delay.

Fang Che was quite pleased and continued the interaction.

……

Ye Meng entered carrying a tray of tea and, seeing the smile on Fang Che's face, asked, "Why is the Young Master in such a good mood today?"

A thought instantly flashed through Fang Che's mind.

He immediately sealed the Five-Spirits Gu.

*Clap.*

Banished back to the cold palace.

Five-Spirits Gu: "……"

Beckoning her over with a mysterious expression, Fang Che said, "This is a secret. Come closer and I'll tell you."

Suppressing her inner excitement, Ye Meng feigned hesitation and replied, "Young Master, let me massage your legs instead."

"Alright."

Fang Che naturally stretched out his long legs.

Enjoying Ye Meng's service comfortably, he lowered his voice and said, "You must never speak of this to outsiders."

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."

The corners of Ye Meng's lips curled upward as she nodded repeatedly, her hands continuing their work to massage and soothe his muscles.

"Inside my body, there is a Five-Spirits Gu. This little thing is an absolute treasure! Once I receive a promotion within the sect in the future, I can use it to communicate with others in the organization. I can send a message, and even if the recipient is at the ends of the earth, they will receive it instantly. Tell me, isn't this even more convenient than the legendary sound-transmission over a thousand miles? Isn't it a divine artifact?"

Fang Che said with a boastful smile.

Ye Meng's eyes widened. "Young Master, don't tease me. How can a tiny bug accomplish something like that?"

"Hmph, what do you know? Do you know why the sect has remained prosperous and enduring for so many years? Heh... Even if enemies are located, by the time reinforcements rush over, it's already too late—they've fled. And it's all because of this!"

"With just a single thought, messages are transmitted instantly. At the slightest hint of trouble, one can escape thousands of miles away. Who could possibly catch them?"

Fang Che said smugly, "This will be my ultimate trump card for survival in the future! Whenever anything happens, heh, messages are received directly and immediately!"

Seeing Ye Meng standing there in stunned amazement with her mouth open.

This truly was a massive secret!

Fang Che immediately put on a bored expression, waved his hand dismissively, and said, "There's no point in explaining this to you since you wouldn't understand anyway. I might as well tell you something amusing yet aggravating."

"Amusing yet aggravating?" Ye Meng grew even more bewildered. Her brain had yet to recover from the shock of the previous revelation, and now there was more?

"Ah, I've really stirred up trouble this time."

Fang Che sighed. "Just now, Master came over and scolded me severely. Sigh... my heart feels quite heavy."

Ye Meng kindly comforted him, "Young Master, a master scolding their disciple is normal. There's nothing to be upset about."

Internally, she was thinking she needed to rush back and leak this intelligence immediately.

Fang Che sighed. "What do you know? This incident is extraordinary."

Her curiosity piqued, Ye Meng asked, "How is it extraordinary?"

Fang Che put on a mournful expression. "Master said... just yesterday, several Sect Masters gathered to chat. Our Sect Master didn't dare utter a single word, and the moment he returned, he chewed my master out fiercely."

A conversation at the Sect Master level?

Alarm bells instantly rang in Ye Meng's mind. She immediately pricked up her ears and feigned shock. "Ah?!"

"The Sect Master of the Divine Heaven Sect said that after all the effort spent developing a clan and nurturing a seed, the boy was murdered by another newcomer during the White Cloud Martial Academy's freshman grand tournament..."

Fang Che sighed heavily. "So you see the problem now? Damn it, the only person who died during that tournament was the one I killed—Ximeng Xuri..."

Ye Meng froze. "What a coincidence?"

"Who's to say? Our Sect Master didn't dare say a word, only offering condolences, and then came back to curse my master bloody... And then my master came over and naturally cursed me bloody in return."

Fang Che said with a helpless expression.

Ye Meng: "……"

"Don't you think this is unluckier than anything? Who could have known that fellow and his clan belonged to the Divine Heaven Sect? I thought I was wiping out a Guardian seed, but as it turns out, the floodwaters washed away the Dragon King's temple, and I ended up slaying one of our own with a single blade. Who can I even reason with? I'm wronged too—nobody told me in advance that Ximeng Xuri was one of us!"

Fang Che sighed, helpless and conflicted. "Not only that, but my identity is classified as top-secret and cannot be exposed. Therefore, there's still a chance I might be assassinated by my own people in the future. Tell me, isn't that depressing?"

Ye Meng pondered this for a moment, unable to help herself from saying, "It certainly sounds depressing, but isn't there a way to explain this?"

"Explaining it would mean exposing my identity, which would be even more dangerous."

Fang Che sighed repeatedly, looking utterly aggrieved.

Ye Meng lowered her head, her eyes rolling wildly as a hint of schadenfreude crept in.

Suddenly.

Fang Che barked angrily, "I'm telling you this and you just stay silent? You useless piece of trash!"

Startled, Ye Meng looked up to speak, only to hear Fang Che demand viciously, "What realm has your cultivation reached?"

Collecting herself, Ye Meng perked up. "I've already reached the second stage of Martial Scholar, Young Master!"

There was a distinct tone of fishing for praise in her voice.

"How utterly incompetent! Only the second stage, and yet you're actually proud of it!"

Fang Che grabbed a handful of medicinal pills and flung them across the room. "Cultivate immediately! If you fail to break through to the Martial Master realm within a month, I'll sell you into a brothel!"

Ye Meng pouted in resentment.

This fellow was truly... was his face made of a dog's skin, flipping over the moment he wanted to?

It was even more convenient than a curtain.

He had been smiling just a moment ago, and now...

*I hope you never find a wife for the rest of your life!*

Ye Meng cursed viciously in her heart.

Sulking back to her room, she waited for a moment before beginning to draft a message using secret techniques.

"Today, I obtained intelligence regarding the Five-Spirits Gu of the Only My True Cult sect, as well as the secret of its communication method, which turns out to be... Additionally, there is another piece of news: the Ximeng clan actually..."

……

In the dead of night.

Fan Tianjiao, who was staying in disguise right next door, received the intelligence.

"The secrets of the Only My True Cult are actually..."

Not daring to delay, Fan Tianjiao transmitted the information outward immediately.

This intelligence was of paramount importance.

The Guardians had only ever known the general function of the Five-Spirits Gu and suspected it could be used for communication, but they had never known the specifics.

After all, with the Gu residing inside the host's body, any thought of betrayal triggered an immediate backlash.

Even capturing a member alive yielded no specific details.

That was precisely why the Only My True Cult had been able to run rampant for so many years.

Yet this time, Fang Che's explanation was exceptionally detailed.

The intelligence relayed by Ye Meng was equally thorough. As for the matter concerning the Ximeng clan—though a minor family, it was not to be underestimated either.

Having obtained such detailed data for the first time, Fan Tianjiao treated it like a priceless treasure.

Only after transmitting it did he nod with satisfaction.

This Fang Che truly was a walking treasure trove; arranging for Ye Meng to be planted by his side had proven to be an utterly correct decision.

Thus, he began writing another letter to the Dark Hall, advising: Under no circumstances should he be reassigned to other duties!

It was important!

Extremely important!

He recommended upgrading its priority star rating!