Chapter 1307: Chapter 857: Great Saint Bodhisattva Yang Xiao (Part 2)
"Otherwise, how do you think the previous sieges failed? Even before the battle started, the information had already leaked. How are we supposed to play this game?" Sheng Yanlin sighed.
"Hiss—" This is too terrifying. As Yang Xiao thought about the situation he might face in the future, his spine shivered with a chill.
Suddenly, Yang Xiao thought of something and looked up at Sheng Yanlin. "Back then, when the Black Buddha Mother recruited you, it was also because of your connection with Yiling Academy. Even if you agreed, you could have stayed on as the Dean, just needing to follow the remote commands of the Black Buddha Mother."
"Smart, to be honest, the Black Buddha Mother offered me a very good deal, not just one position as Buddha’s son. If not for the trace of conscience left in this old man, I almost accepted it."
For Yang Xiao, Sheng Yanlin had nothing to hide now and laid all his cards on the table.
"So, the current thirteen positions of Buddha’s sons still include experts from various sects. They don’t usually interact with the Black Buddha Mother Sect, only betraying at critical moments."
"To say it’s small, it’s not just experts from various sects. Anyone who can reach this position is almost certainly a notable figure in the major sects. Of course, it also includes the high-ranking members of the Patrol Defense Office, Chamber of Commerce, and United Federation."
Sheng Yanlin decided to open up the topic today. "To portray a picture from my years as Dean, a Deputy President of the Apostles Union was reportedly turned. He was the spy the Black Buddha Mother had planted among the upper echelons of the Apostles Union."
"It was when the domestic three major forces gathered secretly to organize a large operation against the Black Buddha Mother Sect. If I’m not mistaken, it was to eliminate the Southwest Branch of the Black Buddha Mother Sect led by the Half Compassion Purple Body Buddha."
"This secret meeting was of very high level; attendees were at least headquarter-level sub-chiefs. But unexpectedly, the news still leaked. Consequently, the vanguard elites from the three forces walked into an ambush, and within less than three hours, dozens of skilled individuals were wiped out, and their magic artifacts were completely looted."
"In this battle, the Patrol Defense Office lost a Deputy Director from the General Bureau and three Provincial Bureau Chiefs, marking the most severe casualties among the parties."
"This affair incited the wrath throughout the Patrol Defense Office, which dug out this mole despite pressure from the Apostles Union."
"Finally, by using this person to transmit false information and set up an ambush, they caught the Black Buddha Mother faction off guard, killing two Buddha’s sons in one strike; if not for the Half Compassion Purple Body Buddha’s quick escape, they would have exterminated the Black Buddha Mother’s Southwest Main Temple."
"Oh, and this operation was led by your Patrol Defense Office alone, without involving outsiders. Neither the Apostles Union nor the Chamber of Commerce participated. After that incident, your Patrol Defense Office trusted no one."
"Comparatively speaking, infiltrating the high levels of your Patrol Defense Office is still quite difficult. Your intelligence network’s advantage is something those martial arts forces can’t compare to, and your senior members aren’t afraid to die."
Among the domestic three major forces, Sheng Yanlin clearly held the Patrol Defense Office in higher regard, not because of Yang Xiao, but because they deserved it.
As for the Chamber of Commerce, Sheng Yanlin was most disdainful. These guys would do any dirty job for money, entangled with various cults and foreign forces, willing to dig up and sell their ancestors for the right price.
As Sheng Yanlin phrased it, the Chamber of Commerce was like a whore who would sleep with anyone who pays.
But he also clearly stated that the Chamber of Commerce, although lacking in moral integrity, extremely valued business credibility. Once a contract was established, it would definitely be fulfilled.
This principle applied to everyone; the client is above all.
"Credibility, huh..." Yang Xiao couldn’t help but envision a face - Mo Daidai, who seemed to be a high-ranking member of the Chamber of Commerce, possessing a deep-seated obsession with contracts and commitments.
"Have you heard of someone called Mo Daidai?" Yang Xiao asked curiously.
Sheng Yanlin thought for a moment, then shook his head, "No."
"Is there a high-ranking member named Mo in the Chamber of Commerce, at the level of the General Assembly?"
"I haven’t heard of any."
With that, Yang Xiao didn’t ask further, as he had more pressing matters to handle now.
"By the way, Mr. Sheng, did you also receive this stone?" The stone on the table emitted a faint cold glow, causing an involuntary shiver.
Sheng Yanlin, gently stroking this black, semi-transparent stone with his hand, wore a look full of reminiscence. He nodded slowly, "Yes, I received it, also from that messenger, and the rhetoric was not much different from the Life Demanding Monk’s delivery to you, but somewhat more polite."
"The messenger who delivered it to me wasn’t of very high rank, just a powerhouse at the level of a Great Saint Bodhisattva Position."
"Did you end up using it?" Yang Xiao pursued, as this was of great importance to him.
After all, he knew Sheng Yanlin had encountered an ambush by the Dharma Sect. Given the situation, one would do anything to survive in such a critical moment.
"I didn’t use it; it’s not that I didn’t want to, but it was unusable. The item’s existence was time-limited, and by the time I was ambushed, it had already vanished."
Sheng Yanlin provided Yang Xiao with an unexpected result.
"Vanished?" Yang Xiao was stunned. "How did it vanish?"
"It just disappeared out of thin air; I don’t know how to explain it to you. In short, after receiving the item, I was worried about it being discovered, so I hid it in a secret realm known only to me."
"After some time, I forgot about it. When I remembered and went to check, the box containing it was still there, and the seal remained intact, but upon opening it, the box was empty, and the item was gone."
"I’m very sure that no one could have infiltrated the secret realm without my knowledge. This item just disappeared on its own," Sheng Yanlin emphasized.
Yang Xiao’s mind spun rapidly. This "Buddha Seed" being able to disappear by itself was indeed beyond his expectations.
"How long roughly? I mean, how long before the item disappeared on its own?" Yang Xiao asked.
This question stumped Sheng Yanlin, who, after careful recollection, couldn’t recall precisely. Eventually, he gave a vague answer, "Approximately... more than a year, definitely not more than two years."
Yang Xiao got a rough idea. The fact that it still existed here now meant that his agreement with the Black Buddha Mother still stood.
But once this "Buddha Seed" disappeared on its own, it would mean that his agreement with the Black Buddha Mother would be automatically nullified, which was easy to understand.
He had no interest at all in the Black Buddha Mother Sect. It wasn’t about identity or status; Yang Xiao was a righteous man who benefited the country and the people and was certainly not a double agent.
Yang Xiao stared at the black, semi-transparent stone in Sheng Yanlin’s hand, which Monk Wukong referred to as "Buddha Seed", suggesting it could be life-saving at crucial moments.
Injecting spiritual power would allow one to gain the power of the Black Buddha Mother, somewhat similar to his Hundred Demons Coffin Clothes, though not entirely the same.
At the same time, Yang Xiao thought of the expert who annihilated the Poison Sect.
This person was said to be a surrogate envoy for the Black Buddha Mother, originally just a half-step Netherworld-level envoy, but able to unleash a strength stronger than ordinary Netherworld Realm envoys in critical moments.
Was the power he borrowed obtained through this small "Buddha Seed" in front?
"Mr. Sheng, with your vast knowledge, do you know what this thing actually is?" Yang Xiao asked in a low voice.
"I’m not very clear. After obtaining it back then, I researched it for a long time but couldn’t find any clues. There’s no spiritual power fluctuation on this object," Sheng Yanlin replied.
Sheng Yanlin picked up the black stone and examined it against the light, the texture flowing like a piece of ink jade. "However, I suppose it must be related to the Innate Treasure the Black Buddha Mother holds, likely a derivative of that treasure."
"When envoys inject their spiritual power into this stone, it’s equivalent to opening a channel that connects directly to the treasure on the Black Buddha Mother."
"But this item must have side effects. I speculate that once used, you could never escape the control of the Black Buddha Mother in this lifetime."
