After seeing off all the disciples, Song Xinghai arranged a new room for Ye Bufan.
“Brother Ye, I’ll shamelessly call you brother. Regarding what happened earlier, I failed to manage the sect disciples properly, and I’ve made you laugh.” Song Xinghai cupped his fists and bowed to Ye Bufan.
Seeing this, Ye Bufan quickly returned the courtesy and said to Song Xinghai, “Senior Song has handled it very well. I, Ye Bufan, haven’t taken these matters to heart.”
“I heard from my uncle about your situation. You bravely repelled the Eight-Headed Serpent in the Sky Pit; you are truly a model for our generation,” Song Xinghai said.
Ye Bufan smiled slightly and said to Song Xinghai, “Senior Song, let’s dispense with the flattery. Senior Song and my master are old acquaintances, and we are all family. Family doesn’t need to be formal with each other.”
Upon hearing this, Song Xinghai smiled sheepishly.
“Alright, alright. It’s good that this matter is cleared up. Ultimately, it’s the disciples of the sect who are too arrogant,” Song Mingqin said. “The pressing matters now are the journey to the ancient cultivation ruins and figuring out if there are any hidden spies from Sakura Island within the sect passing information to them.”
Song Xinghai nodded heavily upon hearing this.
“This matter is not simple and not difficult to say,” Song Xinghai said. “Regarding this ancient cultivation ruin, what we know is not much different from what other sects know. We cannot ascertain where the information is being leaked from.”
Ye Bufan pondered for a moment and then said to Song Mingqin, “Since the information is the same, we can create some differing information. That way, we can confirm if there are any traitors within the sect.”
“What Ye Bufan said makes sense,” Song Mingqin said. “Those who can transmit information likely possess a certain status or prestige. We can first disseminate information to some of the sect’s elders. After ruling out the elders, we can then consider the core disciples.”
“These elders of the sect entered the sect around the same time as me. I know each of their personalities and characters. It’s unlikely, isn’t it?” Song Xinghai said.
“Xinghai, people’s hearts are unfathomable. People change. When you became the sect leader, the competition was fierce. They all appeared to be friendly on the surface, but how many truly respected you?” Song Mingqin said. “After so many years, why do you still not understand this principle?”
“Uncle, I understand this principle. But after all, we are fellow disciples. For the Red Sword Sect, I believe they wouldn’t do such a thing.”
Ye Bufan could see that Song Xinghai’s personality was, to put it bluntly, a bit naive, or to put it more politely, simple.
Song Mingqin transmitted his voice to Ye Bufan, saying, “My nephew is just like this; he trusts the elders of the sect too much.”
Ye Bufan looked at Song Xinghai and said, “Sect Leader Song, when it comes to certain matters, it’s better to believe they exist than not to. After all, it’s for our own sect and for the land of Kyushu. There’s no harm in testing it out. This way, you can also prove to your uncle that you are correct.”
Song Xinghai was silent for a few seconds, then looked up at Song Mingqin.
“Ye Bufan makes sense, but Uncle, let’s agree beforehand: if it turns out that the elders of my sect are not innocent, then as the Supreme Elder, I hope you will step forward and admit your mistake.”
Song Mingqin laughed heartily upon hearing this and said, “That’s naturally not a problem. However, this test requires practical verification. During this period, I hope you can remain patient.”
“Alright!” Song Xinghai replied.
After Song Xinghai and Song Mingqin finished discussing matters concerning the Red Sword Sect, they began to discuss the ancient cultivation ruins.
“This time, the ancient ruins are said to be related to the ancient Heavenly Court,” Song Xinghai said. “Information from some pioneering cultivators suggests they found many magic artifacts along their exploratory path, mostly low-grade Xuan-tier artifacts. The further inside, the higher the tier of the artifacts.”
In addition, Song Xinghai informed Song Mingqin that the ancient cultivation ruins were vast and contained many teleportation formations. Some of the lost weapons still had numerous restrictions on them. If one wasn’t careful, they could lose their lives. Some of the pioneers had suffered greatly from this.
Other news from within indicated that many precious medicinal herbs had been discovered there, including those extremely rare for refining pills even in the outside world, and in large quantities.
Ye Bufan’s interest was piqued upon hearing about the abundance of rare and precious herbs, as this would allow him to refine some pills to aid his cultivation.
“So, when shall we set our departure?” Song Mingqin asked.
“In three days,” Song Xinghai said.
“We have three days, which is just enough time to use this information to see if we can lure out the spies,” Song Mingqin said.
Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin wore mysterious smiles. Since Ye Bufan was not a member of the Red Sword Sect, he merely offered advice. When Song Mingqin and Song Xinghai were preparing to summon the elders for a meeting, Ye Bufan took this opportunity to return to his room.
“Why are you here?” As he approached the door, Ye Bufan spotted a familiar figure – Wang Yao.
“I’ve entered the inner sect, the Red Sword Sect, from the outer sect’s Ten Thousand Sword Sect.” Wang Yao also smiled upon seeing Ye Bufan. The scene of him fighting the Silver Hook Snow Wolf to protect her couldn’t help but flash through her mind.
“Congratulations,” Ye Bufan said to Wang Yao. “And the matter with your senior brother Feng Quan, was it resolved properly afterward?”
Wang Yao nodded and said, “I used the excuse of encountering a Silver Hook Snow Wolf and said he died fighting it to save me.”
“By the way, this is for you.” Wang Yao reached out from behind, holding a piece of pastry.
“This is a unique delicacy of our Red Sword Sect – Snow Cherry Crisp. I saw that after you arrived at the hotel, Senior Brother Ling Yunluo and the others kept you so busy that you didn’t even have time to rest. I thought you must not have eaten anything, so I brought you some,” Wang Yao said.
Ye Bufan took the Snow Cherry Crisp and said, “Thank you.”
“Would you like to come in for a bit?” Ye Bufan asked.
“No, no. I need to hurry back to cultivate. My master and the others exceptionally allowed me to come this time, so I must seize this opportunity to cultivate and not hold them back.”
With that, Wang Yao scurried away from Ye Bufan’s room.
Ye Bufan watched Wang Yao’s retreating figure, smiled slightly, and returned to his room to begin his cultivation.
Three days later, Song Xinghai gathered the disciples of the Red Sword Sect and set off for the ancient cultivation ruins.