Though publicly stated as the peak of the Divine Realm, the Old Heavenly Master had long comprehended the Heavenly Dao, transcending the Divine Realm to reach a state of freedom.
The name "Shadow Assassin" was not something all disciples were privy to.
"And this time, the target of the Shadow Assassins is related to a former disciple of your Misty Immortal Palace," Qi Tian continued.
"A former disciple?" Yu Huan began to ponder.
The word "former" held significant weight.
"Lin."
Qi Tian prompted further.
"The Lin family? Descendants of the Lin clan? You mean that Lin Xiao? That lad is incredibly talented. He's even preparing to unify the management of sects in the Inner Realm and the secular world. He has grand ambitions and indeed, considerable capability. A young hero, one might say."
Yu Huan replied immediately.
She had heard about him; Lin Xiao was a descendant of one of their outer disciples. She still recalled the outer disciple who resolutely left the Misty Immortal Palace to protect the Dragon Kingdom. If he hadn't left the Immortal Palace, she would have considered taking him as a disciple.
"Lin Xiao has been targeted by the Shadow Assassins?" Yu Huan asked after a moment of silence. "Are you trying to pry some information about the Shadow Assassins from me?"
"In a way."
Qi Tian nodded. "This time, while Lin Xiao was investigating the individuals who annihilated his entire Lin family, he was targeted by people from the Shadow Assassins. He suspects they were hired by the mastermind behind it all."
"To be able to hire the Shadow Assassins? That's no small feat. As you know, the Shadow Assassins only accept spirit stones," Yu Huan's expression turned peculiar. "Speaking of spirit stones, you should really pay a visit to the Artifact Sect."
Everyone knew that among the Three Sects, the Artifact Sect possessed the largest number of spirit stones, with the other two combined perhaps only able to rival the Artifact Sect.
For instance, Qi Tian himself could carry a considerable amount of spirit stones, enough to make people from the other two sects envious.
It was important to note that even Yu Huan, the esteemed Vice Palace Master, often only had one or two spirit stones on her person, needing to apply for more.
Spirit stones were indeed the most scarce resource on the lands of the Dragon Kingdom.
And most of the spirit stones had already been used to pay for transactions with the Artifact Sect.
Qi Tian paused, then thoughtfully considered before nodding. "That does make sense... However, my visit this time is not related to spirit stones."
"I have a way to contact the Shadow Assassins. That's what you want, isn't it?" Yu Huan glanced at him. Qi Tian was too direct; everything was easily understood, and she could figure out most of his intentions without him even having to state them.
"If the Palace Master has such a method, that would be excellent," Qi Tian grinned. "And while I'm here, may I ask, besides the high-ranking officials of the Three Sects, who else would know the contact method for the Shadow Assassins?"
"Anyone else?"
Yu Huan fell silent for a moment. "The most basic condition to contact the Shadow Assassins is that one must be a master of the Divine Realm. The Shadow Assassins don't give even a passing glance to masters below the Divine Realm. Even if you managed to contact them, they would simply leave upon seeing you. Therefore, only those above the Divine Realm can contact the Shadow Assassins."
"Good."
This was useful information. It could likely be used as bargaining chips for Lin Xiao.
"Furthermore, the Shadow Assassins charge less than ten spirit stones and won't even spare a second glance," Yu Huan continued. "So, you must have spirit stones."