Infiltration (Part 1)

"What did you say!!" Tie Zhu exclaimed in shock before quickly shutting his mouth. The sudden notice from Wang Yazhu catching him off guard.

"Be quiet! Are you stupid? If you're not careful you'll give yourself away in a second!" Wang Yazhu scolded.

"Hey, you could have at least given me a warning at least." Tie Zhu replied as he tried to figure out why Tao Keke's mom would be here in the first place and what connection this had to the break in of their apartment. Although much had happened to him within the last week, he did not think there should have been any motivation for such criminals to target Tao Xuefeng, especially given their special status as cultivators.

As his mind raced, he immediately thought of grim scenarios causing him to feel guilt. 'Did I accidentally reveal any of my secrets? Did someone other then Bing Meifeng see me at Lake Taihu and are trying to people close to me to blackmail me?' He thought, however he quickly threw this thought away as this shouldn't have had anything to do with ransacking their apartment. 'It seems that they were looking for something...' He concluded. 'Since they are cultivators then it must be related to the water he had infused with a single grain of colossal Armageddon crocodile salt.. In the end it's all my fault' He thought with a guilty conscience.

Sending his thoughts and seeing that Tie Zhu had pieced together the details Wang Yazhu used this as an opportunity to further rub salt in his wound "Finally figured it out? At least your not completely braindead. Of course it's your fault, greed has a way of distorting one's priorities, leading them down a path of darkness where even the most despicable actions are justifiable. Especially with the world of cultivation, where power is everything and many to forsake their morality and embrace the depths of depravity, all in the name of achieving greatness". Wang Yazhu mocked while trying to end the sentence sounding like a wise scholar. In fact the main reason he spoke like this was to hammer in his next point.

"Some people will do almost anything for even a hint of cultivation resources... so you better stop handing out my treasures like they are candy? Got it?!" Wang Yazhu demanded. In fact, this issue had been on his nerves ever since Tie Zhu had first gained access to his spatial stone. At first he was not too bothered as the amount of resources required to reach the Divide Unity stage should not be too high, and would barely make a dent in his vast fortune. However opinion changed quickly after observing that Tie Zhu's Dantian and beast core were like bottomless pits, mercilessly sucking away his hard earned resources with barely making any progress. Every time he watched the luster of a spirit stone die out and crumble to dust was like a arrow piercing his heart as he counted down the remaining spirit stones in his proud collection. On top of that Tie Zhu even had the audacity to use his food collection to cook for strangers!

At Tie Zhu's rate of theft he wondered if there would even be anything left in his collection by the time he was free. 'My poor spirit stones, you were supposed to be used by me... Surely the Spatial Stone wont be empty by the time he has reached the rank of Divine Unity...' He thought with fear.

Hearing Wang Yazhu's demand, Tie Zhu had to acknowledge that what he said did make sense, so without bothering to argue any further he shifted the topic on how to rescue Tao Xuefeng. "Okay fine, I'll be more careful in the future, right now we need to rescue Tao Xuefeng, what is the situation inside like? How many people can you notice and how powerful are they?" He asked.

"There strongest member is currently at the 4th step of the Qi condensation realm, two others are at the 7th and 8th step of Qi Gathering respectively. There are a few others in the lower stages of Qi Gathering on top of twelve ordinary guards without any cultivation base." Wang Yazhu replied seeing that Tie Zhu did not argue with him. "With your cultivation it may be a bit tricky to rescue her, are you sure you don't want to just leave?" He suggested as his life was tied directly with Tie Zhu.

"No way! Do you have any other plan instead? You're the expert here!" replied after hearing his suggestion which he immediately rejected it as the main reason she was even in this predicament was because of him. As this was the first time in his life that Tie Zhu was confronted with such a scenario he would be lying to himself he he said he was not nervous at all. Knowing that he was risking his life, he and Wang Yazhu seriously discussed and created a rough plan on how to rescue Tao Xuefeng.

With everything set, Tie Zhu crouched behind a tall hedge, his eyes fixed on the sprawling mansion in front of him. It was a large, imposing structure, surrounded by lush gardens and towering trees. The moon was high in the sky, casting a pale light over the grounds.

As he watched, Tie Zhu noticed several figures moving around inside the mansion. As he drew nearer to the mansion, Tie Zhu heard voices. There were several people in a large room, and they were questioning someone. The voice sounded familiar, and Tie Zhu's heart sank as he realized it belonged to Tao Xuefeng.

Tie Zhu's tightened his fists as he heard the criminals demanding that Tao Xuefeng reveal how she had come across the secret tonic. The anger he felt at the thought of these criminals hurting an innocent woman was palpable. His heart raced with the knowledge that time was of the essence. He couldn't afford to be discovered by the ruthless criminals who held Tao Xuefeng captive below. Every step had to be taken with care, every movement calculated to ensure that he remained undetected.

With a deep breath, Tie Zhu summoned his enhanced agility and propelled himself up to an overhead balcony. The smooth stone under his feet was cold and damp. The light from a nearby window spilled out onto the balcony, casting a pale glow on his face.

He surveyed the area below, the room where Tao Xuefeng was being held captive. He could hear the muffled voices of the criminals, their whispers punctuated by the occasional shout. Tie Zhu's jaw clenched in determination. He couldn't let them hurt her.

Without hesitation, Tie Zhu slipped through the opened window on the second floor, his movements smooth and fluid. The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from a single lamp on a nearby table.