Living In Another World With A Farm Chapter 8568 8568: Outer clothes _1

The status of the Blood Sea Realm had become rather peculiar. While the exact cause remained shrouded in mystery, the uproar triggered by the Yin Yang Sect's assault, which had dominated conversations not long ago, seemed to have been relegated to the back of everyone's minds. Today, the moniker of the 'Ghostwind bandits,' a name from the past, was back on everyone's lips.

These bandits had been silent for several years, leading many to assume the major sects had wiped them out. Evidently, that was not the case; the Ghostwind bandits were not only active but thriving.

It appeared as though the eight great sects had united with the sole purpose of hunting them down. They had gone as far as dismantling an entire trading firm under the pretext that the Ghostwind bandits held a stake in it—a move that baffled the public. Beyond this destruction, their progress was minimal. Rumors persisted that the bandits’ intelligence gathering was headed by a stout woman, but beyond that, information was scarce.

With everyone transfixed by this hunt, the subtle shifts occurring within the Clear Breeze Trading Company went entirely unnoticed. No one observed that the establishment was quietly rotating its staff. Employees who were present one day would simply vanish by the next, replaced by unfamiliar faces.

Unaffiliated cultivators held no interest in the shifting staff of such a minor enterprise. Any parties who might have scrutinized these changes had already vanished. This period marked the beginning of Zhao Hai’s efforts to purge the Clear Breeze Trading Company. The internal audit proved fruitful, revealing several spies embedded by rival factions. Fortunately, these moles were planted by minor sects that remained ignorant of the firm’s true objective, leaving no critical secrets exposed.

This cleanup was vital for the integrity of the firm, ensuring its continued safety. As the company focused primarily on unaffiliated cultivators and rogue agents, its operations remained beneath the notice of the major sects.

When the great sects realized that breaching this intelligence web yielded no results regarding the Ghostwind bandits, they understood their operation was destined for failure. They had successfully infiltrated the communication lines but failed to identify core members or uncover their hideouts. For elites of their standing, this was a complete collapse of their objectives.

The sects recognized they had accidentally spooked their prey, making future surveillance even more challenging. Fear of reprisals from the bandits loomed over them, leading to widespread anxiety. Lacking solid leads, the campaign was abandoned after a single month.

By the time the Yin Yang Sect realized the ghost shadow group was effectively untraceable, the targets had already retreated and tightened their operations. Disappointed by the lack of results, the Yin Yang Sect grew resentful toward the Yin Ghost Sect, who had instigated the entire affair. Technically, the Yin Yang Sect held no real grudge against the Ghostwind bandits, whereas the Yin Ghost Sect sought them out for retribution.

The Yin Ghost Sect had promised success, yet they had failed to capture a single operative or uncover the bandit leadership. They had prioritized this futile hunt over investigating the attack on the Yin Yang Sect itself, causing further frustration. The Yin Ghost Sect’s behavior sparked deep suspicion in the Yin Yang Sect; they speculated that the Yin Ghost Sect might have even been complicit in the assault on the Tang family. Their aggressive, yet ultimately hollow, efforts seemed suspicious at best.

Although the Yin Yang Sect did not air these grievances publicly, the seed of distrust had been sown. Previously, they had maintained a cooperative relationship based on convenience, but that trust was now permanently fractured. The Yin Yang Sect began monitoring their supposed partners, knowing they could never return to their original, amicable status.

Unable to track the ghost shadow group, the Yin Yang Sect shifted their investigative focus to the Yin Ghost Sect, and subsequently to other major and mid-tier factions. However, these operations were now handled in total secrecy.

With the Yin Yang Sect’s public probe coming to an end, interest in the destruction of the Tang family evaporated across the Blood Sea Realm. Some began to whisper that it was simply an internal power struggle. Gradually, the realm settled into a veneer of normalcy.

Beneath the surface, however, tensions simmered. Major sects remained active, probing for the bandits or the culprits behind the Tang family incident, while simultaneously scrutinizing the connections of various trading firms across the realm.

Because Zhu Yong had acted swiftly to rectify the internal structure of their firm, these investigations proved fruitless. They had removed potential weak links and deconstructed their organization further.

Previously, shops under Zhu Yong’s sphere of influence often carried the 'Qingfeng' prefix—medicine shops, grocery stores, and workshops alike. During the reorganization, these titles were erased. Every shop was renamed with generic, unrelated labels to avoid any association with a singular, centralized power.

Zhu Yong understood that their internal connection was all that mattered; there was no strategic need to advertise their unity through a shared name. By diversifying names and rotating staff, they effectively made each shop appear to be an independent entity managed by common itinerant cultivators approaching their retirement. Given how common such small storefronts were, they blended perfectly into the cityscapes, escaping scrutiny.

The major sects eventually concluded there was nothing suspicious to find, leaving the itinerant entrepreneurs alone. Zhu Yong breathed a sigh of relief, well aware that this intelligence network was the strongest asset held by the Bloody Massacre Sect. To lose it now would be a severe blow to their future operations.

Zhao Hai summoned Laura, the shopkeeper lady, and Chang Jun to finalize matters. Gazing at the group, he stated firmly, 'The nearly compromised state of our intelligence network serves as a warning. To successfully operate under the watch of these sects, we require a public persona with legitimate status. Without that, our network will always be vulnerable.'

The others agreed. The lack of a defensible cover had been their undoing. Had their network been linked to a powerhouse like the Corpse Demon Sect, smaller factions would have never dared to interfere, as they would fear retaliation or simply assume the firm fed into the sector’s supply of battle corpses. A legitimate, intimidating backing was essential.

Zhao Hai added, 'While the heat has died down, surveillance remains. We can rebuild, but our strategy must evolve. We need to start from a more secure foundation.'

He paused before continuing. 'I propose we seek assistance from Brother Zhao Wuji. As a legacy disciple of the Giant Demon Sect, he possesses the cultivation level and reputation required to shield a trading firm under his banner. With his protection as a high-ranking member of one of the nine major sects, interference will become virtually nonexistent.'