CHAPTER 101: NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK

"This Formless Divine Jade came from our Enforcement Altar thirty-seven thousand years ago," Bei Mingxin continued.

Yin Shengong's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

This was a secret of the main church, and he didn't understand why Bei Mingxin felt the need to tell him this.

Why does he need my help? Couldn't he have gone to Ren Zhongyuan instead?

"What do you need me to do, Master Bei?"

"You're aware that in the wake of the shift in space, many divine materials fell out of the sky, right?"

"I am. Even now, there are still occasionally such materials falling from the heavens."

"Well, what you most likely don't know is that Formless Divine Jade is among those materials. This type of jade is a high-tier divine material that is completely devoid of attributes and can be used by anyone. At the time, we didn't possess the fortune of the heavens nor the fortune of a nation, so these materials had always been worshipped on the main altar to harness the fortune of the world.

“The one that we're trying to resurrect later came into possession with a piece of Formless Divine Jade, and that was the beginning of his meteoric rise. However, in the wake of his failed resurrection and the demise of his divine avatar, his consciousness has completely faded. As a result, the Formless Divine Jade, which was previously connected to his spirit sense, became an ownerless object.

“In the instant that the divine avatar was destroyed, the Formless Divine Jade teleported haphazardly to an unknown location. We were tasked with finding it as that piece of Formless Divine Jade was once in the possession of our Enforcement Altar, but it's already been thirty-seven thousand years, and we barely have any connection to it left.

“We drew upon the divine power in our Enforcement Altar to aid us in our search, but even then, we were only able to determine an approximate location."

"Is it here?" Yin Shengong asked.

"That's right, it's within 1,500 kilometers of the White Cloud Prefecture," Bei Mingxin replied with a wry smile.

"How big is it?"

"About the size of a finger."

"Is there any way to ascertain its precise location?"

"No. I wouldn't have come to you if we could do that."

Yin Shengong didn't know what to say.

Searching for a finger-sized object within 1,500 kilometers of the White Cloud Prefecture was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack, a haystack the size of an entire barnyard, at that!

Furthermore, it was impossible to tell whether the object in question was on the surface or underground.

Bei Mingxin didn't blame Yin Shengong for his hapless reaction.

He was aware of just how difficult this task was, and on top of that, there were some clear tensions between his nephew-disciple and Yin Shengong.

If he hadn't coincidentally come to visit on this day, the situation would've most likely escalated into a full-blown conflict, so this was certainly not ideal timing.

He needed Yin Shengong's help, yet he was also Ren Zhongyuan's backer, thereby placing him in a very awkward situation.

On the surface, Yin Shengong was looking very troubled and concerned, but internally, he was ecstatic!

This is like a blessing from the heavens! Setting aside whether I can find the thing or not, just the fact that you need my help is something that I can exploit for at least a few months!

On the surface, Yin Shengong was looking quite troubled, but internally, he was already thinking about how he was going to eliminate Ren Zhongyuan and his supporters.

Bei Mingxin had reassured him that he wouldn't be targeted by them, but he certainly wasn't just going to believe them.

He had expressed his full trust in Bei Mingxin, but in reality, he was even more cautious and alert than prior to Bei Mingxin's visit!

In his mind, Ren Zhongyuan had to die, but not before the Parasite Ascension Project.

Having said that, the people under him had to be picked off one by one.

"What do you need us to do, Master Bei?"

"According to my knowledge, the divine avatar possessed a new student of White Cloud Warrior Academy during the course of the entrance trials. Given how little time has passed since then, that new student definitely wouldn't have been entitled to go on missions, so in all likelihood, the avatar was destroyed in the academy, and that must've been the time when the piece of Formless Divine Jade was teleported away.

“Hence, it could be anywhere in the White Cloud Prefecture."

Yin Shengong nodded in response.

"One thing to keep in mind is that the divine avatar was killed, so when searching for the Formless Divine Jade, no high-level killing intent can be displayed. Otherwise, the jade will teleport away once again on its own!"

Yin Shengong became even more troubled upon hearing this.

"How are we supposed to find this thing?"

"I don't know," Bei Mingxin replied with a resigned shrug.

"Do we at least know what the jade looks like?"

"I can't tell you. No one knows!"

Yin Shengong: "......"

"This is why I need your help, Pope Yin," Bei Mingxin said with a wry smile.

Yin Shengong hurriedly shook his head as he said, "You're not here for my help, Master Bei, you're here to assign me an impossible task! There's no way to detect it, we don't know where it is, we don't know what it looks like, and it could be anywhere within a radius of 1,500 kilometers of the White Cloud Prefecture!

“Surely I don't need to tell you how massive an area that is, Master Bei! Even if it's searching for a needle in a haystack, at least we know what a needle looks like!"[1]

Bei Mingxin didn't know what to say.

He wouldn't have come to Yin Shengong if he had any other choice in the matter.

However, he was under strict orders from the main church, leaving him with no alternatives.

"In any case, we have to try our best. Everyone knows that you possess immense influence over the White Cloud Prefecture, and you also have undercover agents in high-up places, so surely it won't be difficult for you."

"My White Cloud Prefecture branch helm was just eradicated by White Cloud Warrior Academy and the Hall of Protectionists! That's the whole reason why Ren Zhongyuan came to me just now!"

"......"

Once again, Bei Mingxin was left scratching his head.

The timing couldn't have been any less ideal.

"But all of the shops under the branch helm still remain intact, Bei Mingxin said. "This is a huge mission, and if you can find it, the main church will be sure to give you a massive reward! The Formless Divine Jade must be recovered as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it's found by someone else and fused with their spirit sense, then it'll be impossible to recover!"

"I can only say that I'll do everything in my power to find it, but I can't make any promises beyond that," Yin Shengong said. "On top of that, the Night Demon Church, the Church of Light, the Three Saints Church, and the Divine Heavenly Church should also help out."

"I've already gone to those four churches, yours is the final one," Bei Mingxin sighed.

He had only resorted to turning to Yin Shengong because those other four churches were unable to fulfill his orders!

Furthermore, Yin Shengong's influence in the White Cloud Prefecture was unmatched, so he was the prime candidate for the job anyway.

"Alright, I'll do my best," Yin Shengong agreed. "In exchange, I only have one request."

"What is it?"

Bei Mingxin already knew what Yin Shengong was going to ask of him.

"If an internal conflict arises in our One Heart Church in the future, I hope you'll remain unbiased, Master Bei," Yin Shengong said.

"I'll be grateful as long as you spare Ren Zhongyuan's life," Bei Mingxin declared.

***

"Elder Mu, relay my orders."

With that, every member of the One Heart Church in and around the White Cloud Prefecture collectively received the same order to collect finger-sized pieces of natural jade.

At the same time, he contacted the undercover agents in the White Cloud Warrior Academy,, instructing them to keep an eye out for pieces of jade of this description in the academy.

"We'll have to trouble you to examine the jade that's collected, Master Bei."

"Of course," Bei Mingxin said in a dismayed manner. "I'm the Enforcement Altar Master, and my seal is the only thing that can be used to identify the jade. That's the reason why I've had to personally come here."

"A lot of our people are most likely going to be exposed," Yin Shengong sighed.

"It's fine, the Protectionists may not catch on."

"Do you really think that, Master Bei? Or do you simply not want to admit that you owe me this favor?" Yin Shengong chuckled.

"You're right, I misspoke," Bei Mingxin sighed.

"For the sake of the main church, our One Heart Church will have to make some sacrifices," Yin Shengong said in a grim manner.

Despite his forlorn display, he didn't feel anything internally.

The order had been sent out to all of the shops under the recently eradicated White Cloud Prefecture branch helm, so Yin Shengong hardly cared even if all of these people died.

Night Demon had expressed a desire to keep them around, but certainly wasn't going to go out of his way to keep them safe just for Night Demon's sake.

Not only will I be able to get rid of all of these people using the Protectionists, Bei Mingxin will also be owing me a huge favor! This is perfect!

***

Fang Che also received this order, and he had no idea what to make of it.

1. For reference, a circle with a radius of 1,500 kilometers works out to an area of roughly seven million square kilometers. According to Google, the area of Australia is 7.68 million square kilometers. ☜