Chapitre 1097: Best laid plans (2)

According to the report, it turned out that the pavilion master of the Banyan Treasure Vein Pavilion had falsified several details about himself, including his condition. He had more years to live than he let on. The fictitious age he had "let slip," ensuring it would reach his competitors, was bait designed to expose any infiltrators within his organization.

While the Banyan Treasure Vein Pavilion was not as strong as the Gold Earth Bank, it was far from weak. If it had been an easy opponent, the Gold Earth Bank would not have resorted to a strategy of subterfuge spanning thousands of years to absorb it. The fact that they did so showed their wariness of the pavilion's strength and the potential costs of a direct confrontation.

Despite their careful preparations, the Gold Earth Bank underestimated the pavilion master. They failed to account for the cunning of a powerful, long-lived cultivator, who just like them, was also a seasoned merchant.