Plotting

"Master!" "Master Ye!" Only when the clouds dispersed and the thunder subsided, and the old man landed before them, did the group snap back to their senses and hurry forward to pay their respects. The newcomer was the renowned Venerable Ye of the Dongji Alliance. Deeply trusted by the Dongji Alliance Leader, he was tasked with training the Business Alliance's rising talents. Everyone present, including Su Nü, had received instruction from him and honored him as their master. None noticed another layer of gloom stealing into the depths of Su Nü's eyes. Venerable Ye had actually smuggled himself into this place! Just what was the Business Alliance plotting? With his eyes tightly closed, Venerable Ye retracted his sword light. Then, his aura fluctuated through some unknown secret technique until it turned faint and ethereal, suppressed to a very low level. He had sealed off part of his cultivation. Looking over the group, Venerable Ye frowned. "Why are there only the few of you?" The long-bearded old man stepped forward and replied respectfully, "Reporting to Master, Third Junior Brother was delayed at the Mystic Ice Plain during the second trial. Junior Brother Zuo entered the final trial with us, but for some reason, he has yet to show himself. He may have encountered trouble and ended up trapped..." "To fail even the Mystic Ice Plain—once you leave, don't you dare mention you ever received instruction from this master!" Venerable Ye snorted coldly and said indifferently, "Forget it. Failing even so trivial a test only proves he lacks the fortune! Erase the traces here. We shall go claim the Soul-Washing Liquid first." Venerable Ye spoke in a casual tone, as if the Soul-Washing Liquid were already his for the taking. At these words, everyone froze in surprise before breaking into ecstatic joy. Upon seeing Venerable Ye, their minds had been running wild with conjectures about why he had smuggled himself in. Learning that he actually intended to lead them to seize the Soul-Washing Liquid filled them with boundless delight. Originally, while the group stood a strong chance of securing Soul-Washing Liquid by joining forces, it remained uncertain how many portions they could obtain. The successors of the righteous and demonic paths, along with those from various other factions, were none of them easy to deal with. Securing a portion for every person would have been nearly impossible. Yet with Venerable Ye stepping in, everything changed. A Nascent Soul Patriarch celebrated across the entire Canglang Sea, a venerable elder of the Business Alliance, competing against Core Formation stage cultivators for the Soul-Washing Liquid—would that not be effortless? "Master, did you make this trip specifically to help us fight for the Soul-Washing Liquid?" The seductive woman's large eyes fluttered, unable to conceal her wild excitement, her voice dripping with charming innocence. Venerable Ye chuckled. "Do you know the steep price the Alliance Leader and the Business Alliance paid to send this master inside? Claiming the Soul-Washing Liquid is merely a matter of convenience along the way. With a treasure right before us, how could we not take it? Once we have obtained the liquid, there are far more important matters to attend to." The seductive woman let out a soft gasp, a flicker of worry hidden deep in her eyes. "Master, the Alliance Leader must have sent you to accomplish something monumental. Could there be any danger?" "The most dangerous moment has already passed..." Remembering his harrowing passage through the radiant haze, lingering dread still stirred within Venerable Ye. Not only had the protective treasures prepared by the Business Alliance been completely destroyed, but he had also sustained severe injuries himself. And that was merely at the periphery of the glow; there was no telling how terrifying the true might of the immortal restriction would be. Pausing, Venerable Ye surveyed his surroundings. "It seems the commotion here was considerable! It is inconvenient for me to act freely in this realm, so seizing the Soul-Washing Liquid later will require some careful planning. Let us leave this place first to avoid having our tracks discovered by others." "Yes!" The group swiftly erased their traces and followed Venerable Ye out of the deep ravine, avoiding the eyes and ears of outsiders. Before long, streaks of flying light rushed over in succession. The arriving cultivators stared at the devastated ravine, looking at one another in bewilderment. Finding nothing after a search, they gradually dispersed. *** On a mountain not far from the stone peak. Ming Wei had already arrived. Spotting the mark Qin Sang had left behind, she hurried over to rendezvous with him. Qin Sang stood at the edge of a perched crag, gazing toward the deep ravine with a faint furrow in his brow. When Venerable Ye smuggled himself in, the sky above the Trial Realm had roiled with surging clouds and dense lightning, resembling heavenly retribution descending upon the world. The ferocious beasts throughout the mountains fell into chaos, and the cultivators were struck with panic. The disturbance had been most violent in the direction of the deep ravine. Yet the anomaly had departed as swiftly as it came. Soon, calm returned to the Trial Realm, restoring normal order. Yet for some reason, a faint unease lingered in Qin Sang's heart. "Fellow Daoist Ming Wei, has such an anomaly ever appeared in the Trial Realm before?" Qin Sang turned his head and asked. Standing beside Qin Sang, Ming Wei looked fully energized, having passed this final trial with ease. She gently shook her head and answered with conviction, "Never! More than one senior from our sect has participated in the past. Before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, my master once broke into the Trial Realm and secured a portion of Soul-Washing Liquid. A century ago, one of my senior brothers entered the Inner Hall alone. Though he failed to win any Soul-Washing Liquid, he successfully reached the final trial, and neither of them ever encountered such an anomaly." "Let us hope it has nothing to do with the Soul-Washing Liquid," Qin Sang sighed softly. Ming Wei dismissed the thought. "That place is far removed from where the Soul-Washing Liquid will emerge, so there shouldn't be any connection. We had better focus on how to ensure nothing goes wrong when we move to claim the liquid." Qin Sang nodded and withdrew his gaze. Just earlier, honoring their pact, Ming Wei had shared with him the intelligence regarding the Soul-Washing Liquid and the true function of the Life Talisman. The two had been discussing their plans when the sudden anomaly interrupted them. During this time, Qin Sang had seen several cultivators arrive one after another and enter the stone peak, among whom were disciples of the Tiandao Sect, yet Ning Wuhui was nowhere to be seen. It seemed his only option was to cooperate fully with Ming Wei. A Life Talisman could be activated three times within the Trial Realm. Upon encountering danger, activating the talisman would link with the restrictions of the secret realm to grant protection. Under the talisman's aegis, an opponent would instantly lose track of their target. Unseen and undetectable, completely isolated inside and out—it was as though the user were in an entirely separate world. Within the Trial Realm, where no opponent exceeded the Core Formation stage, none could see through the Life Talisman. Even so, it was not without limitations. Once activated, the user had to remain in place and could go nowhere; if one were trapped in a hazardous environment, it would at best buy some time. Earlier, Ming Wei had used the talisman once to escape peril, leaving her with two uses remaining. As more cultivators gathered, the Soul-Washing Liquid was about to emerge. The Soul-Washing Liquid was not housed within the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. The pavilion stood upon the summit of the stone peak, whereas the liquid was hidden deep within an underground crypt. "The crypt is about to open. Let us make haste," Ming Wei urged, somewhat impatient. The two leaped into the air, flying north of the stone peak. Along the way, they deliberately traveled separately, and Ming Wei changed her attire to avoid drawing unwanted attention for holding a Life Talisman. Deep within the mountain range lay a unique circular crater. Compared to the surrounding peaks, the rim of the crater was not particularly high. Curiously, it gathered a chill black mist found nowhere else; stepping into its vicinity brought a piercing cold that felt as though it seeped from the very depths of one's heart. At this moment, a sparse scattering of figures hovered around the crater. They warily watched one another, occasionally turning their eyes toward the depths of the black mist, their gazes flickering with impatience and fervent anticipation. Among them, two figures stood out above the rest. One wore Daoist robes with a precious sword at his waist, strikingly handsome and extraordinary in bearing. The other wore robes of blood embroidered with a bat baring savage fangs, his face pale to an eerie degree.