Schemes

While Zhao Yan was wholly engrossed in harvesting the mysterious orchid with his back turned to them, Ruan Nanfeng quietly cast a restriction and sent a voice transmission: "Keep your expressions neutral, all of you. Are you truly content to let Zhao Yan push us around like this?" The others exchanged glances. The only woman among them, surnamed Cen, asked suspiciously, "Junior Brother Ruan, what do you mean by that? The Heart-Devouring Insect is lurking right inside our origin souls. The moment he wills it, we die. What else can we do except obey?" "There may not be much we can do, but I refuse to sit and wait for death." Ruan Nanfeng sneered. "That man surnamed Yu claimed he had safely escorted Junior Sister Wu and the others out of the Kuiyin Sect, but I doubt it. Rather than going through the trouble of sending them away, it would be far easier to kill them and erase their corpses to keep things quiet. If we hadn't had the good fortune to break through to the eighth layer and still be of use to him, who knows whether we'd even be alive right now? Senior Sister Cen, do you really want to gamble on a devil's conscience?" Senior Sister Cen fell silent, then turned to the quiet young man beside her. "Senior Brother Liu, do you think the same?" The young man surnamed Liu gave a soft hum of agreement and sighed. "I also have my doubts about what happened to the others. Countless dead souls linger in the Yin Baleful Abyss; to the Kuiyin Sect, having a few more or a few less of us makes no difference. Once Zhao Yan secures the spirit herb, he still has to find a way to escape the Yuanzhao Sect. Would he really be willing to drag deadweights like us along and let us share the credit? As for those promises about what happens after the deed is done, don't take them seriously..." "Still..." Senior Sister Cen remained hesitant. "Unless we can kill Zhao Yan in an instant, the moment he has enough time to form a thought, he can awaken the Heart-Devouring Insect in our origin souls. We would die just the same..." Qin Sang, who had been watching cold and detached from the side, suddenly spoke up. "I have a magic tool called the Purple Soul Bell. It can bewilder Zhao Yan's mind. But his cultivation is higher than mine, so it can only hold him for less than two breaths." Qin Sang had long harbored thoughts of striking at Zhao Yan, but Zhao Yan had kept close to them the entire time, leaving him no opportunity to prepare the Soul-Bewildering Mirror or the ebony sword. As for secretly joining forces with Ruan Nanfeng and the others, Qin Sang had considered it before, but ultimately abandoned the idea. For one, they had never had an opportunity to confer; attempting a voice transmission right under Zhao Yan's nose would surely have been discovered. Furthermore, none of them could break free from the control of the Heart-Devouring Insect. Qin Sang could not be certain they possessed the courage to rebel. If they still harbored illusions about the Kuiyin Sect and exposed him to protect themselves, the cost would far outweigh any gain. Now that they had brought it up on their own, Qin Sang was naturally glad to cooperate. Ruan Nanfeng was overjoyed. "As long as you give me the chance to unleash my Golden Crow Hammer, two breaths is more than enough! Senior Brother Liu, Senior Sister Cen, you must have offensive magic tools as well, right? When the time comes, if all three of our magic tools strike at once, we will definitely finish Zhao Yan off in an instant!" Senior Brother Liu could hardly conceal the delight in his voice either. "My top-grade magic tool happens to be the Soul-Devouring Spear, and Junior Sister Cen possesses a high-grade spirit sword. The moment we leave the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation, Junior Brother Qin will immediately activate the Purple Soul Bell so Zhao Yan cannot strike first." Senior Sister Cen was finally swayed. Looking coldly toward Zhao Yan, who was busy in the pool, she said in an icy tone, "Then this humble woman will take a gamble with you brothers. In my view, there is no need to wait until then. To avoid unexpected complications, why not make our move right now? Zhao Yan has expended a great deal of spiritual power to harvest the orchid and is at his weakest right now. That would guarantee our success!" Senior Brother Liu hurriedly dissuaded her. "No! The Four Clouds Divine Restriction requires five people to operate. We still rely on him to get past the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation. We cannot touch him yet." Ruan Nanfeng grinned sinisterly, his eyes fixed on the orchid being drawn out inch by inch. "Senior Brother Liu is right. We have been ordered around by those devils for so long, living on tenterhooks every day. How could we not collect some interest? Let us wait until he pulls the orchid out. Once the four of us eliminate him, we can divide the orchid equally. An immortal herb coveted by Core Formation cultivators—even if we cannot use it ourselves, trading it for a few Foundation Establishment Pills should hardly be difficult, right? The Yuanzhao Sect has two Golden Cores holding the fort. If they fight desperately, even if their sect-protecting grand formation is breached, they will not be swallowed up so easily. We can take advantage of the chaos to flee far away. If you are willing to come with me, an elder in my clan is about to form his core. Once he returns from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, he will certainly be able to help us remove the Heart-Devouring Insects." At these words, a feverish light shone in the eyes of both Senior Brother Liu and Senior Sister Cen. Catching sight of their expressions, Qin Sang grew secretly wary. He made up his mind that once he managed to get free, he would never travel with them. The four discussed a few more details. Seeing that Zhao Yan was on the verge of claiming the orchid, they promptly fell silent and acted as if nothing had happened. The mysterious orchid was gripped firmly by Zhao Yan. No matter how it struggled, it could not break free. The moment its roots left the water, it abruptly ceased all movement. The misty phantoms upon its pistil dispersed along with it, turning into an inert object. Yet Zhao Yan was unperturbed by this. Instead, sheer delight showed on his face. Eagerly pouring in more spiritual power, he directed the remaining thunder power within the transparent jade, unleashing several divine thunders in succession to tear open a massive fissure. In one swift motion, he seized the orchid. Zhao Yan burst into laughter, holding the mysterious orchid up to his face to examine it closely, looking almost mad with glee. Yet what neither Qin Sang nor the others could see was that in the eyes of Zhao Yan, whose back was turned to them, there was not the slightest trace of madness. Instead, they were chillingly cold, and an eerie smirk curled upon his lips. The very next moment, shrill screams suddenly pierced the cavern, followed by several dull thuds. Zhao Yan waved his hand, and the four cloud banners whooshed back into his palm. Slowly turning around, he said with utmost triumph, "Did you truly believe I had no idea what you were scheming? I alone can operate the Four Clouds Divine Restriction! If not for the restriction on this flower being too formidable..." Yet as Zhao Yan took in the scene before him, the smile on his face instantly froze. One, two, three... There were only three corpses! Zhao Yan's face twisted in shock. He had clearly awakened the Heart-Devouring Insects directly, so how could only three people have died? Where was the other one? Could a Heart-Devouring Insect have failed? Before he could think any further, Zhao Yan barked harshly, "Get the hell out here!" The blue cloud banner flashed with light. Clouds abruptly churned within the cavern and thick water vapor billowed outward, outlining Qin Sang's figure amidst the mist. The Cloudfall Wings could only conceal his presence; they could not make him vanish into thin air. Qin Sang had never imagined that having them jointly channel the Four Clouds Divine Restriction to cross the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation had merely been a ruse to blind them. Zhao Yan's true motive had been to harness the power of all four disciples to unleash the restriction's strongest thunder technique and crack the seal upon the mysterious orchid. Before Zhao Yan had even placed the orchid into a jade box, he had immediately formed the thought to awaken the Heart-Devouring Insects. Ruan Nanfeng and the other two had had no means to resist before their origin souls were devoured, ending their lives. At the same time, Zhao Yan had forcibly reclaimed the cloud banners. Taken off guard, Qin Sang had hastily hidden his form. Knowing Zhao Yan had depleted an immense amount of energy to harvest the mysterious orchid, and unsure whether the jade Buddha could shield him from the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation, he had chosen an ambush over flight as the safer course. Even with the concealment of the Cloudfall Wings easily broken, Qin Sang remained unperturbed. In the palm of his hand, the Gui Water Yin Thunder Incantation was already nearing completion!