Within Dharma Transmitter Zhou's private pocket world, almost everyone was a solitary survivor whose clan had been slaughtered down to the last person. Those like You Chisong, whose families remained alive and well, were exceedingly rare.
Although they understood You Chisong's background and knew he reportedly wished nothing more than to drag his entire family to the grave with him, the lives and safety of everyone were at stake. Dharma Transmitter Zhou's followers still harbored a degree of wariness toward him.
This vigilance included, but was not limited to, keeping someone watching him at all times and never leaving him by himself. You Chisong did not know the secret technique to open the passage to the private pocket world, so whenever he entered or left, someone accompanied him. He was barred from participating in crucial missions and assigned only the most trivial, inconsequential tasks to start...
Even when subjected to such discriminatory treatment, You Chisong never uttered a single complaint.
He remained diligent, conscientious, and bore all hardships without a grumble.
Everyone witnessed his performance, and gradually, their attitude toward him softened.
On this day, he finally had the chance to participate in one of the organization's real operations.
"Our objective this time is to infiltrate the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' Nether Prison and rescue a senior figure suppressed at the very bottom."
"This senior was also once one of the Dharma Transmitters. However, due to his upright and unyielding character, he offended many of his peers. Five hundred years ago, when Senior Zhou left the Council of Dharma Transmitters, rivals seized the chance to move against him, casting him into the Nether Prison."
"The Alliance's Nether Prison is located in a spatial rift within the four central provinces. It holds the most vicious and heinous criminals throughout the history of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Often, for specific reasons, they still possess value to the Alliance, so they were not executed, but merely suppressed and kept under guard."
"The Nether Prison is heavily guarded, but Senior Zhou has already arranged an inside contact. We need only disguise ourselves as cultivators from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters, present a transfer order, and escort the target out."
"With many functions of the Heavenly Profound Mirror impaired, communications between the Nether Prison and Alliance headquarters have also been disrupted. We must seize this rare opportunity before a new verification method is established."
...
When the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals escorted prisoners from the Nether Prison for questioning, they typically deployed three ten-man squads marching together in formation.
Selected as an operative for this mission, You Chisong was taught the key nuances of the disguise, as well as the authentic escort formation.
After more than half a day, their performance was thoroughly convincing.
"Circumstances inside the Nether Prison are peculiar. It is inconvenient for Senior Zhou to go herself, so this mission rests entirely in our hands."
"The mission is perilous, with a real risk of failure. Everyone must be prepared to sacrifice their lives at any moment. If things accidentally go awry, to prevent soul searching, everyone must immediately release the restrictions in their divine souls. Better to have body and soul completely destroyed than allow the Alliance to gain a single shred of information!"
"If anyone is wavering or unwilling, you may back out now."
A long moment passed, and no one spoke.
And so, the plan was tentatively set.
Once the mission began, they would depart the pocket world. They would carry nothing bearing personal identifiers, which would cause Li Fan to lose his sense of the group.
However, right when he first began eavesdropping, Li Fan had slipped into the You clan and stolen a drop of You Chisong's natal essence blood.
Relying on this bloodline resonance, Li Fan was still able to vaguely pinpoint You Chisong's position.
He trailed behind them silently.
The thirty-man squad of cultivators were all clad in black robes exceedingly familiar to Li Fan. Even the aura radiating from them was just as icy and ruthless as that of the Alliance's orthodox black-robed cultivators.
'Dharma Transmitter Zhou truly has some tricks up her sleeve.'
Following them the entire way, he arrived above a deep canyon at the border of the Alliance's four central provinces.
White clouds swirled, obscuring the bottom of the gorge.
The lead black-robed cultivator produced a jade seal that cast a beam of white light down into the canyon.
The sea of clouds parted down the middle, and without a moment's hesitation, the squad filed inside in single file.
Li Fan did not follow them in, choosing instead to watch from afar.
From deep within the canyon—from the so-called Nether Prison—Li Fan faintly sensed a hint of danger.
His goal was not to bust any prison. He needed only to wait outside for them to complete their task.
The mission seemed to proceed remarkably smoothly.
Less than half a day later, the closed sea of clouds parted once more.
The thirty-man squad flew out of the clouds, encircling a white-haired old man locked in their midst.
At first, everything appeared relatively normal.
Then, their flight grew faster and faster.
"As soon as we leave the rift's area of influence, open the pocket world passage immediately!" the lead black-robed cultivator transmitted, struggling to suppress his inner excitement.
Yet the white-haired Dharma Transmitter they had rescued showed no sign of emotional reaction to gaining his freedom.
He merely kept his eyes shut, completely indifferent to his surroundings.
In such an urgent situation, the group had no time to explain anything, focusing solely on racing away with the elder in tow.
When they finally retreated to a safe area, they prepared to cast the spell to open the passage to the pocket world.
"Who's there?"
Just then, the lead cultivator snapped his gaze toward Li Fan's position and bellowed.
At the same time, a streak of white sword light erupted, instantly slashing toward Li Fan.
His companions reacted in unison. Without holding back in the slightest, brilliant light and aura surged as all manner of spells and techniques bombarded Li Fan.
Yet to their horror, every single attack was like a clay ox plunging into the sea, absorbed and vanishing without a trace the moment it neared the enemy.
It didn't kick up so much as a ripple.
"Just who are you, sir?" the lead black-robed cultivator asked, his expression solemn.
Li Fan slowly revealed himself, paying him no heed.
Instead, he looked directly at the white-haired elder and said in a clear voice, "Senior, do not be deceived by these people. They are pretending to be under Dharma Transmitter Zhou, putting on this show to rescue you from the Nether Prison solely to trick you into trusting them.
"The real Dharma Transmitter Zhou is already dead!"
Hearing Li Fan's words, the dozens of cultivators escorting the white-haired elder shuddered violently.
Their disguised aura of icy discipline crumbled, replaced by panicked disarray.
"You..." The lead cultivator could hardly conceal his shock.
Yet he quickly regained his senses and hurried to explain to the elder.
"Senior, do not be misled by this person! I have Senior Zhou's token right here!" As he spoke, he produced a red cord knot to prove his identity.
Faced with the standoff between these two supposedly opposing sides, the white-haired elder, who had merely watched the spectacle unfold, finally opened his eyes.
He first glanced at the red knot and gave a cold snort. "What token...?
"This isn't the first time you've used such clumsy tricks. Did you think I would fall for it?
"If Zhou truly instructed you, why did she not come in person?"
Never expecting the elder to view it this way, the lead black-robed cultivator was struck dumb.
The white-haired elder then looked Li Fan up and down before slowly shaking his head. "You, lad—you do not look like a virtuous sort.
"Zhou would never accept someone like you as a subordinate..."
The elder fell into thought. "Are both sides fakes?"
Chapter 1052