A Fallback Plan

Seeing the crowd on the Great Stone Bridge growing thicker, Lu Yang suggested they leave the area first and find somewhere secluded. The four arrived in a quiet, wooded mountain area. Lu Yang pulled out the map of Yanjiang Commandery, marked with the Reverse Lifespan Formation's nodes they had deduced earlier. "The nodes of the Reverse Lifespan Formation should still be in the same locations as before. But before we proceed, I want to confirm something. Lan Ting, when you said it requires a blood sacrifice, does that mean slaughtering people at the nodes, or using the essence blood of cultivators as offerings to activate the grand formation?" Lan Ting did not quite understand what he was driving at. "Either method works, though people usually opt for the former. Killing mortals is easy enough, whereas depleting too much cultivator essence blood damages one's cultivation and harms future progress." Lu Yang grew thoughtful. "Then whoever laid out this formation will almost certainly use the second method." The other three were puzzled. The person setting up the formation was definitely a demonic cultivator. For demonic cultivators, slaughtering people was naturally far more convenient than sacrificing essence blood. "Who do you think has the means to conceal the Reverse Lifespan Formation inside pennants, finish setting it up in a single night, and use nighttime as cover so no one suspects anything even if people get drowsy?" Meng Jingzhou reacted instantly. "Someone in officialdom—and someone holding substantial power!" Lu Yang nodded. "Exactly. To be precise, the commandery governor!" "What!" At these words, Man Gu and Lan Ting blanched in shock. Only Meng Jingzhou had anticipated this, showing little surprise. Back when they first entered Yanjiang Commandery, he had pointed out that collusion between local authorities and demonic paths was hardly uncommon. "Last night, I overheard local officials saying that Commandery Governor Li personally supervised the planting of those pennants, demanding that their placements be exact." "Why would something like that require the personal attention of a commandery governor? Claiming he was just meticulous and devoted to the public good is far too flimsy!" "This can only mean Commandery Governor Li used the pennants to arrange this commandery-wide Reverse Lifespan Formation!" Enlightenment dawned upon Man Gu, who found the world to be truly dark and corrupt. "So the undercover mole the branch planted in Yanjiang Commandery is Commandery Governor Li? Given his cultivation and status, wouldn't calling it a partnership be more accurate?" Lu Yang shook his head. "Not a mole, and not a partner. I suspect Branch Master Chu and Commandery Governor Li are the very same person!" "I don't have direct proof, only two suspicious points." "First, whenever Branch Master Chu summons us, it is always at night. I asked other deacons about this, and they told me other branch halls aren't like that." "Second, Branch Master Chu and Commandery Governor Li are both due for a promotion, and the timing is practically identical." Man Gu gasped. The world was even darker than he had imagined. If Branch Master Chu and Commandery Governor Li were the same person, wasn't he playing both the righteous and demonic sides? "Of course, they might still be two different people—these are just deductions. But in either case, the method used to activate the Reverse Lifespan Formation will never be slaughtering mortals!" Man Gu still had not wrapped his head around it, so Meng Jingzhou explained, "Commandery Governor Li is up for promotion. If a horrific mass murder takes place during the Spring-Plucking Festival, how could he expect to be promoted? Even if he pulled strings with higher-ups, they couldn't promote him so blatantly under such scrutiny." "Furthermore, with a commandery governor's status, how hard would it be to obtain cultivator essence blood? He could just pull a few cultivators from the dungeons." Lan Ting still had some questions. "Both Commandery Governor Li and Yi Zhanghong set up the Reverse Lifespan Formation. Is that a coincidence, or is there a connection?" "I believe there is a huge connection." Having figured out the relationship between Branch Master Chu and Commandery Governor Li, Lu Yang saw many things in a new light. "Setting aside how capturing three Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators boosts Commandery Governor Li's administrative record—if the branch hall didn't exist, a small commandery would only have around that many Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators to begin with. That effectively equates to wiping out the demonic leadership of an entire commandery." "Once the Reverse Lifespan Formation is activated, nothing may seem amiss on the surface, but given enough time, someone is bound to notice the anomalies." "If Yi Zhanghong hadn't come first, the authorities would vigorously hunt down the culprit. When that happened, both the Yanjiang Branch and Commandery Governor Li would risk exposure." "Commandery Governor Li arranged Yi Zhanghong very cleverly." "With Yi Zhanghong setting up a Reverse Lifespan Formation beforehand, even if Commandery Governor Li activates his own and siphons the mortals' lifespans, the authorities will only focus on Yi Zhanghong." Man Gu was surprised. "But Yi Zhanghong didn't succeed in setting it up." Lu Yang sneered. "Failing to set it up is just Yi Zhanghong's side of the story. Maybe he actually did activate the formation, but botching the operation meant it only drained lifespans without boosting his cultivation. Such an outcome is entirely possible; after all, it was an unfamiliar formation, and unexpected mishaps happen all the time." Man Gu still could not understand. "Then Yi Zhanghong's two accomplices could also attest that it wasn't successfully deployed." Lu Yang said, "Accomplices? Since when do demonic cultivators have real accomplices? They all use one another. It would be entirely normal for Yi Zhanghong to withhold the truth from them." "With such a convenient scapegoat, who else would they suspect if not Yi Zhanghong?" "Besides, Yi Zhanghong has committed countless crimes and is certain to receive the death penalty. By the time the authorities discover that the Reverse Lifespan Formation was ever activated, Yi Zhanghong might have already been executed." "With a target like Yi Zhanghong drawing fire, who would ever suspect Commandery Governor Li?" Meng Jingzhou and Lan Ting nodded repeatedly, convinced by Lu Yang's analysis. Lu Yang asked again, "Also, are there seven nodes that require a blood sacrifice?" Lan Ting gave Lu Yang an astonished look and nodded, wondering how he could have known when he claimed to understand nothing about formations. "When I left yesterday, I ran into seven deacons hastily summoned by Branch Master Chu. They must have been given an assignment, and my guess is he sent them to wait at the formation nodes with essence blood in hand." "How about this: tell us more about the Reverse Lifespan Formation." Lan Ting did not refuse. She circled seven points on the map of Yanjiang Commandery. "These seven locations are the critical nodes for activation, all near scenic spots in Yanjiang Commandery. The formation eye is at... the mountainside of Mount Song!" To make a breakthrough using the Reverse Lifespan Formation, one would naturally choose a secluded location. "Let's pull out some of the Reverse Lifespan Talismans first to stop the formation from activating. But doing that will very likely draw Branch Master Chu's attention. Rather than waiting for him to come knocking, we might as well lay an ambush beforehand and catch him off guard," Lu Yang said. It was precisely because Lu Yang worried a battle against Branch Master Chu might occur that he had avoided recording any of their fighting methods in the image-recording orb. The three felt troubled. When the time came, it would be a fight to the death, and Branch Master Chu was at the late Golden Core stage—an exceptionally difficult opponent to handle. "Would reporting it to the authorities work? We could tell Fang Qingyun about this," Man Gu suggested. Lu Yang shook his head. "Once Fang Qingyun learns about the formation on the pennants, he will certainly suspect Commandery Governor Li. If Commandery Governor Li gets captured, our identities as demonic cultists will be exposed as well." Lan Ting hesitated. "With just the four of us against a late Golden Core cultivator, I'm afraid finishing him off will be nearly impossible." Lu Yang, however, looked confident. "No need to worry. We'll make thorough preparations. If we truly run out of options when the time comes, I still have a fallback plan." "What is it?" "The Eldest Senior Sister Imitation Fist!" Upon hearing this, Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu visibly paled. Lan Ting noticed the drastic change in their expressions and asked, utterly bewildered, "What is the Eldest Senior Sister Imitation Fist?" "It's the ultimate technique of the Lu Clan Imitation Fist!" Lu Yang declared with immense confidence. Lan Ting nodded, only half-understanding.