“The Seven Realms Stone is indeed a top-tier escape treasure,” Mo Wuji, sitting on the Seven Realms Stone, couldn’t help but sigh.
“Are you alright? Your law aura seems to be collapsing,” Lan Xiaobu asked.
Mo Wuji smiled, “I calculated it well. Those three can only heavily injure me, nothing more. But they’d never expect I could recover so quickly. My law aura is collapsing now to lure them into chasing us. If we fought in the City of Eternal Life, the commotion would be too great and might accidentally kill many people.”
For Mo Wuji, with his Vitality Network, as long as there was even a sliver of life—or even if there was none—he could come back to life. What’s more, now he was only suffering from a damaged law foundation.
“Did the Eternal Life Saint leave a law trace on you?” Lan Xiaobu asked, puzzled.
Mo Wuji nodded, “Yes, and I let him leave it. Otherwise, I could remove it with a single thought. A guy who cultivates some unknown path—his so-called Creation Great Path, I wouldn’t take it even if it was offered to me. Yet he thinks he can leave a tracking law trace on me. In his mind, it’d probably take me at least a day to remove it, and my injuries wouldn’t heal in the short term either.”
“Then I’ll pick a spot,” Lan Xiaobu laughed heartily, urging the Seven Realms Stone to speed up.
He understood Mo Wuji’s intent: the two of them would choose a location, set up an inescapable trap, and wait for the three Creation Saints to chase them. Then, they could deal with them once and for all.
Half an hour later, Lan Xiaobu stopped. They chose a desolate plain and began setting up various trapping and killing arrays.
The Cosmic Mill and the Wheel of Time were both embedded into the arrays by Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu. As for the Eternal Life Saint’s law trace, Mo Wuji stripped it off and placed it within a concealed protective array. The two positioned themselves on either side of the killing array’s perimeter, waiting for the Eternal Life Saint and his companions to walk into their trap.
Unfortunately, their plan was doomed to fail. After waiting an entire day, there was no sign of the Eternal Life Saint or the others. Lan Xiaobu was unaware that Qi Manwei had inadvertently saved the three. If she hadn’t followed them, causing the Eternal Life Saint and the Reflective Path Saint to lose their resolve to pursue Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu, the trio would have already fallen into their ambush.
“They’re not coming,” Mo Wuji said, disappointed, as he emerged from his hiding spot.
Lan Xiaobu also stepped out, sighing, “I never would’ve thought those guys would get clever and suspect we might be plotting against them. They didn’t even have the guts to chase us. If they had, I guarantee the Eternal Life Saint wouldn’t have been able to summon his Vast Bell.”
In truth, if it weren’t for the Vast Bell, they wouldn’t have been chased so desperately. They had chosen the City of Eternal Life as the place to prove their Derivation Realm for a reason—they had calculated that even if several Creation Saints attacked together, they wouldn’t be able to defeat them.
But no matter how much they planned, they hadn’t anticipated that the Eternal Life Saint possessed something like the Vast Bell.
“Maybe something happened along the way. Since the Eternal Life Saint isn’t coming, let him live a bit longer. Let’s head to the Burial Path Great Plain and step into the Derivation Realm there,” Mo Wuji said.
“No, if they’re not coming after us, we can’t just let them off. I’m sticking to my original plan: go to Guanyun and take out the Reflective Path Saint. That guy always gives me a bad feeling. Since that’s the case, let’s deal with him first,” Lan Xiaobu replied.
“Alright, no need to wait. Let’s go now. It’s only polite to return the favour. He messed with our protective array, so we’ll go mess with his,” Mo Wuji said. For him, even after reaching the Derivation Realm, they’d still need to deal with the Reflective Path Saint. Doing it now might reduce future threats.
Moreover, the Reflective Path Saint would never expect that he and Lan Xiaobu would double back and set up an ambush at his lair.
“Let’s go. My Seven Realms Stone might even reach Guanyun before the Reflective Path Saint,” Lan Xiaobu said, summoning the Seven Realms Stone.
Mo Wuji landed on the Seven Realms Stone and casually took out a large hammer, saying, “This is the Immortal Hammer. I’ve locked it with my laws. It’s yours.”
He offered it to Lan Xiaobu because he knew Lan Xiaobu had blocked the Immortal Hammer. If Lan Xiaobu hadn’t used the Cosmic Model to restrain it and hold off the Immortal Saint, Mo Wuji wouldn’t have been able to seize the hammer so quickly. In other words, if Lan Xiaobu had told him to keep dealing with Zhuang Yinchen while he took the hammer, it would be in Lan Xiaobu’s hands now.
Lan Xiaobu waved it off, “You earned it, so keep it. Besides, I already have three primordial treasures. As for attack treasures, I’ve got the Cosmic Mill. Your Wheel of Time, while also an attack treasure, is more about intent. The Immortal Hammer perfectly fills the gap in your attack capabilities.”
Mo Wuji smiled, knowing Lan Xiaobu was right, and put away the Immortal Hammer.
As they travelled, the two discussed insights into the Great Path. In no time, the Seven Realms Stone stopped just outside Guanyun. As Lan Xiaobu had guessed, they arrived before the Reflective Path Saint returned.
Once again, they began setting up traps and killing arrays, just as they had before.
This time, without the Heavenly Mechanism Saint to interfere, they were confident they could take down the Reflective Path Saint as soon as he returned.
…
At the Creation Market, as soon as Qi Manwei returned, Shen Qingxuan greeted her with a beaming smile, “Senior Sister, back so soon?”
He hadn’t expected Qi Manwei to return after just a day or two. He had planned to stay here for a month, partly to investigate who had bought the Light Path Scroll.
Qi Manwei said calmly, “Yes, let’s go to the Listening Path Tower to talk.”
Hearing her words, Shen Qingxuan was delighted. He led the way, casually sharing some insights about the Light Great Path. He suspected Qi Manwei hadn’t cultivated the Light Great Path, as he couldn’t sense any light law aura on her. He hoped his insights might spark her interest in it.
Qi Manwei didn’t respond, simply following Shen Qingxuan into the Listening Path Tower.
Shen Qingxuan’s room was the most expensive cave mansion in the Listening Path Tower, a private courtyard on the top floor. Upon entering, Qi Manwei noticed several rows of Light Tea trees, their law aura clear and their vitality dense.
Light Tea was a type of path tree, each one extremely valuable. The fact that this courtyard had rows of them spoke to Shen Qingxuan’s wealth. For a temporary cave mansion to be decorated so lavishly was remarkable.
“Senior Sister, I’m like my master. Even if I’m staying somewhere for just a day, I make it feel like my own dojo. These Light Tea trees are incredibly beneficial for cultivating the Light Great Path. They were left to me by my master; otherwise, I wouldn’t know where to get them. If you like, I can give them to you,” Shen Qingxuan said eagerly, introducing the Light Tea as soon as they entered.
Qi Manwei stopped, her gaze lingering on the Light Tea—or perhaps not.
“Senior Sister, let’s go inside and sit,” Shen Qingxuan said, gesturing again.
But Qi Manwei didn’t move. She stared at Shen Qingxuan and said calmly, “I have just one question for you today.”
“Please, Senior Sister,” Shen Qingxuan replied, sensing the weight in her tone and dropping his casual demeanour.
Qi Manwei spoke slowly, “Not long ago, I met someone named Ji Congkong…”
Though Shen Qingxuan showed no outward reaction when she mentioned Ji Congkong, Qi Manwei still caught a faint fluctuation in his aura. As a Creation Saint, while Shen Qingxuan was only in the Derivation Realm, no matter how subtle the fluctuation, it couldn’t escape her senses.
Shen Qingxuan seemed to ponder for a moment before saying, “A long time ago, I heard there was a Space Saint in the Land of Eternal Life named Ji Congkong. Is that who you mean?”
“Exactly. Do you know him?” Qi Manwei asked coolly.
Shen Qingxuan shook his head, “I’ve heard of him, but I’ve never met him.”
“My parents were killed by him. At the time, I was still travelling with my master,” Qi Manwei continued.
“How dare he target the family of a disciple of the Light lineage!” Shen Qingxuan’s killing intent flared uncontrollably. But inwardly, he wondered how Qi Manwei knew Ji Congkong had killed her parents.
Then, as if struck by a thought, he said urgently, “Senior Sister, you said you saw Ji Congkong earlier. Where is he? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Qi Manwei’s tone grew even calmer, “He didn’t hurt me, but he did tell me a name—Shen Qingxuan.”
Shen Qingxuan frowned, looking at Qi Manwei. “Senior Sister, are you saying Ji Congkong has seen me and knows me?”
Qi Manwei continued as if talking to herself, “He said he killed my parents because Shen Qingxuan instructed him to.”
Shen Qingxuan seemed provoked by her words, saying bitterly, “That guy must know my master, maybe even met me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t come up with such a scheme.”
Qi Manwei stared at Shen Qingxuan. “Later, I learned that Shen Qingxuan is Shui Qingshu, my former master. And he left a law trace in the Light Path Scroll he gave me. If I had cultivated the Light Path Scroll, that trace would have been etched into my Great Path laws, unchangeable. Master, tell me, how should I repay you?”
