Fang Zhiqian sensed the concealment array hiding him, the trapping-killing array outside, and the exquisite vitality dao vein as bait. He sighed, wondering which unfortunate soul was about to fall into this cunning trap.
Such a scheme could fool anyone…
Wait, Fang Zhiqian suddenly realised something critical. Was Lan Xiaobu targeting a Seventh Step Great Path cultivator?
In an instant, Fang Zhiqian was certain. Lan Xiaobu was indeed plotting against a Seventh Step Great Path cultivator, likely one of the Saint Lords of True Derivation Sacred Path.
How could this guy be so audacious? Then Fang Zhiqian gave a wry smile. Lan Xiaobu’s boldness wasn’t news to him. A man who dared to kidnap someone from True Derivation Sacred Path—could his courage be small?
But to take down a Seventh Step Great Path cultivator with such a scheme, heh, did Lan Xiaobu think all Seventh Step cultivators were as easy to handle as him? If not for the Great Path Imprint Lan Xiaobu had placed on him, Fang Zhiqian would have slapped a single Lan Xiaobu—or even several—into oblivion.
Should he warn Lan Xiaobu? No, Fang Zhiqian quickly decided not only to keep quiet but to fully cooperate with Lan Xiaobu’s setup early on. Otherwise, Lan Xiaobu could kill him with a single thought before dying himself.
The thought of Lan Xiaobu possibly being killed sent Fang Zhiqian’s heart racing. If Lan Xiaobu died, wouldn’t that mean freedom for him?
“Old Fang, are you courting death? Don’t want to be Nine Infants anymore? I’ll end you now,” Lan Xiaobu’s furious roar snapped him back.
“Sorry, I got a bit excited thinking about the upcoming fight,” Fang Zhiqian hurriedly reined in his emotions, his racing heart having been noticed by Lan Xiaobu.
“Excited, you turtle bastard? Looks like your Master Bu needs to add another shielding restriction, or you’ll be spotted before we even start,” Lan Xiaobu snorted, tossing out an object that instantly sealed Fang Zhiqian’s position completely.
Fang Zhiqian didn’t dare extend his divine sense, fearing it would anger Lan Xiaobu. But he knew Lan Xiaobu had likely added a shielding restriction to his hiding spot. He chuckled inwardly— even a barrier couldn’t block a Seventh Step cultivator’s dao sense.
Seeing Fang Zhiqian refrain from sending out his divine sense after the new restriction, Lan Xiaobu breathed a sigh of relief. Success now depended on how sharp Chen Huangzi was. If Chen Huangzi noticed, it would come down to a direct clash.
…
Chen Huangzi noticed his divine sense mark had stopped moving and found it odd. He had planned to let Lan Xiaobu travel further before leaving the city, but since Lan Xiaobu had halted, he decided not to wait.
He was certain Lan Xiaobu hadn’t killed Chong Jiu, but Lan Xiaobu was the mastermind. He’d kill Lan Xiaobu first, then investigate Chong Jiu’s murderer. Though the culprit was hiding now, Chen Huangzi was confident he’d sense them the moment they emerged.
Was a True Derivation Sacred Path Saint Lord so easy to kill? This time, True Derivation would show everyone that those who killed their Saint Lords would only meet death.
Shi Changxing’s divine sense caught Chen Huangzi leaving Anluo Heavenly City. He shook his head, speechless, with no intention of saving Lan Xiaobu. Besides Lan Xiaobu using him multiple times, saving him was pointless. Even if rescued today, Lan Xiaobu would likely die at someone else’s hands soon enough. The kid had some cunning, but his actions were too reckless.
For Chen Huangzi, a journey of tens of millions of miles took less than half an incense stick. Even slowing down, he arrived in just under that.
“Vitality essence?” Chen Huangzi stood outside Lan Xiaobu’s array, mouth agape. As a Seventh Step Great Path cultivator, he’d seen countless treasures, but vitality essence? He’d only encountered it once, in a chaos vitality pool in the chaos. That essence couldn’t be taken or cultivated, only watched as it slipped away.
Yet today, he sensed vitality essence outside Anluo City. Sweeping his divine sense, he spotted a cyan dao vein.
“Exquisite vitality dao vein!” Even the seasoned Chen Huangzi gasped. Above this vein, Lan Xiaobu was cultivating, his divine sense mark attached to him.
Chen Huangzi forcibly suppressed his excitement. A vitality dao vein was the ultimate cultivation resource for top-tier Great Path cultivators.
Did Lan Xiaobu think he could outsmart a Seventh Step Great Path Saint with a cosmic array?
Heh, using an exquisite vitality dao vein as bait and a puppet disguised as himself while hiding in a corner of the array.
Honestly, in all his years, Chen Huangzi had never seen someone as naive as Lan Xiaobu. If he could be tricked by this, he wouldn’t have reached his current level.
Though he could break Lan Xiaobu’s trapping-killing array, Chen Huangzi didn’t act immediately. Instead, he pulled out array flags and began setting up his own array. A mere barrier? He could do that too. In the Central World, his array-setting skills, if not top three, were at least top ten.
In a breath’s time, Chen Huangzi’s array locked Lan Xiaobu’s trapping-killing array. He stepped forward, reaching for the real Lan Xiaobu hiding in the corner.
As expected, Lan Xiaobu couldn’t dodge or even react before Chen Huangzi’s hand seal locked him.
*Crack!* Chen Huangzi heard bones snapping, and the body in his grasp began to crumble inch by inch.
But he felt no joy. The moment he touched Lan Xiaobu, the real Lan Xiaobu swapped places with the puppet. He’d grabbed a puppet, and even as its body collapsed, it was just a puppet. What shocked him was Lan Xiaobu’s seamless swap—no rule fluctuations at all. Even he, a Seventh Step cultivator, couldn’t achieve that. How had Lan Xiaobu done it?
Any rule fluctuation during the swap would have let Chen Huangzi lock onto the shifting rules, preventing the swap. There was only one explanation: Lan Xiaobu had mastered a ruleless Great Path. But there was no time to dwell on it; he had to subdue Lan Xiaobu quickly.
“Move now, or you’re dead,” Lan Xiaobu’s voice, thick with killing intent, jolted the stunned Fang Zhiqian. Not daring to wait for Lan Xiaobu to be killed, Fang Zhiqian acted the moment the words landed, his grey-white curse rope lashing out.
The domain and aura of a Seventh Step Great Path cultivator clashed with Chen Huangzi’s domain, the array’s dao rules erupting in a cacophony of collapsing explosions.
Lan Xiaobu had escaped once via the puppet swap, possibly through a ruleless Great Path, but Chen Huangzi wasn’t worried. He was certain Lan Xiaobu would die here, no matter his tricks.
But the next moment, he was stunned. A saintly domain, no weaker than his, swept over, clashing with his own. Both domains began to crumble, and as a Seventh Step cultivator, he gained no advantage in the collision.
“Another Seventh Step?” Chen Huangzi’s soul trembled.
Everything he’d seen was a facade. The real threat was this hidden Seventh Step cultivator. What he’d seen was what Lan Xiaobu wanted him to see, and what he hadn’t—like the other Seventh Step—was what Lan Xiaobu had concealed.
He had to flee. Chen Huangzi recalled Chong Jiu’s death, likely at the hands of this Seventh Step cultivator. Now, this person and Lan Xiaobu were teaming up to kill him. They’d planned this, and he’d walked right into it, underestimating his foe.
But escaping was no longer easy. The outer trapping-killing array suddenly shifted, becoming an entirely different trapping array. Worse, Fang Zhiqian’s curse rope had wrapped the space in layers of curse dao rules.
And that wasn’t all. A massive grinding disc crashed down, locking the entire space where Chen Huangzi stood.
Without Fang Zhiqian, Chen Huangzi wouldn’t have cared about the array or the disc, no matter how strong their dao rules.
But now, he faced not just the disc and array but the billions of curse dao rules from Fang Zhiqian’s rope.
Cosmic Mill? Seeing the massive disc, Fang Zhiqian broke into a cold sweat. Compared to Lan Xiaobu’s cunning, he was far too naive. Lan Xiaobu had deliberately exposed his own position to bait the enemy, while keeping Fang Zhiqian’s hidden. Then, Fang Zhiqian’s sudden attack put the opponent at a complete disadvantage.
His position wasn’t hidden by the initial concealment array but by the main array flag Lan Xiaobu added after scolding him—a Cosmic Mill. Using a Cosmic Mill as an array flag to conceal him? Even if Chen Huangzi hadn’t been focused solely on Lan Xiaobu, spotting him would have been near impossible.
Lan Xiaobu had scolded him on purpose to set up the Cosmic Mill. This cunning bastard—Chen Huangzi was doomed today.
Realising Lan Xiaobu might have even anticipated his hope that Lan Xiaobu would die, Fang Zhiqian dared not hold back. If he showed any hesitation, the Seventh Step cultivator dying here today wouldn’t just be Chen Huangzi.
