Lan Xiaobu approached Dilan’s remains, his divine sense settling on the corpse. Dilan’s body had clearly just been restored with the aid of a treasure, and the attacker must have struck the moment Dilan’s body was reformed, when he was at his weakest, with his soul and body not yet fused and his Great Dao unstable. A sneak attack at such a moment was almost guaranteed to succeed, indicating the assailant had been here all along, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Lan Xiaobu recalled one person who could always stay close to Dilan: Qian Yao. Qian Yao was halfway to the Eighth Step of the Great Dao and one of Dilan’s most trusted confidants, practically his shadow, always by his side. Only Qian Yao could execute such a precise betrayal.
After being gravely injured by Mo Wuji, Qian Yao had vanished, but Mo Wuji hadn’t killed her. She must have been following Dilan all this time. But how could Qian Yao kill Dilan, and in such a sneaky manner?
Lan Xiaobu sighed, not out of pity for Dilan, but because with Dilan dead, who could he turn to for help in locating the Cosmic Tree Spirit? Regardless of whether Dilan could have subdued the Cosmic Tree Spirit without interference, his ability to track it down was undeniable.
Without Dilan, the only other lead was the place where he and Mo Wuji had once saved Ling Zhuzhen, an underground location where the Cosmic Tree’s roots had appeared. But Lan Xiaobu suspected that even if he found that place again, the chances of success were slim.
As Lan Xiaobu prepared to leave, he sensed a faint trace of killing intent.
Sneering inwardly, he thought someone dared to ambush him. He walked towards the door nonchalantly, not even extending his domain.
To his surprise, the faint killing intent vanished instantly. Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense swept through the room like a tidal wave.
Before he could locate the source, a soft voice spoke, “Lord Lan, I believe you will one day rule the entire Great Cosmos. I’m willing to do anything for you, including seizing the Cosmos Heart Shield, if only for a place by your side in the future.”
Lan Xiaobu stopped and turned to see a woman, saying lightly, “Why didn’t you attack?”
He recognised her as Qian Yao, now at the Eighth Step of the Great Dao. Even if Dilan’s strength hadn’t been diminished by his destroyed body, Qian Yao’s Eighth Step power gave her a high chance of succeeding in an ambush.
Qian Yao sighed, “Lord Lan, if I said that since our last meeting, I’ve never thought of killing you or harboured any intent to harm you, would you believe me?”
Lan Xiaobu scoffed inwardly, thinking, *Believe you? You just showed killing intent moments ago…*
Wait, something was off. Qian Yao was an Eighth Step Great Dao cultivator; how could she be so naive as to think he wouldn’t sense her killing intent?
The only explanation was that Qian Yao hadn’t directed any killing intent at him. So whose was it?
Lan Xiaobu studied the attractive woman before him. After a moment, he chuckled, “A woman like you? I wouldn’t dare keep you close. I’d worry you’d stab me in the back one day, and my fate might be worse than Dilan’s.”
Qian Yao sighed again, “I know you must think, since Dilan was so good to me, why would I betray him?”
Lan Xiaobu said indifferently, “I think you’d better explain that to Dilan himself. As for me, I’ll just listen from the sidelines.”
Hearing Lan Xiaobu’s words, Qian Yao spun around, but there was nothing behind her. Her face paled instantly as a voice rang out, “Qian Yao, how have I, Dilan, ever wronged you that you’d ambush me while I was healing?”
It was Dilan’s voice.
“How are you…” Qian Yao looked as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Still alive, right?” Dilan sneered, then turned to Lan Xiaobu. “If you hadn’t come, I’d likely be dead.”
Lan Xiaobu remained silent, understanding Dilan’s meaning. Even he hadn’t realised Dilan was still alive, his shattered soul hidden in a corner. Neither Qian Yao nor he had noticed. He only discovered Dilan wasn’t dead because of that faint trace of killing intent.
Though the killing intent vanished quickly, Lan Xiaobu had caught it. Realising it wasn’t from Qian Yao, he knew there was a third person present.
In Lan Xiaobu’s view, Dilan had likely let slip his killing intent by mistake, though he tried to cover it up. But hearing Lan Xiaobu’s words, Dilan admitted he was still alive.
Qian Yao froze for a moment before shouting sharply, “You killed my parents in front of me and even humiliated my mother. I live to kill you.”
Dilan was stunned, muttering, “Killed your parents? Qian Yao, are you mad?”
Qian Yao calmed slightly, taking a deep breath and glaring at Dilan coldly. “Qian Yuluo was my mother, Song Lesi was my father. What do you say to that?”
Dilan’s voice turned icy. “Qian Yao, if you’re looking for an excuse to kill me, I don’t mind, because I’ll come back for you. How long have you followed me? I was the one who took your red pill. Do you think I wouldn’t see that neither Qian Yuluo nor Song Lesi has any connection to you? Besides, Song Lesi slaughtered an entire planet that pledged allegiance to my Central World, killing millions of innocent cultivators, all for Qian Yuluo’s Great Dao. Why shouldn’t I have killed him?”
Qian Yao sneered, “Don’t make your reasons sound so noble. You only saw that my mother, Qian Yuluo, had a Chaos Dao Body. Without her, could you have become the First Dao Ancestor of the Ten Directions World? Without my parents, I wouldn’t even be an orphan. I killed you today to avenge them and settle the karma.”
Lan Xiaobu finally understood—it was a case of dog-eat-dog.
Qian Yuluo and Song Lesi were Qian Yao’s adoptive parents, and Qian Yuluo had a Chaos Dao Body. Dilan had humiliated and killed Qian Yuluo for his own Great Dao, though he also claimed it was to deliver justice for the destroyed planet.
After speaking, Qian Yao bowed to Lan Xiaobu and said, “I know Lord Lan looks down on me. So be it, I’ll leave.”
As Qian Yao turned to go, Lan Xiaobu felt something odd, as if he’d missed something. With that thought, he discreetly placed a Great Dao imprint on her. Despite her Eighth Step status, she was far from detecting his imprint.
As Qian Yao left, Dilan’s soul shadow gradually materialised. He said to Lan Xiaobu, “Friend Lan, my killing intent towards you was instinctive, since my body was destroyed because of you and your friend. But I swear, I have no intention of harming you now.”
Lan Xiaobu sneered, not believing a word.
Seeing his reaction, Dilan continued, “I know why you’re here, and it’s not for the Cosmos Heart Shield. You’re after me for one reason: to find the Cosmic Tree Spirit.”
Lan Xiaobu said calmly, “Tell me how to find the Cosmic Tree Spirit, and I won’t kill you today.”
Dilan sighed, “If I could still find the Cosmic Tree Spirit, I’d tell you. Destroying it would benefit me too, as I’m still part of the human race. Unfortunately, I can’t. The last time I found it, I spent a million years deducing its location and used the Eternal Life Conference to lure it out. My concealment skills, as you’ve seen, are strong. Qian Yao only learned the basics from me, yet she nearly fooled you.”
Lan Xiaobu agreed with Dilan’s earlier point—his concealment skills were indeed impressive. Without that faint killing intent, he wouldn’t have known Dilan was here.
Suddenly, something clicked. Lan Xiaobu chuckled, “You deliberately let out that faint killing intent to trick me into killing Qian Yao, didn’t you?”
He was now certain Dilan had intentionally leaked the killing intent to make him think Qian Yao was ambushing him, hoping he’d eliminate her. But Dilan’s cleverness backfired, revealing he was still alive.
