Lan Xiaobu was overjoyed, immediately clasping his fists, “Please enlighten me, Fourth Dao Venerable. Once I reach the ninth step of the Great Dao, I’ll handle your matters perfectly.”
“Excellent,” Tu Liao exclaimed, delighted, “With Brother Hui’s help, it’s like a fish finding water. If I control the Great Universe in the future, Brother Hui will never be beneath me. Wherever you choose for your Dao field in the Great Universe, it shall be yours.”
Lan Xiaobu inwardly scoffed, *Just get on with it, stop wasting my time with this nonsense.* A Dao field in the Great Universe? He couldn’t care less.
Tu Liao took out a golden incense stick, lowering his voice instinctively, “The Cosmic Tree Spirit will appear in the Withered Life Chaos Zone of the Central World at the end of this month. It’s said that Chaos Rule Slurry appeared there. Not only do we need it, but the Cosmic Tree Spirit does too.”
Hearing this, Lan Xiaobu realised that even if the Cosmic Tree could alter the Great Universe’s heaven-and-earth rules and infuse its own principles, it still relied on the Great Universe to survive and was unaware of many things within it. Otherwise, how could it not know that the Chaos Rule Slurry in the Withered Life Chaos Zone had already been divided between him and Mo Wuji?
As he spoke, Tu Liao handed the golden incense stick to Lan Xiaobu, “Brother Hui, after entering the Withered Life Chaos Zone, find a place to construct a rule world. Then, light this Heavenly Dao Incense in that world, and the Cosmic Tree Spirit will appear.”
“Thank you, Fourth Dao Venerable,” Lan Xiaobu carefully took the Heavenly Dao Incense, offering sincere thanks.
Tu Liao nodded, “I won’t see you out. If there’s anything else I can help with, come find me anytime. We’re as close as brothers.”
After stowing the Heavenly Dao Incense, Lan Xiaobu said with slight embarrassment, “I was ambushed by Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji, losing some items. Going to the Withered Life Chaos Zone now would take too long…”
Tu Liao understood at once, laughing heartily and producing a teleportation disc, “This is a ten-use Great Universe teleportation disc. Take it and use it.”
“Thank you, I’ll take my leave now and visit you again in the future,” Lan Xiaobu said, not asking how the disc worked. A sweep of his divine sense suggested it was linked to the Cosmic Tree.
He also didn’t want to linger here, as he kept feeling like someone was secretly watching him.
Despite saying he wouldn’t see him out, Tu Liao was clearly very attentive to Hui Zhi, escorting Lan Xiaobu to the plaza. Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense connected with the teleportation disc, which clearly held the positional principles of ten worlds. To teleport somewhere, he only needed to lock onto the destination’s positional principles.
This relieved Lan Xiaobu. If he hadn’t known how to use the disc and aroused Tu Liao’s suspicion, his efforts might have been for nothing.
—
After seeing Lan Xiaobu off, Tu Liao returned to the guest room and sat down, his earlier joy and warmth replaced by a stern expression.
A graceful woman emerged from the inner chamber’s restriction, pouring Tu Liao a cup of tea before saying with a smile, “Liao Lang, that Hui Zhi was likely fake.”
Tu Liao took a sip from the tea bowl, sneering, “He’s definitely fake. What’s hard to fathom is that his appearance and aura were flawless, perfectly in sync with the surrounding heaven-and-earth rules. Could he have been possessed?”
Tu Liao shook his head, “Impossible. No one in the Great Universe could possess someone like Hui Zhi. By the way, Qiao’er, how did you know he was fake?”
The woman smiled faintly, “I couldn’t tell by looking, but I felt it. Someone like Hui Zhi would never swear so casually. Yet that guy swore in Hui Zhi’s name as easily as breathing, which struck me as odd.”
Tu Liao chuckled, “Hui Zhi despises the Cosmic Tree and would never seek its help. If he hadn’t asked for the Cosmic Tree’s aid, I might not have suspected much. But when he did, and then swore, I briefly thought I’d misjudged and believed him, since seeking the Cosmic Tree Spirit for the ninth step is reasonable. But when he subtly asked for the teleportation disc, I was almost certain he was fake. Once I confirmed that, his oath showed its flaws.”
“If he’s fake, why did you still…” Qiao’er looked at Tu Liao in surprise.
Tu Liao laughed, “You’re wondering why I gave him the Heavenly Dao Incense, right?”
Qiao’er nodded eagerly, and Tu Liao snorted, “If this Hui Zhi is fake, it can only be Lan Xiaobu or Mo Wuji. I sent a message to the real Hui Zhi, and he didn’t reply, confirming my suspicions. As for the Heavenly Dao Incense, I gave it to him deliberately. Lighting it will indeed summon the Cosmic Tree Spirit, but anyone who lights it in the chaos zone becomes the Cosmic Tree Spirit’s devoted follower. Even if the fake Hui Zhi lights it without inhaling, he’ll be controlled by the Cosmic Tree Spirit. With its methods, it won’t miss such an opportunity.”
He didn’t add that the fake Hui Zhi would need to construct a spatial rule world in the chaos zone to light the incense, effectively trapping himself with the Heavenly Dao Incense.
Qiao’er said joyfully, “If he’s controlled by the Cosmic Tree Spirit, you might actually gain control over him.”
Tu Liao grinned, “Exactly. I may not be the closest to the Cosmic Tree, but by offering the Heavenly Dao Incense to let it control him, I can ask the Cosmic Tree Spirit to hand him over to work for me. It likely won’t refuse, at most requiring the fake Hui Zhi to light a daily incense in worship of the Cosmic Tree.”
“But he didn’t seem simple. If he notices, losing a Heavenly Dao Incense would be a huge loss,” Qiao’er said with slight concern.
The Heavenly Dao Incense, in some ways, was far more precious than a ten-vein Cosmic Dao Fruit, perhaps even rivaling a creation-level treasure. Even Tu Liao had only one.
Tu Liao said nonchalantly, “Even if it fails, we lose nothing. The human cultivators of the ten worlds failing or being slaughtered in the Great Universe is a certainty. The Cosmic Tree supports my three dear brothers and one dear sister more than me. If the Tianmeng Clan takes control of the Great Universe, I might not be among the Four Prime Ancestors.”
Qiao’er understood the unspoken implication: if everyone lost the Cosmic Tree’s support, Tu Liao’s chances of vying for a Prime Ancestor position would increase.
—
Lan Xiaobu landed outside Anluo Heavenly City in the Central World, now completely occupied by the Tianmeng Clan, with no human cultivators in sight.
He examined the teleportation disc, sensing traces of the Cosmic Tree. This confirmed that the disc, a heaven-defying treasure, was tied to the Cosmic Tree. His earlier guess was correct: the Tianmeng Clan moved between worlds using similar teleportation treasures. The difference was that his disc was small, teleporting only one person, while theirs was larger, capable of moving more.
Alternatively, perhaps one person used this disc to teleport with a world containing millions of cultivators.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t enter Anluo Heavenly City. Instead, he found a secluded spot far from it and entered his cosmic dimensional model space.
Anything involving incense made him cautious. He knew incense willpower was among the most mysterious and peculiar forces in all Great Dao powers. His Longevity Dao Tree lacked incense principles.
Though he hadn’t derived incense principles, Lan Xiaobu believed incense willpower differed from merit power. Incense might bring merit, but earning merit was likely harder.
Thus, upon taking out the Heavenly Dao Incense, he immediately used the cosmic dimensional model to construct its dimensional structure.
In just half an incense stick’s time, Lan Xiaobu’s expression darkened. Either Tu Liao hadn’t realised he wasn’t Hui Zhi, or he was scheming against Hui Zhi too.
Lighting the Heavenly Dao Incense would bind the lighter’s Great Dao and willpower, offering a fraction to another. Even without formal worship, it would still count as a devotional offering, especially in a self-constructed rule space.
The only silver lining was that the Heavenly Dao Incense was a genuine treasure, entirely authentic.
