Lan Xiaobu had no choice but to open the restriction, though he’d disguised himself as Deacon Gong, to avoid slipping up, he rarely left except to scout the Great Dao Pure Spirit Pool, spending most of his time holed up.
At the cave entrance stood a cultivator of only God King Realm, he bowed to Lan Xiaobu, “Deacon Gong, Sect Leader Peng has called an urgent meeting for all sages above First-Turn, please head to the council hall.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t want to attend this pointless meeting, but he had to go, skipping it meant acting now, fortunately, his recent wandering around Beast Soul Dao had familiarized him with the council hall’s location.
When he arrived, the hall was already packed, he couldn’t help but marvel at Beast Soul Dao’s strength, though the sect leader wasn’t present, there were two Ninth-Turn Sages, five from Seventh to Eighth-Turn, and over 130 from First to Sixth-Turn.
At the head sat a Ninth-Turn powerhouse Lan Xiaobu recognized, Peng Wang, Han Yueshan’s master, Han Yueshan himself was absent, whereabouts unknown.
Peng Wang’s gaze swept the sages before he spoke slowly, “As you all know, our sect’s main force has gone to Li Zhou Palace to vie for the Time Tree…”
Lan Xiaobu was astonished, if their main force was at Li Zhou Palace and this many powerhouses remained, had they gone to the Great Desolate Divine Realm while he was away, it’d be flattened in minutes.
He knew of Li Zhou Palace, Zhi Yi’s sect, she’d been refining time rules for the Time Tree, but wasn’t that a Li Zhou Palace matter? Why was Beast Soul Dao involved?
“Originally, we had a thirty percent chance at the Time Tree, with our legacy saint son Tang Qi and my disciple Han Yueshan, our legacy dao daughter was meant to go too, but she acquired a top-tier divine beast to bond her soul and couldn’t join,” Peng Wang continued.
An Eighth-Turn elder interjected, “Did something go wrong with the Time Tree contest?”
Peng Wang nodded, “Indeed, a slight hiccup, our plan was that whether Beast Soul Dao, Saint Desolation, Huang Quan Sacred Dao, or Tian Mo Hall claimed it, we’d share it, the only exception being Li Zhou Palace, if they got it, we’d come up empty.”
A Ninth-Turn supreme elder beside Peng Wang frowned, “Li Zhou Palace shouldn’t stand a chance, right? Their best bets are Cai Gu Yuan and Chen Manxing, but our Tang Qi and Huang Quan’s Tong Qianqian outmatch them, Tian Mo’s Zhen Yuan and Saint Desolation’s Chong Shuanglou too, how could they win?”
Peng Wang snorted, “The problem is exactly that, the ‘Coward Sage’ Zhi Yi, whom we all dismissed, has surged to first on Time Mountain, though still far from the tree, we must prepare, if she claims it, our sects might have to act…”
Lan Xiaobu sneered inwardly, these shameless fools, barging into someone’s home to steal, and if they lost, they’d rob outright, it wasn’t just Beast Soul Dao, three other star-level sects were in on it, Li Zhou Palace was in deep trouble.
But this had nothing to do with him, he only knew Zhi Yi there.
“Should we head over now?” someone suggested.
Peng Wang waved it off, “I’ve gathered you to devise a flawless plan, we’ll go, but no rush, we need to time it right and coordinate with the other sects to strike Li Zhou Palace together, they’ve dominated this plane long enough, it’s time they step aside…”
As the group buzzed with ideas, Lan Xiaobu closed his eyes to rest, waiting for Bai Xixi to emerge, if she did and these fools tried to stop him, he’d wipe them out, a small favor to Zhi Yi by thinning Li Zhou Palace’s foes.
…
Being overtaken by Zhi Yi left Cai Gu Yuan in disbelief, anyone could pass her, but Zhi Yi, that incompetent “Coward Sage,” how could she surpass her?
Cai Gu Yuan wanted to speed up and charge ahead, but reason held her back, she knew acting rashly would turn her to ash.
What stunned her more was Zhi Yi not only passing her but overtaking seventh, then sixth, fifth…
Not just Cai Gu Yuan, the entire Time Mountain plaza was floored by Zhi Yi’s surge, she covered in moments what took others over two months, now standing second.
Shan Bu’ang’s face flushed with excitement, forgetting his earlier thought that he’d eat dirt if Zhi Yi won, now, if she did, some things might be negotiable.
Tong Qianqian never imagined anyone could outstrip her in time rule mastery, Time Tree being Li Zhou Star’s or not, she’d take first and claim it, yet she couldn’t believe someone passed her, pulling ahead.
She rubbed her eyes, certain she wasn’t mistaken, someone had indeed overtaken her.
How? So fast, was Time Mountain free of time suppression rules?
“Heh, Palace Lord Shan hid it well, we all thought Zhi Yi was a nobody, turns out she’s your ace,” Tian Mo Hall’s Zhen Changtian said, his tone laced with mockery.
Shan Bu’ang ignored him, all his focus on Zhi Yi, but Zhi Ji, watching from afar, felt a jolt, sensing the killing intent in Zhen Changtian’s eyes.
Zhi Ji’s heart grew uneasy, his guess seemed right, if Zhi Yi won, the four other sects would strike Li Zhou Palace together, the palace lord knew these sects harbored ill intent but relied too much on the star-level array.
…
“Gong Quan, take a few men to Li Zhou Star, lie low outside, when we get the signal to act, join the other sects to seize the array entrance…” Peng Wang’s words snapped Lan Xiaobu from calculating Bai Xixi’s exit.
He paid no mind, leaving for Li Zhou Star now was out of the question, if he couldn’t wait, he’d wipe out everyone here first.
“Gong Quan, didn’t you hear the sect lord? Why aren’t you up?” an Eighth-Turn elder beside Peng Wang barked, irked that Lan Xiaobu ignored Peng Wang.
Lan Xiaobu stood lazily, “What are you, some nobody? I’d have let you live a few more days, but you’re begging for it.”
With that, he prepared to clear the hall, but his voice cut off, he sensed Bai Xixi emerging.
As he readied to teleport, Bai Xixi walked toward the council hall herself.
Seeing her approach, Lan Xiaobu didn’t go to her, instead stepping to the hall’s center to wait, good thing he hadn’t acted yet, Beast Soul Dao must have ways to alert Bai Xixi, or she wouldn’t head here right after emerging.
While Lan Xiaobu awaited her, his words stunned the hall, a Seventh-Turn Sage roared, lunging at him, but before his hand seal formed, Lan Xiaobu’s own seal grabbed him, yanking him from his seat, a slap to the brow, and the sage’s world was pried open.
Resistance? Nonexistent.
Lan Xiaobu sneered inwardly, in his trapping array or not, a mere Seventh-Turn Sage was nothing to him.
“Who are you?” Peng Wang shot up, feeling the space constrict, clearly under Lan Xiaobu’s array control.
Gong Quan, a Fourth-Turn Sage, couldn’t possibly crush a Seventh-Turn so easily or dominate the hall.
Lan Xiaobu ignored him, stretching out a hand, a sage seal snagged Bai Xixi before she entered, tossing her at his feet, “Who I am doesn’t matter, what matters is Beast Soul Dao crossed me.”
