Lin Wan’er saw that An Chengxi still had some reservations, so she couldn’t help asking: “Lady Ye, could Meng Changsheng still have a way to leave the Blood Lake Hell?”
An Chengxi shook her head: “According to that Daoist priest, Meng Changsheng’s primordial spirit after his soldier’s solution cannot leave the Blood Lake Hell even half a step, yet this junior still cannot help but worry. Meng Changsheng has planned for several hundred years, so he should not allow himself to be so passive. I fear he has another killing move.”
Lin Wan’er suddenly thought of something and asked her: “Lady Ye, could there be something strange about that ring this young lady gave to the young master? What if it could teleport him to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains?”
An Chengxi said: “It should not. If there were something strange about it, it could not have saved Chen’er’s life the first time.”
As she spoke, An Chengxi explained further: “Senior, this junior has always felt that the ability of that ring is too heaven-defying. It can teleport a living person directly to another person’s side. Since it possesses such an ability, the person who refined this ring could completely refine one that activates on command, then teleport himself to any place at will. This is not something a cultivator with a lifespan of a thousand years could create. If Meng Changsheng had such skill, he would have long found a way to extend his life by fifteen hundred years. Even stepping back ten thousand steps, he would not need to go to such lengths to lure Chen’er to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. He could simply refine a magical artefact, let it circulate along with the Nine Mysterious Heavenly Scripture, and once the artefact encounters someone with the Rising Dragon Grid, it would directly teleport them to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains for him to seize their body. Would that not make everything much simpler?”
Lin Wan’er instantly came to a realisation and agreed: “What Lady Ye says makes a lot of sense. The ring can teleport a living person thousands of miles away, such an ability is truly unimaginable. This should not be a magical artefact refined by Meng Changsheng himself. It is very likely something he obtained by chance and coincidence, and he probably does not even know that the ring has teleportation capabilities. Otherwise, since he has already decided to seize a body and rebirth, he would naturally keep such a treasure for his own use after rebirth.”
An Chengxi asked her: “Did your father mention anything about Meng Changsheng’s legacy back then?”
“Legacy?” Lin Wan’er frowned slightly and said: “My father mentioned that Meng Changsheng had many miraculous magical artefacts, most of which were left in his own secret chamber. My father never entertained the idea of taking them, so after handling his funeral affairs, he never thought of searching for them.”
An Chengxi nodded: “Meng Changsheng cultivated for a thousand years, so he must have countless pills and magical artefacts. Yet your father and Wu Feiyan only obtained two Eternal Evergreen Pills and one ring. These things must have been unimportant to Meng Changsheng. If he knew how miraculous the ring was, he would never have given it to your father.”
Lin Wan’er sighed: “From this deduction, it seems the ring was refined by a cultivator of even greater strength. Master obtained it by chance but did not fathom its functions.”
At this point, she frowned and muttered: “He told my father that within this ring lies the secret to living a thousand years. Perhaps back then, it was from this ring that he obtained the formula for the Hundred Revolutions Thousand Returns Pill, achieving the breakthrough from five hundred years of lifespan to a thousand years. After that, he secluded himself in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and never encountered any real dangers, so he had no opportunity to explore more secrets of the ring.”
An Chengxi agreed: “This junior feels that senior’s analysis is highly plausible. Meng Changsheng obtained the ring by chance, got the pill formula from it and thought it had no further uses. He had already refined the Eternal Evergreen Pill, and even if he had many left, they held no meaning for him. Giving them to your father and Wu Feiyan was as simple as an adult giving a sweet to each of two children. The pills became useless rubbish to him, and the ring an useless encumbrance, so he simply left them to your father and Wu Feiyan.”
Lin Wan’er gave a wry smile: “It seems now that he was not only vicious and cruel but also probably a miser.”
With that, she waved her hand and laughed: “It does not matter. As long as the ring poses no harm to the young master, that is enough.”
An Chengxi nodded and smiled: “One can only say everything is fated. He left the ring to your father as a bit of kindness to this disciple. Circulating the Nine Mysterious Preface and the Nine Mysterious Heavenly Scripture was his grand scheme for rebirth. It is like a killer, before setting out to assassinate his target, seeing a child fall at the door, helping the child up casually, then pulling out a gun to kill several people. To him, the child and his targets are separate individuals with no subjective connection.”
After a pause, An Chengxi continued: “Please remind Chen’er often, senior. He must find a way to study just how many more secrets that ring holds!”
“Lady Ye, rest assured. This young lady will remind the young master often.” Lin Wan’er agreed without hesitation, then asked: “Lady Ye, what exactly is the identity of that Daoist priest you mentioned?”
An Chengxi shook her head: “This junior does not know. He simply appeared suddenly to warn this junior and revealed no useful information. However, he did tell this junior that the reason he remains in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains is to find a method to break that sin-laden Blood Lake Hell formation.”
