Chapter 831: Chapter 2: Turning Their Own Schemes Against Them
The tea was clear and fragrant, refreshing one’s mind.
Zhao Xiaoxiao took a gentle sip, instantly feeling somewhat light-headed, marveling in her heart that this place indeed felt as enchanting as the Immortal Land.
Hua Qiudao and Liu Haoxin, although silent, equally enjoyed this ’ordinary’ tea.
Only Zhou Yan quietly sipped the tea, listening to the cultivators around him discuss matters of this cultivation world.
He listened for a long time until he finally heard the news he wanted from a group of powerful cultivators.
"Ah, the current era is truly the golden age for cultivators. Even the ancient, the archaic, or the Tai Chu eras are no more than this. If we had such cultivation conditions back then, at the very least, we would now be in the God Realm."
"Since the Nine Origin Reincarnation descended eleven years ago, and the rules of the Sword Burial Ancestor Star transformed, these series of star domains were separated from the True God Plane. We naturally shed the identity of being mere breeding pigs, gaining a hundred and ten years of cultivation time over eleven years. Sadly, we missed out on that opportunity."
"Indeed. The luckiest among us were those in the Thunder Expansion Sacred Land, who were almost the first to seize the opportunity. Now, probably each of them is an expert in the God Realm."
"The Thunder Expansion Sacred Land is a revered land, with its Saint Master being none other than Emperor Qi Sword Body Zhou Yan, who left an invincible legacy across the star domains on our Sword Burial Ancestor Star eleven years ago. With such a person, the force he established is bound to capture the Qi Fortune of Heaven and Earth, controlling the universe."
"But speaking of the Thunder Expansion Sacred Land, it’s truly lamentable how they drew such strong enemies and now can barely hold on."
"These matters are beyond our discussion, and the issues with the Returning True Clan and the Blood Barbarian Clan are also not something we can comment on. As for the Jiang family, it’s now a towering entity, we better not speak of it lightly."
"This time, the new generation talent ’Li He King’ from the Jiang family is unbelievably strong, and that ’Mad Demon King’ dares to challenge him now, fearing he will meet a dire end."
"The Mad Demon King is Emperor Qi Sword Body Zhou Yan’s most cherished disciple, inheriting the invincible demeanor of the Emperor Qi Sword Body. I believe he has the power to fight."
"Indeed. In terms of talent, no one can surpass him. Being called the second ’Gles’ is not without reason. However, the Thunder Expansion Sacred Land has already become silent. For him to suddenly reemerge and openly challenge, have you considered, Brother Huang, that even if he wins, he loses, and his end is already predestined to vanish like the others from Thunder Expansion Sacred Land?"
"Hmm... This is indeed the case. Such a pity. In those days, the Emperor Qi Sword Body was so glorious, slaying the Evil King Avatar in the Sword Void Realm and standing as equals with the Saints. Even now, with times changed, such a figure is hard to come by!"
"We owe this era to the Emperor Qi Sword Body breaking free from sealing and transcending, or else we wouldn’t have today, still likely being harvested as seeds."
"It’s a shame we can’t help the Mad Demon King, unable to withstand those vast forces. Otherwise, we would certainly give our all."
"Haha, a bunch of trash like you thinking of interfering in that dog’s challenge? I think you’re tired of living! Our Jiang family’s Jiang Li Young Master born with the Qi Fortune of Heaven and Earth is the uncrowned king of this age! That Hou Chen mad dog can’t compare to our Young Master!"
Moreover, the transformation of the Sword Burial Ancestor Star into the Sword Burial Plane was a combined effort of our True God Plane Jiang family, Blood Barbarian Clan, and Returning True Clan, what relation does it have to that wasted Sword Body Zhou Yan?!
This group of cultivators was communicating through their thoughts, yet they did not expect a cultivator suddenly interjecting, interrupting their Thought Soul Power exchange, astonishing them all.
When they heard him speaking so brazenly and arrogantly, the black-clad, white-robed cultivators were all extremely outraged.
However, as soon as their eyes fell on the azure blue robe of the one who spoke, they suddenly quieted down.
They dared not say a word more, for the azure blue battle armor with the crescent emblem was unique to the Jiang family, and only elite disciples and above in the Jiang family could don such attire.
"What? Afraid to speak? Humph, if not for that mongrel with the wasted body fleeing so swiftly back then, when everything was settled, our Jiang family would have truly risen. But it’s a pity this dog could escape so fast and skillfully! Such a fleeing waste is dubbed ’Lei Yan King’? If this dog appears before me, Jiang Weikai, I’d crush him with a finger, rendering him incapable of life or death!
A wasted master breeds wasted disciples. That Hou Chen dog rogue, only knowing how to skulk about, dares to fight? I spit! Merely coming out to seek death!"
The cultivator in the azure armor sarcastically and arrogantly mocked.
He was not conveying messages through thoughts or soul power, but speaking in the most ordinary and direct way—by mouth.
His voice was cold and full of sarcasm, as if eager for everyone to hear his words.
Indeed, as he spoke, the entire pavilion suddenly fell silent, with many cultivators looking towards him, yet in the next moment, silently withdrawing their gaze, not commenting, as if they neither saw nor heard anything.
Zhou Yan silently observed the scene, without any change in emotion.
On the other hand, Liu Haoxin beside him seemed vaguely resentful, transmitting soul power to Zhou Yan: "Master, isn’t this person a bit too arrogant? Just what is he playing at? I see he’s only at the Sword God First Transition Realm, though his realm is higher than mine, I’m sure I could knock him flat with one finger. Yet he’s so cocky, really deserves a beating!"
While Liu Haoxin was transmitting his message, Zhou Yan suddenly reached out and lightly brushed his hand, as if he were moving it casually, without causing any disruption.
Yet, after this motion, there was an instant where Liu Haoxin, Hua Qiudao, and Zhao Xiaoxiao all felt an inexplicable change in space-time.
As the three felt puzzled, they heard Zhou Yan’s transmitted voice saying: "In this world, you must be vigilant, what you perceive may not be true, and what you hear may not be true either—if my deduction is right, these are all illusions. Of course, I’m not saying everything happening is false, but rather these messages and statements are likely misleading."
Zhou Yan’s statement made Hua Qiudao slightly surprised while Zhao Xiaoxiao appeared contemplative; however, Liu Haoxin seemed somewhat confused.
"Put it this way, the enemy is now seemingly frantic and desperate in searching for my trace, so in a place like the Zhou Family’s old residence, there are bound to be similar messages or familiar figures, likely false ones. Of course, there should also be some truth mixed in these situations, which requires analysis."
"Master, what you say seems hard to understand, are these people able to know in advance and thus set the stage before we arrived here?"
Liu Haoxin asked, puzzled.
"No, they don’t need to know, they only need to periodically spread information similar to this, and then on the day of the ’duel’, seal off the area, conduct a wide search, to see if the ’fish’ is caught. Even if unsuccessful, it doesn’t matter, as truth and falsehood will remain indistinguishable, isn’t that so?"
Zhou Yan explained.
Liu Haoxin still was a bit perplexed.
Zhou Yan sighed lightly, saying: "You probably aren’t aware of the cruelty and reality of this world’s side, I just noticed many cultivators here behaving rigidly, indicating erased memories. Moreover, that young man speaks arrogantly, yet many cultivators instinctively react tranquilly first, followed by surprise and other emotions, showing unconsciously they already know this—judging from this, they must have encountered similar events, and from their lost memories, it’s deduced that this is a ’fishing’ strategy."
"They can’t predict the exact year or day we return here, nor determine which ancient city we descend upon, but they can perform similar actions in numerous ancient cities. Furthermore, the Thunder Flame Sacred Land has not only my disciple Hou Chen; merely putting on a friend’s or relative’s name, given my former character, would certainly bait me into checking, and taking action during battle.
This way, identifying the attacker becomes easy even if it’s not me, they can capture Thunder Expansion Sacred Land’s cultivators entirely."
Zhou Yan explained in detail.
Even Hua Qiudao drew a sharp breath at this explanation.
"This world, is it really this brutal? It requires such ingenious minds and powerful forces to scatter such a large net and lay such traps! Truly jaw-dropping."
Hua Qiudao marveled.
Zhao Xiaoxiao also became very moved at this moment, finding this beautiful world like the Immortal Realm suddenly revealing its terrifying eyes and bloody fangs, showing its ruthless and grim side.
"Then, what should we do?"
Liu Haoxin felt a bit nervous.
"Very simple, if you’re unaware it’s fine, but knowing makes breaking the game much easier. Yet pretending not to know is enough. I recall in the Tai Chu Runes, there exists a mysterious Wanling Race in the Earth Ancestral Land, where I have certain inheritance and have comprehended threads of the Supreme Dao. From now on, we won’t have any ties to the past. Hua Qiudao and I will be from the Blood Witch Clan, Hua Qiudao is the Merit Elder, and you two are Sect Master my direct disciples. Other identities and names do not need changing. Remember this."
Zhou Yan said.
The three naturally nodded in agreement.
"Sect Master, what do we do next?"
Hua Qiudao asked with a smile.
"They mentioned two battling, we naturally can attend under our new identities, and at that time, kill those deemed unfitting, directly establishing our identity; regardless of whether the two are genuine or not, I suspect the Jiang family has prideful figures who wouldn’t mind offending us unintentionally, wouldn’t they? At that time, I shall showcase the Ancestral Witch Skills of the seventy-two Heavenly Gang Transformation from our Ancestor Land, naturally dispelling the enemy’s caution."
Zhou Yan said.
"This way, when the enemy discovers we aren’t the ones they’re searching for, we can instead boastfully kill them, that’s simply exhilarating!"
Liu Haoxin’s eyes gleamed, understanding Zhou Yan’s meaning instantly, he then became incredibly excited.