"Hahaha! Brother Xiang, you are truly a man of sentiment. I, Wang, am truly delighted. Let us become sworn brothers today!"
"We seek not to be born in the same year, month, and day, but to die in the same year, month, and day!" Ye Ling continued Xiang Yue's words, making a gesture to swear brotherhood with Xiang Yue.
The atmosphere had reached its peak. Xiang Yue, also moved, exclaimed, "Well said, 'Seek not to be born in the same year, month, and day, but to die in the same year, month, and day!' Brother Wang, I, Xiang Yue, consider you a true brother!"
"From now on, your master is my master. If you have any trouble, come find me!"
Mie Shi Ling Huo scoffed, "Kid, I see Xiang Yue wants to latch onto your fabricated master. His words are all high-sounding, but I bet he'll sell you out the first chance he gets."
Ye Ling chuckled, "You're no better, Big Brother. We're both playing our own games. If it's mutual utilization, then my psychological pressure isn't that great."
After communicating with Mie Shi Ling Huo, Ye Ling took out several more jars of immortal brew and said to Xiang Yue, "Brother Xiang, we met too late. Let's have a good drink today, until we drop!"
"Good! I'm happy today, we won't stop drinking until we drop!"
Xiang Yue agreed heartily and immediately picked up a jar and started guzzling.
Ye Ling smiled slightly and also began to drink, the two conversing amiably.
Thus, half a month passed. Ye Ling and Xiang Yue's relationship grew stronger, almost becoming brothers who shared everything.
One day, amidst the clinking of cups and plates in the room, the sky gradually darkened.
Ye Ling and Xiang Yue's conversation became more and more engaging. In the end, Xiang Yue even revealed many secrets about the Wu Gong, treating Ye Ling like a true brother.
"Brother Wang, what exactly is your primordial spirit fire? Why have I never heard of it before?" Hiccupped the drunken Xiang Yue, finally unable to suppress his curiosity, he asked Ye Ling.
"To be honest, Brother Xiang, the primordial spirit fire is one of the Four Great Spirit Fires derived from the Seed Source of our Upper Realm. Its power is comparable to the Seed Source itself. Carrying it is equivalent to carrying half a Seed Source," Ye Ling said, somewhat tipsy.
"Are there such divine objects in the world?" Xiang Yue's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked Ye Ling with a look of astonishment.
"Of course, hiccup..." Ye Ling hiccupped again, "My Wang clan has guarded the primordial spirit fire for generations. Only those chosen by the primordial spirit fire are qualified to be clan leader."
"Hearing you say that, Brother Wang, you're the next clan leader?" Xiang Yue continued to ask.
"It's not certain yet. There are three other candidates undergoing trials elsewhere... but I failed my trial, so I probably won't be qualified to be clan leader." Ye Ling sighed, his eyes filled with sadness.
"Don't sigh so quickly, Brother Wang. Things aren't without hope," Xiang Yue patted Ye Ling's shoulder, offering comfort.
"What hope is there?" Ye Ling sighed. "When my master comes to save me, it will be considered that my trial has failed, and I will have no way to compete with the other guardians of the primordial spirit fire."
"What if I told you I could help you leave the Wu Gong?" Xiang Yue suddenly said.
"Does Brother Xiang have a way?" Ye Ling feigned disbelief and looked at Xiang Yue.
"Naturally," Xiang Yue patted his chest and guaranteed, "After all, your Brother Xiang is the Third Elder of the Wu Gong, and I have some say with the Palace Master."
"The Palace Master practices incantations every night. At midnight, you can leave the Wu Gong. I won't stop you."
"If I leave, what about you? Won't the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch pursue you?" Ye Ling asked with feigned concern.
"No, Brother Wang, rest assured," Xiang Yue smiled.
"Brother Xiang, you are truly my good brother! When I become clan leader, I'll come find you for a drink!" Ye Ling excitedly hugged Xiang Yue, then pushed open the door and fled out of the Wu Gong under the cover of night.
The drunken Xiang Yue watched Ye Ling leave with a smiling face. The alcohol in his blood slowly evaporated, and his smile gradually turned sinister.
"Regarding Wang Li Ren's identity, how is the investigation going?" Xiang Yue stood at the doorway of his room and asked faintly towards an empty spot in the courtyard.
A dark figure appeared in the courtyard and respectfully replied to Xiang Yue, "Reporting to the Third Elder, we received news from an elder of the Soul Capturing Sect. Wang Li Ren was indeed captured by the Soul Capturing True Monarch. However, the Soul Capturing True Monarch seems to be wary of Wang Li Ren's identity and did not kill him directly."
"I understand. You may return," Xiang Yue waved his hand at the dark figure.
"Yes!" The dark figure respectfully replied and then vanished from the spot.
As the dark figure left, Xiang Yue looked again in the direction Ye Ling had gone, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
"Brother Wang, since you were injured by the Soul Capturing True Monarch, dying outside the Wu Gong means your master behind you won't be able to trouble our Wu Gong..."
"The Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch wants your primordial spirit fire, and I need to use you to establish myself in the Wu Gong. Brother Wang, I'm sorry!"
"However, after this is over, I should probably go into hiding... If your master really finds us, it's the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch who has the primordial spirit fire, so it shouldn't involve me..."
Xiang Yue muttered to himself, then flew towards the Yang Xin Hall where the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch resided.
On the other side, outside the Wu Gong.
Mie Shi Ling Huo saw Ye Ling actually run out of the Wu Gong and asked, "Kid, why did you run out? Weren't you going to give me to the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch?"
"This is where the main event begins! After all these days of groundwork, Xiang Yue is already eyeing you."
Ye Ling said quickly. Using the creation power within the Zhen Shi Pearl, he created a brand new him, simultaneously using runes to transfer the curse mark Xiang Yue had secretly placed on him to his替身 (tìshēn - substitute/decoy).
"Mie Shi Ling Huo, enter my替身!"
Ye Ling used runes to conceal his true body's aura and transferred Mie Shi Ling Huo to his替身.
"Remember, the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch will come to hunt me down later. You must resist with all your might, but do not show too much self-awareness. You must attract the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch to recognize you as his master," Ye Ling instructed Mie Shi Ling Huo.
"And after recognizing me as master?" Mie Shi Ling Huo asked.
Ye Ling replied, "I will first go to the Forest of Death to meet Ji Ning. You watch for an opportunity to lure the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch to the Forest of Death."
"By then, Ji Ning should have arrived. I will help Ji Ning break the one-life-one-body contract with Qing Zhu, and then have Ji Ning form a new contract with Long Yu, and seize the opportunity to transfer the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch's curse onto Ji Ning!"
"However, after Ji Ning sees how I break the contract, she will likely be able to break her own contract with Long Yu quickly. My time to transfer the curse might not be enough, so you need to lure the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch to attack Ji Ning."
"How do I make the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch attack?" Mie Shi Ling Huo asked again.
Ye Ling smiled, "It's simple. You directly attack Ji Ning then, and Ji Ning will likely be enraged upon seeing this and attack you."
"At that time, you will directly erase the master-recognition contract with the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch, attach yourself to Ji Ning, and pretend that Ji Ning stole you, thus provoking the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch to fall out with Ji Ning."
"The time I need is not long, just a brief exchange of blows between the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch and Ji Ning to delay them slightly. By then, even if the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch realizes what's happening, we will have already saved Long Yu."
"Okay, we'll proceed according to your plan," Mie Shi Ling Huo nodded slightly. "But I have another question. Once the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch realizes, we will have another supreme expert as an enemy. What do we do next?"
"What else can we do? You and Tian Xing join forces and kill the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch!" Ye Ling laughed.
"What about Ji Ning? How do we deal with her?" Mie Shi Ling Huo asked again.
"We saved the Dragon Emperor's son. If the Dragon Emperor doesn't seize this opportunity to kill the Zhou Ye Heavenly Monarch and eliminate future troubles, then we'll admit defeat and flee!" Ye Ling said.
After hearing Ye Ling's detailed plan, Mie Shi Ling Huo confirmed its feasibility, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Good! You're quite cunning, kid!"