Chapter 257: Best Actor Yan Qianli

The Flameheart Palace was originally located in the desolate lands to the south of the continent, and the southern border was not too far from there.

When Chu Ge wrote this part, he roughly followed the setting from the “Chinese Paladin” game series. Cultivators in this region primarily used poison and gu techniques, and elemental techniques were mainly focused on fire. He also added many details about different ethnic groups, local customs, clothing, architecture, and various traditions, giving this gathering place for different ethnic groups in the world of martial heroes a distinct look.

The mountains were vast, and the roads were inconvenient, with little interaction with the central lands. Moreover, there were various demon races living there, and all kinds of exotic techniques were abundant.

The puppetry technique using gu insects was originally a specialty of this region and different from the puppetry techniques of the central lands.

The most powerful cultivator in the Southern Border was known as the Gu God. He was also a late-stage Crossing Tribulation cultivator. The other person used the gu puppet technique and went through all these twists and turns to make Qiu Wuji suspect the Gu God.

Even the location of the dragon bones Yan Qianli was guided to was meant to strengthen this kind of deception, with information from both the righteous and demonic sides pointing to the Southern Border region. No matter how the information leaked, the Divine Continent would only focus on the Southern Border.

Rushing headlong to the Gu God’s doorstep and getting into a conflict with the Southern Border people would create a war between the world’s sects and the different ethnic groups and demon races. Certain individuals behind the scenes would be quite pleased with themselves.

As the father of everyone involved, Chu Ge knew very well that the Gu God’s cultivation had not reached the level of transcendence, and he did not belong to the type that was excessively elusive.

Cultivation could develop additional means, but a breakthrough in raw power is unlikely to surpass the limits set by the Heavenly Dao, as it is too easy to detect and correct deviations. While a person’s character can darken, such as discovering the deceptive Heavenly Dao, which can turn a hero into an angry figure, it can be understood. However, it is much more difficult to change from a straightforward person to a devious one; it’s practically impossible to do.

So, this matter was likely unrelated to the Gu God. Even if it was related, it would at most be a matter of being misled.

All the complicated tricks the other side used, in front of “dad,” they were useless.

In the end, everything simplifies to the Little Flame “escorting” the “disciple of Qiu Wuji” who was “captured”, to the dragon bone location.

Qiu Wuji hid herself far away, lying in ambush. The little flame transformed into a giant flame, carrying Chu Ge who looked slumped, and stood in a desolate mountain hollow.

The hollow was filled with barren earth, a hundred miles of red earth where no grass grew, not even insects or scorpions. It indeed looked unusual.

“Is this the real location of the Red Flame Dragon Bone?” Yan Qianli tossed his father aside like a piece of trash and observed his surroundings with his hands behind his back. He muttered to himself, “I haven’t sensed any flames here. This arid desolation looks more like the work of a drought demon. Is that person trying to deceive me?”

There was silence all around.

Yan Qianli wasn’t anxious and continued to wait patiently.

The imposing aura of the big boss was quite unsettling.

As expected, after a while, a voice drifted from afar, “The place where the bone is buried was originally similar to the idea of a drought demon… Within the dragon bones, the dragon’s flame is wrapped in the earth for a thousand years, melting together, gradually causing a thousand miles of red earth. If your excellency successfully refines it into your own bones, the hidden flames will be an excellent complement to your cultivation.”

Yan Qianli calmly stated, “Reveal yourself and speak. Do not force me to become agitated.”

A voice approached from afar, saying, “I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly. I haven’t been waiting here the entire time.”

Before long, an old man flew over and landed in front of Yan Qianli.

Yan Qianli took a brief look and saw that it was a powerful Crossing Tribulation-stage cultivator. He had a withered and aged appearance, his upper body was bare, his hair was fiery red, and he wore a string of bone beads around his neck. In his hand, he held a peach wood staff carved in the shape of a snake, with serpent-like eyes that seemed lifelike.

He appeared to be a typical Gu cultivator elder.

Cultivators of this level among the Gu cultivators were not common, and Yan Qianli’s heart stirred slightly. He calmly asked, “So, it was the Venerable Azure Serpent. The Venerable is the right-hand man of the Gu God. Is this matter related to the Gu God?”

The Venerable Azure Serpent revealed a creepy smile and replied, “The Venerable knows if your excellency knows.”

His oily gaze fell on Chu Ge, who appeared dispirited. Chu Ge’s face was pale, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and he was artfully tied up with his hands bound. His body was covered in injuries, clearly the result of a fierce battle before being captured.

The Venerable Azure Serpent’s expression turned somewhat strange as he asked, “Is this person… truly the direct disciple of Qiu Wuji?”

Yan Qianli thought to himself that this puppet had clearly seen him earlier, so why pretend now? But he remained composed and said, “This person practices the Cloud Horizon Sect’s techniques and carries a temporary pass that only the sect’s honored guests possess… Have you ever seen a guest from Cloud Horizon Sect leaving the mountain while still holding such a pass?”

“That’s correct.” The Venerable Azure Serpent’s withered face displayed a satisfied smile. “Indeed, I’ve heard that only that direct disciple receives such peculiar treatment. It’s said that due to the Heavenly Dao’s influence, his hair and blood can’t easily come into contact with others, so he can’t make his own personal identification token.”

Chu Ge silently thought that the Cloud Horizon Sect also had some big mouths… But this matter had not been strictly kept secret, and he had intentionally let various rumors about the “disciple of Qiu Wuji” spread throughout the world. There was nothing to say about it.

Yan Qianli kicked Chu Ge like a piece of trash a couple of times and sneered, “I don’t know if it’s related to the Heavenly Dao or not, but this person, as a newcomer, dared to venture into demon dens with a Cloud Horizon Sect elder as an escort. Unfortunately, he ended up in my secluded cultivation area, bringing me a big gift. Hahaha…”

The Venerable Azure Serpent found the situation to be quite coincidental, but he didn’t see any loopholes. He had also secretly sent his divine sense to the Flameheart Palace, listening to the conversation between the disciples of the Fire Prison Sect. Many of them were still enthusiastically discussing this matter.

“That Cloud Horizon Sect’s disciple is really amazing. Despite being at the Foundation Building stage, he managed to defeat a Golden Core cultivator…”

“Yeah, and his guardian elder was even more formidable. She might be some hidden expert, probably at the early Crossing Tribulation stage?”

“The Cloud Horizon Sect is truly a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger…”

“What’s the use? He still fell into our lord’s hands and was defeated in a single move.”

“Hahaha, the Cloud Horizon Sect hasn’t found the whereabouts of our lord, how would they know our lord is here? They probably thought it was just an ordinary demon den for demon-slaying…”

“Hahaha, blame it on his bad luck.”

Conversations like this could be heard everywhere. It was clear that these disciples were genuinely chatting and there was no reason for them to pretend. The scene even retained traces of a battle with artifacts, everything was perfectly executed.

Although they had seen Chu Ge with Qiu Wuji earlier, it was quite normal for a master and disciple to be together in their own sect’s mountain gate. However, it didn’t necessarily mean they would still be together when leaving the sect.

They hadn’t even considered that the “guardian elder” who was “defeated in a single move” would be Qiu Wuji herself. Everyone knew about the deep-seated enmity between Qiu Wuji and Yan Qianli. How could they possibly collaborate in such a charade? Moreover, even if they were to act, there wouldn’t have been enough time to coordinate anything, given the vast distance between them.

At this moment, Chu Ge gritted his teeth in anger and said, “Yan Qianli, if you dare to harm me, my master will sense it, and then there will be no place for you to hide! My master will seek vengeance for me!”

Yan Qianli burst into laughter, “I have already recovered. Once I obtain the dragon bones and refine my body, even if Qiu Wuji doesn’t come to find me, I will seek revenge on her. Are you trying to threaten me with this? Hahaha!”

Chu Ge remained silent in anger.

The Venerable Azure Serpent approached with a smile, seemingly wanting to touch Chu Ge. However, Yan Qianli suddenly stepped in between them and said, “Venerable, I have brought the person here, but I have not yet confirmed whether the dragon bones are here. I can’t just hand him over to you. Do you understand the rules?”

The Venerable Azure Serpent retreated his hand awkwardly and said, “I understand, I understand. So, how does your excellency plan to refine the dragon bones?”

Yan Qianli asked, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. I hope the Venerable can clarify it for me.”

“Of course, please ask.”

“Since this person is related to the Heavenly Dao, wouldn’t everything we do in his presence be known by the Heavenly Dao? If we intend to kill him, wouldn’t the Heavenly Dao prevent it?”

The Venerable Azure Serpent replied, “Although he is related to the Heavenly Dao, it doesn’t necessarily mean he is an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, both you and I would have been obliterated long ago, and we wouldn’t have survived until now.”

“So, Venerable, what is the situation with this person in your opinion?”

“Most likely, he is a cultivator with a Heavenly Dao attribute, but they may not necessarily interact with each other. He needs to cultivate to a certain level before awakening. Qiu Wuji discovered this person’s uniqueness and took him in as her disciple, putting her ahead of others.”

Yan Qianli nodded, “That makes sense. So, in fact, you don’t want to kill him?”

“Of course not.” The Venerable Azure Serpent smiled, “As for the specifics… we have not yet begun to cooperate, so please forgive me for keeping it a secret.”

Yan Qianli said, “In that case, let’s go down together to obtain the bones. A thousand feet underground, away from heaven and earth, and with the dragon bones as a barrier, it can be considered the weakest point in the perception of the Heavenly Dao. Since he can’t escape and our discussions won’t be overheard by a third party.”

The Venerable Azure Serpent had no doubts anymore; they all went together into the depths of the thousand feet underground, where nothing unexpected could happen.

Yan Qianli’s cooperation seemed quite sincere, indicating that he was truly desperate to break free from the Heavenly Dao’s control.

With a sly smile, he lightly tapped the ground with his snake staff and a solid patch of barren earth suddenly turned into a whirlpool, as if it had become a sea. The three of them were sucked into it and disappeared from sight.