Wen Yang felt that something was very off.
He had dealt with Jiang Liyan before and knew that although the witch was curious, her personality was filled with extreme suspicion.
For example, during the exploration of ancient ruins, she would often suddenly take off halfway through.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Of course, everyone was unaware that Jiang the Witch had the feature of being âextremely reliant on intuition,â and simply thought she saw a bow in a cupâs reflection and suspected enemies in every bush, hence they treated it as a joke.
How could such an extremely cautious witch entrust her âlife in his judgmentâ just because of a sentence from fellow Wei?
What a joke!
How long have these two known each other? Could they be having an affair?
While Wen Yang was making various speculations and gossipping, he saw Jiang Liyan moving meticulously step by step to the spot where the dragon puppet had been destroyed by the Thunder Method Restrictions.
There was no reaction.
Wei Dongliu felt greatly relieved, thinking to himself that his Ah Jing would not make a mistake.
Wen Yang and the others were also overjoyed, someone had finally passed through the Thunder Method Restrictions!
After the joy, they immediately turned to rage:
Damn, why wasnât that person me!
This way, all the benefits inside would be taken by Jiang the Witch!
Jiang Liyan also realized this and found that her Ten Aspects Release Method could safely pass through the entrance restrictions, she immediately controlled her sword and turned into a streak of light, rushing inside, completely different from her earlier dawdling.
Her sword light disappeared into the depths of the corridor, and the four cultivators outside stood silently in the water, wordless with one another.
âWonât fellow Wei explain?â Wen Yang couldnât help but ask.
âExplain what?â Wei Dongliu asked nonchalantly in return.
âIf it goes on like this, all the benefits inside will be swept up by Jiang the Witch!â Gu Lie said angrily, âWe would be left picking up nothing on the outside!â
âThat wonât be the case,â Wei Dongliu said, âShe will come back.â
âWhy wonât that be?â Long Xiaoqi asked curiously, his eyes blinking as if to say, âCould it be that there really is an affair between you two?â
âBecause the key is in my hand,â Wei Dongliu said.
The others were slightly stunned and then remembered the golden sword that the Qilin had given him, they immediately fell silent.
Jiang the Witch thought she had stumbled upon good luck, but wasnât she completely calculated by others? In the end, it was a wasted effort, which was truly pitiful.
Sure enough, not even half a moment passed when Jiang Liyan, with the appearance of a fox demon, appeared again from around the corner, greeting everyone casually as if nothing had happened:
âI just went in for a look, itâs okay, there arenât any mechanisms⦠why are you all looking at me like that?â
âTo think that even after entering the Divine Palace, fellow Jiang did not forget her old friends, itâs truly touching,â Wen Yang said sardonically.
âOf course, we are a team, after all,â Jiang Liyan said shamelessly and then turned to look at Wei Dongliu, âFellow Wei, now that I have come in, is there any way to break this mechanism?â
âOn the wall, count the third Everbright Lamp from the left to the right and rotate it clockwise for one complete turn,â the Kunlun Mirror prompted.
Wei Dongliu repeated the instructions exactly, and Jiang Liyan followed them precisely, only to hear a sound resembling electric arcs exploding all around.
âIs it unlocked?â Gu Lie asked uncertainly.
âHmm,â Wei Dongliu received a prompt from the Kunlun Mirror and took the lead in moving forward.
The group watched in silence as he calmly walked into the entrance, and nothing happened.
The restrictions had indeed been lifted.
Gu Lie and the others hastened to follow, meeting up with Wei Dongliu and Jiang Liyan.
They had finally entered the Mirror Lake Divine Palace, and although everyone visibly relaxed, they couldnât help but feel anxious.
If the entranceâs restrictions were so difficult to break, how dangerous would it be inside? They could only take one step at a time and see.
After a moment, Wen Yang secretly transmitted his voice to Jiang Liyan, asking:
âWho exactly is this Wei fellow? How do you know him?â
âThatâs a long story,â Jiang Liyan chuckled.
Saying itâs a long story meant if you insist on asking, I can only make up a lie for you.
Wen Yang then tactfully closed the subject, shifting the topic:
âDonât you think that he seems like someone from⦠that place?â
âWhere?â Jiang Liyan didnât understand.
Wen Yang hinted discreetly:
âAmong the Six Paths, who takes precedence?â
âThat would be either the Heavenly Demon Path or the Nether Ghost Pathâ¦â Jiang Liyan began, but suddenly her realization hit her hard, âCould it be the Hell Path?â
âMm.â
âNo way, how did you figure that out?â Jiang Liyan was incredulous and uncertain.
âBecause I canât figure him out, thatâs exactly why I suspect heâs from the Hell Path!â explained Wen Yang, âLook, people from the Hell Path are also incredibly powerful yet mysterious in their origins, arenât they?â
Jiang Liyan knew well what he referred to: It was said that over seven hundred years ago, a Nascent Soul bigwig from the Mortal Life Pathâ for some unknown reason, whether dissatisfaction with the long-term stealth of the Hell Path, or an intent to usurp their prestige as direct descendants of the Intercepting Cultâ took the lead in convening a summit of the Six Paths. He declared that any Sect not attending would be expelled from the Six Paths alignment.
This was obviously aimed at the Hell Path because after the Intercepting Cultâs defeat in the great battle of interpretation and detriment, the Hell Pathâs forebear, the Immaculate Mother (then called âImmaculate Virginâ), had decreed upon passing down the teachings that disciples were strictly forbidden to participate in public events under the banner of the Hell Path.
In other words, you could visit other Cultivators privately as a Hell Path Cultivator or join public events under a disguised identity, but you could not swagger around proudly with your Hell Path status⦠Basically, the Hell Path was not to appear before the public eye.
That Nascent Soul bigwig from the Mortal Life Path obviously meant to strip them of their status and prestige, betting that the Hell Path wouldnât dare to show themselves and seize the opportunity to depose them.
The Hell Pathâs response was straightforward: on the day of the Six Paths summit, the Nascent Soul bigwig who had initiated the event did not show up. Later, it was discovered that he and about a hundred Golden Core and Foundation Establishment disciples had all been killed within their Sect Residence in the Mount Wutai Range.
In short, when it comes to the Hell Path, the first impression for everyone is âmysteriousââbecause few Cultivators have dealt with them, and most of those who claimed they had were mostly lying or boasting.
The second impression is âpowerfulââas no one witnessed their moves, and most who did witness were dead, so presumably they must be overwhelmingly powerful, otherwise how could they maintain such mystery?
Upon closer reflection, Jiang the Witch suddenly realized that all of Wei the Scoundrelâs characteristics almost perfectly matched those of the Hell Path!
Firstly, his origins were obscure, which he very secretively avoided discussing, yet he seemed thoroughly knowledgeable about the various situations in the Cultivation Worldâsurely a source of information from the Hell Path!
Secondly, he claimed to have no master, saying he was a self-taught Loose Cultivator, yet his strength was preposterously formidableâsurely cultivated with the Hell Pathâs resources!
Finally, learning the way of Formations required abundant resources, not possible without the backing of a major Sect.
All the new talents from the other Five Paths were here, and previously none knew Wei the Scoundrel, while Orthodox Sect Cultivators were unlikely to practice Demonic Techniquesâ¦
All things considered, the likelihood that Wei the Scoundrel originated from the Hell Path was extremely high! It was virtually a certainty!