Chapter 266 - 58 Planning to Run Away in Advance

If we’re talking about combat abilities, Jiang the Witch is indeed not a match for Wei the Demon Lord.

But when it comes to tricks, not even ten Wei Demon Lords would be enough to play against Jiang the Witch.

Soon enough, the captured Ai Zhenzhi spilled all the secrets cleanly and thoroughly,

The good news is that the Divine Striking Whip wasn’t obtained by Ai Zhenzhi after killing someone but was captured by some predecessor from a disciple of Yuqing View.

The bad news is that said disciple was rumored to be an Array Master, and quite young at that, reportedly not yet at Core Formation…

If there had been something like an identity card in the Cultivation Realm, he believed the confession would certainly match Luo Yan’s identity number.

Having roughly inquired about the situation, Wei Dongliu decided it was time to reload a previous save.

[Save Point Three: Penglai Immortal Island, Yuqing View.]

[Character Identity: Luo Yan.]

[Overlaying Mirror Flower Water Moon Template, time-space traveling in progress.]

After being transported to Yuqing View, Luo Yan had already thought through the situation thoroughly.

First of all, he needed to figure out how much information Penglai had on the subject.

If he rashly went to the Pavilion Master or the master, and revealed everything from A to Z, he wouldn’t be able to explain the source of the intelligence — he’d most likely be treated as a spy “defecting to the light.”

Well, considering that I am indeed a spy, doing so would be utterly foolish.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He should probe the situation first.

When Luo Yan ran to Elder Shi Ding, he saw his master reading in the study.

What he read were the various ancient Formation manuscripts he and Shi Liuli had brought back from the Gui Xu Palace.

“Master,” Luo Yan made up a lie on the spot, merely saying that he happened to pass by an island when, due to an unforeseen coincidence, he overheard some passing Cultivators discussing the “Attack on Penglai by a Hundred Thousand Demon Soldiers.”

“Attack on Penglai by a Hundred Thousand Demon Soldiers?” Elder Shi Ding exclaimed surprisingly, “Isn’t it supposed to be Shushan? Recently, the Demon Cult has been clashing with Shushan in the Southern Border’s Hundred Thousand Mountains. How would they have time to attack Penglai?”

“Is there a possibility,” Luo Yan of course couldn’t say he had solid evidence, he could only pose as having a wild idea in hopes the master would take it seriously, “that the situation in the Hundred Thousand Mountains is just a decoy?”

“To draw the Orthodox Sect’s attention to the Southern Border, and then secretly redirect their forces to circle around and attack Penglai, how about that?”

“All right,” Elder Shi Ding said helplessly, “If that is the case, from the Southern Border to Penglai, it’s more than ten thousand miles. How could the Demon Cult ensure they won’t be detected on this journey?”

“Ahem, maybe they have some kind of Flying Magical Treasure?” Luo Yan said awkwardly, “If they circled around the Southern Sea, the East Sea, they could avoid detection to the greatest extent.”

“Even if they have magical treasures that can travel thousands of miles a day and they did manage to circle around the East Sea,” Elder Shi Ding slapped his thigh and said, “to the south of Penglai in the East Sea, there are thirty-six Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands. Once the Demon Cult enters the East Sea, how will they escape their scrutiny?”

“Ahem, if all the thirty-six Cave Heavens in the East Sea have betrayed us…” Luo Yan was still insisting.

“Let’s not even talk about whether they’d dare to betray.” Elder Shi Ding spoke impatiently, “Even if they did betray, Penglai Immortal Island has the Tai Yi Escaping Armor Yin Yang Great Formation. Even if the Demon Sect’s Six Paths combined with the thirty-six Cave Heavens were to attack us together, how would they possibly breach it?”

“If there were a traitor…”

“Are you the traitor?” Elder Shi Ding asked oddly.

Pfft! Luo Yan almost spat blood when he heard that. Luckily, his mind raced and he saw that Elder Shi Ding was not serious — otherwise, how could he still be alive?

He only heard Elder Shi Ding frown and say:

“This Formation was left by the ancestors of Clarify Cult, and currently, even I am in charge of maintaining it. Apart from our Heavenly Craft Workshop, no one knows the secrets of the great array.”

“And within our Heavenly Craft Workshop, only you have received the true transmission of my Formation knowledge. If there is a traitor, besides you, who else could it be?”

Luo Yan then showed an expression of wry amusement. This couldn’t go on any further; talking more would really arouse the master’s suspicion.

“Luo Yan,” Elder Shi Ding spoke kindly again, “Is it Liuli urging you to find an excuse to take her out for fun again?”

“Go and tell Liuli, in recent years, the conflicts between the Demon Cult and the Orthodox Sect are growing more and more intense, and it’s really not stable outside. Even if she really wants to go out, she must wait until your eldest senior brother forms his Nascent Infant. It’s only a matter of twenty some years away… Understand?”

“Understood,” Luo Yan said dully.

Still twenty years to go; if we can survive the upcoming catastrophe, we should be grateful to Heaven.

He silently bade farewell to his master and then turned to leave.

Well, when I think about it, it’s normal not to convince the master.

Even Ai Zhenzhi actually doesn’t know exactly how the Tai Yi Escaping Armor Yin Yang Great Formation at Penglai was broken through in the future.

As long as there is no evidence of a problem with the formation, the disciples of Yuqing View will not feel any sense of crisis. When asked, they just say, “With the great formation in place,” what’s there to discuss?

Upon careful analysis, there are two possible ways the formation could be destroyed:

One is the presence of a traitor.

This is the most reasonable explanation, as solid fortresses are often breached from within.

However, the master has already said that only he knows the secrets of the formation. He hasn’t even passed them on to me. Even if there is a traitor, how could they shut down the formation from the inside?

Could it be that the traitor is the master… cough, how could that be possible!

If Elder Shi Ding were a traitor from the Demon Sect, wouldn’t going to him directly be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den?

Impossible, impossible!

Luo Yan thought again, the second possibility is that the Demon Cult has come up with a method to break the formation from the outside.

This possibility can only be acknowledged as existing, but as for the specifics, it’s impossible to confirm. After all, Luo Yan himself doesn’t understand the Tai Yi Escaping Armor Yin Yang Great Formation, let alone how to break it.

After much thought, Luo Yan came to a conclusion:

First, according to the message from the future Demon Cult, Yuqing View suffers a significant defeat this time, with even the Mountain Protection Array being broken, and high-rank cultivators are fleeing everywhere with the low-rank cultivators.

Taking into account the presence of a defending immortal at Yuqing View, it means that the Demon Race’s expedition must also have an immortal. Otherwise, the Demon Cult would not be able to achieve success.

Second, though the likelihood is remote, if I could sneak in and grab the Heaven-Mending Stone fragments while the immortals are fighting, that would be the best.

If there’s no chance, then the next best thing is to figure out a way to lure the master and my fellow disciples—senior and junior, as well as Miss Liuli—out in advance.

As long as we’re not in Penglai, whether it’s a hundred thousand demons or a million demons besieging it, why should we worry?

And achieving this is easy, just trick Miss Liuli into going out, trap her, then go back for help—that’s it. With his daughter missing, the master definitely won’t be able to sit still.

No matter how damaged Yuqing View becomes, as long as Elder Shi Ding is alive, my position within the sect won’t be shaken, and I will still have the chance to pursue fragments of the Heaven-Mending Stone.

Lastly, it’s the help from external allies.

Although Elder Shi Ding does not trust me, I am not without other masters!

According to the future information from the Demon Cult, it was the reinforcements from Kunlun, thousand miles away, that relieved the siege of Penglai.

That means, if Qiu Changtian can persuade the Ziwei Master, might there be more viability?

Just trick everyone from the Heavenly Craft Workshop to Divine Land and when Penglai is under attack by the Demon Cult, Kunlun will immediately send support. En route, they will “coincidentally” encounter the master and his group and take them under protection.

By doing so, the greatest risk would be perfectly avoided.

With his plans thoroughly considered, Luo Yan stood up and went towards Daozang Pavilion.

First, he needed to find a secret sanctuary to lure Miss Shi for exploration.

Ordinary cultivators seeking an opportunity to find Refining Mansion would first look into the scriptures.

The collection of scriptures in Penglai is as vast as the sea of stars, ten times more than that of Kunlun and Shushan combined. For ordinary cultivators, it would take forever to go through them all.

But Luo Yan, with his talent to understand a thousand things with one glance, could read at a glance and understand instantly.

As long as he finds the secret scroll containing clues, he could immediately deduce the location of the secret sanctuary from the information between the lines!