The night receded, and the first light of dawn appeared.

A new grave had appeared at the foot of a low mountain not far from Yellow Crane Immortal City.

Li Chang’an had fulfilled his promise, burying the two of them together at the very place they had first met.

WHOOSH...

A gentle mountain breeze stirred, scattering joss paper into the air.

The souls of Sima Rui and Chu Xiong were also before the grave, bidding farewell to their junior brother.

"Junior Brother Liang, may you and your wife rest in peace."

"One day, when Murong Kang is brought to justice, I will come to your grave and tell you the good news."

The two of them were dead now, after all.

They could only pin their hopes on Li Chang’an to deal with Murong Kang.

But Murong Kang was hidden far too well; no one knew his true location.

Now, Li Chang’an was out in the open, while Murong Kang lurked in the shadows.

Fortunately, he had his Divination to help him.

If Murong Kang decided to move against him, he would be able to know in advance and prepare accordingly.

’A single clone was this difficult to kill. The real Murong Kang must be even tougher.’

Li Chang’an stood before the grave, deep in thought.

After a moment, he collected the souls of Sima Rui and Chu Xiong, then left the area and returned to Changqing Mountain.

"Muyu, while I was away, did any outsiders come snooping around Changqing Mountain?"

"No."

Jiang Muyu shook her head gently.

After Li Chang’an left, she had taken control of Changqing Mountain’s two Grand Arrays to monitor the surrounding area.

But all had been calm and quiet, with no suspicious people or incidents.

...

「Meanwhile.」

At the foot of the mountain, inside the Marketplace.

A young figure slowly raised his head to look at the mountain’s peak.

’Li Chang’an, I seem to have underestimated you. It looks like you’ve hidden quite a bit of strength beneath that turtle shell of yours.’

’However, the stronger you are, the greater your help will be to me after you become my clone.’

’Go on, hurry up and cultivate the Demon Planting Technique...’

A crimson light flashed in his eyes, giving him a demonic look.

If Li Chang’an had been there, he would have instantly recognized from the man’s aura that this was the real Murong Kang!

The version of the Demon Planting Technique he had left in Liang Yu’s memories was, in fact, incomplete.

If Li Chang’an were to switch to practicing it, he would unknowingly fall under Murong Kang’s control and become his new clone.

’Li Chang’an, your Spiritual Root is poor. Only this Demon Planting Technique can help you ignore its limitations. You might be able to resist the temptation now, but one day, you won’t be able to hold back...’

Murong Kang was very confident.

Cultivators like Li Chang’an, who had neither started a family nor taken on disciples, always placed immense importance on their own cultivation path.

To walk further down the path of Cultivation Immortality, they were willing to try anything.

One day, Li Chang’an would hit a bottleneck. His Cultivation would stagnate, and he would have no choice but to try the seemingly dangerous Demon Planting Technique.

Even knowing it was bait, he wouldn’t be able to resist taking a bite.

...

On the mountaintop, inside his cave residence.

Li Chang’an sat cross-legged, carefully poring over the Demon Planting Technique.

’I can only use the four subsequent Magic techniques if I cultivate this Cultivation Technique. That’s a problem.’

His Ancient Wood Evergreen Technique was a top-tier Cultivation Technique directly related to his Spiritual Root, so switching was out of the question.

Although the Demon Planting Technique also ignored the quality of one’s Spiritual Root, Li Chang’an still greatly preferred his Ancient Wood Evergreen Technique.

’Maybe I can modify them slightly. Bypass this Cultivation Technique and turn the Blood Seed Technique, Substitute Death Technique, and the others into standalone Magic techniques.’

He silently contemplated a way to modify them.

In the days that followed, Li Chang’an practiced the Refining Shadow Invisible Technique while simultaneously contemplating how to modify the four Magic techniques from the Demon Planting Technique.

Furthermore, he deployed a large number of Puppets around Changqing Mountain. He used these Puppets as his eyes to observe the area, attempting to find the hidden Murong Kang.

Time flew by, and a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Throughout that year, Murong Kang never once made an appearance.

The area around Changqing Mountain could be described as calm and peaceful.

The outside world, however, was already in turmoil.

News of Murong Kang’s death had spread from Yellow Crane Immortal City, and the killer was believed to be someone from the Huanghe Alliance.

The two major factions clashed repeatedly, resulting in countless casualties.

From the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage, everyone except Huang He Master himself had made a move, yet they were still unable to defeat the Huanghe Alliance. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Many were speculating that Huang He Master would have to make his move soon.

This legendary figure’s power was unfathomable. If he were to act, the Huanghe Alliance would almost certainly be unable to hold out.

But others believed that Huang He Master might be too concerned with his reputation, unwilling to lose face by personally attacking a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Ye Hao with his status as a Golden Core Master.

Li Chang’an couldn’t help but shake his head as he read the report in his hands.

’That old bastard, Huang He Master, care about his reputation? As if.’

Huang He Master had always been unscrupulous; reputation meant nothing to him.

The reason he had yet to make a move was likely because he was worried Ye Hao still had even more powerful tricks up his sleeve.

After all, no one knew what Ye Hao had truly experienced at the bottom of Soul-breaking Cliff.

Recently, many people had gone to Soul-breaking Cliff to probe its secrets.

Some had even tried to gamble on their own fortune by exploring deep within Soul-breaking Cliff, but none who went down ever came back up.

’This situation is very advantageous for me.’

Li Chang’an mused.

The Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage’s attention was focused entirely on the Huanghe Alliance.

This allowed him to grow and become stronger at his own pace.

It just meant his old friend Ye Hao would have to suffer a little.

Over the past year, he had already cultivated the Refining Shadow Invisible Technique to the Great Success stage.

Now, when he used this Magic, his body and aura would vanish instantly, as if he had never been there at all.

Li Chang’an had tested it many times.

Even when he stood right in front of Jiang Muyu, she wouldn’t notice him and would simply go about her own business.

Even Xiaohai and Dahuang, bound to him by a Spirit Beast Contract, were unable to detect him.

’This Magic truly excels at concealment.’

Li Chang’an was particularly pleased.

His chances of survival had once again increased significantly.