Longevity: Starting as a Sect Servant-Chapter 262 - 195: Tan Qingxue’s Scheme
"A few days ago, some of Zhou Libai’s subordinates mistakenly entered Mist Valley and discovered an undulating underground river. After exploration, it was confirmed as the entrance to the Celestial Demon Secret Realm!"
Shee Anqi quickly told Li An, "Mountain Master Bai has ordered, everyone should gather immediately!"
Looks like it’s time to explore the Celestial Demon Secret Realm.
What one fears comes true.
"Alright!"
Li An immediately collected his belongings and set off with Shee Anqi.
"Thank you, Lin, my friend."
On the way, Shee Anqi expressed her gratitude, "I heard from my sister that you’ve been probing the Celestial Demon Secret Realm here all this time, and you’ve also refined quite a few pills for me..."
Furthermore, she knew at a glance that Li An had been here for a long time, and the evil qi on him was quite heavy.
A lot was given.
Li An, a cautious man, was willing to stay in such a dangerous place because of her...
Li An said, "Shee Daoist, you’re jesting. If it weren’t for you, I might have already died in the mouth of that poisonous python, and I’ve stayed here long enough without offering much help, ashamed, ashamed."
"Lin, my friend, from now on, just call me Anqi."
She suddenly said.
Li An paused for a moment, then nodded quietly.
...
The two arrived at Mist Valley.
All Spirit Beasts and human cultivators under Mountain Master Bai had arrived.
Rank Three and True Core amounted to over a hundred!
Mist Valley was somewhat akin to Yunqi Valley, but the miasma here was extremely dense, and the evil qi wasn’t as terrifying as Yunqi Valley.
Just as they entered, Mist Valley had already activated a grand array, trapping everyone present, making escape impossible.
"This is..." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Li An was surprised.
"The matter of the Celestial Demon Secret Realm is top-secret. Once you enter this place, you can’t leave again to prevent leaks."
Shee Anqi whispered an explanation and reminded, "Lin, before the action, don’t mention this to others, or misfortune might occur."
Li An realized, but at the same time felt a stir in his heart.
According to Shee Anqi, this place was discovered by Zhou Libai’s people. Zhou Libai certainly wouldn’t inform Lady Shee and her group. So how did Shee Anqi know?
There’s indeed a problem...
Li An observed carefully, repeatedly confirming that most cultivators here had no idea what the mission was.
He even probed Xiaoli, and even Right Captain Xiaoli wasn’t very clear.
"Lady Shee..."
Li An fully understood that currently only Zhou Libai and Mountain Master Bai comprehend the essence of this place.
Yet, Lady Shee and her people also know, implying only one possibility...
Lady Shee knew all along this was the Celestial Demon Secret Realm, possibly even leading Zhou Libai to discover it.
That deeply hidden woman finally intends to make a move?
Yet Shee Anqi informed him of the situation... It seems, at least in Lady Shee and her sister’s view, he’s a trustworthy insider?
This did not bring him much joy, rather growing anxiety.
After all, if his assumptions are correct, this is all set up by Lady Shee. What is her goal throughout?
The aim is clear, the most precious item within the Celestial Demon Secret Realm is the Celestial Demon Treasure Blood, that’s the only possibility!
Lady Shee wants the Celestial Demon Treasure Blood, meaning she schemes against not just Zhou Libai, but also Mountain Master Bai!
After all, the Celestial Demon Treasure Blood is also something Mountain Master Bai is determined to acquire.
What caliber of individual is Mountain Master Bai? A generational Mountain Master, equivalent to a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, while Lady Shee is merely Late-Stage True Core!
Moreover, under Mountain Master Bai are many True Core powerhouses, even several Nascent Souls.
Where does Lady Shee’s confidence come from?
Li An is being considered a trustworthy insider by the sisters, thus deeply drawn into this vortex.
To put it bluntly, he has become part of the "rebel faction," already bound to Lady Shee’s chariot!
Helplessness.
And similarly, if Lady Shee succeeds that’s fine, but if she fails? Then Li An would also share her fate!
In such a perilous environment, Li An instead calmed down, thinking through things.
First of all, looking at the whole, today’s attendees are all Mountain Master Bai’s subordinates, with no involvement from the Demon Race, meaning Mountain Master Bai hasn’t reported the Celestial Demon Secret Realm’s news to the Vermilion Bird King.
She also has ulterior motives!
Hence, besides those in the valley, outsiders are temporarily unaware.
Secondly, Lady Shee must have some fallback, certainly acting upon entering the Celestial Demon Secret Realm, targeting Mountain Master Bai directly.
Though Lady Shee doesn’t have many subordinates, those available are sparse and may not be loyal. To prevent Zhou Libai and other cultivators from causing chaos, she surely has other preparations—and so, sent Shee Anqi to find Li An?
That’s precisely it!
Indeed, from both past and present, Li An has shown deep loyalty and righteousness, enough devotion.
"Lin, my friend, later when we enter the Celestial Demon Secret Realm, you and I should handle a task together, controlling a grand array to subdue all the cultivators--"
Sure enough, as Li An pondered, Shee Anqi approached, whispering.
"What... exactly is happening?" Li An hesitantly questioned using secret communication.
"Lin, my friend, no need to ask more... just trust Anqi, I won’t harm you."
Even though Shee Anqi wore a veil on her face, hiding her features, her enchanting eyes were fixed on Li An with a hint of trust and a complex emotion. She extended a hand clad in white silk gloves, gently clasping Li An’s hand, and in that moment, Li An felt a jade talisman in his palm.
The control jade talisman for the grand array!
Li An was silent for a moment, then a trace of excitement and trust flickered in his eyes. He deeply clasped her hand, nodding emotionally and said, "Anqi, I believe you."
Shee Anqi’s eyes flowed with tenderness, a smile slowly blossomed, she nodded, rose, and left.
After she left, Li An felt increasingly uneasy inside. What trust—he was very worried about becoming cannon fodder.
He was merely discerning that Shee Anqi seemed to have a different sentiment towards him, so he went along with it, first to deceive her trust.
Even though Shee Anqi was a True Core cultivator, when it came to playing with emotions and the human heart, she was far behind such an old fox as Li An, who had lived many lifetimes and knew countless women.
But now, Mist Valley was inescapable.
He would first enter the Celestial Demon Secret Realm and talk again, since if things went wrong, he could use his familiarity with the Celestial Demon Secret Realm to find a path and leave through the Yunqi Valley’s tunnel entrance!
Mountain Master Bai stayed in this Mist Valley with a group of subordinates for seven days until the eighth day, when a full moon finally appeared again－－
A cliff in Mist Valley, where a turbid yellow waterfall was cascading down.
Tonight, this waterfall seemed to be shrouded by some power, the falling water had become a whirlpool!
"This is the place, everyone enter－－"
Mountain Master Bai’s command was instantly issued.
Everyone was utterly surprised, puzzled as to why, but still rushed in one after another under her command.
...
Not long after.
"Is this the Celestial Demon Secret Realm?"
"Quite likely... quite likely!"
"Is this a forgotten battlefield? Even the mountains are flattened, everything is dead... to generate such evil Qi, what kind of figure must have left it?"
Upon entering the Celestial Demon Secret Realm, everyone began to speak in astonishment and uncertainty.
"It must be here!"
Mountain Master Bai, dressed in a white robe, elegant and poised, couldn’t help but have excitement in her eyes, said:
"Follow me－－"
Leading the crowd, directly toward the depths of the black mist, heading straight for the Celestial Demon Treasure Blood.
In no time, over a hundred people arrived at the fog-laden place, familiar with the sound of flowing water.
"Rank Four Magical Artifact fragments?"
"Good stuff, this place... is indeed a battlefield!"
"Blessed..."
Everyone was extremely delighted, and some couldn’t help but go forward, trying to pick up a piece of the relic, but were immediately blasted to death, didn’t even have time to scream.
This doused a cold bucket of water over all the cultivators!
"There’s a kill array here!"
"Even True Core cultivators, are like ants..."
Everyone was on their guard.
"Mountain Master, this place is dangerous, someone needs to scout ahead－－"
At this point, Zhou Libai stepped forward, smiling slightly as she spoke.
Mountain Master Bai nodded, said: "You take care of it－－"
She summoned so many spirit beasts and cultivators here in the first place, to have enough cannon fodder to scout the path.
Zhou Libai turned and smiled, her gaze shifting, suddenly landing on Li An, "Friend Lin An, could you trouble yourself to tread ahead?"
She couldn’t possibly choose someone from her own camp to die, would certainly pick on Lady Shee, and on her side, the one she hated the most... was Li An.
"What a slut－－"
Li An was inwardly very grim, but did not panic.
After all, since Lady Shee had given him this important task, she surely wouldn’t watch him die now.
"Mountain Master－－"
Indeed, at this time, Lady Shee stepped forward and said: "Friend Luo Yuan is proficient in arrays, with an extraordinarily keen eye, why not let him take a look, what do you think?"
So saying, she introduced an elder.
The elder, with gray white hair, already elderly, cupped hands toward Mountain Master Bai and said: "Mountain Master, from my view, although the array here is merely a remnant, still very formidable. If blindly probing with lives, even if all the cultivators here perish completely, the gate will be hard to find."
"From my observation, the Kan, Zhen, and Kun positions of this array seem relatively weak, might be worth a try－－"
Upon hearing this, Mountain Master Bai’s eyes lit up, "Luo Yuan... I think I’ve heard, hmm, you were the one nearly succeeded in breaking through to Rank Four Array Master."
Luo Yuan nodded: "I am he."
Luo Yuan, under Mountain Master Bai, was quite renowned, his achievements in arrays high, just failed to breakthrough to Rank Four years ago, many thought he had already fallen.
Mountain Master Bai stared at Luo Yuan for a long time, then nodded, having an Array Master to break the formation is better than blindly trying.
Zhou Libai saw Li An escape the calamity, and Lady Shee actually led the situation in reverse, her brow furrowed.
Meanwhile, Li An’s mind... was more worried than Zhou Libai’s, his heart had jumped to his throat!
Because, the moment Luo Yuan stepped forward, he finally understood Lady Shee’s confidence in scheming against Mountain Master Bai...
Luo Yuan...
Was merely an impostor.
This person’s true identity was...
Tan Qingxue!
...
