Chapter 2297: There Is an Insider Here

Fantasy Novel

He Lingchuan immediately turned to Dong Rui and said, "For the past decade or so, Beijia and the Sky Demons have been trying to raid immortal dwellings. Do you know how they usually do it? In fact, directly invading a dwelling isn't the best option; it's too dangerous. To ensure safety and preserve spiritual energy, immortal sects typically choose dwellings that are sealed spaces. This means that once the entrance is closed, outsiders can't get in, and insiders can't get out. For instance, Miaozhantian's direct invasion of the Upside-Down Sea was an exception, an act of desperation, because True Master Qianhuan was simply too powerful for other methods to be effective."

Dong Rui asked, puzzled, "Are they using a crude method, like waiting for a rabbit by a tree stump?"

Indeed, the Sky Demons are the most experienced at raiding dwellings. Cang Yan should really learn a thing or two from them.

Liu Qingdao explained, "Exactly. The most common methods are either to lure the snake out of its hole or to wait for the rabbit by the tree stump, waiting for the immortals or immortal sects within the dwellings to emerge themselves. Immortal dwellings constantly consume spiritual energy to remain active. Therefore, they must periodically emerge to acquire spiritual energy or profound crystals, otherwise they will be depleted and perish."

The number of cultivators who died over the past three millennia because the spiritual energy in their minor grotto-heavens or minor worlds was depleted is immeasurable.

"To employ the 'waiting for the rabbit by the tree stump' method," He Lingchuan continued, raising his third finger, "first, you need to know the location of the immortal sect's entrance; second, you need to know their emergence schedule; and third, you must not let them know you are already waiting at the entrance, setting up an ambush."

"Every immortal sect in seclusion pays particular attention to the security of their dwelling's entrance. The number of such entrances cannot be arbitrarily increased or decreased; they can't just open as many as they like. Based on the captives' testimonies, after Tianwu was captured, Qixia Sect closed one entrance for safety, which aligns with the facts we have. So, Qixia Sect now only has one entrance and exit, and we know its exact location. In that case—"

Dong Rui quickly answered, "Then there's only one thing left: Before Qixia Sect emerges, we need to set up an ambush right at their doorstep, without them noticing, right?"

"Correct. Your last sentence is particularly important." He Lingchuan snapped his fingers and said to Liu Qingdao, "Yuan Xilin was able to project an illusion to speak with you, which indicates they've been closely monitoring the movements around Luo River and Xunyang Mountain. Most likely, they're using surveillance-type magical artifacts, divine abilities, or demonic beasts."

The Great Emperor's words were profound and inscrutable, so Liu Qingdao could only follow his lead and continue, "However, the mountains and marshes of Wei'an City cannot monitor Xunyang Mountain, so we couldn't find Qixia Sect's monitoring methods. Oh, right—"

He suddenly remembered something: "Xu Wenqin's disciples also provided a detail: Even though the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has been recovering for many years, Qixia Sect has consistently remained within their minor grotto-heaven. This is because Yuan Xilin was undergoing a death-seclusion that lasted over a decade. Therefore, Qixia Sect's disciples could only observe the outside world—Xunyang Mountain and Wei'an City—through a water mirror all day long. However, none of these disciples knew what method the sect used to monitor the external environment."

"That thing is outside the minor grotto-heaven; it's very stable, and it can remain effective for years," He Lingchuan immediately analyzed. "To simultaneously meet these three conditions, we can basically rule out demons like flying birds, walking beasts, insects, or fish. If it's a magical artifact, unless it can absorb spiritual energy from the air by itself and uses a very small amount, it wouldn't pass the regular maintenance requirement."

Qixia Sect couldn't leave during their seclusion, so who would maintain the external magical artifact? Furthermore, the spirit-gathering formation was nullified by the Black Dragon Totem a few years ago, yet the water mirror could still operate, indicating that the external force it relied on was extremely stable.

Dong Rui exclaimed impatiently, "There's no time, don't keep us in suspense!"

"I'm not," He Lingchuan replied. "There are countless wonders in the world, and you can't deduce them all just by reasoning." He Lingchuan had deduced this far, but couldn't narrow down the possibilities further. "Fortunately, we have an insider here we can ask."

"An insider?"

Ling Guang looked around inside the Snail Toad. "One, two, three, four, five... There aren't many people here."

But then her gaze fell upon the unconscious Xu Wenqin: "Are you saying, Elder Xu?"

"Elder Xu is an immortal; though heavily wounded, how could he truly be unconscious?" He Lingchuan pulled out a small incense burner from seemingly nowhere, lit an incense stick, and placed the burner beside Xu Wenqin's head, right against his Baihui acupoint.

As the Snail Toad traveled underground, there was certainly no wind in this space. The lone wisp of smoke drifted straight up, but after a few breaths, it solidified above Xu Wenqin, forming a cloud of mist.

Then, the mist quickly gathered and sculpted itself into a small figure.

Its build, appearance, and facial features were identical to Xu Wenqin, who lay on the ground, and even its facial expressions were remarkably fluid.

So everyone witnessed its undisguised astonishment.

The small figure looked down at itself, then at the others, and suddenly spoke:

"My primordial spirit hasn't left my body, so what kind of divine ability is this?"

His soul was still within his body, in his sea of consciousness, and he didn't even have the spare energy to expand it outwards.

He Lingchuan pointed to the misty smoke above his head: "This is the Soul-Anchoring Incense, also known as Soul-Returning Incense. It's the type of incense that can be lit on the seventh day after a person's death."

Xu Wenqin was stunned, his expression subtly changing.

On the seventh day after death, some souls still have a chance to return near their bodies for one last look at the mortal world. Individuals like Fu Liushan would create Soul-Anchoring Incense to help the deceased briefly meet with their families for a final farewell or last instructions—of course, this service comes with a high price.

The fact that He Lingchuan took out this 'seventh-day incense' and lit it, and that it was effective on Xu Wenqin, indicated that he was on the verge of death.

However, Xu Wenqin's entire focus was currently on fighting his injuries, and he had no spare energy to condense his primordial spirit and leave his body. He Lingchuan, of course, wouldn't tell him that he was using the 'seventh-day incense' in conjunction with the Great Evolution Heavenly Pearl to enable Xu Wenqin to converse with them.

It wasn't that Xu Wenqin's primordial spirit had left his body; rather, the Great Evolution Heavenly Pearl had created an illusionary realm as a platform, drawing all of them into a conversation.

The scene was so lifelike that even Dong Rui and Ling Guang believed they were still in reality.

Only Liu Qingdao showed a hint of surprise, discerning a subtle clue. After all, he was an elder of the Illusion Sect, and blurring the lines between reality and illusion had always been True Master Qianhuan's forte.

But he, of course, wouldn't expose it.

"Time is short, let's get straight to the point." He Lingchuan's single sentence extinguished Xu Wenqin's curiosity. Indeed, he was dying; what use was it to worry about others' divine abilities?

"Although Elder Xu has his eyes closed, resting, he should have heard about ninety percent of our conversation." How powerful is an immortal's primordial spirit? Xu Wenqin closing his eyes doesn't mean he's unconscious.

"If I'm not mistaken, even though you're dying, you still retain a bit of power for a counterattack." He Lingchuan looked at him and said, "Elder Xu, you want to make one last desperate attempt to perish together, don't you?"

"What!" Both Ling Guang and Dong Rui's expressions changed drastically, but Liu Qingdao and He Lingchuan remained outwardly calm.