“Because...”
Wang Xianlin, who had been silent all this time, looked up, his eyes burning with boundless hatred.
“She has the same goal as the three sects of the Cangling Kingdom—she wants to use our spiritual roots to nourish the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit!”
He didn't understand. He was clearly a disciple of the Zhaixing Sect's Second Elder, so why was he a discarded pawn?!
“We're... nourishment?!”
“How could we be nourishment?!”
Everyone was struck with absolute terror.
It all connected. Every piece fell into place.
No wonder none of them were meant to leave alive. Since the three sects had plotted to lure so many rogue cultivators in to compete for the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit, they obviously never intended to let anyone actually take it.
What they wanted were their spiritual roots to serve as nourishment for the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit.
And besides acting as bait, inner disciples like them were nothing more than additional nourishment!
Listening to the people inside the tripod-bell figure everything out, Wen Li withdrew her gaze. If they want to use me as nourishment, let's see if they choke on it.
“Master, when did you guess all this?” Xie Tinglan couldn't help asking.
“What about you?”
Wen Li answered with a question of her own.
Xie Tinglan lowered his eyes in serious thought. “I suspected it during the Zhaixing Sect's internal competition, when I saw that the highest cultivation among the inner disciples was only Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment. I was certain when the Second Elder claimed the winner would be accepted as a disciple by the Xuandu Sect.”
The three sects' Trial Realm competition involved the distribution of cultivation resources for the next century. But since the three factions had maintained a power balance for years, the gap in their disciple training shouldn't have been that wide. Hiring rogue cultivators to represent the sects in the competition was still somewhat reasonable.
After all, everyone wanted to gain the upper hand.
But this time, they added the incentive of being taken as a disciple by the Xuandu Sect—or rather, a smoke screen to trick actual sect disciples into entering. While each sect's excuse to fool rogue cultivators differed slightly, if such an opportunity truly existed, it would never fall to unaffiliated rogue cultivators. At the very least, it would go to the core disciples of the three sects.
At the very least, it would go to someone loyal to the three sects and to the Cangling Kingdom.
Rogue cultivators were accustomed to roaming freely with no ties. How could the sects ever hand over an opportunity to cling to a Fourth-Grade Cultivation Kingdom to an outsider?
Furthermore, for a grand Third-Grade Cultivation Kingdom, having the highest cultivation in an internal competition be mere Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment was bizarre. Even if they duped incoming rogue cultivators with the excuse that high-level rogue cultivators had been hired, Xie Tinglan—who had personally stayed in the Zhaixing Sect for a month—found no disciples above Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment besides the elders. It was extremely suspicious.
It was as if... they were being hidden away.
Connecting all these signs with their own purpose for entering the Zhaixing Sect made the entire conspiracy self-evident.
“Not bad,” Wen Li nodded. It had only been two months since she took him as her disciple, yet his intellect had already surpassed what it used to be.
“From the moment... I heard Wan Yinxun's words at the Yunxiao Treasure Pavilion, I set up this plan. The Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit is a heaven-defying item that nourishes spiritual roots; unless a cultivator has reached the absolute peak, none can resist its lure. Since the elders of the three sects could rescue him from the lake bed, it proves they couldn't have entered this trial ground only once every thirty years.”
“The three sects couldn't possibly be unaware of the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit's existence. Since they knew and still lured people inside, their purpose was clear.”
“My thoughts on the other suspicious points were similar to yours, save for one difference.”
Pausing, she looked down at the desperate cultivators trapped inside the tripod-bell below, her pale ink-colored pupils glinting with a dangerous luster like the night.
“From the moment I proposed entering the secret realm using the Zhaixing Sect as our vessel, my intention was the same as the three sects: except for the three of us, everyone who entered would become nourishment for the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit.”
“...”
Xie Tinglan raised an eyebrow, clear astonishment in his eyes—not because of Wen Li's ruthless cruelty, but because of her foresight to anticipate everything and turn their own scheme against them.
I haven't even learned a third of Master's cunning. I still need to work harder.
Finally.
The group arrived at the location of the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit.
From far away, Xie Tinglan saw Yao Dai tied up like a dumpling and suspended from a tree. The corners of the boy's stern lips twitched upward, unable to hold back a smile. Yet, out of a shred of mercy for his fellow disciple, he immediately turned his back, his shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.
“Mmph!”
Xie Tinglan! Don't think I don't know you're laughing at me!
Hearing the movement, Yao Dai opened her eyes. Though she couldn't move, her glare burned with fury. She repeatedly rolled her eyes toward the upper left like her eyeballs were seizing up, nearly unable to roll them back down.
Although it was obvious at a glance that something was wrong and Yao Dai was likely bait, they still had to go over and rescue her.
However, Wen Li did not charge forward rashly.
Hovering near the edge of the lake atop the tripod-bell, she gazed from afar at the towering tree whose trunk was embedded with countless cultivators' remains. Her eyes settled on the fruit nestled within, which pulsed like a breathing heart and sprouted innumerable thin branches.
That was the Soul-Severing White Mi Fruit.
A Supreme Grade Rank 1 immortal medicine that could nourish spiritual roots—a treasure capable of stirring the heart of any cultivator.
Inside the tripod-bell, the eyes of every cultivator, whether Foundation Establishment or Golden Core, burned with fervent desire.
“Wen Li, you don't dare go over because someone stronger than you is there, right? Let me go, and I'll scout the way for you! With you blocking the path here, I couldn't run even if I wanted to!” Ye Mojin continued to push himself forward, refusing to give up.
Meanwhile, panic and dread washed over the other cultivators.
Wen Li finally looked down, glaring at him coolly. “You...”
“Yes!” Ye Mojin's face twitched with excitement. “I am willing to hand over my Soul Blood and serve you as my master, so long as you bring me out alive! I cannot die here—I still have a wife to save!”
Wen Li pressed her lips together, casting a glance over the cultivators inside the tripod-bell, then looking at Yao Dai, who was straining to give her eye signals indicating the positions of the three cultivators.
When it came to arrays, those three cultivators were still far too green. At a single glance, she could tell that the interlocking compound array on the ground led directly toward the tree.
Among those three was an Early-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator. If there hadn't been something even he feared, they wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to set a trap and lure them in as guinea pigs.
“You three, since we've all made it here through our own abilities, why not step out and meet? Let's have a talk.” Ignoring Ye Mojin, Wen Li looked up at the dense, seemingly empty forest where Yao Dai had signaled earlier.
Yao Dai's eyes widened. Master saw my hints, so why is she laying her cards on the table directly?!
When her voice fell, there was not the slightest stir in the forest.
As expected, rogue cultivators who reached this level of cultivation were extraordinarily cautious.
Feeling tired, Wen Li simply plunked herself down on top of the tripod-bell and got straight to the point.
“Don't the three of you just want us to scout the way for you? What a coincidence—I'm also deeply grateful that you three guided me all the way here.”
The moment those words left her mouth, the three men hiding near the Spirit-Erasing Array froze.
The truth instantly dawned on them.
Even Yao Dai's pupils shrank. Master intentionally made me the bait?!
Xie Tinglan remained unfazed, as though he had already guessed as much.
Seeing that they were still holding their breath, Wen Li propped up one leg and twirled a hairpin in her hand. “I'm a reasonable person. Since you three guided my way, it's not impossible for me to scout for you. Unfortunately, the array you set up is a bit rude. My people can't cross it.”
Following those words, a rustle finally came from the dense forest not far from Yao Dai.
The three men actually showed themselves.
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