Chapter 00355: Each with Their Own Schemes
# Each with Their Own Schemes
Chapter 355
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 355: Each with Their Own Schemes
"Old friend Gu, let's go in and see if we can find a way out," Bai Hai said to the old man.
The old man didn't respond.
He simply walked over, pushed open the gate of the fence, and led the way inside.
It seemed he knew exactly where they were headed, as he went straight to the black cauldron.
"Young man, if you team up with these people, you might end up with nothing but your skin left," a sudden voice whispered into Lan Xiaobu's ear.
Lan Xiaobu deliberately showed a shocked expression, then quickly composed himself, pretending as if nothing had happened.
"Old friend Gu, you can leave now. We need to discuss how to find a way out," Liu Yanjin waved his hand dismissively at the old man.
The old man, hunched over, turned and slowly walked out of the fenced area.
Bai Hai raised his hand and cast a simple soundproof barrier, then said to Lan Xiaobu, "Friend Lan, did that old man Gu Xu just send you a message? That guy is dangerous."
Lan Xiaobu feigned confusion, "He doesn't even seem to have divine sense... Wait, how could he send me a message without divine sense?"
His words inadvertently confirmed that someone had indeed sent him a message.
Bai Hai sneered, "You think Gu Xu stays here out of the goodness of his heart? He has a wooden cover. Many cultivators come here to heal, and they all need that cover. After all, most of us who have reached the Immortal Emperor level have secrets we don't want others to know. Did you know that nearly thirty percent of the cultivators who borrowed Gu Xu's cover to heal ended up disappearing?"
Lan Xiaobu was genuinely shocked this time, not pretending.
He understood the implication—thirty percent of the cultivators who borrowed Gu Xu's cover were killed by him.
"Why?" Lan Xiaobu asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Liu Yanjin chuckled, "That Gu Xu is no simple man. The five of us stick together, or else we'd have been done in by him long ago. That wooden cover is his tool. Any cultivator healing under it is completely exposed to him. The thirty percent who were killed? They all had secrets that caught Gu Xu's interest."
Lan Xiaobu thought to himself, lucky he hadn't tried to heal here.
The fact that he was using the Longevity Sutra to gather spiritual energy would only be known if Gu Xu used his divine sense to spy on him, which he hadn't.
"Enough, let's get to work. I don't want to stay here a moment longer," Gong Yunqi said.
Bai Hai, clearly the leader, pointed at the black cauldron and said, "Friend Lan, you don't need to do anything for now. We'll focus our attacks on this cauldron..."
Lan Xiaobu's divine sense, however, was already probing the cauldron.
As soon as his divine sense touched it, a powerful tearing force surged through him.
This force was almost identical to the one he had felt at the bottom of the Juesheng Pool.
Lan Xiaobu was about to withdraw his divine sense when he realized something was off.
He quickly spat out a mouthful of blood and was thrown backward, landing on the ground with a pale face.
This kind of attack was nothing to Lan Xiaobu now.
He had already adapted to such divine sense tearing at the bottom of the Juesheng Pool.
But he couldn't let that show, so he had to pretend to be severely injured.
"Friend Lan, you didn't try to probe the cauldron with your divine sense, did you? That could tear your sea of consciousness apart..."
Liu Yanjin asked with a look of shock.
Lan Xiaobu sneered inwardly.
This guy was clearly testing him, trying to gauge his strength.
"That was intense. If I hadn't pulled back my divine sense immediately, I might have lost half my life," Lan Xiaobu said, feigning fear.
Bai Hai nodded, "Friend Lan, you're actually quite impressive. The first time I probed it with my divine sense, I almost got severely injured."
"Friend Lan, you should heal first. We'll handle the cauldron. It seems to be a powerful treasure, but it's already claimed. We can only use it to leave here, not take it with us," Dong Ye said.
"Then I'll leave it to you all," Lan Xiaobu said, casually swallowing a second-grade immortal pill.
The other Immortal Emperors, though preparing to attack the cauldron, kept an eye on Lan Xiaobu.
Seeing him only take a second-grade pill, they relaxed a bit.
Especially in small matters like this, it was easier to gauge a person's true strength.
Five magical treasures struck the cauldron simultaneously, causing it to emit a low hum.
Before the second strike could land, a teleportation array appeared near the cauldron.
The array wasn't complete and required some formation flags to be set up.
Judging by the level of the array, it was between a sixth and seventh-grade immortal formation.
"Friend Lan, it's your turn. Quickly set up the formation flags. As long as we keep attacking the cauldron, the teleportation array won't disappear," Bai Hai shouted.
Lan Xiaobu responded, stepping forward and carefully placing the formation flags.
He paused after each flag, observing the array.
This was the most tedious formation Lan Xiaobu had ever set up.
With his skills, he could have thrown a handful of flags and been done with it.
But he had to play the part of a slow, meticulous worker.
As Lan Xiaobu set up the flags, Dong Ye took out a pile of high-grade immortal crystals and began infusing them with spiritual energy.
After what felt like an eternity, Lan Xiaobu finally finished setting up the formation flags.
"Everyone, it's done. This was the hardest formation I've ever set up. Let's go."
"Good," Bai Hai was the first to step onto the teleportation array, followed by Liu Yanjin and the others.
"Friend Lan, activate the array quickly," Liu Yanjin urged.
Lan Xiaobu grabbed a formation flag and activated it.
In the next moment, the six of them were enveloped in a white light and disappeared.
Almost as soon as they vanished, Gu Xu reappeared.
He picked up a formation flag, examined it, frowned, and after a moment of thought, turned and left.
...
The teleportation distance was short.
Almost immediately, Lan Xiaobu and the others landed in a small, enclosed space about twenty square meters in size.
The six of them stood on either side of the room, with a yin-yang symbol on the floor.
The environment here was similar to the Juesheng Pool.
Divine sense was immediately torn apart upon extending it, but thankfully, there was no flesh-tearing water.
The other Immortal Emperors, already aware of this, didn't extend their divine sense.
Only Lan Xiaobu did.
His divine sense, tempered in the Juesheng Pool, was now incredibly resilient.
This level of tearing couldn't harm his divine sense or sea of consciousness.
"This doesn't seem to be the way out," Lan Xiaobu said.
"I know, Friend Lan. Look, there are two passages here. We need to enter one of them to leave," Bai Hai said.
Lan Xiaobu had already seen the two passages.
The six of them were on either side of the room, with one passage in front and one behind.
"I see them," Lan Xiaobu said.
He not only saw them but also realized this was a sealing formation.
To break it, a formation master would need to enter and set up formation flags.
But this wasn't dangerous—once the formation master set up the flags...
Wait...
Lan Xiaobu, being a ninth-grade immortal formation master, immediately sensed the problem with this sealing formation.
To break it, a formation master would indeed need to enter and set up formation flags.
But it wasn't just one flag—it was an endless cycle.
Setting up one flag would trigger the next cycle, requiring another flag, and then another, and another...
In other words, once the formation master entered to set up the flags, they would be trapped inside, setting up flags indefinitely, with no way out.
The seal would be broken, but only because the formation master had become the core of the formation, forced to keep setting up flags until they died.
No wonder these guys wanted him here—he was the sacrificial lamb.
Once he became the core and started setting up the endless flags, they would surely find a way to open the other exit and leave.
Lan Xiaobu was now certain there was a ninth-grade immortal formation master here.
Otherwise, no one would have realized that this sealing formation required a formation master to become the core and set up endless flags.
"Friend Lan, you go into the back sealing formation and set up the flags. That way, we can all work together to break the seal in the front passage," Liu Yanjin said.
Lan Xiaobu sneered.
He was about to say, "You think I'm going to do that? Think again!" But then he sensed something else.
This seal actually seemed like an exit.
The formation was damaged, which was why his divine sense had picked up on it.
Perhaps this was a balancing formation.
In Bai Hai and the others' understanding, once Lan Xiaobu entered the back sealing formation and became the core, they could break the front seal and leave.
But in Lan Xiaobu's view, if he entered the formation and transferred the sealing power to Bai Hai and the others, he could calmly exit through the back sealing formation.
"Alright, I'll go in and set up the flags. You all need to attack quickly. Don't waste a single moment," Lan Xiaobu agreed without hesitation.
"Friend Lan..."
Gong Yunqi called out as Lan Xiaobu walked toward the sealing formation.
He felt Lan Xiaobu was too naive, showing his emotions too easily.
Lan Xiaobu stopped and asked, "Friend Gong, is there something else?"
"Haha, Friend Gong just wants to remind you to be careful. Once you set up the flags, rush back to us as fast as you can," Liu Yanjin laughed.
Lan Xiaobu thought to himself, this short guy is really cunning.
Except for the quiet Fei Wenze, Gong Yunqi seemed less malicious.
Gong Yunqi nodded, "Once you set up the flags, rush back to us as fast as possible. The quicker, the better."
(End of Chapter)