Xianer's Idea — Let the Snipe and Clam Fight While the Fisherman Profits
Xianer’s Idea — Let the Snipe and Clam Fight While the Fisherman Profits
Ancient trees stood lush and verdant, mountain peaks towering majestically, mist and clouds swirling about.
Countless vines sprawled like hideous venomous snakes across the mountainsides, spreading over a vast area and casting numerous dark shadows.
In the distance, exotic beasts from ancient times let out hissing roars, all the more distinct in the silent night, startling the birds, beasts, venomous snakes, and insects in the surroundings into scattering in every direction.
This place was extremely open. According to the records of the geographical texts, it was a place where spiritual qi had accumulated, and over these countless years, it had nurtured something extraordinary.
Jin Yun, the ancient freak of Purple Cloud Valley, was currently leading numerous followers, standing atop a mountain.
Stars hung low over the vast plains, the moon surged along the great river’s flow — within the tranquility, there lurked a hint of danger.
His pupils seemed forged of gold, glittering and dazzling, with runes flickering one after another within his eyes, exuding a terrifying aura that made one’s heart palpitate.
It had to be said, he was indeed very powerful. Just this abyss-deep, ocean-vast aura alone was enough to intimidate many of the younger generation.
In the era when he had emerged, the name Jin Yun suppressed the entire world, and no one among his peers could rival him.
Later, due to his sect’s decision — feeling that in that era he could see no hope of becoming an immortal — they sealed him within divine source, to await emergence in the current era.
Jin Yun had not acted many times, and rarely displayed his true strength before the world.
But the King of Six Crowns, Jun Yao, the Phoenix Lady, and others all dared not underestimate him, feeling he would be a great threat.
“This faint trace of purple mist — so this is Pill Qi. What kind of Immortal Pill could endure since ancient times? Merely being sealed here caused this entire basin to evolve into a fortuitous land...”
Jin Yun murmured to himself, his gaze brilliant, staring fixedly at the basin ahead. Then his figure transformed into a divine rainbow and descended toward it.
The reason he chose to act at night was that he felt the Pill Qi here would become even more obvious during the day.
That extremely dense purple mist would only grow clearer, and eventually any Cultivator would be able to notice the sky-piercing purple aura of this place.
Of course, there was another reason — to avoid long nights breeding many dreams, and to prevent others from beating him to it.
“Daren, shall we wait for you here?”
Jin Yun’s figure descended from the mountaintop, striding into this broad plain, tree shadows swaying all around him.
The several experts behind him couldn’t help but speak up, not intending to follow Jin Yun deeper inside.
In a land of fortuitous opportunity like this, as followers, it was best for them to guard the outside, to prevent anyone else from entering.
Hearing this, Jin Yun nodded and said, “Then wait for me here. I’ll retrieve what’s inside and come out.”
He was very confident, with great assurance in his own strength, and didn’t feel there was any danger here.
Moreover, within this entire cave estate, he was the first to discover the abnormality of this place.
Soon, Jin Yun’s figure disappeared ahead, stepping into the depths of the basin.
It could be seen that long ago, this place had been a complex of palaces and halls. There were still many broken walls and ruins, old trees and shattered towers, all steeped in the vicissitudes of time. Around the plaza, collapsed pillars could be seen, carved with strange runes.
Vines intertwined, crawling all over the pillars and walls, with broken tiles scattered everywhere.
Relying on his golden pupils, Jin Yun quickly determined the source of the Pill Qi and headed toward a certain collapsed hall.
He sensed that it was a pill chamber — perhaps the place where the original owner of this cave estate had refined pills.
Jin Yun’s followers all remained where they were.
“It seems he really has gone inside. He’s even picked out a suitable burial ground for himself.”
Not far from where Jin Yun now was.
A faint, indistinct figure seemed fused with heaven and earth itself, walking forward unhurriedly. The many Cultivators standing guard nearby did not detect his trail or aura at all.
It was Lan Yifei, the Chosen One of the Immortal Dao Alliance, his expression calm and serene — yet at this moment he was like a grim reaper come to harvest lives.
He was certain of Jin Yun’s whereabouts, because from the very beginning, he had left his own mark upon Jin Yun.
Though an ancient freak, in his eyes, Jin Yun was merely prey.
Fortunately, the one Jin Yun faced was not Gu Changge — otherwise his despair would be even greater.
With such thoughts, Lan Yifei’s pace was neither hurried nor slow as he headed straight for the ruins ahead, intending to seize Jin Yun’s Source there.
He understood Gu Changge’s plan. By now, nearly every orthodoxy in the Beyond was targeting Gu Changge, framing him as the true Successor of Demonic Arts.
Lan Yifei, who knew the truth, was actually quite speechless about it all. He didn’t know whether it was sheer coincidence or some will of heaven working in the dark that made everything align so perfectly.
Of course, Gu Changge would certainly never admit to it.
That was why he had instructed him to come here and seize the Sources of those Young Prodigies — to create the appearance of the true Successor of Demonic Arts actively revealing himself and provoking the various orthodoxies.
After all, at this very moment, Gu Changge was still within the Absolute Yin Heaven, seeking a way to break the deadlock for all living beings under heaven.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Young Prodigies were falling victim to the Successor of Demonic Arts. In this way, wouldn’t the rumor that Gu Changge was the Successor of Demonic Arts collapse on its own?
Everything calculated without a single flaw, all held within his grasp, everyone reduced to his chess pieces — it truly sent chills down one’s spine.
Lan Yifei shook his head gently, his gaze calm. He had already sensed Jin Yun’s aura and was closing in fast.
Why did this feel like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?
And at this moment, even Lan Yifei completely failed to notice—
In another direction of these ruins, a young woman, cold and ethereal as an immortal, was watching his figure with some astonishment, seemingly not expecting that besides herself, someone else had come to this place.
The young woman’s figure was slender, dressed in a flowing immortal gown with wide sleeves. Her face was lustrous and delicate, her features breathtakingly beautiful, her gaze cold and proud, wreathed in a chill that warned strangers to keep their distance.
Though she had not yet fully matured, she already possessed the kind of beauty that could topple kingdoms.
“Stupid Xianer, it’s obvious this guy has ill intentions toward the one who went in first.”
The Big Red Bird on the young woman’s shoulder glanced at her sideways, its beak emitting a childish, girlish voice, full of disdain.
“Why do I feel like I’ve seen this guy somewhere before? When was it...”
The young woman was none other than Gu Xianer, who, after leaving Peach Village, had been egged on by the Big Red Bird all the way to this place.
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. Her figure concealed in the shadows, she made not the slightest sound. She found Lan Yifei very familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
But for the moment she couldn’t recall, so she temporarily set the doubt aside and quietly followed behind.
In truth, she had been here for quite some time already — even arriving a bit before Jin Yun.
However, not long after she arrived, Jin Yun had shown up, and Gu Xianer had instinctively found a place to hide, intending to watch how things unfolded.
Her current strength was actually quite formidable; she just rarely contended with her peers.
So she wasn’t afraid of Jin Yun, or of Lan Yifei who arrived afterward, detecting her aura.
Speaking of which, Gu Xianer herself was rather depressed about this — she couldn’t find anyone to fight her to verify her own strength.
Among the younger generation of the Beyond, there were few who didn’t know her identity. Who would dare fight her?
Let alone the younger generation — even the older generation, and even some ancient existences, had heard of her affairs and knew that Gu Changge doted on her immensely.
The last person who dared to covet Gu Xianer was the successor of the Purple Mansion.
Unfortunately, afterward, along with the immortal orthodoxy behind him, he was annihilated by Gu Changge leading his forces, and from then on was erased into history.
This matter shook the entire Beyond, setting off monstrous waves at the time.
Even earlier, the ancient Sea King Palace clan, for offending Gu Xianer, had its seas sealed for hundreds of thousands of years.
From then on, all of the younger generation, upon learning Gu Xianer’s identity, would retreat without exception.
Back at the True Immortal Academy, there had been many suitors who had shown admiration for her.
Unfortunately, they were all later frightened off. Even if they happened to see her, they didn’t dare take a second look, fearing they would invite calamity upon themselves.
Although Gu Xianer hated trouble, now she couldn’t even find a single opponent, which truly left her depressed and helpless.
It was all Gu Changge’s fault for being too terrifyingly powerful, making it so no one dared provoke her, Xianer, anymore.
“Forget it. Let’s just see what these two are up to, being all sneaky and mysterious.”
Gu Xianer carefully concealed her aura, following behind Lan Yifei into the ruins ahead, intending to join the excitement and see whether she could play the fisherman profiting from the snipe and clam’s fight.
From the Big Red Bird’s mouth, she had learned that this place very likely hid an Immortal Pill from ancient times.
Though she didn’t know what kind of Immortal Pill it was, anything connected to the word “immortal” couldn’t be simple.
However, before Gu Xianer had gone too deep inside, the expression on her small face changed slightly. Her whole body seemed to break out in goosebumps, a feeling of dread washing over her.
“Could this be...”
Her expression instantly grew grave. Beneath her sleeves, several small artifacts glowed with hazy light, ready to be summoned at any moment.
“Don’t act rashly. Stay put for now — those two haven’t noticed you yet.”
At this moment, the Big Red Bird on her shoulder also tensed up at once.
Its childish voice carried a hint of nervousness.
“Could this person be the true Successor of Demonic Arts?”
“If I just capture him, wouldn’t I be able to clear that guy Gu Changge’s name?”
Gu Xianer nodded, her expression returning to calm as she murmured to herself, many plans flashing through her mind. Then, heeding the Big Red Bird’s words, she decided to watch and wait, hiding in the shadows.
“Lan Yifei? That low-profile Chosen One of the Immortal Dao Alliance?”
“It seems the identity you’ve been hiding is not so simple after all.”
At this moment, deep within the ruins, Jin Yun — who had been searching for that pill chamber — suddenly blazed with light in his golden pupils, fixing his gaze on Lan Yifei, who had slowly materialized behind him, and spoke coldly.
He was no fool. Naturally, he could sense the strange aura now emanating from Lan Yifei.
It made his heart palpitate with unease, as if his entire being was being suppressed...