Chapter 210 - 176: When Is the Right Time?

Chapter 210: Chapter 176: When Is the Right Time?

Yan Jiulin’s smile made Zhang Ji’s scalp tingle.

’It was the first time he’d ever seen a dead man smile so brightly.’

’Demon Possessed People really are fucking different.’

’A textbook case of seeing death as a homecoming.’

After taking the Spatial Artifact from the body of Yan Jiulin, who had almost completely transformed into a lotus flower, Zhang Ji turned into a streak of lightning and vanished.

Soon, he contacted Ling Xuzi using a short-range Consciousness Communicator.

He hadn’t flown far before the two met.

"Why are you the only one here?" Ling Xuzi asked, confused.

"We ran into a powerful enemy—an expert from Nine Nether Deep Technology. Fellow Daoist Huo and Fellow Daoist Cui were killed, and Jiulin took the enemy down with him," Zhang Ji said.

’The story was so outrageous, no one would believe it.’

’Even if he were in Ling Xuzi’s shoes, he would definitely be suspicious.’

’But even with a different story, the fact that he’d returned alone would have raised suspicion regardless.’

’At this point, Zhang Ji didn’t want to make his lies too complicated anyway.’

’To put it bluntly, there was no longer any need to play nice with Ling Xuzi.’

’The Ascetic Order’s plan was now in motion, and there was no stopping it.’

’With or without Ling Xuzi, they had to proceed to the next step.’

’And right now, there was nothing Ling Xuzi could do to him.’

’In fact, if he were being honest, Ling Xuzi was the real outsider.’

’Zhang Ji, on the other hand, was more like one of the Ascetic Order’s own, having always been like a brother to Yan Jiulin.’

’If a conflict arose between the two of them, Zhang Ji could easily claim that Ling Xuzi had killed Yan Jiulin.’

’Ling Xuzi was a member of the Celestial Dao Alliance to begin with; it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to do something like that. The story would be more credible than Zhang Ji having killed Yan Jiulin.’

Hearing Zhang Ji’s words, Ling Xuzi gave him a long, hard look.

There wasn’t even a hint of grief or sorrow on Zhang Ji’s face. He wasn’t even bothering to act.

"Where is the Illusion Realm?" Ling Xuzi asked, pushing aside his distracting thoughts.

"Right here."

Zhang Ji handed a Qiankun Bag to Ling Xuzi.

After taking the Qiankun Bag, Ling Xuzi put it away safely and said, "Follow me. We’re leaving."

Immediately, Ling Xuzi transformed into a streak of sword light, leading Zhang Ji all the way to the edge of the Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations.

He paused for a moment, then a golden streak of sword light slashed open a hole in the great array, and he quickly flew out.

Zhang Ji followed close behind, and just like that, the two of them left the Floating City.

The moment they got out, a massive roar echoed from the Void Heaven.

BOOM!

Across the sky, within the Sword Sea, a dark red figure shattered hundreds of Spirit Swords, hurtling straight toward the far edge of the Xuanji Array of Ten thousand Transformations.

"You juniors of the Celestial Dao Alliance, this old man will remember you! I will most certainly return for another round in the future!"

As Xiang Zhe’s voice faded, he blasted open the Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations with a single punch before streaking away and vanishing from sight.

Ling Xuzi’s expression turned grim.

’Another thing had happened that was beyond his control.’

’He had only intended to use Xiang Zhe to stall for time, to tie down the four Divinity Transformation experts from the Celestial Dao Alliance and buy himself time to steal the Illusion Realm.’

’But he had never thought Xiang Zhe would be able to escape alive.’

’And he certainly hadn’t wanted him to.’

’This old demon had once fought thirteen Divinity Transformation experts by himself. Even while surrounded, he had managed to beat five of them to death. In the end, he tanked immense damage with his tyrannical physical body and survived, forcing the predecessors of that era to resort to sealing him away.’

’With such a battle record, if he were allowed to recover to his peak strength, the situation would spiral completely out of control.’

’He could not let Xiang Zhe live.’

"You head back to the Ascetic Order first. I have something to take care of."

As Ling Xuzi’s words fell, he had already transformed into a streak of sword light and vanished into the distance.

Zhang Ji narrowed his eyes, gazing at the two streaks of light—one chasing the other—as they fled into the distance.

’He knew without even thinking that Ling Xuzi wouldn’t be able to catch Xiang Zhe.’

’The difference in their speeds was obvious.’

’Ling Xuzi had seriously underestimated Xiang Zhe.’

’Or perhaps, he had overestimated the cultivators of the current Celestial Essence Realm.’

’In Ling Xuzi’s eyes, modern cultivation methods were the optimal paths, refined through countless years of calculations, array deductions, and innumerable evolutions. Xiang Zhe might have been extraordinary in ancient times, but in the present era, Ling Xuzi believed he could replicate—or even surpass—his battle achievements.’

’But clearly, Xiang Zhe was on a completely different level than he had imagined.’

’His mastery of the Dao was ahead by more than just ten thousand years.’

’Even today, he was still among the absolute top tier of cultivators.’

’He might even be a cut above the very best of them.’

’The four elders of the Celestial Dao Alliance had besieged him for the better part of a day, yet they had only managed to inflict minor injuries. And when he decided to leave, he left. They were completely unable to stop him.’

’Keep in mind, he was currently at sixty percent of his full combat strength, at most.’

’At his peak, he had fought thirteen top-tier Divinity Transformation experts of his era alone. While those major figures might not have been on par with the likes of Ling Xuzi or Dugu Yunfeng, they were certainly no worse than Mo Ye or Zhuge Mingyuan.’

’Even so, he had managed to forcibly kill five of them and was only suppressed in the end due to extreme exhaustion.’

’He truly was a figure who could be said to have dominated an entire era.’

’However, Zhang Ji wasn’t afraid of Xiang Zhe. In fact, he hoped Xiang Zhe would stir up even more trouble.’

’It would be best if he forced the Celestial Dao Alliance to use that Myth-grade weapon, the [Celestial Intent Seal].’

’That thing wasn’t easy to charge these days. It took several hundred years to charge for a single use, at the very most. It was the Celestial Dao Alliance’s greatest trump card.’

’Zhang Ji didn’t want it used on him, so it would be best if they used it on Xiang Zhe. Once the Celestial Dao Alliance had no trump card left, he could reveal his identity and create a new "Celestial Dao Alliance."’

’No, wait, that name doesn’t sound good. It would be better to pick something more populist to make it easier to rally support.’

’He didn’t have much of a power base he could use here; winning the support of the locals was a must.’

’Under normal circumstances, the [Celestial Intent Seal] would never be used.’

’It was a double-edged sword that hurt its user as much as its target.’

’In fact, all things considered, it probably hurt the user even more.’