Chapter 445: Probing

Ji Li didn’t rise to Lu Sangjiu’s blatant mockery. He chuckled, his tone calm. "Backed into a corner, is a sharp tongue all you have left?"

"Since you can call me by name, I imagine you already know the whole story."

"Then you should also know... the day you ascend will be the day you die."

"Lu Sangjiu, care to guess how I’m going to kill you?"

His final words were chilling, laced with his resentment and killing intent for Lu Sangjiu.

Now that Lu Sangjiu understood everything, she wasn’t about to be scared by his act.

’Even if death is inevitable, I will never bow down to a scumbag like him.’

"Oh, since my death is certain, why go to the trouble of bringing me here? It couldn’t be that you missed me after all this time, could it?"

After a pause, she added with a light laugh, "Oh... let me guess. Is it because you don’t know what’s going on with Xie Ningyuan, so you’re feeling a little unsure of yourself?"

"You can’t pull his Divine Sense here, so you decided to pull mine to find out what’s really going on?"

"Ha, you’re pathetic. You’re already an Immortal King, yet you’re this wary of someone who’s just about to reach the Transcendance Tribulation Stage."

"Trash will always be trash, I guess. No matter how glamorous the disguise, you can’t hide your true nature as a worthless piece of scum... Am I right?"

Lu Sangjiu knew how to hit where it hurt.

For Ji Li, his fixation on Xie Ningyuan was proof enough of how much it bothered him that he couldn’t measure up to him.

Lu Sangjiu’s few short sentences were like twisting a knife in his heart.

As expected, no matter how hard he pretended to be calm, he couldn’t last more than a few rounds against Lu Sangjiu’s sharp tongue.

By now, she had thoroughly enraged him. "Shut up! What a joke. How could I possibly be afraid of him?"

"It seems you’re just eager to die, aren’t you? Did you think I can only kill you after you ascend? Believe it or not, I can make you trigger another Heavenly Tribulation right now. Let’s see if you can survive back-to-back Heavenly Tribulations unscathed in such a short time!"

Lu Sangjiu was not the least bit scared by Ji Li’s threat. "What, you think Gu Jue is dead?"

"He’s already discovered what you’re doing. Do you think he’ll just let you continue this madness?"

"You should cherish these last days of you calling the shots in the Spirit Void Realm. Soon, the Heavenly Dao Authority you hold will return to its true master’s hands."

"By then... you won’t even have the chance to bark impotently in my face anymore. Aren’t you just furious?"

Of course Ji Li was furious. He was about to explode with rage!

He had thought he could finally put Lu Sangjiu in her place this time, but her tongue was even sharper than before.

After just a few exchanges, he’d not only failed to gain the slightest advantage, but he’d also worked himself into a fury!

Ji Li’s expression was sinister, but then he suddenly seemed to think of something, and his face calmed down a bit.

"Heh, you should be more worried about Xie Ningyuan than yourself right now, shouldn’t you?"

"His cultivation is higher than yours, so he’ll definitely ascend before you... and when he does, he’ll be the first to die at my hands."

"What do you say? When the time comes, I’ll record the moment of his death in a Memory Stone and let you have a good long look."

At the mention of Xie Ningyuan, Lu Sangjiu’s expression flickered, but she wasn’t about to fall for his trap.

"You’re saying all this just to get a read on Xie Ningyuan, to find out if he has a way to deal with you, right?"

She laughed lightly. "Are you that scared of him? You’re an Immortal King. Even if he recovers to his Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation by then, you’re still not confident you can kill him?"

"Let me guess, you’re so unconfident that you have to ask another Immortal Monarch to stand guard just to feel safe, don’t you?"

The mockery in her words was piercing. Ji Li knew she was just trying to goad him, but he answered anyway.

"Heh, aren’t you the same? You’re scared, so you want to know what preparations I’ve made."

Lu Sangjiu narrowed her eyes. "I admit, I’m probing. So, do you dare to tell me? Or even when victory is supposedly in your grasp, do you still have to lie to feel secure?"

Ji Li sneered. "This game is mine to win. I don’t mind telling you."

"I have already enlisted two Immortal Kings and three Daluo Golden Immortals from my sect."

"The three of us Immortal Kings will each guard one of the three Ascension Platforms, while the three Daluo Golden Immortals will guard the remaining one together."

"Even if Xie Ningyuan gets lucky and runs into the three Daluo Golden Immortals, they only need to delay him for a moment. That will be enough time for the three of us Immortal Kings to arrive... Xie Ningyuan’s death is a certainty."

It was clear from his tone that Ji Li was completely confident. It also seemed that Immortal Kings were relatively rare Cultivators in the Immortal Spirit Realm. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have only been able to enlist two others, leaving the last spot to be covered by three Daluo Golden Immortals.

But even so, it was enough to make Lu Sangjiu worry. Although she had guessed as much, hearing him spell it out still filled her with an uncontrollable sense of dread.

’With a setup like this, can Xie Ningyuan really survive?’

And just as Ji Li had said, he would definitely ascend before her. No matter how much she worried, she couldn’t help him in the slightest.

Of course, even if they ascended at the same time, she would only have the lowest level of cultivation upon arrival. She still wouldn’t be able to help.

Ji Li sensed her spirits sink, and his own mood instantly improved. "Scared now?"

Lu Sangjiu snorted coldly. "It’s not aimed at me. What do I have to be scared of?"

After a pause, she added, "You’re not going to use three Immortal Kings against me too, are you?"

Ji Li laughed with contempt. "As if you’re worthy?"

"A mere Earth Immortal like you can be annihilated by a Heavenly Immortal. I’ll just send four Heavenly Immortals to guard the platforms, and your death will be guaranteed."

"But you can rest assured, I won’t have them kill you immediately. I’ll have them bring you before me so you can watch with your own eyes how Xie Ningyuan dies."

"And then... I’ll make you suffer countless tortures. Looking forward to it?"

’Looking forward to it my ass.’

Just hearing his words, Lu Sangjiu could feel the malice radiating from him.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Sangjiu said calmly, "That’s a shame. Once Gu Jue completely reclaims the Heavenly Dao Authority, will you still be able to accurately sense when we ascend?"

Ji Li chuckled. "Trying to get more information out of me... a pity. Your Gu Jue can’t take back all of the Heavenly Dao Authority. He’s still too weak."

’So that’s just as we thought... It’s going to be too hard to hide this from him.’

As she fell silent, she heard Ji Li speak again. "You think you’re clever, but it’s a pity that in here, I can sense your every emotion with perfect clarity."

"You think you haven’t revealed any information to me, but in reality, your emotions have already told me... you truly have no way to counter my plan."

"Heh, even you think Xie Ningyuan is doomed this time... right?"

Lu Sangjiu’s face turned to ice, and she suddenly grew agitated. "Enough of your bullshit. If you’re done talking, send me back. Listening to you for one more second makes me sick!"