Chapter 717 - 660: I Think I Have a Way

"What’s wrong?"

Han Yu was the first to notice Quan Xiaotong’s expression; he rarely saw such a serious look on his face.

Actually, it wasn’t just him; the group from the Central Continent also noticed Quan Xiaotong’s extremely grim expression.

"I hope I’m overthinking it."

Quan Xiaotong suddenly sighed, his face gradually showing a worried look.

There were no signs of a large number of Yama Hall cultivators appearing in the Southern Border, and Su Xiaoxiao hadn’t faced any danger.

It’s unlikely that Yama Hall planned to attack the Celestial Dao Sect.

Since they’re not executing an ambush, why still send people over?

No matter how you think about it, something feels off.

Because it’s illogical!

To him, everything should have a purpose behind it.

If they’re sending people there to contact the Celestial Dao Sect, but not to annihilate, then it must be for some other purpose.

Delay!

His intuition told him that Yama Hall intended to stall the Celestial Dao Sect!

"It doesn’t make sense; Yama Hall isn’t weaker than us."

The old Taoist suspiciously shook his head.

From their understanding of Yama Hall, the other side wouldn’t engage in such trivial skirmishes.

"What if Yama Hall’s intentions lie elsewhere?"

Quan Xiaotong sighed and countered the question.

Could this mean that Yama Hall’s grand moves are happening elsewhere?

The old Taoist furrowed his brows, trying to expand his thoughts along Quan Xiaotong’s line of thinking.

Seeing this, Quan Xiaotong could only offer another hint.

"What if they need to do something that can’t be disturbed, that mustn’t be disturbed?"

"What if they need you to wait in the Southern Border until they’re done?"

Suddenly enlightened, the old Taoist’s mouth dropped open in disbelief as he looked at Quan Xiaotong... and the sand table behind him.

The spiritual power that had gathered on the flower petal had long dissipated, but the old Taoist’s eyes remained fixed on that spot.

Not just him, everyone else also unconsciously looked towards the sand table.

Following Quan Xiaotong’s reasoning, they could roughly guess Yama Hall’s intentions too.

But they still couldn’t believe it, had it really come to this step so quickly?

Wasn’t the other side supposed to have some formations not yet activated?

"Maybe they don’t even need to activate all of them?"

Quan Xiaotong looked at the old Taoist meaningfully, because he speculated, without malice, that this was likely a strategic ploy to toy with the Celestial Dao Sect.

Could it be that only part of it needed to be activated from the beginning, with the rest used to bait the Celestial Dao Sect?

The formation core was actually the key.

Quan Xiaotong even suspected that Yama Hall had set up a backup method to activate the formation core without actually activating the core.

The old Taoist’s face shifted between pale and flushed as he got swept in Quan Xiaotong’s thinking, astonishingly, he started to agree.

Goddammit, to play so deviously!

Then he gave Quan Xiaotong a complex look, "I really don’t know what’s in that head of yours."

If everything he said proved true, this old native of the Central Continent not only identified the formation core.

He also exposed Yama Hall’s entire scheme and even told them in the process.

"Your Celestial Dao Sect has been played."

To be fair, their Celestial Dao Sect really needed someone with such a sharp mind!

However, Quan Xiaotong showed no appreciation for the admiration, instead, his expression darkened.

Because he would rather his guess be wrong.

If it were right, then it would be a big problem.

Who knew if they could still rely on the Celestial Dao Sect in the Southern Border?

If they lost the Celestial Dao Sect’s power, then they would truly be left with only the isolated Central Continent.

Given how cautious Yama Hall has been, the formation core is likely heavily guarded by a multitude of cultivators.

The good news is that they wouldn’t need to search for the formation core; such a large group gathered would be visible to anyone not blind.

The bad news...

"The Central Continent can’t withstand it!"

Quan Xiaotong suddenly sighed, whether it’s their powerful warriors or cultivators, the Central Continent couldn’t hold them back.

This was what made it so frustrating.

A group is ramping about right at their doorstep, and all they could do was watch.

"Actually, we don’t necessarily need to stop them, we just need to destroy the formation core!"

Han Yu suddenly raised his hand and spoke up.

Why think about fighting? Just sneak over, destroy it, and run away.

The old Taoist shot him a disgruntled look, easy to say, if it really is the formation core, Yama Hall must be fully prepared.

"Meng Yun, that old guy will definitely be there too."

This was the most critical element; a divine cultivator present fundamentally nixed any possibility of sneaking in.

Besides...

The old Taoist glanced around, truly unable to see how this group could sneak past.

They wouldn’t need Meng Yun to act; the cultivators below could swallow these Central Continent people whole.

"What if I could?"

Han Yu spoke again with an odd expression.

"Are you crazy?"

Almost everyone exclaimed in unison.

To bypass a divine cultivator, infiltrate, and destroy the formation core.

This was nothing short of a fantasy!

"Do you really think divine cultivators are blind?"

The old Taoist retorted tersely.

Despite the unpleasant words, even those from the Central Continent surprisingly agreed.

"We haven’t reached that point; there’s no need for you to court death."

Quan Xiaotong shook his head as he spoke, equally unsupportive of Han Yu’s plan.

Activating the formation core didn’t necessarily mean the end; if worse came to worst, they could always plan for later. Letting Han Yu die would be a massive loss for the Central Continent.

With Han Yu, the Central Continent had a chance to gradually close the gap between the sides.

Even if that gap remained vast, at least the Central Continent could have the power to resist.

"What if I really could sneak in undetected?"

Han Yu continued earnestly, he wasn’t joking, nor courting death.

He genuinely seemed to have a way to achieve it.

Back in the Western Territory, when he intended to prank the old Taoist, wasn’t it solid proof?

If he hadn’t moved, the old Taoist wouldn’t have noticed his approach.

"Nonsense, that was because I was experiencing cultivation backlash then."

The old Taoist was the first to refuse to believe it; given his state back then, not noticing Han Yu wasn’t odd at all.

Seeing no one believed him, Han Yu could only sigh, slowly sinking into the ground.

No one knew what he intended to do, and they were momentarily at a loss.

The old Taoist shook his head; Earth Escape was useless, even underground he could still sense his presence...

Suddenly, the old Taoist stopped mid-head shake, his face filled with incredulity.

Because the person genuinely "disappeared."

In his senses, it was as if he had been completely erased.

He even used techniques to extend his presence throughout the entire New City.

Yet he still couldn’t find the slightest trace of Han Yu.

"Are you looking for me?"

Suddenly, a voice emerged from behind him, and the old Taoist quickly turned around.

Just like last time, he felt the soil’s movement before sensing the other party’s presence.

So it wasn’t related to the backlash?

Han Yu truly could avoid the detection of a divine cultivator?

The old Taoist’s face twisted into an indescribable look; if used correctly, this power means never fearing divine cultivator surveillance.

Yet that’s not right; the drawbacks seem significant too, as every time Han Yu emerged, he was detected.

It’s a double-edged sword, used poorly, and you might never know when someone will discover you.

It could be too late, and you still wouldn’t know how you died.

"It still doesn’t work; you can at most get close underground, but you can’t come out, which is useless."

The old Taoist immediately pointed out the most crucial flaw.

Even if Han Yu managed to surpass all obstacles and infiltrate the formation core, Meng Yun would still be there.

The old Taoist could sense Han Yu, Meng Yun could too.

So even getting close wouldn’t help; once surfaced, Meng Yun might just kill him.