Chapter 56: Hidden Scheme

May 13th, 2023

Fang Li’s brow furrowed minutely. That wasn’t right. 

Based on his understanding of Wu Yimei, Wu Yimei was a person who paid every debt to back its owner. Even if it was for the sake of avenging Fang Li, he would only act against the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance. The people who’d come to participate in the trial today were all disciples from little sects and families, and none of their cultivation levels could be considered high, to the point that some of them had been too young to participate in the attack on Hollow Ridge. Could it be even considered revenge to slaughter all of these innocent people?

Wu Yimei wouldn’t do such a thing. 

Moreover, Wu Yimei had just suffered an injury at Xie Huai’s hands not too long ago, and even his lifebound weapon had been broken. How could he be provoking the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance right now?

But this demonic cultivator was indeed Wu Yimei’s subordinate, so he was afraid the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance would immediately think of Wu Yimei. 

Xie Huai’s eyes also became grave, looking pensive. 

Ever since Fang Li had died on Hollow Ridge nine years ago, Wu Yimei hadn’t given up on seeking him out for revenge, and he would also occasionally clash with Du Meng and the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance, but it was all for the sake of avenging Fang Li…… The rest of the time, he would stay in his corner and never really did anything harmful or atrocious. As for the conflicts between cultivators, those have been never-ending since the dawn of time, and Xie Huai didn’t really pay attention to them. This was also one of the reasons he had never dealt Wu Yimei a killing blow. 

If Wu Yimei really had gone mad to the point of slaughtering innocents, even if he was the person Fang Li had protected back then, Xie Huai couldn’t have stood by and allowed him to bring harm to the world. 

There was something strange about this.

Fu Junling’s expression was extremely unsightly. He was the one responsible for operating the trial domain, but right now, although the jade array disk in his hand was glowing, it couldn’t open the entrance at all. The trial domain had gone out of control. The people inside couldn’t get out, and the people outside couldn’t enter. 

If this went on, the thousands of cultivators inside were just waiting for death.

Qi Ding frowned and asked Fu Junling, “Is it possible to let them out?”

Fu Junling shook his head, “It won’t work, the connection between the inside and outside world has been completely severed.”

Ji Yuyao creased her brow and said, “What is Black Star Tower doing? Such an important trial, and you didn’t even notice that demonic cultivators had snuck inside?”

Faced with Ji Yuyao’s rebuke, Qi Ding’s expression was ugly, but he had no way to retort. This truly was their oversight.

Xin Hanzhou laughed coldly. “The demonic cultivator just now was Wu Yimei’s subordinate, Yin Kui. Wu Yimi has been laying low for so many years, who would’ve thought he’d be waiting for us here? He’s probably here to get revenge for the devil.”

Xie Huai spoke up impassively. “It’s too early yet to come to a conclusion. The most important task at hand is to first rescue the people inside.”

The silver frost beasts were clearly suffering from the effects of the demonic energy, each of them becoming bloodthirsty and irascible. The cultivators inside definitely wouldn’t be a match for them.

Qi Ding was also very worried about the people inside. If the casualties really did become grievous, it would be difficult for Black Star Tower to bear the blame!

But the Mirage Star Trial Domain was Black Star Tower’s greatest treasure, reinforced generation after generation by Black Star Tower’s greatest refiners in the last several thousand years. It was like an independent world, and now that the trial domain had been sealed, it was difficult for them to even enter to mount a rescue……

Xie Huai’s gaze swept past Fang Li, not missing the worry in the depths of Fang Li’s eyes. Thinking of the people trapped inside the trial domain, he pondered for a moment, then said, “I’m willing to go inside to scout out the situation.”

Qi Ding looked at Xie Huai with joyous astonishment.

With Xie Huai’s cultivation level as the number one in the world, forcing his way inside should be possible. Qi Ding was grateful that Xie Huai was willing to volunteer and immediately said, “Then we’ll be troubling Yuyi-jun.”

Seeing that Xie Huai was going to go, Fu Junling thought for a moment, then said seriously to Xie Huai, “There is an eye of the array inside the Mirage Star Trial Domain that’s connected to this jade disk in my hand. The jade disk has lost control, which should be because the connection between the eye of the array inside the trial domain and the outside world has been severed. After you enter, go to the tallest mountain peak at the center of the trial domain. The eye of the array should be underneath that peak. This is our Black Star Tower’s token, it will let you move freely inside the trial domain.”

Xie Huai accepted Fu Junling’s token, and without speaking another word, picked up Fang Li in one hand and was about to set out.

Fang Li had just been thinking that he wanted to go inside and look around to see whether or not things really did have to do with Wu Yimei. He had even been worried that Xie Huai wouldn’t be willing to bring him along, but he hadn’t thought that before he’d even spoken up, Xie Huai would voluntarily bring him along. Their hearts still resonated so well!

On the other hand, when the rest of the crowd saw that Xie Huai wanted to bring the fool along, they couldn’t help but be shocked.

The trial domain was already under the control of demonic cultivators and contained countless ferocious, cruel, out of control beasts. Even if Xie Huai was protecting him, it was still very dangerous, and Xie Huai’s purpose this time was to rescue people. Wouldn’t Fang Li be dead weight?

Qi Ding hurried to stop him. “Yuyi-jun, why don’t you leave him here? Rest assured, this one will be sure to look after him.”

Xie Huai shot Fang Li a meaningful glance. “Do you want to stay here?”

Fang Li grabbed hold of Xie Huai’s hand and shook his head.

Xie Huai turned back and said blandly to Qi Ding, “Seeing as he’s my fated Dao companion, naturally, we’ll face both life and death together. We won’t trouble you, Tower Master.”

Fang Li: “……”

Qi Ding: “……” You really wouldn’t be able to tell from his looks that when it came to matters of the heart, Yuyi-jun was a little, cough, obsessive……

Xie Huai didn’t say any more. His expression sharpened, and his sword, Snowblue, appeared in his hand, striking the water screen in the sky. A seam was sliced straight through the screen of water, and he brought Fang Li to fly inside. In the blink of an eye, the seam closed again behind them.

The scene before Fang Li’s eyes wavered slightly, and in a flash, they appeared inside the trial domain.

Black mist filled the air, and they couldn’t see past a meter in front of them.

The demonic energy around them was thick and eerie.

To be able to fill the entire trial domain with demonic energy and even cause all of the beasts to go into a rampage definitely wasn’t something an average demonic device would be able to accomplish. He pondered for a moment, recalling that in the past, in the Demons’ Abyss, Yan Sui had once acquired a demonstone. The demonic energy emitted by the demonstone was extremely dense and assisted in demonic cultivation. He’d brought the demonstone back and given it to Wu Yimei in passing.

But for the demonic energy to spread so rapidly, it should be more than just the result of the demonstone. There should be some other array assisting it.

Fang Li’s expression flashed.

They were surrounded on all sides by dense black mist. There was no way at all to discern the directions, and countless rampaging beasts were hidden inside. It was indeed very dangerous, and if they couldn’t clear away the black mist in front of them, each and every step would be difficult.

If it had been someone else who’d entered, it would indeed have been a bit thorny.

But Fang Li knew these demonic tricks like the back of his hand. How could a mere smokescreen trouble him? Yan Sui had been the one who’d taught Wu Yimei these arrays back then. All he needed to do was observe for a bit, and he could sense the tiny differences in the demonic energy. After a bit of contemplation, he started walking in one direction.

Xie Huai stepped over right away to follow him.

After not too long, the sounds of urgent panting and screaming came from in front, mixed with the roars of beasts.

They had encountered cultivators.

Xie Huai’s sword Snowblue suddenly struck out. The sword darted through midair, circling around like a streak of light, and in the blink of an eye, the sound of the beasts ceased. The black mist before their eyes was also burned clean away.

Several injured cultivators appeared before them, some male and some female, and there was even blood on them…… Some had had arms bitten off, some had had legs chewed, and there were even some dismembered corpses on the ground, their appearances terrifying and tragic……

They couldn’t see in the black mist, and they had become just like the beasts’ prey. Originally, they had already completely lost hope and hadn’t thought that they would manage to survive. They hurried to look over and saw Xie Huai at a glance. Immediately, they fell to the ground to bow, “Thank you, Yuyi-jun, for saving our lives!”

Xie Huai gave a slight nod, and with a wave of his hand, they were supported up in midair.

Those people rushed to sit and meditate and swallow some medicine. After recuperating for a breath, their gazes finally shifted to Fang Li, full of curiosity.

Previously, when entering the trial domain, they’d seen Fang Li on the tall platform from afar. At the time, he’d been sitting right next to Yuyi-jun, but they couldn’t hear what was being said on the platform, nor did they know Fang Li’s identity. But to be able to sit next to Yuyi-jun, he must not be an average person…… But looking at him now, Fang Li seemed to be only a mortal.

Everyone was a little puzzled.

Could it be that this person’s cultivation level was so high as to have returned to nature, to the point that it couldn’t be seen at all?

Fang Li didn’t pay any mind to the other’s measuring looks. His eyes were slightly closed, and when those people had rested for a bit, he opened his eyes and continued to walk forward.

Although the black mist was swept away wherever Yuyi-jun was, everywhere else was still an expanse of black mist, and amidst the black mist were the demonic wolves who would snap them up and devour them. They didn’t dare to get left behind alone, so they hurried to follow Xie Huai and Fang Li forward.

Fang Li wasn’t relying on his eyes to see. He could sense the slight fluctuations in the demonic energy within the black mist and estimate the location of the demonic array.

On the way, they encountered injured cultivators one after another, and Xie Huai would rescue them in passing. Those people all followed along, and gradually, their party increased to quite a size.

Finally, Fang Li stopped.

He randomly picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it into the black mist. It seemed to hit something and made an echoing clang. Fang Li turned back to smile slightly at Xie Huai. “Here.”

Without a trace of hesitation, Xie Huai’s sword struck out. A wave of energy emanated outwards, and the black mist before their eyes quickly dispersed.

On the ground in front of them, an octagonal bronze bell that had been split in two was revealed.

Fang Li walked over and picked up the bronze bell to inspect it. There should be eight of these bells in total, forming the array that had caused the demonic energy to spread through the entire trial domain. These…… were indeed Wu Yimei’s things.

But he didn’t believe Wu Yimei would do such a thing. Had something happened to Wu Yimei?

Fang Li was a little anxious.

There were already hundreds of people in the party that was following them, and they were all people that Xie Huai and Fang Li had rescued along the way. In the beginning, they had all taken Xie Huai to be the decision maker, but during the journey, they found that although Fang Li hadn’t done any fighting, he seemed to know this place like the back of his hand and hadn’t gone the wrong way even once. Not only had he rescued many people, he’d even found the demonic array.

They thought, as expected of the person beside Yuyi-jun!

At the beginning, a few people had been afraid that Fang Li would go the wrong way, but later, they followed Fang Li without any hesitation, not the least bit worried.

Because the bronze bell had been broken, much of the black mist had dispersed. Fang Li turned toward another direction and started walking.

Finding the vertices of the array wasn’t actually difficult, but this trial domain was really too big, and he hadn’t started re-cultivating yet, so he was starting to get a bit tired from walking.

The trial domain didn’t allow flying or traveling by sword, or else he would be able to have Xie Huai bring him along, which would be much faster……

Fang Li lowered his eyes, thinking carelessly that when they returned, maybe he should just start cultivating after all. Seeing as Xie Huai didn’t intend on exposing him, even if he started cultivating, it should be fine, right?

It wasn’t like Xie Huai was going to pursue the matter, right?

Fang Li was a bit tempted to rest for a while, but when he thought about how in the time that he tarried, many more people would die, in the end, he still sighed and continued walking.

Xie Huai watched Fang Li’s face.

The young man was noticeably somewhat tired, but he still persisted. Moreover, during this trip, he’d intentionally walked toward where people were located so that Xie Huai could save those people. It was precisely this gentle, protective heart so at odds with his identity as the demon lord back then that had given Xie Huai the impulse to probe deeper.

Although he never said so aloud, there was kindness in his heart.

This part had never changed, either.

The depths of Xie Huai’s eyes softened. He stepped forward and caught Fang Li’s wrist in one hand, sending spiritual energy into his body.

Fang Li was a bit startled, but he didn’t resist. If Xie Huai was willing to help him right now, then naturally, he wouldn’t refuse it.

………………………

After Fang Li and Xie Huai had destroyed several vertices of the array, more than half of the black mist inside the trial domain had already dispersed. The number of cultivators gathered right now was already very high, and even if they were left behind, they should be able to defend themselves, so Fang Li didn’t intend on bringing so many people along anymore.

Traveling alone was still a bit more convenient.

Xie Huai took a look at the crowd. There were a few among them whose cultivation level was pretty high. He instructed them to set up arrays here and defend against the demonic wolves together, then left together with Fang Li.

When Fang Li was hungry, he would eat a little, and when he was tired, he would rest for a bit. When it was enough, he would continue walking.

Luckily, although he hadn’t cultivated yet, he’d already forged his body, and he also had a powerful consciousness, or else he probably wouldn’t have been able to endure.

Three days later.

The last bronze bell had been found, and Xie Huai shattered the bell in one blow. All of the black mist in the domain had been scattered, and those beasts had also returned to normal. At the least, the people here weren’t in danger anymore.

In the center of the trial domain was a mountain peak. According to Fu Junling, underneath that mountain was the eye of the array. Only by finding the eye and restoring the connection to the outside world could they send the people here outside.

Two shichen later.

Fang Li stood at the foot of that peak, but he didn’t approach, only slightly furrowing his brow.

In order to ruin the trial domain with demonic energy, that demonic cultivator hadn’t hesitated to use the demonstone and the eight-cornered bronze bell. Moreover, setting up all of these things at once wasn’t something that could be done alone. There must be plenty of demonic cultivators hiding in here, but when he’d broken those bronze bells, he hadn’t encountered any obstructions at all. Not a single demonic cultivator had come to stop them……

Of course, it was also possible that they’d seen Xie Huai and hadn’t been willing to give their lives away, but Fang Li still thought something was off.

Xie Huai had also noticed it. “There’s most likely a trap here.”

Fang Li also thought so.

But even if it was a trap, for the sake of those people outside, they could only advance right now.

On the other hand, Xie Huai hesitated for a moment.

If there really was a trap inside, bringing Fang Li would be very dangerous. But if Fang Li were to stay outside by himself, there might also be demonic cultivators hiding amongst the people outside.

Fang Li had only just recovered and hadn’t started to cultivate yet……

Just as Xie Huai was caught in a dilemma, Fang Li had already walked straight inside.

Xie Huai was startled, then let out a helpless laugh. He could only follow along.

True, how could Fang Li be at ease staying outside by himself?

There was a metal door in front of the mountain cavern with complicated mechanisms on it, but right now, the entire door had already been destroyed. Fu Junling’s token was of no use.

They walked straight inside.

They followed the long, long passageway to the end, and their field of view suddenly expanded. At the heart of the mountain was a lake, and in the center of the lake was a huge sphere made of jade. There were many little openings on the jade sphere, and light peeked out of those openings like hundreds of thousands of little threads connected to the stone walls of the mountain cavern. This was the core of the Mirage Star Trial Domain.

But right now, the lake and the jade sphere were both shrouded in a thick layer of black mist. Where the black mist met the white light, it emitted crackling hisses, and the jade sphere seemed to be on the verge of plummeting…… And there was a chunk of black stone right at the bottom of the lake. This was precisely the demonstone that was emitting demonic energy, and because the demonic energy had contaminated this place, it had caused the jade sphere’s connection with the outside world to be severed.

There was nobody else here. Had they all fled?

Fang Li’s gaze swept around, and he saw the silver threads in the water. Those silver threads were about as thick as strands of hair, and underneath the shimmering lake surface, they couldn’t be seen at all without close observation. This was a type of poisonous bug refined by demonic cultivators. So this was where the scheme lay. Fang Li’s eyebrows raised minutely.

This was also one of Wu Yimei’s unique, secret arts. Fang Li was very familiar with Wu Yimei’s methods. Could this matter really be related to Wu Yimei?

But regardless, taking out the demonstone was still the priority.

Fang Li just happened to know the way to deal with this demonic insect. He forcefully directed some spiritual energy through his fingertips and formed a spell. With a wave of his hand, he shot the spell into the water, and at the bottom of the lake, it formed a rune diagram. The poisonous insects felt the call of the runes and swarmed toward it, quickly forming a sphere of silver threads.

Fang Li was a little dizzy. He only needed to wait until the insects gathered together, and then he could have Xie Huai kill them all with one slice of his sword.

Xie Huai saw Fang Li forcefully use the spell and glanced at him with worry. Fang Li shook his head to indicate that he was fine. Xie Huai knew that the matter at hand came first, and seeing the insects gather together, Snowblue appeared in his hand, striking toward the clump of silver threads in the middle of the water—

And at the same time—-

A skeletal demonic cultivator in black robes suddenly flew out from behind the jade sphere, appearing in front of Fang Li in a flash!

Fang Li laughed coldly. Everything here looked to be related to Wu Yimei, but he’d just known it wouldn’t be this simple, so he’d been carefully watching his surroundings the whole time and hadn’t let down his guard. Thus, he was able to react in time and unhesitatingly dodged behind Xie Huai! Hiding behind him right now wasn’t disgraceful! After all, he was still a mortal who hadn’t cultivated yet.

Similarly, Xie Huai hadn’t let down his guard just because there was no one here. The edge of his blade turned without a moment’s hesitation away from the poisonous insects in the water. He grabbed Fang Li to shield him, and at the same time, pierced the demonic cultivator with his sword!

The demonic cultivator hadn’t expected the two of them to react so quickly. He had gone to so much effort to find this opportunity, but he hadn’t even been able to touch a corner of Fang Li’s clothes before a strike of the sword severed his arm and sent him flying. He let out a miserable scream and glanced hatefully at the two of them, then promptly self-destructed on the spot.

Only after seeing that the demonic cultivator was dead did Fang Li’s brow crease slightly. If he hadn’t dodged in time just then……

Only, that demonic cultivator had just happened to wait until he’d controlled the insects and Xie Huai was about to kill them to launch a sneak attack. His purpose in concealing himself and lying low had been clear-cut, as if—it had been directed at him?

Who would go to such great lengths just for the sake of dealing with him?

It couldn’t be that his identity had been exposed?