ASER - Chapter 190
Chapter 190: Setting a Trap
Disguising herself as a Level 13 Demon King wasn't difficult for A'Diao. It wasn't her first time, and though the difficulty had increased, she had also leveled up. After handling it with ease, she proceeded to search the entire lair.
Actually, it wasn't much of a search.
Toilet saw at a glance this person (snake) twisting its enormous snake body, impatiently and eagerly scurrying to the most foul-smelling corner of the snake den... Using its snake tail like an excavator, it dug through some unspeakable sediments and quickly found the entrance to a folded space.
"Aiya, so easy to find. This fat loach is really stupid," A'Diao muttered as she opened the entrance.
Toilet: "..."
Ah, you... Just moments ago, while you were hiding and observing the movements of the disciples and the Demon King inside, you were so grim, cold, and professional—truly number one. You had the air of a cold-blooded assassin, your eyes gleaming with a cold light, your aura at its peak.
And here I was, secretly thinking my host was increasingly displaying the demeanor of a powerful expert. Even if it's the sneaky type that can fight head-on but must also hide and use poison, at least she's very strong.
Now it seems you were just observing where the treasure was hidden inside.
And you definitely used a lot of deduction. For example—this Demon King used a folded space to hide the underwater entrance from the human world, so it probably also hid the storage rings of human cultivators. Especially since it disguised itself as a divine dragon. A python disguising itself as a divine dragon—is that a normal fetish? This is its obsession! It might have even learned the greedy nature of dragons, so it definitely would hide treasure.
Toilet: :)
But regardless of where her most formidable professional focus lay, at least the benefits were secured.
Inside the folded space, there were three to four hundred storage rings.
Toilet was delighted, but A'Diao frowned. "Something's not right."
What wasn't right?
A'Diao: "There shouldn't be so few. This White Scale has devoured at least a thousand, if not three thousand, high-level cultivators. How come there's only this much? Could it be that it traded them with that Demon Sound Sect Master?"
That was possible. These Demon Kings weren't stupid; they would definitely seek profit.
Toilet thought so too, and A'Diao immediately felt killing intent towards that Sect Master.
"Next time, I'll make him return my money. Shameless!"
Toilet: "..."
While fuming, A'Diao began to happily sort through these storage rings. Most of those who had ended up before White Scale would have been at the Glimmer or Star Realm, so these storage rings did contain a decent amount of wealth.
In total, there were 300,000 Skeletal Remains and 400,000 Star Coins. Fortunately, there was also the resource A'Diao currently valued most—Spirit Cores.
Over thirty thousand Spirit Cores were piled there, instantly fulfilling A'Diao's goal from before she came to the borderlands.
A'Diao felt dizzy just looking at them. However, in terms of high-level resources like Skeletal Remains and Star Coins... this group was quite poor.
She suddenly realized that her current level and status were truly a world apart from what they used to be.
She could easily trade for 3 million Star Coins from Daoguang Jingci using her bloodline techniques, but the norm in this world was that most cultivators found it very difficult to obtain Skeletal Remains and Star Coins, especially Star Coins.
Apart from what they had on hand for cultivation, little remained. In fact, upon opening the storage rings, more than half of the 300 individuals didn't possess even a single Skeletal Remain or Star Coin, as they had all been consumed.
These things don't last long when used.
"It's also possible that those who truly possessed great wealth have already ended up with the Demon Sound Sect Master."
So, it was just a small fortune.
As A'Diao pondered, she opened Zhang Fengchu's storage ring. Oh, upon opening it, her spirit instantly received a waterfall-like solace.
"These princes and whatnot are just too rich! They probably own more than one mine."
Zhang Fengchu's storage ring impressively contained over five million Star Coins and a large pile of precious medicinal herbs only found in the territories of other races. Among them were several Climbing Dragon King Branches.
No wonder Climbing Dragon King Branches were so expensive; they were materials from the domains of other races, and import fees had to be factored in.
However, adding up the legacy from all the storage rings, if sold, the Star Coins could amount to nearly tens of billions. Plus these Climbing Dragon King Branches, the next few batches of the Hidden Dragon formula were secured!
But now she had other matters to attend to. Anyway, she couldn't contact the Demon Sound Sect Master due to signal concerns on his end, so there was no need to inform him whether this disciple had died or not, to avoid trouble. However, important business had to be dealt with.
Contact the other two Demon Kings.
So, while A'Diao was sorting through the legacy, her clone went to the Library Pavilion to research the Sun Image Primordial Feast.
Because she had never heard of this thing.
That Demon Sound Sect Master didn't seem to be speaking without reason; it must be very important.
In the Library Pavilion, A'Diao quickly found ancient records regarding the Sun Image Primordial Feast.
"Sun Image Primordial Feast: A time when the Sun Image Rays in the star domain are at their most intense, capable of breaking through dimensional barriers to reach the world's surface. Sun Image Rays are essentially super-high energy bodies. They descend upon the world through cosmic space, undergoing indescribable extraordinary transformations as they pass through world barriers and cosmic space tunnels, thereby achieving energy mutation. Ultimately, they become a mysterious substance that allows living beings to transform. Legend has it that in the primordial era, at the dawn of spiritual energy's appearance, the origin of the 'other races' was the earliest humans being comprehensively affected by spiritual energy and Sun Image Ray radiation. Most of them could not withstand it, and their bodies perished. But those who survived all underwent mutation, becoming the first living beings to master unnatural powers. Through continuous evolution, they became the 'other races'.
"And on the day of the Sun Image Primordial Feast, because it reaches an unfamiliar spiritual energy environment and reacts with spiritual energy and other energies, it condenses into an extraordinary cosmic stellar phenomenon, as if the daylight is completely devoured—hence it is hailed as the Sun Image Primordial Feast. During this process, all Sun Image Rays descending upon the human world will condense from widespread irradiation into a unified whole due to the gathering of homologous energy. Depending on its quantity and duration of irradiation, different Sun Image Primordial Bodies will form in various locations. In the thousands of years of history during the primordial era, the Sun Image Primordial Feast occurred a total of 8 times, mostly during periods when energy fluctuation frequencies in the human realm were at their highest. However, for human cultivators, this is a disaster."
A disaster?
A'Diao was surprised. With her way of thinking, her first reaction upon reading the preceding content was—Holy crap, this is so awesome! What a great thing! After all, the aptitude of the other races was evident; even their lifespans far exceeded those of humans. This was a tremendously good thing.
How could it be a disaster?
She continued reading, and the ancient text went on to record:
"Initially, when human cultivators saw that the Sun Image Rays possessed such terrifying power, they were naturally excited, attempting to use it to gain abilities similar to those coveted by the other races. But they soon discovered that the mutation of the other races was not the result of individualized or small-group mutations, but rather an extinction-level survival outcome, like a plague. The primordial other races survived, but their numbers were only in the single digits. However, the human race, millions of times more numerous than these few, due to ignorance, came into contact with it during the first Sun Image Primordial Feast, ultimately leading to mass destruction and death. There are even secret rumors that the reason these few primordial members of the other races survived was also due to the help of a mysterious existence. Otherwise, nine out of ten humans in the areas where the Sun Image Rays and Sun Image Primordial Bodies descended would have been completely wiped out, and there would be no subsequent story of human prosperity."
A mysterious existence?
A'Diao's brow furrowed, and she subconsciously hugged her milk tea and took a sip.
This kind of cautious, obscure, and rather suggestive wording... wasn't it like a sign saying 'no 300 taels of silver buried here'?
A big shot from the Celestial Clan?
Wouldn't that be almost like a god?
How perceptive A'Diao was, with her 1008 'heart-eyes.' She subconsciously thought of Cang Wu and that temple.
That temple... it had some connection to the Celestial Clan's Celestial Maiden, right?
As the Young Lord of the Heavenly Spirit Clan, he wouldn't appear without reason in a place connected to the Celestial Maiden, who should have been a public enemy. And he was so knowledgeable about the Chen family's curse.
It seemed Daoguang Jingci had held back some information from her, not explaining the true situation—likely because Daoguang Jingci didn't know she had met Cang Wu at the temple, and Cang Wu probably hadn't mentioned it either.
A'Diao thought of the Imperial Clan and Lushan, her thoughts diverging to the three imperial clans of the other races and the imperial families of the other two nations.
But soon, she continued reading. The text mentioned other matters, though actually, even without reading further, she had vaguely guessed it.
The disaster was twofold.
"Human beings cannot withstand it, but the significance of the disaster is that—demonic spirits can. Moreover, humans cannot detect its arrival time and approximate location in advance, but demonic spirits can, as if this heaven-sent power actually exists for the demonic spirits."
Holy crap! Just as I thought!
A'Diao couldn't help but roll her eyes. No wonder the White Scale Demon King and the others were so anxious. As soon as Chen Xun made a move, they reacted as if their hornet's nest had been stirred.
"It seems they had long determined that one of the locations was on the Tang Song border. No wonder so many demonic spirit lairs gathered at once."
The thought of the impending Sun Image Rays made A'Diao wish she could pick up the entire train station and flee back to Lushan right now. But she estimated there was still some time before that period. She could still fool around for a few more days; once this matter was resolved, she would immediately return to Lushan.
Absolutely no risk-taking.
A'Diao, in her guise as the White Scale Demon King, quickly summoned the snake spirits outside and had them notify the other two Demon Kings, Hidden Pupil and Red Demon.
Meanwhile, she reckoned the Imperial Clan had also received the news but was definitely investigating it.
Investigating what?
Toilet: "Aren't you afraid that after their normal investigation, the Imperial Clan will confirm your presence here a few days in advance and send Grandmaster or even Lesser Spirit King level experts to kill you?"
A'Diao: "Not after they find out the person who sent the message is from Lie Qin."
After the Imperial Clan received the news, they indeed proceeded on two fronts: investigating the possibility of Chen A'Diao being in the borderlands, and simultaneously investigating the source of the information.
To be honest, although Ai Feng and Zhang Fengchu slandered the Tang Song Imperial Clan like brain-dead anti-fans, they did not underestimate them tactically and had made meticulous arrangements. But they were, after all, just personnel serving a prince of Lie Qin. How could they deceive the Imperial Clan's supreme imperial power apparatus and some Lesser Spirit King experts?
Their upper limits were just different.
Before the results of the investigation were out, the Imperial Clan was also considering sending a Lesser Spirit King to coordinate with the curse for a double kill. This way, Chen A'Diao would undoubtedly die.
"First, activate the curse, then sense the curse to determine her location. Before she dies outright or attempts to teleport back to Lushan, teleport over... This way, it will be foolproof."
A double insurance.
This Lesser Spirit King didn't at all feel that dispatching such a powerful combatant to kill a Glimmer Realm cultivator was overkill.
They were serious about eliminating hidden dangers for the Imperial Clan.
But just as this proposal was made, the investigation results came in.
"The video is real, not faked. She is indeed at the border. And judging by the environment, she should be in a ghost lair cavern in Ghost Valley. But there's one more thing."
"This information was sent by a spy planted in our Tang Song by Lie Qin. The methods can be traced back to the network of the Third Prince of Lie Qin."
Related to the Lie Qin Imperial Family?
The white-haired old man, who had the most authority among them, immediately said: "A Lesser Spirit King cannot go. It's too easy to identify them. If the other party is prepared and manages to record it, and then posts it on the tri-national network, our Dantai Imperial Clan's reputation will be ruined, and it will also cause a huge uproar domestically."
Why didn't they dare to kill Chen A'Diao directly? Was it only because of Lushan?
No, there was also public reputation. Right now, the entire nation adored her, viewing her as the Chief of the current younger generation of Tang Song. If the Imperial Clan couldn't even tolerate her and insisted on eliminating her, it would deal a devastating blow to the Imperial Clan's credibility. And in this situation...
The benefit of killing Chen A'Diao to eliminate a hidden danger was completely outweighed by the disadvantages if the matter were exposed.
"Once the country becomes unstable, and Lie Qin seizes the opportunity to launch a major offensive, then our Imperial Clan will be in peril."
What they were wary of was inadvertently giving Lie Qin an advantage by trying to kill Chen A'Diao.
"Either arrange for a Lesser Spirit King unrelated to our Imperial Clan, or arrange for a Grandmaster unrelated to the Imperial Clan."
The former was basically impossible to achieve. Which family's ancestor would be so foolish as to declare war on Lushan for the sake of the Imperial Clan? Once exposed, their entire clan would be ground to dust by Lushan.
But Grandmasters were much easier to find, as the Imperial Clan, after all, had Grandmaster-level secret operatives who couldn't be traced back to them.
"Then send a Grandmaster."
"But don't activate the curse first. That would easily prompt her to contact Lushan directly or teleport back. Don't forget, she's skilled not only in lightning but also in spatial abilities."
"So, first determine her approximate location. After ensuring she cannot teleport, then activate the curse. Let her ultimately die from the curse, to silence the wagging tongues of the world, so that Lushan, Lie Qin, and Nan Jin can find no opportunity."
After the old man finalized the plan, he narrowed his eyes. "And His Majesty... has already rejuvenated and has recently been engrossed in cultivation."
"Heaven truly blesses our Tang Song."
While the group of old men from the Imperial Clan was discussing how to "eliminate a certain cancerous tumor without pollution, harm, traces, or side effects," A'Diao had successfully met with the other two Demon Kings.
It was a huge cavern. Among the three Demon Kings, the White Scale Demon King's true form was the most conspicuous. Hidden Pupil was a floating demonic spirit shrouded in a black robe, also Level 13. But Red Demon was terrifying. Its body was five meters tall, a flame giant composed entirely of magma. It was the strongest among the three, at Level 14, and the leader of all demonic spirits in the entire Blood Kite Basin.
Its strength was such that even several Mid Grandmasters wouldn't dare to confront it head-on.
"Regarding this matter with Chen Xun, I had heard about it earlier. Recently, I've indeed felt the military's assaults becoming extremely sharp and precise. I didn't expect the situation to change so quickly."
Hidden Pupil's voice was sharp and thin. "What Chen Xun? I'll go assassinate him, and that will be the end of it."
"It's not that easy. Blood Abandonment City definitely has equipment he developed. If we get close, we'll surely be detected. At that time, the entire city's firepower will unite. Can we withstand it?"
They definitely couldn't withstand it. Actually, the two of them could take down the main city of Blood Abandonment, but only if all Demon Kings and all demonic spirits in the borderlands gathered and directly attacked the foot of the main city's walls.
This would require them to stake everything on a single throw.
Originally, their plan was that after the Sun Image Primordial Feast, they and all the demonic spirits would undergo mutation and advancement, their strength soaring, and then they would conquer Blood Abandonment in one fell swoop.
Taking this step now, ahead of schedule, involved risks.
"White Scale, you brought the news. What do you think?" Red Demon looked at White Scale (A'Diao).
A'Diao mimicked White Scale's tone and said, "Actually, I don't really trust Demon Sound."
Red Demon and Hidden Pupil were slightly surprised. Hidden Pupil said in a strange voice, "You two are already hooked up, and you still don't trust him?"
A'Diao: "???"
Toilet: "!!!"
Hooked up, yes, but is it the kind of 'hooked up' I'm thinking of?
Damn!
Interspecies... is also possible?
This topic was very dangerous; she could be exposed. A'Diao's heart tightened. But sensing clear jealousy and dissatisfaction in Hidden Pupil's tone, she said lightly, "That's a physical matter. What does it have to do with my mind? If you could distinguish right from wrong as I do, you wouldn't waste time saying such things."
Hidden Pupil was furious but quieted down under Red Demon's cold gaze.
Red Demon: "Tell me why you don't trust him."
A'Diao: "This person has always been treacherous. He knows much more about the imperial court than we do. With Chen Xun being so formidable, would he not have known? Why didn't he remind us to eliminate him sooner? Instead, he brings it up at this critical juncture. And... I still don't understand why he wants to cooperate with us. He doesn't seem worried at all that after the Sun Image Primordial Feast, once we achieve our desires, we'll double-cross him."
The last sentence was the key point.
When something happens abruptly, there must be something fishy.
She could see that Hidden Pupil already disliked the Demon Sound Sect Master and would surely chime in.
(Hidden Pupil chimed in,) "Currently, apart from cooperating with us to eliminate those from the human imperial court, he indeed seems to have no other demands. Such greedy creatures as humans... it's impossible for them to have no ulterior motive."
Red Demon: "I can roughly guess his motive. He might be someone from Lie Qin or Nan Jin."
Holy crap! A'Diao had originally intended to lead him to that conclusion, but she didn't expect this Red Demon to connect the dots so directly.
Indeed, based on her recent observations and the fact that Ai Feng and his associate were planted in the borderlands, Lie Qin clearly had grand ambitions. So, this Demon Sound Sect... even if it wasn't affiliated with Lie Qin, she would make it appear as if it were.
She immediately put on a thoughtful expression, deliberately taking a step back. "If that's the case, then it's understandable. It seems I misunderstood."
Her expression also feigned relaxation.
Hidden Pupil noticed, and Red Demon naturally noticed as well.
"Regardless of his motive, I, Red Demon, will not be a mere pawn of humans. Attacking the city is too conspicuous and risks being wiped out by Blood Abandonment City. Even if we don't fail, it will result in mutual destruction, making it easy for Lie Qin's people to seize the opportunity, reap the rewards, and eliminate us all in one go."
Red Demon was the leader and possessed a leader's strategic mindset. It didn't bother to obsess over the true motive of the Demon Sound Sect Master, this cult leader. It only demanded two things.
"First, Hidden Pupil, your Floating Demon Clan excels in ghostly stealth and concealment. Go investigate if Lie Qin's forces are lying low in the border region, if there are any signs of troop buildup on the periphery, and whether the Demon Sound Sect has provided shelter for Lie Qin's spies."
"Second, White Scale, you contact Demon Sound. Tell him we've decided to lure Chen Xun to the Blood Kite Basin, but demand that his Demon Sound Sect cooperate. Otherwise, this matter is too risky, and we will consider relocating to other areas where Sun Image Rays gather, abandoning the borderlands."
Red Demon chose a drastic measure, forcing Demon Sound to enter the game himself. As long as he came, his life would be in the hands of the three Demon Kings, and he wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.
If he didn't come, that was fine too. They would first sell out the Demon Sound Sect, using it as bait to lure Chen Xun.
"A mere Vice Minister of Works, so fond of the limelight, not considering the face of his superior, the Minister of Works—he must be aiming for a higher position. He will come."
A'Diao felt that the intelligence of demonic spirits indeed increased in tiers with their level; this Red Demon was very intelligent and cunning.
Since he had an excellent idea... then the other two Demon Kings (A'Diao as White Scale, and Hidden Pupil) would, of course, happily comply!
After Hidden Pupil and A'Diao (as White Scale) separated, A'Diao quickly returned and made arrangements. Meticulously, she fully immersed herself in her role as White Scale, instructing her subordinates to closely monitor the Demon Sound Sect's movements, presenting an appearance of wariness and suspicion.
Toilet initially wanted to praise her professionalism but soon realized something was off about her being so dedicated.
Indeed.
A'Diao: "That Red Demon used some trick; he's monitoring me."
Toilet: "..."
Had she revealed a flaw?
A'Diao: "Not really. I suspect it simply doesn't trust anyone, including us two Demon Kings, let alone Demon Sound. Hidden Pupil is probably being tailed by him too."
That damn thing. Luckily, she was cautious and kept up the act. Just now, she had carefully released her mental threads and sensed a flame butterfly hidden in a spatial rift not far from her.
At this moment, before her was a Level 12 Python Demon. She lowered her voice and instructed it privately.
"Take a group... monitor the movements of their two clans. If there are any signs of them trying to surround you, retreat underground immediately."
"Yes."
At this time, Red Demon sat in his original spot, his pupils slightly profound. His palm was open, and two flame butterflies within it corresponded to the activities on Hidden Pupil's and A'Diao's (as White Scale) sides.
He observed for a long time and soon cut off the monitoring of A'Diao's side, because this White Scale's reaction was just as he expected.
Cautious, cunning, but knew her place and wouldn't dare to challenge him.
So, he left the monitoring on Hidden Pupil's side active.
Hidden Pupil, on the other hand, was quite attentive. After all, interests were at stake, so naturally, it didn't slack off and also seriously dispatched personnel to investigate. However, it also sent a group of Floating Demons to watch both sides—
the Flame Giant demonic spirit group (Red Demon's) and the Python Demon group (White Scale's/A'Diao's).
"Monitor their movements, and also, determine the current numbers and strength on both their sides."
It seemed similar to what White Scale (A'Diao) had instructed, but also somewhat different.
Checking numbers and strength... was it planning a double-cross?
Red Demon sneered. However, following the leads from Hidden Pupil's spies, he discovered that a Demon Sound disciple, while assassinating cultivators, seemed to intentionally or unintentionally avoid a certain ordinary-looking cultivator.
This person must be problematic.
To avoid arousing the Demon Sound Sect Master's suspicion, they didn't touch the disciple. But later, the Floating Demons captured this person and investigated.
He was from Lie Qin, under a person named Ai Feng, which also meant he was one of the Third Prince's men.
Case solved.
Demon Sound and the Lie Qin Imperial Family were indeed cooperating.
Hidden Pupil quickly reported to Red Demon, "I know this Ai Feng. He ranked fourth in Lie Qin's Bronze Mountain assessment. Very formidable."
He had a background, a motive, and evidence.
Even if Red Demon were 180 times more shrewd, he would have firmly believed this matter.
Because it was entirely plausible. And considering the respective standpoints of the Lie Qin Imperial Family and the Demon Sound Sect, this was simply a perfect collaboration.
"If that's the case... then let these humans get what they wish for."
A dangerous and ruthless killing intent flashed in Red Demon's eyes.
At this time, the two of them (Red Demon and Hidden Pupil) still didn't know that A'Diao had manipulated the mental imprint in that disciple's mind.
She had controlled two disciples. One had ended up in White Scale's stomach, and the other was this one. The information about Ai Feng's spy was something she had tortured out of Ai Feng. Whether the Demon Sound disciple and Ai Feng's spy had any prior contact was unknown, but this particular connection was orchestrated by her.
Hehehe.
The three Demon Kings discussed again. White Scale (A'Diao) said, "Since Chen Xun fancies himself so formidable, let's use what he's best at to lure him. These human geniuses are the easiest to trick with their own game."
Red Demon understood her meaning. "Expose our tracks through information?"
White Scale: "Correct. I'll deliberately send it to Demon Sound for him to see... However, this time, we must inform Demon Sound; otherwise, he'll suspect why I'm deliberately sending him information."
The three Demon Kings acted in concert. The Demon Sound Sect Master also received the message A'Diao had the snake spirit deliver. At that time, his expression was amiable, and he seemed to agree. But as soon as the snake spirit left, his expression turned slightly gloomy.
"This Red Demon is indeed cunning and cautious, but this method of his isn't bad either."
The Demon Sound Sect Master realized that if he participated, he would inevitably have to risk his life. But not participating would mean severing ties with the three Demon Kings.
What to do?
"And he even uses the Sun Image Primordial Feast to threaten me."
The Demon Sound Sect Master still agreed. After the snake spirit left, he wrote a secret letter.
After the Demon Sound Sect Master readily agreed, the assassination plan against Chen Xun, this mere Vice Minister of Works, began.
A'Diao (as White Scale) sent a message to the Demon Sound Sect Master in front of Red Demon and Hidden Pupil. The information from both sides converged...
It was current information, but after a period of screening, it would eventually be classified as valid information and delivered to Chen Xun.
Chen Xun looked at the information exchange between the two accounts. He examined the content of one party's message for a while, his gaze pausing particularly on one sentence.
—That Chen Xun thinks he's so clever, considers himself an unparalleled chess master. Well then, we'll show him a thing or two.
These words, he had heard them in his childhood from a certain little girl with a childlike voice. As long as no one else was around, especially not Chen Ran, she would clench her small fists and humph, "Brother, you think you're so clever, an unparalleled chess master? Then I'll show you a thing or two."
"To let you know that there's still me, Chen Diaodiao, in this world!"
When he was about to be checkmated by her in chess, Chen Ran would suddenly arrive. She would immediately lose and then weakly say, "Brother, what color tea do you like? Is green good?"
Chen Xun lowered his eyes, his fingers resting on the bridge of his handsome nose. He gave a faint, almost imperceptible chuckle, but soon pressed his thin lips together. He took out a draft paper, began to break down characters into radicals, tried three types of character cipher sequences, and succeeded with the third one.
—Take the bait. We'll deal with humans and demons. You get promoted, I get rich. Contact Diao.
He interpreted it as: "My 'plastic' brother, I'm setting a trap for you, and you have to fall for it. Then, we'll take down the Demon Sound Sect Master and the Demon Kings together. You'll become the Minister of Works, a first-rank official, and I'll make a fortune. Cooperate or not?"
Would he refuse?
No.
But the information she gave was limited; he had to try his best to understand her plan. Regarding herself, he shouldn't try to probe, because her combat power was too strong, beyond his scope of speculation. He only needed to consider his own role from her perspective and then act accordingly.
So... she wanted him to deliberately contact "her" (A'Diao herself), allowing people to discover Chen A'Diao's existence and believe that the siblings were conspiring.
For example, after discovering the Demon Kings' tracks, he would specifically contact her to come over so that his sister could gain benefits.
This fit his persona of a doting older brother and was impeccable.
Then who would obtain this intelligence from his message?
The Imperial Clan.
She wanted to lure the Imperial Clan over? Then she must have made arrangements to deter Lesser Spirit King level experts from coming, perhaps by involving Lie Qin?
Demon Kings, Lie Qin, Demon Sound Sect...
Ah, he understood.
After Chen Xun understood the plan, he pondered for a moment and began to make arrangements.
1. Upload the results of this intelligence to the Minister of Works and the commander of the border garrison. They would definitely launch an attack, and the Minister of Works, in order to get rid of him, would order him to accompany the army.
2. Create a keyed message to contact A'Diao's account at Lushan, making the Imperial Clan believe in the value of this message and thereby pinpointing the location she would soon arrive at.
After finishing the arrangements, Chen Xun entered the laboratory again. Inside the laboratory, there was also a folded space secret chamber.
After entering, he looked at the object preserved in the instrument, his expression calm.
This plan was very dangerous, but if it wasn't dangerous, could it still be called a plan?
He couldn't control her side of things. But on his own side, if he wanted to be foolproof, he still had to factor in the contingency of the curse erupting.
The Blood Abandonment City military headquarters indeed made secret arrangements... The Minister of Works also began to manipulatively arrange things for Chen Xun.
Go, go, I have the highest hopes for you. If you go, you can achieve great merit. No need to thank me; I see you as my own son.
Meanwhile, the Grandmaster hidden by the Imperial Clan led his men away from their original area and quickly reached the borderlands.
The borderlands were so vast. This Grandmaster lay low upon arrival and then quietly waited for Chen A'Diao to appear.
Before coming, those within the Imperial Clan had speculated: This Chen A'Diao definitely wouldn't stay with the military. She would hide in the shadows to play dog-eat-dog, so she would infiltrate the location where the three Demon Kings had set their trap.
Today, the sky was clear and the air was fresh, but the Blood Kite Basin was filled everywhere with a settled blood mist.
There was a low valley in the Blood Kite Basin. Inside, strange rocks stood in great numbers, various bizarre plants grew densely, and it was shrouded in blood mist. The three Demon Kings were hiding in a deep underground palace below, and the Demon Sound Sect Master was impressively also among them.
As soon as A'Diao saw this fellow's true appearance, she understood why Hidden Pupil had said the Demon Sound Sect Master and White Scale were having an affair.
This Sect Master looked like a male fox spirit.
"Chen Xun isn't here yet?" Hidden Pupil, who seemed to belong to a clan skilled in intelligence gathering, was actually sharp-tongued, acrimonious, and very impatient. Conversely, Red Demon, who appeared hot-tempered, was particularly forbearing and perceptive.
"Those with high intelligence wouldn't rashly enter a dangerous situation. Their airship should be searching at high altitude in the nearby area right now. They will only approach after locking onto the perfect position."
"Wait for them to fall into our fake hiding spot disguised above, then counter-kill."
The fake hiding spot above was designed by the three Demon Kings and the Demon Sound Sect Master together. In such a geographical environment, let alone detection equipment, even if a Grandmaster personally flew into the low valley, they wouldn't be able to discern the truth from falsehood and would definitely assume they were all hiding above.
At this moment, the Demon Sound Sect Master said to A'Diao (as White Scale) from the side, "Be extremely careful later; no mistakes allowed."
Is this person out of his mind?
Have you asked Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen?
A'Diao feigned kindness. "Understood. You too, I hope you'll be fine as well."
Hidden Pupil's expression looked a bit nauseated...
Red Demon remained expressionless. It suddenly said, "Someone's here."
Who?!!!
What arrived was a sneaky shadow.
Who could it be?
Of course, it was Chen A'Diao!
A doppelganger that looked exactly like Chen A'Diao!
After all the arrangements were completed, A'Diao specially summoned her doppelganger to the borderlands, had her genuinely form a "cooperative" relationship with Chen Xun, and then, following her usual habits, relied on her spatial abilities to sneakily enter the low valley.
When she appeared.
Mental Power surged.
From Huang Dan +100 million!
From Zhao Heng +77,777,777!
From...
Counting them, it was about a ten-person team. Damn it, probably one Grandmaster, three Mid Grandmasters, and six Lesser Grandmasters.
Impressive, what a grand gesture!
That Grandmaster discovered her and followed.
The Grandmaster Huang Dan, dispatched by the Imperial Clan, specially sent a voice transmission to his professional assassination team: "Our mission this time is to tail her closely, block any attempts by her to teleport to Lushan or to receive teleported aid from Lushan. Just ensure she successfully dies from the curse. Try not to engage directly. Also, don't go near the hiding place of the three Demon Kings and others above; let them and the border army deal with it. If I'm not mistaken, this cunning Chen A'Diao has always liked to play dog-eat-dog. And how could Chen Xun not know that the Minister is using him as a target? These two siblings must have planned it together... So, she will hide later, intending to be the oriole."
Indeed!
The next second, the Chen A'Diao in front maintained her sneaky style and instantly burrowed deep into the earth.
"Follow!"
The 10-person ultra-professional team also immersively tracked and pursued.
Deeper and deeper... The deeper they went, the more the Grandmaster felt something was wrong. He couldn't detect the reality of what was below at all. There was a hidden space below! Concealed by someone using spatial abilities to fold it.
This Chen A'Diao was truly extraordinary!
"Get ready. Don't let our guard down and suffer an unexpected setback."
Crash!
In the underground palace.
As soon as A'Diao's doppelganger descended, it was blasted apart by Red Demon's attack.
Amidst the halo of the attack, super divine soldiers (the Grandmaster's team) rained down from the ceiling with swishing sounds.
In the vast underground palace, on one side were the three Demon Kings and the Demon Sound Sect Master... and on the other, the magnificent team led by the Grandmaster.
The Grandmaster and his team never expected to be attacked the moment they arrived, so they instinctively counterattacked.
Attack bombardment!
No one could tell who was who!
After a wave of attacks... thick smoke billowed. The two sides faced off for three seconds, looking at each other in dismay.
Awkward?
Not awkward.
It was terrifying.
The Grandmaster and his team never in their wildest dreams imagined the Demon Kings were hiding here, while the three Demon Kings, on their side, never in their wildest dreams imagined these people would appear.
A Grandmaster, it was a Grandmaster.
And... so many Mid and Lesser Grandmasters.
At that moment, that second was bizarre.
Could they say, "Excuse me, wrong place."?
No.
If there were background music at this moment, it should be "Riverside of Lovesickness."
Ever since I met you by the riverside of lovesickness
It's like the spring breeze blowing into my heart
I want to gently tell you
Don't forget me...
At this point, neither side understood the other at all. For the Grandmaster and his team, these were demonic spirits—how could they negotiate? And Red Demon King was incredibly ruthless. Although the Grandmaster and his team were strong, still...
With his command, tens of thousands of demonic spirits erupted from all parts of the underground palace, their group attacks locking on.
The Grandmaster and the others were horrified and terrified... They could only grit their teeth and unleash their full firepower, attempting to first kill Red Demon to stop the eruption of these demonic spirit swarms, and then try to escape.
At this moment, the Grandmaster couldn't care less where A'Diao was, nor did he know if she was dead or alive, let alone that it was her doppelganger that had died.
And Red Demon King, experienced and cunning, dodged. Meanwhile, his true form transformed, becoming a ten-meter-tall flame giant wielding a greatsword.
"Kill!"
Secretly, the White Scale Demon King (A'Diao) also mingled at the back, roaring along: "Kill!"
Kill, kill, kill!
Beat these damn bandits to death!
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