Mutual Schemes

"Though it’s a small sect, it is still part of the Orthodox Xuan Sect. It has some worthwhile things!"

Inside the valley’s library, Li Chuan and his Shadow Clones were flipping through the spell manuals one after another, feeling quite satisfied.

Ever since returning to the valley, he had remained in the library, memorizing and studying its various spells, restrictions, alchemy, artifact refining, and more.

Little Bamboo Mountain’s library did not contain anything truly powerful enough to rank among the cultivation world’s finest, but it excelled in its breadth. It had a little of everything at the foundational level.

The Five Elements Evasion Technique, Five Elements Daoist magic, basic alchemy and artifact-refining arts, and even sword-riding techniques were all there.

Perhaps this was because Little Bamboo Mountain’s founding patriarch had once been a disciple of some great Daoist sect lost to history before establishing his own sect, leaving behind such a comprehensive collection of manuals.

If one learned all these manuals, one would become a versatile but fairly mediocre cultivator.

However, this did not affect Li Chuan. His own strength was already formidable. What he needed now was to learn these basics. Only by laying a solid foundation in every aspect could he understand truly profound manuals once he obtained them later.

Just as he was studying intently, he suddenly sensed the sect’s restrictions being opened. He immediately dismissed his Shadow Clones and walked outside.

"Looks like Master has returned!"

Yet the moment he pushed open the door, he heard Blood God Son’s arrogant laughter echoing throughout the valley.

"Blood God Son!"

Li Chuan frowned and looked into the sky.

There was Blood God Son, whom he had defeated two years ago; his master, Daoist Qingzhu, who clearly did not look normal; and an unfamiliar Demonic Cultivator whose strength was not weak.

"You audacious Demonic Cultivators! How dare you invade Little Bamboo Mountain!"

At that moment, the three elderly Little Bamboo Mountain martial uncles, with white hair and beards, emerged angrily from their seclusion chambers after sensing the aura of Demonic Cultivators outside.

But when they saw the river of blood enveloping the entire valley, their legs went weak, and they nearly collapsed onto the ground.

"Cultivators from the Blood Demon Palace!"

Youquan Blood Demon of the Blood Demon Palace had destroyed Mount Hua 499 years ago and Kunlun 199 years ago. In the eyes of Righteous Path cultivators, it was an utterly terrifying sect.

"Senior Brother!"

The five junior brothers and sisters who had been practicing spells on the lawn saw the terrifying sight in the sky and hurriedly gathered behind Li Chuan in fear.

"Don’t be afraid. It’s fine."

Li Chuan raised a hand and comforted his junior brothers and sisters before looking up at Blood God Son with a smile.

"Well, if it isn’t Blood God Son, the defeated fool who fled with his tail between his legs last time. What, have you recovered from your injuries?"

"Li Qingfeng, don’t get cocky! You’re only at the Foundation Establishment stage. If you hadn’t ambushed me last time, and if you hadn’t taken the pills Lotus Fairy gave you, did you really think you could have defeated me?"

Li Chuan had struck a sore spot, and Blood God Son’s emotions clearly became unstable.

Defeated by a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Righteous Path—and from an obscure sect like Little Bamboo Mountain, no less—he had suffered plenty of ridicule after returning to the Blood Demon Palace over the past two years. Even his master’s gaze toward him had changed.

No matter what, today he would wash away that humiliation. He would destroy Little Bamboo Mountain and kill Li Chuan.

"Then let’s give it a try. One on one, another round!"

Li Chuan’s face was full of provocation.

With his current strength, he truly did not fear Blood God Son. However, Daoist Qingzhu was in the enemy’s hands, making him wary of acting rashly. He had to find a way to rescue Daoist Qingzhu first.

His advantage was that they did not know just how strong he had become.

"You really think I’m afraid of you? Today, I’ll show you the difference between heaven and earth!"

Blood God Son narrowed his eyes, and the river of blood behind him immediately surged into towering waves.

However, Yin Jiutian beside him frowned and quietly sent him a voice transmission.

"Senior Brother, there’s no need to let him provoke us. We should attack together. We even have this old Daoist as a shield. Victory is guaranteed."

The two of them clearly held the advantage, so why engage in something as brainless as a one-on-one duel? What if they were defeated one at a time? They were not Righteous Path cultivators who needed to talk about honor.

Demonic Path cultivators only cared about results. Their favorite methods had always been ambushes and ganging up on opponents.

He wondered whether something had gone wrong with Blood God Son’s mind.

Yet Blood God Son still looked enraged as he secretly gave his answer through voice transmission.

"I’ll go up and hold him off first. When the opportunity comes, use the Great Sumeru Profound Yin Cauldron to ambush him. We must capture him in one stroke."

It turned out Blood God Son had never intended to fight Li Chuan one-on-one. He was merely pretending to take the bait so that Yin Jiutian could use his famed treasure, the Great Sumeru Profound Yin Cauldron, to capture Li Chuan alive.

The main reason was that he had fought Li Chuan before and experienced the power of Li Chuan’s lightning arts and Clone Technique. He feared that if Li Chuan felt he had no chance of victory, he might abandon the entire sect and focus solely on escaping. With so many clones, they truly were not confident they could keep him.

Moreover, Li Chuan had only been at the middle Foundation Establishment stage two years ago, yet he had now formed a core. There was no telling how much his strength had improved.

Only then did Yin Jiutian silently nod. As expected of his senior brother from the Blood Demon Palace—when it came to cunning and treachery, he was still slightly inferior.

"And who might this fellow Daoist be? Do I have some grievance with you as well?"

At that moment, Li Chuan turned his gaze toward Yin Jiutian, who was controlling Daoist Qingzhu.

Yin Jiutian chuckled.

"I am Yin Jiutian, sect master of the Xuan Yin Sect. You killed my junior brother Nan Tong, so I came today to seek justice.

"But rest assured, as the leader of a sect, I would not stoop to joining forces against an enemy. Once you defeat Senior Brother Blood God Son, I will exchange a few moves with you.

"If you can defeat me, I will naturally release your master."

"Then many thanks!"

Li Chuan cupped his hands and smiled just as pleasantly.

"Martial Nephew Qingfeng, what exactly is going on? Why did you provoke them? And what has happened to your senior brother?"

After hearing the conversation between Blood God Son, Yin Jiutian, and Li Chuan, the three Foundation Establishment martial uncles who had just emerged from seclusion were completely dumbfounded.

They had only been secluded for four years. How had Little Bamboo Mountain changed so drastically? Their grand martial nephew had killed an elder of the Xuan Yin Sect and injured Blood God Son of the Blood Demon Palace, and now those people had come to seek revenge. This was truly something they had never expected to see in their lifetimes.

"Martial Uncles, don’t panic. Take my junior brothers and sisters to stand behind me. I will handle everything properly!"

Li Chuan raised a hand and calmly reassured the three martial uncles, who were trembling from fright.

The three exchanged looks, then obediently moved behind Li Chuan.

Under the current circumstances, their sect master senior brother was under the enemy’s control. Only by listening to Li Chuan did they have even the slightest hope of survival.

"Great River of Blood Technique!"

Blood God Son stopped wasting words and directly drove his river of blood toward Li Chuan below.

This time, he had not been injured by an ambush and was in peak condition. The river of blood’s power was far greater than it had been two years ago.

If Li Chuan still possessed only the strength he had two years ago, Blood God Son could likely defeat him completely without even needing Yin Jiutian to ambush him afterward.