novelraw Chapter 218 : No One Is a Fool
Chapter 218 : No One Is a Fool
Chapter 218: No One Is a Fool
“Blood River?”
Hu Li slightly furrowed his brows, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his tone turned flattering again. “Senior is indeed well-informed. It was only after arriving at this Ancient Battlefield that I heard from some people that there is a Blood River here.”
“But in these past few months, we’ve almost scoured the entire Ancient Battlefield and still haven’t found the location of this Blood River.”
“Haven’t found it?”
Ji Yuan also frowned slightly.
Before coming, Li Changhe had said that this Blood River was hard to locate, and only locals could find it. But to think it would be this difficult?
Wouldn’t that mean they had to find someone from the Wei Family?
But not necessarily. With Real Person Heaven Silkworm and Jiang Hong here, they should be able to locate the Blood River.
“Exactly. Because we were looking for people, we combed through the entire Ancient Battlefield. Not to mention the Blood River—we didn’t even see the shadow of a stream.”
As Hu Li spoke, he walked over and sat opposite Ji Yuan, but only dared to sit with half of his buttocks on the stool.
Seeing this posture, Ji Yuan even wondered if he had taken some kind of etiquette training somewhere.
“Our current understanding is that only the Wei Family can find the location of the Blood River. But they’d rather die than speak. Young Master Jiang’s suggestion is to wipe out the Wei Family—then naturally we’ll be able to find the Blood River.”
“True.”
Ji Yuan nodded slightly. “It is indeed a method—simple, direct, and effective.”
Seeing this, Hu Li leaned in slightly and said in a low voice, “Senior, rest assured. As soon as there’s any news about the Blood River, I’ll inform you right away.”
Ji Yuan gave him a deep look.
They're all clever people.
“Thank you.”
Ji Yuan reached out and patted his shoulder.
Hu Li looked as if he was overwhelmed by favor. Each pat from Ji Yuan made his shoulder sink a little more, and by the time he finished, Hu Li was already squatting before this “Senior Qiu.”
“Not troublesome at all. Being able to run errands for Senior Qiu is this junior’s honor.”
“Then I’ll give this cave dwelling to Senior. I’ll go find another place to stay.”
Hu Li tried to get up, but Ji Yuan pressed down on him, and with a bit of force, he found he couldn’t move at all...
This Qiu... Senior Qiu—why are all his seniors so damn strong? What kind of demonic cultivator is this?
“You’re too careless. Stay here—I’ll go find a place myself.”
Ji Yuan said as he rose from the soft chair and walked out the door.
Only then did Hu Li seem to realize, slapping himself on the cheek. “What a fool I am! Senior, Senior—this is my Messaging Talisman. If you ever need anything, just send me a message anytime.”
As he spoke, Hu Li used Object Manipulation Technique to send over a golden Messaging Talisman.
Ji Yuan turned around, looking at him with a half-smile. “What? Forgot you already gave me one?”
“This...”
Hu Li was just about to retract it, but Ji Yuan casually took it.
“That one, I destroyed. I’ll keep this one.”
Hearing this, Hu Li was deeply moved—whether true or not, he was almost in tears.
What did this mean?
It meant that this Senior Qiu had finally accepted him!
Watching his exaggerated performance, Ji Yuan left the cave dwelling. He wandered through the mountain for a while and found an unoccupied cave, where he moved in directly.
Half a stick of incense later, he had already cleaned up this【Cave Dwelling】.
He didn’t activate a formation, still using talismans as restrictions.
After a simple arrangement, he took out a soft chair from his Storage Pouch, lay back on it, and began reviewing the day’s events.
First and foremost were Jiang Hong and Real Person Heaven Silkworm.
Those two... most likely hadn’t noticed anything strange about his identity.
Real Person Heaven Silkworm was only at the Golden Core stage, so he couldn't see through either the Shapeshifting Talisman or the 《Breath Concealment Art》. Add Hu Li’s lead-in and Ji Yuan’s modest acting skills...
So there was no issue with his identity.
As for helping Xu Fugui and the Island Lord of Iron Hammer Island get revenge, Ji Yuan could only act according to the situation. If there was such a heaven-sent opportunity, he wouldn’t miss it.
If not, he’d just have to wait until next time.
After all, no matter what happened, Ji Yuan considered his own life the most important.
As for their purpose in being here—the claim of using blood energy to temper their minds sounded plausible, but if that were the case, why would they want to exterminate everyone in the Ancient Battlefield?
On this point, Ji Yuan was skeptical. He felt there must be something else hidden.
Something even Hu Li didn’t know.
Next was the Wei Family. The suspicious point was the Six-Tailed Demon Fox. Ji Yuan didn’t know where they had found such a helper—most likely brought in from the Beast Taming Sect to the north.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator capable of controlling a Tier Three demon beast—someone with that kind of power could go anywhere in the world.
Why risk their life here? Ji Yuan couldn’t figure it out.
Lastly, there was Hu Li. For someone like him to have survived until now—it really wasn’t simple.
From the start, his responses had been watertight. And upon sensing that Ji Yuan’s cultivation might be Golden Core, he immediately changed allegiance without hesitation... but was that really the case?
Ji Yuan had thought so at first. But after a little more consideration, he realized that wasn’t it at all.
In front of Jiang Hong and Real Person Heaven Silkworm, he had introduced a Foundation Establishment cultivator, earning himself credit.
In front of Ji Yuan, he seemed to be acting in his interest—but upon reflection, the information he provided... was all stuff Ji Yuan was supposed to know anyway.
The conflict between Jiang Hong and the Wei Family—that had to be mentioned, since Ji Yuan would soon be guarding the formation.
As for the Blood River, anyone Ji Yuan asked would’ve told him—it wasn’t a secret at all.
Even his final reminder about the Blood River—once it was exposed, would anyone not know?
All this information should’ve been disclosed, but he changed his tone and posture when speaking, making it seem like he was sharing because of a close relationship.
That guy—he’s a clever one.
And when leaving, he said he’d give up his cave dwelling—wasn’t that clearly hinting to Jiang Hong and Real Person Heaven Silkworm that Ji Yuan’s identity wasn’t ordinary?
Was he trying to set Ji Yuan up?
No. With his brains, even if he wanted to set Ji Yuan up, he wouldn’t do it so obviously... It couldn’t be ruled out that he was using this clumsy method to make Ji Yuan slip up in front of Real Person Heaven Silkworm and the others.
‘Looks like I need to find an opportunity to get rid of him.’
‘He’s seen me as Qiu Qianhai twice now and is still so sharp. Keeping him alive could be a hidden threat. I’ll only be at ease once he’s dead.’
Ji Yuan made up his mind, without the slightest hesitation.
In the days that followed, Ji Yuan didn’t just stay in the cave dwelling. Instead, he visited the other “colleagues” to probe the situation.
Besides Ji Yuan, there were nine others. Two were at late Foundation Establishment, six at mid-stage, and two at early-stage. There were none at peak Foundation Establishment.
The two late Foundation Establishment cultivators were the ones Ji Yuan had seen earlier at the foot of the mountain.
The woman was named Feng Xiuxiu, and the scar-faced man was called Knife Guest Zhong.
When he’d approached them with a righteous identity, they had been nearly impossible to engage with—not even a few words could be exchanged. But now, using a demonic identity—it was completely different.
Ji Yuan discovered that these demonic cultivators were all quite the characters.
Smooth talkers, every one of them.
And because they followed a major client, they weren’t full of schemes among themselves. There was no need for inner conflict. Unlike the last sect Qiu Qianhai was with, Great Love Sect, which was rife with open and covert struggles and extreme oppression.
After just a few days, they were calling him “Brother Qiu” left and right.
Especially after Ji Yuan let them sample a few jars of spiritual wine enhanced by the【Wine Cellar】—they couldn’t stop praising it.
That Knife Guest Zhong, who looked coarse—and alright, he actually was pretty coarse—even grabbed Ji Yuan and wanted to swear brotherhood for life.
Ji Yuan figured he was probably doomed to die early, so he declined.
Over those few days, Ji Yuan also tried probing for information about the Blood River from their mouths.
The result? Exactly the same as what Hu Li had said—they had scoured the Ancient Battlefield and found no trace of the Blood River. In the end, it still came down to eliminating the Wei Family first.
Five days later.
As a newly joined member of the group, Ji Yuan was also scheduled to take a turn at the Wei Family’s side.
They called it a rotation, but really, it was just watching over the formation.
Letting the formation wear down the Wei Family like water grinding stone.
Ji Yuan was brought in by Hu Li, so naturally, he moved together with Hu Li. This time, including Ji Yuan, a total of four people were heading to the Wei Family for their rotation.
The team was led by Feng Xiuxiu, who was at late Foundation Establishment. Another member at mid-stage Foundation Establishment was named Shi Yuntao—everyone called him Taozi.
“Senior.”
While heading west, Hu Li’s voice echoed in Ji Yuan’s mind through Divine Sense transmission. “The formation encasing the Wei Family is called the Four Symbols Boiling Sea Formation. It’s a Tier Three fire-attribute formation brought over by Real Person Heaven Silkworm from Western Shang.”
“As for the Wei Family, although their ancestors never had a Golden Core Real Person, for some reason, they also possess a Tier Three defensive formation, and it’s water-attribute.”
“If they didn’t lack a Golden Core Real Person to hold the line, breaking their formation wouldn’t be so easy for us.”
Listening to Hu Li’s explanation, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but feel stirred.
A Tier Three water-attribute defensive formation—could it have been given by Li Changhe’s family?
That seemed very possible. If they hadn’t offered something worthwhile, the Wei Family wouldn’t have been so willing to help them wholeheartedly.
“What’s the situation now?”
Ji Yuan asked via Divine Sense.
“Right now, our Four Symbols Boiling Sea Formation is using a scorched-earth fire method to break their water-attribute formation. First, they don’t have as many Spirit Stones as we do. Second, they lack a Golden Core Real Person. So it's just a matter of time before we break through.”
“Once their formation is destroyed, even with that Six-Tailed Demon Fox, they’ll still be doomed.”
Hu Li gave Ji Yuan a detailed explanation.
“Indeed.”
“It won’t be long. If their formation hadn’t been water-attribute, we probably would’ve already broken through.”
The two chatted idly like this, and after more than a day, Feng Xiuxiu at the front finally spoke up:
“We’ve arrived.”
Ji Yuan looked up and saw another tall stone mountain emerging on the horizon ahead.
It bore a striking resemblance to the one previously selected by Jiang Hong and the others. In fact, these two stone mountains were the only ones Ji Yuan had seen in this Ancient Battlefield.
He spoke, as if to make casual conversation:
“So the Wei Family is actually this far from our base?”
Hu Li beside him acted like a perfect foil, smiling as he replied, “It is indeed a bit far.”
“Then why don’t we set up our base closer to the Wei Family? That way we could monitor them day and night. If something really happened, we’d know immediately.”
Ji Yuan voiced the doubt in his heart.
Taozi on the other side laughed and said, “Who knows? Maybe Young Master is a lofty expert, so naturally he lives in a lofty place.”
“Taozi, watch your words.”
Feng Xiuxiu at the front turned around and gave a reminder. Taozi quickly shut his mouth.
But talking behind Jiang Hong’s back was something they often did, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Ji Yuan and Hu Li burst out laughing upon hearing it.
But in truth... Ji Yuan felt there was definitely something odd about this. The only two stone mountains in the Ancient Battlefield, situated east and west.
Jiang Hong and the others didn’t settle anywhere else, but picked the one so far from the Wei Family.
If there wasn’t some significance to that, Ji Yuan didn’t believe it.
Though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
Amid the jokes, the four of them arrived at the Four Symbols Boiling Sea Formation. As soon as they got close, Ji Yuan immediately felt a wave of scorching heat rush toward him.
Having a water-method cultivator manage a fire-attribute formation—this was truly a bit much for him.
“Same routine, same spot.”
Upon arriving, Feng Xiuxiu gave a quick instruction, then turned to Ji Yuan and said, “Qiu Qianhai, this is your first time. Come with me, I’ll teach you what to do.”
“Alright.”
Ji Yuan immediately activated the skull beneath his feet and followed her.
The Four Symbols Boiling Sea Formation had four corners: east, south, west, and north. Hu Li took the western side, Taozi went south, and Feng Xiuxiu brought Ji Yuan to the north.
“This is the incantation for entering the formation. Memorize it.”
Feng Xiuxiu first transmitted a few simple incantations to Ji Yuan. Once he remembered them, she continued, “Our task is extremely simple. Once you enter, you’ll find a Storage Pouch inside, filled with Spirit Stones. They’re for maintaining the formation—do NOT use them for cultivation.”
“There’s a miniature Four Symbols Boiling Sea Formation in there. All you need to do is insert Spirit Stones into the four corners. Normally, unless the Wei Family retaliates, the Spirit Stones are replaced once a day. If they do retaliate, the consumption increases. Make sure to replace them on time—do not delay and risk spoiling Young Master’s great plan.”
Feng Xiuxiu spoke seriously, and Ji Yuan responded just as seriously.
He nodded hard. “Sister Feng, rest assured. I understand the stakes.”
“Good. You’re a smart one.”
After saying that, Feng Xiuxiu didn’t forget to paint a bright future. “Do well, and when our Holy Sect defeats the Six Immortal Sects, we’ll be heroes. Following Young Master, we’ll have everything. Who knows, you might even form your core.”
“Sister Feng, don’t worry! I’ll give my life for the Young Master!”
Ji Yuan pledged immediately. Yep—swearing to kill Jiang Hong, that is.
“Good, good. Off you go then.”
Feng Xiuxiu was very pleased with Ji Yuan’s performance and left with a smile.
Following her incantations, Ji Yuan entered the formation, replaced the mid-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator inside, and took over the position.
It had to be said—stepping into the formation, he immediately felt like he’d arrived at Flaming Mountain. He quickly activated the robes on his body to ward off the heat and began surveying the surroundings.
This was a cramped space about six square meters in size. In each of the four corners was a miniature Four Symbols Boiling Sea Formation, with a mid-grade Spirit Stone placed in each of the circular nodes.
At his feet was also a Storage Pouch.
Sweeping it with Divine Sense, Ji Yuan found over a hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones inside.
And this was just for maintaining the formation’s operation... Yet Jiang Hong distributed this much to each of his subordinates every month?
At this thought, Ji Yuan’s heart stirred.
Damn—if he could get Jiang Hong killed, what a windfall it’d be.
With him spending this freely, he had to have tens of thousands of mid-grade Spirit Stones on him, right?
Maybe even far more.
Damn, having a Nascent Soul mother is really something.
Ji Yuan quickly suppressed the thoughts flashing through his mind. With a Golden Core Real Person present, he couldn’t afford to let his killing intent show.
From there, the task was simple: sit down and continue studying the《Sword Manual》while keeping an eye on the four corners. If the Spirit Stones ran out, just replace them in time.
...
Meanwhile.
Inside the formation-trapped Wei Family.
In the mountain-top hall, the Wei Family’s Patriarch, Wei Kun, was seated at the secondary seat. The main seat had been given to a middle-aged woman in black robes.
This woman had ordinary facial features, but an exceptionally graceful figure.
Even with her large robe, it couldn’t hide the towering snow peaks on her chest.
“Matriarch, according to our observations, our defensive formation can only hold for another month at most before it’s breached. If that Golden Core Real Person strikes again, we might not last even a month. The method you mentioned... will it really work?”
The black-robed woman lifted her right hand. A palm-sized Six-Tailed Fox leapt up from the ground into her palm.
She gently stroked its back and softly said, “Then does the Wei Family Patriarch have any other way?”
“This...”
Wei Kun had no words to respond.
“Life or death—all hangs on this final gamble. So what if we live? So what if we die?”
Upon hearing this, Wei Kun bowed deeply toward the black-robed woman before him. “Yes.”
“The entire Wei Family is willing to give our lives for the Matriarch!”
The black-robed woman gave a quiet “Mm” and said nothing more.
Wei Kun could only bow and retreat.
After leaving the main hall, he descended the mountain and arrived at a courtyard at the foot. Many people were already gathered there, including several Foundation Establishment elders of the Wei Family, as well as his wife and daughter.
Seeing his return, they immediately surrounded him.
“Patriarch, how was it? Does the Matriarch have a solution?”
“Could this really be our fate as the Tomb-Keeper Clan? To live before the tomb and die at the tomb?”
“The Matriarch should be the last surviving branch, right? Is she really going to die here with us?”
“You mean she has a way to escape, and will just leave us here to die?”
“...”
As voices rang out around him—
Wei Kun took a deep breath. The others quieted, and only then did he speak:
“Without the Matriarch of old, there would be no Wei Family today.”
“The debt owed by our ancestors—now it’s our turn to repay it.”
“Just as the Matriarch said: so what if we die?”
“We fight, that’s all!”