Gou Sheng Begins to "Play It Safe"

"Fate?"

"Perhaps... it truly is fate."

Fan Jianqiang murmured to himself, then gave Lin Fan a deep look.

"This disciple, Fan Jianqiang, greets..."

He clasped his fists and bowed.

And just like that, it was settled?

Wu Xingyun was still somewhat dazed, but she hurriedly said, "I am the Second Elder, Wu Xingyun. This is our Sect Master, Lin Fan."

"Greetings, Second Elder. Greetings, Sect Master."

"No need for such formalities."

Lin Fan laughed heartily. "This is not a place to linger. Do you have any business left to attend to? If not, return to the sect with us."

"This disciple has no business to attend to. I shall follow the Sect Master's arrangements."

Fan Jianqiang quickly replied, then said quietly, "Actually, I wanted to run away long ago. I merely cast a divination for myself."

"Oh?"

Lin Fan was even more surprised.

Clearly, Fan Jianqiang's skill in divination somewhat exceeded expectations.

Before crossing over, he had truly never seen any 'Gou Sheng' wield the art of divination with such masterful brilliance!

On the contrary, he had yet to see much of the usual 'play-it-safe' traits in Fan Jianqiang.

But even if Fan Jianqiang was not the protagonist type who survived by playing it safe, Lin Fan still had nothing to lose.

At the very least, his divination arts would be immensely useful!

What was more...

His alchemy skills were no slouch either!

Could this Gou Sheng be an all-arounder, a hexagonal warrior?

If so, that would be even better.

The three of them immediately departed at speed, drawing little attention.

Once they reached a desolate place, they at once rode the clouds and mist through the air.

Fan Jianqiang also reverted to his original appearance, changing directly from an 'ordinary person' into a first-layer Core Condensation Realm cultivator. Wu Xingyun was greatly surprised by this.

She found it hard to believe that Fan Jianqiang could conceal himself so flawlessly. Before this, she had not noticed the slightest clue!

Lin Fan, however, remained exceptionally calm. Xiao Ling'er had already sent word beforehand, but was the first layer of the Core Condensation Realm truly his real strength?

Not necessarily.

Since he could disguise himself as an ordinary person while at the first layer of the Core Condensation Realm, why could he not be at an even higher realm, merely disguised as a first-layer Core Condensation Realm cultivator?

And if he truly was a protagonist who survived by playing it safe, then that possibility was extremely high!

Unfortunately, he had not yet formally entered the sect, and with others nearby, it would be difficult to explain if his cultivation suddenly surged. Otherwise... he truly wanted to immediately share Fan Jianqiang's strength and see just what realm he was actually at!

He was looking forward to it!

And determining whether Fan Jianqiang truly was a protagonist who survived by playing it safe would be very simple.

Once they returned to the sect and had him formally join the Moon Embracing Sect, Lin Fan could share his strength afterward.

"First layer of the Core Condensation Realm—if he truly is a Gou Sheng..."

"He has hidden at least one major realm!"

And even one major realm was merely the beginning!

Lin Fan looked forward to it more and more.

Wu Xingyun was incredibly fast.

She exerted herself to the fullest, taking the two of them away at top speed.

After all, Hongwu Immortal City was too powerful. Moreover, the two who had distinguished themselves at this alchemy convention were now disciples of the Moon Embracing Sect. If someone set their sights on them, trouble would be hard to avoid.

But...

Halfway through the journey, Fan Jianqiang indicated that something was amiss.

"Second Elder, although traveling at such speed is fast, this disciple believes it is somewhat improper."

"Oh?"

Wu Xingyun did not understand. "How is it improper?"

"Returning to the Moon Embracing Sect at the fastest possible speed would be safer."

"Forgive me for speaking frankly."

Fan Jianqiang sighed. "The Moon Embracing Sect is not particularly strong. Even if we return immediately, should a powerful enemy make a move, we would have little chance of victory. We would struggle even to protect ourselves."

"Besides, you did not hide your tracks! The Second Elder should not be some nameless nobody either. I imagine you have already been recognized."

"Even if they do not know my identity, Senior Sister Xiao Ling'er took first place at this alchemy convention. The things in her possession have already made her guilty of carrying a jade."

"Therefore, our Moon Embracing Sect is far too easily targeted now."

"If we do not make some preparations, this journey will likely be... fraught with danger. Without preparations, would we not be certain to die?"

Wu Xingyun frowned slightly. "It would not necessarily mean certain death, would it? But if we are to prepare, it will inevitably delay us, which is equally dangerous."

"Does the Second Elder know anything about formations?"

Fan Jianqiang pondered. "If we set up a few formations, they should be able to hold off our pursuers for a while, no?"

Here it came, here it came.

Gou Sheng was starting to "play it safe."

Lin Fan smiled faintly. "Second Elder, I think Fan Jianqiang has a point~"

"Then let us set up some formations."

Wu Xingyun pondered. "Fortunately, with no hope of making a breakthrough these past years, I did study them somewhat. Without spending too much time, setting up Fourth Tier formations capable of blocking the Fourth Realm is not difficult."

Having said that, Wu Xingyun began to act.

Using the clouds in the sky and the towering trees below, supplemented by numerous Origin Stones and formation flags serving as Formation Eyes, she laid down many formations.

Who would have thought that Gou Sheng was still dissatisfied?

He added, "The sky is too open, making it difficult to hide anything. If we encounter someone proficient in formations, they may spot it at a glance and choose to take a detour. In my opinion..."

"We might as well deliberately leave behind some traces to lure our pursuers into the dense forest below, then set up formations within the forest. That way, we can greatly increase our chances of success."

Wu Xingyun frowned slightly and looked toward Lin Fan.

Lin Fan quietly nodded.

Seeing that he agreed, Wu Xingyun did not hesitate and immediately began to act.

She drew out her spirit sword and scattered vast streaks of sword light. While leaving behind ripples of sword intent, she destroyed part of the dense forest below. Then, she brought the two of them racing downward. After leaving some traces of battle and footprints behind, she began setting up the formations.

Halfway through setting them up—

Fan Jianqiang suddenly shuddered. "Ahem, a man has three urgent needs, three urgent needs."

"Sect Master, Second Elder, carry on. I'll be right back."

The corners of Lin Fan's lips curled slightly. "Go ahead."

Watching Fan Jianqiang's rapidly departing figure from the corner of his eye, the smile on Lin Fan's lips deepened.

I thought you weren't going to make a move.

That wouldn't fit Gou Sheng's style at all.

What did it mean to be Gou Sheng?!

On the surface, Gou Sheng appeared greedy for life and afraid of death, incomparably timid, unwilling to take even the slightest risk.

In reality...

He had an absurd number of trump cards, was exceedingly "cautious" and "steady," and would never act without a one-hundred-percent chance of success~ Even a ninety-eight-percent success rate was, in the eyes of such people, "certain death."

For someone like that, after learning that he himself had been targeted and that the Moon Embracing Sect would also be targeted, how could he possibly feel secure and sleep easy just because the Second Elder had set up a few Fourth Tier formations?

On the surface, he was using the need to relieve himself as an excuse...

But Lin Fan was certain that he had gone to "increase the success rate."

Now that's what I call steady!

"Still, this also proves from the side that Fan Jianqiang really is a hexagonal warrior?!"

"Alchemy, divination, and his cultivation should not be low either. And now, it seems his attainments in formations should be even greater than the Second Elder's!?"

Thinking of this, Lin Fan could not help looking forward to it even more.

Although he roughly knew what Fan Jianqiang had gone off to do, still... just how far could he take it?

How truly exciting.

Thank you all for your Follow-up Reading support. Wishing everyone good health, success in all things, and beautiful women by your side~

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