Ye Qingci clasped Fang Chen's hand in return. Her touch was cool as jade, yet there was an unyielding strength in it. "I know how you feel. But precisely because I'm your Dao companion, if I go out alone or happen to fall into danger, they'll see it as the most plausible trap. We can plan it carefully!"
"No amount of planning will make it safe!"
Fang Chen cut her off, a rare thing for him to do, and said firmly, "Qingci, don't bring this up again. I'd rather clash with the Five Clans head-on than use you as bait!"
He swept his gaze over the others. "Besides, those old monsters of the Five Clans are each as cunning as a ghost. A simple lure may not fool them. Schemes and plots aren't my strength, nor are they the right way to break this deadlock."
Everyone fell silent.
It was true. At their level, they were all old beings who had lived for countless years. Ordinary traps would hardly work.
Fang Chen's gaze deepened. "If a hidden scheme won't work, we'll use an open gambit—one they'll have to walk into even knowing it may be a trap."
"An open gambit?"
Everyone perked up.
"Exactly."
Fang Chen turned his hand over, and the Time Bell appeared in his palm. Cracks covered it, and its aura was dim. Ancient Time Dao Patterns flickered across its surface.
Fang Chen stared at the Time Bell in his palm. "We'll use this bell as bait."
"The Time Bell?"
The Golden Roc Immortal Emperor's eyes narrowed. "That's a relic of the Time Immortal Emperor. Rumor had it the bell was utterly destroyed near the end of the last Heaven-Extermination War. How did it end up in your hands?"
Immortal Emperor Yun Yi had already learned from