The Foolish Master Had Been Dragged Here as a Tool All Along

Taking this opportunity, Lin Heng casually observed the others.

The Purple Void Sect had sent an Elder at the early Return to Void Realm, along with no fewer than twenty disciples.

Clear Moon Long Song was led by a woman in white. A white veil covered her face, leaving only a pair of phoenix eyes visible. Around thirty disciples followed behind her, most of them female.

Clear Moon Long Song was a highly mysterious sect. It had stood across the Heavenly Profound Continent for several thousand years, yet no earth-shaking secrets had ever emerged from it.

It gave people the impression of being a reclusive sect that never involved itself with the world, yet its figures could be seen at many important occasions.

Rumor had it that Clear Moon Long Song's Sect Leader had already broken through to the Dao Integration Realm, while the sect's five great Elders all possessed the power of half-step Dao Integration.

Moreover, this sect had scarcely ever shown its hand, so no one knew just how high its overall combat strength truly was.

Even so, no major sect on the Heavenly Profound Continent was willing to make an enemy of it.

Others might not know Clear Moon Long Song's true depths, but that did not mean Lin Heng knew nothing at all.

This woman in white was known only by the single character "Qiu." No one knew her full name; even members of other sects could only address her as Fellow Daoist Qiu.

Lin Heng guessed that she was surely listed in the Beauty Record, perhaps even ranked above Meng Yutong. After all, at their level of cultivation, there was no need to say anything about their appearance.

The higher one's cultivation, the harder it was to find ugly people.

Just as Lin Heng swept his gaze around, an unusual disturbance suddenly came from Unfallen Mountain.

Ghost Diviner Pu Fangyuan immediately threw the Fortune Disc into the air and formed a hand seal with one hand. With a boom, the entire mountain seemed to be enveloped by a net of fine threads.

Beneath the glow, Formation seals appeared before everyone.

In that instant, a strange deep-blue mystic gate emerged atop the Formation seal.

Pu Fangyuan shouted, "Fellow Daoists, the secret realm's gate is open! Follow me inside!"

Very quickly, under his lead, more than two hundred people from the various sects all entered the secret realm.

Within the secret realm, spiritual energy swirled thickly, while mist curled through the air.

The first thing they saw was a pair of broken Hengbi walls. Like the ridge beams of a great hall, they supported a stretch of empty sky with no visible end.

A corpse reduced to dry bones lay atop the wall, making the entire kingdom seem tainted by ill omen.

It was suffocatingly oppressive.

That was Lin Heng's first impression.

Perhaps it was because of the bleak, gray tone.

Not long after entering this kingdom, someone suddenly pointed toward a massive pit in the distance and cried, "Look over there."

Everyone followed her finger.

The deep pit covered a vast area. It was piled high with countless white bones, and a chilling aura pressed against them.

"Gasp... I can feel the might of Dao Integration! There are bones of a Dao Integration mighty figure here!"

"Indeed. This place resembles an execution ground from a mortal kingdom." An Elder from a major sect pointed at the gallows not far from the pit. "So many people were killed at once—there was even a Dao Integration mighty figure among them. One can see just how prosperous this kingdom once was."

A Dao Integration cultivator could be considered a titan even in today's Cultivation World, yet this altar where criminals' corpses had been dumped had actually slaughtered a Dao Integration cultivator.

Compared with the Elders of the other sects, Pu Fangyuan and the others appeared far calmer.

"Fellow Daoists, this is only the outermost edge of the Kingdom-Destroying Secret Realm. The true opportunities lie further within. Let us continue onward."

Holding the Fortune Disc, Pu Fangyuan continued leading the way.

Ding! System plot prompt!

Seven Stars, Six Positions Formation: Formed with seven people, combining the strength of six...

The system's sudden prompt left Lin Heng slightly stunned.

Especially the plot that followed—it nearly made him cry out in amazement.

This Formation was pretty damn impressive. So Meng Yutong's severe injuries and drop in cultivation were inseparable from Ye Tian after all.

That solitary thought immediately startled Meng Yutong and the other two women.

Meng Yutong: "A Formation? My drop in cultivation has something to do with Ye Tian?"

Yun Yao: "Heavens!? Lin Heng is saying that Master will suffer severe injuries and even lose cultivation?"

Mu Liuxi: "Master's strength is extraordinary. Could there be some fatal danger within this secret realm?"

The three women's curiosity was instantly piqued, yet after waiting for a long while, there was no further movement from Lin Heng's thoughts.

As the person involved, Lin Heng had not noticed at all that Meng Yutong and the other two women had quietly moved a few steps closer to him.

So annoying. Can't he make it clearer? What exactly happened to Master!

Yun Yao truly wanted to roll up her sleeves and make him spit it out at once.

After carefully reading through the plot prompt, Lin Heng continued grumbling inwardly, No wonder, no wonder!

It turned out that the Heavenly Secret Sect had long known the location of the Kingdom-Destroying Secret Realm. They had sent people here long ago, but the secret realm was filled with barriers, and the Heavenly Secret Sect alone could not possibly break them all.

The Purple Void Sect and Clear Moon Long Song had been the first cooperation targets they considered. If the Heavenly Secret Sect wanted to use the Seven Stars, Six Positions Formation to break the barriers, it had to find someone to serve as the Formation Eye.

Anyone with a brain knew that serving as the Formation Eye was the most dangerous role. Once any backlash occurred, it would all fall upon the person in the Formation Eye, while the other six would remain completely unharmed.

So my foolish Master had been dragged here as a tool all along...

Lin Heng shook his head slightly, as though he found it somewhat regrettable.

Based on what he knew of Meng Yutong, she absolutely did not understand the dangers of the Seven Stars, Six Positions Formation. It could even be said that she would not know she had become the Formation Eye.

But that was merely the first step in her cultivation falling.

At present, it was already a foregone conclusion that Meng Yutong would suffer severe injuries. Naturally, Lin Heng would not interfere or meddle further.

His current main quest was to follow the plot and turn Ye Tian into a Master-Defying Disciple.

Then obtain a top-grade reward.

As Lin Heng thought this, the corners of his lips could not help but rise. Little did he know that every last one of his petty calculations had already been heard loud and clear.

Yun Yao and Mu Liuxi frowned slightly, their expressions complicated. Since Lin Heng could foresee what would happen, he was actually unwilling to offer even the slightest warning, intending to watch Master leap into a pit of fire with eyes wide open.

The two had originally intended to send a voice transmission to Master, but on second thought, how could they explain it?

Were they supposed to say that Lin Heng had told them, that they could hear his inner thoughts?

Clearly, that was not the best solution.

Even if they said it, Meng Yutong certainly would not believe them.

They believed Lin Heng knew even more. If they made him wary, they could hardly tie him up and interrogate him.

In the end, after agonizing over it for a long time, neither of them found a suitable excuse to speak.

With Lin Heng present, at least no life-threatening danger would occur.

Meng Yutong's jade-like hand beneath her sleeve could not help clenching the edge of her clothes. If not for the reason she still retained, the fury in her eyes would have made her want to hang Lin Heng up and whip him viciously.

Ye Tian coercing Master into indecent acts was naturally an unforgivable crime.

But if he knew about it and failed to report it, even abetting evil while allowing his Master to fall into a trap, should he not be guilty of the same crime?

Seeing her being plotted against, he was actually smiling so happily.

Speaking fairly, up to now, aside from punishing him for dishonestly going to reclaim wasteland, she had not bullied him that badly, had she?

She decided that once they returned, she would surely find some fault and teach him a lesson, so he could experience Master's affection.

But just as this thought was about to burst forth, she suddenly froze.

Wait! Just because I can hear his inner voice does not mean he knows I can hear it. Without those inner thoughts, from his perspective, even if he said it aloud, I might not believe him!

...

After Meng Yutong calmed her anger, she immediately felt that her previous thoughts had been rather absurd. At the end of the day, the bond between Master and disciple had not truly stabilized yet.