If he could catch Jingxu Daoist off guard, while he was badly wounded, he could seize his cave dwelling!
Li Yan's mind raced. This seemed like it could work.
"Daoist Nun Xuan Ye has visited Jingxu Daoist's cave dwelling many times. Once the mechanisms inside are activated, no outsiders can get in."
Countless plans took shape in his mind. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Badly wounded and headless, Jingxu Daoist was rapidly losing his blood and vitality.
He made up his mind!
Riding his flying sword, Li Yan headed for the cave dwelling where Jingxu Daoist lived, following the memories he had gleaned.
The dwelling was called the Gu Cave, hidden within a Red Leaf Forest.
The forest was teeming with poisonous insects. Outside the Gu Cave, Jingxu Daoist had also laid numerous formations and traps, with the Mountain Protection Array at their core.
Daoist Nun Xuan Ye and Jingxu Daoist, master and disciple, had a good relationship.
Well.
In a way, Daoist Nun Xuan Ye did all of Jingxu Daoist's dirty work and heavy lifting. This female disciple was practically his servant.
Jingxu Daoist trusted her, so Daoist Nun Xuan Ye knew many of his secrets.
By reading these fragments of memory, Li Yan learned the layout of the entire place.
He hid in a dark corner, waiting for the headless Jingxu Daoist to return.
Soon, the old Daoist whose head had been lopped off came flying back to the Gu Cave in the Red Leaf Forest, swaying unsteadily on his flying sword.
Without his head, Jingxu Daoist flew like a drunk, barely able to keep himself steady.
He formed a hand seal with two fingers and slowly opened the Mountain Protection Array.
Li Yan spotted the gap gradually opening in the formation and took a deep breath. "Go!"
Two Sub Shadows lunged at Jingxu Daoist, while Li Yan himself charged straight into the formation.
Feeling a gust of wind pass by, the headless Jingxu Daoist sensed something was wrong.
"Who goes there!"
His voice came from his abdomen. Even without a head, he could still project his voice with his dantian.
Li Yan flashed past and charged straight into the Gu Cave.
Once inside, all he had to do was activate the mechanism to lock down the formation.
Then even Jingxu Daoist himself wouldn't be able to open the Mountain Protection Array from the outside!
Li Yan's goal was clear: seize the cave, lock the formation, and keep Jingxu Daoist out.
Watching Li Yan charge into the cave, Jingxu Daoist sneered. "So it's you, you treacherous disciple who betrayed his master and ancestors!"
"You fool, walking right into my trap!"
Jingxu Daoist immediately set off after Li Yan.
At that moment, Li Yan held the Precious Lotus Lamp and formed a hand seal. "Golden Body Dharma Aspect, arise!"
Two Golden Body Dharma Aspects surged up from the ground, blocking Jingxu Daoist.
"Golden Body Dharma Aspect? Interesting!"
"But with your clumsy movements, you think you can stop me, your Ancestor Master?"
The headless Jingxu Daoist summoned power from his abdomen and chanted, "Flesh Gu Technique, Disassemble!"
The next moment, Jingxu Daoist's body split into four pieces.
His limbs and torso separated, darting around the two Golden Body Dharma Aspects.
The Golden Body Dharma Aspects blocked most of them, but one arm still flew toward Li Yan.
Dense deathly power gathered in the severed arm's hand as it prepared to strike Li Yan in the back with a vicious blow.
In the blink of an eye, a graceful figure flashed past!
Bam!
A curvaceous woman appeared, wielding a greatsword.
Her greatsword collided with the severed arm, kicking up a cloud of dust. Shock waves spread outward, visible to the naked eye.
It was none other than—
The corpse puppet Su Mo, whom Li Yan had summoned!
Su Mo didn't have much cultivation yet, but her body was as tough as that of a Blood Pill Realm cultivator.
When Su Mo met the severed arm head-on, she stopped Jingxu Daoist's hand dead in its tracks, holding it outside the barrier.
Her delicate face screwed up with effort as she used every ounce of strength to hold back Jingxu Daoist.
Her feet sank into the earth as she was pushed backward, inch by inch.
At that critical moment, Li Yan had already rushed into the cave. Drawing on Daoist Nun Xuan Ye's memories, he pressed the mechanism.
He shoved the stone button on the wall with all his strength, and the Mountain Protection Array slowly activated.
As blood-red light flowed into the ground, the Mountain Protection Array sealed the cave.
Outside the barrier, Jingxu Daoist's hand was cut off from the cave by the Mountain Protection Array.
Just like that, Jingxu Daoist's cave dwelling had fallen into Li Yan's hands.
Standing at the cave entrance, Li Yan panted heavily, then grinned at the figure outside the barrier.
The Mountain Protection Array was incredibly sturdy. Once activated and locked, even Jingxu Daoist at the peak of his strength couldn't break through it in just a few months.
Only after confirming that he was safe did Li Yan smile and cup his hands in thanks. "Ancestor Master, I'll gladly accept your cave dwelling."
Badly wounded, Jingxu Daoist drew his limbs back into his body.
The headless Daoist could only clench his fists outside the barrier, watching Li Yan occupy his cave dwelling.
He swung his fists helplessly, pounding on the barrier.
"You treacherous little bastard! I should have refined you back then!"
"I'd planned to send you to Broken Sword Valley to retrieve a treasure for me. Who would've thought? Who would've thought you'd learn real skills there!"
Jingxu Daoist was consumed by regret. At first, the boy had been nothing more than an insignificant seedling.
He'd been one of several backups his disciple Xuan Wang intended to use for refining Gu.
Who could have imagined that Li Yan, who'd been locked up in the Stone Workshop Eatery, would go from an insignificant guest diner to a Blood Moving Realm cultivator in such a short time?
And now he'd seized his Ancestor Master's cave while he was gravely injured!
Outrageous!
Outside the barrier, Jingxu Daoist pounded on it several times with all his might.
"Back then, when Xuan Wang found you in the mountains, I should've crushed you at once and tossed you into the Gu Cave to feed the bugs!"
Facing Jingxu Daoist's helpless rage outside, Li Yan picked at his ear, pretending he couldn't hear him.
He turned and walked into the Gu Cave. "Mo Mo, come inside with me."
"All right, Master."
Carrying the Evil Bone Greatsword, which was bigger than she was, Su Mo hurried after Li Yan.
Looking at the loyal corpse puppet, Li Yan smiled and asked, "You came all this way. Sorry for the trouble."
Following close behind him with the greatsword over her shoulder, Su Mo wore a sweet smile.
"Don't want to be alone. Want to follow Master."
"Follow Master, happy."
Earlier, Li Yan had left her alone at Guanyue Temple, and Su Mo had clearly been downcast.
Ever since she woke up, she'd always been by Li Yan's side.
Having to part so suddenly seemed to have given her separation anxiety.
Then, half an hour ago, Li Yan had sent her a message telling her to hurry over.
The corpse puppet Su Mo, who had been sitting dumbly at the temple, had rushed into the woods without a word and hurried all the way to the Red Leaf Forest to meet up with Li Yan.
Now that she was back by her master's side, she was like a little girl of just a few years old, walking with a light step and a sweet smile on her face.
"Are you really that happy to be by my side? Look at that grin. Did anyone notice you on the way?"
Su Mo shook her head and pointed at her chest. "Mo Mo, dead. No breath."
It was precisely because she was between life and death that Jingxu Daoist hadn't sensed her presence.
Come to think of it, a corpse puppet like Su Mo, whom no one could sense, was practically the ultimate powerhouse of an assassin.
But putting those stray thoughts aside, the most pressing thing was to ransack Jingxu Daoist's cave.
"Come on. Let's see how many people that old bastard has ruined over the years, and how many treasures he's stashed in here!"
Li Yan grinned and opened the stone door to the cave ahead.
Before you continue