Saints Take Notice, Emergency Measures

When Lu Chen returned to his lair on Buzhou Mountain humming a little tune, Yan Chen was already pacing anxiously inside the cave.

"Master! You're finally back!" Yan Chen grabbed Lu Chen by the arm. "Something huge has happened!"

"What are you panicking for?" Lu Chen leisurely bit into a roasted beast leg. "If the sky falls, the Saints will hold it up."

"It's the Saints who are about to come crashing down!" Yan Chen lowered his voice. "In the days you were gone, Kunlun Mountain, Western Spirit Mountain, and Wa Huang Palace sent at least seven waves of Divine Sense to investigate! They were all aimed at us!"

Lu Chen's chewing halted.

Seven waves? The Six Saints plus Hongjun? Or...

"Tell me in detail."

Yan Chen began counting on his fingers. "The first wave came from Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain. It was the Primordial Saint's Divine Sense, filled with scrutiny and hostility. It was obviously because of your purification of the purple qi—he probably thinks you slapped a Saint in the face."

"The second wave came from Biyou Palace on Kunlun Mountain, from Saint Tongtian. He was simply curious. He left after investigating, without any ill intent."

"The third wave came from Eight Sceneries Palace, from Saint Lao Tzu. His Divine Sense was the most concealed; I nearly failed to notice it. He seemed to be deducing your origins and intentions."

"The fourth and fifth waves came from Western Spirit Mountain, from those two old schemers, Jieyin and Zhunti. Their Divine Sense carried greed—they've probably set their sights on your Chaos Brick and God-Slaying Spear."

"The sixth wave came from Wa Huang Palace, from Saint Nuwa. Her Divine Sense held confusion. She seemed to have noticed that a tiny bit of the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil was missing, but she wasn't sure whether you were responsible."

After hearing this, Lu Chen finished the last bite of meat. "What about the seventh wave?"

Yan Chen's expression turned grave. "The seventh wave... came from Purple Cloud Palace."

Lu Chen's eyelid twitched.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun had personally entered the fray?

"The Dao Ancestor's Divine Sense was the strangest. There was no hostility, nor was there curiosity. He was simply... 'observing.'" Yan Chen recalled. "It was as though he was confirming something. But he only lingered for three breaths before leaving."

Lu Chen fell silent.

Seven Saint-level investigations—quite the spectacle.

He had expected it. Purifying Corrupted Purple Qi and slapping the Six Saints in the face would inevitably draw attention. But he had not expected that attention to arrive so quickly and so intensely.

"Master, should we hide for a while?" Yan Chen asked worriedly. "If the Saints truly set their minds on us, with the little foundation we have..."

"Hide? Why should we hide?" Lu Chen suddenly smiled. "Their investigations prove that they fear me. What do they fear? This 'variable' called me."

He rose and paced around the cave. "The Lich Tribulation has reached a critical stage. The Six Saints have only just taken their positions, and they are all busy consolidating their orthodoxies and fighting over fortune. In their eyes, a Quasi-Saint like me, who suddenly appeared, can purify purple qi, influence the Great Formation of the Stars, and has ties to both the Witch Clan and Demon Clan, is a ticking bomb."

"Then what do we do?"

"What do we do?" Lu Chen grinned. "Of course, we reassure them—I'm not a bomb. I'm a stick for stirring shit."

Yan Chen: "..."

That metaphor was truly fitting.

"First, I need to make my stance clear." Lu Chen counted on his fingers. "I have no interest in a Saint Position. My path to sainthood is Proving the Dao through Strength, so I do not conflict with them. I need to find an opportunity to make that public."

"Second, I need to display my value." He raised another finger. "I can purify purple qi, forge vicious weapons, and understand formation deducing... What a pity it would be to kill such talent. How much better to keep me around and use me."

"Third, and most importantly—" A sharp glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. "I need to muddy the waters and shift their attention away from me."

Yan Chen pondered this. "How do we muddy them?"

"Simple." Lu Chen pulled out a pile of items from the Qiankun Diagram: dozens of Imprint Stones, dozens of sound-transmission talismans, and a heap of miscellaneous spiritual materials.

"For the next half month, take these things and do three things throughout the Primordial World."

"First, spread rumors—say that the Primordial Saint is secretly supporting the Demon Clan, intending to seize control of the Heavenly Court after the Witch-Demon War; while Saint Tongtian is secretly contacting the Witch Clan, preparing to absorb the remnants of the Ancestral Witches after the Witch Clan's defeat."

Yan Chen stared wide-eyed. "Isn't that rumor way too fake?!"

"Being fake is what makes it effective." Lu Chen sneered. "The Six Saints have only just become Saints, and they already distrust one another. They won't fully believe such rumors, but they will definitely guard against each other—wouldn't that shift their attention?"

"Second, anonymously 'leak' Jieyin and Zhunti's disgraceful history of scamming and swindling to the upper ranks of the Demon Clan and Witch Clan. For example, how they used defective talismans to cheat the Demon Clan out of spiritual materials, or privately traded Sea of Blood lotus seeds with Minghe... Embellish it as you spread it."

"Third, and most crucially—" Lu Chen took out a Jade Slip. "This records the 'Great Formation of the Stars Optimization Plan' that I deduced from the River Diagram and Luo Book. Deliver it anonymously to the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court. Say that some 'reclusive great expert' could not bear to watch Di Jun and Taiyi ruin such a formation, and gifted it to them out of goodwill."

Yan Chen accepted the Jade Slip and swept it with his Divine Sense, then sucked in a cold breath. "Master, is this optimization plan real?!"

"Half real, half fake." Lu Chen shrugged. "The real parts can increase the formation's power by thirty percent. As for the fake parts... I planted three backdoors. If Di Jun uses it, then in the next great battle, I can make him unable to activate the formation at all."

Yan Chen was thoroughly convinced.

His master's move was simply the very definition of killing both body and spirit.

"Once you finish all that, return to the Qiankun Diagram and enter seclusion. Do not come out for a hundred years." Lu Chen instructed. "I also need to 'disappear' for a while."

"Where are you going, Master?"

"To find a 'backer.'" Lu Chen's gaze was deep. "The Six Saints have their eyes on me because I belong to no sect and have no faction, making me easy to control. But what if another Saint stood behind me?"

Yan Chen froze. "Which Saint would..."

"Zhen Yuanzi." Lu Chen smiled. "The Ancestor of Earth Immortals. Though he has not yet become a Saint, he holds the Earth Book and controls the Primordial World's earth veins, giving him a special status. Moreover, he is close to Hongyun. I saved Hongyun, and that favor is enough."

"More importantly—" Lu Chen paused. "Zhen Yuanzi avoids worldly conflict and never involves himself in tribulations. If I attach myself to his side, it will both show that I have no intention of causing trouble and make the other Saints think twice. After all, even Saints must give the Ancestor of Earth Immortals some face."

The plan was comprehensive.

Yan Chen nodded and put away the items, preparing to leave.

"Wait." Lu Chen stopped him and pulled a small box from the Qiankun Diagram. "Send this anonymously to Saint Nuwa."

Yan Chen opened the box. Inside was a tiny pinch of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil—exactly half of the small amount Lu Chen had stolen before.

"This is..." Yan Chen did not understand.

"An apology, and a statement of intent." Lu Chen said calmly. "Nuwa noticed the stolen Breathing Soil, but she isn't sure it was me. By 'voluntarily returning' half of it now, I am admitting it, while also showing that I only took a tiny amount and meant no harm. Combined with the life-saving favor from before—saving the little Golden Crow—even if Nuwa is unhappy, she will not truly make things difficult for me."

Yan Chen was filled with admiration.

With his master's seven-apertured, exquisite heart, it would be a waste of talent not to become a prime minister.

Half a month later.

Rumors spread throughout the Primordial World, and the Six Saints began to distrust one another.

The Demon Clan received the anonymous optimization plan. Di Jun was overjoyed and spent the night modifying the Great Formation of the Stars.

Nuwa received that half-pinch of Breathing Soil. After remaining silent for a long time, she finally sighed and let the matter pass.

As for Lu Chen, he carried a basket of Ginseng Fruit—"borrowed" from Wuzhuang Temple—and swaggered into Longevity Mountain, becoming Zhen Yuanzi's "nominal guest elder."

On the surface, the Primordial World was calm.

But beneath it, currents surged fiercely enough to overturn everything.

Deep within Chaos, Purple Cloud Palace.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun watched Lu Chen's series of maneuvers in the water mirror and finally could not help laughing aloud.

"This boy... he truly is an interesting one."

"Very well. With him on this chessboard, it will not be so boring after all."

With a light sweep of his whisk, the Heavenly Secrets fell into even greater disorder.

The gears of the tribulation continued to turn.

And Old Sixth, the one most skilled at stirring up trouble, had already put on his safety helmet and was preparing to continue his grand work of sneaking in blows at the heart of the storm.