A Trace of Gloom, and a Dispute with Senior Brother Over Ideals

The two departed like a gentle breeze, and no one would have guessed that, moments ago, a not-so-fierce 'life-or-death battle' had erupted here.

About a hundred li away, Li Yang and Li Changshou were now truly concealing all their aura as they sprinted.

"Junior Brother, I've gleaned many memory fragments from these men's lingering souls, seeing their objective and the full layout of their scheme."

Li Yang already knew this, but he still feigned curiosity: "Oh? What intelligence do we have?"

"These five assassins—one at Return to Dao Second Stage, two at Return to Dao Third Stage, one at Return to Dao Fifth Stage, and the leader, the strongest, at Return to Dao Ninth Stage—were all hired with spirit stones, Qi Practitioners specializing in dirty work.

We can count ourselves lucky we struck hard enough; otherwise, they'd have definitely slipped away.

They ambushed us mainly for our transmission talismans, planning to use them to lure Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu here by moving the tiger from the mountain.

Once Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu rushed to our side, this crew would immediately strike at Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi, then use them as bait to draw Martial Aunt Jiujiu into a trapping formation...

Their true target is the Sixth Princess of Honglin Kingdom, Youqin Xuanya.

But this group isn't here to kill Youqin Xuanya; this elaborate setup seems aimed at achieving some more sordid goal.

From the information in their memory fragments, the mastermind appears to be our fellow disciple Yuan Qing, or perhaps some mundane power behind him."

Li Yang frowned at this. That shouldn't be!

After all, he himself was no small butterfly—using him to lure Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu would clearly be more effective than Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi.

"No, Senior Brother, this plan doesn't add up.

My aptitude is pretty much exposed by now, right?

Even Yuan Qing, as clueless as he is, should know that. So why use Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi as the trap?

Wouldn't using me as the trap be better?

And from their intent, they don't seem to plan on killing Liu Yan'er or Wang Qi either. Yet look at this group—they went straight for our lives when they attacked us. That makes no sense.

Could it be they're not afraid that killing me would bring down Immortal Crossing Sect's experts and ruin everything?"

Senior Brother frowned slightly: "Perhaps it's because of our different positions. After all, going to such lengths to lure Martial Aunt Jiujiu into a trapping formation clearly means they don't dare face her head-on.

So, what if the problem lies with that trapping formation?"

"Senior Brother means the formation relies on terrain advantages and can't be moved?"

"Exactly!"

Li Yang shook his head. The original text only mentioned setting up a Dragon Trapping Formation, but it never specified whether it depended on geography.

Thinking this over, a shadow of gloom settled over his heart, but he forced it down. He wanted to see if his predictions held true.

So he sighed: "Forget it, the power struggles of the mundane world have nothing to do with us.

As for Martial Aunt, since they chose to trap her, it means they can't beat her, so we don't need to worry about a True Immortal's safety."

Li Changshou pondered briefly and found this reasonable, then transmitted: "If that's the case, should we split up?"

Li Yang stopped and glanced at his senior brother: "Let's split. You go find the Immortal Solace Grass, and I need to search for the Star Stone. What we need isn't in the same direction."

Li Changshou also halted, his words carrying implication: "Junior Brother didn't come out just for the Star Stone this time, did he?"

"Then what do you think I came for?"

"To become an immortal!"

Li Changshou spat out those two words without hesitation, making Li Yang's heart skip a beat.

He hadn't expected his senior brother to guess it.

But thinking about it, it made sense. Senior Brother was steady and knew him well enough to piece together many clues from the smallest details.

Most likely, he'd confirmed it after that last fight, since the strength his clone displayed was no weaker than Senior Brother's Paper Figure Clones.

So he stopped hiding it: "Yes, I plan to become an immortal out here and return during the next five-year training period."

Li Changshou frowned: "Your cultivation speed is too fast. It's only been ten years from starting to train to becoming an immortal. How sure are you of breaking through?"

"Seventy percent!"

"Seventy percent?"

Li Changshou exclaimed, even breaking his transmission, but he quickly steadied himself and resumed.

"Did you learn the Steady Character Scripture for nothing? Without ninety-eight percent certainty, aren't you afraid of failing the tribulation and turning to ash?"

He always sought stability in everything; otherwise, he'd have attempted his tribulation long ago instead of waiting until now.

Without ninety-eight percent certainty, what difference was there from courting death?

Li Yang looked seriously at Li Changshou, still holding to his own belief.

"Senior Brother, the Great Dao has fifty paths, and Heaven evolves forty-nine. In my view, nothing is perfect.

Your so-called ninety-eight percent is no different from my seventy percent."

This was a point of contention they'd argued over for five years, but Li Changshou still couldn't accept it.

"I suggest you prepare well. At the very least, if you don't have ninety-eight percent certainty, you should have ninety-five. Seventy percent is too little.

You're still so young, only eighteen. You have plenty of time."

Li Yang objected: "Senior Brother, you gave 0.2 of your 98% to the Heavenly Dao, but haven't I also given three-tenths of mine to the Heavenly Dao? In my view, this kind of foundation consolidation will inevitably cause the Immortal Ascension Tribulation to expand infinitely, making breakthrough even harder. Although a successful breakthrough would greatly increase your foundation and cultivation, this completely goes against your own philosophy of 'stability.' Who can predict how far such a terrifying Immortal Ascension Tribulation will reach or how many lives it will claim? Those Karma... So, my choice to break through now is entirely out of fear of being dragged down by you. So, why can't my 70% be your 100%?"

Li Yang's words were merciless. In his view, what some called stability was, at times, instability itself. Besides, in the original story, Li Changshou was exactly like this. His stability had indeed saved him many times, but just as many dangers had been brought about by that same stability. Although this was like shooting an arrow first and drawing the target afterward, for Li Yang, it was worth a gamble. He bet that Youqin Xuanya would not fall before Li Changshou. As long as he succeeded, the shadow of this attack would be pushed aside, and he wouldn't have to worry about extra danger until reaching the Golden Immortal realm.

Thus, after their argument, neither could convince the other. Finally, Li Yang said: "Senior Brother, I'll have a clone follow you. I need to confirm one thing. If it's not feasible, then I can forgo this Immortal Ascension and strictly adhere to your so-called 98%."

Li Changshou gave Li Yang a deep look, thoughts stirring within him. This Junior Brother was still unwilling to accept it. "Fine!"