The two left like a gentle breeze. No one would have guessed that a moment earlier, a not-so-intense "fight to the death" had broken out here.
About a hundred li away, Li Yang and Li Changshou were truly concealing all their auras as they sped along.
"Junior Brother, I found many fragments of memories in these people's remnant souls. I saw their goals and the entire plan they'd laid out."
Li Yang already knew, but still asked in confusion, "Oh? What did you find out?"
"Of these five assassins, one was at the second stage of Return to Dao, two were at the third stage, and one was at the fifth stage. The leader was the strongest, at the ninth stage of Return to Dao. They were all Qi Practitioners hired with spirit stones to handle dirty work.
"We were lucky to strike hard enough. Otherwise, those guys would definitely have gotten away.
"They ambushed us mainly to get the message talismans on us. They wanted to use them to lure Martial Aunt Jiujiu away, drawing her here.
"As soon as Martial Aunt Jiujiu came to our location, they would attack Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi. Then they'd use them as bait to lure Martial Aunt Jiujiu into a trapping formation...
"Their real target, though, was the Sixth Princess of Honglin Kingdom, Youqin Xuanya.
"But they weren't trying to kill Youqin Xuanya. They went to such lengths with their plan as if they wanted to accomplish some even more despicable goal.
"Judging by the information in their memories, the mastermind behind this seems to be our fellow disciple, Yuan Qing, or perhaps some worldly power backing him."
Li Yang frowned at this. That didn't make sense!
After all, he was no small butterfly. Using him to lure Martial Uncle Jiu Jiu would obviously have been more effective than using Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi.
"That doesn't add up, Senior Brother. Their plan is clearly flawed.
"My aptitude has more or less been exposed, hasn't it?
"Even if Yuan Qing is a fool, he should know that. So why use Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi as bait? Wouldn't I make a better trap?
"And they don't seem to have any intention of killing Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi. But look at this group—they attacked us with the clear intention of killing us. That makes no sense at all.
"Wouldn't they worry that killing me would bring experts from the Immortal Crossing Sect down on them and ruin everything?"
Senior Brother frowned slightly. "Perhaps our positions aren't the same. They went to such lengths to lure Martial Aunt Jiujiu into a trapping formation, which clearly means they don't dare face her directly.
"So, do you think there might be something special about that formation?"
"You mean the formation relies on the terrain and can't be moved?"
"Exactly!"
Li Yang shook his head. The Original Novel had only said that they set up a Dragon Trapping Formation. It hadn't explained whether it relied on the terrain.
At the thought, a shadow of unease settled over him, but he forcibly pushed it down. He wanted to see whether things would unfold as expected.
He sighed. "Forget it. The power struggles of the mortal world have nothing to do with us.
"As for Martial Aunt Jiujiu, since they chose to trap her, that means they can't beat her. We don't need to worry about the safety of a True Immortal expert."
Li Changshou thought it over and agreed. Then he sent a voice transmission. "In that case, should we split up?"
Li Yang stopped and looked at Senior Brother. "Let's split up. You go look for Immortal Solace Grass, and I need to find Star Stone. The things we need aren't in the same direction."
Li Changshou stopped as well, his words carrying a hidden meaning. "You didn't come out this time just for Star Stone, did you?"
"Then what do you think I came out for?"
"To become an immortal!"
Li Changshou said the words without hesitation, making Li Yang's heart jump.
He hadn't expected Senior Brother to figure it out.
But on second thought, Senior Brother was cautious and knew him well. He could infer a lot from the smallest clues.
Most likely, he'd figured it out after watching him fight just now. After all, his clone had displayed strength on par with Senior Brother's Paper Figure Clones.
So Li Yang stopped hiding it. "That's right. I'm planning to become an immortal out here, then return after the next five-year trial."
Li Changshou frowned. "Your cultivation has advanced too quickly. It's only been ten years from when you started cultivating to becoming an immortal. How confident are you that you can break through?"
"Seventy percent!"
"Seventy percent?"
Li Changshou exclaimed, his voice transmission breaking. But he quickly composed himself and continued transmitting.
"Did you learn nothing from the Steady Character Scripture? Without a ninety-eight percent chance of success, aren't you afraid you'll fail your Tribulation Transcendence and vanish into nothing?"
He always did things cautiously. Otherwise, he would have started his tribulation long ago instead of waiting until now.
What difference was there between having less than a ninety-eight percent chance and throwing your life away?
Li Yang looked at Li Changshou seriously. He still believed in his own principles.
"Senior Brother, the Great Dao gives fifty, while Heaven's evolution gives forty-nine. As I see it, nothing is perfect.
"Your so-called ninety-eight percent is no different from my seventy percent."
The two had argued over their ideals for five years, but Li Changshou still couldn't accept it.
"I suggest you prepare more. At the very least, don't attempt it without a ninety-eight percent chance. You should have at least ninety-five percent. Seventy percent is far too little.
"You're still so young—only eighteen. You have plenty of time."
Li Yang disagreed. "Senior Brother, your ninety-eight percent leaves the final 0.2 percent to Heaven's Dao. But haven't I also left the final thirty percent to Heaven's Dao?
"As I see it, building up your foundation like this will inevitably make your Immortal Ascension Tribulation grow without limit, making a breakthrough even harder.
"Although a successful breakthrough would greatly increase your foundation and cultivation, this completely contradicts your own principle of being 'steady.'
"No one can predict how far a tribulation as terrifying as that will spread, or how many lives it will affect. All that Karma...
"So I've chosen to break through now because I'm afraid you'll get me killed if I stay with you.
"So why can't my seventy percent be your one hundred percent?"
Li Yang's words were merciless. In his view, what people called caution was sometimes the opposite of cautious.
Besides, that was exactly how Li Changshou had acted in the Original Novel.
His caution had saved him many times, but it had also brought about all those dangerous situations.
Maybe he was fitting the facts to the theory after the fact, but Li Yang was willing to gamble.
He was betting that Youqin Xuanya wouldn't end up in front of Li Changshou.
If he succeeded, the shadow of unease from this attack would fade. And before reaching Golden Immortal, he wouldn't need to worry about any extra danger.
So after their argument, neither could convince the other.
Finally, Li Yang said, "Senior Brother, I'll have one of my clones follow you. I need to confirm something. If it turns out to be impossible, I can skip the tribulation and follow your so-called ninety-eight percent standard to the letter."
Li Changshou looked deeply at Li Yang, thoughtful. His Junior Brother still wasn't willing to give up.
"Fine!"
Before you continue