After hearing Li Yang's words, Li Changshou frowned slightly, then relaxed.
That was true. If he didn't dare to undergo tribulation and become an immortal himself, why should he suspect that Li Yang didn't dare?
Besides, Li Yang truly had no need to rush into the tribulation. With his abilities, if he accumulated strength for a while longer, perhaps he could attempt one of the three most difficult Immortal Ascension Tribulations in the Primordial Wilderness.
Li Yang was surely clear-eyed about his own abilities.
"Junior Brother, I'm not as good as you."
Li Changshou spoke with guilt, but Li Yang didn't mind.
"Senior Brother, you're right too. At least you thought of a solution."
"No, I don't have your courage."
In Li Changshou's view, if you weren't at least ninety-eight percent certain of success, then you had failed. And when it came to his own tribulation, anything less than ninety-nine percent certainty was unsafe and unreliable.
Li Yang understood what his Senior Brother was thinking, so he didn't dwell on the matter.
"So, Senior Brother, just leave it to me. Nothing will go wrong."
That was a promise Li Yang made to his Senior Brother, and to himself.
It was impossible for Master to undergo a normal tribulation and become an immortal, but refining a Melting Immortal Pill to make him a Turbid Immortal was still possible.
At least, in the Original Novel, Master had succeeded with Senior Brother's help.
Of course, Senior Brother had also used Fairy Jiujiu as a perfect tool for more than two years.
As for Martial Uncle Jiu Wu, who had forged an unbreakable bond with Senior Brother back in the Northern Juru Continent, he had gone to several nests of three-eyed, three-headed spiders, then used their webs to spy on his wife while she bathed.
Of course, none of that would happen now.
Perhaps Fairy Jiujiu wouldn't have to come to Lesser Qiong Peak for wine and become Senior Brother's tool. Then Martial Uncle Jiu Wu might not misunderstand Senior Brother, and that whole chain of events might never happen.
All in all, there were pros and cons!
With their own concerns weighing on them, the two flew back to the Immortal Crossing Sect at top speed. Nothing unexpected happened along the way.
Their choice of a stable route had certainly proven to be a stable one.
"Senior Brothers, you actually captured such a cute fairy as me and made me do all this?"
Several days had passed since they returned to Lesser Qiong Peak. Master had already chosen to enter seclusion to prepare for the tribulation.
Meanwhile, their Junior Sister Lan Ling'e, who had used up all her poison, knockout drugs, and explosives, had been dragged away to do hard labor by two eager Senior Brothers.
Little Ling'e was now hacking away at a tree with an axe larger than she was.
"You two awful Senior Brothers won't even let me use Mana! What if I grow lumpy muscles?
Just you wait! I'll chop you down roots and all, and cut down every tree to get rid of the roots..."
At the peak, Li Yang listened to his Junior Sister's grumbling and shook his head.
"Junior Brother, Junior Sister's cursing us."
Li Yang glanced at his Senior Brother, who was grinning gleefully.
"Senior Brother, what's there to be happy about?
Besides, it's her Avatar doing the tree chopping."
The two looked toward Lan Ling'e's Thatched Cottage and sighed. Only then did Li Yang speak:
"There are a few things I haven't asked you about these past two days. Can you answer them?"
"Ask."
"Have you made preparations for Martial Aunt Jiujiu?"
His Senior Brother replied, "I have. Martial Aunt Jiu Jiu was punished with a three-year ban on drinking, so I gave her some Drunken Immortal to smooth things over. If your plan doesn't work, I'll use her."
Li Yang approved inwardly. It seemed his Senior Brother's preparations were thorough. Even though he hadn't spent as much time with Martial Aunt Jiu Jiu as he had in the Original Novel, he could still make use of her.
But what about the materials? He had no idea how they would be resolved.
After all, it hadn't been his Senior Brother who rescued Youqin Xuanya this time. It had been him.
"Senior Brother, what about the materials for the Array Formation?"
Refining an immortal-grade Poison Pill naturally required a dedicated pill hall, as well as a reliable grand array.
Immortals were the foundation of an array and determined its lower limit. But without materials...
Even that lower limit could be surpassed.
Li Yang wasn't asking because he lacked materials of his own. He wanted to see how things had unfolded.
His Senior Brother took out three Storage Pouches, then brought out a pill furnace. "Jiang Jingshan sent these to thank you for saving Youqin Xuanya's life.
"I've examined everything. Combined with some materials I gathered, an immortal should be able to set up a grand array that even a True Immortal couldn't break.
"This pill furnace is excellent too. It'll be perfect for refining pills."
Li Yang took the three Storage Pouches and the pill furnace. After inspecting them, he shook his head. These materials were about the same as those needed for the Composite Grand Array he had planned. He already had a vague idea.
Perhaps he hadn't attracted anyone's attention—or at least not yet.
All these coincidences served to push one thing forward: Master's ascension to immortality.
More precisely, Master's death had already been determined, but it wasn't supposed to happen now.
Furthermore, that Madman still didn't have the ability to monitor the world at every moment. In the early stages, he relied on the Heavenly Dao's automatic responses.
As long as things didn't go beyond the limit, there wouldn't be a major problem.
All of this was meant to ensure that Master could become an immortal.
Li Yang soon abandoned that line of thought. According to his reasoning, he had two choices.
The first was not to set up the array or refine the pill. Master could still successfully undergo the tribulation, but he might also die.
The second was to follow the steps, and Master would successfully undergo the tribulation.
With his low cultivation, he could entertain the first possibility in his mind, but he absolutely couldn't act on it. He could only proceed steadily with the second option.
After all, the materials had already ended up in their hands. That meant the Heavenly Dao Trend would surely have him follow this script.
"Senior Brother, these materials may not be good enough for you, but they're just right for me."
As he spoke, Li Yang took out his diagram of the Composite Grand Array.
After examining it, Li Changshou looked up sharply at Li Yang. But Li Yang gave no reaction, and a chill rose in Li Changshou's heart.
Thinking of his Junior Brother's other unusual behavior, he formed an idea of his own.
Perhaps I should become an immortal too, then take Lesser Qiong Peak and run.
The thought flashed through Li Changshou's mind. He simply noted it down, then smiled and replied, "Looks like these materials are exactly what we need. My array plan seems superfluous."
Li Yang smiled too. "Senior Brother, don't be so sad. What's mine is yours!"
"Not at all, not at all. How could I take advantage of my Junior Brother?"
"Ah, Senior Brother, what are you talking about..."
They both smiled without meaning it, trading polite refusals as though they were truly being considerate of each other.
But in truth, they were conveying information to each other all the while.
When they had said enough, the two exchanged smiles.
"Since that's settled, let's start setting up the array. We've lost half a year, so we'll have to hurry."
"Don't worry. Once the materials for my array have been refined, it'll take only an instant to activate."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Junior Brother."
"Of course!"
They quickly settled on a plan, playing off each other's words.
Then they began setting up the array.
Time flew by, and two years passed.
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