Scheming to the Bitter End

As they descended the underground passage, they could clearly feel the oppressive aura of some ferocious beast or demon that had been sealed by the magic array. The secret passage was filled with a thick, black, flame-like malevolent energy, so much so that Lu Yu had to light a lantern-like magic artifact to drive away the dense malevolent energy and perform a ritual to protect Huo Shan Mo Lian was still in a mortal body at the time, from being tainted by it.

Li Fan, however, breathed a sigh of relief. The Blood Shadow Body Technique had consumed a great deal of energy, and he was almost at his limit. But he hadn't expected there to be such a malevolent environment beneath the teahouse.

Fortunately, he had completed the <Huashu> beforehand. Although he hadn't yet refined his Gui Xu Nascent Soul, being surrounded by this malevolent energy allowed him to absorb it into his body, continuously transforming it into True Essence of Returning to Emptiness. This automatically converted into a massive amount of Dao Breath, which actually allowed him to maintain his stealth. Moreover, being skinned alive felt somewhat like being in a sauna, and it was actually a little bit enjoyable...

It was indeed my destiny; when fate intervened, everything was resolved effortlessly! There was no way to stop it!

At this moment, Huo Shan Mo Lian, who was walking ahead, spoke up, "Master Lu, you are truly ruthless! But what exactly is it? Why don't you just go and get it yourself? Why make these mortals do it for you? When I suddenly saw someone undergoing the transformation of evil spirits, I thought we were surrounded by the Xuanmen!"

Lu Yu remained silent.

Huo Shan Mo Lian's eyes darted around, and she pretended to cry, "I'm just a little girl, and I'm about to have my soul taken by the Blood Lord. I won't even see the sun rise tomorrow. I'm so scared. Altar Master, can you at least chat with me for a bit?"

"..." Lu Yu looked at her, "Because I can't take it myself. It's the Imperial Clan Register of the Zongzheng Temple Clan Affairs, which records the lineage of Prince Li Xinglong of Prince of Huai'an. Once it's in my hands, the Imperial Clan Affairs Office of Li Country will definitely investigate."

"What is a jade butterfly? A jade butterfly?" Huo Shan Mo Lian had no idea about the rules and regulations of the Central Plains.

Lu Yu explained, "A round jade pendant. According to the etiquette of the Immortal Palace, cultivators have Daoist certificates and talismans, and the imperial princes are also issued jade certificates symbolizing their imperial status by the Zongzheng Temple. Every jade certificate in the Imperial Clan Court is recorded. It is not only a symbol of status, but also a way to prevent princes and grandsons from being possessed by evil spirits and demons. Therefore, only princes wearing jade certificates are legitimate heirs and can freely enter and leave the Imperial City."

When the Prince of Huai'an rebelled, he was branded a traitor, and his imperial genealogy was imprisoned in his tomb, leaving it empty. The Guo Family secretly sent people out of the palace to retrieve this imperial genealogy for Li You to use as a disguise. Because he was about to Prince of Jian'an, without an imperial genealogy to conceal his identity, the people in the palace would notice something amiss.

So we sent these few to steal the jade tablet in advance, but we missed it by a hair's breadth. Originally, I had a backup plan: to set up a trap at the Dragon Gate Inn, where everyone connected to the jade tablet would die, cutting off the trail. I also planned to hide your presence, Saintess, to prevent you from being followed.

However, a disciple from Ink Bamboo Mountain had infiltrated the area, so I couldn't show myself. I ordered the people from the Liqiu Palace to escape, and the matter was exposed..."

Huo Shan Mo Lian looked at Lu Yu with a strange expression. "You mean the Daoist boy who saved me? So he really wasn't the contact you arranged? But I clearly saw him buy Lei Shang."

Lu Yu sighed, "It's probably just a coincidence. I didn't expect him to buy Lei Shang's item. Perhaps he had already made contact with the Luo Sect at that time..."

"What? The Luo Sect? I don't understand... Wait, the jade tablet for Li You? What about his own? And that Li You..." Huo Shan Mo Lian frowned, "Could it be the one currently possessed by the Blood Lord?"

Lu Yu nodded. "Not bad."

Huo Shan Mo Lian frowned. "Is he really the eldest son of the Li Country's royal family? You really kidnapped a prince appointed by the Li Country to be the chief priest of the Blood Lord? Master Lu, isn't that a bit too ostentatious? Aren't you worried that Ink Bamboo Mountain will send people to find him?"

I heard that their abbot is the number one fortune teller in the Southern Country, and even the Emei sect had to avoid him. Who would have thought you would cause such a big mess?

"Master, it's not that I don't trust you, but things have come to this point, and you're only now saying that this matter is actually related to the Luo Sect. Don't you think you should clarify things with me, the Saintess, to avoid any mistakes and the downfall of the Divine Cult?"

Lu Yu paused for a moment, then said, "Alright, then I'll explain all the arrangements to you from the beginning."

The Blood Lord we originally chose was not Li You, the legitimate son of Consort Guo, but a son born out of wedlock who wasn't registered in the Imperial Clan Court's genealogy. He was born to a palace maid, and I didn't pay attention to his name, but he now has a Daoist name, Qingyue. You should know him; he's the one you drank with at the inn."

Huo Shan Mo Lian frowned deeply. "I'm getting more and more confused."

"You'll understand once I finish explaining." Lu Yu sighed. "The identity of Lu Chai is the true leader of the Divine Sect in Changsi City. Originally, Qi'er and I used it together. He was responsible for maintaining relations with the Wang Family, while I handled some underworld matters."

About half a year ago, Yuan Tianxiao from Tianmen Peak of Ink Bamboo Mountain found me and said that he had a disciple who missed his sister who had been separated from him since childhood. He calculated that his sister was still alive and was working in the Eastern Palace. He knew that the Lu Family had connections in the Eastern Palace, so he asked us to bring her out.

At first, I didn't take it seriously. I just sent someone to ask around and found out that the older sister was a maid of Consort Guo and had given birth to a son of a concubine for the Guangling Heir. However, she was a relative of a rebel king, and her status was awkward. Therefore, neither she nor her son received an imperial edict and they were left to be raised in the Eastern Palace. Because of their lowly status, they were often bullied by the people in the palace. So the maid begged us to rescue her son as well, or even just her son.

But bringing a maid out is not the same as kidnapping a prince, especially a member of the royal family. Even if the prince is born out of wedlock, the Zongzheng Temple will thoroughly investigate his whereabouts to prevent him from being cursed using the Wang Family bloodline.

I originally didn't want to get involved, but my men discovered that this maid was actually a remnant of the Luo Sect. Upon further investigation, it turned out that Yuan Tianxiao was also a member of the Luo Sect. How could they be going through all this trouble just to find a palace maid?

Therefore, there must be some hidden story here. I guessed that the boy must be the problem, so I tried to divine with Lou Guan qi. Sure enough, I saw that this boy had the appearance of a flying dragon riding the clouds, and his light shone Six Combinations. He was destined to be an emperor for at least sixty years. He was ordained by Heaven and his nobility was beyond words."

Huo Shan Mo Lian frowned. "That silly kid? He actually has a sixty-year royal mandate? But isn't he an illegitimate son...?"

Lu Yu shook his head and said, "The will of Heaven is uncertain, and things in the palace are also unpredictable. Who knows what this royal decree is about?"

Even though being born as an illegitimate son and a member of the family of a traitorous king would indeed cost him many years of imperial life, how rare is it to be born with the protection of a royal destiny? How many people are born with sixty years of royal destiny protection? Even if his life is full of hardships, he can turn misfortune into good fortune with the protection of the royal destiny, giving him a much stronger starting point than the average person.

So I plan to steal him out of the palace to be the chief priest of the Blood Lord. As you've seen, Li You only has five years of royal protection, and he's still alive.

Therefore, I originally planned to use that illegitimate son as the Blood Lord's High Priest. With that boy's inherent protective destiny to resist the Blood Lord's pressure, thus diminishing his destiny would also weaken the Blood Lord's divine power. Saintess, if you then merge with the Blood Lord's Dao Body, seize his Dao Body, restore your past consciousness, and awaken your divine soul, your chances of winning will increase many times over.

I just didn't expect Qingyue to be so lucky; I couldn't win her over no matter how many times I tried. But since everything else was already arranged, I had no choice but to settle for second best.

Huo Shan Mo Lian chuckled, "Is there really such a thing as fate? Li You didn't die, wasn't he just holding on by borrowing the lives of those beggars with the Blood Demon Spirit Mushroom? With your supernatural powers, Master Lu, and your achievements in causing chaos in Li Country this time, being selected as Four Directions Enforcement Venerables would be a piece of cake. Yet you say you can't capture a mere child? Aren't you just lying to me, or do you actually have other schemes up your sleeve?"

Lu Yu wasn't angry at all, and calmly said, "That's because you don't know how tough this kid's life is, Saintess."

I had it all planned out: I would have the maid steal Li You's jade tablet, give her son a drug to fake his death, and arrange for the boy to leave the palace wearing the jade tablet and hide in my private residence in Da'an Fang.

I never expected that my spying on the Eastern Palace would be discovered by the captain of Changsi City. He seized me and searched me, which prevented me from getting away for a while. When I rushed back, I found that I had been stolen by the Southern Faction as an ordinary child.

I was in a hurry to abduct someone from the mountains, but Yuan Tianxiao had also foreseen this change. He and his Dao Companion joined forces to stop me, and that kid actually got taken in as a disciple by the mountain lord! He even gave him the Daoist name Qingyue. Really...

Later, I injured two troublemakers and intended to make my move inside Lou Guan Tower. However, a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain named Zhang turned out to be one of their accomplices and secretly intervened to stop me.

That Zhang fellow is formidable. I can't defeat him without revealing my true abilities, so I have no choice but to risk showing myself. I plan to take advantage of the Mu Long opportunity to abduct Qingyue. Since the Blood Lord isn't ready yet, I'll simply arrange a killing spree at that inn and deliver him to my death.

Unexpectedly, things didn't go as planned, and the project ultimately failed.

Although I had a backup plan and specifically sent Chen Jinu to capture him, I didn't expect him to be such a useless piece of trash. A dignified Golden Core Stage couldn't even capture a mere child, and was even killed in the process. Then Zhang came over and we fought again, forcing me to abandon my identity as Lu Yu and escape.

Later, I even planned a sword duel at Tiantai Mountain, involving my two illegitimate children in the attempt to distract the disciples and abduct him. But to my surprise, that Zhang guy protected him the whole time, giving me no chance to make a move.

Alas, later on, he caught the eye of the Abbot, and I could no longer intervene. Otherwise, if his true nature were discovered, the Blood Lord would not only be unable to be reborn, but it might even ruin the sect's grand plan. Therefore...

I had no choice but to use Qingyue's identity to orchestrate a plan, temporarily obscuring the abbot's vision and drawing his attention to the internal conflicts within the Li Country.

So now you know, right? This sixty-year reign of the king is indeed extraordinary. He has repeatedly escaped danger and avoided my grasp; his destiny is truly remarkable. This is the first time I, Lu, have realized that being chosen by fate can be so powerful. Despite all my scheming, I could never subdue him; I have to admit defeat...

However, since the best option was unattainable, they had no choice but to settle for second best and select Li You, who had held the title of king for several years, as a replacement for Qingyue."

Huo Shan Mo Lian and Li Fan, "..."

Lu Yu also vented his frustration, "But things have come to this point, all the cards we can play have been played. The abbot has already sensed the changes in Changsi City and has come to oversee things personally, even protecting the disciples of the mountain sect under his wing."

After tonight, with the Lord's abilities, he will surely be able to calculate the cause and effect of this matter and come knocking to wipe out the foundation of the religion in the Li Country.

Of the people I still fear after Li Country, Wei Gao has already been driven away, Wang E is bogged down by the matter of the Crown Prince, and the rest are just good-for-nothings.

With Qi'er leading those people in causing trouble, at least tonight, with the Blood Lord's birth, Ink Bamboo Mountain and Li Country are utterly powerless to reverse the situation.

"Lu Chai's mind is limited, and this is all he can do to conceal the secrets of heaven for Saintess, Holy Maiden. Now, Saintess only hopes that you will successfully awaken with the power of the Blood Lord this time, so that all the hard work of the Lu Family over so many generations on Ink Bamboo Mountain won't have been in vain."

Huo Shan Mo Lian stared in disbelief. "Master Lu, I admire your dedication and hard work for the Divine Sect."

But you don't really think I'm the reincarnation of the Saintess, capable of controlling the Blood Lord's body and even awakening my own power, do you?

I can barely read any characters from the Central Plains, and I haven't learned any of the Heavenly Book Divine Skills of our sect!

Lu Yu stopped and looked at Huo Shan Mo Lian Dao, "The Saintess is different from ordinary cultivators. You already know the sect's Cultivation Method, so why bother learning more? Just use the opportunity of being in a life-or-death situation to awaken and remember them all."

The key to awakening your past life's spirit lies not in your intellect or knowledge, but in having the courage to face death and the ruthlessness to be completely devoid of harshness.

The previous Saintess was Yinian, giving rise to a pointless and useless compassionate heart, pitying the lives of a few ants, which caused the centuries of hard work and sacrifices of countless generations of believers of my sect to vanish in an instant.

"I think the protectors in the sect must have taught you many times not to harbor any compassion. But you probably haven't killed anyone with your own hands yet, have you? They still spoil you too much. If they had taught you to break the precept against killing earlier, and if you had been more decisive back then and killed Qingyue directly, taking his life, it would have saved me a lot of trouble."

Huo Shan Mo Lian pursed his lips and remained silent.

Lu Yu shook his head. "If you cannot abandon the useless human heart and remember that you are the supreme Ten Ultimate Venerables, the only one in heaven and earth, then you will only have the fate of having your soul, flesh, and blood devoured by the Blood Lord."

"You've already peeked at the slop bucket yourself, so I don't need to remind you of the final outcome, do I?"

As they spoke, they arrived at the underground altar below. Amidst the rising malevolent energy, a massive stalactite pillar could be vaguely seen, standing atop the altar like an inverted stone tablet, covered with some kind of blood vessel-like bright red moss and fleshy membrane.

Only when you get a little closer can you see clearly that it was actually a person.

Don't get me wrong, the stone pillar is a real stone pillar. There's something that's barely recognizable as a human figure trapped under it, with a huge hole punched through its chest, but it's still alive and is even letting out a faint scream.

His veins seemed to ooze out from the opening carved into the rock pillar, as if alive. They were forced back by the magic array at the edge of the altar, and a layer of dark red, earthworm-like blood network accumulated on the ground. Then, fresh blood vessels began to climb up the stone pillar like ivy, covering it layer by layer, like layers of blood-soaked cicada wings being peeled away.

Huo Shan Mo Lian trembled uncontrollably; just seeing this strange sight from outside almost made him turn pale with fright.

Lu Yu didn't care. He casually tossed out the golden lantern magic weapon he was carrying, which floated in mid-air and illuminated Huo Shan Mo Lian's head, dispelling the surrounding evil energy. He then walked to the altar with his hands behind his back, looking down at the boy who was crushed under the stone pillar.

Despite being called a boy, he was pressed under a pillar like this, with some unknown thing parasitizing his body. His face was covered in dust and blood, and he was no longer human or ghost.

"Their family members all look alike, it's quite satisfying to see them," Lu Yu said, glancing at the boy and then at the half-eaten Ganoderma lucidum tossed next to his head. "In this state, if you gritted your teeth and went on a hunger strike, you'd just die a quick and easy death. What, you still want to live? Can't bear to give up your family's wealth and luxury? Hehehehehehe! Hahahahahahahaha!"

Lu Yu, with his hands behind his back, suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter, "Princes and nobles are like this, as are the lowly commoners in the streets, and which of the common people in this Human Dao is not like this!"

Even if life is incredibly bitter and miserable, even if it's exhausting and impoverished, you still can't help but want to live! Being afraid of death, hahaha! It's not a flaw, it's just human nature. As long as you're human, you want to live!

So, Saintess, do you understand now? To transcend the limits of humanity, one must see through the human heart's greed for life and fear of death! Only by sacrificing oneself can one obtain the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth! Come! There's no need to delay any longer! Now, with the moon dark and the wind high, the heavens are obscured, making it the perfect time for the Blood Lord to awaken!

Whether it's the Supreme Lord or the Blood Lord, either way, they can help my religion achieve its hegemony!

"Please, Saintess, die!"

Lu Yu spread his arms wide, laughed wildly, turned around, and looked at the saint behind him...

"Uh, it's just death, why are you going to skin me alive... Who are you?"

Standing before him Li Fan, a mangled, bloody body with a face covered in blood. His eyes shone with a bright purple light, capturing both black and white beams of light. The purple ring behind his head resembled a black hole, drawing in the surrounding malevolent energy like a vortex.

"Stop fucking talking nonsense. I usually just skip these kinds of formalities..."

Lu Yu's face froze for a moment, then he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a crimson sword pellet!

The sword pellet leaped into the sky, soared forward, and stretched out in a beam of light...

Then a bloody shadow flashed by! The mangled figure, wreathed in billowing black flames of malevolent energy, lunged out! It opened its blood-red maw wide, and with a single bite, actually snatched the red pill in its jaws!

In Lu Yu's eyes, the blood-red shadow rolled on the ground, landing on all fours, its flesh and bones bursting forth! Its mane grew back in reverse! In a flash, it transformed into a giant tiger with yin-yang eyes, purple fur and black spots, and a crescent moon on the back of its head!

'Forcibly activating the current flying sword requires Golden Core level or higher and consumes 500 points of your mood cap.'

'Li Fan forcibly absorbed the Flying Sword Flying Rainbow, depleting 500 points of Li Fan's maximum mood.'

'The Flying Sword Flying Rainbow cannot be used due to low current mood.'

Li Fan's mood improved slightly.

'Li Fan's current mood, 666/1300'

Li Fan smiled at Lu Yu, tilted his head back, and swallowed the sword pellet with a gulp.

Alright, that's settled, let's begin.

The cutscenes are finally over! We'll start the dungeon run next, but I'm out of drafts. I'll resume one update a day. Thanks for your support!