Scheme

Jin Ping'er's figure flickered, blocking their path like a phantom.

"Young Master Li, for the sake of our acquaintance, I'll give you a friendly warning."

Her expression suddenly turned serious.

"This gathering at Liubo Mountain is far more complex than you imagine."

"The sect leaders of the Ghost King Sect, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, and the Longevity Hall have all come in person."

"What they are plotting is not merely that ancient beast, the Kui Ox, which is about to emerge."

"They intend to use this opportunity to wipe out the young elites of your three righteous sects in one fell swoop!"

Jin Ping'er's words sent a chill through Li Xiaoyu and his two companions.

The three sect leaders of the Sacred Sect were all gathered here!

Wan Renwang of the Ghost King Sect, the Poison God, and Yu Yangzi of the Longevity Hall!

They had actually all arrived.

"Why are you telling us this?"

Li Xiaoyu scrutinized Jin Ping'er.

He did not believe this enchantress of the Sacred Sect was truly so kind-hearted.

Jin Ping'er met his gaze, and the smile on her face became complex.

"I don't know."

She shrugged.

"Perhaps it's because I don't want to see an interesting fellow like you die here so pointlessly."

"Or perhaps, my Joyous Union Sect does not want to see the Ghost King Sect grow too powerful and swallow up the entire Sacred Sect."

"In any case, believe it or not, that is up to you."

Having said this, Jin Ping'er did not linger; she turned and transformed into a streak of purple light, darting off into the distance.

"Young Master Li, we shall meet again, hee hee hee..."

Her silver-bell-like laughter echoed in the sea breeze.

Li Xiaoyu watched the direction in which she vanished, lost in thought.

"Let's go, we must first see the Sect Leader and the others."

Li Xiaoyu suppressed the doubts in his heart and led Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan into the central tent of the Green Cloud Sect.

The atmosphere inside the tent was heavy.

Daoist Daoxuan sat in the seat of honor, flanked by the heads of the other six peaks, including Shang Zhengliang, Master Shuiyue, and Tian Buyi.

Faxiang of the Heavenly Sound Temple, along with Li Xun and Yan Hong of the Incense Burning Valley, were also present.

Clearly, they had arrived long ago and had been participating in the preceding discussions.

Seeing the three of them enter, everyone's gaze turned toward them.

"Disciples Li Xiaoyu, Lu Xueqi, and Zhang Xiaofan pay our respects to the Sect Leader and all our seniors!"

The three bowed respectfully.

Daoist Daoxuan looked at them, a smile appearing on his gentle face.

"You have returned; you must have had a difficult journey."

Daoist Daoxuan paused, his gaze landing on Li Xiaoyu with a look of appraisal.

"Xiaoyu, you have returned at the right time. What are your thoughts on the current situation?"

He had actually asked for Li Xiaoyu's opinion directly.

This action left everyone present stunned.

In particular, Daoist Cangsong of Dragon Head Peak and Tian Buyi of Big Bamboo Peak felt a flash of displeasure in their eyes.

In their view, although Li Xiaoyu was the champion of the Seven Meridians Martial Arts Tournament, he was still young and his cultivation was shallow. How could a junior have a say in such critical military matters?

However, Li Xiaoyu was neither flattered nor terrified.

His face remained calm, as if he had already anticipated that the Sect Leader would ask him this.

Li Xiaoyu stepped forward and recounted the intelligence he had just received from Jin Ping'er, along with his own analysis, to everyone present.

"Therefore, disciple believes that the Sacred Sect's true goal is not merely to seize the treasure, but to use it as bait to lure us in. Their real intention is to wipe out the young disciples of our three righteous sects, causing a gap in our succession that will last for decades."

"That Kui Ox, which is about to emerge, is nothing more than the bait they have cast out."

Li Xiaoyu's words were clear and logically sound, causing all the peak masters present to fall into deep thought.

Although they had sensed that the Sacred Sect was coming with aggressive intent, they had not realized the plot was so far-reaching and malicious.

"Nonsense!"

A discordant voice suddenly rang out.

It was Daoist Cangsong.

Daoist Cangsong let out a cold snort, looking at Li Xiaoyu with eyes full of mockery.

"Everything you've said is nothing more than hearsay, one-sided words from a demonic cult enchantress. How can it be taken seriously?"

"I suspect you have been bewitched by that enchantress's beauty and have lost your senses!"

His words were extremely caustic, directly pinning the label of colluding with the demonic cult onto Li Xiaoyu.

"Senior Brother Cangsong, you!"

Shang Zhengliang was furious at these words and stood up abruptly.

A layer of frost also settled over Master Shuiyue's face.

"Senior Brother Cangsong, you can eat whatever you like, but you cannot speak whatever you like."

Master Shuiyue's cold, clear voice rang out.

"Xiaoyu is a disciple of our Green Cloud Sect. We have all witnessed his character and integrity. How can you allow yourself to slander him like this?"

Seeing that internal strife was about to break out within the Green Cloud Sect, Daoist Daoxuan, sitting in the main seat, gave a light cough.

"That is enough."

As Daoist Daoxuan spoke, everyone fell silent.

His gaze landed once again on Li Xiaoyu.

"Xiaoyu, continue. How do you think we should respond now?"

Daoist Daoxuan ignored Cangsong's questioning and instead encouraged Li Xiaoyu to go on.

This undoubtedly signaled his trust in Li Xiaoyu.

Cangsong's expression turned ugly, and he could only sit back down sullenly, though his sinister eyes remained fixed on Li Xiaoyu, as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

Li Xiaoyu bowed to Daoist Daoxuan once more, feeling grateful in his heart.

He knew that the Sect Leader was giving him a chance, and also testing him.

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, this disciple believes that since the demonic cult wants to fight, we shall accompany them!"

Li Xiaoyu's voice was resonant and powerful.

"But we cannot let them lead us by the nose or remain on the defensive."

"We should take the initiative!"

"We shall turn their own scheme against them!"

"Do they not want to besiege a point to strike at reinforcements? Then we shall set a larger trap and see who is truly encircling whom!"

A confident light flickered in Li Xiaoyu's eyes.

His words stirred the spirits of everyone present.

Taking the initiative and turning the scheme against them.

This bold idea caused all the gathered peak masters to look at him with newfound attention.

They were accustomed to the Green Cloud Sect's consistent prudence and stability, and rarely saw a young disciple possess such sharp spirit and courage.

"Oh? Tell us more. How do we turn their scheme against them?"

A look of deep interest appeared in Daoist Daoxuan's eyes.

Li Xiaoyu stepped forward to the sand table in the center of the main tent.

The sand table used sand and stones to clearly simulate the entire terrain of Liubo Mountain.

He pointed to the main peak on the sand table and said in a deep voice, "The demonic cult members are currently entrenched on the main peak, relying on the terrain and their barriers, appearing as solid as a fortress."

"But this is precisely their weakness."

"They have concentrated all their strength in one place. While it appears powerful, they have actually lost their mobility and flexibility, becoming a trapped beast."

"We, however, are spread throughout Liubo Mountain. While we appear scattered, we are actually free to advance or retreat, and can launch attacks on them from any direction at any time."

Li Xiaoyu's finger tapped rapidly on several positions on the sand table.

"This disciple suggests that we divide our forces into three routes."

"The first route will be led by Senior Brother Li Xun and Senior Sister Yan Hong of the Incense Burning Valley. Their cultivation techniques are of the utmost yang and rigidity, making them best suited for a direct assault. They can launch a feint from the front to attract the attention of the demonic cult's main force."