Green Mound Mountain, Nine-Tails

Lu Li paused in the square for a moment before withdrawing his gaze and walking away.

"Slender Golden Saber's execution... I nearly forgot about the trap Yin Duanyue set for the Hidden Heroes Alliance."

On his way back, Lu Li pondered this to himself.

The president of the Heavenly Righteousness Society, Slender Golden Saber, had previously stormed the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple alone to rescue the abducted children. In the end, he forced out the Drooping-Ear Monk and died at his hands.

But the Heavenly Righteousness Society did not know this.

Yin Duanyue had deliberately spread news that Slender Golden Saber had escaped beyond the city.

Lu Li recalled something. At the previous banquet, people from the Hidden Heroes Alliance and the Righteousness Gang had both been present, but the Heavenly Righteousness Society alone had been absent. They were likely searching for Slender Golden Saber's whereabouts.

"Catching a turtle in a jar?"

Thoughts raced through Lu Li's mind.

Familiar with the plotline, he knew that seven days later, the Heavenly Righteousness Society would certainly go rescue him, only to encounter an ambush by the Drooping-Ear Monk's disciples and suffer devastating casualties.

"An ambush, huh..."

Still pondering it, Lu Li soon returned to the Peng Family Noodle Shop.

"Hmm? Miss Peng?"

The shop doors were already open, though a sign outside read Closed. Peng Wan'er sat behind the counter with Liu Yueling in her arms, tear tracks still on the girl's face.

"Be good, don't cry. Brother Lu may have something important to do. He'll be back soon."

Peng Wan'er comforted her softly, pity in her eyes. Hearing this, she looked up and saw Lu Li approaching. She froze briefly before anger rose in her, and she snapped:

"What is wrong with you?! You left little Yueling alone in the room. What if I hadn't come back and some villain had abducted her?"

Her words poured out like a barrage. Lu Li was left dumbfounded by the scolding. Catching sight of the lingering tears in Liu Yueling's eyes, he opened his mouth but could not say a word.

He had left a note saying he would return shortly, but once he started cultivating, he had completely forgotten.

"Sister Wan'er, don't blame Brother Lu. He must have had something urgent to do. Yueling can stay by herself just fine."

Liu Yueling tugged at Peng Wan'er's sleeve and spoke softly.

"But..."

Peng Wan'er was instantly silenced, then shot Lu Li a fierce glare.

"You haven't eaten yet, right? I brought you breakfast."

Feeling awkward, Lu Li hurried forward and set the fried dumplings and meat pies he had been carrying on the counter. They steamed with heat, their fragrance drifting through the shop.

"Thank you, Brother Lu."

The little girl immediately beamed. Peng Wan'er rubbed her forehead and said irritably:

"Where did you go? You vanished for an entire day."

"I went out to take a look around."

Lu Li rubbed Liu Yueling's head and looked at Peng Wan'er.

"Where are Brother Peng Shan and the others? Why did you come back alone?"

Peng Wan'er fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject.

"Big Brother and the others are tied up with something. I couldn't be of much help, so I came here first to check on things."

Lu Li nodded and did not press further. He could guess that Peng Shan and the others were likely arranging shelter for the children rescued from being used as sacrifices.

"I heard some news outside just now. The authorities are going to execute Slender Golden Saber in seven days..."

Before Peng Wan'er could react in shock, Lu Li continued:

"Go notify Brother Peng Shan and the others. The news about Slender Golden Saber is false."

False?!

Peng Wan'er's delicate brows furrowed.

"How did you find that out?"

She looked at Lu Li with suspicion. He waved a hand.

"You don't need to ask. I won't harm you."

Peng Wan'er gritted her teeth. In the end, she stamped her foot and immediately ran outside.

"Fine, I'll go tell Big Brother and the others!"

Watching her anxious figure depart, Lu Li shook his head.

He could already guess that his words would have little effect.

With Slender Golden Saber's fate unknown, how could the Heavenly Righteousness Society simply believe an outsider? They would need to see him alive or see his corpse.

And as their allies, the Hidden Heroes Alliance and Righteousness Gang would certainly not stand aside either.

"Even so, they'll probably be somewhat wary. At least they won't be caught completely unprepared when the time comes."

Lu Li shook his head inwardly and looked at the Ground Owl perched on the table.

Success came with preparation; failure came without it. Since he had decided to involve himself, he needed to make preparations in advance.

"Yueling, we're going out. Have Little Gray scout the way for us."

"Okay!"

Liu Yueling answered cheerfully. Then, with a wave of her hand, the Ground Owl fluttered down onto Lu Li's shoulder.

The Xue Household could not possibly carry out something as shocking as forging an Evil Armament and blood-sacrificing over a thousand infants within the city. It was being done on a barren mountain in the rear hills outside the city.

And Lu Li remembered that there was a supplementary Blood Pool at the ritual site, made with the Drooping-Ear Monk's own essence blood as its foundation and countless precious medicinal ingredients as support.

"Everyone had their own schemes."

Lu Li clicked his tongue and shook his head, recalling the details of the incident. He understood it perfectly.

The Blood Pool was the Drooping-Ear Monk's secret arrangement. He had used the Evil Armament as bait to obtain the Xue Household's funding, yet he had never intended to offer the weapon to them.

He planned to use it himself.

The Blood Pool was his most hidden backup plan. It was also why, although the Hidden Heroes Alliance destroyed the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Temple, they still failed to stop the Evil Armament from being forged.

"The Blood Pool..."

Lu Li muttered inwardly, a spark of eagerness rising in his heart.

To him, the essence blood accumulated over many years by a Late Meridian Opening martial artist was not a Blood Pool at all. It was plainly a package of cultivation experience.

One no worse than that of a Qi Solidification martial artist.

"The further Meridian Opening cultivation advances, the harder it becomes. For me, the amount of vital blood required is astronomical. But if I successfully devour the Blood Pool, its vital blood will definitely be more than enough to reach the Twelfth Stage of Meridian Opening."

With those thoughts in mind, Lu Li brought Liu Yueling to a tall inn near the city gates.

Inside the room,

Lu Li pointed in a direction and instructed Liu Yueling:

"Have Little Gray search from high in the sky in that direction. See if there's a very large blood pool."

"Okay!"

Seeing Lu Li unusually serious, Liu Yueling nodded firmly.

"Little Gray, help me find it."

Liu Yueling spoke softly, then stroked the Ground Owl's head. As though their minds were linked, the Ground Owl immediately flew out the window, beating its wings as it vanished into the clouds.

Watching the Ground Owl gradually disappear from sight, Lu Li stroked his chin, feeling rather envious.

In the current martial world, beast taming was simply too useful. Raising an intelligent bird of prey was practically an indispensable tool for wandering the martial world.

"What a pity. This Ground Owl usually ignores me. Even if little Yueling willingly gave it to me, it would probably turn around and fly away..."

Lu Li felt deeply regretful. Once he sent Liu Yueling to the Miao Poison Sect, he would no longer be able to make use of the Ground Owl.

"Beast taming... I remember that the demon Nine-Tails possessed a passive ability to beguile minds. That could be considered a superior ability to beast taming."

Lu Li's thoughts suddenly stirred. Looking at the layers of white clouds beyond the window, his mind drifted far away. Stroking his chin, he carefully considered it.

"Nine-Tails' Demon Token is on Green Mound Mountain in the Li Kingdom..."

At that thought, Lu Li's eyes brightened slightly.

Three years later, the Jing Dynasty and the Li Kingdom would hold a martial arts tournament that drew the attention of the entire world. The champion's reward included the chance to enter a small secret realm on Green Mound Mountain.

Not only did that secret realm contain Nine-Tails' token, it also held the Nine Heavens Celestial Radiance Blade, ranked fifth on the Divine Weapon List.

"That secret realm is a relic from ancient times. Green Mound Mountain knows only of the divine weapon, not Nine-Tails' token..."