Turning the Tables, Catching a Turtle in a Jar

Golden Turtle Island, Xuan Chuan's Cave-Dwelling.

Upon the Jade-Purple Platform, Xuan Chuan had not entered meditation. A nearly imperceptible thread of purple light danced at his fingertips—it was The One That Escaped, rapidly deducing within his sea of consciousness at a speed beyond the ordinary.

Ever since returning from Wuyi Mountain and helping Zhao Gongming settle his karmic ties, he had vaguely sensed that the undercurrents surrounding him had not calmed. Instead, they had grown even more turbulent.

Especially this morning, when he had routinely used The One That Escaped in conjunction with the Chaos Pearl Fragment to sense the flow of aura and karma across Golden Turtle Island, a trace of exceedingly obscure—

yet intensely Western Paradise-scented—fluctuation of "fate" had stirred his vigilance like a stone cast into a placid lake.

Though this fluctuation had vanished in a flash and been cleverly concealed, the Chaos Pearl Fragment was exceptionally sensitive to karmic anomalies that were "not orthodox to the Primordial World," especially ties of "conversion" and "guidance" related to the Western Religion.

"Saintly aura... It was so faint as to be almost nonexistent, yet it was undeniably of the Western Teachings." Xuan Chuan opened his eyes, a cold gleam flashing within them. "Who was it? And who was the target?"

The first people he thought of were the remnants of the Seven Attendant Immortals, especially Qiu Shou Immortal, who had prior ties to the Western Religion!

The affair of Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal had already proven the Western Religion's infiltration and recruitment efforts within Jiejiao.

Now that Winged Immortal had temporarily withdrawn, and the alliance between himself, the Three Xiao Sisters, and Zhao Gongming had only just formed, with their formation beginning to reveal its might, it was only natural that their opponents would find open provocation more difficult and turn instead to intensifying their covert recruitment.

"Qiu Shou Immortal..." Xuan Chuan lightly tapped the jade platform with his fingertip.

This man had already behaved abnormally during the Winged Immortal incident. Unlike the agitation and fury of Golden Light Immortal and Lingya Immortal, he had displayed mostly gloom and furtiveness. If he truly was the target...

A plan swiftly took shape in Xuan Chuan's mind. Rather than passively standing guard, he might as well lure the snake from its hole and sever this black hand reaching into the sect!

He immediately sent secret messages to Zhao Gongming and Lady Yunxiao, inviting them to discuss matters at his cave-dwelling. At the same time, he took out a blank jade slip, stirred his divine sense, and began to "write" upon it.

What he "wrote" was the "core formation diagram" of a simplified Myriad Immortals Joint Defense Formation.

However, this formation diagram was nine parts true and one part false. Several crucial nodes of spiritual energy circulation, divine-sense resonance runes—

and even the arrangement of the formation eye had all been altered and inverted with extreme subtlety through the principles of The One That Escaped.

If one set up a formation according to this diagram, a small formation might take shape. But once there were slightly more people or it operated for a little longer, its auras would inevitably clash, the formation would suffer backlash, and it would collapse without being attacked!

It was truly a carefully concocted "poisoned bait."

After finishing, Xuan Chuan did not tuck the jade slip containing the false formation diagram deep within a storage treasure. Instead, he seemingly casually placed it upon an open stone shelf in his cave-dwelling used to display recently acquired spiritual materials.

Its position was neither concealed nor especially conspicuous, fitting the usual storage practice for something important but not top-secret.

Before long, Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao arrived as invited.

Xuan Chuan waved a hand and laid down layer upon layer of restrictions, sealing off inside from outside, before laying out all his suspicions and plans.

"What? That bastard Qiu Shou Immortal actually dared collude with the Western Religion?" Zhao Gongming flew into a rage the moment he heard it. "I'll go to Radiant Treasure Ridge and drag him out right now!"

"Elder Brother, please calm yourself." Lady Yunxiao remained composed. "Senior Brother Xuan Chuan's plan is excellent.

If Qiu Shou Immortal truly harbors treacherous intentions, rather than guard against him in secret, we should let him jump out himself and catch him red-handed. It will also let the other ill-intentioned people within the sect see what awaits them.

But... how can Senior Brother be certain that he will come steal this formation diagram? And how will we capture him at the crucial moment?"

Xuan Chuan said, "The Western Religion's conversions always come with immense benefits as bait.

Within our sect, the most valuable thing, the easiest to acquire, and the thing most capable of serving as a 'pledge of allegiance' is none other than the simplified Ten Thousand Immortals Formation diagram currently being promoted, drilled, and closely watched.

As for capturing him..." He looked toward Yunxiao. "We will need to rely on Junior Sister's formations.

If he wishes to flee west after stealing the diagram, he must pass through the outer seas surrounding Golden Turtle Island. We can lay down a trapping formation along his inevitable route in advance and wait by a tree stump for the rabbit."

A strange brilliance flashed in Yunxiao's eyes. "Senior Brother means... capture him with a formation? Use our own formation to capture the one who stole the formation diagram?

Wonderful! The core of this formation lies in linking auras and locking space. If Elder Brother, Senior Brother—

and I personally preside over the Three Talents Return to Origin formation eyes, then unless a Quasi-Saint comes in person, even a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal should not dream of breaking free in a short time!"

Zhao Gongming grew excited as well. "Good! We'll do it this way! I want to see just where this ingrate who eats from the bowl and smashes the pot can run!"

The three discussed matters secretly for a long while longer, finalized the details, and then went their separate ways to prepare.

Over the following days, Xuan Chuan's cave-dwelling, including that stone shelf, appeared entirely unchanged.

Yet in secret, Xuan Chuan's The One That Escaped and Chaos Pearl Fragment had each continuously devoted a thread of divine sense.

Like the most sensitive spiderweb, it shrouded the inside and outside of the cave-dwelling, especially every fluctuation of karma and aura around the jade slip containing the false formation diagram.

Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao silently departed Golden Turtle Island and, at several sea-region nodes that Xuan Chuan had deduced—

were unavoidable routes to the west, secretly laid down formation foundations and concealed them with Yunxiao's unique methods, awaiting only the right moment.

Sure enough, on the fifth night after the plan had been fully arranged.

A blurry figure almost blended into the night itself. Relying on familiarity with Golden Turtle Island's restrictions and patrol patterns, he cleverly avoided every open guard and hidden sentry, creeping like a ghost toward Xuan Chuan's cave-dwelling.

The intruder was extraordinarily cautious. Not only had he restrained every trace of his aura, but he seemed to carry some treasure or talisman that concealed heavenly secrets.

Had Xuan Chuan not prepared in advance and used The One That Escaped to lock onto the false formation-diagram jade slip as bait for reverse sensing, he would have found it almost impossible to detect his presence.

It was Qiu Shou Immortal!

The gloom and anxiety from before were gone from his eyes, replaced by a strange light suppressing excitement and resolve. Deep in his pupils, there even seemed to linger a nearly imperceptible trace of golden Buddhist nature.

He lurked outside the cave-dwelling and observed for a full two hours, confirming that Xuan Chuan appeared to be "meditating" deep within the quiet chamber—though this was in truth an illusion deliberately created by Xuan Chuan.

Only then did he carefully disturb several defensive restrictions that were not at the core. With his understanding of restrictions, he silently opened a gap and slipped inside.

His objective was clear. Upon entering the cave-dwelling, his gaze rapidly locked onto the several jade slips atop the stone shelf.

His divine sense swept over them like feelers. When it touched the "false formation-diagram" jade slip that Xuan Chuan had placed there, his body visibly shuddered, and the light in his eyes flared.

Found it! It really was here! Qiu Shou Immortal rejoiced wildly, nearly unable to stop himself from laughing aloud.

He forcefully suppressed his excitement and swiftly tucked the jade slip into a specially made storage pouch within his robes, one capable of blocking aura detection. The entire process was swift as lightning, and he did not touch any other object in the cave-dwelling.

After succeeding, he showed no attachment whatsoever. He immediately retreated along the route by which he had entered, vanishing like a ghost into the night and speeding toward the outer seas of Golden Turtle Island.

His heart surged with excitement, as though he could already see himself entering Western Paradise with the formation diagram in hand, being bestowed the title of Bodhisattva, and enjoying eternity.

However, just as he flew beyond the range of Golden Turtle Island's protective grand formation, his heart finally relaxing as he thought the sky was vast enough for birds to fly at will—

Bzzzz!

The tranquil sea and sky around him suddenly lit up with countless profound light patterns crisscrossing in every direction! The lights connected in an instant, transforming into a gigantic three-dimensional formation diagram that covered a hundred li in every direction!

The formation assumed the stance of the Three Talents. Heaven, Earth, and Man echoed one another from afar, emanating terrifying might capable of imprisoning space and sealing spiritual workings!

Three Talents Return to Origin Void-Locking Formation! Activated!

Three figures appeared from the formation diagram's three core directions. They were Xuan Chuan, Zhao Gongming, and Yunxiao!

"Uncle-Master Qiu Shou," Xuan Chuan said, holding the Fate-Cutting Sword as he stood in the position of "Heaven," his voice cold as ten thousand years of ice. "In the dead of night, carrying something from my cave-dwelling, where were you intending to go?"

Qiu Shou Immortal's body abruptly froze in midair. His face instantly turned pale as paper, and the fanatical Buddhist light in his eyes was replaced by boundless shock and despair.