Thinking Bigger

Jiang Chen feigned panic and hurriedly reported to Deacon Han:

"Disciple Jiang Chen of Stubborn Stone Peak was returning late tonight and passed by Sunset Glow Peak, where he discovered a woman sneaking around and searching for something. She seemed to be using some strange cultivation technique beneath the moonlight.

He even gave the exact location—it was the hidden cave dwelling where Liu Ruyan had used her positioning technique.

Han Yan was half-convinced and half-doubtful. After pondering for a moment, he decided to lead two Discipline Hall disciples to Sunset Glow Peak to take a look.

"You're coming with me!"

Seeing that Deacon Han intended to personally take him there, Jiang Chen worried that the few of them would be no match for Liu Ruyan. He also feared exposing his identity and being harmed by Liu Ruyan.

So he said that the woman's movements were exceedingly elusive, that she wore brightly colored clothes and appeared and vanished unpredictably. He suggested finding a Golden Core Realm Discipline Hall elder to lead the arrest, so that nothing could go wrong.

Han Yan flicked his sleeve and frowned, speaking solemnly:

"Within this sect, any woman stronger than this old man is an elder!"

Jiang Chen asked again:

"What if she is an infiltrator from outside the sect?"

Han Yan merely said:

"Infiltrators generally do not need to be too strong."

Jiang Chen had nothing to say. He could only follow the group toward Sunset Glow Peak.

Halfway there, they suddenly discovered that Sunset Glow Peak was on fire. Its Flame Vein had been ignited, and flames blazed in every direction.

"Not good!"

Han Yan's old face darkened. He turned and glanced at Jiang Chen, only then realizing the severity of the matter.

He ordered the two disciples to remain where they were and await orders, not to alert the enemy, then turned to seek out the Discipline Hall elder who was in seclusion.

Before long, Discipline Hall Elder Zhong Fuzi arrived as well, travel-worn and covered in dust.

He was a middle-aged man who rarely smiled, with a restrained viciousness on his face. His features seemed chiseled from stone, yet there was nothing handsome about them—only an eerie, terrifying air.

Zhong Fuzi glanced at Jiang Chen, then led everyone to surround Sunset Glow Peak tightly. After setting up an anti-illusion formation, he personally headed toward Liu Ruyan's cave dwelling.

Catching a turtle in a jar!

Jiang Chen instinctively moved farther away from the cave entrance.

Soon, fierce sounds of battle erupted from within the cave dwelling. Spiritual energy and Demonic Flame exploded with a thunderous roar.

In the end, without any surprise, Zhong Fuzi, who possessed late Golden Core Realm cultivation, captured Liu Ruyan alive.

Liu Ruyan appeared remarkably calm.

Amid the blazing firelight, she looked around, yet did not see the extraordinary person capable of breaking her Illusion-Soul Pearl.

Afterward, she was taken to the Discipline Hall for interrogation.

The result of the interrogation was that Liu Ruyan was not of the Devil Race. She claimed that she had merely found a Demon Shrine nearby, and that she had cultivated using Sunset Glow Peak's Flame Vein that night, accidentally igniting the mountain grass.

Jiang Chen had thought he would receive a reward, but he was unexpectedly placed under house arrest by the Discipline Hall as well and questioned over the details of the mountain fire...

After barely muddling through it, Liu Ruyan from next door actually sent her soul out of her body and appeared before him.

"What a handsome mortal...

Don't be afraid. I merely wish to know how a mortal like you learned of my whereabouts.

Capturing me alone is useless. There is more than one Demon Sect spy within the Azure Mist Sect. Aren't you afraid of death?"

Jiang Chen shouted for help.

When the duty disciples came, he told them his life was in danger and hoped the Discipline Hall would send someone to protect him.

No one paid him any attention.

Jiang Chen felt that he was finished.

He could only keep trying to save himself, racking his brains for ways to escape the Discipline Hall, but every attempt ended in failure.

Twelve hours passed, and the first simulation ended.

"The Discipline Hall is truly useless trash!"

Jiang Chen's furious consciousness instantly returned to the cave dwelling.

"This is troublesome."

If what Liu Ruyan said was true, and there was more than one Demon Sect spy within the sect, then no matter how many simulations he underwent, he would have no way to uncover every spy in the sect.

The moment he tipped anyone off, his identity would definitely be exposed. Even if Liu Ruyan did not kill him, the other spies would.

If he left an anonymous note at the Discipline Hall to report them, he would receive no reward. Why not simply leave the sect directly instead?

Since the original storyline had not endangered him, and he could easily leave the sect during the third simulation, Jiang Chen decided:

He needed to change his approach for the second simulation.

Since the Azure Mist Sect's Discipline Hall was too useless, while Demon Sect spies were numerous—the enemy was in the shadows while he stood in the light—if Jiang Chen wanted to seek an opportunity, there was clearly only one path he could take:

Join the enemy!

"Begin the second simulation!"

Jiang Chen directly descended upon Sunset Glow Mountain.

Before Liu Ruyan arrived, he sat cross-legged outside her cave dwelling, posing as a reclusive master.

Using the simulator, he had learned much crucial information about Liu Ruyan in advance. He could try to use it to intimidate her.

Seeing that Liu Ruyan had not entered the cave dwelling according to her original plan, she must have been hiding nearby and observing him.

Thinking this, Jiang Chen said calmly:

"Come out. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

The surroundings were silent as a graveyard, and even the mountain wind had ceased.

Only after a moment did a woman's voice, ethereal as drifting smoke, reach his ears.

"The vast sea is like smoke."

Jiang Chen froze. Only after quite a while did he realize that this was a contact password!

"There is no need to exchange passwords. I am not one of your Demon Sect, yet I do not care for the Azure Mist Sect's ways either. My identity is unimportant. This time, I am willing to help you find the life gate of the sect-protecting formation in exchange for some resources that will allow me to refine Qi."

Only then did Liu Ruyan reveal herself, eyeing Jiang Chen suspiciously.

Jiang Chen's gaze was calm as he swept his eyes over Liu Ruyan.

She was not tall, with a pure and lovely appearance, but her clothes were sheer and seductive... the type who was both innocent and alluring.

Liu Ruyan stared at Jiang Chen as well, her brows furrowed for a long time.

After carefully confirming it, she found that the handsome man before her, clad in the robes of an outer sect disciple, was merely a mortal at the ninth layer of Body Tempering.

But how could a mortal find her, know her plan, and know the formation core of the sect-protecting formation?

He had not even noticed her illusion. His trail up the mountain made it seem as though he had suddenly appeared here out of thin air.

So she asked tentatively:

"Then where is this life gate?"

Jiang Chen replied in a certain tone:

"At the base of Orchid Mound Peak. If you do not believe me, ignite Sunset Glow Peak's Flame Vein and set fire to the mountain as cover, then use the chaos to pinpoint the life gate's exact location."

Liu Ruyan was shocked. This mortal actually knew her plan—could he have another identity?

"Who... exactly are you?"

Jiang Chen smiled indifferently and casually fabricated a believable background. It did not need to be entirely true; it only needed to make her uncertain and prevent her from easily reaching a conclusion.

"You may roughly consider this one to be a former Supreme Elder of the Azure Mist Sect. After failing in a struggle for power, I was killed. My avatar changed dantians and bodies, returning to the Azure Mist Sect as an outer sect disciple for revenge. At present, I need an assistant."

Liu Ruyan was half-convinced and half-doubtful. She did not refute him at once, merely watching Jiang Chen without a word.

Jiang Chen smiled.

"Set it ablaze. Had I not appeared, were you not already planning to burn the mountain?"

Liu Ruyan's heart jolted. Only then was she truly intimidated.

She could only follow her original plan and burn the mountain. Then she entered the cave dwelling and immediately located the base of Orchid Mound Peak.

It truly was where the life gate lay!

A target that had been planned to take her two quarters of an hour to locate had now been confirmed in less than ten breaths...

When Liu Ruyan looked at Jiang Chen again, she only felt that though he was a mortal, his appearance and bearing were extraordinary, carrying a somewhat unworldly aura.

Could he truly be the reincarnation of a previous Supreme Elder?

There was no time to confirm it now. Liu Ruyan destroyed the hidden cave dwelling and led Jiang Chen to settle at the neighboring Little Cricket Peak.

Then she took out a red pill and casually tossed it toward Jiang Chen.

"This is a Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill. Taking it will allow Senior to refine Qi within three days."

Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill!

Jiang Chen was wild with joy inside, but his face remained impassive.

At market price, an ordinary Qi-Refining Pill was worth ten low-grade spirit stones.

A Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill, however, cost ten times as much as an ordinary Qi-Refining Pill.

Though it was not true dragon blood but purple snake blood, its Qi-refining effect was extremely potent.

So long as the taker's talent was not utterly abysmal, taking it would allow them to refine Qi that very day!

He raised his hand to catch it.

Yet he caught nothing.

The Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill was still in Liu Ruyan's right hand.

She withdrew her right hand, then took out a yellow pill with her left and flicked it into Jiang Chen's palm.

"Senior must first take this Word-Spirit Pill, to ensure that you will not speak of anything related to the Demon Sect."

Jiang Chen nodded with a smile.

So there really was a backup measure...

He had once pored over medical books on Stubborn Stone Peak and knew that Word-Spirit Pills had a time limit. So long as one did not violate its restrictions for several years, the medicine's effect would gradually weaken.

Moreover, the Word-Spirit Pill had no tracking function, so it was not much of a problem for him.

Besides, if he did not take the Word-Spirit Pill now, he would have no way to dispel Liu Ruyan's suspicions.

With that thought, he swallowed the Word-Spirit Pill in one gulp without another word.

It tasted slightly cool and rushed straight to his mind, leaving him especially refreshed.

After swallowing the Word-Spirit Pill, Jiang Chen successfully obtained Liu Ruyan's Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill.

His heart was ecstatic, but his expression did not ripple.

"I should remind you of something. The Azure Mist Sect is a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons abound, concealing quite a few mighty experts. The Demon Sect must not greedily rush for merit and ruin everything at the final step. You must make thorough preparations before attacking the mountain."

Liu Ruyan's expression shifted slightly. Unsure whether he spoke truth or falsehood, she clasped her fists briefly and said respectfully:

"Thank you for Senior's reminder."

Jiang Chen nodded.

He felt that he had done all he could for the Azure Mist Sect, so he returned to Stubborn Stone Peak.

He guessed that Liu Ruyan would definitely monitor him all the way and follow him to Stubborn Stone Peak.

Fortunately, he had no secrets to hide. He strode back to his cave dwelling on Stubborn Stone Peak and calmly sat cross-legged in meditation.

Without the slightest delay, he swallowed the Dragonblood Qi-Refining Pill on the spot and attempted to break through!

Vast dragon spiritual power surged like raging waves, washing through his limbs and bones, nourishing his spiritual veins, coursing through his meridians, and cleansing his dantian.

After daybreak.

Jiang Chen slowly opened his eyes. His aura was ethereal, his gaze calm. What his divine sense saw was already a brand-new world.

He had refined Qi!

However, he was still in the simulated state. Refining Qi had not yet become an established fact.

Jiang Chen suppressed his wild joy.

After night fell, he quietly packed his belongings and unhurriedly left the Azure Mist Sect.

He did not go far, settling instead on a barren mountain west of the Azure Mist Sect to watch how events unfolded.

The second simulation ended.

Jiang Chen's divine consciousness returned to the cave dwelling on Stubborn Stone Peak. He said excitedly:

"The small guaranteed reward is in hand. Next, I can go wild for a while!"