The Encirclement Plan

Ye Qingyu sat down with a grin in one of the seven seats in the front row.

Apart from Xuan Mo, Ye Qingyu was the only direct disciple of the six peaks at Qi Refining Great Perfection.

No one had much objection to him taking a seat before Yun Li of Heaven-Soaring Peak.

Once the seven direct disciples of the main peaks had taken their seats in turn, Bai Wuxia, whose heart was wholly devoted to Su Ruanruan, was the first to speak. "Senior Brother Ye, have you seen a female cultivator from the Purple Yang Pill Sect with a green-eyed toad at her side, and a young man of our sect wearing red robes?"

Ye Qingyu tapped his bamboo staff lightly with his fingertips, a smile curving his lips beneath the white gauze covering his eyes.

He knew full well that the two people Bai Wuxia spoke of were Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang.

Su Ruanruan held a grudge against Feng Zhuo, while Ye Qingyu and Nangong Tang were childhood friends who had grown up together. He also knew that Shen Mingxiao and Nangong Tang were at odds.

But he had promised Senior Brother Feng he would help keep it secret, so naturally he pretended he had seen neither of them. "A young man in red robes?"

Ye Qingyu thought back for a moment. "Junior Brother Bai, do you mean Senior Brother Feng from the master-selection ceremony?"

Then, his face full of admiration, he said, "Speaking of red robes, truly, only Senior Brother Feng could cut such a figure in them!"

"Junior Brother Bai, has your heart been all aflutter since you saw Senior Brother Feng that day? And now you've even come to ask me for help."

"What a pity..."

Bai Wuxia hurriedly interrupted him. "Senior Brother, watch your words!"

"The person I admire is a woman! Though Senior Brother Feng's looks are indeed astonishing, but... no, no..."

"Enough!"

Xuan Mo despised frivolous people above all else, and Ye Qingyu's behavior had run straight into his line of fire.

The burly body cultivator frowned and stepped in front of Ye Qingyu. "Junior Brother Ye, mind the occasion! Just say whether you've seen them or not!"

Whenever Ye Qingyu found himself in a situation like this, he liked to play the blind man. He traced light circles on the ground with his bamboo staff. "This poor Daoist is blind. Never mind that I haven't seen them-even if I had, I wouldn't recognize them."

Then how had he spoken so knowledgeably about Senior Brother Feng's looks just now?

Yun Li rubbed the soft fur of the pure white kitten in her arms, her head aching.

Had she known this would happen, she would never have accepted Xuan Mo's message talisman.

Since their falling-out that day, Yun Li had spared Su Ruanruan from death at her own hands only out of regard for their bond as fellow disciples. Why would she be willing to help her hunt down Feng Zhuo?

But Su Ruanruan was remarkably resourceful.

Yun Li looked up and swept her gaze over the people in the tent-Xuan Mo, Xuanfeng, Bai Wuxia...

Apart from the unreliable Ye Qingyu, Su Ruanruan had quietly won over the other direct disciples of the main peaks.

Junior Sister Liu stood on her side, but she had no chance of victory against Xuan Mo at Qi Refinement Great Perfection. How could Yun Li ask Junior Sister Liu to fight Bai Wuxia and Xuanfeng alone?

Yun Li sighed inwardly.

Out of gratitude for Feng Zhuo's help in the past, she had done her utmost to stall them.

But today, Su Ruanruan's patience had run out, and she had forced Yun Li to hand over the sect's assembly Law Artifact.

The only thing Yun Li could do now was pray that Feng Zhuo would not show himself of his own accord.

Su Ruanruan could tell that Ye Qingyu was unwilling to help. Though she knew the story and was well aware of Nangong Tang's friendship with him, she did not dare reveal it now.

After all, everything she knew about Nangong Tang had come from the book. Even for her name, Su Ruanruan had claimed she had learned it from Shen Mingxiao.

If she rashly revealed a secret that even Shen Mingxiao did not know, wouldn't she be inviting suspicion for nothing?!

Su Ruanruan had been willing to wait for Ye Qingyu to return before carrying out the encirclement plan only because she hoped the blind man, unaware of the truth, would unwittingly reveal Nangong Tang's whereabouts.

Although the claim that they had "colluded to poison her" was entirely a lie she had made up, she believed-

Since Nangong Tang had contracted the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine in the original story, the plot's ability to repair itself meant that she would inevitably encounter Feng Zhuo.

That was why Su Ruanruan had slandered Nangong Tang along with him, even though she had never met her.

Su Ruanruan looked down at her scar-covered arms and recalled the ghastly face beneath her veil. A flash of ruthlessness passed through her eyes.

As the direct disciple of the Poison Barrier Forest's master, Nangong Tang's skill in poison was far beyond that of anyone among these two hundred disciples.

The shocking wounds on Su Ruanruan's body would all serve as the best evidence.

What was more...

Why should I worry about someone who'll die in the secret realm before long in the original story?

Su Ruanruan sneered inwardly. Once she's dead, there'll be no one to refute me. Won't I be free to say whatever I like?

More importantly, if she could take this opportunity to get information about the ancient cultivator's cave abode out of Nangong Tang...

As for Feng Zhuo, she was in no hurry.

The Green Wood Illusion Forest was vast, and these Qi Refining Stage disciples could not use Divine Sense to search, so finding him was indeed a laborious task.

But as long as they guarded the secret realm's exit, or got Senior Brother Chu to act...

"What a pity..."

Su Ruanruan glanced at Ye Qingyu, who was still dealing with Xuan Mo, and secretly gritted her teeth.

The blind man had clearly sensed that something was amiss. Even if he knew where Nangong Tang was, he probably would not tell them the truth.

"Senior Brother Mo, there's only half a month left before the secret realm closes. Since Senior Brother Ye doesn't know where Senior Brother Feng is, we'd better make plans early."

If she could not obtain the antidote, her Dao Path would end here, yet there was not a trace of dejection on Junior Sister Su's face!

Xuan Mo admired Su Ruanruan all the more. "Junior Sister Su! Why are you still calling that fellow Senior Brother?"

"Even if he is from the Feng Household of the Western Region, that gives him no reason to collude with an outsider to poison you for no cause! Once we find him, I'll take it upon myself to cripple his cultivation for you, then beg the sect master to expel him from the sect!"

"Senior Brother Mo, you mustn't!"

Su Ruanruan rejoiced inwardly. Even if you're the protagonist of the original book, how could you possibly beat me when I know how the plot unfolds?!

"The Feng Household is the foremost Aristocratic Clan in the Western Region. If you really cripple Feng Zhuo's cultivation, Senior Brother Mo, I'm afraid it will be difficult to answer for it back at the sect!"

Xuan Mo said, "It's only the foremost Aristocratic Clan in the Western Region. The Supreme One Divine Sect is one of the six great top sects of the Central Continent. Why should it fear the foremost Aristocratic Clan from some backwater?! I doubt it even measures up to my Xuan Household!"

When Yun Li heard this, she sneered inwardly. He was an utter fool.

The Profound Firmament Continent was indeed divided into the Central Continent and the four regions, but no one had ever said outright that the four regions were subordinate to the Central Continent. The Central Continent was simply vast, and sects rather than Aristocratic Clans held sway there.

Xuan Mo came from the Xuan Household, a first-rate Aristocratic Clan of the Central Continent, but compared with the Supreme One Divine Sect, it was a minor sorcerer before a great one, no different from an ordinary second-rate sect.

How could he possibly know what the foremost Aristocratic Clans of the four regions were capable of?

Cloud Palace in the Eastern Region, Perching Phoenix in the Western Region, Heavenly Pivot in the Southern Region, and Azure Deep in the Northern Region.

The Feng Household's Perching Phoenix Clan was a great clan that stood leagues above every other clan in the Western Region. It might be slightly inferior to the six great sects, but it could still lock arms with them. It was by no means comparable to a mere first-rate Aristocratic Clan of the Central Continent.

Yun Li had thought that the Xuan Household having two members enter the Supreme One Divine Sect as direct disciples of the main peaks within the past century would be bad for her Yun Household. Now it seemed there was nothing to fear!

The direct disciples from the Western Region seated below had already gone deathly pale.

The senior brothers and sisters of the main peaks seated above had never told them that the person they were to hunt down was from the Feng Household of the Western Region!

If he was only from a branch family, that would be one thing, but if he was from the main family...

The same thought occurred to them all: the only member of the Feng Household's main family close to their age was Feng Qingge's only son, of the Perching Phoenix Clan's grand elder's line!

If he really was the son of that killing star...

The moment the thought arose, the Western Region disciples shuddered and each made up their minds.

They must never take part in this hunt!

If they truly could not get out of it, they would have to disguise themselves and cover their faces. They absolutely could not let Feng Zhuo see what they really looked like!

The disciples from the other three regions might not know who Feng Qingge was, but they all knew that the foremost Aristocratic Clan of the Western Region was not to be trifled with.

The disciples from the Central Continent, meanwhile, split into two camps.

Those ignorant of the situation were stirred up by Xuan Mo's words, while those who knew the truth, like Yun Li, watched coldly as the fool courted death.

Fortunately, quite a few people saw reason and would not sentence Feng Zhuo to death based on Su Ruanruan's side of the story alone.

In the end, Su Ruanruan took only a group of disciples who had volunteered to participate and joined up with the people from the Purple Yang Pill Sect.

After discussing it, they decided to spend ten days searching the secret realm for traces of Feng Zhuo and Nangong Tang.

If they still could not find them, they would spend the final five days guarding the secret realm's exit, waiting by the stump for a rabbit.