SFS Chapter 1729 A Rare Opportunity?
Chapter 1729 A Rare Opportunity?
Before the celestial mirror.
Jin Man witnessed Lin Yi's entire operation.
"You're quite cautious, using the Shadow Guard's Dispersion Ink." Jin Man sneered. "Unfortunately, you don't know that this Celestial Mirror can even capture the most subtle spiritual energy traces."
She briefly explained the situation to Mingchuan.
"The message has been sent, via Liu Qiao. The content is basically consistent with your prediction," Jin Man transmitted telepathically.
“Very good.” Mingchuan’s voice came. “Let Liu Qiao get out smoothly. The letter must reach Su Hongzhen. Also, add something to Liu Qiao’s package so that the guarding disciple accidentally discovers some insignificant contraband, scolds him, and then lets him go. That will make it more believable.”
"clear."
Jinman immediately transmitted her voice to Jizhou, who was patrolling near the mountain gate, and whispered a few words to him.
……
At the mountain gate.
Liu Qiao, carrying his bundle, walked nervously toward the exit.
Today, the sect is on alert, so he didn't want to go out. However, a few days ago, he received a request from an inner sect senior brother to help him purchase a batch of specific ink phosphorus powder from the market.
Those are auxiliary materials for drawing certain talismans. They are not particularly valuable, but the sect's warehouse is temporarily out of stock.
The pay was good, and Liu Qiao couldn't bear to turn it down.
"Stop." The disciple on duty stopped him. "Name, affiliation, reason for going out."
"Senior brother, I am Liu Qiao, an outer disciple from the Bingzi District." Liu Qiao quickly smiled apologetically. "I was entrusted by Senior Brother Li from Dange to purchase some ink phosphorus powder at the market outside the mountain. This is Senior Brother Li's token and purchase list."
He handed over the token and the jade slip.
The disciple on duty checked the token and list, nodded, and then looked at his package: "Open it and take a look."
Liu Qiao opened the package as instructed. Inside were several spiritual herbs, dozens of low-grade spirit stones, a water pouch, some dry food, and a special spirit stone bag for purchasing ink powder given by Senior Brother Li.
The disciple on duty scanned the area briefly with his divine sense, found nothing unusual, and was about to wave him through.
Just then, another disciple on duty suddenly walked over; he was someone secretly arranged by Jizhou.
"Wait a minute." The disciple picked up the few spiritual herbs from the package, examined them carefully, and frowned. "This Mist-Concealing Grass was harvested incorrectly; the roots are damaged, and most of its medicinal properties have been lost. And... why is there some Bone-Eating Vine sap on it? Don't you know that Bone-Eating Vine has a slight toxicity and is strictly forbidden from being mixed with other untreated spiritual herbs?"
Liu Qiao's face turned pale: "I...I didn't know, Senior Brother! I picked this Mist-Concealing Grass myself in our sect's secret realm. I might have accidentally bumped into the Bone-Corroding Vine...I'll definitely be more careful next time!"
"Hmph! What did you learn about the sect's rules? This time, considering it's your first offense and the amount of sap from the Bone-Eating Vine is extremely small, you won't be severely punished. However, these Mist-Concealing Grasses must be confiscated and disposed of to prevent contamination of other spiritual herbs. In addition, you will be fined five low-grade spirit stones as a warning to others!" the disciple said sternly.
"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for your magnanimity, Senior Brother!" Liu Qiao paid the fine with a heavy heart, looking at the confiscated Mist-Concealing Grass, feeling like crying. Those few plants could have been sold for two or three spirit stones.
After this interruption, the disciple on duty lost his focus and waved his hand, saying, "Hurry up and go, you must be back before dark!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Liu Qiao felt as if he had been granted a pardon, picked up his bundle, and strode out of the mountain gate.
He didn't notice at all that, in the chaos just now, the innermost layer of his protective covering, a folded piece of paper with almost no spiritual energy fluctuations, remained unharmed.
……
Two hours later, in a hidden cave on the outskirts of the Black Wind Mountains.
Liu Qiao carefully packed the purchased phosphorus powder and was preparing to return home when he suddenly felt that the package seemed a little lighter than when he arrived.
He opened the inspection box with a puzzled look, and there it was: spirit stones, water pouches, dry rations, ink powder...
But I always feel like something's missing.
“Strange…” He scratched his head, not thinking much of it, assuming he was just imagining things.
Shortly after he left, a dark figure drifted into the cave like a ghost. After searching carefully for a moment where Liu Qiao had just stood, it pulled out a folded letter from a crevice in a rock.
The shadowy figure unfolded the letter, and after reading its contents, a glint of light flashed in its eyes. Then, a wisp of blue flame ignited at its fingertips, burning the letter to ashes.
"Mingchuan is seriously injured... the sect is vulnerable... they intend to launch a joint attack..." the shadowy figure muttered to himself. "It seems Shadow Seven has succeeded. We must report to the sect leader immediately!"
He flickered and disappeared outside the cave.
……
Qingcheng Imperial Dharma Sect, underground secret hall.
Su Hongzhen looked at the dark figure kneeling below who had just finished reporting. His face first showed shock, then turned into ecstasy, and finally twisted into a ferocious resentment.
"Mingchuan brat... seriously injured? Hahaha! Heaven is on my side! It really is heaven on my side!" He laughed loudly, his laughter echoing in the secret hall, filled with the pleasure of revenge.
But soon, his laughter stopped abruptly, his eyes flashing with cold light: "He actually dared to secretly join forces with other sects to try and deal with me? Good! Very good!"
He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth like a trapped beast.
"The seal of the Demon Abyss is weakening rapidly and will collapse completely in a day or two at most. With Mingchuan seriously injured and the Wanchuan Sect vulnerable, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
He stopped, a ruthless look on his face: "We can't give him a chance to breathe! We must make the Demon Abyss erupt completely before he unites with other sects! When the demonic energy engulfs Wanchuan Sect, Mingchuan will either die in the mouth of the demons or exhaust his last bit of energy to seal them. In any case, he's doomed!"
As for the other sects, facing the fully unleashed Demon Abyss, they were barely able to protect themselves, let alone have the mind to stand up for him.
He looked at the shadowy figure: "Pass down the order! Deploy all the stored Earth Fire Melting Marrow and Formation Breaking Shuttles. You will personally lead the team, along with three elders and twenty Foundation Establishment elites, to Black Wind Valley immediately!"
"The Earth Fire Melting Marrow can greatly stimulate the activity of demonic energy, and the Formation-Breaking Shuttle can temporarily tear apart the sealing nodes! You will infiltrate the vicinity of the Demon Abyss and, regardless of the cost, completely blast open the seal in the shortest possible time!"
"Remember! Act swiftly! Act ruthlessly! At all costs! I want to see the wrath of the Demon Abyss burn the Wan Chuan Sect to ashes!"
The shadowy figure was startled: "Sect Master, the Earth Fire Melting Marrow and the Formation-Breaking Shuttle are strategic reserves of the sect. Using so many, and with all the Core Formation elders coming out... won't the sect be left vulnerable? What if..."
"There's no room for 'what ifs'!" Su Hongzhen interrupted sharply. "As long as Mingchuan dies and the Wanchuan Sect is destroyed, who in the Spirit Realm would dare to touch my Qingcheng Yufa Sect? Go and do it now!"
"...Yes!" The shadowy figure dared not say another word and left to carry out the order.
In the secret hall, only Su Hongzhen remained.
He walked to a water mirror, looked at his face distorted by excitement and resentment, and murmured, "Mingchuan... Cang Ziang... I will make you die without a burial place! I will make your sect pay with its life!"
He could almost see the overwhelming demonic energy, the destruction of the Wanchuan Sect, and Mingchuan dying in despair.
However, he was unaware that everything he was doing was stepping into a carefully woven trap by Mingchuan.
Meanwhile, in a distant sacred realm, in a palace responsible for monitoring abnormal fluctuations in the lower realm, the pointer on a huge compass, representing the Black Wind Mountain region of the Spirit Realm, was slowly turning from pale yellow to a dazzling deep red.
A white-robed cultivator on duty frowned, recorded the fluctuation data, and got up to walk towards the inner hall.
"Reporting to the Steward, the energy disorder index in the Demon Abyss Sealed Zone of the Black Wind Mountains in the Spirit Realm has risen sharply, reaching a high-risk level, and shows a continuing upward trend. It is suspected that the seal is collapsing at an accelerated pace, or there may be external human intervention!"