Chapter 1420: Front Unaware of the Tent's Meaning, Rear Realizing the Divine Strategy

"Are they all bad news? Does the order even matter?”

Jin Ren manipulated his portrait clone, rolling his eyes all the way back.

Long Xing Zhi Ling said no more and waved its claw, projecting a scene.

It showed the ruined battlefield of Zhong Yuan Jie, where Tian Ren Wu Sui and his semi-saint Xue Shi Zhu were saying something.

Soon after, a bridge of stars formed in the distance.

The principles of Tian Ji emerged, and Dao Qiong Cang suddenly appeared, pointing a finger that shattered Tian Ren Wu Sui’s mask.

Beneath the mask, there should have been a human face.

But at the critical moment, it transformed into a massive black vortex.

The vortex erupted with terrifying suction, instantly devouring all the energy in the surrounding world.

This included parts of the Dead Sea energy under Tian Ren Wu Sui’s feet, the star bridge in the sky, and the Tian Ji principles that had sealed his own saintly power.

“As expected, it’s the body of devouring… Why not hide it anymore?”

From the perspective in the scene, Jin Ren read the mocking words from Dao Qiong Cang’s lip movements.

Tian Ren Wu Sui didn’t waste a single word.

After using his devouring power to consume the restraints on his body, he fled like avoiding a plague, without even a thought of fighting back. He turned into a wisp of Death God power and merged into the rules of the Great Dao to escape.

Dao Qiong Cang gazed deeply into the distance but chose not to pursue.

Instead, he meaningfully moved the two fingers that had just shattered Tian Ren Wu Sui’s mask and brushed them under his nose.

The Tian Ji spirit that Jin Ren had seen on Void Island leaped out from behind Dao Qiong Cang.

Without even needing to see the scene, Jin Ren knew the first line would be: “Old Dao, old Dao…”

Dao Qiong Cang’s lips moved as if saying something.

This time, Jin Ren couldn’t make out his lip movements.

But Long Xing Zhi Ling suddenly spoke: “Prepare for the Great God Descent Technique.”

The people in Xing Jie were stunned and continued watching the scene.

In the projection, Tian Ren Wu Sui, who had just escaped into the Death Great Dao, suddenly reappeared.

His body was bloated!

His robe was torn, like a balloon about to burst from the energy inside!

The surrounding space and principles shattered simultaneously, and even the entire Zhong Yuan Jie fell into a bizarre spatial distortion!

In silence, the scene shook.

Dao Qiong Cang stopped his actions.

The Tian Ji spirit also halted, its little face full of regret.

The people in Xing Jie watched in shock, exchanging glances and seeing how pale each other’s faces had become.

“The semi-saint of Yan Wang, Tian Ren Wu Sui, self-destructed…”

Li Fu Gui murmured to himself, his pupils still reflecting the shock.

The struggle between semi-saints left him both confused and terrified.

But it was just that the Dao Palace Master had gained the upper hand—why was Tian Ren Wu Sui so desperate to self-destruct suddenly?

A semi-saint self-destructing…

Li Fu Gui could already imagine that the entire Zhong Yuan Jie might be destroyed along with it!

“No.”

He snapped out of it.

The Dao Palace Master was right there!

Perhaps the shockwave of the semi-saint’s self-destruction wouldn’t affect many people.

Because the Dao Palace Master must have anticipated the extreme consequences and prepared in advance to contain the explosion.

“Did Tian Ren Wu Sui just die like that?”

It took Jin Ren a while to squeeze out that sentence, still in disbelief.

“Not necessarily.”

Li Fu Gui shook his head and analyzed seriously:

“Although refining a semi-saint clone in just a month is impossible for most semi-saints…”

“But from what we saw, Tian Ren Wu Sui of Yan Wang is a body of devouring… He achieved semi-sainthood last month and, at a certain cost, could refine a semi-saint clone.”

“So, after self-destructing, he has only two paths to survival!”

“One is to rebirth in some unknown place, piecing together his divine soul and restoring his body, then regathering his previous strength. This could take years, even decades, essentially ruining him—he’d be left behind by this era.”

“Two, he has a semi-saint clone prepared. Like a lizard shedding its tail, he could revive in the clone as a fallback… I think the latter is more likely.”

After hearing this, Jin Ren felt his head spinning.

So, Tian Ren Wu Sui was just touched once and chose to self-destruct his main body, abandoning all his treasures just to escape?

“Why?”

Jin Ren knew Tian Ren Wu Sui had major secrets.

But from this scene, those secrets were no longer secrets to Dao Qiong Cang.

What forced him to self-destruct was Dao Qiong Cang’s final technique.

“What is the Great God Descent Technique?”

As the doubt arose, in the fading scene, Dao Qiong Cang, who had been gazing into the distance, suddenly…

He turned his head!

“Damn!”

Jin Ren was startled.

Fortunately, Long Xing Zhi Ling trembled and quickly waved its claw, shattering the scene.

“Damn it!”

“Why did you show me this?”

“Couldn’t you just watch it yourself and explain it to me?”

Jin Ren was both shocked and angry, almost making his portrait clone attack Long Xing Zhi Ling, but he remembered in time that this was the Ancestral Tree, a senior.

In the final moment, that flashy old Dao must have sensed something…

Maybe he saw that someone was spying?

Long Xing Zhi Ling looked a bit embarrassed; it had thought showing it together would be easier than explaining, but now it felt a bit afraid.

“The Ancestral Tree has heart connection; this scene was transmitted by the Blood Tree through the Xue Shi Zhu.”

Long Xing Zhi Ling averted its eyes and looked elsewhere.

Blood Tree?

The Seven Trees Great Emperor?

What did this mean? Why did the Seven Trees Great Emperor send this scene…

Jin Ren’s first reaction was that the detestable Xue Shi Zhu was trying to harm him.

After a pause, he felt it might be Tian Ren Wu Sui seeking help?

No, it was an illusion!

The root of calamity, the guide of death… This was definitely the Xue Shi Zhu up to no good.

“Then, can that old Dao see through to us in Xing Jie?”

Jin Ren asked.

Long Xing Zhi Ling shook its head firmly, paused, then shook it slightly again.

“Can’t he?”

Jin Ren hoped.

“Not sure.”

Long Xing Zhi Ling answered honestly; it couldn’t quite understand that human with his tricky methods.

“Then you might as well not say anything!”

Jin Ren felt that Long Xing’s words were as useless as fart—stinky and pointless. He turned to look at the all-knowing Li Fu Gui.

“Uh, this is a bit tricky for me, young master…”

Li Fu Gui hesitated, then said carefully:

“Maybe the Dao Palace Master did sense someone spying.”

“But the strength of Tian Ji masters lies in their preparations. On Sheng Shen Continent, he probably would have seen it.”

“As for this world, the Dao Palace Master probably hasn’t been here, right? Maybe he can’t see through it?”

Jin Ren thought it over and found some sense in that.

If that old Dao were that all-seeing, he should have turned back right away.

But he only glanced back just before the scene vanished, and his gaze seemed unfocused…

“Disgusting.”

Jin Ren felt nauseated.

Tian Ji masters were truly stomach-turning.

But he quickly let it go…

So what if he saw? Getting glanced at by that flashy old Dao wouldn’t make him pregnant, right?

“Next time, don’t show any scenes involving that person. It makes me want to vomit.”

Jin Ren said to Long Xing Zhi Ling.

Long Xing Zhi Ling just nodded its proud dragon head.

As the Ancestral Tree, even if it knew it had messed up, it wouldn’t apologize.

Putting aside the distractions, Jin Ren soon focused back on the various Tian Ji techniques Dao Qiong Cang had displayed.

“How many of the Tian Ji Thirty-Six Styles do you know?”

He asked Li Fu Gui.

Li Fu Gui took a deep breath and said solemnly:

“This is the strongest technique Dao Qiong Cang refined from his lifetime of knowledge—the thirty-six Tian Ji techniques, drawing from all schools and encompassing every path.”

“In his view, Tian Ji techniques are on par with paths like Refining Spirit Dao or Ancient Sword Techniques. They can mimic the various attributes of Refining Spirit through indirect means.”

“For example, the Great Teleportation Technique uses the principles of spirit arrays to replicate teleportation power, mimicking effects similar to spatial attributes. It’s not limited to the user and can teleport others or objects.”

“The Great Imprisonment Technique draws from the Dead Sea and includes banishment power, somewhat like a sealing attribute, but conceptually different—it imprisons people or objects in a ‘bottle,’ which could be anything.”

“Then there’s the Great Execution Technique, one of the few Tian Ji techniques focused solely on direct offensive power, abandoning other support abilities. Its destructive force… well, it can be considered great or not, since Tian Ji masters’ direct combat strength is weaker compared to their tricky attributes.”

After a pause, Li Fu Gui sighed, “The Tian Ji Thirty-Six Styles cover a wide range, including everything… I only know these three.”

“What about the Great God Descent Technique?”

Jin Ren pressed; this was the key, the one that forced the semi-saint to self-destruct!

Li Fu Gui knew Jin Ren would ask about this and replied helplessly:

“For the auxiliary Tian Ji Thirty-Six Styles, Hua Cao Ge has records and studies on those we’ve seen, but we haven’t fully deciphered many—they’re relatively ordinary ones.”

“As for the stronger, more mysterious techniques, he keeps them hidden. Outsiders can’t know them; anyone who’s seen them has either been captured or killed.”

How sneaky!

Jin Ren scratched his armpit, feeling uncomfortable all over.

He had “Textile Mastery,” which would make it easiest to see through the essence.

But Dao Qiong Cang’s Tian Ji Thirty-Six Styles were basically pre-encapsulated, with only the visual effects shown—that was just the surface.

The inner essence, the core Tian Ji arrays, were all hidden.

The exposed Tian Ji Dao patterns were just interference information, easily read by Textile Techniques.

This made it impossible to trace back to the essence and replicate his techniques…

One had to admit, that flashy old Dao was great at protecting his secrets!

After pondering in silence for a while and sorting out his thoughts, Jin Ren looked at Long Xing Zhi Ling:

“What do you think? Why did the Seven Trees Great Emperor send this scene to you—was it Tian Ren Wu Sui’s idea or the Xue Shi Zhu’s?”

Long Xing Zhi Ling twisted its body, not wanting to get involved in outside affairs. It only cared about whether Xing Jie was safe and if sleeping in Shen Nong Medicine Garden was comfortable.

It casually summoned a Yin Branch from the Blood Tree in Xing Jie, infused it with a bit of power, and tossed it to Xu Xiao Shou.

“Take this. If necessary, you can contact the Blood Tree and that Orange Person.”

“As for your question, ask them yourself.”

What a slacker!

Shameful!

You’re the Ancestral Tree!

Why not learn from the Blood Tree? Even trapped on the inner island, it’s still struggling and trying to influence Sheng Shen Continent…

And you? You’re just embarrassing the Nine Great Ancestral Trees!

“Thank you, senior.”

Jin Ren controlled his portrait clone, trying hard to keep his expression in check, and asked, “What’s the second bad news?”

As for Tian Ren Wu Sui? Jin Ren had already let it go.

Even if he wanted to contact him, his main body probably wouldn’t allow it.

After all, that one was still a body of decay; getting too involved could cause trouble.

Long Xing Zhi Ling glanced at the two in front of it and noticed a cat and a weasel peeking from a spatial rift nearby. It said gravely:

“Sheng Shen Continent has another Saint Emperor.”

For a moment, Jin Ren didn’t react to what Long Xing Zhi Ling was saying, until he saw Li Fu Gui’s face turn to horror.

“A Saint Emperor?”

“Who? Who became a Saint Emperor?”

Long Xing Zhi Ling shook its head slightly and uttered one word before retreating into Shen Nong Medicine Garden:

“Sword.”

An ancient sword cultivator became a Saint Emperor?

Jin Ren felt a mix of joy—had Ba Zun An stood up?

But soon he deflated; that was impossible. If Ba Zun An had become a Saint Emperor, the momentum would have been earth-shaking.

He might have directly spatial leaped to Xing Jie to revive his main body and charge straight to Sheng Mountain.

If not Ba Zun An, then who?

The word “sword” pointed to the Seven Sword Immortals for Xu Xiao Shou.

Of course, it couldn’t be the new Seven Sword Immortals—they were all too inexperienced, including himself. It had to be the previous generation.

“Si Ren mister is impossible.”

“You Tu old man is missing, alive or dead, no news at all—probably gone…”

“Gou Wu Yue is at most a semi-saint; I killed Rao Ai Ke.”

“Feng Ting Chen is unclear, but he probably wouldn’t be that bold. The tree that stands out gets cut down; he should understand that…”

Who else was left?

Jin Ren’s mind short-circuited for a moment; he felt he’d listed all the Seven Sword Immortals.

Li Fu Gui seemed to think the same and slapped his forehead. “Wen Jian Xian?”

Oh, right, there was Wen Ting… Jin Ren remembered him, but his impression wasn’t deep.

“Wen Jian Xian? That’s impossible, right?” Li Fu Gui was doubtful. “He’s always been so low-key…”

After hearing that, Jin Ren’s expression froze.

If they were talking about being low-key or “forgotten,” besides Wen Ting, there was another one:

Hua Chang Deng!

Whether for Jin Ren or his main body, their understanding of him and Wen Ting was about the same—just superficial.

They knew he specialized in Ghost Sword Techniques, but nothing else.

However!

This guy was Ba Zun An’s lifelong enemy.

At least, based on the outcome, the wound on Ba Zun An’s neck and the two broken fingers were all thanks to him.

“Hua…”

Li Fu Gui also thought of something, his voice growing heavy. “Yue Bei Hua Rao Dao?”

This was the most likely!

And if it was Hua Chang Deng, it made sense.

He wouldn’t face suppression from other Saint Emperors because he was from one of the Five Great Saint Emperor families, with a smooth path ahead.

“No wonder it’s bad news…”

Jin Ren scoffed lightly, feeling irritated.

His main body’s breakthrough speed was already fast, but the geniuses on this continent were still keeping up, even pulling further ahead.

Who the hell was cheating here?

“Forget about it.”

Shaking off the unpleasant thoughts, Jin Ren figured Saint Emperors should deal with Saint Emperors. Even if Hua Chang Deng became one, Ba Zun An should be the one worrying.

Jin Ren turned to Li Fu Gui and got back to business: “You mentioned earlier, what happened to Xiang Yi?”

Li Fu Gui quickly composed himself and recounted everything that had happened outside after Jin Ren had fallen unconscious.

This included seeing Dao Qiong Cang personally act in Yu Jing City, wiping out You Gui Ge and capturing Xiang Yi.

And how Wang Ze Saint Emperor had pointed out, trying to kill the semi-saint Ye Xiao Tian, but Ye Xiao Tian escaped to the Four Symbols Secret Realm for help, alarming Saint Emperor Bai Long.

After listening, Jin Ren was left silent.

Every single thing had escalated to the level of semi-saints and Saint Emperors—what could a minor portrait clone like him do?

Besides, why would Wang Ze go after Ye Xiao Tian?

Shouldn’t all his hatred be directed at them? Going after Ye Xiao Tian was like scratching an itch through a boot—pointless even if he succeeded!

Li Fu Gui didn’t dwell on that and continued, informing Jin Ren of his intentions:

“After visiting You Gui Ge a few times, I secretly met Xiang Yi and left a way to contact me.”

“She must be completely out of options, or she wouldn’t reach out to someone as unreliable as me—a coachman who only vaguely revealed his identity.”

“In other words, if young master doesn’t step in…”

Li Fu Gui hesitated.

“Xiang Yi will die?”

Jin Ren finished the thought.

Li Fu Gui pondered for a moment and said seriously: “As long as Shen Yi is alive, Xiang Yi won’t die!”

“Then why do I need to go out?”

Jin Ren smiled. “Xiang Yi has someone protecting her; I’m not her man.”

Li Fu Gui wanted to say more but stopped, unsure if Jin Ren was playing dumb or really was.

“Say it.”

Jin Ren dropped the smile.

“Young master should know that as long as they have leverage, capturing Xiang Yi means controlling Shen Yi. And with Dao Qiong Cang’s methods, Shen Yi probably won’t be able to get involved ever again.”

So, Sheng Nu loses a major fighter? Jin Ren nodded silently.

“But that’s not the worst outcome. The worst is, if Shen Yi ends up being used by Sheng Shen Hall…”

Jin Ren was startled; he hadn’t thought of that.

“Dao Qiong Cang has Tian Ji techniques but lacks the strongest research subjects…”

“The Saint Emperor Bei Shi has ghost beasts but needs the most powerful ghost beast host…”

Li Fu Gui laid it out clearly, making one’s heart sink:

“Whether willingly or not…”

“When Shen Yi falls into Dao Qiong Cang’s hands, being sidelined would be the best case. If he rejoins, he could become our enemy.”

“And they wouldn’t even need those methods I mentioned. If I were Dao Qiong Cang, I could win him over through psychological manipulation.”

“By then, Shen Yi might hold back against Ba Zun An, but he’d have no issue dealing with anyone else.”

Jin Ren felt a chill down his back.

Exactly! That big bald guy was just a brute, a general but not a strategist. If Ba Zun An could use him, why couldn’t Dao Qiong Cang?

Emotions could be cultivated, or brainwashed, especially for someone not too bright.

And with that sly old Dao’s schemes, plus Xiang Yi in his hands…

It was entirely possible that Shen Yi could suddenly show up in Xing Jie and punch him!

“So, what’s your take?”

Jin Ren gave Li Fu Gui a deep look and pulled over a small rattan stool for this unassuming coachman.

Li Fu Gui was flattered and waved his hands, not daring to sit:

“I’m just sharing some observations from an outsider’s perspective; I wouldn’t dare suggest anything…”

After speaking, his face grew serious as he stared at Jin Ren:

“Young master should easily see that Dao Qiong Cang is doing this to force you to act!”

Jin Ren sighed; how could he not know?

When he heard Li Fu Gui say Xiang Yi was in trouble, he immediately used the Saint Emperor Dragon Scale to foresee his own safety because he’d thought of this.

So…

Was there no other choice?

He had to act, or keep acting?

“What about Sheng Nu’s side?”

Jin Ren asked. “What did Ba Zun An say?”

“Ba Zun An’s preparations were actually quite thorough; Ye Ban Sheng was just a backup to the backups.”

“Not to mention others, after Cen Qiao Fu becomes a saint, he can hold back the rest. The Yi Ban Sheng Shui Gui can counter Dao Qiong Cang.”

“They don’t even need to counter him fully…”

Li Fu Gui chuckled.

“If Shui Gui is still around, Dao Qiong Cang wouldn’t dare enter the game personally… it’s not about fear, but that he simply couldn’t.”

“It’s a delicate balance. With Shui Gui there, he can restrain many semi-saints at once; no one wants to be the first to move against him.”

“But Dao Qiong Cang broke this with external force.”

“He’s acting so boldly now, targeting Xiang Yi, because he calculated that Sheng Nu is short on people right now.”

Exactly…

If Shui Gui were still around, Dao Qiong Cang entering the game would drop him from a player to a piece on the board.

Void Island was a lesson learned!

And replacing him with someone else might not match a water-type Yi.

Among Yi Ban Sheng, Shui Gui was different from Ye Xiao Tian— he was a sly, cunning old schemer, using any means necessary.

Even his own son could be a pawn; after being beheaded multiple times and humiliated from all sides, he still stayed silent, just waiting for that final venomous strike. What wouldn’t he do?

Unless it was someone at the Ten Venerables level, any semi-saint from Sheng Shen Hall sent out would probably just be cannon fodder.

With Ai Cang Sheng held back by Shen Yi…

In that case, it was better for everyone to hold back, maintaining the restraint on Shui Gui’s arbitrary actions.

Thus, this strange and delicate balance formed.

But with Ran Ming ruins emerging, the balance shattered!

Sheng Shen Hall was pulled in, but Sheng Nu suffered more.

Cen Qiao Fu vanished before becoming a saint, and Shui Gui just made a brief appearance, showed off, and got dragged in.

Ba Zun An was probably headache-ridden now.

Oh, right, and Ye Xiao Tian… Jin Ren’s pupils contracted as he realized with growing horror.

Oh, you sly old Dao, you’re truly cunning!

On the surface, using Wang Ze Saint Emperor to tie up Ye Xiao Tian, but actually striking at Sheng Gong to prevent figures like Mu Lin from secretly aiding Sheng Nu?

It probably also suppressed all the negative fallout from a Saint Emperor acting on Sheng Shen Continent, forcing Sheng Gong and the other semi-saint families to swallow their anger and wait for the war to end before reconciling.

And it genuinely eliminated Ba Zun An’s backup, leaving him with no one to use, even if it meant overkill.

“Hiss!”

Jin Ren inhaled sharply upon realizing this.

One move, three gains—he could only think that the wall was eight feet high, but the Dao was ten feet tall.

Sheng Shen Continent was truly Dao Qiong Cang’s main battlefield; he’d even factored in and used Ran Ming ruins.

But that was unavoidable.

After all, Sheng Shen Hall’s control over Sheng Shen Continent was definitely stronger than Sheng Nu’s.

As evidenced by how his main body didn’t even know that this was already in Bei Huai’s pocket when he was invited to find Saint Emperor Qi Lin.

Now, it seemed…

“Is this a dead end?”

Jin Ren also got himself a small rattan chair and sat with Li Fu Gui in front of the Crystal Palace, scratching his head in confusion.

He suddenly thought of Hua Chang Deng becoming a Saint Emperor…

It had to be him, right?

And this probably wasn’t part of the sly old Dao’s schemes.

“Mm.”

Li Fu Gui nodded and shook his head: “It is, and it isn’t.”

“Oh? How so?”

“I thought about this in advance and asked Sheng Nu’s side for their view. Ba Zun An said one thing.”

“What was it?”

Xu Xiao Shou’s eyes lit up; as expected of you, old Ba—you have a solution?

Li Fu Gui’s expression turned strange, and he stood up, not daring to sit on the chair anymore, bowing as he said:

“Ba Zun An said, young master, you are the key to breaking the situation.”