Master of Strange Dao

As long as he rashly did something, there was the possibility of exposing himself.

Once exposed, he would undoubtedly die.

After pondering for a while, this time Tong Weishun and an eunuch incarnation disguised as him went out together.

The purpose was to lure out the people from Jinlan Mountain, to have them actively discover them, and then to turn the tables, allowing the eunuch incarnation to die at the hands of the people from Jinlan Mountain in a very reasonable way.

There was a high probability that Tong Weishun would also die in the process.

At that time, they would conveniently have some minor incarnations die at the same time.

That would feign that all his incarnations were dead.

The people of Jinlan Mountain would then have no reason to cause trouble, and with so many Ninth Tier powers and forces out there, they could hardly afford to offend everyone by saying they no longer cared about the Dadui Seal.

The past events would be turned over, and the following matters could commence.

He could sit back and wait for the return of Dadui.

This was already the most ideal outcome inferred under previous circumstances.

There were losses, significant ones, but the outcome was acceptable.

However, in the current situation, after he calmed down, he didn't rush to seek revenge or take care of other matters.

Still contemplating, he focused on how to achieve his subsequent goals.

His own losses were immense, and Emperor Qian was also dissatisfied with him— the recent rise of the Jinyiwei Commander was the most direct indicator.

Emperor Qian probably realized he had great selfishness and ambition, but these were actually not important.

What mattered was how to get the big task done.

As long as this matter was completed and Emperor Qian didn't give up on him, he would still have a chance to turn the tables.

He might not have the strength to turn the situation around as he had before.

Previously, by simply retracting all his incarnations, his strength would at least be at the Ninth Tier Peak as a baseline.

Once Dadui returned and reopened the path to the Tenth Tier, he would have a great chance to force his way into the Tenth Tier.

With such power, he himself would be the backing.

Even if he was exposed then, what of it? Could many Ninth Tier powers join forces to kill him by force?

Would Emperor Qian allow such an event to occur?

Him reaching the Tenth Tier in itself was of the utmost value.

Regrettably, now, all his remaining incarnations, small and large, definitely couldn't push him to the Tenth Tier anymore.

He still wanted to survive, to continue having time to turn things around.

He had to either see the big task through or remain low-key, secretly scheming, and accumulating enough strength anew.

If he became too hasty in seeking revenge, he might lose everything.

Although he suspected that this incident was definitely related to Jinlan Mountain,

he now had to refrain from acting rashly. Any rash action would lead to chaos, and in chaos, mistakes were bound to happen. If he made a move, there would be flaws, and with flaws, he could be caught up to.

He couldn't take personal action, nor could he leave, but disseminating some messages appropriately was still feasible.

There was something he wanted to know; he wanted to see how those people would react.

After much deliberation, he suppressed all his annoyance and unwillingness, hiding himself in the darkness.

He had to wait and cut his losses in time; at least the remaining Ninth Tier incarnations could not be lost any further.

And they shouldn't expect to find any other Ninth Tier incarnations either.

...

The temporary cultivation site of Zhong Shouzheng was unexpectedly a new blessed land.

Although the blessed land was desolate, with sparse spiritual energy, pavilions, terraces, and towers were all available; the courtyard was quite exquisite.

Cultivators of the Primordial Spirit Realm relied very little on spiritual energy. A thousand years of hard cultivation might not compare to an epiphany. A relatively harsh environment might even be better.

The other few with severe divine soul injuries were recuperating here. The thin spiritual energy didn't matter much as long as it wasn't covered with alien power.

Yu Ziqing didn't mind taking the four severely injured Ninth Tier back near Jinlan Mountain. He was eager for these people to stay in Jinlan Mountain as guardians in the future.

Unfortunately, they all had families and significant businesses, so they couldn't possibly stay in Jinlan Mountain.

Moreover, the Mountain Protection Array newly arranged by Yang was proving to be very effective.

If someone without sufficient strength dared to fly too low over Jinlan Mountain, they would not only risk being smashed to death but they would also have to face the village chief's gaze, even if only half-dead.

The Mountain Protection Array, boosted with meteor materials and a major star as the array's focal point, combined with the alien power enveloping Jinlan Mountain itself, was now a bona fide forbidden land for Qi Refining cultivators.

If any Qi Refining expert dared to charge into the heart of Jinlan Mountain, they would surely die a miserable death.

Taking someone already severely injured and dragging them into a forbidden land is basically setting them up for failure.

The principle of proximity was best; do less, err less. It was better to temporarily use Zhong Shouzheng's cultivation site.

The four Ninth Tier, regardless of their former strength, were lucky to be alive given their divine souls had been dissected.

The severity could be compared to an ordinary person's brain being opened for major surgery—removing a spoon too much or too little could have grave consequences.

Not to mention the major surgery of dissecting the divine soul. For these four people, whether they could recover and whether there would be any serious sequelae were still uncertain.

The four of them each sat in a chair, situated in the courtyard, neither cultivating nor pondering anything, only taking spiritual medicine on time as Yu Ziqing instructed, quietly recuperating.

Yu Ziqing sat opposite Zhong Shouzheng drinking tea. While the two of them enjoyed their tea, the four just watched. When they wanted to say something, a glare from Yu Ziqing was enough to make them continue emptying their minds, maintaining a serene state, and resting as much as possible.