Chapter 706

Chapter 706: The Conspiracy Reveals Itself

As Fang Lie set off toward the Dragon Tomb, four human cultivators mysteriously gathered at a certain location.

One was a young man with a proud face and a treasured sword on his back; he was Ao Jianzi, the most outstanding Core Inner Gate Disciple from East Kunlun.

The second was a charismatic and handsome man, exuding an aura of brilliance, holding a folding fan with an indescribable elegance. This man was Tuguan, the Core Chief Senior Disciple from West Kunlun.

The third was a stout monk, his face full of muscle, his body almost bursting out of his monk robe. He wore a gold crown on his head and wielded an Eighth-rank Treasure, a purple gold spade, showcasing his strength. This man was Master Jie Yun, the Core Inner Gate Disciple under Master Tianlong of the Great Thunder Sound Temple.

The last was a lean young man, with a sinister aura that made others uncomfortable. He was Ximen Changkong, the Core Inner Gate Disciple from the Ximen family clan.

Generally, once inside the Dragon Palace, everyone would be scattered across vast distances, making it nearly impossible to regroup.

However, these four managed to come together in a short time, indicating something unusual.

After they met, Master Jie Yun from the Great Thunder Sound Temple laughed heartily, "Brother Tuguan, your West Kunlun is indeed impressive! Just two talismans allowed us to meet easily in the Dragon Palace. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it!"

Tuguan, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Brother Jie Yun, those aren’t just ordinary talismans. They are Semi-Immortal talismans crafted by my master, each taking years to refine. With each of us having two, that’s almost a hundred years of my master’s hard work gone to waste!"

"Ah? I see!" Jie Yun was momentarily stunned, then felt embarrassed, "No wonder they are so powerful. When we entered, just one talisman allowed us to be teleported within a hundred thousand miles. Then, we could activate another talisman to contact each other and determine our meeting point. To achieve this in a place full of restrictions like the Dragon Palace is truly remarkable!"

"Indeed, the skills of Immortal Lan Shan with his talismans are unmatched!" Ximen Changkong also expressed his admiration, "You must have prepared these talismans for yourselves, but it’s really generous of you to share them with us now!"

"Sigh~" Daoist Tuguan sighed deeply, his expression pained, "These eight talismans were originally meant for our disciples to help them survive the Dragon Palace adventure. However, for the sake of Fang Lie, we had to sacrifice our treasure-hunting mission!"

As he spoke, Tuguan displayed a look of agony while feeling increasingly frustrated.

He had expected to bring along a few skilled sect members to seek treasures, taking advantage of their numbers to handle most dangers and drive away competitors to gain plenty of benefits.

But now, the plan had changed, and instead of treasure hunting, they were plotting against Fang Lie!

What troubled Tuguan the most was that if they were ambushing rivals or enemies of West Kunlun or even geniuses of the Demonic Path, he could tolerate it. But Fang Lie was neither an enemy nor a rival; he was a strong, righteous cultivator.

As fellow righteous sect members, Tuguan had nothing but admiration for Fang Lie’s actions and held no animosity towards him. Yet, he had to follow sect orders, abandon treasure hunting opportunities, and become an enemy of Fang Lie!

To Tuguan, this felt absurd, and he had protested several times. Yet, under the dual pressure from Immortal Lan Shan and the Sword God, he had to compromise.

Even though Tuguan had joined, he remained twisted inside. The Dragon Palace Deadly Area had a survival rate of less than one in ten; everyone else came for treasure, yet he was risking almost everything just to ambush someone. Wasn’t that a classic case of working hard for no reward?

Just thinking about it made Tuguan feel queasy.

Seeing Tuguan’s gloomy expression, the other three understood him but secretly reveled in his plight. Unlike Tuguan, they all held deep-seated hatred for Fang Lie; they would forsake treasures just to eliminate him. This was a matter of principle.

As the eldest senior brother from East Kunlun, Ao Jianzi tried to show goodwill towards Tuguan, patting him on the shoulder, "Brother, I know this has been tough on you, but don’t worry. I’ll compensate you later!"

"Don’t mention it!" Tuguan replied hurriedly, "Kunlun has always been one family. Your affairs are our affairs. No need for such formalities!"

"Thank you, brother!" Ao Jianzi gratefully acknowledged, "Regardless of the outcome, I will remember this friendship!"

At this moment, Ximen Changkong interjected, "Alright, both of you. We can chat later. Let’s figure out the direction and prepare to lie in wait at the Dragon Tomb!"

"Yes!" Tuguan and Ao Jianzi nodded in agreement, then began to employ the Kunlun secret techniques specifically for direction-finding.

Soon, they pointed to a direction, saying, "The Dragon Tomb is over there. Let’s go!"

"Okay~" the others responded, and the four transformed into flowing lights, heading straight for the Dragon Tomb.

On the way, while flying, the four continued conversing.

Ximen Changkong expressed his concerns, "Are you sure Fang Lie will go to the Dragon Tomb? If we’re wrong, we’ll have wasted our time!"

"It can’t be wrong!" Tuguan said solemnly, "This is the result personally divined by Master Xuan Kong, the top calculating expert of the Xuan Sect. He even sacrificed nearly two hundred years of his lifespan for this."

"I just don’t understand why…" Ximen Changkong frowned, "The Xuan Sect and Mo Sect have a good relationship. Why would they scheme against Fang Lie this time? Don’t tell me they’re unaware of what we want Fang Lie’s whereabouts for. They aren’t fools, right? Besides, Fang Lie is just at the Qi Sea level; why would the Thunder Tribulation Immortal use 200 years of lifespan to divine him? Isn’t that ridiculous? I don’t find them reliable at all!"

"Hehe, that’s where you’re mistaken!" Ao Jianzi laughed, "The Xuan Sect, like other sects, has different factions. While most, including the Three Great Semi-Immortals, look favorably upon Fang Lie, there are still some who disapprove of him, especially Master Xuan Kong, who cannot stand anyone named Fang. You all should know the reason!"

"Ah, I suddenly remember!" Ximen Changkong exclaimed, "Could it be that Master Xuan Kong was the previous teacher of Ming Yue? I recall the last Ming Yue of the Xuan Sect didn’t resign voluntarily; he was actually beaten to death twice by Fang Lie’s father, which shattered his state of mind and rendered the Xuan Sect’s revival techniques useless. No wonder Master Xuan Kong harbors such intense hatred for Fang Lie!"

There are only four core disciples in the Xuan Sect, the first two being Qing Feng and Ming Yue. When they become elders, they must resign and take other Dao names.

"Wow, is there really such a thing?" Master Jie Yun asked curiously, "Fang Lie’s father could actually kill Ming Yue? He’s quite formidable!"

"If he weren’t formidable, would he attract envy?" Ximen Changkong sneered, "To be fair, that guy’s strength is just average. However, his inherited cannon technique is quite shameless; he can fire from a hundred thousand miles away, and its power is massive, able to bypass protective treasures. Even an Immortal wouldn’t stand a chance against him unprepared. There were dozens of second-generation immortals who perished by his hands, earning him the title of ‘Second Generation Killer.’ If he hadn’t offended so many people, he wouldn’t have died so obscurely."

"Hehe, this guy is indeed a fool! Not only did he mess up his own life, but he also dragged his son into this mess!" Ao Jianzi sneered, "Master Xuan Kong is one of the rare Grand Divination Masters in the world, with a status no less than the Three Great Semi-Immortals of the Xuan Sect. Yet, to help us scheme against Fang Lie, he didn’t hesitate to expend 200 years of his lifespan. If it weren’t for this, no matter how much we offered, he wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice his lifespan."

"Is it really 200 years? Why so much?" Ximen Changkong asked again.

"According to Daoist Tuguan, it’s because Fang Lie has the aura of the Benevolence Token. The Fate of the Ninth-Rank peak treasures is too strong, making it too demanding to scheme against him. So he could only deduce that Fang Lie would definitely go to the Dragon Tomb after entering the Dragon Palace, and he couldn’t calculate any further details. If he did, he would be doomed!"

"Hehe, that’s already good enough~" Ximen Changkong sneered, "Places like the Dragon Tomb are filled with Immortal Seals. We won’t even need to fight Fang Lie directly; once he enters, we can bombard the place from outside, activating the Immortal Seals to take him down!"

"Exactly~" Ao Jianzi added fiercely, "Even if my grandfather, the Sword God, can’t kill him with his Sword Energy, and the Zhu Xian ancient curse can’t kill him either, the Immortal Seals in the Dragon Tomb can take down even Earth-Immortals. I don’t believe he can escape this calamity!"

"Hehe~" Daoist Tuguan suddenly smiled, "Many Semi-Immortal restrictions contain a trace of the power of cause and effect, especially the Earth-Immortal seals in the Dragon Tomb; they are diverse and comprehensive. Anyone who dies there will be affected by the power of cause and effect, directly annihilating their true spirit. This time, Fang Lie is likely in dire straits!"

"Too bad we can’t defeat him in a fair fight and then trample this bastard underfoot. That would really make him suffer!" Ao Jianzi sneered.

Hearing this, the other three were speechless, all secretly thinking, "With your abilities, you think you can defeat Fang Lie in a fair fight? Isn’t that a dream? We four combined probably couldn’t even take on his clones!"