Chapter 144: The Snipe and Clam Stratagem

"You mean Xiao Liu was abducted right in front of you, and even left this note for your master?" A deep, resonant voice echoed, causing Senior Brother Bai, who was kneeling on the ground, to tremble with fear as if chilled to the bone. Dozens of hidden shadows in the dark also began whispering to one another, filled with shock and astonishment.

The master of the main seat stood up, revealing himself to be an elderly Daoist clad in black, wearing a Shangqing lotus crown, with a thin, dark complexion and hair as white as snow. Judging purely by his appearance, he possessed the very image of an immortal and a Daoist sage; yet, underneath lay a vicious and merciless heart, bent on seizing his own disciple's physical body. This was none other than Ancestor Dongxuan.

A withered hand gently picked up Xiao Liu's severed finger, studying it for a long moment. With a rub of his palms, a cluster of demonic fire materialized, burning the finger into nothingness and leaving only two or three drops of vital essence floating in mid-air. Muttering a secret incantation under his breath, "Mala Podohari, Profound Demonic Secret Art, Peering into Yin and Yang!" The moment these words were spoken, his eyes flashed with a fierce red light. Deep within the eyes of Xiao Liu, who was thousands of miles away, a trace of bloody Qi likewise flickered. Xiao Liu was the physical vessel he had meticulously handpicked; how could he possibly let him wander about without precautionary measures? He had long since planted a Dongyin Demonic Seed within him. Once activated, he could see whatever the disciple saw, hear whatever he heard, and determine his life or death with a single thought.

Through Xiao Liu's eyes, he saw white clouds drifting like ribbons and fierce gales howling, with the body bound tightly to a large boulder amidst the mountains. He immediately thought it rather strange. With no righteous cultivators present and no formations set up for concealment, it truly looked nothing like a trap. What on earth was the designer of this scheme plotting?

Pacing back and forth for a long while, he realized Xiao Liu's safety was genuinely crucial, and he could not simply abandon him. Even if it were a trap, the worst that could happen would be sending a disciple to test the waters first. He commanded, "All those who have cultivated the *Dongxuan Five Extremes Tatasui Scripture* to the Demon-Driving Realm shall accompany me to rescue him! The rest of you remain to guard the grotto-heaven, and the grand formation must operate day and night. None are permitted to open it until our return!"

"As for you!" Ancestor Dongxuan glanced at this 'Senior Brother Bai' and said coldly, "Follow me to rescue him first! Afterward, you shall undergo the punishment of having your heart consumed by Yin fire for a hundred days!"

Upon hearing this, Senior Brother Bai felt as though he had been granted a massive reprieve. After all, his cultivation was relatively profound among the disciples, and he had narrowly escaped death. He hurriedly bowed respectfully and said, "I will strictly obey the Ancestor's decree!"

An incense stick's time later, nearly ten streams of black Qi burst forth from the grotto-heaven, soaring away in the direction of White Fruit Mountain. Two days later, they arrived precisely as expected—

White Fruit Mountain was a small hill located a hundred li to the right of Xiangyang City. The mountain was covered entirely in Buddha's-finger citrons, forming a vast expanse of pale white that could be seen at a single glance. Xiao Liu was tied to a large boulder at the peak, making him clearly visible.

A group of demonic practitioners concealed their presence and quietly arrived at the foot of the mountain. True Man Dongxuan turned his head and said, "Third, go and scout ahead!"

This 'Third' was none other than Senior Brother Bai. Hearing this, he inwardly cursed his bad luck. Wasn't this blatantly sending him to his death? Yet, daring not to talk back, he hastily summoned a magical treasure—the Gold-Severing Divine Pillar. Entirely cast in red gold, it excelled supremely at obstructing other people's magical treasures. A cloud of black Qi rose beneath his feet, billowing upward as he trembled like one standing at the edge of a deep abyss.

To everyone's surprise, there was not a shred of danger. They successfully rescued the unconscious Xiao Liu, leaving everyone completely dumbfounded. Ancestor Dongxuan frowned slightly, a flash of black Qi in his hand stimulating Xiao Liu's senses. The disciple quickly regained consciousness, and upon seeing the group, he immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed, saying, "Greetings, Master, Senior Brothers."

"What on earth happened?" Ancestor Dongxuan asked in a deep voice.

"I have no idea either. That night, Senior Brother Lu suddenly knocked on my door, so I let him in without paying attention to anything else. Suddenly, white smoke and multicolored brilliance emerged, and my mind clouded over. When I woke up, I was already tied here."

Ancestor Dongxuan had no reason to doubt him, never imagining that Xiao Liu would harbor any intent of betrayal. After all, unless Xiao Liu knew of his desire for bodily seizure, he had always treated him with the utmost affection of an honorable master.

"How bizarre and strange! What on earth are these people plotting?"

"However, before losing consciousness, I vaguely caught words like 'Emei' and 'Tianyi'," Xiao Liu said cautiously.

"Oh no! This is a diversionary tactic to lure the tiger away from its mountain!" Ancestor Dongxuan was greatly alarmed as this thought suddenly struck him! This White-Vulture Old Demon must have wanted to prevent him from acquiring its treasure, while the righteous cultivators somehow caught wind of his intention to use his disciple as a vessel. Thus, they played along with the ruse, luring him here so they could seize the opportunity to enter the spring-eye and obtain the treasure.

"Follow me!" Ancestor Dongxuan roared furiously, his pores erupting with billows of black Qi that transformed into several mu of dark clouds, thick as molten lava and bubbling incessantly. With a sweep, he gathered the others and vanished into the horizon like lightning. This was the Dongyin Primordial Spirit that the old demon had cultivated through the *Dongxuan Five Extremes Tatasui Scripture*. Its Dharma-form was solid, and it carried the physical bodies of the others as it rushed toward the Xiang River spring-eye. On the way, the old demon felt this was not fast enough; with a slap of his hands, boundless flames emerged from the dark clouds, separating into five distinct colors—these were the Five Extremes Divine Fire of the true scripture. Although Xiao Liu also knew this spell, the difference in power between the two was as vast as clouds and mud. Feeding the demonic fire with one's primordial spirit was an extremely mana-consuming secret technique, but the blazing flames intensified their escape speed severalfold, rendering them invisible to the naked eye. The figures on the cloud felt a sudden wave of heat, and everywhere they passed, the flowers, grass, and trees withered and dried up instantly.

White Fruit Mountain and the Xiang River water-eye were nearly a thousand li apart, yet after a mere four or five hours, South Flat Mountain came faintly into view. The black cloud swept across the mountain foothills, and seven or eight streaks of escaping light simultaneously plummeted downward—these were the disciples and grand-disciples of the old demon Dongxuan. Hearing his whispered commands, they scattered: "Seal this mountain for your ancestor! Not a single person is permitted to enter or leave!"

Immediately, several beams of escaping light shot off in all directions. Xiao Liu did the same, though he cast a complex look at Ancestor Dongxuan before turning away with resolute determination.

The dark cloud transformed by the old demon Dongxuan headed straight for the Xiang River spring-eye. Within the space of a tea session, he arrived above the valley. Seeing that the grand formation of the spring-eye had already been breached and the Kui Water essential Qi had dissipated, lacking the formidable power it once held, he flew into a towering rage that made his triple-corpse spirits leap. The black Qi plunged downward, diving directly into the water and burrowing into the spring-eye.

Inside the spring-eye was an entirely different scene: clear waters washed the depths, and the water trenches were profound and gloomy. The black Qi descended along the crevices of the lower strata for some hundreds of zhang, quickly drilling into a karst cave. The cave walls were covered with numerous water vines and weeds, with thick sediment piled up below. A grotto-heaven loomed vaguely ahead, where the three characters "Spring Water Mansion" gleamed faintly in the gloom. Before he could feel any joy, however, a terrifying demonic Qi suddenly flooded the entire underground water layer, surging overwhelmingly toward Ancestor Dongxuan. The ancestor was deeply shaken and hurriedly pulled back to turn around. At the location of the underground water fissures where the demonic Qi originated, the black Qi he had transformed into hastily reversed upward. Behind him, a pair of blood-red eyes the size of water vats lit up, sweeping across the entire karst cave. Just as he reached the water-eye, he saw several layers of thick blue light blocking his exit—this Kui Water Qi-Gathering Formation had actually restored its function!!

A small flag suddenly flew out from the void and landed in Fang Yurong's hand, revealing the figures of several people. On the other side, Yu Xiao was also holding the Spring Water Token, scattering streams of blue light to drive the formation's continuous operation, while Xiang Xiaoyue and He Xiaoshu both wore icy expressions...

This had been Fang Yurong's entire strategy: first, to lure the tiger away from the mountain and disrupt the old demon's mind; second, to intentionally release the restriction of the spring-eye, enticing him to enter alone under false pretenses; and finally, to seal the spring-eye with the Spring Water Token, releasing the demonic dragon that had been suppressed for hundreds of years. This forced the two of them into a jar like competing insects, preying upon one another. Like a chess player playing a game, Xiao Liu was a piece, Zhou Qian was a piece, Senior Brother Bai was a piece, the azure dragon was a piece, and Ancestor Dongxuan was also a piece. Yet there was only one chess player—the Emei senior sister adorned in misty silk and wind-tressed hair, whose jade-like face remained eternally calm!

The spring-eye shook ceaselessly, karst rocks tumbled down, and the clear water was churned into turbidity. A massive azure serpent, a hundred zhang long and five zhang wide, burst fiercely out of the Spring Water Mansion. It possessed horns upon its head and thick, sturdy limbs—undoubtedly a true flood dragon. It stretched its body within the water, then opened its blood-red eyes wide and roared furiously, expanding the karst cave. Its scales scraped against the cave walls with a rustling sound as it lunged toward the surface.

Ancestor Dongxuan's complexion changed drastically. In this situation, he was undoubtedly the stumbling block in its path. He shouted, "Fellow Daoist, I was also schemed against by others! Why don't the two of us join forces to shatter this formation?"

How could Emei's Senior Sister 6 fail to account for this turn of events? According to the records of the White-Haired True Man, when this old flood dragon was undergoing its tribulation to transform into a dragon long ago, its mind had already been shattered by the divine thunder of the nine heavens, leaving only base instincts behind. If not for this, back at the extremes of the East China Sea, the White-Haired Immortal—who shared the same avian beast origin as the white vulture—would never have suppressed it.

Ancestor Dongxuan had no desire to have his physical body crushed into pulp before he even had the chance to seize a vessel. Sighing helplessly, he drove his Dongyin Primordial Spirit, transforming it into billows of black Qi that enveloped the old dragon. Instantly, the aged demon and the ancient fiend began fighting for their very lives...