Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao were clearly unwilling.
“Since you’re unwilling, then forget it.” Tan Wanyan rose to her feet. “Just pretend I never came here or said anything.”
With that, Tan Wanyan turned and left.
“Wait.” Zhuang Lu hurriedly called out to her. “Little Sister Tan, why are you in such a rush today? You weren’t the type to walk away at the slightest disagreement before.”
Both Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao vaguely sensed that Tan Wanyan seemed different from before, but they couldn’t put their fingers on exactly how.
Besides, Tan Wanyan had been urging them along the entire time and looked extremely anxious, so they found it difficult to ask more questions.
Thinking about it carefully, Tan Wanyan’s life span was nearly at its end, and now she had encountered an opportunity like this. It was only natural that she would have trouble keeping her composure.
“Talking to me about what I used to be?” Rather than follow Zhuang Lu’s lead, Tan Wanyan laughed twice. “What kind of person I was before is all in the past. Now, I’m willing to trade this secret with you. Two thousand spirit stones—is that really too much?”
Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao fell silent.
“Two thousand spirit stones is no small amount.” Monk Jiezao slowly rolled his prayer beads between his fingers. “And if the pills we obtain turn out to be ordinary, then we’ll have lost everything for nothing.”
“In cultivation, where is there ever a hundred-percent sure profit? Even if I told you it was a sure thing, would you believe me? Come on, we’re all old foxes here. Don’t play this game with me. If you’re in, say so. If you’re not, say so. Just give me a straight answer.” Tan Wanyan urged them, “If you’re unwilling, I’ll go find someone else. Don’t blame me later.”
Tan Wanyan turned to leave again.
But Zhuang Lu reached out and caught her hand, then leered as he stroked it a couple of times.
The feel was definitely still Tan Wanyan’s.
[…I’m going to chop his hand off for you. What kind of trash does he think he is, touching you?]
The Sword Spirit was furious.
How could its noble contracted partner be touched by someone like that?
Tan Wanyan—or rather, Shu Xin—didn’t care in the slightest. Being touched a couple of times wouldn’t make her lose any flesh.
Besides, these two paupers would soon be swindled out of everything they owned. Why should she bother with such a trivial matter?
Zhuang Lu was most likely checking whether she was genuine.
But the hand was such an obvious feature that she had naturally disguised it perfectly.
“Sister Tan, why are you in such a hurry? We did, after all, share a brief affair in the past.”
“Two thousand spirit stones is too much. How about this? We’ll each give you five hundred spirit stones first, and once we obtain the pills, we’ll give you the rest.”
“Give me one thousand up front. Once you’ve confirmed that what I said is true, you can give me the remaining thousand.” Tan Wanyan was silent for a moment before speaking.
“Deal.”
Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao each took out one thousand spirit stones and handed them to Tan Wanyan. Only then did they obtain a location from her.
“You’d better make some preparations as well.” Tan Wanyan kindly reminded them, “Since I was able to discover this, there’s a chance someone else has discovered it too. Even that female cultivator, Lady Lin, seemed a little worried and was unwilling to take any more risks.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t set out without making every possible preparation.” Zhuang Lu nodded. The fact that Tan Wanyan was still willing to offer them this warning showed that she wasn’t completely motivated by profit alone.
Only after Tan Wanyan had completely left did Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao begin carefully planning their next move.
Tan Wanyan did not return to her room. Instead, she temporarily flew away from the flying ship.
Not long afterward, Shu Xin returned at a leisurely pace.
Inside the room, the five disciples and servants had already been waiting impatiently.
“Take these and have a look.” Shu Xin tossed several recording stones to them. They contained complete recordings of the conversations between “Tan Wanyan” and Zhuang Lu’s group.
If they hadn’t known that the Tan Wanyan appearing at night was actually being impersonated by their Eldest Senior Sister Shu Xin, they truly would have believed that the real Tan Wanyan had been scheming with those two cultivators.
Cao Ru was utterly astonished. Her gaze kept shifting between Shu Xin and the recording stones, as though she were still struggling to process what she had seen.
Meng Wenrui and Li Qinghe, those two little airheads, were practically shining with excitement.
“E-Eldest Senior Sister, how exactly did you manage that?” Qi Feiyang was filled with boundless admiration. “You barely even followed Tan Wanyan around, so why didn’t they suspect that she was an impostor?”
Even when they disguised themselves as other people, they did their best to keep a low profile and avoid attracting attention. Despite that, they still had yet to get close to the people they wanted to approach.
But their Eldest Senior Sister had swaggered around openly, spent four nights at it, and settled everything. She had even made off with two thousand spirit stones.
It was simply inconceivable.
[Exactly. You dazzled them so thoroughly they practically bloomed.]
The Sword Spirit chimed in as well. [I haven’t seen you have this much fun in a long time.]
The last time it and Shu Xin had played a game like this was when they had gone undercover in a demonic lair.
That demon cultivator had been on the verge of death, yet even when the Sword Spirit killed him, he still refused to believe that his most loyal subordinate had suddenly betrayed him.
That’s right—Shu Xin had not used her true appearance even once, all the way to the end, so as not to leave any trace behind.
She had always been meticulous in everything she did.
“It’s very simple.” Shu Xin looked seriously at her junior brothers and sisters. “It all comes down to conviction. Once you’re impersonating someone else, you can’t show the slightest hesitation. You must firmly believe that you are that person, and that everything you do is perfectly natural for her.
“You must understand that no one can completely become another person. You want to keep a low profile, which is fine, but you’re carrying out a mission. A covert infiltration conducted cautiously will take a very long time. It’s far less convenient than directly becoming someone else.
“As for the reason, can’t you come up with one yourselves? You were injured, you lost your memories, your family fell into ruin, your Dao heart shattered—anything will do. Just add a somewhat eccentric and extreme undertone to your personality, and everyone will keep their distance from you.”
The five junior disciples nodded so vigorously that their heads nearly fell off, eager to memorize every word their Eldest Senior Sister said.
“Second, you need to construct the setting.” Shu Xin smiled. “Didn’t you notice that every time I met with Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao, I never once called them by name or addressed them in any way?”
Huh? They really hadn’t noticed that.
They watched the recording stones several more times and discovered that it was indeed true.
The Tan Wanyan played by their Eldest Senior Sister always began speaking immediately. She never addressed anyone by name.
“Because the way people address each other is a relatively private matter, and everyone has a different style. The moment you get the form of address wrong, it’s very easy to expose yourself. So it’s better not to address anyone at all. That way, you can avoid many potential flaws.” Shu Xin smiled sweetly. “Now, look at the setting I created. I discovered an alchemy furnace capable of producing precious pills, but the furnace is about to break down.”
No method of fraud was ever completely flawless. If you wanted to avoid being exposed, you had to establish an extreme situation first.
For example, after receiving a scam call, you would always be told that your bank card had been used for money laundering, that your parents had been injured in an accident, or that you had somehow become involved in a case and needed to cooperate with an investigation.
Scammers always create a problem that makes you anxious but cannot be clarified or resolved in a short time. Once you follow their train of thought, your excessive panic will make you overlook all the other suspicious details.
“Then I kept making things sound more serious,” Shu Xin continued. “I told them that Cultivator Lin no longer intended to keep searching for the alchemy furnace, that the furnace was about to break down, that their opportunity was about to slip away, and that they were about to run out of lifespan.”
“By then, they had already lowered their guard against me. Their greed and anxiety made them start worrying about how much they would lose if the alchemy furnace really broke down, and when they might encounter another opportunity like this.”
Immediately afterward, Tan Wanyan demanded compensation from them—spirit stones.
“But why did you ask them for spirit stones at that point, Eldest Senior Sister? Wouldn’t asking for money have made it easier for them to notice something was wrong?” Li Qinghe asked in confusion. If it had been him, he definitely would not have asked for money.
“Because although the three of them know one another, none of them completely trusts the others.” Shu Xin shook her head with a smile. “For example, if a cultivator you only had an average relationship with suddenly came to you and said, ‘I have a business opportunity that’s guaranteed to make money. You don’t need to contribute anything—just come along and earn your share,’ would you believe him?”
“Of course not.”
“Exactly. If I hadn’t asked for money, Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao wouldn’t have believed me either. I demanded spirit stones, and I even asked for an exorbitant amount. Only then would they believe that everything I said was true,” Shu Xin replied.
“Besides, I deliberately chose nighttime,” Shu Xin added. “Tan Wanyan rarely comes out at night. During the day, she had to pretend not to know them, which gave me plenty of room to maneuver. So remember this, all of you: when you travel in the future and need to pretend not to know someone, you must communicate thoroughly beforehand. Come up with signals, small gestures, and things like that. Understand?”
“Understood, understood.”
After the Eldest Senior Sister had personally led them through such a practical lesson, how could they possibly dare trust people carelessly again?
From then on, whenever one of their fellow disciples disappeared from their sight for more than three hours, they would test them to make sure they were still the same familiar person.
“All right, that’s enough for today’s lesson. Go back and digest what you’ve learned.” Shu Xin waved her hand. “I’m a little tired after several consecutive nights of this.”
“Please get some rest.”
The five junior disciples immediately understood and left obediently, behaving as well as could be.
“Fortunately, she’s our Eldest Senior Sister.” After walking out, Cao Ru suddenly said this for no apparent reason.
If she had been their enemy, playing with them would have been as easy as playing with dogs. They might even have been toyed to death without ever discovering who the real culprit was. It was truly terrifying.
“Yes, fortunately Master accepted Eldest Senior Sister back then.” Qi Feiyang was also shaken.
In the past, Eldest Senior Sister had always smiled at them. Even when she was strict, it had remained within a level they could accept.
Now that they had seen how she could deceive her enemies into spinning in circles with just a few small tricks, how could they fail to understand that she had practically gone easy on them to an absurd degree?
“I think even Master would have been deceived if he were here,” Meng Wenrui managed to say.
“Exactly, exactly. Who could possibly avoid being fooled by this?”
“It’s terrifying.”
“We must learn more from Eldest Senior Sister in the future.”
The five encouraged one another before slowly returning to their rooms.
“Just look at how frightened your servants are,” the Sword Spirit said, practically beside itself with delight. After all, it had been enjoying the show for quite some time.
“It was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg,” Shu Xin said with a shrug. “This scam only lasted a few days. Cultivators have such long lifespans. There are plenty of schemes that take years, decades, or even centuries to set up. Those are the ones that leave people completely lost. Even if you lay the truth bare before them, they can still turn a blind eye to it.”
“Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao are quite wealthy.” Shu Xin whistled. “Two thousand spirit stones, and they handed them over so generously. They must have even more money on them. Tsk, I never have enough spirit stones to spend. I’m at the Dongtian realm now, after all. Even a little cultivation consumes a tremendous number of spirit stones.”
Aboard the Hu family’s flying boat, she could only absorb spiritual energy while maintaining the cultivation level of the Dao Infant realm. Otherwise, if she cultivated at full strength even once, she could drain more than half of the Hu family’s spirit-gathering formation.
That was why independent cultivators and small factions found it so difficult to support high-level cultivators.
There was no other reason—their financial resources simply weren’t sufficient.
“Situ Jian gave me quite a few things. My clones are carrying so much that even their return speed has slowed down,” the Sword Spirit said beside her. “You’re about to receive another huge sum of money.”
“Who would ever complain about having too many spirit stones?” Shu Xin rolled her wrists. “Besides, if we’re putting on a show, we have to see it through to the end. I can’t just give them a location and then do nothing. They’d immediately go looking for Tan Wanyan, and the scam would be exposed.”
“Come on, come on! I’ll go chop off their claws for you.” The moment the Sword Spirit heard that Shu Xin intended to continue troubling Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao, it immediately became enthusiastic.
“Tell me, what do you want to do?”
A brilliant smile spread across Shu Xin’s face.
Oh, there were so many things they could do.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
After obtaining the location of the alchemy furnace from Tan Wanyan, Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao naturally began making preparations.
They went to find an elder of the Hu family and told him that one of their enemies had appeared nearby, so they would be gone for a day and then return.
The Hu family elder had no reason to stop them and merely told them to come back as soon as possible.
The two then prepared a great many items. They even secretly observed Lady Lin for a while.
They discovered that she had indeed been much more obedient recently. Her several servants no longer disappeared all day, but instead remained obediently aboard the flying boat every day.
Tan Wanyan also acted as though they did not exist, as if she had never conspired with them at all.
Everything indicated that the information was genuine.
Thus, Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao could no longer restrain themselves.
So many things had happened aboard the flying boat. As two experienced veterans, they knew instinctively that there had to be plenty of problems hidden beneath the surface.
However, the Hu family had been generous, and they were unwilling to give up on the mission.
Besides, which aristocratic family or sect didn’t have a few secrets they would rather keep hidden?
Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao were experienced in such matters as well.
They left the Hu family’s flying boat one after the other. They did not immediately go looking for the alchemy furnace. Instead, they first inquired about the situation near the place where it was said to appear. After learning that the area was remote and rarely visited, they relaxed somewhat.
Next, they bought some clothing and disguised themselves as different people.
Once everything was ready, they finally set out together for the alchemy furnace’s location.
According to what Tan Wanyan had said, the alchemy furnace was hidden in the basement of an abandoned manor. It had been discovered there by accident.
To obtain pills from the alchemy furnace, one had to rely on one’s own cultivation to break through the furnace’s restrictions. However, no one could break through them more than once. Once a person broke a restriction, they could only randomly obtain a single bottle of pills, whose name would remain unknown.
If an alchemist came along, however, they would be able to obtain the inheritance hidden within the alchemy furnace.
Zhuang Lu and Monk Jiezao understood that this was probably the desperate measure of an alchemist on the verge of death. Unable to find a suitable disciple, the alchemist had devised this method to recruit one. Unexpectedly, the two of them had ended up benefiting from it instead.
Following Tan Wanyan’s instructions, they arrived at the abandoned manor and discovered that there were indeed traces of something unusual.
“Although someone cleaned up the traces here, they missed a few corners,” Zhuang Lu said after examining the area. He then began casting his poison arts, laying poison throughout the vicinity of the manor to prevent outsiders from approaching.
Monk Jiezao also took out his magical artifact and set up a defensive formation around the area.
“Don’t rush. I’ll send my puppet in to take a look first.”
Monk Jiezao took a coffin out of his storage ring.
The coffin was covered in black blood. When its lid slowly slid open, a young girl with bluish skin and tightly closed eyes appeared inside.
When she stepped out of the coffin, her limbs were still somewhat stiff, but they gradually became as flexible as an ordinary person’s.
Although she never opened her eyes, she was able to follow Monk Jiezao’s instructions and enter the basement to scout it out in advance.
“Every time I see you refining this Young Copper Corpse, I can’t help marveling at how exquisite it is,” Zhuang Lu said admiringly. “As expected, a biological daughter really does have excellent aptitude. If you used the corpse of an ordinary cultivator, who knows how many you would have to ruin before refining one this good.”
It was difficult to imagine that a cultivator from the Buddhist sects would actually practice such an insidious demonic art.
This method of refining corpses had always been the secret technique of the Yin Corpse Demon Sect. Although some fragments of it had circulated outside the sect, very few people had managed to teach themselves the art successfully.
From that perspective, Monk Jiezao had chosen the wrong sect from the very beginning. If he had joined the Yin Corpse Demon Sect back then, he might already have become a great master in his own right.
“Don’t worry. If you die someday, I’ll do my best to refine you into a Golden Corpse.”
A faint trace of greed appeared in Monk Jiezao’s eyes as he looked at Zhuang Lu.
Zhuang Lu let out two dry chuckles. “My whole body is poisonous. If you try to refine me, be careful not to get yourself poisoned to death first.”
Although they were acting together, if some precious pill appeared in the alchemy furnace, there was no guarantee they would not turn on each other.
It was always better to remain on guard.
The Young Copper Corpse slowly entered the basement. Inside, she saw numerous traces of battle, as well as an alchemy furnace placed in the very center.
Everything the Young Copper Corpse saw was transmitted, piece by piece, into Monk Jiezao’s mind.
“The object is genuine. I haven’t found any other restrictions for the moment,” Monk Jiezao reported.
Zhuang Lu said nothing and made no move.
“I’ll go down first.”
Monk Jiezao naturally knew what Zhuang Lu was worried about, but he did not mind. He would first break through the restrictions on the alchemy furnace and see what kind of pill he could obtain.
Zhuang Lu watched Monk Jiezao enter first, then glanced at the poison he had arranged outside. He already had a plan in mind.
If anything happened to Monk Jiezao, he would immediately strike and seize all of Monk Jiezao’s possessions. He would not even need to return to the Hu family’s flying vessel.
He could simply find somewhere to hide. Surely he would not lack resources for cultivation.
Soon, the two of them had both entered the basement.
An ancient alchemy furnace, faintly marked with cracks, appeared before them.
Just from its shape alone, it was obvious that it was extraordinarily valuable.
“I’ve only heard an alchemist mention a furnace like this before,” Zhuang Lu said, unable to contain himself. “This type of furnace has twenty fire outlets and can only be controlled by an alchemist in the Grotto-Heaven Realm. Tan Wanyan and that female cultivator clearly don’t know what they have. Even if the pills they obtained were worthless, the furnace itself would still be immensely valuable. Even damaged, it would be worth at least ten thousand spirit stones.”
“They must have tried to move the furnace before. That way, they wouldn’t have to come here every time,” Monk Jiezao said irritably. “Let’s test the restrictions first. This alchemy furnace must have been inscribed with some kind of powerful restriction. If anyone tries to move it, it will probably destroy itself immediately.”
Zhuang Lu sighed regretfully, then had no choice but to make the first move. They would get the pills first and worry about the rest later.
If all else failed, he could destroy the furnace. He absolutely could not allow someone else to obtain it.
Zhuang Lu continued attacking, but the restrictions on the alchemy furnace proved astonishingly difficult to break. After trying several times, he still failed to obtain a pill from within.
After a while, Zhuang Lu grew ruthless.
There was no way Tan Wanyan could succeed while he could not, right?
He unleashed his greatest skill. At last, he heard the sound of the restriction breaking. A bottle of snow-white pills flew out of the alchemy furnace and drifted into his hand.
“What kind of pill is this? Its spiritual energy is so dense.”
Zhuang Lu’s eyes lit up. Although he could not identify the pill, that did not stop him from recognizing that it was something good.
Next came Monk Jiezao’s turn.
Monk Jiezao manipulated the Young Copper Corpse and used every method at his disposal to break through the restriction. Yet all he obtained was a bottle of Qi-Gathering Pills worth ten spirit stones.
He immediately flew into a rage.
“Hahaha, Monk, your luck is terrible,” Zhuang Lu said with a loud laugh. “How about I give you two pills? We’re companions, after all. I can’t just watch you spend a thousand spirit stones and end up losing everything, can I?”
“You said this alchemy furnace was immensely valuable,” Monk Jiezao replied with a cold laugh. “I’ll try moving it right now.”
With that, Monk Jiezao immediately prepared to act.
“Ke ke ke—”
At that very moment, a powerful and unfamiliar force of spiritual energy suddenly enveloped the entire area.
Such overwhelming spiritual energy was far beyond what a cultivator in the Dao Infant Realm could possess.
The Young Copper Corpse collapsed on the spot, while Monk Jiezao and Zhuang Lu both turned pale.
Not good!
A Grotto-Heaven cultivator?
Why would a Grotto-Heaven cultivator suddenly appear here?
“With an opportunity of this magnitude, you two juniors clearly aren’t capable of handling it. You’d best hand it over to this old man at once!”
Shu Xin appeared in that familiar outfit, playing the part of an Ancient Demon to perfection.
The alchemy furnace below had been one of her longtime costars. She had no idea how many cultivators it had lured into trying their luck and ultimately swindled into losing everything. These two insignificant weaklings actually wanted to carry off her belongings?
What outrageous behavior!
In that case, she could only send them out with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
[No matter how many times I see it, I still have to marvel at how convincingly you play an Old Demon. You’re almost too convincing.]
If it did not know that Shu Xin had transmigrated into this world whole from the world she came from, it would have suspected that the person it had contracted with was actually an Old Demon who had possessed a young girl.
Situ Jian: Hand everything over obediently.
That’s how phone scams work: they rely on extreme situations and dramatic claims to deceive people. So if you receive a call or other message telling you that you’re facing serious trouble, don’t panic. Make a few calls to verify the information before doing anything else.
