Chapter 65: Preparing to Set a Trap

For three consecutive days, not a soul entered or left the final guest room. If Situ Jing hadn't reassured Ji Yao that the occupants were still inside, she might have believed the two had already slipped away while she was inattentive.

“Girl, bring me the sword talismans Gu Qiu gave you,” Situ Jing’s voice suddenly echoed in Ji Yao’s mind, waking her instantly from meditation.

Opening her eyes, Ji Yao saw that the Heaven-and-Earth Disk was not in the room; she understood she needed to return to the inner space to meet Situ Jing. Sure enough, upon entering, she saw Situ Jing standing beneath a tree. Ji Yao hurried over and handed her all three sword talismans Gu Qiu had given her.

“Aren’t you going to ask why I want these?” Situ Jing didn’t take them immediately, but looked at Ji Yao with a smile.

Ji Yao shook her head at once. “Some things, the more you think, the more you hesitate. Caution is good, but unless you take a risk, you’ll never know your limits.”

“Are you sure? Once you give them to me, they’ll be used right away,” Situ Jing pressed further, wanting her to be certain.

For the first time, Ji Yao responded to Situ Jing with an unusually serious tone, whereas she used to be always cautious and reserved.

“Traveling outside is the best opportunity to temper oneself. Before entering the secret realm, I should give myself some pressure.”

“I’ve thought it through. With you to back me up, I can still afford to take risks. If I wait until we’ve entered the secret realm, and something unexpected or restrictive happens, then my life will truly be left to fate.”

“You’ve lost confidence in yourself?” Situ Jing asked.

“No, it’s not about confidence. It’s about treasuring my life. My situation isn’t the same as others’. Gambling with my life requires capital, and I have less than half of what others do. They can risk serious injuries, but for me, a serious injury could mean losing my life.”

As Ji Yao finished, she saw Situ Jing frown slightly across from her.

She must be worried I’m developing a mental knot, Ji Yao thought. Such knots, if not resolved, could easily breed inner demons.

“Senior Situ, we’ve known each other for some time. You should have some understanding of my character by now. So, it’s you who should have confidence in me!” Ji Yao said.

Indeed, she had been too caught up in appearances! Situ Jing smiled gently. This was the sliver of hope granted by the Heavenly Dao. She’d done all she could; the rest would depend on how things unfolded.

No matter how much she taught, insight ultimately belonged to Ji Yao herself. Though such words didn’t entirely suit cultivators like them, after hundreds of thousands of years and attaining the rank of Immortal Venerable, Situ Jing understood well the workings of fate.

To gain is my fortune; to lose, my destiny.

Situ Jing tapped Ji Yao’s forehead with a finger. “You always have a way with words! Fine, just give me the sword talismans with wind and thunder attributes. The metal one, keep it for yourself.”

Ji Yao promptly withdrew the talisman from Lu Ming, leaving only the two from Mu Boyun.

“I suppose you’re thinking Mu Boyun will come anyway, so you’ve already planned to ask him for a few more for self-defense?” Situ Jing cast Ji Yao a sidelong glance before taking the two talismans from her palm.

“Senior, wise as always!” Ji Yao quickly added a flattering remark.

Situ Jing suspended the two talismans before her. Her gaze changed; suddenly, sword energy burst forth, tearing apart the surrounding spiritual energy in an instant. Ji Yao involuntarily stepped back several paces in shock, only to realize her reaction was foolish.

Who was Situ Jing? In all of Micang Realm, no number of sword cultivators could compare to her alone. How could her sword aura harm others by accident? All that had just been the merest display of her presence.

Ji Yao watched wide-eyed as thunder light flickered in Situ Jing’s palm. With a swift motion, her fingers formed a sword gesture and pointed at the two talismans. Two lightning-quick beams of light enveloped the talismans, crackling with electricity.

Are they going to be destroyed? The thought flashed through Ji Yao’s mind. She focused intently on the talismans, watching for any sign of change.

The talismans trembled in the electric light, the pale blue glow at their centers flickering rapidly, as if about to break free from the constraints of the talismans or perhaps extinguish entirely.

But, after a moment, the lightning surrounding the talismans gradually diminished, the crackling sounds weakening until both the light and sound vanished completely.

After a few final flashes, the pale blue light at the core of each talisman faded until not a glimmer remained.

“All right, take them,” Situ Jing said, flicking her sleeve and sending the two floating talismans toward Ji Yao.

Ji Yao caught them hurriedly and examined them closely. The small sword-shaped talismans, previously flawless like white jade, now each bore a pale blue lightning mark at their center, not as if carved from without, but as if shining from within.

“Senior, how are these different from before?” Ji Yao asked.

Situ Jing didn’t answer her question, instead making a seemingly complimentary remark.

“That boy is quite something! A wind and thunder spiritual root, yet still able to preserve the will of thunder without being overshadowed by wind.”

Well, that was praise for Mu Boyun, not for Ji Yao herself.

It was said that Mu Tianheng was an ancestor from a previous generation of the Mu family, so by that reckoning, Mu Boyun must be several generations of disciples removed from Situ Jing herself.

Just as Situ Jing turned to look at Ji Yao, she caught her staring blankly at some spot, her gaze flickering—clearly lost in thought again.

“Girl, snap out of it! It’s time to act.” With those words, Situ Jing suddenly struck at Ji Yao’s face.

Ji Yao had only just collected her thoughts when she saw a lightning-wreathed sword finger thrusting toward her. Terrified, she instinctively hurled the talisman in her hand toward the lightning and swiftly executed a movement technique to retreat a good distance.

Before the sword finger met the talisman, it shifted into an open palm, easily catching the jade sword talisman that had been thrown without spiritual energy.

Realizing she’d overreacted, Ji Yao hastened to cover her embarrassment.

“Senior, we’ve discussed the plan, but you haven’t told me how to use the sword talismans!”

Situ Jing shot her a glare, tossed the talismans back, and finally explained in detail.

It turned out the demonic cultivator wore a belt with a jade buckle shaped like a ginkgo leaf. Normally it appeared as nothing more than an ordinary accessory, but once activated, it would vanish from sight like a spatial ring.

That leaf-like jade was the legendary Illusory Spirit Leaf, grown by the Illusory Heavenly Spirit Tree. Only the very topmost leaf of this tree was called the Illusory Spirit Leaf; all others were merely Illusory Void Leaves.

Once plucked, the leaves of the Illusory Heavenly Spirit Tree would immediately turn to jade. This tree had gone extinct back in the ancient days of the cultivation world.

The difference was, the Illusory Spirit Leaf could not only change appearance and form, but also conceal aura and cultivation level. Unless one had reached the rank of Tribulation Transcender, they could not see through its disguises or sense the user’s true cultivation.

As for the Illusory Void Leaf, its effects were far weaker. Its transformations and concealment could only fool cultivators up to two major realms above the user.

Furthermore, the Illusory Void Leaf, like a magical treasure, required recognition of ownership to use, whereas the Illusory Spirit Leaf could be activated by anyone.

The woman named Xuan Yi carried a significantly weaker Illusory Void Leaf.

Therefore, Ji Yao and her companions’ goal was to unexpectedly seize the man’s belt containing the Illusory Spirit Leaf, without alerting him.

To do so, they would need Mu Boyun and his sword talismans: first, to lure the enemy out, and second, to confuse their targets.

“Now, you may contact Mu Boyun and the others,” Situ Jing said, having kept a trace of her spiritual sense outside all this while. “That pair must be observing the situation and preparing to leave.”

Emerging from the inner space, Ji Yao picked up the high-grade transmission talisman she’d long prepared.