Chapter 193: The Mastermind Behind Everything

Yan Moxie moved through the shadows with blinding speed, practically teleporting. Under normal circumstances, even a powerhouse at the same Gold rank would struggle to catch him. Unfortunately, he was up against Su Mu.

No matter how fast Yan Moxie was, he could never outrun Su Mu in the dreamscape. In his dreams, Su Mu was practically omnipotent.

The two raced across the city. Barely ten minutes later, Yan Moxie darted into a grand, imposing building and went into hiding.

Su Mu's expression turned a bit strange when he recognized the building. Yan Moxie's thought process really was different from a normal person's. To play hide-and-seek here—the man truly had no fear of death.

This magnificent building was none other than the Star City Law Enforcement Bureau!

He knew perfectly well that Sikong Zhen was currently stationed at the Star City Law Enforcement Bureau, yet he still chose to hide there. It was hard to say whether he was just incredibly bold or simply overwhelmed by a need to win.

Su Mu chuckled helplessly. He didn't care either way. Even if Yan Moxie had chosen to hide in the Imperial Palace back in the Imperial Capital, it would have been all the same. To him, it made absolutely no difference.

His figure vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was already at the Longevity Daoist Temple.

Taoist Priest Xuanqing was currently reading Sikong Zhen's fortune.

"Let's get one thing straight—this is the last time," Taoist Priest Xuanqing said, his face filled with reluctance. "This poor priest still wants to live a few more years. After this, whether I succeed or fail, don't come looking for me again."

Sikong Zhen nodded solemnly. "I promise you, Daoist Priest. This is the last time."

He agreed verbally, but he had already made his plans. If the old priest still couldn't divine the answer, he would just have to use Jun Wushang's life to force his hand.

Taoist Priest Xuanqing was already a dying man, so threatening him directly would be useless. He would have to target Jun Wushang instead.

Taoist Priest Xuanqing's expression softened slightly, but inwardly, he smirked. 'He took the bait!'

He began to put on a show of fortune-telling, performing the same wild shamanic dance as before. Watching it made Sikong Zhen's temples throb.

"Daoist Priest! Please skip these tedious rituals. I don't have the time to waste here."

Seeing Sikong Zhen's dark expression, Taoist Priest Xuanqing stopped his antics. Getting straight to the point, he turned to the newly carved Divine Statue of the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity and began to chant.

A moment later, Old Taoist Xuanqing's face drained of color. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his body swaying unsteadily.

Seeing this, Sikong Zhen hurried forward to support him. "Did it fail?"

Taoist Priest Xuanqing shook his head weakly. "It succeeded, but this statue is newly carved. Because of that, the divine power of the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity couldn't flow smoothly. The vision of the future couldn't fully form and was incredibly fragmented.

"Fortunately, my devotion is sincere, so I still managed to glimpse a corner of the future."

Sikong Zhen was overjoyed. "Please, tell me everything! The Empire will never forget your contribution!"

"I didn't dare to divine Pride's whereabouts. I settled for the next best thing and aimed for the other members of the Seven Deadly Sins instead."

"The other members are fine. As long as we capture even one of them, we can extract their intelligence. May I ask which one you found?"

"En... Envy."

"Envy?" Sikong Zhen narrowed his eyes. "What is their true identity?"

"I couldn't divine that much. I only saw the location."

"Where?" Sikong Zhen asked anxiously. Taoist Priest Xuanqing looked so frail that he seemed to be delivering his dying words, ready to breathe his last at any second.

"Lan... Lan..."

"Lan what?! Daoist Priest, spit it out! You can't die yet!" Frantic, Sikong Zhen pulled out an incredibly expensive Healing Potion, uncapped it, and went to pour it down the old man's throat.

But right then, as if experiencing a miraculous burst of terminal lucidity, Taoist Priest Xuanqing's eyes lit up at the sight of the Transcendent Potion. He snatched the vial away and tucked it securely into his robes.

Looking completely fine, he stood there with a picture-perfect aura of righteous dignity. Ignoring Sikong Zhen's dark expression, he calmly said, "Lanshan."

"Taoist Priest Xuanqing!" Sikong Zhen growled, his eyes clouded with gloom.

"Envy has invited Greed to meet in Lanshan in three days. This is a prime opportunity to capture members of the Seven Deadly Sins."

"Greed?" Sikong Zhen's anger faltered. "Two of them?"

"That's right. At least, that's what I saw in the future. Envy seemed to have some urgent business and arranged to meet with Greed. The two were acting terribly sneaky, so they're definitely up to no good. You had better hurry to Lanshan and set up an ambush."

Having received the information, Sikong Zhen frowned heavily. "What level of strength are the two of them?"

Taoist Priest Xuanqing pondered for a moment. "They should be Gold. The two seemed somewhat at odds and even got into a fight. From the looks of it, they are both Gold powerhouses."

Sikong Zhen's frown deepened even further at the news.

Taoist Priest Xuanqing shot him a look of disdain. "You forced me to divine the future, and now that I have, you don't dare to go? Doesn't that mean my efforts were for nothing? If you can't handle them yourself, can't you just call for backup?"

Sikong Zhen ignored the old priest's sarcasm and said solemnly, "Three days is too short. It's far too late to call in reinforcements from the Imperial Capital. Besides, the commotion would be too great and might alert the enemy. The Royal Family granted me the authority to mobilize forces from neighboring cities, but out of all the nearby cities, the Patriarch of the Shentu Family is the only Gold powerhouse.

Without knowing exactly what abilities Envy and Greed possess, a two-on-two fight is far from foolproof, even with the support of a group of Transcendents from the Law Enforcement Bureau.

"Just what kind of organization is this damn Seven Deadly Sins? Could the rumors be true? Are all seven of them really Gold powerhouses?"

"Ah, is that all you're worried about? Who said it has to be a two-on-two fight? You can easily exploit the time gap and make it a two-on-one!" Taoist Priest Xuanqing said dismissively.

Sikong Zhen blinked. "Time gap?" Realizing something, he quickly pressed, "Daoist Priest, are there more details about the future that you haven't told me?"

"In the vision I saw, Envy arrived at Lanshan a day early to wait, while Greed only showed up on the third day. Do you understand now? You can simply set up an ambush at Lanshan on the second day and capture Envy first, then deal with Greed on the third day. Wouldn't that be foolproof?"

Joy immediately lit up Sikong Zhen's face.

Old Taoist Xuanqing continued without waiting for a response, "Didn't you see the design of the Seven Deadly Sins' masks in the previous vision of the future? If I were you, I'd disguise myself as Greed on the second day and go to Lanshan for the meeting. Then, when Envy isn't expecting it, you launch a sneak attack! Once Envy is injured, you two Gold powerhouses can gang up on them two-on-one. Don't tell me you couldn't handle them then!

"Then, on the third day, you just rinse and repeat! You disguise yourself as Envy and launch a sneak attack on Greed when he arrives for the meeting. You'll take down two members of the Seven Deadly Sins with ease!"

Sikong Zhen's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he listened. The old priest's scheme was perfectly viable. When he first heard about the time gap, the rough outline of this exact plan had already begun to form in his mind. He just hadn't expected Taoist Priest Xuanqing to spell it out so clearly.

"Daoist Priest, if I successfully capture these members of the Seven Deadly Sins, I will definitely report your grand contributions to the Royal Family. Also, you can keep that bottle of Transcendent Potion."

Old Taoist Xuanqing immediately blew his beard and glared. 'As if you could ever take back something that has already fallen into this poor priest's hands! Not a chance!'

His mind made up, Sikong Zhen hurriedly turned to go gather his forces. Just then, Old Taoist Xuanqing's voice drifted over. "Don't blame this poor priest for not warning you, but the future is not set in stone. Once you learn of the future, it generally won't change as long as you do nothing and say nothing. But the moment you act—especially if you cause a massive commotion—your impact on the future will multiply.

"Furthermore, I only saw a fragment of the future, not the complete picture. No one knows what happens after Envy and Greed meet up."

Sikong Zhen had no patience for the old man's well-meaning warnings. Waving a hand dismissively to show he understood, he strode out of the Longevity Daoist Temple.

Having witnessed the entire exchange, Su Mu kept an elegant smile on his face. Like a detached spectator, he silently observed it all.

Everything on the Longevity Daoist Temple's side had gone incredibly smoothly. Aside from Old Taoist Xuanqing being unable to suppress his greedy nature and swiping a bottle of Transcendent Potion from Sikong Zhen, the entire affair had gone exactly according to plan.