Chapter 1731 - 1037: Collaboration?

"At first I only wanted to find the ring, but now it seems the Dragon Ape’s secret is far more than that... still, it has to be taken slowly."

With a plan in place, under the cover of reading, Sui Yi used Magnetic Sensation to sweep every inch of this bamboo grove, not sparing a single spot. As for Shi Qingxuan, though she was Cloud Ascendant Level, she knew she couldn’t really help Sui Yi, so she simply read seriously—instead, that helped conceal Sui Yi’s real purpose...

Sui Yi leaned against The Gate, flipping through a book. As she flipped, her Magnetic Sensation suddenly paused.

Mm, she seemed to have made an extra discovery.

In one corner of the bamboo grove, there was a table and a man. He was drinking tea, nobody else around him, so quiet he seemed to be breathing in sync with the bamboo itself.

She knew there was someone sitting on the chair opposite him.

Even though that person’s face had been altered, Sui Yi still recognized him.

Ying Yuan.

This man really did come.

Sui Yi turned pages unconsciously, and heard Ying Yuan say, "Tell me, why aren’t the Twin Emperors coming?"

"The Twin Emperors aren’t here because they both went into the Scripture Pavilion this morning, then both left the Purple Sky District."

The Golden Emperor drank his tea, very refined.

Like he knew everything.

"Did the Dragon Ape Stone tell them something?"

"Of course." The Golden Emperor smiled faintly. "There are only a few things that can earn the Twin Emperors’ attention..."

Ying Yuan frowned. "I never believe there’s a stone in this world that knows everything."

"Anything ’all-knowing’ is actually just—whatever you ask, it happens to know."

Ying Yuan looked at the Golden Emperor. "Then what about you? Are you connected to the Dragon Ape Stone?"

The Golden Emperor looked surprised, then chuckled. "Ah~ I didn’t know your imagination was that good, putting me on par with that stone? In truth, I’m not as good as it is. At least it knows where the Mountain-Knocking Guest is... and it knows exactly what the Twin Emperors and the Mountain-Knocking Guest are looking for..."

"You don’t know?" Ying Yuan asked.

"If I did, I wouldn’t be sitting here.... But I do know that battle back then was tied to a ring, and that ring is tied to searching for a certain something..."

Sui Yi knew the ring they were talking about had to be the Arrow of the Witch Emperor, but as the owner she herself didn’t know her ring could be used to search for things...

That feeling was indeed a bit subtle.

"Today the Thousand Buddha will make a move, joining hands with Starshine." Ying Yuan’s words made the Golden Emperor set down his cup. "Looks like the informant you planted inside Thousand Buddha is doing quite well."

Ying Yuan neither confirmed nor denied.

"But why tell me this?"

"Because you already knew."

The Golden Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Then I might as well tell you one more thing—one of the reasons you’re here: she’s also in this bamboo grove."

Ying Yuan fell silent, then stood up...

Sui Yi felt Ying Yuan’s perception sweeping over...

And quickly locking onto her.

Of course, he wouldn’t know that she already knew they were over there.

But this Golden Emperor was a bit mysterious.

A moment later, beneath a somewhat secluded bookshelf that reeked of ink and paper, someone appeared beside Sui Yi.

Her motion of pulling out a book paused slightly, but she still drew it out.

"Should I be running away, or should I be completely frank and hold nothing back?"

Ying Yuan frowned slightly. "The matter of the ring."

"All I can tell you is that it belongs to me... the rest, what you want to know, I myself may not know much more."

"You’re not afraid I’ll kill you here? I seem to have reasons."

Sui Yi turned to look at him, gaze steady.

But you won’t.

Ying Yuan knew he wouldn’t.

There were too many Masters here, and this woman was too unfathomable. If he rashly exposed his identity, he’d be in deep trouble.

"I came here to cause trouble for people like Greedy Wolf Star. What about you?"

Ying Yuan also knew he couldn’t just keep pressing her, so—an exchange?

"Curiosity."

Curiosity?

Ying Yuan looked Sui Yi over, then suddenly said, "The Scripture Pavilion?"

The corner of Sui Yi’s mouth hooked up. "So, your target is also the Scripture Pavilion."

Ying Yuan stayed quiet for a moment, then said, "Unfathomable."

"Indeed."

"I was talking about you."

Sui Yi was stunned for a beat, then handed the book to Ying Yuan.

She didn’t say anything. Ying Yuan glanced at the title and was also taken aback.

—Stealing Fragrance and Jade.

What kind of book was this? It looked like some storybook you’d find in a Brothel or a roadside stall.

In fact, it was written by Wen Ji.

Sui Yi handed him this book...

"You and I, working together?" His eyes flickered.

"You’ve got strength, I’ve got technique—we can get in."

The reason Sui Yi hadn’t acted earlier was because she lacked a helper; it wasn’t steady enough. Now that a man with more than enough strength had shown up...

"If you don’t reach Starfall Level, with the seal in my body, it’ll be hard for me to guarantee your safety."

Ying Yuan’s words undeniably showed the steadiness in his bones and a certain sense of duty...

"I can suppress the seal in your body, though only for one day."

Ying Yuan was stunned.

He only saw this woman, who outwardly was merely an SS, wearing a gentle smile. "I already told you, I’ve got skills."

————————

Suppressing the seal inside Ying Yuan’s body wasn’t difficult for Sui Yi. In fact, she could have removed it, but right now that wouldn’t be appropriate.

After all, this man was not one of her own.

After laying down three layers of unsealing witchcraft, Sui Yi felt Ying Yuan’s aura suddenly fold inward, becoming completely undetectable—unless she used Magnetic Sensation to search him in detail...

Very strong.

She could be sure that, at this point, the Ice Venerable and Yin Li would have to join forces just to keep this man in check.

Mm... in future she absolutely could not let those two find out she was the one who did it.

Thinking of the Ice Venerable’s domineering temper, then of Yin Li’s wariness toward her...

Ugh, why is it so hard to find someone who’s actually mine.

"Thank you." Ying Yuan didn’t show wild joy. "What’s the next step?"

"This whole bamboo grove is one big Formation. Inside it are ninety-nine chained Formations sealed together. The Array Plate’s core is in the Scripture Pavilion. Breaking the Formation or barging in by force is basically impossible."

Ying Yuan had known this place wasn’t simple, but he hadn’t expected it to be this formidable. And with this kind of chained Formation, even if it’s breakable, once you break it you’ll be sensed immediately...

"Then what do we do?"

"Integrate."

Sui Yi leaned against the bookshelf and flipped her palm. A three-dimensional model formed from floating dust in her hand. Ying Yuan watched that dust Agilely assemble into bamboo, pavilions, and the Scripture Tower...

Beneath the foundations of those buildings was a grand array formed by ninety-nine micro-Formations joined together.

The core point was indeed beneath the Scripture Tower.

Watching, Ying Yuan suddenly said, "Ninety-Nine Big Dipper?"

"Big Dipper Earth Que Human Extinction—if you want to integrate into it, you have to complete the Heaven–Earth–Human triad. That’s what makes it natural. And once it’s natural, then unless the expert behind this reaches Primordial Spirit Dominator Level, it’s hard to detect anything abnormal...."

Sui Yi flipped her palm; the model vanished. She pointed at herself. "I’m Earth Que, and you’re Human Extinction. You and I combine to enter Big Dipper. No one here will know, not even the Twin Emperors."

Such a high-end solution—Ying Yuan felt this person was becoming more and more unfathomable.

Who can casually talk about constructing a Heaven–Earth–Human combination like it’s nothing?

"To qualify as Human Extinction, you have to be Starfall Level, with all meridians in the body fully connected, no impurities, and a mind that can communicate with Heaven and Earth.... You meet all these physical conditions. I just need to set down a Human Extinction Awakening Formation on you... with Formation secret technique empowerment, you can temporarily become Human Extinction."

It sounded simple, but Ying Yuan didn’t dare underestimate it. "Temporarily? For how long?"

"One Shichen."

One Shichen? Longer than he’d imagined.

"Then let’s begin."

Sui Yi simply looked at him. "I already said I’ll lay Formation secret techniques on you... I’ll need you completely undefended... entering your bones and soul. Are you okay with that?"

Some things were better spelled out.

Ying Yuan gave her a deep look. "If you truly have that ability and that motive, I’m no match for you anyway. So why should I care about this little uncertainty right now?"

"I underestimated you." Sui Yi smiled faintly and began to tap out the secret techniques....

On the other side, in the reading room, Shi Qingxuan was flipping through a book while listening to Sui Yi’s voice echo in her mind.

Although she felt this move was a bit too shocking, she didn’t stop it—she just told Sui Yi to be careful...

————————

The Human Extinction setup was complete.

In the Human Extinction state, Ying Yuan felt his strength surge by another half. Inside, he was shaken to the core—just how terrifying must this secret technique be to boost someone’s power so explosively? This woman was practically working miracles.

"Now it’s your turn..."

"Me? I don’t need a setup. I can naturally be Earth Que."

Witches are rooted in Heaven and Earth, able to be Big Dipper, able to be Earth Que—the only thing they can’t be is Human Extinction.

Ying Yuan didn’t ask further. Then it was time to move.

Sui Yi gave him a strange look.

"You planning to take that with you? Want to read it?"

Uh.... Ying Yuan stiffened his face and put away "Stealing Fragrance and Jade," refusing to be outdone, and said mildly, "The first book Teacher recommended. Why not read it when I get back?"

Sui Yi: "..."

Brother and sister are both pretty stubborn, huh.

————————

With Ying Yuan’s current strength, as long as the Dragon Emperor wasn’t here, no one could suppress him. And in the Human Extinction state, his harmony with Heaven and Earth had reached a frightening degree, so he reached the Scripture Pavilion’s Formation underlayer with ease.

But what surprised him was... Sui Yi was even more silent and traceless than he was.

Of course, Sui Yi would comment on that a lot—because I’ve got skills.

The Formation was right above. Sui Yi walked to the underside of the Array Plate and pointed at the revolving Big Dipper above.

"These two holes up there are where Earth Que and Human Extinction sit."

If Sui Yi hadn’t pointed it out, Ying Yuan would have had no idea which was Earth Que and which was Human Extinction. Enter the wrong one and you’d be triggering the Formation....

But once Sui Yi said it, he didn’t doubt her at all, which made Sui Yi rather impressed by his decisiveness.

Don’t use those you doubt, don’t doubt those you use. That’s how people who do big things operate.

The two of them each turned into streams of light and entered the holes. After a short while....

Two people appeared on the floor of an empty, useless book repository.

The dust was thick. Sui Yi flicked her sleeve, and some of the dust scattered away.

"I really didn’t expect this Formation Master to hide the Array Plate in an abandoned repository, and to leave it untouched for years. Makes it all the more natural and concealed."

Sui Yi looked at these junk books and found that every single one came from the Main World... the Magnetic Sensation was extremely strong.

She was a bit puzzled. Could it be that all the books in this Scripture Tower had been collected from the Main World and preserved until now?

If so, at the very least it proved that whoever was in charge of this Scripture Tower should also be someone from the Main World. Otherwise, how could they recognize so many ancient books... without a single mistake.