Chapter 516: Cooperation

Chapter 516: Chapter 340: Cooperation

“That’s the man from the Ghost City.”

The cold voice that rang out in her mind nearly made Zhuang Li’s expression falter. She had to turn her head away to calm herself, asking the voice in her mind, ‘Are you sure?! It seems even the Red Heart Sect doesn’t know his identity.’

“He has hidden his Primordial Qi very well, likely the effect of some Secret Technique. However, I don’t judge a person by their Primordial Qi, but by their ‘Vitality.’ He can hide his Primordial Qi, but he is not yet capable of concealing the essence of his Vitality. Therefore, I am not mistaken.”

The cold voice stated calmly.

All things in the world are essentially made of Primordial Qi, but living beings possess something more unique. It is an aura of “life,” formed from a mixture of their own Primordial Qi, Spirit, Will, personality, and even Destiny, among many other factors. This aura is incredibly profound. Many masters can sense it, but they can only use it to distinguish between the living and the dead. Only a higher existence like her, one with a more thorough understanding of Vitality, could use it to differentiate between individual lives.

Primordial Qi is easy to hide, but the essence of “Vitality” is incredibly difficult to change because it involves far too many factors.

This mysterious will had previously sensed Zhao Xuanqi’s Vitality within the Ghost City, so it recognized him immediately upon seeing him now.

‘From He Xijun’s introduction, it seems he only just joined the Red Heart Sect. If he really is connected to the Upper Realm as you say—someone who has descended to this world—then that is indeed highly probable.’

‘Why are you revealing his identity? You don’t seem like the type to meddle in others’ business for no reason.’

Zhuang Li asked this in her mind. Based on her understanding of this will, it would never initiate contact unless it was absolutely necessary—if it had information that could threaten her life, or if it wanted something from her.

“The plan I mentioned to you before… with your current strength, it would be very difficult to accomplish alone. Perhaps you could seek his cooperation and act together. The success rate would be much higher. He probably won’t refuse.”

That voice once again echoed in Zhuang Li’s mind.

‘I remember you said he cultivates the Infinite Dao and is burdened by immense Karmic Force. You told me to stay as far away as possible and not get involved. Besides, if I make contact with him, aren’t you worried your own existence will be exposed?’

Zhuang Li asked, confused.

“There isn’t much time left. Your progress is too slow, so we have to take some risks. If you had trusted me earlier, we wouldn’t be in this situation. But it doesn’t matter now. The Infinite Dao has made many enemies throughout All Realms, but that doesn’t include our lineage. In fact, we were once partners.”

“And…”

At this, the cold voice took on a teasing tone, “During the Ghost City incident, you *did* use my power.”

Zhuang Li fell silent at those words. Just then, she vaguely sensed a subtle gaze upon her.

The gaze was from Zhao Xuanqi.

A jolt went through her.

However, Zhao Xuanqi’s gaze did not linger on her. It seemed like a normal, passing glance before he shifted his attention to the others.

“Find an opportunity to make contact with him.”

The cold voice in her mind spoke this one last time before falling silent again.

「Meanwhile.」

After everyone introduced themselves, they each took their seats. Waiters brought over wine, dishes, and pastries, placing them before the disciples of the various schools. The disciples soon began to chat amongst themselves.

The main topics of conversation revolved around the previous battle in the Ghost City and the upcoming Lotus Lantern Dharma Assembly.

As someone who had experienced the battle in the Ghost City firsthand, Zhao Xuanqi had little interest in the mutual flattery being exchanged by the disciples. He was, however, quite interested in gathering information about the upcoming Lotus Lantern Dharma Assembly.

“Our Red Heart Sect arrived late. I heard that Sealed Sects from both the Guan Nan and Beiyun Daos were also invited? What’s that about?”

He Xijun asked with some confusion.

“They’re two Schools from the neighboring Guan Nan and Beiyun Daos: the Celestial Nine Pavilion of Guan Nan Dao and the Divine Weapon Tomb of Beiyun Dao. You should have heard of them. Rumor has it they were invited to reinforce the South Mansion’s Exorcism Array. It’s done on a twenty-year cycle.”

Chi Li said.

“The Celestial Nine Pavilion and the Divine Weapon Tomb? So it’s those two.”

He Xijun looked surprised, as she had apparently heard of these two Schools before.

“I hear the people from those two Schools won’t arrive at the South Mansion until tomorrow. The various Schools will have a small get-together before the Lotus Lantern Dharma Assembly, and there might even be some sparring.”

Pu Xiangrong said with a smile.

“The Array Maps of the Celestial Nine Pavilion and the Magical Artifacts of the Divine Weapon Tomb… I’ve heard about them for a long time. I’d love to see what they’re capable of this time.”

He Xijun looked both excited and full of anticipation.

Zhao Xuanqi didn’t know much about the Martial Arts Schools outside of Heqing Dao, so he asked a senior disciple beside him and got a general idea about these two Schools.

The Secret Transmission of the Celestial Nine Pavilion was the art of the Array Map; they excelled at controlling Arrays to manipulate the natural world. The Divine Weapon Tomb, on the other hand, was a major School specializing in the Artifact Refining Technique. They were famous throughout the Great Wei, as Martial Artists who focused on Artifact Refining were exceedingly rare, making their contributions to the empire immense.

Building the South Mansion’s city upon a Land of Evil had been no simple matter. Both of these Schools had played a significant role in its construction. Ever since, they have been invited every twenty years during the Lotus Lantern Dharma Assembly to inspect the condition of various Magical Artifacts and Array Maps within the city.