The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 555 Peeling Back the Old Monster's Skin
By peeling back the layers, they only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg, but through this small glimpse, they could see the bigger picture and understand the true nature of things. Lang Jiuchuan and his companions had already discerned what kind of monster lurked beneath the Grand Preceptor's facade.

Discovering the truth is one thing, but the most important thing is to nip this old monster's scheme in the bud.

The head of the Gong family frowned and said, "These are just various speculations without any real basis. The imperial tomb is not something we can just barge into. If we guess wrong, we might alert the enemy and get ourselves into trouble. Besides, the prestige of the Grand Preceptor is already deeply rooted in the people of Dadan. Even if we say that he is an old monster who has repeatedly possessed his descendants, without any evidence, I'm afraid no one will believe us."

"No need to say anything, it's useless anyway." Lang Jiuchuan shook his head and said, "He is not like the Rong family head who values ​​the family's reputation and would be held hostage by so-called fame. As you said, his reputation is already deep and he is revered by the people as a god. Using the method of spreading rumors is a very bad strategy and a futile effort."

Gong Tinglan sneered and said, "Revere him as a god? His actions are nothing but deception and theft. How much faith and power he has enjoyed now will become a boomerang that will backfire on him once his true colors are exposed."

The more severely people are deceived, the more severe the backlash will be.

Lang Jiuchuan smiled and said, "What the young master says is quite right."

The head of the Gong family looked at the two confident young men who seemed oblivious to their own limitations and snorted, "You talk so easily, but you don't even have a plan for exposing his true colors. Don't be so naive and underestimate him. Most importantly, we need to investigate the imperial mausoleum to confirm whether our earlier guesses were correct, right?"

Lang Jiuchuan and Gong Tinglan exchanged a disgruntled look and said, "This matter needs to be discussed in detail, but we must start blocking the Grand Preceptor's path from now on, leaving no stone unturned."

If the opponent is Tantai Wuji, whose schemes have been in place for a thousand years, a head-on confrontation would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock. However, we cannot simply ignore him and allow him to develop in a sneaky manner, seizing any favorable fortune or people. Otherwise, if his schemes succeed, everything in this world will become a stepping stone for him to reach the top. At that time, the fate of the common people is unimaginable.

If we can't confront them head-on, then we should avoid their strength, attack where they must defend, and disrupt their rhythm, so that we can find an opportunity for them.

Most importantly, she had to find his true form and destroy his foundation before he completed the final ritual, so she had to break into this imperial tomb!

Lang Jiuchuan looked at the Gong family head and said, "We need more like-minded people to join us, to combine all the forces that can be united, to investigate and intercept any possibility that he might steal the fortune, and to weaken his power as much as possible. In addition, he should be collecting people with special destinies to prepare for what he is plotting."

She recounted the story of Wen Yue's daughter.

The head of the Gong family frowned deeply: "It's about national fortune and destiny, and a person with a special fate. Even if he's trying to break through to the Golden Core realm, does he really need all of this? Is he really only trying to break through to the Golden Core realm and enter the path of immortality?"

"It can only be used for setting up formations, utilizing formations for assistance." Gong Tinglan pursed her lips and said, "He cherishes his reputation and his own power, so he probably has henchmen outside acting on his behalf. But the power of our Xuan Clan..."

The head of the Gong family turned green. The Rong family had been defeated, and the Feng family was an opportunist, the kind that couldn't be relied on. Even with just the Gong family, their strength was limited, not to mention that Lang Jiuchuan was all alone.

The most shameful thing is that most of my fellow cultivators have only average cultivation levels. How can we fight against them?
“There must be some truly reclusive cultivators in this world. If so, word will spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred. If they truly uphold the Way and protect the people, they will act on behalf of Heaven. Patriarch, I firmly believe that those who follow the Way will receive much help!”

Lang Jiuchuan's composure reassured the head of the Gong family, who sighed, "I'll go and visit them a couple of times."

Lang Jiuchuan raised an eyebrow. Did this mean that he knew there were people living in seclusion, and that the Gong family had neither suppressed nor recruited them?

"I'll trouble you with this matter. I'll try to investigate the imperial mausoleum." The head of the Gong family said, "The imperial mausoleum is a very important place. He has been planning this for a long time and will definitely treat it like his own eyes. I don't recommend you trespass unless absolutely necessary. You've already been targeted once inside. If your soul escaped, the target would be destroyed. If you were a key figure, he wouldn't let you go. Don't ruin yourself. Rebirth is not easy, and Heaven won't give you special treatment again and again."

Although it was a warning, it was also a way of showing concern for her as a senior.

Lang Jiuchuan bowed with his hands clasped, exchanged a few more words with them, and then took his leave.

After leaving the library, Gong Tinglan stood beside her and said, "My father is right. He has been plotting against you for a long time. If your guess is correct, planting you deep in the imperial mausoleum is not only to nourish the dragon vein, but also to nourish his own body. You have escaped, but he will not let you roam freely. He has not made any moves now, but he is using the child to lure you into a trap to test your strength. He must have a deeper plan. You are in danger."

"I know he will kill me again!" Lang Jiuchuan said calmly. "I will prepare for the worst."

Gong Tinglan's heart sank.

The worst-case scenario is that if that old monster becomes the core of the formation, we will fight him with all our might, or even perish together!

Would Lang Jiuchuan do that? Gong Tinglan thought she would. She was just like him, born with a rebellious streak.

"We are keeping in touch."

Gong Tinglan nodded. As she tore open the Yin Path, she suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, do you know what the Imperial Preceptor's title is? When I checked the historical records, I found that when he was appointed Imperial Preceptor, he did not have a title. He was only called Imperial Preceptor Canglan. Isn't Canglan a Taoist title?"

Something flashed through Lang Jiuchuan's mind, his memory settling on a particular image. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "It is—Wuji!"

"What?" Gong Tinglan's pupils contracted.

"When I turned two, it was time for me to be given a Taoist name. Coincidentally, I received a piece of Azure Dragon Wood. He touched my head and said, 'Azure Dragon Wood of the East, Jia and Yi, matches your birth chart.' So I blurted out, 'I'll call myself Qing Yi.'" Lang Jiuchuan looked into the void, as if he could see that little girl nestled in the arms of that man dressed in white, innocently raising her head to ask, "What about Master's name?"

"Canglan means having lofty aspirations, firm will, fearlessness in the face of difficulties, and courage to move forward. This is my teacher's nickname."

“Canglan is not imposing enough, it doesn’t suit you… Ayue, I have a Daoist name now, Qingyi, call me Aqing.” The little girl got up from her master’s arms, took two short steps, and ran towards her pretty playmate who was walking slowly towards her. Behind her, her master’s indistinct words came from the wind.

“Then let it be Wuji.” The Grand Preceptor put his hands behind his back: “Wuji Supreme, that shall be my title.”

The little girl had already grabbed her playmate's hand and run away.

Wuji, the void and chaos, formless and without appearance, from which Taiji arises, from which all things are born, Wuji is eternal.

Lang Jiuchuan and Gong Tinglan's expressions changed strangely. The current Imperial Preceptor, once stripped of his skin, was not Tantai Qing at all, but the ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years—Tantai Wuji!
(End of this chapter)