Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 187 Humans are always scheming
On the shore of the East China Sea, atop a cliff.

Master Ziyan and Immortal Lingguang returned to the Mirage Sect together.

As usual, Lingguang Xian returned to her small building and then stayed inside. The sect members were already used to this and no one paid any attention.

Master Ziyan was busy reporting that Chen Ye had stolen the illusion techniques of the Mirage Sect. Apart from the sect leader who was in seclusion, all the high-ranking members of the Mirage Sect were alarmed and discussed how to handle the matter.

With the Qinghe Sword Sect backing him up, the mere excuse of stealing secret techniques is probably not enough to make a move against Chen Ye.

The Mirage Faction couldn't stand idly by, so they had to come up with a solution as soon as possible.

After returning to her small building, Lingguangxian's form dispersed into a wisp of smoke, seeping into the rune-covered floor and landing in a pool of water.

This is a pool specially built by the Mirage Sect. It is connected to the sea through tiny pipes, and seawater is pumped up using magic to turn the pool into living water.

The pool contains the physical body of Lingguang Xian, a mirage larger than the entire small building.

The shape of the clam is similar to that of an ordinary clam, except that most of them are white like jade, while Lingguangxian's body is a color close to jadeite, and there are many fine patterns on the clam shell, which look like scales.

It was precisely these other appearances that allowed the Mirage Sect to immediately recognize Lingguangxian's extraordinary nature.

Lingguangxian's soul re-integrated into her physical body, and she also absorbed the few drops of snake venom into her body.

A wave of dizziness washed over her, and Lingguangxian fell into a deep sleep in the pool.

I haven't slept so deeply in so many years, as if my consciousness is about to disappear.

In a blur, Lingguangxian felt herself return to the Ruins of Return, falling continuously into that familiar darkness.

This feeling is warm and reassuring, as if the Mirage Sect has fulfilled its promise and all the mirage demons no longer need to worry about being harmed.

The mirage demon was originally indifferent to worldly affairs, only wanting to swallow seawater in the deep sea, taste the seaweed, and then carefree blow bubbles.

However, even in the deepest dreams, one can still be disturbed.

Lingguangxian had no idea how long she had been asleep until she was awakened by a sound coming from the darkness.

Only his consciousness was awake; his body seemed to be still falling, but his mind had become clear and he saw a giant red serpent that looked as if it could swallow him whole.

Lingguang Xian had never seen such a huge snake before and couldn't help but ask, "Sect Master of the Yellow Springs Sect, are you also a demon?"

The Crimson Serpent spoke up, "Little girl, don't talk nonsense. I am not some kind of monster. I am not the sect master of the Yellow Springs Sect. I am his grandmaster, and I came here specifically to save you from your suffering."

Lingguangxian shook her head and said, "I am not a little girl, and there is no distinction between male and female among the mirage demons."

The Crimson Serpent explained, “But you will soon need to take on the appearance of a human, because you and your Mirage Demon clan will be joining the Yellow Springs Sect. You will need to serve the sect leader and adapt to your new identities; you can’t always appear as a cloud of smoke.”

Lingguang Xian calmly said, "Grandmaster of the Yellow Springs Sect Master, you haven't fulfilled your promise yet."

"This is not a difficult matter. The Mirage Sect is definitely targeting my Yellow Springs Sect because of the leak of their illusion techniques, but they don't know where their sect's secret techniques were leaked."

Lingguangxian said, "It's Xiaoqi."

The Venerable One tempted, "That's right, they are your people, but they don't know it. If the Mirage Sect finds out, would they still dare to use those few Mirage Pearls that have developed sentience?"

Lingguangxian said, "They will destroy my people!"

"So you need to let them know about this, and then find a way to persuade them to take back all the mirage pearls."

Lingguangxian exclaimed in surprise, "I'm here to persuade the Mirage Sect?"

The Venerable One patiently persuaded, "That's right. Instead of waiting for us to break through the mirage and come to rescue you, why not try it yourself? Lingguang Xian, you have the ability. You have always used illusion magic to imitate everything. You actually understand the human race very well. You just have never tried it."

Lingguang Xian refused, saying, "No, the sect leader of the Yellow Springs Sect promised me that you would find a way to save the Mirage Demon Clan, not through such a risky method!"

The Venerable One laughed and said, "Whether it's risky or not is entirely up to you. You can use the secrets you have to deceive, threaten, or use other people's methods to get them to hand over the Mirage Pearls that they no longer dare to use. It's not a difficult task. You can't expect us to kill and steal the Mirage Pearls one by one."
"Magic treasures will be destroyed before the cultivators even begin to fight. You've fought countless people on the arena, don't you understand this principle? How can you be considered the leader of a clan if you entrust the lives of your people to a complete stranger?"

Lingguang Xian was silent for a moment, then asked, "And then? After I took back all my people, what happened next?"

"That's a matter for our Yellow Springs Sect. We will create an opportunity for you and your soul to escape, and we will help you return to the Yellow Springs Sect."

Lingguang Xian pressed further, "How can you guarantee that?"

The Venerable One explained, “July 14th is the founding ceremony of the Yellow Springs Sect. If the Mirage Sect wants to cause us trouble, they will definitely choose this day. At that time, I will keep the Mirage Sect busy, and you can take this opportunity to leave. The Yellow Springs Sect will naturally send someone to pick you up. As for guarantees, even a diviner may not be able to foresee all the unexpected events, so you can only make your own judgment.” Lingguang Xian asked, “The Yellow Springs Sect Master had Xiao Qi use illusion magic on the arena. Was he deliberately exposing Xiao Qi’s whereabouts and forcing me to use this method to save myself?”

The Venerable One laughed and said, "Haha, how could that be? My grand-disciple would not stoop to such petty tricks to scheme against you. He has only been cultivating for a short time, and he has no other way to isolate himself from the senses of outsiders and discuss matters with you."

"But this is indeed the most suitable method. Sometimes, I also feel that he is a person favored by fate. He only needs to act according to his heart, and the world will help him."

Perhaps this is the great undertaking that the Yellow Springs Sect wants to accomplish, so that evil will be punished and good will be rewarded.

Lingguang Xian said, "You humans always like to talk about these seemingly plausible principles, but what you say makes sense. The life and death of the Mirage Demon Clan cannot be completely entrusted to strangers, but I will not serve the Yellow Spring Sect for life as I said before."

The Venerable One said, "Even if you were willing, my grand-disciple would not treat you as a slave. That is why I am bargaining with you. Our Yellow Springs Sect cannot take too much risk for a stranger we have just met. The world is so treacherous. It is either you scheme against me or I scheme against you. Don't think that just because you are a monster you can get any preferential treatment."

Lingguang Xian no longer refuted the Venerable One, but asked softly, "How long will the effects of the snake venom last? How much longer can I sleep like this?"

"You can sleep as long as you want, I'll restore your dream to normal right away..."

"No, no need, it's fine as it is."

Lingguangxian fell silent, her body continuing to plummet into the endless abyss, as if only in this way could she sleep soundly.

The Venerable One disappeared from the dream, and his consciousness returned to the Yellow Springs Palace.

As he opened his eyes from meditation, the Crimson Serpent Buddha beside him vanished.

After Chen Ye unified the northern frontier, all the incense offerings of the people of the northern frontier were gathered in the City God Pavilion of the Yellow Springs Taoist Palace, where the Red Serpent Buddha selected and devoured the resentment and unwillingness among them.

The number of devotees offering incense is far greater than the small number of scattered cultivators in Baihai Valley. The Venerable One has not examined it carefully, but it is certain that it is much stronger than before. If they encounter the Buddha of the Nirvana Sect again, they should be able to resolve the situation without the help of Cixin Temple.

The Venerable One muttered to himself, "Indeed, rebuilding the sect is my path to immortality. My divination is never wrong. With the added fortune of my good grand-disciple, ascension is just around the corner."

However, things still need to be settled before ascending.

The Venerable One did not establish this sect simply for the purpose of ascension; he also genuinely wanted the Red Serpent Holy Sect's techniques to be passed down.

Before that, we need to eliminate all sorts of troubles for the Yellow Springs Sect.

The Lord didn't take the Mirage Sect seriously. The Mirage Sect was no longer what it used to be; it didn't even have a single cultivator at the Dao Integration Realm. If it weren't for Zhang Qi from the Qinghe Sword Sect, the Lord would have already attacked them. How could the Mirage Sect so easily bully the Sect Master of the Yellow Springs Sect?

For the Yellow Springs Sect, the real trouble is the Nirvana Sect. It's about time to completely resolve the trouble with the Nirvana Sect. We can't wait until the founding ceremony to worry about the Nirvana Sect causing trouble.

The Lord took out the mirror he had brought back from the Holy City of the Northern Frontier.

The image of the Nine-Colored Deer is still incredibly clear; as long as you inject spiritual energy to activate it, you can control this Nine-Colored Deer.

This is merely a ritual artifact, serving no purpose whatsoever for offense or defense. The claim that activating the Nine-Colored Deer will cause it to leap into the Lingtian Buddhist Kingdom is nothing but a joke.

The magical artifacts used in the Nirvana School for sacrificial rites were naturally controlled by the monks of the Nirvana School.

It is because they know where the true entrance to the Nirvana Sect is that they are able to precisely control the Nine-Colored Deer to enter the so-called Lingtian Buddhist Kingdom.

This mirror is useless on its own, but in the hands of a cultivator skilled in divination, it becomes a clue.

If one has ever entered the Lingtian Buddhist Kingdom, then one can calculate the past and find the location of the Lingtian Buddhist Kingdom.

The Crimson Serpent Buddha reappeared, coiling around the Venerable Lord. Countless spiritual lights arose and vanished, transforming into billions of illusory images, and countless past events appeared before the Venerable Lord.

Just as they were about to find the hidden Lingtian Buddhist Kingdom, the Venerable Lord heard a sigh.

“Junior brother, it is good to be lenient when you can. We are both Buddhists, why force each other?”

The Venerable One laughed, "Senior Brother, I knew you weren't dead after all. But you used the entire Nirvana Sect to block Zhang Qi's sword for you, didn't you? How much strength do you have left now?"

The ethereal voice turned sinister: "Qu Heng, do you really intend to fight me to the death?!"

The Venerable One said decisively, "Back in Hundred Seas Valley, Senior Brother didn't hold back when he attacked me either. If I hadn't been prepared, I would have been captured by you and tortured day and night in the Nirvana Sect. Now that our situations have reversed, why bother with such a petty act? Let's be more open and honest."

"Very well, then I will await your arrival in the Lingtian Buddhist Kingdom. I want to see if you, this suicidal demon, dare to take the risk yourself!"

(End of this chapter)