A Few Days Later
Meng Xian visited Ji Changchen.
Ji Changchen looked at the newcomer and smiled meaningfully. "I didn't expect the deer to enter the wolf's den!"
Meng Xian glanced at the other members, then at Ji Changchen. "How about we talk alone?"
Ji Changchen didn't care. "Sure."
Ji Changchen definitely coveted Meng Xian's memories.
He glanced at him and said with a smile, "So, why did you come to me?"
He refused to believe Meng Xian wasn't prepared.
Meng Xian was a former Rank 8 Warrior. He possessed vast knowledge of formations, alchemy, and cultivation. He had already prepared an Inscription to flee as soon as he sensed danger.
Meng Xian came straight to the point. "Li Gang."
Ji Changchen narrowed his eyes.
Meng Xian spoke lightly, "You are already aware of how dangerous he is. He is currently seeking the Soul Emperor's Inheritance, and he must obtain it since it will aid his future cultivation path. You should already know he lacks a Spiritual Imprint and is cultivating solely on Rank 8 Heavenly Lotus. How long do you think that can last?"
Ji Changchen smiled faintly. "Your lies are as clear as water. Do you think I don't know you are from the future?"
Meng Xian narrowed his eyes but remained confident inwardly. 'As expected, he saw through my identity long ago!'
Meng Xian didn't deny it. He thought these deductions added credibility to his words, but he was wrong.
Ji Changchen spoke with disdain, "You are not the only one who can see the future."
Meng Xian was surprised.
Ji Changchen continued, "I already know what kind of Inheritance it is. Even in the future you know, it wasn't Li Gang who took it, but Ye Fan, wasn't it?"
He glanced at the System's functionalities as he smiled.
Able to hide completely from Little Heaven. Even if Little Heaven invades the host's body, it cannot detect the System's existence.
All the information of the Divine Spirit World has been loaded into the System. This includes all history and every person who has ever been born here.
It passively alters the memories of those who are suspicious of the System's existence.
The System can now read anyone's memory.
It can predict where opportunities lie.
It can estimate possible futures.
He thought inwardly, 'System, read all of Meng Xian's memories.'
At that moment, all of Meng Xian's plans, his entire future, the future of the Divine Spirit World, the involvement of Emperors and Immortals—everything began appearing in Ji Changchen's mind.
However, before he could fully absorb the memories, Meng Xian decisively activated his Inscription and vanished. Ji Changchen could only glimpse fragments of various events. The only clear fact he grasped was how many were involved in the Grand Inheritance of Ascendance.
Ji Changchen was shocked by Meng Xian's decisiveness. He couldn't even load a fraction of the memories.
He murmured slowly, 'System, how did he realize? Couldn't you do it secretly?'
Ding! Meng Xian is unaware of the System's existence. He only knows some of the System's abilities from his future memories. He is cautious, believing it can see others' fates.
Ji Changchen suddenly saw a letter appear before him, and he laughed. "So that's how it is?"
He added with disdain, "Such a coward."
Meng Xian knew some of Ji Changchen's abilities, though he didn't know whether Ji Changchen could read his memories or not. He simply didn't want to lose any advantage he had. He couldn't afford to leak a single detail of himself.
Ji Changchen read the letter. It detailed a deal: Meng Xian would help Ji Changchen seize the Inheritance as he wished, but in exchange they would join forces to kill Li Gang. The letter also revealed key information about the Inheritance.
Meng Xian had no intention of explicitly cooperating with Ji Changchen. He merely sought implicit cooperation.
But he miscalculated something.
Ji Changchen didn't need his help to get what he wanted. Meng Xian underestimated this 'young' Ji Changchen.
Ji Changchen was already an Advanced Warrior. Furthermore, he could foresee the future to a certain extent. Of course, the future he sees isn't under his control; it's under the System's control. The System doesn't see the exact future itself, but deduces the most probable futures based on the information it has. Thus, its future is not always accurate but most probable.
For example, this time, even though Ji Changchen was aware Meng Xian would come, he didn't know he would be so decisive. Even the letter he gave to Ji Changchen wasn't something he brought beforehand, but he created it in a fraction of seconds before leaving. The future changes with the information and knowledge you possess, due to the Law of Unpredictability. The System can predict the future, but the moment it predicts, the future changes. It can only give the most probable future insights.
Ji Changchen had already seen the future of this battle. He foresaw that, in the end, Ye Fan would still obtain the Soul Emperor's Inheritance due to Li Gang's interference. Despite Meng Xian's so-called cooperation, the moment he aimed for the final blow against Li Gang, he would be betrayed.
Ji Changchen had seen fragments of Meng Xian's memories, and in one, Li Gang was sitting in front of him.
He smirked. "Do you really think I would fall for your petty tricks?"
He smiled inwardly. 'It's time to see him. He could be a useful tool to block Li Gang in this Space.'
Ji Changchen's cultivation was sealed at Rank 6 peak stage. His protector was forbidden from entering this Inheritance world. Other Warriors were keeping watch over him. He didn't have absolute advantage in this foreign continent.
Warriors from all over the world had flocked to this Inheritance. They all sought profit, most from esteemed Sects.
Sects also required abundant resources for development, so they sent top Warriors to gather resources here. The Soul Spring was one of the rarest resources. It was extremely precious because it only generated outside the Divine Spirit World. However, these isolated Spaces could exploit loopholes to collect Soul Springs from outside the Barrier.
It should be noted that the Barrier separating the Divine Spirit World from the Heaven of Balance didn't provide absolute isolation. It could block Spiritual Essence completely, but wind and water could still naturally flow from one side to the other.
Yet this didn't mean Immortals could use wind and water to unleash powerful attacks and wipe out all Warriors.
The reason was simple: Barriers.
Barriers were like clothes. Imagine a wall of cloth. If you spill a bucket of water with force, will it pass through? Of course not. However, if water stays in constant contact, it will gradually seep through.
Coming back to our story.
These Warriors collected Soul Springs in bulk and sent them back to their Sects. Using raw Soul Spring to forcefully elevate Soul Cultivation is a waste of resources. Meanwhile, using it in alchemical pills improves its efficacy significantly.
Near one such Soul Spring, a large base of the Heaven's Hand Sect had been established.
Li Yuxong and Huang Ling were the leaders there.
Li Yuxong was a Rank 7 early-stage Warrior, while Huang Ling was Rank 7 mid-stage.
When a Warrior reached Rank 7, they mastered a Law, especially related to their Spiritual Imprint attribute.
A Rank 6 early-stage Warrior arrived and informed Li Yuxong, "Holy Son, there is a guest."
Li Yuxong glanced at Huang Ling and nodded.
Both left to meet the 'uninvited' guest.
Upon arrival at another tent, they saw a young man with extraordinary appearance and demeanor, sitting elegantly.
Li Yuxong greeted him properly. "Hello there! And you are?"
Ji Changchen glanced at the young man and nodded. "You are indeed extraordinary."
Name: Li Yuxong
Age: 75 years
Identity: Heaven's Chosen One
Favorability: 30 (out of 100)
Physique: None
Cultivation: Rank 7 Early Stage
Soul Cultivation: Rank 7 Early Stage
Weapon Realm: Sword Myriad
Talent: S grade
Spiritual Imprint: Rank 8 Poplar Resilience, Rank 9 Warp Walker
Battle Strength: Rank 7 peak stage
Cultivation Technique: Rank 8 Verdant Pulse Refinement, Rank 9 Astral Spirit Technique, Quasi Rank 9 Blade of Brilliance
Luck Value: 1,000,000,000
Ji Changchen was surprised by the dual Spiritual Imprint. He thought inwardly, 'System, is it really possible for someone to have dual Spiritual Imprint?'
Ding! Yes, it is completely possible. Hundreds of Warriors have dual Spiritual Imprint. A few even possess triple or quadruple Spiritual Imprints, though all of those are below Rank 5 Spiritual Imprint. Li Yuxong is an anomaly.
Ding! It is recommended to be cautious of Li Yuxong. Warriors with dual Spiritual Imprint above Rank 7 are all pinnacle talents. You may not have the ability to defeat him, even with your peak cultivation.
Li Yuxong's Warp Walker was an overwhelmingly strong ability. Unlike other teleportation techniques that used the shortest path through higher-dimensional constructs, Li Yuxong's Warp Walker bypasses space itself. Even if no path connected two nodes of space at any level of dimensionality, he could still move instantly from one to the other.
Because of this, Li Yuxong's movements were immeasurable, unpredictable by precognition or spatial fluctuations. His ability surpassed even the Spatial Order that Li Gang possessed.
Ji Changchen smiled faintly. "I am here for a collaboration. Our Celestial Sect and Heaven's Hand Sect have been allies for eras, supporting each other in times of need."
Li Yuxong immediately guessed his identity. "So, it is the great Holy Son Ji Changchen. I have heard of your name so many times. If not for those three anomalies, maybe you would have been the number one genius under heaven!"
Ji Changchen nodded. "They are indeed anomalies. And I am here to make a collaboration with you to deal with one of the anomalies!"
Li Yuxong narrowed his eyes. He understood who he was talking about.
According to his intelligence, Jin Huang is Ji Changchen's wife, and thus, he doesn't need to deal with her. There is another — He Fan — and Li Gang. He didn't know who He Fan was, nor did he know if there is any interaction between Ji Changchen and Li Gang.
He could intuitively feel the one Ji Changchen was targeting was Li Gang. Since, unlike the other two, whose battle strength comes from their Weapon Realms, Li Gang's battle strength comes from some sort of treasure. If this treasure is unusable, then he could be targeted.
Ji Changchen smiled meaningfully. "It seems you have guessed."
Li Yuxong glanced at Ji Changchen and asked lightly, "Do you know who I am?"
Ji Changchen didn't deny it. "Yes, Holy Son of Heaven's Hand Sect and brother of the Demon King of the South, Li Yuxong!"
Huang Ling glared at Ji Changchen. "We have no intention—"
Before she could continue, Li Yuxong stopped her. He glanced at Ji Changchen and asked lightly, "Why did you come here knowingly?"
Ji Changchen smiled faintly. "Because I am confident I can convince you."
Li Yuxong kept looking at him, waiting for him to continue.
Ji Changchen stood up slowly. He moved towards Li Yuxong and said in a slow voice that only he could hear, "Haven't you realized by now? How did those bodies disappear? Who took them with them, and for what reasons? Don't you already know?"
He paused, then said in a heavy tone, "Your brother is a lost cause!"