After sensing Deng Wei, Wang Xueyao left Li Gang. It also happened to be an opportunity created by Deng Wei.
He controlled the Spiritfire Wolf to attack a few Warriors who were quite close to that area. Hearing the commotion, it attracted Li Gang and Wang Xueyao.
Deng Wei only knew that she was too strong—strong enough to kill Immortal Zhu in one shot from the Timeless Demon God's memories—but he didn't know anything else about her.
Wang Xueyao asked coldly, "What do you want from him?"
Deng Wei smiled. "The same thing those Immortals want!"
It should be noted that this entire conversation was hidden from the Immortals. The Immortals could also overhear everything around Wang Xueyao, but she had the ability to notice them.
Earlier, Deng Wei's method of prying on Wang Xueyao and Li Gang was extremely hidden, to the point that even the Immortals couldn't notice it.
But how could Wang Xueyao have noticed it in an even lower, sealed state? It was because of intuition. After reaching certain levels, one could intuitively sense if someone was watching them or if danger was nearby.
The Immortals themselves didn't want to provoke her. They were prying on the entire world on her orders and wouldn't do anything reckless. Of course, they would still occasionally peek at the situation "by mistake."
Wang Xueyao narrowed her eyes. "When I was entering the Monarch Inheritance, I felt a strange gust of wind. It wasn't ordinary! Among all the emperors, only the Elemental Emperor uses the power of elements."
Back then, when Long Yifan was poisoned, Wang Xueyao had noticed it. Not just her—even the Immortals noticed it and knew the Elemental Emperor was somewhere nearby, but they couldn't see the source from which the attack was launched.
Deng Wei narrowed his eyes. "Are you Renascence?"
This was a common misdirection tactic, and it worked well.
Think from Wang Xueyao's perspective.
Deng Wei was the Elemental Emperor. He didn't know her identity, yet she was able to see through his deceptions. What did that mean?
In her opinion, he would suspect her to be extremely formidable. Who could be as formidable as the Elemental Emperor? Other Emperors.
Thus, Deng Wei's question at this moment was justified.
At the same time, a smart person would also understand her perspective and ask the same question to avoid the opponent's suspicions.
So how could one determine the truth? You couldn't.
A person on the deceiving end always held an advantage—one that couldn't be bypassed unless you were so cautious that you suspected every single aspect. But even then, you could only suspect; you could never be sure.
Wang Xueyao could intuitively tell that he was lying, but she had no proof.
She was also incapable of harming an Emperor like him in her current state. She wouldn't act unless she was forced.
She thought inwardly, 'What if he lured me here? What would that mean?'
Her eyes narrowed. 'That would only be possible if he knew all along who I am!'
She couldn't see through his identity, but she knew she had encountered a monster. She had no way to counter him at the moment, because he was too strong in this place. If this were the God Realm, erasing someone like him would be nothing more than a snap of her fingers. But right now, right here, this was his domain.
Deng Wei smiled faintly. "I am not an enemy. You can make your own plans, do your own job, and I will do mine. Even if you want to protect him, I wouldn't care."
Wang Xueyao narrowed her eyes. "If he could be killed that easily, I would let you have him."
Wang Xueyao had shown murderous intent when she first met Li Gang, but the moment she did, she instinctively felt an immense threat. She felt that the moment she tried to kill him, she would die.
Because of this, even after showing murderous intent multiple times, she never killed him. Instead, she felt he could be a useful asset to her. Unfortunately, she lacked sufficient information to make a firm judgment.
After saying those words, Wang Xueyao left.
Deng Wei looked at her back and smiled faintly. 'I know the threat of that thing inside him. I can't kill him—but can't I let others do it? What does that have to do with me?'
Right after Wang Xueyao left, the Immortals began influencing Li Gang.
Li Gang had been quite injured by the Spiritfire Wolf and spent a long time healing himself.
He took out a pouch of Ironbone Tonic—a yellowish fluid capable of healing bone-related injuries up to Rank 3 Warriors. He then bound his external wounds with cloth and swallowed a few Grade 2 Vitality Pills to heal his internal injuries. Vitality Pills increased recovery speed and could heal all kinds of injuries.
At the same time, he reflected on his advantages and disadvantages.
'I've already collected various Spiritual Plants for making different poisons, but I don't have enough space. I've only managed to refine poisons that can seriously injure up to Rank 4 peak and mildly injure Rank 5 peak Warriors. I wanted to make Grade 5 Bloodmoon Poison, but I lack the materials. I've already obtained Bloodmoon Lilies, Lunar Seeds, and many supplements. What I need most now is the Bloodmoon Spider's Tongue to begin refining. There are other supplementary materials needed as well, but those can be replaced.
'I also possess Bloodthorn Vines, which are used to make Soulbane Poison, but I still need the Soul Devourer Orchid, Corpse Blossom, and some other supplements that can be substituted if necessary.'
Li Gang possessed many materials for poison-making, but none were complete. Now that Wang Xueyao wasn't with him, he didn't have enough storage to carry everything. He would have to discard some and keep only what he needed most.
Even though he needed Bloodmoon Poison the most, he resolutely discarded all of its materials. First, it freed up a lot of space, as those ingredients were abundant. Second, Bloodmoon Spiders were extremely rare, and it was unlikely he would find one in this small world.
By contrast, making Soulbane Poison was far easier, since its materials were not required in bulk and occupied very little space in his rings.
But was that really what he wanted?
No. Once again, he was being influenced by the Immortals.
A Bloodmoon Spider's brain was connected to its tongue. If the tongue was forcibly torn off, the brain would be damaged.
The Immortals wanted Li Gang to obtain a Bloodmoon Spider's brain from this Monarch Inheritance. But if he kept the materials for Bloodmoon Poison, he would decisively try to rip off its tongue.
Of course, the Immortals could directly take control of him and stop him—but if there was already a glass of water beside you, would you bother breaking coconut to quench thirst?
Controlling someone was far easier when their thoughts aligned.
The Bloodmoon Spider's brain was an important ingredient for the Dao-Refining Heaven Ascension Pill.
At the same time, Deng Wei's scheme was also underway.
If you recall, right after Wang Xueyao left Li Gang, Long Xuan appeared to kill him. Was that really a coincidence?
No. It was designed by Deng Wei.
Deng Wei deliberately sent Long Xuan to that location. His clone had been hiding within the Spirit Dragon Sect all along as an ordinary Warrior, influencing various actions from within.
The Immortals also took this opportunity to temper Li Gang. They influenced Long Xuan's thoughts and made him more prideful, allowing Li Gang to exploit the situation.
Meanwhile, Li Gang himself was also scheming.
As the Immortals and Emperors plotted behind the scenes, he was planning to turn the Four Factions against one another. But he also realized something else.
Before Wang Xueyao left, Li Gang was still someone with a trace of kindness. But now, he was scheming to kill on a massive scale and eliminate competitors without hesitation.
How could someone change so much in such a short time?
Li Gang suspected his thoughts were being influenced.
He tried not to dwell on his reasoning, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't use abstract thinking—he didn't possess a physique like Jin Huang's. Jin Huang was an anomaly in this world.
The Immortals saw through his thoughts. They realized Li Gang had noticed the subtle influence on his mind, but they didn't care. He couldn't stop it anyway.
No matter how much a pig struggles on the chopping board, it's still destined to be butchered.
Li Gang tried to resist. He knew that erasing his emotions and turning him vile was not something that would benefit him.
So what was his method?
He used Tang Liuyue—his family, his kin, his friends.
He forced himself to fall for Tang Liuyue so that he could resist the vileness being engraved into him. He forced himself to love his family as deeply as possible. He forced himself to build kinship with Jin Lie and Cao Wei. He even cried many times.
Unfortunately, it was all meaningless.
The Immortals countered accordingly. They created disgust in Tang Liuyue's heart toward Li Gang, leading her to betray him. In fact, she could have fallen for Li Gang and betrayed Wang Xueyao if not for the Immortals' interference. Although, Wang Xueyao also had other means to make her submit.
What was the consequence?
Faced with Tang Liuyue's betrayal, all of Li Gang's efforts not only collapsed but instead intensified the vileness within him.
All this time, Deng Wei was not idle either.
Absolute Margin is the ability of Little Heaven that controls the probability of various events at an absolute level.
Even though Absolute Margin was one of the causes of the Giant Hand Catastrophe, Little Heaven did not deliberately cause it!
It was Deng Wei's plan—to force Wang Xueyao out of this world while simultaneously injuring her so that she could no longer involve herself in this world's affairs.
The Heavenly Dao seeks balance, and its interference never tries to harm the world itself. Little Heaven exists for creation, not destruction. Huang Shu was an illegitimate child and didn't receive much attention from his father, even though his father loved him.
Little Heaven enhanced the level of the weapon his father was going to provide for this journey, which essentially made up for the lack of love he had experienced.
There is a saying: Heaven is fair. If it takes something from you, it gives you something in return in unexpected ways. You can never know when a path will open in front of you!
After Huang Shu was deceived by Li Gang and surrounded by Rank 5 Spiritual Beasts, he used the weapon to resist them for more than five hours and successfully escaped.
But if that were all, he still wouldn't have survived. He was too severely injured, and without healing pills, he was merely waiting for death.
Deng Wei's clone appeared and healed him.
Huang Shu already harbored immense resentment toward Li Gang, and saving him was enough to push the plan forward.
Later on, Deng Wei performed exceptionally well in the Perseverance Test, drawing the attention of many. This was another calculated move—he did it specifically to attract Kong Xuan's attention.
He wanted Kong Xuan to take him as a disciple. He knew Kong Xuan was monitoring the entire inheritance.