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Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 6: [Battle for the True Inheritance]
Chapter 43 (584): [The Divergent Hearts of Men]
(43rd of Volume 6)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
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Within the hundred-mile radius of the Nether Domain, three mountains and a valley stood, their formations fully activated.
Mysterious formation glyphs, like starlight, hovered in mid-air, along cliff edges, and at valley entrances.
Defensive barriers, resembling layers of sheer silk draped across the heavens and earth, separated the valley's interior from the outside world.
A massive section of the precipitous peak on the right had collapsed, its fallen earth and colossal boulders sealing off the valley's entrance.
While entry and exit posed no challenge to Immortal Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators, this collapse had created a weak point in Fan Ye Valley's defensive Formation.
It was through this vulnerability that the unknown powerhouse, wielding a gong-shaped Major Artifact in the darkness, had flown across several miles to launch a surprise attack.
Fortunately, Tang Wanzhou's Willpower, which had been enveloping the entire Fan Ye Valley Nether Domain for the past two months, detected the attack immediately.
She repelled the first wave of enemies - the Chen Envoy Qingzao and the Mao Envoy Huo Tianming - who had arrived with the Major Artifact. Following closely behind them, twenty to thirty Fallen Spirit Marquises emerged from the earth.
The situation was dangerous.
If the Shaoyang Division had allowed the enemy to breach their defenses, destroy the Formation, and capture hostages without resistance, Fan Ye Valley would have been no trap at all, let alone capable of annihilating the enemy with its Formation.
They would have faced a grim fate: either death or capture.
In truth, only Bai Chuan had been fully prepared, knowing the Taiyin Sect would arrive soon.
Yet even he was caught off guard by the sudden attack, reacting several breaths slower than Tang Wanzhou.
He couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.
Had Chu Yutian and the Fallen Spirit powerhouses led by the Tai Yin Envoys breached the Formation earlier, wouldn't they have been instantly routed?
Unbeknownst to him, it was Li Weiyi's quiet departure from the valley to pursue a hidden observer that had forced the Taiyin Sect to launch their attack prematurely, before they were fully prepared.
The Taiyin Sect was equally caught off guard.
They had received intelligence: "Tang Wanzhou has ordered that no one leave the valley until Mo Duanfeng returns."
Bai Chuan stood at the valley entrance, perched atop collapsed earth and massive boulders, bearing the responsibility of guarding the breach in the Formation alone.
Meanwhile, within the valley, the Shaoyang Division members learned the truth and were consumed by righteous fury.
Chi Haohan stood below, facing Bai Chuan directly, his massive, bell-like eyes glaring.
In a mocking tone, he asked, "Is this also part of your plan?"
Bai Chuan frowned deeply, analyzing as he spoke.
"Mo Duanfeng used the Spirit Whistle to send a signal. He and the Taiyin Sect forces he attracted should still be thousands of miles away."
"The sudden appearance of the Chen and Mao Envoys can only mean one thing: there must be a Taiyin Sect spy among you."
"Before we even entered the Fan Ye Valley Nether Domain, the spy secretly transmitted information. This allowed the enemy to conceal themselves nearby undetected and launch a surprise attack, catching us completely off guard."
"The problem lies with your Shaoyang Division."
"Is Tu Mian Gou truly the Hai Envoy? How did he vanish without a trace?"
Realizing this, Bai Chuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
His confidence surged, and he seized the initiative, straightening his chest and standing proudly.
His scrutinizing gaze swept across the Shaoyang Guards present.
"My plan with Brother Mo was flawless, yet it was ruined by your failure. Who will give me an explanation? Who leaked the information?"
Seeing his arrogant demeanor, Scholar Zhao Tang felt a nameless anger rise within him.
"Flawless? If not for some unforeseen circumstance forcing the Taiyin Sect to launch an immediate attack, we would have been prepared. When Mo Duanfeng lured the enemy back to the valley, the formation would have activated to receive him. But the hidden enemies suddenly attacked from underground, charging in wave after wave. How could we possibly defend against that?"
Chang Yujian interjected, "Scholar Zhao hasn't addressed the crucial point! I can only say it's fortunate Mo Duanfeng hasn't returned yet."
"Since the traitor is among us, they must have already relayed the news of Mo Duanfeng's reconnaissance mission and Bai Chuan's remaining here. Can Mo Duanfeng even return? And if he does, will it truly be him? Why didn't Chu Yutian reveal himself during the initial attack?"
"Bai Chuan, when you devised this plan, did you even consider the possibility of a traitor among us?"
Everyone could hear the complete lack of respect in Chang Yujian's voice for both Mo Duanfeng and Bai Chuan.
His words sent a cold sweat trickling down the backs of countless onlookers.
Even Bai Chuan fell silent.
After a brief silence, a dazzling light surged back into Bai Chuan's eyes.
"Rest assured, everyone. I've brought a Great Formation from my clan, sufficient to safeguard Fan Ye Valley without worry. But before we activate it, we must first expose the traitor among us."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Bai Chuan darted forward like a phantom, circling behind Tang Wanzhou.
With one hand, he seized Li Weiyi by the neck, while the other pinned Qing Zijin.
"Why do you both reek of faint Yin Qi? I can't detect any human scent!"
"They're Substitute Puppets," Tang Wanzhou explained.
"Substitute Puppets?"
Bai Chuan's double pupils blazed with divine light as he channeled Spiritual Qi into the corpses.
He then flung them aside, demanding, "What's going on here? Where are their true bodies?"
"They've already left the valley!" Tang Wanzhou replied.
"If my deduction is correct," Tang Wanzhou continued, "it was Li Weiyi and Qing Zijin's departure that triggered the Taiyin Sect's scheme, forcing them to launch their attack prematurely."
As he spoke, Tang Wanzhou raised her gaze to the white light hovering atop the mountain peak.
Within that radiant glow stood Nangong's ethereal figure.
Tang Wanzhou strongly suspected that Nangong had sensed the disturbances outside the valley and deliberately allowed Qing Zijin to leave, setting off this chain of events.
After all, Nangong should have known that Qing Zijin couldn't possibly escape Fan Ye Valley alone; Tang Wanzhou, guarding the entrance, would have stopped her.
However, Qing Zijin and Li Weiyi were close allies.
By leveraging Li Weiyi's relationship with Tang Wanzhou, they could slip past the blockade.
Given Li Weiyi's relationship with Tang Wanzhou, how could he possibly keep the hidden truth from her?
This single move served three purposes: probing for enemy activity, informing Tang Wanzhou of the situation, and avoiding excessive offense to Bai Chuan and Mo Duanfeng.
It was a triple win.
If this were truly the case, the woman's cultivation and political acumen were terrifyingly profound.
Bai Chuan's gaze burned like torches as he declared in a deep voice, "Tang Wanzhou! You issued the order that no one is to leave the valley."
"Their cultivation is too weak to make any difference in today's crisis," Nangong's voice drifted down from the mountain peak, ethereal and resonant.
"Rather than have them stay here to die, letting them leave might offer a slim chance of survival."
Bai Chuan knew Nangong had leaked his and Mo Duanfeng's plan: "If they leave, who will maintain the Formation?"
Li Weiyi had made one miscalculation.
Bai Chuan hadn't told Nangong about the plan to enlist her help in setting up the Formation.
He had recognized her deep connection to the Void Ruins Ancient Kingdom, and the footprints outside the ancient city ruins had confirmed his suspicions.
He had seized this opportunity to build rapport and secure a significant advantage.
Nangong scoffed, "Entrusting the Formation to two First Realm Holy Spiritual Masters? The valley is hardly lacking in Holy Spiritual Masters. Yan Zhiruo is at the peak of the First Realm, Zhao Tang is a Third Realm Holy Spiritual Master, and you, Bai Chuan, are a Second Realm Holy Spiritual Master yourself. If you're not a Holy Spiritual Master, why carry the Formation? We're all Dual Cultivators of Psychic and Martial-Mystic Techniques. At this point, what's the point of hiding our true abilities?"
Yan Zhiruo was none other than the Pipa Maiden.
All eyes turned to Zhao Tang, their faces etched with shock.
After all, Zhao Tang's Martial-Mystic Dao cultivation had also reached the Third Realm.
Yan Zhiruo's flirtatious gaze swept across the mountaintop.
"Intriguing. I could see through everyone else, but you... I never expected you to cultivate the Martial-Mystic Dao as well."
Tang Wanzhou stood on the earthen rampart at the valley entrance, peering up at the ghostly energy swirling overhead.
"Now, everyone, please calm your anger. Once we leave the Void Ruins Ancient Kingdom, we'll report this to the Sentinel Lord, and everything will be handled according to military regulations. The enemy is about to attack. We must cease our suspicions and infighting and focus on surviving this crisis together."
"I issue this order: the moment the traitor acts, we cease all external operations. Even if we die in Fan Ye Valley, we will first tear them to shreds, leaving no chance of survival."
Zhao Tang was the first to agree: "Excellent! Only such measures will deter the traitor from acting rashly."
Tang Wanzhou had been observing everyone's eyes, searching for any sign of deception, but found nothing.
Her attempt to probe had failed.
The traitor's cunning far exceeded her expectations.
Beyond the traitor, the people of Fan Ye Valley were riddled with internal conflicts.
Each was fiercely independent, with their own agendas.
How could they ever unite as a single force?
If she possessed the cultivation of the Third Realm, with power so overwhelming that all revered her as a deity, such a situation would never have arisen.
Mo Duanfeng and Bai Chuan dared to act so recklessly precisely because they were stronger than her.
Tang Wanzhou purged all distractions from her mind, rekindling her fighting spirit.
'Though the winds may rage, I will ride them to break through ten thousand miles.'
The Third Immortal Shackle, starting with today's battle, would be shattered inch by inch through relentless combat.
...
Like the Twelve Shaoyang Guards, the Twelve Tai Yin Envoys were mostly Top Chiefs in the Dao Seed Realm, each possessing formidable combat prowess within their realm.
Luo Pingdan's Martial-Mystic Dao cultivation had reached the peak of the First Realm of the Immortal Realm, while his Psychic Power had advanced to the mid-stage of the Second Realm.
Having cultivated a unique Spiritual Light, he was confident in his ability to escape even from cultivators in the Third Realm.
This was precisely why Li Weiyi had been so wary of him earlier, describing him as "strange."
"Whoosh!"
Among the seven puppet war corpses standing beside Qing Zijin, the strongest - a white-haired desiccated corpse that had reached the Sixth Realm of the Immortal Realm in life - shot forward like a gale. Its claw, enveloped in Spiritual Qi, shattered Luo Pingdan's Spiritual Light and Formation Plate.
"What kind of monster is that?"
Sensing the danger, Luo Pingdan retreated swiftly.
The white-haired corpse's claw struck the Red Copper Staff.
The Spiritual Qi surging from its claw formed a wall of gaseous energy that slammed into Luo Pingdan.
"Bang!"
Luo Pingdan stumbled backward, nearly losing his grip on the staff.
Blood spurted from the wound on his chest.
"Does the Sentinel Spirit Army use living Great Immortal corpses as well?"
Luo Pingdan recognized the corpse's vigorous Essence and the Immortal Golden Core within its body.
As he retreated, he quickly regained his composure.
He knew the weakness of Corpse Manipulation well.
To defeat a battle corpse, one needed only to sever the Spiritual Light threads connecting it to its manipulator and then kill the manipulator.
At that point, no matter how powerful the battle corpse might be, it would become nothing more than a lifeless puppet.
This desiccated corpse didn't seem to possess a Battle Soul or Battle Spirit, suggesting it wasn't a living corpse.
"Lie down."
Spiritual Light erupted from between Luo Pingdan's calm brows, surging outward in waves with immense force.
This torrent of energy stirred up a hurricane, relentlessly crushing Qing Zijin's Psychic Radiance.
"Boom! Boom!"
Two more Great Immortal desiccated corpses charged forth from beside Qing Zijin.
The two corpses thrust their palms forward, conjuring twin barriers of Spiritual Qi - one azure, one cerulean - to withstand Luo Pingdan's tidal wave of Spiritual Light.
"Boom!"
Seizing the opportunity, the white-haired desiccated corpse shot forward like a cannonball, delivering a devastating punch to Luo Pingdan's body.
Luo Pingdan spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward, crashing into the riverbank and carving out a massive gash.
Lying flat on his back, his eyes bulging as he stared at the three Great Immortal battle corpses hurtling toward him, his scalp tingled with dread.
His understanding of reality had been shattered.
'Where did these things come from?'
The two weakest First Realm Holy Spiritual Masters of the Shaoyang Division had concealed their true strength far too well.
The Taiyin Sect's intelligence had been catastrophically misled.
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END OF CHAPTER
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