Kao Dao Ji remained sitting in one of the clouds.
In his hands, there was a certain Gu.
'Memory Thought.'
Once Kao Yu Hun left, Crimson Soul naturally returned and forced upon him that deal.
Now, inside his aperture, there were over ten thousand Blood Phantoms.
Furthermore, by this point, he had already revealed all-too crucial information regarding the Kao Clan.
He frowned deeply.
"While he did not enslave me, he did not do so due to the goodness of his heart or any other nonsense.
But rather because he does not want to be uncovered, but the second he actually defeats the Clan is the second I lose my free will."
Understanding this point.
He decided to concoct an investigation.
For starters, while he did not know much about Soul Path, he knew there was a place with a treasury of information on it.
That was the novel he used to read back on earth.
However.
His expression changed.
As he recalled the novel's memories, more specifically, chapter 1371.
In that chapter, it was revealed that Shadow Sect only came to be after Le Tu's death; in other words, it was not their doing.
Not this time.
He frowned deeply.
If Soul Path could not give him an answer, he would move towards Blood Path.
He had already called several sellers and historians to buy several history books relating Blood Sea Ancestor.
As he read them, his expression changed several times.
"Blood Sea Ancestor appeared in the same decade in which Spectral Soul ascended to Immortality?" He frowned deeply.
While that did not seem unusual in the eyes of most, he who had read the novel held a different perspective.
After all, he was nothing more than Giant Sun's clone.
Made to propagate Blood Path.
"But if that is the case, why did he wait for so long? I mean. Over a hundred thousand years passed, did he really leave that clone on a standby for such a long period?
And if so, why would he bring it then of all times?"
He kept on reading, but his gaze remained unfocused.
He kept speculating.
"But now that I think about it, maybe that was the point."
"The best moment to propagate Blood Path would have been when he was at his peak, and when he was godly and invincible. While I am not sure why he did not do that in life, perhaps he was already running out of time by then, or he was concerned about losing his reputation.
Regardless. If I assume that, for whatever reason, he could not do it when he was alive.
His chances of doing it at usual times were a lot lower.
After all, Star Constellation had long since fused with HW's, and she would never allow Blood Path to flourish.
However. That is when his scheme came to be.
If my guess is right, he waited until a new Great Era began.
Perhaps he believed that by hiding behind the more imposing Spectral Soul, he would be able to conceal himself and enable Blood Path to flourish.
Or perhaps he wanted to rely on the chaos Spectral Soul made to secretly concoct some of his other schemes." Kao Dao Ji nodded to himself.
That plan sounded pretty reasonable and even great; he even wondered why this plan had failed.
However.
His expression completely changed as he read another record.
'While the two were known as the Twin Vicious Stars, there were plenty of conflicts between the two.
Spectral Soul and Blood Sea Ancestor fought over a dozen times, for different reasons…'
Kao Dao Ji's eyelids trembled.
"The fuck?" He clenched the paper tightly.
"I mean, even if I assume he had his reasons to resurrect himself at that era, why the fuck would he antagonize Spectral Soul?"
But his expression changed again.
'Those fights were mostly started by Spectral Soul himself, whom wanted to test his edge and violent Dao towards him.
Other fights were caused by misunderstandings; once Blood Sea Ancestor struck to destroy a mortal village, but Spectral Soul was hiding there.
Regardless of all of those instances, Blood Sea Ancestor ended up fleeing away.
Spectral Soul used to mock him regarding the same, calling his Dao impure and frail like mixed blood.'
As he saw that part, his eyes suddenly widened, and realization dawned upon his face.
"Those conflicts, they are too many to be coincidences. I see. Whilst Giant Sun wanted to use Spectral Soul to hide himself, Star Constellation used Spectral Soul as a blade to deal with Giant Sun.
While he could never kill him, he weakened him, he delayed him. And so, Giant Sun's scheme backfired."
Understanding this key point, he also made another conclusion.
"I get it now! Spectral Soul must have later on realized Giant Sun's identity. I guess that is why he only started Shadow Sect after Le Tu's death, he did not want to be toyed around like Giant Sun."
As he had this conclusion, he finally thought.
"Still. Giant Sun must have had other plans in mind. While I am not sure of the details, isn't it a bit odd that there's now a Rank 8 Blood Path Gu Master? Coincidentally, a thousand years after Spectral Soul's death.
A thousand years…
That is enough time to produce a Rank 8 Gu Master, but not enough for the five regions to completely stabilize again."
However, as he had this realization.
His expression suddenly changed.
"Wait, doesn't that mean that I am up against Giant Sun's backup???????"
…
Crimson Soul flew in the air.
His expression flickered several times.
"While I would like to digest the inheritance, based on that Land Spirit's words, they have long since captured Bai Lin Hua and are extracting information.
The longer I wait, the more prepared they will be to deal with me.
There's little benefit in keeping this standoff."
He frowned.
"Of course, there is also a possibility he lied, whilst usually Land Spirits cannot do it, they can if they are compelled by lets say, their master. If someone actually became his master, he could have lied to me on their behalf. There is also the possibility he said a half-truth."
He sighed.
"I would have liked to read his memories, unfortunately, whilst I know enough methods to hide the damage of Soul Search Gu regarding Will Search Gu, I am completely blank."
Regardless.
He already had a plan in mind.
"I must attack them to gauge their strength and verify how much of the intel I received was genuine as soon as possible.
Depending on the situation, I will either crush them at once, flee after rescuing or killing Bai Lin Hua, or directly escape."
"If they are stronger than anticipated, I could rely on that spy of mine to plot my following strikes." He smirked widely.
Unlike most demonic Gu Masters, he never fancied taking pointless risks.
He believed that before beginning a battle, one must be prepared for failure.
And account for it.
…
Bai Lin Hua kept observing the surrounding stars from the glass dome in which she was trapped.
The stars remained frozen and unmoving; no matter if one stared at them for hours, they would remain like this.
She sighed softly.
"Just how long do I have to wait?" She thought to herself.
Before her body was even woken up, when she was still in a coma.
Back then, she realized that sending a signal through her own soul and body would have been too conspicuous and easy to notice.
And so, with whatever power she had, she stirred Kao Yun Yun's soul, and through her, sent the signal while remaining unnoticed.
Of course, due to the special environment, the signal got corrupted and distorted; it was basically impossible to determine the exact source like this.
It only gave an approximate field.
She also knew that there was a time distortion field around the zone; time here and out were surely different.
And yet.
After waiting for so long, she was growing anxious.
"Why is it taking so long? Was the signal truly sent? Or was it intercepted?" She wondered to herself.
While she was immersed in her thoughts, a person suddenly spoke.
"Master." A soft voice spoke.
Bai Lin Hua turned her body to glance at the Featherman.
The Featherman looked like a young teenager with a slightly dark skin tone.
His hair was white, and so were his wings.
He looked short and unassuming.
"What's the matter, Kao Dan Xiao?" She spoke in a detached tone.
The young Featherman's face turned red upon hearing her melodious voice.
He bowed down slightly.
"I was wondering when the next class would start?"
"Hm? Oh that. In around three more hours. Still have you been practicing your Gu's lately?"
Ka Dan Xiao nodded rapidly.
"Yeah! I've been working really hard."
Bai Lin Hua observed the disciple.
Who seemed to have fallen in love with her, briefly after meeting her.
Inwardly, she mused.
"Variant Humans truly are simple-minded. But it's alright, while not useful for now. He's quite diligent and surprisingly talented at Soul Path.
If the situation goes south, and Crimson Soul never appears.
I may have to rely on the affection of such simple-minded beings, as long as a single one of them ascends to Immortality, I may be able to regain part of my freedom." Of course, that was a last resort.
To marry, especially with a Variant Human, was something that disgusted her to the core.
She was about to speak, but before she did.
Ka Dan Xiao added after a long pause.
"A-Actually, I made something I'd like to show you." The timid man gulped down.
He pressed his hands together.
And a green aurora surged through.
Soon, the whole area was surrounded by flowers of all colors and sizes.
"Flower Field?" Bai Lin Hua said, unimpressed.
Flower Field was a relatively frequently used Killer Move that summoned a large number of flowers. Whilst it had some uses, it was mostly used to either train young people how to use Killer Moves or in an aesthetic way, with very little to no practical use.
However.
Her eyes suddenly widened.
Suddenly, all those flowers were dyed blue.
All those flowers suddenly mutated and became increasingly larger; more than that, they emitted a pale celeste light.
Countless of thorns appeared, as those flowers stretched towards the heavens.
In the end, every flower had stretched for over ten meters in height, and countless thorns and vines decorated the lower areas.
Not only that, but at the center of the flower, there was something akin to the tip of a spear, which was releasing a dark-blue liquid.
At a simple glance, even the most uncultured person could realize it was a potent poison, one that could target souls.
It was a great Killer Move that combined beauty and power.
"D-Did you like it? I named it: Soulful Field of Flowers…"
"Sorry if the name was lame…" He whispered.
Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows.
"Teacher?"
Bai Lin Hua, who was staring in deep shock at the Killer Move, suddenly woke up from reality.
She turned her gaze towards him.
"Did you actually create this Killer Move on your own?"