Chapter 767: Chapter 241: Bait with One’s Own Body!_5

"Otherwise, why do you think an Ancient Sage who had passed away so long ago would suddenly resurrect?"

Wang Mu smiled. This is a wild guess, and I take no responsibility for it, but that Ancient Sage must have been the chosen one of that era. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to create a new world and give birth to the current Nine Provinces Cultivation World.

"Once the chosen one appears, it means a great enemy has also emerged..."

"That makes sense! It makes a lot of sense!" The man in black looked at Wang Mu, his eyes flaring with excitement. "Brother, you give me the impression of someone with keen insight. I didn’t expect to find a Cultivator with such a broad vision among the Loose Cultivators..."

"Then I’d like to ask you, Brother, if you were Dongfang Mu right now, with a formidable enemy of your own, what would you do?"

Wang Mu was taken aback.

This question has really stumped me. Seen from the standpoint of Piao Miaoxu, it’s like asking how I should deal with myself?

A casual conversation had surprisingly put Wang Mu at a loss for words.

How would I deal with myself? Thinking about this question from the opponent’s perspective... Wang Mu suddenly saw the light.

"This is quite interesting..." Wang Mu thought for a moment. "To become the grand adversary of an Ancient Sage and to make him gather so many forces, disregarding his own reputation—this enemy is no ordinary individual. He must be someone the Ancient Sage couldn’t confront directly."

The man in black nodded repeatedly. Indeed. If it weren’t for that damned thing having an Ascension Realm Spirit Beast, I would have crushed it into pieces long ago.

"If he can’t confront him directly, then he could only deal with him indirectly..." Wang Mu pondered.

If I were Piao Miaoxu and I were to come after myself, then first and foremost, I would surely need to eradicate all the powerful experts around me! The most troublesome, of course, would be the Ascension Experts like Immortal Bi You. Without them, even relying on the Immortal Cloud Kun, once I find the last stowaway Immortal Official, Mr. Lee will certainly reclaim it. Little Kun Kun would eventually return to the Upper Realm. By then, I would be without my life-saving talisman. If Immortal Bi You and the others were not around... then Piao Miaoxu would naturally have enough strength to deal with me.

"In the Cultivation World, strength is what counts," Wang Mu said. "The simplest way is to outnumber the enemy. If the great enemy has too many strong experts around him, relying on just one Saint will not be enough. The best approach is to isolate him first, separating him from the powerful experts by his side."

"Absolutely right!" the man in black agreed.

At this point, I completely understand why Piao Miaoxu proposed to marry Ao Qing. It’s damn likely to ruin the relationship between Immortal Bi You and myself. After all, Ao Qing is Immortal Bi You’s Disciple. If Piao Miaoxu married Great Immortal Bi You’s disciple in front of all the Nine Provinces, I can only imagine how enraged Bi You would become...

"But even with this method..." Wang Mu hesitated, "it’s not necessarily a guaranteed victory over the Ancient Sage’s grand adversary."

"Indeed..." the man in black said. "The grand adversary of an Ancient Sage is obviously extraordinary. Just separating him from his surrounding experts doesn’t mean he doesn’t have other preparations up his sleeve."

"So..." Wang Mu thought, "to achieve an unexpected victory, there might be a chance by surprising him."

"Surprising him?"

Wang Mu said, "If I were the Ancient Sage Dongfang Mu, I would simply use myself as bait, feign making peace with the great enemy in secret, and when our relationship becomes close, betray him with a stab in the back. Make it a silent and unnoticed destruction. Imagine, in the last moment of the enemy’s life, the look of disbelief and immense Anger as he stares at the Ancient Sage... The thirst for revenge could finally be directly satisfied..."

This is what I fear most. Of course, in my opinion, it’s absolutely impossible for Piao Miaoxu to actually do something like this. Her brain just wouldn’t come up with such an idea. A fight to the death is inevitable. So, I’m just speaking off the cuff.

The man in black was startled; his eyes slightly reddened as he pondered.

"Feigning peace..." the man in black mused. "This method is indeed vicious enough...but isn’t it too fake? They are great enemies; how could they easily make peace?"

Wang Mu laughed and said, "You don’t understand. When both parties have a common enemy, when there’s external pressure, there’s a possibility of making peace..."

The man in black seemed thoughtful.

"Let’s drop the subject..." Wang Mu stood up. "We’ve talked so much useless nonsense. I’m not an Ancient Sage, and you’re not some great enemy. What’s the point of us small fry discussing all this?"

This stuff is just like keyboard politics... utterly senseless banter.

Right now, Wang Mu was just waiting for a chance to encounter Piao Miaoxu unexpectedly so he could summon Little Kun Kun and get rid of her.

"That’s true, that’s true!" the man in black laughed. "May I know your name, Brother?"

"Um..." Wang Mu thought for a moment. "I am Qin... Mu."

Considering Piao Miaoxu might target the identity of ’Wang Mu,’ perhaps I shouldn’t use that identity anymore. It just so happens that I, too, am no longer the same as the ’Wang Mu’ she knows. After receiving the Life Force of the Ice Blue Ancient Tree, my appearance has become that of someone middle-aged. I don’t know if it’s the influence of the Ice Blue Ancient Tree’s Life Force, but the change is significant...

"What about you?"

"Me?" The man in black thought for a moment. "Xu Miao."

"What brings you here?"

"Oh... I’ve heard that there’s a Nameless Pill Master in this place..." the man said offhandedly. "A senior of mine received his kindness, and I’ve come specifically to express thanks. However, this Pill Master is elusive and might not agree to meet me."

That’s probably the reason. I learned from my travels that other Cultivators coming here each have their own channels. But even getting wind of such news is no simple feat.

At that moment, there was a commotion up ahead as two Cultivators walked back from a small grass house outside the village with helpless expressions.

"It was hard enough to find Pill Master Jie Chen’s location; I didn’t expect securing an audience with him to be so difficult..."

"Isn’t that the truth? To seek a Forget Love Pill, one must rely on fate..."

"We’re not as fortunate as those mortals. I hear that it’s quite easy for the villagers to request an Elixir... meeting him is simple for them. In contrast, for us Cultivators, no matter what Supreme Treasure we offer, the Pill Master won’t meet us if he doesn’t wish to..."

...

The two Cultivators shook their heads as they left the village, maneuvering their Flying Artifacts.

"It seems that meeting this Pill Master today might be somewhat difficult..." the man in black closed his eyes in contemplation.

"Such Pill Masters are often eccentric..." Wang Mu said. "To meet them, one often needs to think outside the box."

The man in black laughed heartily. "Brother, you’re becoming more and more interesting! I understand thinking outside the box, but what kind of unconventional approach should one take?"

"He excels in the Alchemy Dao, so naturally, you start with the Alchemy Dao."

Considering the Moon God also wants to find this Nameless Pill Master, I must meet him.

"Would you demonstrate for me, Brother?" The man in black looked on, as if expecting a performance.

"It’s simple." Wang Mu smiled, walked to the grass house, and said slowly in an aged, hoarse voice, "Pill Master Jie Chen, after taking your Forget Love Pill, I don’t know why, but not only did I not forget my beloved, my yearning has grown heavier in these recent days, leading to loss of appetite and sleep. Could we possibly meet so you can resolve my confusion?"

The man in black behind him was initially startled by these words, then smiled.

Interesting, this man is truly interesting!

A moment later, "How many beloveds do you have?" came a cool voice from inside the grass house.

Upon hearing this voice, Wang Mu was taken aback.

It sounds... strangely familiar?

Wang Mu fell silent for a moment. "One."

"That is strange, then. If there’s only one, the Forget Love Pill wouldn’t malfunction. You may come in."

As the words fell, the door to the grass house slowly opened...

The black-haired man’s eyes were full of admiration.

This person is interesting. He’s far more intelligent than Shuo Wuji—by more than just a little! I didn’t expect to encounter such an interesting Cultivator on this trip... Our ways of thinking coincide so well... He claims to be a slacker, though he doesn’t have much strength, his aptitude is average, and his Life Span is nearly at its end. However, if I could... That idea of using oneself as bait is interesting... Perhaps, to truly overthrow that damned thing... this method might indeed be the deadliest... That Gu Yuqing adopted the identity of the Nameless Pill Master, and it took a great deal of effort to find out he’s here... It must be fate... I didn’t catch the person I was after... but I’ve unexpectedly gained another treasure. This Qin Mu might help me accomplish a great undertaking... It can’t be helped. Although I’ve gathered many forces around me, most of them can’t grasp my intentions. Take Shuo Wuji, for example, my subordinate from a thousand years ago. He supposedly understands me well, yet he still needs me to explain my intentions to him. He’s truly not up to par. In contrast, this person... Even if things with Gu Yuqing fail... if I can recruit this Qin Mu, this trip won’t have been in vain!

「Meanwhile...」

Wang Mu slowly entered the grass house...

He saw a familiar figure...