Chapter 187: Chapter 186: Luring the Snake out of its Hole

Daluo Palace’s Scripture Pavilion was, of course, not in the main courtyard but hidden away in a secluded spot on the back mountain. It was not only protected by a separate Array and Restriction but also had three Guardian Star Officials taking turns to stand watch.

"Sect Leader!"

"Miss Zhuo!"

Seeing Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan strolling over hand in hand, Yang Chi and Lu Yue, who were playing chess under a nearby Purple Sandalwood Tree, both rose to greet them.

"Morning!"

Gu Zhao greeted them, then entered the Scripture Pavilion with Zhuo Qingyan.

The Scripture Pavilion was a three-story building that didn’t cover a large area. The bookshelves on the first floor were lined with rows of books introducing Taoist Sect philosophy and worldview, none of which involved Cultivation.

The second floor had far fewer books. Aside from the two newly compiled Cultivation Techniques and the Taoist Eight Great Divine Spells Collection, there were only scriptures confiscated after their numerous battles, such as the Red Slaughter Corpse Refining Skill.

The third floor was completely empty, as they planned to store more profound Cultivation Techniques there, which they didn’t have yet.

"I feel like the classification isn’t detailed enough," Gu Zhao said to Zhuo Qingyan. "This Scripture Pavilion is a public one, open to ordinary disciples. There should be other pavilions for more powerful scriptures."

Gu Zhao hadn’t thought that far ahead at the time, and the designers of Daluo Palace naturally wouldn’t have considered such a common web novel plot point. Thus, while the Scripture Pavilion’s design was grand, it didn’t incorporate secrecy.

In a world as abundant with Spiritual Qi as this one, a Cultivation Technique was the very foundation of a sect, so they naturally needed to be extremely cautious.

Zhuo Qingyan agreed. "Daluo Palace’s Cultivation Technique can summon Celestial Thunder and manifest the Netherworld. The Magical Power it cultivates even carries a magnificent celestial might. We really must be careful not to let it be stolen by villains."

Gu Zhao nodded. This was why none of them had written down their personal Cultivation Techniques and placed them here. As for the Eight Great Taoist Spells, they required Taoist True Qi to activate; Ghost Qi and Demon Power wouldn’t work.

Gu Zhao consulted with the old Daoists in his Sea of Consciousness. They all agreed to use the Scripture Pavilion as a decoy. The second floor would house Daluo Palace’s foundational Dharma Gates, while the third would hold confiscated scriptures. The truly profound Cultivation Techniques would be kept in the modern world for now, just to be safe.

Take Gu Zhao’s Shrinking Inches, for example.

Gu Zhao led Zhuo Qingyan to a writing area inside the pavilion. She laid out paper and ground ink for him, while Gu Zhao took out a blank book. He began writing down the Cultivation Technique, explaining it to Zhuo Qingyan as he went.

A short while later, a freshly written copy of Shrinking Inches was complete.

Zhuo Qingyan read through the book from beginning to end and remarked with awe, "According to the theory in here, you can reach not just any place within sight, but any place your Divine Thought can reach, all in a single step."

Gu Zhao shrugged. "That’s the theory, but you also need to have enough Magical Power."

The Celestial Fox Lineage’s Moonlight Evasion used moonlight to travel anywhere within one’s line of sight. After modifying it with reference to Taoist Sect scriptures, Gu Zhao added the convenience of using Divine Thought, but it could only be powered by Taoist True Qi and consumed even more Magical Power.

Zhuo Qingyan smiled. "But it’s a life-saving Magic, after all."

Gu Zhao tucked the book away. He and Zhuo Qingyan then left, but instead of returning to Cui Mountain Village, they went for a leisurely stroll in the mountains to relax. They didn’t wander back to the village until the sun began to set. After dinner, they returned to their room hand in hand, not emerging until dawn.

... 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

For the next few days, things were quiet on both sides of the gate. After familiarizing themselves with the area, the old Daoists went up and down the mountains, performing acts of Righteousness and Heroism. This constantly contributed Evil Qi to Gu Zhao, allowing him to condense his Thunder Seed, which in turn fed back into his Cultivation.

Meanwhile, Gu Zhao held down the fort at Daluo Palace, acting as the Two Realms Gate. From time to time, he would take the old Daoists back to the modern world to contact their friends and family, lest they be reported as missing persons.

A few more days passed, and Taoist Yan Song returned. The news he brought back was similar to before, but much more detailed.

The strongest expert in Bai Shi Prefecture was indeed the White Bone God Monarch. Aside from coming down the mountain on the day of the new moon each month to capture one hundred mortals for Soul Refining, he rarely left his domain and was relatively reclusive.

The feud between the Ningbi Flood Dragon of Green Water Pool and the White Bone God Monarch had started because they had both taken a fancy to the same child with a Pure Yang Child Body. Although the White Bone God Monarch ultimately won by a narrow margin, the Ningbi Flood Dragon managed to kill one of his favored concubines in the process.

The Ningbi Flood Dragon also possessed a thousand years of Dao Practice. While not as powerful as the White Bone God Monarch, it could hold its own against him by hiding in the Chang River.

The Yellow Heaven Altar’s influence in Bai Shi Prefecture wasn’t as great as the Golden Wind Sect’s had been in Changping Prefecture. Their previous probing actions hadn’t been a response to hearing about the Golden Wind Sect’s destruction; they were already in the process of infiltrating Changping Prefecture anyway.

Among the four major powers in Bai Shi Prefecture, the weakest was Infinite Cave, located in Guangwu County to the north. The Great Cave Master, Rong Xuan, was in year-round seclusion cultivating his Poison Technique, while the second Cave Master, Rong Wen, loved to be out and about. However, he hadn’t been seen for some time now.

"Of course he hasn’t been seen. We already took care of him," Yunyang chuckled.

"So you’re saying Rong Xuan might not even know his brother has been killed yet?" Gu Zhao asked.

"It hasn’t been long enough, so that should be the case," Taoist Yan Song nodded. "But with Stone King Cave destroyed, our Daluo Palace is now the sole dominant power in Changping Prefecture. He’s bound to find out sooner or later."

"Should we take the initiative and attack?" Yunyang asked Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao pondered for a moment before saying thoughtfully, "The Yellow Heaven Altar has other branches, but Infinite Cave is a menace that should be eliminated as soon as possible. Fortunately, that Rong Xuan’s Dao Practice isn’t too high.

"However, we can’t make a move in Bai Shi Prefecture, or we’ll inevitably attract the attention of the other powers. If we alert the Yellow Heaven Altar, and they instigate the White Bone God Monarch or the Ningbi Flood Dragon to attack, things could get troublesome."

Taoist Ming Yu nodded, a smile touching the corners of his lips. "In that case, why don’t we just lure him out?"

Everyone looked at Taoist Ming Yu. Taoist Qingyuan, the most straightforward of the group, asked curiously, "How do we lure him out?"

...

「Bai Shi Prefecture, Guangwu County, Wuliang Mountain, Infinite Cave.」

Deep within Infinite Cave, over a thousand feet underground, was a hollow stone cavern filled with poisonous gas and mist seeping up from the earth.

In the center of the cavern, a dwarf barely four feet tall was floating in mid-air. His eyes were shut tight, and he wasn’t breathing, as motionless as a corpse.

On the cavern ceiling, a pitch-black opening only about six inches wide suddenly emitted three soft taps.

The dwarf’s eyes snapped open, and he sent a voice as thin as a spider’s thread up through the opening. "What is it?"

"Great Master, something has happened to the Second Master!" a voice replied from the opening.

A flash of jade-green light flickered in the dwarf’s eyes. His figure vanished in a flash, his bones seemingly shrinking as he disappeared into the six-inch-wide opening. In just a few breaths, he shot straight up the thousand-foot-plus shaft.

SWOOSH!

The dwarf suddenly appeared in a private chamber. Staring at the person kneeling on the floor before him, he asked in a grave voice, "What happened to the Second Master?"

"Reporting to the Great Master!" The man didn’t dare to look up as he spoke. "The Second Master went to Stone King Cave in Changping Prefecture as a guest and never returned. A few days ago, rumors from traveling merchants began to spread that Stone King Cave was destroyed, and the Second Master was caught in the crossfire and killed!"

A vicious glint flashed in the dwarf’s eyes. He grabbed the messenger and, in a flicker, flew out of Infinite Cave, trailing a streak of green light as he shot straight to the north.

...

In a small town at the foot of Wuliang Mountain, Yunyang watched the streak of green light flash across the sky. He leisurely took a sip of tea before sending a message through his Sea of Consciousness. ’The target is heading north, in the direction of Stone King Cave.’