Chapter 58: Change of Plans?
However, despite the countless guesses swirling in his mind, Zhou Xian froze when he saw Ying Tong and the others standing at the entrance of the cave.
Ying Tong reached up and caught the bird flying through the air.
“Grand Aunt, is this the Sky-Repairing Purple Mushroom?” Ying Shao’an’s eyes instantly lit up as he gazed at the purple-glowing mushroom, swallowing his saliva.
“Here, take it.”
Ying Tong casually tossed the mushroom to Ying Shao’an.
As she had said before, it was just a century-old little mushroom; she could have as many as she wanted.
Compared to Ying Shao’an’s joy at receiving the mushroom, Zhou Xian became visibly agitated.
He stared at the Sky-Repairing Purple Mushroom in Ying Shao’an’s hands and spoke, “Fellow Daoist, we have no grievances in the past, no enmity recently. Why take my Sky-Repairing Purple Mushroom?”
“No grievances in the past, no enmity now? Are you sure about that?” Ying Tong said, her smile hinting at something else.
Seeing this, Zhou Xian’s heart sank, and an ominous premonition began to spread through him.
The next second, that bad feeling became a reality.
Six corpses, each in a different state of death, were thrown in front of Zhou Xian. One of them was even missing its head, though its injuries were the least severe.
Ying Tong was also startled when she saw the others’ deaths. She couldn’t help but think, ‘No surprise, these are the future villains, after all.’
However, Ying Tong had no intention of correcting it. As long as they stayed on the right path, she didn’t care about the details.
Seeing the bodies, Zhou Xian instantly understood what had happened and recognized the identity of the people in front of him.
“Fellow Daoist, what is the meaning of this? I do not know these people.”
Ying Tong tilted her head and looked at him with a smile. “Did I say you knew them? Why are you so eager to deny it?”
“I…”
Zhou Xian took a deep breath. “Since you’ve placed these corpses in front of me, aren’t you implying that you suspect I know them? However, to disappoint you, you’ve got the wrong person. Now, could you kindly return the Sky-Repairing Purple Mushroom to me?”
At that moment, Liu Guang couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “You really are adorably naive.”
“What do you mean?” Zhou Xian took a few steps back and asked.
Liu Guang crossed her arms and replied slowly, “Don’t you understand? Whether you know them or not no longer matters. What matters is that we believe you know them, and that’s enough.”
Hearing this, Zhou Xian’s face darkened, realizing that these people had been targeting him from the very beginning.
Although he was reluctant to part with the Sky-Repairing Purple Mushroom and the Nine Curve Golden Lotus, he knew his life was more important.
Zhou Xian took out a talisman, preparing to escape.
Seeing this, Ying Tong slapped the talisman out of his hand, shattering it. Just as she was about to strike again, she suddenly paused, furrowing her brow. She cast an irritated glance at the sky but still withdrew her hand.
“Xuechen, you go.”
Although Ying Xuechen didn’t understand why Ying Tong had suddenly stopped, as a good and obedient child, he immediately responded to the command. Before his mind could catch up, his body had already moved.
“What’s going on?” Liu Guang asked.
She had clearly sensed that Ying Tong had made a move just moments ago but had retracted it at the crucial moment.
Ying Tong pointed her chin at the sky. “He won’t allow it.”
Not just earlier, but even afterward, Ying Tong couldn’t move freely without restraint.
Upon hearing this, both Liu Guang and Ye Ying immediately understood who ‘he’ was.
“So, you haven’t ascended yet, and he’s already controlling things?”
Ying Tong spread her hands and shrugged. “It can’t be helped. His power is just too strong.”
According to Tiandao’s feedback, her strength had long since exceeded the limit this world could bear.
If it weren’t for the fact that Ying Tong still had a mission to complete, even if she didn’t want to ascend, Tiandao would have forced her to leave by now.
It was a little easier when she was in the Cangqiong Realm, but this was Longteng Continent, and it couldn’t withstand the pressure like the Cangqiong Realm. So, she had to hold back.
In simple terms, she needed to avoid taking action unless absolutely necessary.
Ying Xuejian and Ying Shao’an were confused by most of what was said, but one thing became clear to them.
That was, the Venerable Yunhuang seemed to be restricted by someone and couldn’t take action.
“Don’t worry, Venerable Yunhuang. I’ll protect you,” Ying Xuejian said.
“I’ll protect the Venerable Yunhuang too. I’ll poison them,” Ying Shao’an said, patting his chest.
Both of them suddenly felt the weight of the responsibility on their shoulders.
Ye Ying watched their actions, holding back from shattering their illusions.
While they were speaking, the battle on Ying Xuechen’s side had also ended.
“Venerable Yunhuang, here is his storage pouch.”
Ying Xuechen walked over, holding a clearly used storage pouch.
“This is strange. Doesn’t this person have any spatial magic tools?” Ying Shao’an said.
“By the way, those other people also seemed to have storage pouches,” Ying Xuejian remarked.
Ying Tong explained, “Spatial magic tools aren’t easy to refine. They’re a rare resource in the lower realms. Even in the Cangqiong Realm, not everyone has spatial magic tools.”
Don’t forget, even Ying Xuan, with his love-struck brain, didn’t give away his own spatial magic tool.
…
After everything was settled, they returned to their residence, and Ying Tong received a message from Ye Ying.
“Are those people planning to assassinate me?”
“To be precise, they were planning to kidnap you,” Ye Ying corrected. “They think that since you were able to return the curse, you must be able to lift it as well, so they intend to kidnap you.”
Ying Tong propped her chin with one hand, her expression showing no worry about being kidnapped. Instead, she curiously asked, “Didn’t they plan to use the familial affection tactic on Xuejian before? Why the sudden change?”
“The plan hasn’t changed,” Ye Ying explained. “However, to cover up their previous actions, the Ying family used and discarded people. Ying Xuejian’s parents have long since been sent away to some unknown place, and finding them takes time. But some people couldn’t wait any longer.”
Among those impatient people was Ying Nanxi.
The proud young lady, who had been high and mighty for so many years, had suddenly fallen from grace and was now desperate to return to the peak.
“Also, many of the Ying family’s disciples, due to their outstanding talents, had already joined different sects. They’ve been back for some time now, and their sect is urging them to return.”
“I heard that every ten years, the Longteng Continent holds a sect competition where all sects participate. These Ying family disciples were prioritized in their sects, and now that the time has come for them to repay the sect, naturally, they’re being urged to go back.”
“Sect competition?” Ying Tong asked.
“Are you planning to take Ying Xuechen and the others to ruin the event?” Ye Ying asked.
Ying Tong rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not that bored.”
Such matters were a waste of time and energy. If they won, it was expected; if they lost, it would be embarrassing.
