279: Chapter 279: A Bold Plan

"Changsheng, have you reached the second stage?"

Li Changsheng's voice came through.

"I just arrived at the second stage, what's wrong?"

Xiao Ran took a deep breath and spoke about his findings.

He recounted everything: the traps in the Heavenly Secret Array, the black vortex in the stone room, the tentacles, the devouring...

After listening, Li Changsheng was silent for a long time.

"You mean the entire relic is a trap? The Mahayana Stage Opportunity is fake?"

"It's not fake; it has been occupied by some entity."

Xiao Ran's voice was very cold.

"That thing is waiting for all of us to enter, and then it will wipe us all out."

"Do you remember that crimson sun in the Moon Secret Realm? I think it's that."

Li Changsheng fell silent again.

Of course, he remembered.

That crimson sun, that terrifying aura, even the big shots at the Body Integration Stage felt palpitations from it.

"Then what should we do? Should we retreat now?"

Li Changsheng asked.

Xiao Ran did not answer immediately.

He leaned against a boulder, his brain working at high speed.

Retreat?

Retreat and tell the news to the Body Integration Stage big shots outside?

Then they would swarm in, turn the relic upside down, find that entity, and destroy it together.

And then what?

He would still be a small Void Refinement Stage Cultivator, having to look at the faces of various major powers in the Far North Land.

He thought of City Lord Li Qingge's instructions, Zhao Tianxiong's arrogance, Acting Sect Master Jian Wuming's indifference, and the arrogance of the Yao Race Emperors.

These Body Integration Stage big shots were usually high and mighty, viewing Void Refinement Stage Cultivators as ants.

What if they all died here?

Xiao Ran's heartbeat accelerated.

Once this thought emerged, it could no longer be suppressed.

If he wanted to dominate the Far North Land, he needed to be at least at the Body Integration Stage.

But at his current cultivation speed, he didn't know how many years it would take to go from Void Refinement to Body Integration.

What if that old monster, the Third Supreme Elder of the Eternal Night Demon Sect, really wanted to perform Possession on him?

He wouldn't even have room to resist.

But what if all the Body Integration Stage big shots died here?

The Sword Qi Great Wall, Golden Lion Clan, Nine-Headed Snake Clan, Five-Colored Phoenix Clan, Thunder Qilin Clan, Mystic Ice Flood Dragon Clan, Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow Clan... if their strongest members all fell.

The remaining Void Refinement Stage Cultivators would be leaderless, and the entire Far North Land would become a scattered mess.

And he, with the Yellow Spring Army, Li Changsheng's Jade Rabbit Army, countless resources looted from the Moon Secret Realm, the ten thousand poison bead, and the Guixu Body.

He could completely rise in the chaos and become the strongest power in the Far North Land.

"Changsheng, I have an idea."

Xiao Ran's voice became low, carrying a hint of madness.

Li Changsheng heard the abnormality in his tone.

"What idea?"

Xiao Ran told his plan in detail.

Utilize the relic's traps, lure those Body Integration Stage big shots in, and let them face that sleeping entity.

Both sides would be injured, or they would perish together.

Then, they, these small Void Refinement Stage Cultivators, could reap the benefits.

After listening, Li Changsheng gasped.

"Are you crazy? Any one of those Body Integration Stage big shots could crush us to death."

"You want them to fight that entity, but if that entity wins, won't we still die?"

Xiao Ran shook his head.

"No, if that entity wins, it will also be severely weakened."

"By then, we will have the Yellow Spring Army and the Jade Rabbit Army, and when that entity is at its weakest, we might be able to finish it off in one go."

"What if that entity isn't injured?"

"Then we run. I have a Magic Treasure that can help us escape."

Upon hearing this, Li Changsheng immediately had no objections.

"Then that's fine."

Although Xiao Ran's plan was very crazy, it was not completely without feasibility.

If those Body Integration Stage big shots really fought that entity, even if they didn't die, they would lose a layer of skin.

By then, their group of Void Refinement Stage Cultivators might really be able to pick up the leftovers.

"Are you sure you want to do it?" Li Changsheng asked.

"Let's do it."

Xiao Ran's voice was resolute.

"Since our Transmigration, we have always been treated as chess pieces."

"This time, I want to be the one playing the chess."

Li Changsheng took a deep breath: "Alright, I'll accompany you."

The two discussed the details again via the Soul Link.

How to destroy the Restriction hub, how to lure the big shots in, and how to protect themselves in the chaos.

After discussing for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they finalized the plan.

"I'll go find the real hub."

"You continue clearing the stages, don't let others get suspicious."

"Alright."

Xiao Ran cut the link and turned back into the stone array.

He did not go to the stone room with the trap again, but continued to go deeper.

The Legacy of Venerable Powang kept deducing in his mind, searching for the true path of survival in the Heavenly Secret Array.

After walking for about two hours, he arrived at the end of the stone array.

There, there was no stone room, no stone platform, only a door.

The characters "Hub" were carved on the door.

But these two characters were black, emitting a decaying aura.

Xiao Ran did not rush to push the door, but first used the ten thousand poison bead to probe the aura on the door.

The ten thousand poison bead heated up slightly, and the black aura on the door was sucked in.

A moment later, the ten thousand poison bead gave feedback.

Attached to the door was an extremely ancient, extremely evil force.

It was not spiritual power, not Demonic Qi, not Death Qi, but a kind of... indescribable thing.

It seemed to have life, yet it had no life.

It seemed alive, yet it seemed dead.

"That's it," Xiao Ran whispered.

He took a deep breath and reached out to push the door.

The door was very heavy; he pushed it three times before opening a crack.

He squeezed in sideways.

Behind the door was a huge stone room.

In the center of the stone room, a black bead was floating.

The bead was the size of a fist, pitch black, with dark red patterns flowing on its surface.

The bead emitted a decaying aura, an aura so thick it made one nauseous.

Xiao Ran felt his Divine Soul trembling, and the Guixu Vortex spun wildly, desperately devouring the surrounding aura.

The stone room was covered with runes.

The runes were not composed of spiritual power, but were carved with fresh blood.

The blood stains had dried, turning dark brown, but still emitted a faint smell of blood.

Xiao Ran recognized some of the runes.

That was an ancient sacrificial Formation, used to convert the vitality of living things into a certain kind of power.

"It really is a trap," Xiao Ran gritted his teeth.

He did not touch the black bead.

Xiao Ran needed to find the real Restriction hub in the stone room.

The Legacy of Venerable Powang told him that this kind of sacrificial Formation must have an eye.

The eye of the Formation was the hub.

As long as the eye of the Formation was destroyed, the entire Formation would become ineffective.

He searched for a long time and finally found it in a corner.

It was a small stone platform, and on the stone platform lay a Jade Slip.

The Jade Slip was golden all over, emitting a soft light, exactly the same as the Jade Slip in the previous trap.

But this time, Xiao Ran did not rush to pick it up.

He used the ten thousand poison bead to probe it again, and after confirming there were no traps, he reached out to pick up the Jade Slip.

His Divine Sense probed inside; it contained the method to control the Restriction.

There was also a message.

"I am Li Qinglian. Ten thousand years ago, I fought the Nine-Headed Snake Emperor here and killed it."

"However, its remnant soul was not destroyed; it attached itself to the core of the relic, attempting to devour living beings to resurrect."

"I used my broken body to set up a Restriction, sealing its remnant soul."

"But ten thousand years have passed, and the Restriction has weakened."

"If any descendant sees this, take this Jade Slip out immediately and hand it to the City Lord of the Sword Qi Great Wall."

"Remember, do not open the Restriction."

Xiao Ran finished reading and was silent for a long time.

Li Qinglian, a hero of the Human Race from ten thousand years ago, the founder of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

He used his broken body to set up a Restriction, sealing the remnant soul of the Nine-Headed Snake Emperor.

Ten thousand years had passed, the Restriction had weakened, and the remnant soul of the Nine-Headed Snake Emperor was awakening.

And those Body Integration Stage big shots were still fighting over the so-called Mahayana Stage Opportunity.

That was not an Opportunity at all; it was a trap set by the Nine-Headed Snake Emperor to lure Cultivators in and then devour them.

"I will not take it out."

"I will not tell anyone either."

Xiao Ran put the Jade Slip into his Storage Ring.

He walked to the black bead, reached out, and wrapped the bead with the Guixu Vortex.

The Guixu Vortex spun, devouring the black aura on the surface of the bead.

The bead vibrated violently, making a buzzing sound, as if it were struggling.

But Xiao Ran did not stop; he continued to devour.

The dark red patterns on the surface of the bead became brighter and brighter, as if they were about to explode.

Xiao Ran gritted his teeth and increased the intensity of the devouring.

Finally.

The black aura on the surface of the bead was completely devoured by him, the bead became transparent, and one could see a cluster of dark red light pulsating inside.

That was the core of the Nine-Headed Snake Emperor's remnant soul.

Xiao Ran did not move it.

He stepped back a few paces, took out the Jade Slip from his bosom, and read the method for controlling the Restriction from beginning to end.

Then, he formed Seals with his hands and injected spiritual power into the Jade Slip.

The Jade Slip lit up with golden light, the light piercing through the stone walls, through the Heavenly Secret Array, through the Illusion Demon Realm, through the Sword Intent Path, and shooting straight into the sky.

Outside the palace gate, nine Body Integration Stage big shots simultaneously sensed that light.

"The Restriction hub has been opened!"