564: Chapter 564 Certainly

"Yes!" The confusion on Li Xihe's face had not yet faded, but she did not dare to disobey the order. She turned toward Liu Xuan and bowed slightly. "Xihe greets Senior Brother."

"Good!" Daoist Lord Lihuo nodded with satisfaction and looked at Liu Xuan, saying, "Prepare yourself. In three days, follow me to Biyou Pool. As for the Star Academy, let Xihe look after it for you."

'This old fellow really doesn't trust me!'

Giving him the hollow title of Senior Brother, putting the trusted Li Xihe in charge of the Star Academy, and forcing him to risk his life at Biyou Pool—this was a very well-calculated move.

"Your Disciple obeys!"

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xuan agreed. It was only the loss of an Incarnation at most; he would endure it!

"Good, good, good!" Daoist Lord Lihuo was very satisfied with how quickly Liu Xuan agreed. He smiled and said, "In that case, hand over control of the Star Array to Xihe!"

"This..."

"Reporting to Revered Master, I have two Nascent Soul Demon Lord Concubines at my residence. They are both trustworthy individuals; there is no need for such trouble."

"True!" Daoist Lord Lihuo paused. "How about this: Xihe shall marry you as your Dao Companion, and you will hand over control of the Star Array to her."

"Rest assured, your Revered Master will not let you suffer. When the Pioneering War ends, the entire Endless Demon Court will be for your Liu Clan to develop. Half of the fifth-grade Spiritual Vein of the Demon Court's Black Mountain Holy Land will be yours. Within the Lihuo Lineage, you will be second only to me. If the opportunity arises, your Revered Master can assist you in reaching Soul Transformation."

Good heavens! This was quite the grand promise he was painting.

Unfortunately, Liu Xuan's appetite was even larger. Being the second-in-command under one person held no interest for him; he wanted to be the boss!

"Revered Master misunderstood. Your Disciple's heart has long been with the Sect, so I am naturally willing. However..." Liu Xuan looked at Li Xihe beside him. "Junior Sister doesn't seem very willing."

Daoist Lord Lihuo's brow furrowed slightly, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly became oppressive. "Xihe?"

Li Xihe's expression shifted for a long time. Her beautiful eyes were filled with both grievance and reluctance, but she could only nod in agreement. "Your Disciple obeys!"

The oppressive atmosphere in the hall slowly dissipated. Daoist Lord Lihuo looked at Liu Xuan and said gently:

"You two shall marry tonight. At that time, Liu Xuan, you will hand over the Formation to Xihe, then prepare to follow me to Biyou Pool at any moment."

"This time, I need to Revered Master the Biyou Pool Formation as quickly as possible. You are proficient in Formations and can lend me a hand."

"Alright, you may leave now. I still have matters to instruct Xihe on."

With a wave of Daoist Lord Lihuo's hand, Liu Xuan's vision shifted, and he was pushed out of the Star Palace hall.

Liu Xuan bowed with cupped hands toward the starlit hall. Only after turning around did a trace of ruthlessness flash in his eyes.

With a flash of light, Liu Xuan appeared in the backyard of the Liu residence. He first instructed the sisters An Yunxi and An Yunmiao to prepare for the wedding, then went to the Clan School to accompany the children.

...

Black Death Marsh.

On the surface, Liu Xuan was playing with the children at the Clan School, but in reality, most of his consciousness was focused on his Puppet Incarnation, Immortal Master Gusha.

Under the current circumstances, Liu Xuan didn't bother hiding his Puppet Incarnation anymore. He used the channels controlled by You Ruo to request an audience with Ghost King Lianyue in his own name.

Hearing that Liu Xuan's Incarnation had arrived, Ghost King Lianyue did not dare to be negligent and immediately sent a confidant to welcome him into the Lianyue Immortal Palace.

The moment she saw Immortal Master Gusha, Ghost King Lianyue's willow-like brows furrowed slightly. This person did not have the slightest trace of Liu Xuan's aura, and his Divine Soul was completely that of another person. Was he really Liu Xuan's Incarnation?

An Incarnation is an extremely profound Divine Ability. Most Nascent Soul True Lords are unable to Revered Master it, and even a Dao Lord's Dharma Idol has many restrictions.

Any Incarnation must be formed from the Cultivator's own Divine Soul. She had never seen a situation where an Incarnation's soul aura belonged entirely to someone else.

"Fellow Daoist Ghost King Lian Yue, time is of the essence, so I won't stand on ceremony!" Liu Xuan got straight to the point. "Daoist Lord Lihuo will be heading to Biyou Pool in a few days. Are you all prepared?"

As soon as Liu Xuan spoke, Ghost King Lianyue immediately confirmed his identity. An outsider could not possibly know these things.

"Senior need not worry. We have been prepared since the day Biyou Pool fell to the Beast Taming Sect. We can strike at any time."

"However, a Dao Lord is not so easy to kill. Demon Saint Xuanyu's original intention was only to heavily injure Daoist Lord Lihuo and ruin his future as revenge. If Senior wishes to kill him, I'm afraid you'll have to take action yourself."

Ghost King Lianyue had no grudge against Daoist Lord Lihuo; she was only intervening for the reward offered by Demon Saint Xuanyu.

According to the original plan, all she had to do was sabotage the Formation and, at most, distract any helpers Daoist Lord Lihuo invited.

The reward from Demon Saint Xuanyu was not enough to make her exhaust her Origin to fight a Soul Transformation Dao Lord to the death.

Once one reaches the Soul Transformation Realm, although there is a vast difference in strength between those of the same level, because of the Heavenly Dao's backlash mechanism, killing a Dao Lord inevitably requires paying a price; it's just a matter of how much.

Unless it was a large-scale war like those in ancient or primeval times that completely threw the rules of the Heavenly Dao into chaos, Soul Transformation Cultivators rarely dealt lethal blows.

Back then, the Western Desert was precisely because the rules of the Heavenly Dao were disrupted that Soul Transformation Dao Lords lost their restrictions. The result was the fall of many Dao Lords, while many others rose in their place.

Compared to the war between humans and demons in the Western Desert back then, the current Pioneering War in the Southern Border was like child's play; it was far from reaching the level of interfering with the rules of the Heavenly Dao.

Demon Saint Xuanyu had a fierce temperament and was willing to deplete his Origin and risk the Heavenly Dao's backlash to take revenge on Daoist Lord Lihuo. Succeeding in heavily wounding him would be good enough; the hope of killing him was slim.

The meaning behind Ghost King Lianyue's words was clear: she was just a bystander and hadn't intended to put in much effort. If things failed, Demon Saint Xuanyu was to blame, not her.

If you want to kill Daoist Lord Lihuo, then do it yourself. If you want to ask for her help, that's fine too, but it will cost extra!

Liu Xuan was silent for a moment before asking, "What is the probability that Demon Saint Xuanyu can heavily injure Daoist Lord Lihuo, to what extent can he be injured, and can he be kept from taking action for half a year?"

Whether Daoist Lord Lihuo died or not didn't matter much. As long as he was heavily injured for half a year, Peach Blossom could take the opportunity to successfully reach Soul Transformation. It wouldn't be too late to kill him then.

"Demon Saint Xuanyu has deep Foundations and is nearing the end of his lifespan, so he has no qualms. There is at least a seventy percent chance of heavily injuring Daoist Lord Lihuo. Injuries at the Soul Transformation level are difficult to recover from; forget half a year, he might not fully recover in a hundred years, and might even suffer permanent damage to his Foundation."

Ghost King Lianyue smiled. "Senior is fixated on a six-month period. Could it be that you intend to do something major during this time?"

Liu Xuan did not hide it and nodded. "My wife, Peach Blossom Demon Lord, is about to break through the Soul Transformation Bottleneck and needs six months of peace."

"If Fellow Daoist Ghost King Lian Yue can assist a little, there will surely be a generous reward in the future!"

Peach Blossom Demon Lord is about to break through the Soul Transformation Bottleneck? Ghost King Lianyue's expression turned strange as she asked, "Just because of that? It is not so easy for the Yao Race to break through Bloodline restrictions to become a Hua Shen Demon Saint. You trust so much that she will definitely succeed?"

"She will definitely succeed!" Liu Xuan said confidently. "She can not only reach Soul Transformation but also achieve Ascension!"

"Take note, I'm not saying she 'can' achieve Ascension, but that she 'definitely will' achieve Ascension!" Liu Xuan looked up, his calm gaze meeting Ghost King Lianyue's.