Chapter 119: Brewing Again

After swallowing the unknown potion given by the pharmacist, the old man took a few deep breaths to calm himself. His breathing stabilized considerably, but his expression grew increasingly heavy.

“What a terrifying and unprecedented enemy… I never expected such a powerful being to cross the blockade and arrive in the Ancient Spirit Realm. This could be quite troublesome.”

The pharmacist couldn’t help but show curiosity.

“So what exactly happened?”

“Hmph, you have to take the main responsibility for this!” The Bone Immortal’s aged face revealed displeasure.

“You promised so fervently before that the Saint Peach Blossom would not interfere with the internal situation of the Chaotic Secret Realm. Yet as soon as we broke through the Six Halls blockade, we found strong enemies waiting there.”

“Pharmacist, do you know what that is? A True Immortal! A True Immortal from the Immortal Hidden Realm!”

For the first time, surprise appeared on the formerly playful face of the white-haired man.

“You mean… a True Immortal? What kind of True Immortal?”

“…It’s the woman who interrupted the Misty Veil Ritual last time. We underestimated her; it seems Lingyin Fairy Island has already sensed our intentions, started to intervene, and is preparing to stir up the situation again, just like a thousand years ago.”

“The other party comes from Lingyin Fairy Island?”

The Bone Immortal snorted coldly.

“Otherwise? How could strong beings from the Immortal Hidden Realm possibly arrive in the Ancient Spirit Realm without Lingyin Fairy Island’s control? Even if she isn’t directly under the island, she must be in collusion; she is a True Immortal with the power to create her own realm!”

Having calmed down from his initial shock, the white-haired youth raised an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed by the accusation from the Bone Immortal. It seemed the Bone Immortal had grown accustomed to his indifferent attitude, or perhaps he realized that this issue couldn’t fully be blamed on the pharmacist, and he quickly continued explaining.

“This matter is rather strange; the other party seemed to have prepared in advance, waiting for us inside the Six Halls array with a powerful spiritual beast. During the battle, Fleeting Void fell, and Ying Liu was captured. If it weren’t for the existence of the substitute, I fear both I and Yin Lue would have been left behind.”

“But we also delayed them as much as possible, giving you and Misty Veil a chance to awaken Taotie, but little did we know that now…”

“Failed.”

Another hoarse, deep voice echoed from the shadows, and a ghastly green mist slowly condensed into a human figure within the hidden chamber, appearing beside the two— it wasn’t Misty Veil, but who could it be?

The destruction of the avatar in the Chaotic Secret Realm seemed to have little effect on it; the misty figure merely added in a deep voice about the subsequent matters that the old man was unaware of since he had exchanged places early.

“The Peach Blossom Guards set an ambush halfway, trapping my avatar and the pharmacist within, and that cat-like female demon quickly joined the battlefield. Her strength is equally terrifying, not below that of the Saint Peach Blossom; we were no match for her.”

“…”

Seeing the emaciated old man and the white-haired youth lost in thought and not responding, Misty Veil couldn’t help but voice her confusion.

“Pharmacist, did you make a mistake? If the Saint Peach Blossom truly lost her power temporarily, then how did those Peach Blossom Guards bypass the trial and enter the Six Halls array? If they hadn’t stopped us this time, perhaps…”

But the pharmacist simply shook his head with a calm expression, emphasizing, “My medicine cannot fail. If there are any variables, it would only be from that True Immortal. I don’t believe I need to bear any responsibility for this.”

“And… If I am not mistaken, the suddenly appearing True Immortal likely has some inseparable relationship with the Princess Ling; they combined forces to set a trap for us.”

Both the Bone Immortal and Misty Veil turned to him with surprised expressions.

“What do you mean?”

The white-haired youth strolled around leisurely, seemingly pondering and sorting something, speaking as he walked.

“Speaking of this Princess Ling, I recall hearing from some insiders in the capital of the Ling Kingdom that this new princess has an unusual background, different from the past. In just over three years, she has grown from a crying infant into a fine young lady; her wisdom and composure far surpass her peers, earning her the local title of prodigy…”

“Think about the entire process of this matter. Doesn’t it seem strange?”

“Originally, we planned to use her as the Ling Girl to communicate with the earth’s spiritual veins of the Ancient Spirit Realm to liberate Taotie, but she was heavily protected, making it nearly impossible to approach her.”

“But then, at that moment, she suddenly took the initiative to leave the capital for some saintly patrol, providing us with an opportunity.”

“We weighed the pros and cons and abandoned our original plan, redirecting our focus on her, carefully plotting a capture operation, but ended up failing at the last moment, causing her to escape without a trace. Not only did we waste a lot of human and material resources, but we also revealed our own existence to the Ling Kingdom officials and suffered heavy losses.”

“Then, with the princess disappearing, we had to turn our sights toward Cangyun Mountain, preparing to seek another method to unlock the Taotie seal, little did we know she was actually on Peach Blossom Peak.”

“That’s why we had these two actions.”

At this point, the pharmacist showed a peculiar expression.

“But why did she suddenly appear on Peach Blossom Peak? Does such pure coincidence exist in this world?”

“I thought it was very strange at that time; it was as if this Hen Princess could foresee our every move, making counter-arrangements in advance, forcing us to act hastily and suffer loss at every turn, completely falling into a passive position.”

“On Peach Blossom Peak, the Saint Peach Blossom inexplicably cracked our long-prepared attack, eliminating it entirely. This forced us to resort to backup measures to stealthily enter the Chaotic Secret Realm.”

“The subsequent battle was even more terrifying; six of the Seven Day Demon Lords launched an attack, yet one True Immortal from the Immortal Hidden Realm waiting there crushed us alone and then fell into an ambush from the Peach Blossom Guards, leading to our total failure.”

“As of now, we can almost say we are on the brink of destruction, with top fighters either dead or injured. The Demon-Suppressing Sect, a long-operating pawn of ours, has also been pushed to the forefront; is it truly because of our inadequate strength or poor decisions?”

Listening to the pharmacist analyze each abnormal point from recent events, the dry, old face of the Bone Immortal also revealed a hint of deep thought.

“That makes sense… Are you saying she predicted the situation through some method?”

“Yes, Bone Immortal, do you remember what your informants mentioned before about that One-eyed Mystic in the Lingyin Merchant Association within Xiangshou County? If he could refine his divination technique to such an extent, this could indeed be possible.”

The emaciated old man pondered and nodded.

“Divination technique… this indeed is our weakness. It seems we must change our strategy and seek some external assistance. Pharmacist, do you have a way to enlist that One-eyed Mystic to assist us?”

The white-haired youth smiled slightly, yet his eyes glimmered with an unusual light.

“If we forcibly interfere with the diviner’s mind using drugs, they will surely lose their sensitivity to the heavenly secrets, rendering it meaningless. But if I’m not mistaken, doesn’t that one seem to have a daughter who is close to him? If you can bring her here…”

Being fellow Demon Lords, upon reaching this point, the Bone Immortal immediately understood the pharmacist’s implication.

“Alright, time is of the essence! It’s a pity Fleeting Void is dead… Now, I and Yin Lue are both severely injured, and it’s currently difficult for us to manage affairs. This matter can only be left to you and the pharmacist. Is that acceptable?”

Seeing the figure formed from the ghastly green mist nod, the Bone Immortal then pondered aloud.

“Additionally, the Ground Mouse Gang that we contacted earlier for the plan needs to be dealt with, to prevent leaving any traces that could lead back here. Once these two matters are completed, all powers under the Seven Day Demon Lords must cease operations and rest to recuperate.”

“Though we failed this time, the tide of the great world… is not merely a single wave.”

The dry old man turned back to glance at the Heart-Snatching Evil Demon still unconscious within the formation, a deepening light slowly emanating from his aged eyes.

“When the Four Saints Selection Tournament is held, and Lingyin Fairy Island reveals itself, that will be the true beginning of the showdown.”

   

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