Volume 1 Chapter 48: Plans and a Change of Heart
Hook bait nice and straight—mention money to be made, and the girl's eyes instantly seemed to turn into spirit stones.
After a brief pause, Ye Anping said, "In short, I'll get you to the Seven Killers Sect's western region branch headquarter. Once you're inside, go to the region master's bedchamber and take the spirit stones from his storage bag. I don't know how many there are, but there will definitely be a lot."
"...?"
Six dots practically floated over Feng Yudie's head as she stared at him in disbelief, thinking he had to be joking.
But Ye Anping's expression showed no trace of humor.
They looked at each other for a moment before Feng Yudie finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "You're serious?"
"Of course I am."
"…Then what cultivation level is the Seven Killers Sect western region master?"
"Late Stage of the Core Formation realm."
"So you want me to run into a late stage Core Formation cultivator's home, snatch his storage bag, and then escape?"
"Mm."
Feng Yudie smiled, downed the tea in her cup in one gulp, stood up, clasped her hands in a formal salute, and turned to leave.
"This young lady has no intention of dying a heroic death. Farewell!"
She had just pulled open the door latch when Ye Anping raised two fingers like a sword and flicked them, snapping the latch shut again.
Feng Yudie turned back. "What are you doing?"
Ye Anping sighed. With another flick of his fingers, he took out a huge map from the storage bag at his waist and spread it across the table. "This is a map of the Seven Killers Sect's western region base, the Heavenly Machine Fortress. I've marked all the mechanisms that pose a threat to you. As long as you follow this route, I guarantee you'll have a clear path."
Feng Yudie hesitated, then walked over and examined the map closely.
On it were three twelve-sided regions. Each region was divided by lines into countless small rooms, almost every one clearly labeled with its purpose.
Just as Ye Anping had said, many triangular symbols were marked on the map, and next to each was a note. For example: 'Equipped with four flame-spewing automaton beasts, lizard-shaped mechanisms. Weak to lightning-element techniques. Break them with lightning talismans.'
For a moment, Feng Yudie was left completely speechless.
Xiaotian was equally shocked.
It hurriedly pulled out its Heavenly Dao Scriptures and began flipping through them. Sure enough, it found a map of the Heavenly Machine Fortress—but when it compared it to Ye Anping's, many areas didn't match at all.
『It's different from the one in the Heavenly Dao Scriptures…』
Hearing Xiaotian's muttering, Feng Yudie seized the chance to voice her doubts. "I've seen a map of that… Heavenly Machine Fortress before. It doesn't look the same as this."
Ye Anping shot Xiaotian a glance and sighed softly. "The map you saw should be the old Heavenly Machine Fortress. This one is the current version."
"…How do you know?"
Ye Anping shrugged and explained, "The Heavenly Machine Fortress is an ancient ruin left behind by cultivators of antiquity. It has existed for tens of thousands of years and was buried underground after countless landslides and upheavals. Over a thousand years ago, it was discovered by the first western region master of the Seven Killers Sect. He cracked the mechanism inside and took it for himself, and that's how the western region of the Seven Killers Sect came into being."
Listening to this, Xiaotian hurriedly flipped through its pages again until it found the entry on the "Seven Killers Sect Western Region Branch." It discovered that Ye Anping's account was almost word-for-word identical to the first paragraph recorded in the Heavenly Dao Scriptures.
This wasn't the first time!
Before this, even Pei girl's written exam answers had been like this!
Xiaotian was now starting to suspect that Ye Anping might also possess a Heavenly Dao Scriptures.
But setting aside the fact that it had never heard of a second Heavenly Dao Scriptures existing in this world. Since ancient times, anyone who possessed a Heavenly Dao Scripture was someone with a destiny aligned with the Dao itself—without exception, all were peerless geniuses with Heavenly-grade spirit roots.
Yet this Ye brat was merely an ordinary cultivator with dual spirit roots, and he hadn't encountered any particularly extraordinary opportunities either.
But what if…
What if Ye Anping really did have another Heavenly Dao Scriptures?
If that were the case, then he would definitely be able to see it—and from then on, he and Feng Yudie would inevitably become entangled by karmic ties…
『Hey! Ye brat, can you see me and are just pretending you can't?!』
Xiaotian floated down from above Feng Yudie's head to right in front of Ye Anping and grabbed his face.
This wasn't the first time Xiaotian had asked Ye Anping this question, but the previous times, Feng Yudie had still been unconscious.
So when she heard this, Feng Yudie's eyes widened, and before she could stop herself, her surprise slipped out:
"Xiaotian, you're saying he can see you?"
"Xiaotian?" Ye Anping put on a puzzled look and glanced around. "What Xiaotian?"
"Ah…"
『(Stare——)』
Xiaotian crossed its arms and stared straight into his eyes, practically wanting to press their foreheads together.
Seeing Xiaotian's behavior, Feng Yudie immediately said, "Don't mind it. If you ever see me talking to myself in the future, just assume I've gone crazy."
"..."
Ye Anping's expression remained perfectly calm as he continued, "Before you enter the Heavenly Machine Fortress, crush the Profound Star Sect disciple token. At that time, an elder of the Profound Star Sect will rush over to save you."
"Am I really that valuable? Would the Profound Star Sect really fall out with a Seven Killers Sect regional branch just for me?"
"You are valuable, but not that valuable. So I've made other preparations as well. Don't worry—the Profound Star Sect will definitely show up, and the one who comes should be a Divine Transformation realm elder."
After thinking it over, Feng Yudie asked, "Then why don't you just tell the Profound Star Sect directly where the Heavenly Machine Fortress is?"
"First, it wouldn't be convenient for me to say it; second, if I said it outright, I wouldn't get much of a reward—far too little profit; and third, this way I can take the opportunity to shift the Poison Gu Sect's attention onto the Profound Star Sect."
"Shift their attention?"
As he spoke, Ye Anping flicked his finger and took Wu You's identity badge along with all of his magical tools out of his storage bag, placing them on the table.
"Take these with you. They'll search you and confiscate them, and then a Profound Star Sect elder will retrieve them. These items are hard to dispose of anyway, but after being passed around like this, even if the Poison Gu Sect continues investigating, they'll only trace it back to the Seven Killers Sect and the Profound Star Sect. Between us and the Poison Gu Sect, there'll be an extra layer of protection."
Feng Yudie swept a glance over the magical tools on the table. After staring at Ye Anping's face for a while, she suddenly let out a breath.
When she had first met Ye Anping, she'd thought he was just like those typical rich young masters—flashy on the outside, but ultimately an ordinary, hollow person. Back then, when Xiaotian told her, "Being on good terms with this Ye Anping brings a hundred benefits and no harm," she'd been rather dismissive. Now, however, it seemed Xiaotian might not have been wrong after all.
From childhood to now, Feng Yudie had never really been afraid of anything. Even when she'd encountered the Poison Gu Sect's Grand Elder last time, she'd only felt panicked.
But now, sitting in front of Ye Anping, she found that no matter what, she had no desire to make an enemy of this man.
At last, Feng Yudie picked up the tea Ye Anping had offered her earlier, took a sip, and said, "Young Master Ye, I think I finally understand why Junior Sister Pei trusts you so much."
She leaned back in her chair, completely relaxed, and continued, "Let's talk about the cut. You said fifty-fifty before, right? We'll go with your fifty-fifty. I agree—on the condition that I add one request."
"Go on."
"Give me one free treatment session. I want to experience it for myself—I'm really curious how you apply mortal techniques to cultivators."
At that moment, Bai Yuelin's voice came from outside the room—
"Anping~ I bought the roasted chicken! Where are you guys?"
Hearing this, Ye Anping calmly removed the soundproofing talisman stuck in the corner. After thinking for a moment, he nodded in agreement. "Later. Let's eat the roasted chicken first. Also, I'll keep going—over the next few days, come sit in my shop for lunch and dinner every day. I'll buy you roasted chicken."
"Huh? Why?"
"I'm not interested in you." Ye Anping rolled his eyes at her. "In a few days, I'll tie you up and hand you over to that late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator you met earlier. He'll escort you to the Seven Killers Sect's relay station, and from there you'll be sent to the Heavenly Machine Fortress. But I'll also have to explain to him how I captured you, otherwise he'll get suspicious."
"What does that have to do with me coming here to sit around?"
"…The reason is simple. You were captivated by my good looks."
"I was captivated by you—?" Feng Yudie looked at him, somewhat speechless, and rolled her eyes. Then, after a second thought, she laughed teasingly. "Young Master Ye."
"Yes?"
She propped her chin on her hand and bared her teeth in a grin.
"If you'd been born a girl, you might actually have managed to attract me."
Ye Anping stared at her with a deadpan expression and shot back, "If I'd been born a girl, I'd stay as far away from you as possible."
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Link for character illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1PdkaxAXCm0CjLL3M58xxLd1KyiUxEjjh