Chapter 177: Ruthless Person and Ruthless Person and Steady

Zhao Gongming rode on clouds, casually drifting toward the target island.

With the help of his third sister, their "Peng Yi Peng" strategy had been upgraded once again.

In a situation like today, Zhao Gongming's task was even simpler than their usual routines.

On that deserted island, the moment Zhao Gongming deliberately revealed his presence, Wen Jing Dao Ren noticed him immediately.

She was about to slip away quietly, but as soon as she moved, a strong sense of warning arose in her heart.

As someone like Wen Jing Dao Ren, who had survived from ancient times and kept her origins hidden from most, her spiritual intuition was extremely sharp.

At that moment, her instincts were alerting her that if she tried to escape directly, she would face great danger today.

Instead, as long as she stayed still, there would be no real threat.

She had her origins concealed by the saints of Xi Fang Jiao, so they wouldn't be easily uncovered.

At her level of cultivation, unless she willingly revealed her true form, only a saint could see through her original shape.

Moreover, Wen Jing Dao Ren's karmic obstacles had long been cleansed by the power of incense and merit, and although her merit was now zero, she wouldn't be mistaken for an evil demon.

So, Wen Jing Dao Ren remained calm, continuing to sit there pretending to meditate while secretly watching Zhao Gongming, the outer disciple of Jie Jiao, who seemed to be just passing overhead.

Wen Jing Dao Ren naturally recognized Zhao Gongming and knew his vast magical powers—once he unleashed his twenty-four Ding Hai Shen Zhu, few experts below the saints could handle it.

But she refused to believe that with her alluring appearance, lack of karmic stains, and hidden origins, this outer disciple of Jie Jiao would kill her for no reason!

Sure enough, Zhao Gongming appeared to be merely passing by this place by chance.

Wen Jing Dao Ren held her breath, quietly waiting for him to leave, while preparing herself to escape or strike back at any moment.

This spot was already so secluded, yet she had encountered such a high-level expert.

Before long, Zhao Gongming flew directly above Wen Jing Dao Ren.

Then, suddenly, a change occurred!

Before Wen Jing Dao Ren could react, Zhao Gongming on the cloud suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, clutched his chest, and toppled backward off the cloud, plummeting down.

He looked gravely injured, his aura weak and his Dao rhythm chaotic, as if the wound had suddenly flared up!

With a soft "thud," a heroic man fell from the sky, landing face-up with arms and legs splayed out in front of Wen Jing Dao Ren.

Wen Jing Dao Ren: ...

Could this be... had the Heavenly Dao finally remembered her, Queen of the Mosquitoes, and directly granted her such a feast?

The blood of such a powerful expert would surely be...

"You... you!"

Zhao Gongming suddenly opened his eyes, struggling to raise his head, and pointed a trembling finger at Wen Jing Dao Ren, shouting dramatically:

"Dao you! Why... why did you ambush me?"

Wen Jing Dao Ren, who had been somewhat excited, froze on the spot, question marks popping up in her mind.

What on earth was this?

She had been roaming the Hong Huang since ancient times, and this was the first time she had encountered something like this.

"Big brother! Big brother, what happened to you!"

Suddenly, Wen Jing Dao Ren's heart sensed a grave warning, and a aura appeared out of nowhere a hundred li away. A young woman materialized without warning and rushed over in a few steps.

Qiong Xiao Xian Zi?

Could it be that Zhao Gongming and the San Xiao sisters from Jie Jiao had already uncovered her identity and set a trap for her here?

But why not attack directly, and instead... do something like this?

Wen Jing Dao Ren sat there with her eyes wide open, feigning composure, her gaze full of confusion as she watched the scene unfold, while secretly preparing to sacrifice ten thousand years of cultivation and use her escape technique to flee for her life!

However, what happened next made Wen Jing Dao Ren feel that she herself was...

Not only incredibly naive, but also utterly unprepared.

At the same time, at the San Jiao Yuan Liu Assembly site, Li Changshou felt a slight tremor in his mind.

He suddenly had a feeling that some joyful event was happening somewhere that could make him happy.

While meditating, Li Changshou furrowed his brow slightly and secretly performed a divination.

With his years of experience in divination techniques, he quickly realized... he couldn't divine anything specific.

Ever since the Hai Shen cult's temples exceeded ten thousand, Li Changshou would receive some warnings in advance for any matters related to the Nan Hai Hai Shen cult, as a form of Heavenly Dao's favor.

This time, it seemed to be good news.

But according to the three great laws of Hong Huang—fortune and misfortune are intertwined—even good news might not truly be good.

Li Changshou tried divining for a while but got nothing, so he activated his paper effigy near the Nan Hai coast, patrolling the mortal world where the Hai Shen cult had temples.

For him, whether it was good or bad, nothing happening was preferable.

'All I can do is wait and see,' he thought to himself.

Li Changshou continued to stay vigilant, trying to analyze where this good news might come from.

Of course, he couldn't divine the miraculous scene unfolding on that deserted island in the Nan Hai.

Just then, a wisp of Dao rhythm quietly emerged in Li Changshou's heart, making him jolt.

Another insight transmission!

Li Changshou cultivated the Tai Qing Wu Wei Dao, and previously, Xuan Du Da Fa Shi had used this method several times to form words directly in his heart.

Now, this was happening again!

But this time, the Dao rhythm was so obscure and profound!

Li Changshou immediately focused all his mind on his true body, sensing and comprehending it, as his thoughts began to stir restlessly.

This wasn't Xuan Du Da Fa Shi's Dao rhythm!

In the entire Hong Huang, aside from Xuan Du Da Fa Shi, the only one who could use the Dao passed down by Tai Qing Sheng Ren to send messages directly to his heart was Tai Qing Sheng Ren himself!

The Sheng Ren...

Not only was he aware of Li Changshou, but he was communicating with him directly, bypassing intermediaries!

The Dao rhythm flowed slowly, and a complex insight began to form in Li Changshou's heart, accompanied by a vague image.

It was indeed an image...

Xuan Du Da Fa Shi could only send simple words, but the being transmitting the message this time was directly placing an insight and an image into Li Changshou's heart!

The difference in their levels of attainment was clear at a glance!

Xuan Du Da Fa Shi was still at the stage of sending text messages via a basic spiritual link, while Tai Qing Sheng Ren had already upgraded to something like 'Wu Ji'—essentially sending him a video!

In the image:

A fist-sized black-winged blood mosquito quietly flew into an empty cave filled with golden light, landing in the central treasure pool and transforming into a seductive figure.

From the pool rose a golden lotus with twelve petals, and the woman reached out to touch it, with streams of golden light rushing into her body.

"Wicked creature!"

A thunderous roar echoed, and the image abruptly ended.

Li Changshou was stunned—the information was overwhelming.

Was this... the scene of the Mosquito Dao Ren sucking the Shi Er Pin Jin Lian?

And the Mosquito Dao Ren had such an impressive figure—only slightly less so than his own Jiu Shi Shu!

Ahem, parts of Hong Huang's scenery were unexpectedly beyond his expectations...

Then, Li Changshou slowly unraveled the insights that followed.

They were profoundly mysterious and indescribable.

In simple terms, as Li Changshou understood it, he could loosely translate the insights as follows:

This image was a possibility that Tai Qing Sheng Ren had foreseen for some unknown time in the future.

This possibility was connected to another major event that the Sheng Ren would undertake later.

However, this future possibility had encountered some instability and needed to be corrected—using deliberate actions to steer it back to the outcome that could be achieved through natural Wu Wei.

Once Li Changshou grasped this, his heart was filled with shock.

He had always known that Hong Huang's power ceiling was extremely high.

But he could never have imagined that a Sheng Ren possessed such capabilities!

At this point, Tai Qing Sheng Ren had already foreseen a segment of the Feng Shen Da Zhan.

Not only that!

The Mosquito Dao Ren sucking the Shi Er Pin Jin Lian was linked to another major event involving Tai Qing Sheng Ren and Xi Fang Jiao—most likely "Lao Zi travels west through Han Gu Pass and transforms barbarians into Buddhists"!

—This was easy to deduce.

His own Tai Qing Sheng Ren was famously known in Hong Huang for being reclusive and inactive...

Uh, for pure Wu Wei!

The intersections between Tai Qing Sheng Ren and Xi Fang Jiao were few—mainly collaborating to break the Wan Xian Array and Zhu Xian Sword Array during the Feng Shen Da Zhan, and later the event of transforming barbarians into Buddhists.

Li Changshou was speechless in his heart.

This was the power of a Sheng Ren!

For matters related to the Sheng Ren that hadn't yet occurred, any changes or variables would trigger his awareness!

The obscure Dao rhythm gradually faded, and the image in Li Changshou's heart slowly dissipated, but a few more insights emerged.

Nan Hai, nine thousand li.

Without hesitation, Li Changshou sent the paper effigy that had been active flying swiftly southward on clouds.

He focused his mind fully, striving to understand the message from Tai Qing Sheng Ren.

There was actually a logical thread hidden in this.

In the Feng Shen Da Zhan, the two Sheng Ren of Xi Fang Jiao desperately poached from Dao Men's ranks and schemed excessively, leading to the loss of the Shi Er Pin Jin Lian, which was sucked by the Mosquito Dao Ren, reducing it to a Jiu Pin Jin Lian.

Precisely because the twelve-grade merit golden lotus no longer suppressed Xi Fang Jiao's destiny, Tai Qing Lao Zi could successfully execute his plan to transform barbarians into Buddhists.

Everything was under Tai Qing's gaze!

At that moment, Li Changshou didn't dare think too deeply. Following the Sheng Ren's hint, he flew southward, ready at any time to destroy his paper effigy.

He couldn't help but wonder in his heart what had happened to affect the "Mosquito Dao Ren sucking the golden lotus" event, and why the Sheng Ren had entrusted this to him.

Was there some karma involved?

Half a shichen later.

Li Changshou flew out nine thousand li, gazing at the vast ocean, unsure whether to go east or west, so he hovered in the air, waiting quietly.

His earlier premonition wasn't wrong.

It really was good news.

Going from being a tool for Da Fa Shi to accidentally becoming a tool for the Sheng Ren was undoubtedly a massive stroke of luck!

His backing had suddenly become clear and solid.

Meanwhile, to the southeast, tens of thousands of li from Li Changshou's paper effigy.

Wen Jing Dao Ren rode a white cloud, drifting slowly through the sky.

She rarely traveled openly, but now she had no choice.

Over her original gauze skirt, she had added a layer of pure white, opaque silk robes.

She held her collar tightly, transforming from a seductive woman into a proper female immortal, heading westward.

Her expression was somewhat dazed, her face tinged with a hint of sorrow.

Wen Jing Dao Ren replayed the lengthy and complex Dao oath she had just sworn, her eyes showing a touch of grief and anger.

Dao Men's San Jiao—what on earth were these things!

Who were the real demons?

Who were the ancient ferocious beasts?

Who were the bloodthirsty fiends of the Xue Hai!

She, the queen of the Hei Chi Xue Wen clan, had actually been... been...

The tactics of Dao Men's Sheng Ren disciples were just too underhanded!

No, their blood must all be black, filthy, flowing with something that made even mosquitoes nauseous—pure shamelessness.

It was over, completely over.

Those Sheng Ren disciples of Xi Fang Jiao, who thought themselves masters of schemes, could never match the disciples of Dao Men's Sheng Ren in plots and tricks!

They weren't even in the same league!

Naturally, no matter how furious she felt inside, she didn't dare show it.

They were still watching her performance!

What kind of joke was this?

Even facing Qiong Xiao alone, the Mosquito Dao Ren had no confidence, especially with that famous Jin Jiao Jian, a renowned killing treasure among innate spiritual items.

What's more, there was Zhao Gongming and his twenty-four Ding Hai Shen Zhu nearby!

Though she, Wen Jing Dao Ren, was the queen of the Hei Chi Xue Wen, she was merely a puppet controlled by Xi Fang Jiao, with no powerful treasures at hand—she had to rely entirely on her own magical powers to get by.

Wen Jing Dao Ren tightened her robe's collar, and her seductive face, due to the grievance, took on a touch of pitiful charm.

This was all an act, of course, because she could sense that those two were monitoring her with some treasure.

If she used an escape technique, her true origins would be exposed.

Gradually, the feeling of being watched faded away. Wen Jing Dao Ren snorted softly and continued flying on her cloud toward the Xi Hai.

Suddenly, her immortal sense detected an elderly Daoist with white hair standing on the sea surface ten thousand li away, with cultivation at the early Tian Xian stage.

On any normal day, Wen Jing Dao Ren would have casually sucked him dry as a snack.

But now, she pretended not to see him and flew straight past.

Six thousand li, three thousand li...

Li Changshou's spirit suddenly stirred, and he spotted Wen Jing Dao Ren's figure in the air.

Having just seen the short "film" in his heart of Wen Jing Dao Ren and the golden lotus, Li Changshou recognized her instantly. He also noticed her current state.

It seemed...

Hmm? Why did it look so similar to Dong Mu Gong's earlier lost and desolate demeanor?

In that instant, Li Changshou suddenly understood why Tai Qing Sheng Ren had sent him to "correct" this matter.

Wen Jing Dao Ren was flying extremely fast, about to pass within a few hundred li of Li Changshou. He quickly snapped back to attention and called out through voice transmission:

"Dao you!

Please stop!"