Xu Xian was speechless...
The hot blood that had just begun to boil instantly went cold.
At a time like this, he still had the mind to joke around.
This man’s heart was truly massive. The others couldn’t help but chuckle as well.
Naturally, their laughter was mixed with a touch of helplessness.
However, the previous tension and arguments had eased because of it.
After rolling his eyes at Ruan Zhong, Xu Xian returned to the matter at hand. "I have a plan."
"What plan?"
Xu Xian picked up a stone and drew a small circle on the ground, followed by a larger one, explaining calmly, "Look, we’re here. This is the range of the formation. I estimated last night that the scope of this grand formation spans a full hundred miles."
"To ensure no news leaks out, they will definitely do everything in their power to find me. Until they do, their attention will be focused outside. This gives you enough time to heal."
"Here’s what I’m thinking."
"We definitely can't win in a frontal assault, and the chances of successfully charging straight out are slim. In that case, let’s learn from them and use some schemes. An ambush..."
Everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances.
"How do we pull off an ambush?"
A flash of cunning crossed Xu Xian’s eyes, and he gave a wicked grin. "Like this: in a moment, you’ll all hang yourselves back up in that blood pool. Act as if I never came, as if nothing happened. As long as one of those two nascent soul stage demonic cultivators shows up here alone, we’ll catch them off guard and swarm them. If we can take one down first, the remaining one will be much easier to deal with. As for the Min Zhan you mentioned, we’ll just have to bet that he’s not here..."
The others stared blankly at Xu Xian, their eyes flickering with uncertainty.
Xu Xian said, "Don't just daze off. Does it work or not? Give me a straight answer."
Everyone looked at one another and gave their responses.
Ruan Zhong: "How devious!"
Song Qingshu: "What a scheme!"
Nangong Ning: "I think it can work!"
Xu Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He looked at Feng Shisan and asked as a formality, "And you? Do you have any objections?"
Feng Shisan was dazed for a moment before nodding heavily.
"No, I’ll follow the Little Grand-Uncle's lead."
He had long heard that a Little Grand-Uncle had joined the sect—one who broke ancient puzzles, comprehended the sword stele, achieved foundation establishment in ten months, and possessed extraordinary talent that surpassed both past and present. He was just a bit young...
Seeing him today, his reputation was indeed well-deserved.
However, the rumors were somewhat debatable. He couldn't see a single trace of youthful naivety in this Little Grand-Uncle.
He looked like a seasoned veteran of the jianghu.
Steady.
Resolute.
And resourceful.
He had initially thought Xu Xian’s words were just a heat-of-the-moment outburst. Now he saw that it wasn't just impulsive courage; the boy had already thought out a counter-strategy.
Given their current condition, running out was indeed a death sentence.
But if they stayed and acted as if nothing had happened, they could use this window of time to recover their cultivation and build up their strength. Secondly, they could wait for the right moment to seize the initiative.
If the plan went smoothly, they stood a very good chance of heavily wounding one of the two nascent soul old beasts. Then they could destroy the blood pool and fight their way out in the chaos.
If the enemy had no reinforcements and only one nascent soul old beast remained, they truly might be able to escape unscathed.
Even if variables arose, the probability of at least breaking through to send Xu Xian out or get word back to the sect would be greatly increased.
With such a plan, they had no reason to refuse.
The reason they felt a bit awkward was simply because they were from the Wendao Sword Sect. Their mindset was too upright; they had always been honorable and righteous, so they felt some resistance toward underhanded ambush tactics.
But in their current situation, they couldn't afford to be picky.
Seeing no objections and the plan unanimously approved, Xu Xian made the final call.
Action followed immediately. The plan was put into motion.
Nangong Ning and Ruan Zhong first helped the other four disciples from the Supervision Hall heal so they could move freely.
Next, they returned to the blood pool, using their cultivation methods to re-attach the severed iron chains to their bodies. They also employed a few illusion techniques to make everything look identical to how it was before.
With the group as the center, they used the powerful aura of the blood pool to set up a small Spirit-Sealing Formation to ensure the enemy wouldn't immediately realize their cultivation had recovered.
In short, everything they did was to facilitate a sudden, lethal strike that would catch the opponent off guard.
Under normal circumstances, such methods would be easily detected by a nascent soul stage expert’s perception. But being inside the blood pool, with the aura of that beast core as cover—and considering this was the enemy’s own lair—they would surely be lax.
Xu Xian was betting that the enemy wouldn't expect them to stay in the blood pool after escaping. He was also betting that they would assume he wouldn't dare to barge in...
Once everything was prepared, the seven of them endured the stench of the blood pool and began racing against time to recover from their injuries.
After Xu Xian returned to the edge of the pool, he cleaned up the remaining traces once more. After double-checking that no flaws were left, he also moved closer to the group. He stabbed a blade into the stone wall and crouched atop it.
Firstly, this made it easier to communicate and strike with the others. Secondly, he used the illusion technique to hide himself.
With his Pupil of Insight, he could see within the array created by the illusion, but others wouldn't be able to see him.
Although there were many places to hide around the Blood Pool Grotto, no one could guarantee they wouldn't accidentally bump into someone. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place. He was going to hide right under their noses.
Even if it was incredibly stinky, what did a little smell matter when life and death were on the line?
The wait began—a long, agonizing wait. Like hunters in the deep mountains, they waited quietly for their prey to appear...
During this time, Xu Xian offered up all the pills he had scavenged. There were Grade 1 Spirit-Replenishing Pills, Grade 2 Qi-Nourishing Pills, and Grade 3 Spirit-Nurturing Pills, letting them eat their fill.
He also took two himself to regulate his breath and energy.
He had been running around all night, and his condition wasn't much better than theirs. If he hadn't obtained this sword body from the Sword Mound, his energy bar would likely have run dry long ago.
"Qingshu, is your hand okay?"
"I'm fine, won't die. Sword intent in the left hand isn't necessarily a bad thing."
"If we make it back alive, I'll pull some resources together with the senior brothers and have the Merchant Hall get you a Blood Spirit Ginseng to regrow it."
Song Qingshu smiled slightly. "You said it yourself, don't you dare go back on your word later."
Ruan Zhong said boisterously, "Am I that kind of person? My word is my bond."
Nangong Ning added coldly, "I still have fifty thousand merit points. I’ll give them all to you."
Song Qingshu: "Really? I'm moved."
The disciples from the Supervision Hall also chimed in, "We'll pitch in too. We can't promise much, but ten thousand shouldn't be a problem."
Song Qingshu’s grin could no longer be suppressed.
Ruan Zhong teased, "Little Grand-Uncle, aren't you going to contribute something?"
Xu Xian said bitterly, "I have no money."
This was the truth.
Everyone stared at him with meaningful expressions...
Xu Xian’s body shook as he gritted his teeth. "I'll go find someone to borrow from."
Everyone burst out laughing, feeling that this Little Grand-Uncle was actually quite adorable.
Suddenly hearing a sound, everyone immediately fell silent, tucked away their smiles, and stood ready.
"Shh, someone’s coming. Seal your cultivation."
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