Chapter 756: Tang Zhengqi, Unparalleled Schemer

Everyone turned toward Tang Zhengqi. No one expected that he would have gained the saint's favor so quickly and so completely.

Tang glanced at the saint, then at the other cultivators in the hall. He suddenly fell silent.

"What's the matter? Are you unwilling to say it?" the saint demanded.

Lou Yujing began to laugh. "Tang Zhengqi, do you suspect that there are traitors in our midst who might leak the strategy you've come up with?"

Everyone began to frown. Did Tang Zhengqi really think that he had some genius plan that would allow the saint to catch Xiao Nanfeng, that he had a better idea than even the Heavenly Emperor and the saint?

The saint was taken aback as well. His momentary displeasure with Tang suddenly faded away. Tang really was trying to help him out! Could he really have come up with some incredible plan?

Tang turned to Lou Yujing in surprise. He had been planning to refuse twice or thrice before finally discussing his 'genius idea' in order to astound the saint with his sincerity, but Lou Yujing's comment forced him to change his plans. He couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt.

"I apologize, Your Eminence. I do have some inkling of an idea, but it would be useless if it were to leak, and I worry that..." Tang trailed off.

The saint glanced at the cultivators in the hall. To be frank, he had no intention of dismissing anyone because of Tang's worries. He didn't expect Tang to come up with a plan that could astound him; he was largely looking for ideas.

"Don't worry. Reveal your plan out loud. If anyone dares to leak it, I'll kill his entire clan," the saint declared.

The saint exuded a burst of killing intent, but no one dared to object. Everyone focused intently on Tang Zhengqi.

Tang took a deep breath. "As you will, Your Eminence. I believe that, if we want to take down Xiao Nanfeng, we can't just be thinking about his defenses or attacking his territory. Doing so is useless and subjects us to his ambushes. We can't let Xiao Nanfeng control our pace. Rather, we have to control his instead."

"Oh?"

"We can set up an ambush in advance and lure Xiao Nanfeng into our trap, transforming his battlefield into ours."

"Lure him into our trap? How?" Tang had successfully whetted the saint's curiosity.

"It's just like fishing. We'll need bait—whatever Xiao Nanfeng wants."

"And what does he want?"

"Your Eminence, I remember that you had a black coffin in Dunxian that you used in battle. I overheard your conversation with the Immortal Emperor and learned that Xiao Nanfeng had one of his own. Is this black coffin precious? Perhaps..."

"Using the black coffin as bait is viable," Lou Yujing murmured, nodding.

The saint grimaced. "Xiao Nanfeng has already stolen that coffin from me due to my carelessness. Yu Fuli wiped away the mark I left on the coffin to track it, too."

"What? The black coffins are all in his possession now?" Tang exclaimed.

"There are three black coffins in all. When the three are combined, a potent relic will be unveiled. I had left one of the coffins in the Southeastern Aquatic Palace in an attempt to fish out the other two, but I was careless. Not only did I fail to seize Xiao Nanfeng's coffin, I even lost my own." The saint pursed his lips.

"Then one coffin remains. This is our opportunity!" Tang's eyes lit up.

"I don't possess the third coffin. Whence comes this supposed opportunity?" The saint sounded very displeased.

"It doesn't matter, Your Eminence. You could easily be in possession of it."

"Did you mishear me? I don't have the third coffin." The saint frowned.

"Your Eminence, I know you don't have it, but Xiao Nanfeng doesn't. We can pretend that you're in possession of the third coffin."

The saint raised an eyebrow as he realized what Tang was planning. He urged, "Continue."

"Yes, Your Eminence. The fact that you too are searching for the third coffin must mean that these coffins are particularly precious. That Xiao Nanfeng would steal the second one from you implies that he wants it too."

"Indeed." The saint nodded.

"Then if there were rumors that the third black coffin had been found, Xiao Nanfeng would surely have to investigate. That would fish him out."

"You intend to lure Xiao Nanfeng out with news of the third coffin?" The saint's eyes lit up.

"Yes, Your Eminence! I believe we can easily ambush Xiao Nanfeng in this fashion. If he is alone and unprepared, you will surely have a decisive advantage over him."

Enthused, the saint nodded approvingly at Tang. "Continue."

"Your Eminence, if we want to trick Xiao Nanfeng, we have to ensure nothing leaks out." Tang turned to survey the room again.

The saint, convinced by the viability of Tang's scheme, recognized the need for secrecy.

"If anyone dares to leak a single word of this conversation, not only will I destroy him and his clan, but also ensure that his soul will never reincarnate," the saint threatened.

The cultivators' eyes widened as they glanced at each other. No one dared to speak.

"Your Eminence, we can't directly inform Xiao Nanfeng about the third coffin. We'll have to lay the groundwork to entice his spies and have them investigate the clues we come up with. Xiao Nanfeng must uncover the location of the third black coffin for himself if we want to ensure that he'll fall for it."

"Indeed. We can have Lou Yujing send someone to pursue the third black coffin's ancestral zombie and pique Xiao Nanfeng's interest that way."

"In addition, Your Eminence, you'll have to prepare a fake black coffin in advance. That's the trap we'll set for Xiao Nanfeng. It has to look identical from the outside. Ideally, we'd lure him within and trap him there."

"That's easy." The saint nodded. "I can forge such a treasure to trap him. It shall look indistinguishable to the other black coffins."

"Of course, we'll have to prepare for the possibility that Xiao Nanfeng isn't fooled, either. If we can't trick him into the false coffin, we'll have to attack him outside of it. We have to use our full strength to take him down in one blow. Otherwise, he'll grow wary, and we won't have such an opportunity again."

"Our full strength?" The saint frowned.

"Your Eminence, you must be on guard against Xiao Nanfeng's heart sword. We can't risk anything," Tang warned.

The saint frowned. Xiao Nanfeng's heart sword could cleave his avatar, but it would hardly be effective against his main body.

The problem was that he didn't want to expose his main body.

Lou Yujing could guess why the saint was hesitating. He glanced at Tang in shock. Of everyone in this room, he was the most clear-headed when it came to Tang. Though Tang's scheme was devious and indeed seemed as if it would work, Tang was likely Xiao Nanfeng's spy. That implied that the scheme wasn't meant to target Xiao Nanfeng, but rather the saint—more precisely, the saint's main body.

Lou Yujing could guess that Xiao Nanfeng had come up with this scheme, with Tang Zhengqi serving as his mouthpiece. He grew inwardly wary. The combination of Xiao Nanfeng and Tang Zhengqi was lethal indeed.

Even so, he had no intention to expose Tang. No—he would even support him.

"Saint Chi Hai, Tang is right. We know that Xiao Nanfeng is in possession of Yu Fuli's heart swords, and he has a number of Boundless Immortals supporting him. You've experienced his prowess before. If we can't take him down in a single attempt, we might as well not risk it, lest we waste such an exquisite plan," Lou Yujing said.

"You think this plan exquisite?" The saint frowned at Lou Yujing.

"Indeed. If you intend to adopt it, Saint, I will give you my full support. However, I am wary with regard to Yu Fuli's heart swords. If you can't deal with them, then so be it."

The saint frowned. Was Lou Yujing looking down on him? That ingrate!

Even so, the saint didn't reveal any outward emotion. He stared at Lou Yujing. "I shall think about this plan carefully. You had better ensure your subordinates don't reveal anything, or else."

"Of course, Saint. No one outside this hall shall learn of it."

"That won't suffice. I'll cast a secret technique on all cultivators present that allows me to overhear all conversations you and your avatars have," the saint demanded.

Lou Yujing frowned, but nodded. "Very well."

The cultivators in the hall were naturally forced to agree as well. The saint sent beams of red light into their bodies, all save Lou Yujing and Tang Zhengqi.

Then, the saint smiled in satisfaction and turned to Tang. "Refine your plan over the next few days, then discuss the specifics with me later."

"Yes, Your Eminence! Thank you for your trust. I'll do my best!"

It was all but guaranteed that the saint would adopt his plan by this point.

The saint stepped forward, dissipated into a cloud of blood-red fog, and then vanished from sight.

The gathered cultivators relaxed upon seeing the saint depart.

Tu Siniang and the others eyed Tang jealously, but didn't dare cause trouble for him.

"Tang Zhengqi!" Lou Yujing suddenly exclaimed.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Since the saint has enlisted your assistance with such an important task, you'll have to do your best. Don't worry about your other responsibilities for the time being. Ask for any resources you need."

Tang glanced at Lou Yujing in surprise, but didn't dare express his suspicions. He bowed gratefully. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I'll do my best."

"Very well. You may all leave!"

"Understood!" everyone replied.