Chapter 549: The Diabolical Forces' Scheme

"I just knew it would be best if it's the two of us. My senior and junior brothers are either injured or ill. But us—we have gone through life-and-death experiences together. We're true friends! If you ask me what true friends are… Well, it's just like what people say. The gain or loss of power and influence will reveal whether your friendship is genuine, and your loyalty will be tested in the face of death…[1]"

Chu Liang and Pushan skimmed low over the plains, flying side by side. Throughout the journey, Pushan kept up his usual chatter, causing Chu Liang's brain to quiver incessantly.

Chu Liang had agreed to accompany him because no one in the Buddhist Cloud Monastery was willing to join Pushan as a scout. Having already been coldly ignored for a day, Pushan just looked so pitiful.

Seeing that, Chu Liang felt sorry for Pushan. Furthermore, seeing as he couldn't rest easy if someone else did the scouting anyway, Chu Liang reluctantly agreed to accompany Pushan. However, he regretted it soon after.

He couldn't help but wish Luo Yao were there. She had a way of shutting down Pushan's chatter at just the right moments. Thinking about that now, Chu Liang realized that was a skill in itself.

He couldn't help but hope for enemies to appear—anything to interrupt Pushan's relentless chatter.

At the next moment, someone appeared in the distance, entering the range of his divine sense. It was as if the heavens had heard Chu Liang's prayer.

Chu Liang quickly said, "Someone's coming,"

Chu Liang and Pushan sped forward, swiftly entering the range of the other party's divine sense.

Unexpectedly, the other party didn't intend to fight.

Instead, they turned and fled, shouting, "It's Chu Liang from Mount Shu!"

They bolted away into the distance.

"Heeey!" Chu Liang called out.

He and Pushan hurriedly gave chase.

When Chu Liang was flying on his sword, it was difficult for anyone within his line of sight to escape. Yet, he only managed to catch that person and secure his soul crystal. As for that person's teammates, they had long since scattered without a trace.

"Why did they run off…?" Chu Liang wondered. "Since they sent someone to scout ahead, they must've been looking to hunt for soul crystals. But the moment the scout saw me, he bolted. I guess he must've recognized me."

"Indeed." Pushan nodded. "You've made quite a name for yourself; you're as well known as the top prodigies of the immortal sects. The members of ordinary small sects would definitely be cautious if they recognized you."

This was based on his reputation from before the second round of the assembly started. If word were to get out that Chu Liang had single-handedly defeated three teams, even more people would fear him.

If the opposing teams kept fleeing at the sight of Chu Liang, that meant he would only be able to catch and kill the scouts, not wipe out entire teams. That was, of course, the whole reason they sent scouts in the first place.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"

Hmm...

" Chu Liang murmured, thinking for a moment. Then he said, "I guess we should disguise ourselves."

He put on a black robe with a habitual swiftness. Seeing that, Pushan put on his own black robe.

Their black robes, specially made of Aura-Concealing Muslin, instantly made them look like members of a diabolical sect. The righteous aura of the young heroes was replaced by something far more sinister. They were true professionals.

Chu Liang explained, "This way, they won't recognize us from afar. Once a large group surrounds us, the soul crystals will be ours."

Pushan chuckled. "Haven't worn this robe in a while. Feels kind of nostalgic."

They continued scouting the area in their black robes, flying for a long time before finally encountering another person. This time, it was a woman. Her slim and graceful figure was visible even from a distance. Chu Liang thought that the woman looked rather familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was.

Nevertheless, Chu Liang didn't dwell on it. After all, he had many acquaintances in the various immortal sects. It was possible they had met at the Mount Shu Summit or another event. Regardless, now that they were in the Competition of the Hundred Sects, anyone who wasn't an ally was an enemy.

Chu Liang and Pushan went straight over to the woman. She did not flee; instead, she moved toward them.

Chu Liang was just about to make a move and pretend to be overpowered.

Unexpectedly, when the woman saw him, she called out, "Esteemed senior!"

"Hm?" Chu Liang uttered, taken aback by the woman's form of address for him. He stared blankly at her for a moment before hesitantly yelling back, "It's you?" 𝐑𝖆ƝꝋᛒĚṦ

…

Actually, Chu Liang had no idea who the woman was.

Nonetheless, when they moved closer to talk, Chu Liang finally recognized her face. It was Enchantress Yi from the Scarlet-Robe Hall.

Yi Qiushui's physique hadn't changed, but she had put on some makeup, and her skin was a different shade. She looked significantly different from the last time he saw her; it was like she was a different person. Yi Qiushui wasn't using an illusion technique though. She had simply used makeup to change her appearance, and she had become nearly unrecognizable.

Participants in the Assembly of Immortal Sects had to undergo strict inspections, so the imperial court officials and sect elders overseeing the events would have detected any use of illusion techniques early on. However, the method Yi Qiushui used made it easy for her to deceive them.

The simplest infiltration tasks only needed the most basic disguise.

Yi Qiushui she had only recently emerged into the martial world and hadn't made many public appearances yet. There were only a few righteous cultivators knew who she was, so it was easy for her to slip in unnoticed.

Chu Liang was curious about her purpose for being there.

"Esteemed senior, why haven't you gone to see my teacher?" Yi Qiushui complained. "You promised to visit her. She has waited for you for so long."

Pushan blinked. "Something like that happened?"

Pushan had seen Yi Qiushui before and knew she was the disciple of the Scarlet-Robe Hall's master, but this was a total surprise...

Chu Liang felt rather awkward.

I did agree to meet her, but she's expecting someone else. How am I supposed to explain that to you?

So, all he could say was, "I've been busy lately."

"

Hmph...

" Yi Qiushui scoffed, angry on her teacher's behalf. She wasn't going to let him off so easily.

Chu Liang quickly changed the subject. "What are you doing here?"

"My teacher sent me here. We received word that the West Sea Diabolical Forces are plotting to seize the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams! She sent me to check things out."

Pushan gasped. "

Eh?

"

Chu Liang was just as surprised, but he didn't show it.

Instead, he calmly asked, "You know about this too?"

"Esteemed senior, you know about this too?" Yi Qiushui asked right back. Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Of course, it makes sense. With your remarkable divine abilities, it's only natural you'd know."

Chu Liang shot Pushan a glance.

Then Pushan said, "This is a serious matter. Enchantress Yi, what information do you have? Perhaps you could confirm the intel with... our esteemed senior."

The three undercover agents—Chu Liang, Pushan, and Luo Yao—had worked together for so long that they could understand each other with just one glance.

Yi Qiushui shared the information with them. "The West Sea Diabolical Forces are making a big move this time. Immortal Yuan Lu contacted many sects, urging them to participate in the Assembly of Immortal Sects to infiltrate the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams. He plans to invade the illusory realm and seize control of the Divine Mirror from within it."

That sounded far-fetched, so Chu Liang exchanged another glance with Pushan.

Pushan asked, "The Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams is no ordinary treasure. Can it really be taken like that?"

Yi Qiushui explained, "That involves one of the Diabolical Forces' secrets."

She then shared more details, and Chu Liang and Pushan finally understood how Immortal Yuan Lu was going to take control of the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams.

The "Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures" had only mentioned that the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams was a treasure that had fallen from the immortal realm. However, it didn't explain that when the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals discovered it, it was just a damaged Eight Trigram Compass that could connect the real and illusory worlds. Although the compass was mysterious and profound enough to be considered a legendary artifact, it didn't possess the immense power that made it worthy of being ranked third in the catalog.

At that time that the Eight Trigram Compass was discovered, Evil Dragon Mountain was at the height of its power within the Diabolical Forces. A second Diabolical Emperor emerged from that sect, wielding the Diabolical Divine Mirror—an absurdly powerful artifact capable of reflecting everything in the world.

After the second Demon Emperor perished, the new sect leader of Evil Dragon Mountain used the Diabolical Divine Mirror to fight against the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals and their Eight Trigram Compass. Ultimately, the wielders of the two artifacts both perished in the battle, and the two artifacts fused together before falling into the illusory realm.

The Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals later recovered this fused artifact, known now as the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams. With the artifact upgraded to legendary status, the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals flourished.

Evil Dragon Mountain, on the other hand, fell from glory and failed to rise back up again. The biggest reason was losing their most powerful legendary artifact.

Since then, whenever eighth-realm righteous cultivators carried legendary artifacts to the West Sea, the West Sea Diabolical Forces would run like the wind, as they had been unable to regain their former strength.

The Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals didn't want their legendary artifact to be associated with the Diabolical Forces, so they kept it a secret. Once enough time had passed, there wouldn't be anyone left who knew about it.

By the time the Celestial Pivot Pavilion established the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures, the battle between the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals and the Evil Dragon Mountain had become ancient history, and no records had been made of it.

The Evil Dragon Mountain never publicly revealed that they had lost their legendary artifact, but they had always harbored the desire to reclaim their Divine Mirror. Now, they wanted to seize the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams by infiltrating the illusory realm inside it. That meant that they had likely found some way to reclaim control of the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams.

However, if Evil Dragon Mountain were to regain possession of the Divine Mirror, the Dark King Sect's already unstable position as the most dominant sect in the Diabolical Forces would be in jeopardy. That was why the Dark King Sect sent someone to investigate the situation.

Chu Liang frowned.

Why is this happening during this Assembly of Immortal Sects?

This plan to infiltrate the illusory realm inside the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams and seize control of the mirror… sounded far-fetched, but it didn't seem impossible.

The Great Dao of Reality and Illusion was profoundly mysterious. This situation sounded like a hacker planting a virus in a computer to take it over. The difference was that a hacker couldn't physically steal the computer. However, if someone had control over the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams, it would be an easy feat for them to instantly summon the mirror from thousands of li away.

While the three people were talking, a deep rumble reverberated through the ground from afar, and an ancient and malevolent aura surged into the sky.

Chu Liang looked up and saw a massive black shadowy form rise from the distant shore!

It was a mountain.

Yet, as the mountain rose higher, the rocks, earth, and trees on it quickly fell off. The mountain was shaking… No, it wasn't simply shaking—it was shaking off the earth and rocks clinging to it.

Boom! Rumble, rumble…

As the rocks and earth rained down, a part of the mountain's core was revealed. It was pitch-black as if it had been forged from iron.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

More and more of the mountain's massive core was unearthed until most of it was visible. It looked like an enormous whale rising into the sky. The whale was covered in countless wounds. The deepest one was an injury that ran through its head.

Is that Black Whale Mountain?

Chu Liang suddenly recalled a legend he had heard a long time ago. It said that Black Whale Mountain had been formed from the corpse of the Black Devil Whale.

Could the legend really be true?

That very mountain had returned to life inside this illusory realm!

The enormous Black Devil Whale hovered overhead, stretching across the sky. Finally seeing daylight again after so long, the Black Devil Whale unleashed the fury that had been silently accumulating within it for thousands of years.

"RAAAAAAR!!!"

1. I translated this assuming that this is the full saying: 一死一生，乃知交情。一贫一富，乃知交态。一贵一贱，交情乃见。 The author only used two parts of it. There's a third part: The gain or loss of wealth will reveal how deep your friendship is. The saying is much more eloquent in Chinese. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD