Chapter 59: Cooperation, Unmasking the Scheme in Jieyang (Please keep reading!)

Ji Ming lay flat in a crevice between rocks, pressed close to the stone. He had already used the breath-concealing talisman, not just one but two in succession, fearing that he might not be able to hide his presence. He never intended to venture deep into the cave; his plan was merely to linger near the entrance. A new scheme had taken shape in his mind: not only must he escape danger, but he must seize the initiative, or else how could he discover the place where the celestial being was to be reborn?

Time passed slowly. Outside the cave, the Golden Lion Monkey and Wen Daoyu had entered the altered, broken illusion array, but Ji Ming had no idea what was happening now, nor whether they had managed to escape. Within the cave, Lord Chi Yi paced back and forth several times. His face, usually calm and composed, now betrayed doubt and anxiety.

More than once, Lord Chi Yi stopped right beside Ji Ming’s hiding place, occasionally stepping on the very crevice where Ji Ming lay concealed. The serpent-headed tail extending from his coccyx swept absent-mindedly across the dust covering the stones.

Ji Ming was certain that if he used the Bone Heart-Pinning Pearl now, it would hit its mark without fail. Yet he had little confidence in the pearl he had hastily crafted, for it had not undergone the final ritual to become a true magical artifact.

“It seems... I miscalculated,” Lord Chi Yi murmured at the cave entrance.

A faint hiss answered him.

“No need to comfort me. We must drive the Candle Python out of the cave as soon as possible, and those bothersome traps inside must be cleared quickly. If we delay, Wen Daoyu will surely bring reinforcements.”

Another hiss sounded.

“How should we deal with the disciples from Crane View?” asked the serpent spirit. Lord Chi Yi hesitated for a moment before replying, “Kill them. They were only kept here to lure Wen Daoyu, so we could ambush him. Unfortunately, I feigned weakness before him earlier; after this, even if he had the courage, he won’t dare return, unless he brings a high cultivator from the Third Realm.”

As Lord Chi Yi turned away, a figure appeared abruptly behind him.

Without turning, Lord Chi Yi’s serpent-headed tail had already seen who it was. “Don’t tell me you merely used your Minor Wish spell and stayed hidden here all along?”

Ji Ming was baffled. Why did everyone seem to know about his Minor Wish spell? Was it somehow linked to his identity as a centipede spirit? But that was beside the point. The crucial matter was to sway Lord Chi Yi with words before he could act. So Ji Ming spoke immediately, “Of course not. In fact, I just came out.”

Lord Chi Yi finally turned to face him, restraining his urge to attack. Something occurred to him, and he asked hesitantly, “You... saw the celestial being?”

“No!” Ji Ming replied. Lord Chi Yi relaxed slightly, but Ji Ming’s next words made him tense up once more.

“My point is, there is no celestial being in the cave.”

Lord Chi Yi’s first reaction was to suspect the centipede spirit was deceiving him, but then he considered that Ji Ming had no reason to lie, and found himself believing the claim.

“If the cave holds no celestial, do you intend to search for this being with me?” Lord Chi Yi seemed to discover something amusing and smiled.

“Is that not allowed?” Ji Ming replied.

Such a pure, efficient, and unaffected idea was exactly to Lord Chi Yi’s taste; he could hardly believe it came from a centipede spirit.

“Where are you from...?” he asked.

“A wild creature,” Ji Ming answered. He knew that anyone who interacted deeply with him would suspect he had some background, for wild spirits rarely possessed such clarity.

Lord Chi Yi cared little that the centipede spirit concealed his origins; such things were common. What mattered was whether he should trust Ji Ming’s words—was the celestial truly not in the cave?

“Think carefully. Everything has traces,” Ji Ming prompted.

Lord Chi Yi understood. The cave was likely a trap set by the ancestors of Four Sorrows Cloud Temple, meant to confuse and incite conflict. He had considered this possibility. For searching out the celestial, he had little to go on besides the hexagrams from the Great Reversal and tracking Four Sorrows Cloud Temple’s members.

Even if the cave was a trap, a ploy to stir up strife between him and Crane View, Lord Chi Yi still needed to investigate personally to be sure. Wen Daoyu must have felt the same.

This... was an open conspiracy.

“Collaboration is possible,” Lord Chi Yi said.

Ji Ming did not show joy at this. He knew such words usually came with conditions—he himself liked to speak this way, with the hauteur of someone in command.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, Lord Chi Yi said, “See to it that Crane View’s people and the river gods do not interfere with me. Let me thoroughly investigate the cave’s true nature.”

“I will try my best,” Ji Ming replied.

Breaking Four Sorrows Cloud Temple’s scheme was essential, or else the location of the celestial’s rebirth would surely be discovered by them. Time and opportunity were limited; Ji Ming had to make this partnership work.

He glanced at the corpse of the Great Monk, wondering how the Golden Lion Monkey would react to such an alliance.

Through this upright stratagem, Ji Ming caught a glimpse of the depth of the ancestor’s mind—this was the wisdom of one seasoned in the ways of the world. Had it not been for the treasure eye that allowed him to discover the location of the pregnant Daoist ahead of time, he would have been just as obsessed with searching the cave as Lord Chi Yi and Wen Daoyu.

“These two Crane View disciples are yours, a token of my sincerity.”

Two battered men were pushed out of the cave, giving Ji Ming greater confidence in the alliance. Bringing along the disciples and the monk’s corpse, Ji Ming hurried away from the cave, leaving the shadowed side of the mountain.

Had it not been for the disciples following him, he would have searched the monk’s body thoroughly—he coveted that flying cable.

Just past the mountain’s waist, beside a dried ravine, he found the Golden Lion Monkey and Wen Daoyu waiting.

Ji Ming recounted his conversation with Lord Chi Yi.

Their reactions surprised him. The Golden Lion Monkey, contrary to expectation, was not angry but thoughtful. Wen Daoyu, however, cursed Lord Chi Yi furiously, refusing to agree to the alliance.

“Centipede brother!” The Golden Lion Monkey pulled Ji Ming aside. “You’ve sensed danger several times recently, but working with Lord Chi Yi is like skinning a tiger—have you thought this through?”

“Of course!” Ji Ming replied solemnly.

“Good. Let’s set our grievances aside for now. When we find the celestial, we’ll settle accounts with him.”

He glanced at Wen Daoyu, sneering, “I’ve always heard the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Looks like when he returns to Crane View, he’ll get plenty of milk.”

Ji Ming caught the implication—Wen Daoyu was putting on a performance for his fellows.

Wen Daoyu, pounding his bandaged leg, said, “Brothers, though our exploration of Dangerous Bird Mountain failed, at least you survived.”

The two disciples were deeply moved, supporting Wen Daoyu like filial sons.

“Return to Crane View and report to the Flying Goose Hall Master. Tell him that I am here contending with Lord Chi Yi, determined to discover the celestial’s whereabouts. When the celestial emerges, he will surely join our Crane View sect.”

Wen Daoyu’s words made Ji Ming’s heart leap—Crane View truly opposed Four Sorrows Cloud Temple, and perhaps his future lay with Crane View.