Volume 14, Chapter 895 – A Bold Plan

“I know you have a lot of questions. Ask anything you want.”

An Xuan turned around and sat down on a rock, composed and leisurely.

“You’re An Xuan, right? How many years has it been since Lu Yao died?”

Qi Huang posed the first question.

“Let me think… probably a hundred thousand years.”

An Xuan propped her chin up as she replied.

“And what have you been doing during those hundred thousand years?”

Qi Huang pressed on.

“What else could I do? I laid low, of course. The immortals are powerful and protected by the Heavenly Dao. Even Master failed… what could I possibly do?”

An Xuan responded with full conviction.

“If you’ve been lying low all this time, why choose now to show yourself and help us?”

Cheng Hongling interjected.

“I already told her back in Ziji City. I’m here to protect Master’s bloodline.”

An Xuan turned to look at Qi Huang and reiterated her point.

“Is that so? Then when Ziji Immortal Emperor was slaughtering several Demon Lords on Baofeng Planet, why didn’t you show up to help? Weren’t they also part of Lu Yao’s bloodline?”

Qi Huang questioned with suspicion.

Heh… “So you still don’t trust me.”

An Xuan gave a self-deprecating laugh and continued, “Since you’re asking me so many things, you must have seen quite a bit of my and Master’s memories, right?”

Qi Huang nodded at once. That way, the other party wouldn’t suspect her of trying to play games.

“You should know very well how Master died. With her level of strength and her ways of doing things, she still ended in failure. What value would those few Earth Demon-level weaklings have that would make them worth protecting? The bloodline I’m here to guard is not one of trash.”

An Xuan explained reasonably.

“So you’re saying that I am worth protecting?”

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Qi Huang asked with a trace of hopeful curiosity.

“Of course. Reaching the early stage of Heavenly Demon Realm is the bare minimum to earn my acknowledgment. Otherwise, if I risk exposing myself just to protect a useless waste, wouldn’t that be a terrible bargain?”

An Xuan openly gave her recognition.

Qi Huang beamed at the words, unable to hide her pride.

“But I’m still confused. Why didn’t you personally collect the fragments of Lu Yao’s heart? With your strength, if you joined the competition, we probably wouldn’t even have a chance.”

Cheng Hongling asked again, staying calm.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to, but that I couldn’t. I was developed by Master as a corpse slave, not a descendant.”

An Xuan patiently explained, “Corpse slaves are zombies who are turned using corpse poison, unlike descendants who are created using essence blood. Corpse slaves can never go against their master’s will, nor can we do anything that oversteps our position. Naturally, I can’t lay a finger on Master’s body or her power.”

“Is what she’s saying true?”

Qi Huang turned to the idle Yaoyao nearby.

“It’s true.”

Yaoyao confirmed.

Hearing this, Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling both sighed in relief, and their tense nerves finally began to ease.

“There’s not a single piece of Master’s heart inside me, that already proves everything. You don’t have to suspect me, nor stay guarded around me.”

An Xuan continued to assert her innocence.

“Sorry, I misunderstood you.”

Qi Huang offered a polite apology.

“No need. Since you’ve inherited Master’s bloodline and the Boundless Demonic Hair, you could be considered my young mistress. Of course, on the condition that you acknowledge her as your ancestor.”

An Xuan said generously.

“Ancestor then. That’s fine. Nothing to deny.”

Qi Huang didn’t make a fuss, because without Lu Yao’s power, she wouldn’t be where she was today. Besides, she genuinely admired Lu Yao’s unyielding character.

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“Now that’s what a proper inheritor should say! Sigh, looks like I have work to do again.”

An Xuan sighed emotionally, then walked up to Qi Huang with a solemn expression, slightly bent her knee, and offered a salute. “An Xuan greets Young Mistress!”

“Uh…”

Qi Huang was dumbfounded by the sudden change in attitude.

“Our attitude toward Lu Yao was also one of your tests, wasn’t it?”

Cheng Hongling caught on immediately.

An Xuan smiled without saying anything, which was as good as confirmation.

Qi Huang quickly understood too. As Lu Yao’s servant, it was natural that An Xuan would have such expectations.

“Since we’re being honest with each other, I’ll speak frankly. I’m not an evil spirit. If you don’t want to pledge allegiance to me, just say so. I won’t force you.”

Qi Huang stepped a bit closer and lowered her voice, even though a Sound-Blocking Talisman was already in place.

“Makes no difference. You’ve inherited Master’s bloodline and that’s enough for me. And not just me, for the Heavenly Dao as well. Don’t tell me… you think there’s still a way back?”

An Xuan shared her views without hesitation.

“That’s true. Now that I’ve inherited Lu Yao’s legacy, even though I’m still alive, in the Heavenly Dao’s eyes, I’m more evil than evil spirits.”

Qi Huang chuckled bitterly at herself.

With their relationship established, Qi Huang had just gained a powerful new ally. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

“Can you tell me your current situation?”

An Xuan, however, was focused on business. She had no desire to lose another master again.

Qi Huang then gave her a detailed briefing of their current arrangements and sought An Xuan’s thoughts.

“I have to say, although Young Mistress, your strength still falls short of what Master had back then, your strategy is already far more mature than hers. If all goes well, you may very well walk the path she couldn’t finish.”

An Xuan couldn’t help but praise her.

“What do you mean by ‘if all goes well’?”

Cheng Hongling frowned and asked.

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“You’ve now been fully exposed to the Immortal Alliance. Being discovered by the Celestials is only a matter of time.”

An Xuan’s expression turned grave.

“You think the Celestials will personally take part in hunting me down?”

Qi Huang’s breathing grew heavier. While she was confident, she wasn’t arrogant enough to think she could face Celestials head-on.

“Normally, no. The Heavenly Dao wants to use the hands of immortals to eliminate the ghost clans while also using the ghost clans to wear down the immortals. That way, balance is maintained across the myriad worlds in the long term. So they wouldn’t allow the Celestials to interfere.”

An Xuan then changed her tone: “But something has changed recently. About thirty years ago, the Celestials sent an order through a Tianjizi, demanding that the immortals eliminate all ghost clans in the Immortal Realm within fifty years.”

“I heard Ziji Immortal Emperor mention that.”

Qi Huang chimed in.

“Yes. The Celestials are in such a hurry. It worries me that they might use extreme measures against you.”

An Xuan voiced her concern.

“Have the Celestials ever directly ordered the immortals before?”

Cheng Hongling pondered for a moment before confirming.

“Never. And that’s exactly what has me so worried.”

An Xuan answered affirmatively.

“This is strange… what are those Celestials trying to do? Why are they in such a rush?”

Cheng Hongling furrowed her brows.

“I’m just as curious. I’ve been secretly investigating for years, but even the higher-ups in the Immortal Alliance don’t seem to know.”

An Xuan gave a helpless smile.

“Whatever. As long as we have Heaven-Deceiving Water, and the Heavenly Dao is still asleep, neither the Celestials nor the immortals can find me so easily.”

Qi Huang quickly reassured her, because the most important thing right now was morale.

“Young Mistress, you sure have a big heart.”

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An Xuan teased.

“That’s because I’ve lived through too many desperate situations. I’ve come to understand that people make their own fate.”

Qi Huang laughed brightly, then changed the subject. “Right, since you’ve been hiding in the Immortal Realm for a hundred thousand years, do you know any way to locate all the ghost clans and sources of Yin energy here?”

“Why are you asking that?”

An Xuan asked suspiciously.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about the Great Purge. Since the immortals are so eager to cleanse the Immortal Realm of ghost clans, I figured I’ll help them out.”

Qi Huang said with a wicked grin.

“Hm? That’s actually a pretty good idea. Use the Celestials’ hand to wipe out the immortals… Make them cannibalize each other.”

An Xuan’s eyes lit up.

“So this was that mysterious plan you’ve been hinting at?”

Cheng Hongling immediately caught on and quickly reminded her, “But not all cultivators and immortals in the Immortal Realm are bad people. We can’t go too far.”

“The Immortal Realm’s upper echelon is entirely made up of the Heavenly Dao’s lapdogs. Under their brainwashing, the lower-level cultivators have forgotten the original purpose of cultivation and become puppet husks. If you don’t kill them now, they’ll kill you later. There’s no such thing as innocent.”

An Xuan explained coldly.

“Relax. I’ll investigate thoroughly before making any move.”

Qi Huang also offered reassurance, then returned to the topic: “So, is there a way to locate all the ghost clans and the sources of Yin energy in the Immortal Realm?”

“There actually is one method.”

An Xuan’s beautiful eyes lit up. “Truth is, ninety-nine percent of the Yin energy in the Immortal Realm right now came from the explosion that occurred when Master died a hundred thousand years ago. If you manage to collect all thirty-two heart fragments and fuse them into your body, you’ll be able to sense everything you want to know.”

“Again with the thirty-two heart fragments?”

Qi Huang frowned slightly.

“What? This is a great thing for you. Once all thirty-two heart fragments are fused into your body and activated with Blood Tears, you’ll become the true second-generation Ancestor Lu Yao. You could strengthen your power just by eating and sleeping. Why bother with all this effort like now?”

An Xuan suggested earnestly.