Starting My Cultivation With Time Management-Chapter 977 - 117 Ambush

Lu’er Island is located in the remote seas east of Penglai, near the outer boundaries of the broad region defined as the East Sea.

If one keeps heading further east, the number of islands will drastically decrease, while highly-ranked water-system demonic beasts will appear with increasing frequency. For this reason, ordinary cultivators rarely venture in that direction.

Without Shi Liuli’s divination results, Luo Yan would never have believed this information—even if Lei Caiyan had said those things during the Hell Path gathering.

After all, if this were a trap and the two of them were ambushed on Lu’er Island, there wouldn’t even be the faintest hope of rescue by any Penglai cultivator passing by.

As Luo Yan flew across the sea using sword control with Shi Liuli, he felt that today’s sea breeze seemed particularly damp.

Turning back, he saw Shi Liuli staring expressionlessly into the distance, tears faintly visible at the corner of her eyes.

Seeing her husband looking at her, Shi Liuli calmly wiped the corner of her eyes and said:

"It’s just the water vapor."

"Oh," Luo Yan pretended to believe her, then turned his attention back to the path ahead.

Lu’er Island’s landmass was quite large, but due to frequent typhoons during the summer season, no human fishermen had settled there, making it a place perpetually uninhabited.

After arriving at Lu’er Island, Luo Yan quickly scanned the entire island, then circled around it with Shi Liuli, finding no traces of any cultivators.

"Arriving here three days early, it’s only natural that no one is around," Shi Liuli said calmly. "Next, I’ll leave it to you, husband, to set up an illusionary array to conceal our figures."

"Alright." Luo Yan went to a secluded spot, quiet and unoccupied, with a vantage point overlooking the island. Using the cover of the mountain, he began setting up the array.

Dugu Xie and the Ghost Mother Sisters were all seasoned cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Path, with cultivation levels that ranked among the best in the Nascent Soul Realm. Adding to that was the Heavenly Demon’s sharp perception, so even if an illusionary array was pre-arranged, it might not necessarily escape their scrutiny.

Luo Yan’s true reliance, however, was the Kunlun Mirror’s illusions—though this, of course, went without explanation to Shi Liuli.

To play his role convincingly, he carefully selected an extraordinarily high-ranked Bewitching Soul Formation and meticulously laid it out, utilizing a full set of cauldron vessels, array flags, and other materials.

Hiding inside the array with Shi Liuli, Luo Yan finally commanded the Kunlun Mirror to cast illusions upon the two of them.

By the time the third evening arrived, several streaks of black light suddenly rushed from afar and landed on the island—it was Dugu Xie along with the Ghost Mother Sisters.

Dugu Xie, the sect master of the Heavenly Demon Path, usually dressed as a graceful woman in palace attire, while the Ghost Mother Sisters appeared as hunched old crones—the elder, bone-thin; the younger, hair stark white.

As soon as they landed, the elder sister quickly released several Heavenly Demons, which flew around the island while seizing birds and beasts to devour, leaving behind bloodied rain and pitiful cries everywhere.

"What is this?" Dugu Xie frowned and asked. "You don’t trust me? Suspect an ambush?"

"It’s not about trusting you, Sect Master," the elder sister cackled, her heavily wrinkled face brimming with malice. "Just taking precautions to ensure there are no interruptions in the vicinity."

Within the illusionary array, Shi Liuli held her breath and focused, watching as the Heavenly Demons flew overhead without detecting anything amiss.

She let out a slight sigh of relief, her thoughts beginning to churn.

After the Heavenly Demons had swept across the island, leaving no living creature in their wake, the Ghost Mother Sisters finally relaxed and asked:

"So, Sect Master, why have you summoned us here?"

Dugu Xie replied indifferently:

"Why did you argue with Lingyun Zhenren a few days ago?"

"Just because I found her displeasing," the younger sister sneered. "A mere Golden Core Realm cultivator thinks she can dictate terms to her seniors?"

"Lingyun Zhenren herself is naturally inconsequential," Dugu Xie said coolly. "But behind her stands Wei Dongliu’s Daoist Companion, Jiang Liyan. Behind Jiang Liyan, there’s the Sect Guardian Immortal, Honored White Bone. Do you intend to oppose the Sect Guardian Immortal?"

"Sect Master, there’s no need to test us sisters," the elder sister said ominously. "Whether that Guardian Immortal is really the Guardian Immortal remains uncertain!"

Hearing this, Dugu Xie fell silent.

Indeed, those familiar with the Sect Guardian Immortal all knew that this figure had inexplicably undergone a dramatic change in personality.

The Guardian Immortal used to love extravagance and adulation, delighting in flattery and praise; the Nascent Soul Elders of the Heavenly Demon Path were each skilled in sycophantic arts.

Internally, she indulged in ostentatious luxury; externally, she was caustic and capricious, acting solely on whims rather than reason. Her relationships with Honored White Bone and Blood Sea Ancestor were thus quite poor.

However, at some unknown point, the Guardian Immortal’s nature abruptly shifted.

Firstly, she stopped regularly summoning the Nascent Soul Elders for glorifying assemblies, instead secluding herself in the palace atop Mount Dapan, engaged in mysterious endeavors.

Secondly, even when occasionally meeting with the Nascent Soul Elders, she remained indifferent to their compliments, maintaining a perpetually amicable yet inscrutable smile.

Finally—and most baffling of all—was her boundless trust and affection for Jiang Liyan.

Typically, while female cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Path were often beautiful, most remained single. Those who married Daoist Companions would usually sever ties with the sect and become loose cultivators.

Jiang Liyan, however, was an exception. Early on, she was a disciple under Elder Caie, but after Elder Caie’s sudden disappearance, she shifted allegiance to the Guardian Immortal, skyrocketing in prominence.

Soon after, she married Mortal Life Path’s Wei Dongliu, which should logically have marked her departure from the Heavenly Demon Path. Yet, the Guardian Immortal continued to trust her implicitly and often acted on her suggestions to cooperate with Mortal Life Path’s endeavors. Though none dared to openly protest, many privately grumbled.

"The Guardian Immortal’s recent behavior has indeed been unusual," Dugu Xie said calmly. "But if, in reality, a demon has performed soul possession on her, these suspicions alone are insufficient as evidence."

"Evidence must be uncovered, not speculated upon," the younger sister said with a sardonic laugh. "Since Sect Master has summoned us sisters, might you already have a plan?"

Dugu Xie remained silent for a moment before speaking:

"I suspect that Jiang Liyan has also been possessed by the Heavenly Demon."

"If we can first subdue Jiang Liyan and extract information regarding the Guardian Immortal, we can obtain solid evidence."

"At that point, we can seek help from Honored White Bone of the Nether Ghost Path."

"Drawing on external forces?" The elder sister sneered mockingly. "In that case, even if the demon possessing the Guardian Immortal is slain, the Heavenly Demon Path will become subordinate to the Nether Ghost Path."

"Given the current trajectory, we will inevitably become subordinate to Mortal Life Path," Dugu Xie retorted sharply. "Without a Sect Guardian Immortal, the Heavenly Demon Path will lose its autonomy completely."

"If we can provoke a contest between Nether Ghost Path and Mortal Life Path, the Heavenly Demon Path can still find a sliver of opportunity amidst the cracks."

"But if plans aren’t made now, the sect’s legacy will eventually be taken, and you and I will become pawns in others’ hands."