2: Phantom Technique, is someone scamming Xiao Qi?

The night was as dark as ink, saturating the continuous forest sea of the Qingyao Mountain Range.

"Senior Brother, you... you should think about it carefully again. Can this really work?"

A voice was sharp, trembling uncontrollably.

His name was Zhao Si, a Cultivator in the Early Stage of Core Formation, and at this moment, his thin face was covered in cold sweat.

The one he called Senior Brother was a man with a slightly gloomy face, named Ma Liu.

He glanced at his good-for-nothing Junior Brother, his eyes full of disdain, but his tone suppressed a pathological excitement.

"What's there to be afraid of! Fortune favors the bold! How could you understand the subtlety of my 'Illusionary Shadow Art'?"

He proudly lowered his voice, "I will not only transform into the appearance of her Revered Master, but also imitate a hint of the Divine Soul's reunion after her Mahayana Stage Supreme Being Revered Master's demise! Look!"

With that, Ma Liu's Aura subtly changed; the Spiritual Qi fluctuations of his Core Formation Stage became weak and ethereal, and a perfectly natural pallor and reminiscence appeared on his face, his eyes deep, as if he had experienced eons of vicissitudes.

"You... you really do look a bit like him..."

Zhao Si was startled and instinctively took half a step back.

"Like him?" Ma Liu sneered, dropping his disguise.

"More than just like him! Zhao Si, you need to think faster!

That Mu Qingxue is a Void Refining Stage mighty figure; you and I are merely Core Formation, she could crush us with a single toe!

Do you think I don't know that?"

Zhao Si nodded tremblingly: "Knowing that, you still..."

"Idiot! This is precisely the most brilliant part of my plan!"

The greedy light in Ma Liu's eyes flared, "Do you think the cultivation gap is a flaw? I tell you, precisely because the gap is so large, she won't suspect!"

He patiently explained, "Think about it, how much does that Mu Qingxue adore her Revered Master?

This is known throughout the entire Cultivation World.

A hundred years ago, that Supreme Being Su, to save his seven precious disciple, bravely self-detonated to fight against heavenly demons—what a magnificent feat!

An already deceased benefactor, suddenly appearing before her in a state of fallen cultivation and severe injury, what would her reaction be?"

Zhao Si's breathing quickened, drawn in by Ma Liu's description.

"She will only be shocked, ecstatic, and heartbroken!"

Ma Liu slapped his thigh, "All her thoughts will be occupied by the immense surprise of her Revered Master's Rebirth, how could she still doubt why her Revered Master's cultivation has fallen?

She will only think it's a sequela from the self-detonation back then!

By then, let alone us being mere Core Formation Cultivators, even if we were unarmed Mortals, she would only protect us as if we were precious treasures!"

"As long as we can gain her trust, any Medicinal Pills or Magic Treasures that slip through her fingers will be enough for us brothers to enjoy for a lifetime! This is called winning by attacking the heart, understand?"

Zhao Si was deeply moved by his words, but new doubts surfaced.

"Senior Brother, the plan is a good plan... but there are two of us. You've disguised yourself as Supreme Being Su, so what about me?

What should I do? I can't possibly disguise myself as his disciple, wouldn't that expose us immediately?"

"Idiot, who told you to disguise yourself as his disciple?"

Later, when we reach the Sect gate, you will support me.

Your identity will be that of a Loose Cultivator who, while traveling abroad, coincidentally rescued me from a spatial rift.

You don't know my true identity, only thinking I'm some severely injured Senior.

All along the way, you have meticulously cared for me and escorted me back here.

And your act of rescuing a Senior, in Mu Qingxue's eyes, will be a great kindness to her Revered Master! Not only will she not suspect you, but she will heavily reward you! Understood?"

Zhao Si's eyes instantly lit up, and the last trace of doubt in his heart vanished into thin air.

"Senior Brother's insight! Truly brilliant insight!"

Zhao Si's back even straightened a bit.

"Alright, remember, from now on, don't call me Senior Brother anymore. If we're exposed, we'll both die!"

Zhao Si was deeply moved, the fear in his eyes gradually replaced by greed: "Senior... Senior! Then... then shall we go now?"

"Let's go! Wealth and glory await us today!"

"Hehehe."

The two figures flickered, using the cover of night to stealthily move towards the Qingyao Sect's Sect gate.

A hundred zhang behind them, the shadow of a giant tree completely merged with the darkness.

Su Lin slowly stepped out of the shadows.

A killing intent, almost solidifying into substance, emanated from his Core Formation Stage body.

This killing intent did not originate from Spiritual Qi, but from his Divine Soul, which had once been a Mahayana Stage Supreme Being.

Killing them would be as easy as turning over his hand.

But then what?

He could kill this pair, but he couldn't stop all the greedy individuals with ulterior motives in the world.

Why did they dare to so brazenly plot such a deception?

Ultimately, it was because his Xiao Qi, the current Sect Master of Qingyao Sect, Mu Qingxue, who now commanded respect in one region, had a softest, most fragile, and fatal wound in her heart.

"Xiao Qi..." Su Lin silently murmured this long-unspoken nickname in his heart.

A hundred years might not be too long for a Cultivator with endless Lifespan.

But for someone who lost all protection and had to single-handedly support a Sect from the Foundation Establishment Stage.

How long and agonizing were those thirty-six thousand days and nights?

Su Lin's heart felt as if it was being fiercely clutched by an invisible large hand.

He no longer hesitated; his figure, like a ghost, merged into the night, silently following them.

He had to see with his own eyes what his clingy little disciple had become.

The closer they got to the Qingyao Sect, the richer the Spiritual Qi in the world became, even condensing into a faint mist in the air.

The forest path had long disappeared, replaced by a mountain road paved with High-Grade Spirit Stones, leading directly into the depths of the clouds and mist.

Ma Liu and Zhao Si suppressed all their Auras, cautiously crawling forward.

Finally, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

An enormous Sect gate stood between the sea of clouds, entirely carved from a single block of white marble, a hundred zhang tall, with a magnificent Aura.

Above the lintel, the two characters "Qingyao" were written in a flowing, vigorous script, containing sharp Sword Intent; Cultivators with weaker cultivation dared not even look directly at them.

Behind the Sect gate, layers of immortal palaces and pavilions appeared faintly in the mists, immortal cranes cried in unison, a scene of immortal grandeur.

A visible pale green light barrier enveloped the entire mountain range, which was the Qingyao Sect's mountain-protecting Formation.

The profound runes flowing on it emitted a pressure that almost suffocated Ma Liu and Zhao Si.

"Gulp." Zhao Si swallowed with difficulty, "This... this is the Qingyao Sect now?"

Ma Liu was also full of shock, and then the greed in his eyes intensified.

With such grandeur, how abundant must the Sect Master's wealth be!

Su Lin, meanwhile, stood on a distant mountaintop, quietly gazing at everything.

There was no shock in his eyes, only a hint of relief, and a deeper sense of detachment.

"Well done."

He murmured softly to himself.

The Foundation of this mountain-protecting Formation faintly showed traces of the Dao of Formations he had taught back then, but it also incorporated countless of her own understandings and innovations.

Su Lin took a deep breath, silently passed through the outer alert area of the Formation, and found a hidden mountain rock with an excellent view to lie in wait.

At this moment, Ma Liu, at the Sect gate, had also prepared his emotions.

"Mu Qingxue... your Revered Master... has returned!"