404: Chapter 407 Bait!

"Could it be a vendetta? Or was the secret of the Cultivation Technique discovered, and they were silenced?"

He couldn't help but associate it with how much his father valued this Divine Ability.

The matter began when an Elder of the Family was traveling abroad and accidentally entered the ruins of an Immortal Cave, where he discovered a Jade Slip recording the 'Milaotian Wanbao Mora Dharma Image'.

Unexpectedly, another person had also set their sights on the place. A fierce battle broke out between the two sides to fight for the Opportunity, but in the end, they each took a portion.

The portion the Pu Family Elder brought back was the lower volume.

After returning, the Family's upper echelon studied it carefully and confirmed that it was indeed a Divine Ability with immense potential, with a grade reaching at least the third-rank Golden Core level.

Its core lay in condensing a unique 'Mora Dharma Image'.

However, to their slight disappointment, the Dharma Image cultivation method recorded in this lower volume did not possess direct offensive power.

Its mystery lay in the ability to open up a stable 'Sumeru Mustard Space' within the body of the Dharma Image!

To put it bluntly, it was about refining a super-enhanced 'living storage space' that shared a life-link with oneself.

This space not only had a larger capacity, but its stability and convenience of access perhaps far exceeded ordinary storage Magical Artifacts, and it might even have other wonderful uses.

But the problem was that the Pu Family did not lack storage methods!

Things like Storage Pouches and Storage Rings were already fully available, and the Family treasury even had more Advanced spatial Magic Treasures.

If it was just for one more large storage space, to specifically expend effort to Cultivate a Dharma Image, the input-output ratio really didn't pique much interest.

Therefore, the Family speculated that the upper volume that was taken away likely recorded the Dharma Image's offensive methods.

Only by combining the upper and lower volumes could the true, terrifying power of this Divine Ability be unleashed.

It was for this reason that the Pu Family Head placed great importance on recovering the upper volume, not hesitating to invite Steward Zhuge Mingyuan of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion to perform a deduction, and sending Pu Shirong, his legitimate son, to personally follow up to show his sincerity.

But now, they had learned that the person who took the upper volume had likely already perished!

This was nothing short of a bolt from the blue, causing the clue that had a glimmer of hope to suddenly snap.

"Steward Zhuge, is there really no other way?"

Pu Shirong was unwilling and asked urgently, "Can you calculate the specific place where that person fell? Even just an approximate location would be fine!"

"Or, can you peer into the heavenly secrets to see who did it? We might be able to follow the trail and find new clues!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Mingyuan slowly shook his head, the crane feather fan in his hand swaying gently.

"Karma has been severed; it is like a kite with a broken string, ethereal and without a trace. Forcing a pursuit will not only yield few results but may also lead to a backlash from the heavenly secrets, which outweighs the gain."

His tone was calm, but in reality, he was extremely embarrassed.

As a Heavenly Secret Master, divination and deduction were his primary job, so when he found the clues were broken, he immediately performed a divination.

The result was self-evident—the hexagram was a complete blank!

However, Zhuge Mingyuan attributed this to his own lack of skill and didn't think any deeper.

But for him to admit he was incompetent? That was impossible!

So, he could only temporarily brush off this Young Master of a great Family.

When Pu Shirong heard Zhuge Mingyuan's certain words, his face was full of disappointment.

Seeing Pu Shirong's unconcealable disappointment, Zhuge Mingyuan pondered for a moment. After all, he didn't want to ruin the reputation of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, so he changed the subject to offer some guidance.

"However, since the last clue disappeared near Liuyun Immortal City, we might be able to take a different approach."

"A different approach?" Sure enough, hearing Zhuge Mingyuan say this, Pu Shirong's spirits lifted, and he quickly followed up.

"Please enlighten me, Steward Zhuge!"

Zhuge Mingyuan stroked his beard, a look of profound mystery appearing on his face as he slowly uttered eight words.

"Cast a stone to ask the way, lead the snake out of its hole."

Seeing the confusion on Pu Shirong's face, he continued to explain.

"If, as we expect, that volume of the Cultivation Technique has indeed fallen into someone else's hands, then that person might not yet be aware that the technique is divided into upper and lower volumes, let alone that the lower volume is in the Pu Family's hands.

But as long as they study it carefully, they will surely notice that there seem to be omissions, and the mysteries cannot be mastered!

In that case, they will inevitably be interested in the other half that might exist!"

The more Pu Shirong listened, the brighter his eyes became. He suddenly clapped his hands and said,

"You mean, we take the initiative to put out the 'bait' and let the other party come to us?"

"Exactly!" Zhuge Mingyuan fanned himself gently, saying with composure, "Instead of searching everywhere like headless flies, it's better to create an Opportunity for that person to reveal themselves."

"How specifically should we operate?" Pu Shirong leaned forward slightly, getting a bit impatient.

Zhuge Mingyuan cast his gaze toward the center of Liuyun Immortal City, which was the most prosperous part of the city.

"I remember that in half a month, Liuyun Immortal City's once-every-five-years 'Flowing Cloud Grand Auction' will be held, right?

At that time, Cultivators from all directions will gather, a mix of dragons and snakes. If some eye-catching treasures or Cultivation Techniques appear then, it would be perfectly reasonable."

Pu Shirong was first stunned, then he slapped his thigh hard, a look of realization appearing on his face.

Although he acted like a playboy, he wasn't a stupid person. Otherwise, his father, the Family head, wouldn't have sent him to handle such an important matter.

So when Zhuge Mingyuan gave him a lead, he already understood the scheme.

"I understand! Steward Zhuge wants us to put the lower volume of 'Milaotian Wanbao Mora Dharma Image' into the auction as an item or a consignment?"

"You are indeed a teachable student!"

Zhuge Mingyuan nodded with a smile and then continued to add.

"There's no need to actually put out the complete lower volume; just revealing several key pieces of information is enough. If someone really holds the upper volume of the technique and sees such an Opportunity, how could they not be moved?"

"They will surely try every means to make contact and investigate, in order to obtain the subsequent content of the technique!"

"Brilliant!"

The more Pu Shirong thought about it, the more he felt this plan was excellent, even saying by extension,

"Not only that! Before the auction begins, we can secretly release some rumors, spreading bits of news about this Cultivation Technique—half true, half false—to first whip up heat in the Immortal City's cultivation circle!

This way, those who are truly interested will definitely pay extra attention to news related to the auction, and we can also lock onto some suspicious targets in advance!"

"Good!" The look of appreciation in Zhuge Mingyuan's eyes grew stronger.

"Young Master Pu, your considerations are thorough. With such a two-pronged approach, as long as that hidden person is still in Liuyun Immortal City or has designs on the technique, there's a high probability they will be drawn out.

When the time comes, whether to negotiate or seize, to kill or to keep, the initiative will be in our hands."

As the words fell, the two looked at each other as if they had already seen the fish taking the bait, and they simultaneously let out a low, eerie laugh.

"Jie jie jie..."