Chapter 257: Best Actor Yan Qianli

Chapter 257: Best Actor Yan Qianli

The Flameheart Palace was originally located in the desolate lands to the south of the continent, and the southern border was not too far from there.

When Chu Ge wrote this part, he roughly followed the setting from the “Chinese Paladin” game series. Cultivators in this region primarily used poison and gu techniques, and elemental techniques were mainly focused on fire. He also added many details about different ethnic groups, local customs, clothing, architecture, and various traditions, giving this gathering place for different ethnic groups in the world of martial heroes a distinct look.

The mountains were vast, and the roads were inconvenient, with little interaction with the central lands. Moreover, there were various demon races living there, and all kinds of exotic techniques were abundant.

The puppetry technique using gu insects was originally a specialty of this region and different from the puppetry techniques of the central lands.

The most powerful cultivator in the Southern Border was known as the Gu God. He was also a late-stage Crossing Tribulation cultivator. The other person used the gu puppet technique and went through all these twists and turns to make Qiu Wuji suspect the Gu God.

Even the location of the dragon bones Yan Qianli was guided to was meant to strengthen this kind of deception, with information from both the righteous and demonic sides pointing to the Southern Border region. No matter how the information leaked, the Divine Continent would only focus on the Southern Border.

Rushing headlong to the Gu God’s doorstep and getting into a conflict with the Southern Border people would create a war between the world’s sects and the different ethnic groups and demon races. Certain individuals behind the scenes would be quite pleased with themselves.

As the father of everyone involved, Chu Ge knew very well that the Gu God’s cultivation had not reached the level of transcendence, and he did not belong to the type that was excessively elusive.

Cultivation could develop additional means, but a breakthrough in raw power is unlikely to surpass the limits set by the Heavenly Dao, as it is too easy to detect and correct deviations. While a person’s character can darken, such as discovering the deceptive Heavenly Dao, which can turn a hero into an angry figure, it can be understood. However, it is much more difficult to change from a straightforward person to a devious one; it’s practically impossible to do.

So, this matter was likely unrelated to the Gu God. Even if it was related, it would at most be a matter of being misled.

All the complicated tricks the other side used, in front of “dad,” they were useless.

In the end, everything simplifies to the Little Flame “escorting” the “disciple of Qiu Wuji” who was “captured”, to the dragon bone location.

Qiu Wuji hid herself far away, lying in ambush. The little flame transformed into a giant flame, carrying Chu Ge who looked slumped, and stood in a desolate mountain hollow.

The hollow was filled with barren earth, a hundred miles of red earth where no grass grew, not even insects or scorpions. It indeed looked unusual.

“Is this the real location of the Red Flame Dragon Bone?” Yan Qianli tossed his father aside like a piece of trash and observed his surroundings with his hands behind his back. He muttered to himself, “I haven’t sensed any flames here. This arid desolation looks more like the work of a drought demon. Is that person trying to deceive me?”

There was silence all around.

Yan Qianli wasn’t anxious and continued to wait patiently.

The imposing aura of the big boss was quite unsettling.

As expected, after a while, a voice drifted from afar, “The place where the bone is buried was originally similar to the idea of a drought demon... Within the dragon bones, the dragon’s flame is wrapped in the earth for a thousand years, melting together, gradually causing a thousand miles of red earth. If your excellency successfully refines it into your own bones, the hidden flames will be an excellent complement to your cultivation.”

Conversations like this could be heard everywhere. It was clear that these disciples were genuinely chatting and there was no reason for them to pretend. The scene even retained traces of a battle with artifacts, everything was perfectly executed.

Although they had seen Chu Ge with Qiu Wuji earlier, it was quite normal for a master and disciple to be together in their own sect’s mountain gate. However, it didn’t necessarily mean they would still be together when leaving the sect.

They hadn’t even considered that the “guardian elder” who was “defeated in a single move” would be Qiu Wuji herself. Everyone knew about the deep-seated enmity between Qiu Wuji and Yan Qianli. How could they possibly collaborate in such a charade? Moreover, even if they were to act, there wouldn’t have been enough time to coordinate anything, given the vast distance between them.

At this moment, Chu Ge gritted his teeth in anger and said, “Yan Qianli, if you dare to harm me, my master will sense it, and then there will be no place for you to hide! My master will seek vengeance for me!”

Yan Qianli burst into laughter, “I have already recovered. Once I obtain the dragon bones and refine my body, even if Qiu Wuji doesn’t come to find me, I will seek revenge on her. Are you trying to threaten me with this? Hahaha!”

Chu Ge remained silent in anger.

The Venerable Azure Serpent approached with a smile, seemingly wanting to touch Chu Ge. However, Yan Qianli suddenly stepped in between them and said, “Venerable, I have brought the person here, but I have not yet confirmed whether the dragon bones are here. I can’t just hand him over to you. Do you understand the rules?”

The Venerable Azure Serpent retreated his hand awkwardly and said, “I understand, I understand. So, how does your excellency plan to refine the dragon bones?”

Yan Qianli asked, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. I hope the Venerable can clarify it for me.”

“Of course, please ask.”

“Since this person is related to the Heavenly Dao, wouldn’t everything we do in his presence be known by the Heavenly Dao? If we intend to kill him, wouldn’t the Heavenly Dao prevent it?”

The Venerable Azure Serpent replied, “Although he is related to the Heavenly Dao, it doesn’t necessarily mean he is an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, both you and I would have been obliterated long ago, and we wouldn’t have survived until now.”

“So, Venerable, what is the situation with this person in your opinion?”

“Most likely, he is a cultivator with a Heavenly Dao attribute, but they may not necessarily interact with each other. He needs to cultivate to a certain level before awakening. Qiu Wuji discovered this person’s uniqueness and took him in as her disciple, putting her ahead of others.”

Yan Qianli nodded, “That makes sense. So, in fact, you don’t want to kill him?”

“Of course not.” The Venerable Azure Serpent smiled, “As for the specifics... we have not yet begun to cooperate, so please forgive me for keeping it a secret.”

Yan Qianli said, “In that case, let’s go down together to obtain the bones. A thousand feet underground, away from heaven and earth, and with the dragon bones as a barrier, it can be considered the weakest point in the perception of the Heavenly Dao. Since he can’t escape and our discussions won’t be overheard by a third party.”

The Venerable Azure Serpent had no doubts anymore; they all went together into the depths of the thousand feet underground, where nothing unexpected could happen.

Yan Qianli’s cooperation seemed quite sincere, indicating that he was truly desperate to break free from the Heavenly Dao’s control.

With a sly smile, he lightly tapped the ground with his snake staff and a solid patch of barren earth suddenly turned into a whirlpool, as if it had become a sea. The three of them were sucked into it and disappeared from sight.