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In the pitch blackness of the Wandering Path of the Stars, the Yandao Demon Lord and the Purgatory Ten Kings floated forward slowly. Along the way, numerous forks appeared one after another, and the Yandao Demon Lord always lingered for a long time, carefully examining each path before choosing one to continue.
Upon closer inspection, although the eleven were moving together, there was clearly some distance between the Purgatory Ten Kings and the Yandao Demon Lord. This was somewhat subtle.
In the secret chamber of Temple City’s Center Restriction, Li Hong watched this scene through a large bronze mirror and recalled the events from long ago when they retreated after attacking Fengdu.
At that time, it was a life-and-death situation. As the Yandao Demon Lord closed in, someone among the Purgatory Ten Kings strangely assisted in his escape. The Celestial Artifact, Judge's Pen, seemed to strike heavily but clearly held back; he had used that force to accelerate his speed and thus escaped from the Old Demon’s grasp.
The owner of the Judge's Pen was none other than Yama King, one of the Purgatory Ten Kings.
Yama King's assistance in his escape indicated that the ten members of the Purgatory Ten Kings were not completely united with the Yandao Demon Lord. Just like at this moment, all ten had unconsciously created that subtle distance from the Old Demon, which further illustrated the point.
Li Hong felt a slight stir in his heart as an idea emerged in his mind. He turned to ask the Spirit of the Hall, "Is there a way to separate those ten from the Yandao Demon Lord?"
"That's quite simple. All forks in the Wandering Path of the Stars can be moved; as long as we seize the opportunity, it won't be difficult."
"Good, then let's separate them first."
In the Wandering Path of the Stars, the Yandao Demon Lord was concentrating as he slowly floated forward. Turning a corner, another fork appeared ahead. This fork was by far the most complex encountered yet, with five directions.
The Old Demon felt a headache coming on and turned to address the Purgatory Ten Kings: "Don't just stand there waiting for me; everyone explore together and see which path we should take."
The Purgatory Ten Kings nodded silently and dispersed, pairing up to float toward the five passages.
Yandao stood at the center of the fork, his gaze flickering. This place felt strange; probing with Divine Consciousness felt like sinking into a quagmire. Even with Tribulation Period cultivation, he could hardly probe far, which filled him with an extreme sense of helplessness.
As time ticked away and the distance between him and the Purgatory Ten grew larger, he sighed and prepared to call them back. Just as he was about to speak, suddenly everything before him blurred. Looking again into the Passageway, he found nothing! Just five bare and empty Passageways!
The Purgatory Ten Kings had vanished right under his nose! They disappeared completely without leaving even a trace!
The Yandao Demon Lord was startled and quickly chased down one of the passageways. He clearly remembered that just a moment ago, Yama and Qin Guang were only ten zhang away in this passageway!
In the Center Restriction chamber, Li Hong watched the Yandao Demon Lord buzzing around like a black fly and laughed heartily. He said loudly, "Activate some mechanisms to make the Purgatory Ten Kings suffer a bit; let them stay trapped for a year and a half. As for the Yandao Demon Lord, lead him into a passage filled with traps, activate all the mechanisms, and let him slowly play around while draining his Yin Power! Trap him for a lifetime! I may not be able to kill him, but he will never escape!"
Even Li Hongxiu couldn't help but laugh out loud, tears bursting from her fierce eyes. "Master Shibo, I finally avenged you!"
Not wanting to look at the Yandao Demon Lord any longer, Li Hong turned to the Spirit of the Hall and asked, "Is it ready? Once it's done, come with me to see Little Fei Black Abyss and the others."
The Spirit of the Hall nodded and leaned close to a copper mirror. After some unknown actions, red light flashed along the edges of the mirror's frame. Moments later, he said, "It's done."
"Then let's go." Li Hong walked outside with his hands behind his back.
As he reached the door, Li Hong noticed that the Spirit of the Hall had not followed and turned back in confusion. "What's wrong with you?"
The Spirit of the Hall hesitated and said, "Star Sovereign, right after you exited seclusion, I encountered the Yandao Demon Lord breaking in. There is something I didn't have time to report. Three years ago, a group of people came looking for you; they were shouting your name near the Great Lake Ruins. I was afraid it would be detrimental to you, so..." The Spirit of the Hall suddenly knelt in midair. "I locked them up in Starfield! Please punish me, Star Sovereign."
Li Hongyu was increasingly puzzled. "Who are they? What do they want from me? Are they from Immortal Sect or Demon Sect?"
"Of course they are from Immortal Sect. I know that you have a longstanding feud with Demon Sect. The leader is a middle-aged cultivator with dark skin; he said his name is Yue Changzi."
"What! You actually locked Master Yue Changzi in Ancient Celestial Field?!" Li Hong slapped his forehead, feeling both joy and exasperation as he shook his head and sighed. "That's my master! Are they alright? Hurry up; I need to go find them in Ancient Celestial Field!"
"Reporting to Star Sovereign, they are fine. While you were in seclusion, I kept an eye on them and the Skyward Valley Disciples in Ancient Celestial Field. Now both groups are together, residing on a grassland near the original Teleportation Array location in Starfield. It's very safe..."
Before the Spirit of the Hall could finish speaking, Li Hong couldn't wait any longer. "Stop talking! I need to hurry over there; teleport me now."
"Yes."
Yue Changzi brought Ling Yizi, Ling Xianzi, Chuming, Chuxuan, and others to seek refuge with Li Hong. By chance, they found themselves at the Southern Wilderness Great Lake Temple ruins. However, after entering the water, they suddenly saw a flash of light and inexplicably arrived on a vast grassland.
Chuxuan immediately recognized that this was the first space of the Ancient Celestial Field.
Hadn't the Ancient Celestial Field already severed ties with Heavenly Grain? How did they manage to get in here? This left them puzzled. At first, they thought Li Hong was behind it, but three years had passed, and they even encountered over a hundred Heavenly Grain disciples trapped inside, including Wuwei, yet there was no sign of Li Hong.
Everyone felt helpless and had to patiently settle down in the Ancient Celestial Field.
One day, Yue Changzi was feeling bored and sighed when suddenly, after a peculiar distortion in the air, a familiar figure quietly appeared before him.
With a pair of bright, elongated eyes filled with joy, smiling at him, it was none other than Li Hong!
Yue Changzi was taken aback and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Upon looking again, it was indeed Li Hong without a doubt!
“Little Monkey! It’s really you!” Yue Changzi exclaimed, leaping forward and grabbing hold of Li Hong, “Little Monkey, I’ve finally caught you! You can’t run away this time!”
“Ha ha!”
The laughter startled everyone. Upon hearing it, they all rushed over, surprised and delighted.
At this point, the defectors from the Nine Li Sect finally reunited in the Ancient Celestial Field.
They spent an entire day and night recounting their experiences since parting.
Li Hong sent the Skyward Valley Disciple away and shared the news about Temple City, which brought great joy to everyone.
Yue Changzi, rubbing his hands together with a beaming smile, said, “I thought the Nine Li Sect was finished, but unexpectedly there’s a turn of events! Just as Yun Jiuzi said! We should establish a second Nine Li Sect in Temple City, with Little Monkey as the leader, recruiting disciples to revive our glory!”
Everyone eagerly agreed.
However, Li Hong shook his head and said, “No. Before Ling Xuzi Shibo ascended, he entrusted me with an important task. The problem lies with Ling Jizi and Elder Yao. Moreover, Yun Jiuzi and the previous sect leader Yueyangzi are deeply trapped in the Underground Array Hall. Our priority is to find a way to rescue them.”
Yue Changzi lowered his head and pondered, "Before I came out, I had a detailed conversation with Yun Jiuzi. He said not to worry about them, but to focus on strengthening our abilities and cultivating well. We don't need to concern ourselves with the matters of the Nine Li Sect anymore."
"Why?" Everyone, including Li Hong, was surprised.
"Yun Jiuzi knows that Elder Yao is a spy, but he lacks evidence. Ling Jizi was merely used by him due to his obsession with the position of Sect Leader. Therefore, to clear Little Monkey's name, we must let Elder Yao expose himself. Yun Jiuzi is waiting for the right moment. I believe his approach is correct."
Li Hong's eyes became moist; for the sake of his reputation, Yun Jiuzi had made such a sacrifice.
Yue Changzi continued, "Now that the Yandao Demon Lord is trapped by you, Elder Yao won't be able to hold out much longer before revealing himself. Little Monkey, your reputation will surely be restored soon. Just wait and see."
"No, Master, you are mistaken. In fact, Xuan Xuzi has already stated that there are doubts regarding my status as a traitor and wants me to personally go to Kunlun to explain. He will clear my name," Li Hong said with a slight smile.
Yue Changzi was taken aback and after thinking carefully, he jumped up: "Absolutely not! Going there would mean handing Temple City over to Kunlun! We must endure! We will work in tandem with Yun Jiuzi. Yun Jiuzi will find evidence of Elder Yao's betrayal while we strengthen our own power here. One day, even if everyone from the Immortal Sect knows that Temple City is in our hands, they won't be able to do anything about it. That will be the time for us to emerge!"
"Yes, that's how it should be!" Everyone agreed enthusiastically.
With the plan set, Li Hong felt it inappropriate to oppose any further but couldn't help feeling a bit sad for Yun Jiuzi who was trapped in Array Hall. They really needed him here.
Yue Changzi patted Li Hong on the shoulder and said, "Little Monkey, sometimes one must endure what others cannot in order to achieve great things. We must do this now."
Li Hong silently nodded.
"Alright, we have many things to do. The first task is to inform Wuwei about everything that has happened with Heavenly Grain. If they are willing to join us, we will have our first batch of Exiled Disciples of the Nine Li Sect." Yue Changzi chuckled slyly, revealing a cunning expression reminiscent of a fox.
Yue Changzi's expression was strikingly similar to that of Spirit Stone. Looking at Yue Changzi's cheerful dark face, Li Hong's heart gradually warmed. Since Chu Xi ascended and he was expelled from the Nine Li Sect, the feeling of loneliness had finally dissipated. It felt wonderful to find family again.
Li Hong smiled and said, "Wuwei and I have some connections; as long as they learn about Qingqinzi and Qiu Mingzi's situation, he will definitely be willing."
Things were progressing smoothly.
Upon hearing that Qingqinzi was a spy for the Demon Sect and had even become a concubine of Lord of the Waves, Xiao Rushi, Wuwei and over a hundred others felt their faces flush with embarrassment, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to hide in. The news that Heavenly Grain was now under the control of the Demon Sect made them feel even more ashamed.
Even if Li Hong let them go, they had to weigh their options carefully.
Wuwei, the leader, was a disciple of Qiu Mingzi. When Li Hong informed him that Qiu Mingzi was affiliated with Xuan Xuzi and had led the Celestial Sect Alliance to invade Heavenly Grain, any lingering hesitation Wuwei had completely vanished.
Li Hong seized the opportunity to say, "After you join Nine Li Sect, Wuwei will be an elder of Heavenly Pill Hall. You will all be part of Heavenly Pill Hall, directly under Wuwei. Just like the original Six Veins of Nine Li Sect, you will have autonomy in managing your internal affairs and will only be accountable to me."
This statement completely dispelled any remaining doubts among them, and they wholeheartedly decided to join Nine Li Sect.
Although Li Hong was pleased, he still took precautions. He quietly used the Soul Searching Technique on each individual to ensure there were no more spies among them. He also secretly placed a soul oath deep within each person's soul using the fourth layer of the Soul Searching Technique, marking their souls.
These individuals would no longer pose a threat of betrayal.
Having learned from past losses, Li Hong could not forget the damage caused by traitors to Nine Li Sect—the deaths of his master and Shibo, and the betrayal by Elder Yao would eventually require blood for blood. For now, he needed to seal this loophole first.
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