Chapter 451: Acting Out a False Play to Scheme Against Others

For some reason, the Demon Palace was in complete chaos.

When Xin Yi arrived, he saw the palace guards running back and forth like headless flies.

Not understanding the situation, he looked at Zhanli beside him, but the latter merely narrowed his eyes, wearing an expression of realization.

"It is likely Adao's doing."

Before Xin Yi could even ask, Zhanli had already spoken.

Adao? That little fellow has such ability?

Zhanli did not lead the group through the palace gates, but instead took a water culvert, so they did not know what had happened at the gates.

Although it was not very glorious, it had the advantage of being a clear path.

Lingxiang often taught Zhanli that if one wants to accomplish things, one must be unconventional; no matter what method is used, as long as the final result is correct, then it is a good method.

If the food tastes good when eaten, who cares if it came from the dirt or was nourished by night soil?

Before reaching the palace, Xin Yi had seen two figures that looked very familiar, but because the distance was too great and the two flashed by, he did not see clearly who they were.

There were not many people who could be familiar to Xin Yi; he could count them on his fingers.

However, someone with that kind of speed who could come and go freely in the Demon Race territory must not be an ordinary person, though he did not know if they were friend or foe.

Just then, a commotion came from afar; it seemed the palace guards had discovered something else.

Before long, two figures, one tall and one short, darted out, sprinting toward an unknown direction, with a squad of Demon Race guards following behind.

Seeing the two running in such a disheveled, frantic state, Xin Yi looked embarrassed and hurriedly turned his back to hide.

It was not just Xin Yi; even Zhanli and the other members of the Daoist Sect shrank behind the wall.

"That is..." Xin Yi said hesitantly.

"I don't know them..." Zhanli replied decisively.

"Hmm... then let them be..."

Xin Yi suggested, and the other Daoist Sect members echoed him.

It was not that he did not want to acknowledge them, but those two were covered in so much snot and tears that it could have been flung for miles; as members of the Daoist Sect, they really had no face to admit it...

It was truly too embarrassing...

Moreover, if they showed themselves now, they would inevitably have to tangle with those guards, and everyone had yet to recover from that battle with Feilian and Shanglu...

They were very tired!

It was not just Xin Yi; even Zhanli let it go with a clear conscience—

Although Adao's cultivation was not great, he was very clever and extremely familiar with the palace, so the two would certainly be able to escape.

Besides, if these two stirred up the order of the palace, their own infiltration would be much easier.

This was a business with a ten-thousand-fold profit; why not do it?

Better a fellow Daoist dies than this poor Daoist...

Thus, the group unanimously decided: let them go and cause trouble!

But things often go against one's wishes; just as everyone was relaxing their vigilance and crouching down, a head suddenly popped out.

"Eh? Why are you all here too?"

It was Long Qi.

The sudden change startled everyone, and only Zhanli remained relatively calm.

Zhanli had long since thought about it; he and Adao knew the structure of the palace equally well, so it was only a matter of time before these two found this place, though he had not expected them to come so quickly.

And as soon as Adao saw Zhanli, he immediately pounced on him, snot and tears streaming, rubbing them hard onto Zhanli while rattling off Long Qi's various "crimes" like beans spilling from a container.

He called him reckless and greedy, then called him big and brainless; in short, there was not a single good word.

Zhanli had always been unable to do anything about this little fellow Adao, so he could only bite the bullet and coax him, forcing himself not to care about the snot and saliva smeared all over his body.

This was the robe his master had given him! It even had little flowers embroidered by his master on it! It was a bit ugly, but it was his favorite!

But what could he do... Tsk!

A fated disaster!

It is all a fated disaster!

Long Qi did not care about the atmosphere at all, nor did he take Adao's accusations to heart; he just sat down next to Xin Yi and asked on his own:

"How did you think to hide here? Have the Demon Race outside all been dealt with? Why not go out?"

What a barrage of three questions, yet Xin Yi did not know how to answer.

He could hardly say it was to avoid the two of them.

The others were also silent, either closing their eyes to pretend to sleep, shifting responsibility to one another, or pretending to be busy with something; in short, they did not say a word.

What a joke; these were people from your Yuanqing Sect, and matters of the Yuanqing Sect should naturally be resolved by your Yuanqing Sect.

A sense of desolation rose in Xin Yi's heart; they had lived and died together, yet one by one they were staying out of it and watching coldly.

People, oh!

Heh!

What a world where human hearts are not what they used to be and the social climate is cold...

Not a single error, not a single omission, not a single missing piece of content in what you are looking at!

"Haven't you been in the Demon Palace for a long time? Why are you still wandering outside?"

What a masterful way to turn defense into offense!

The Daoist followers on the side looked over one after another, some unable to help but secretly marvel.

As expected of the Yuanqing Sect, turning the passive into the active, they had actually managed to reverse the situation.

Seeing this, Xin Yi really wanted to roll his eyes, but he held it back.

Hypocrites!

How hypocritical!

What a bunch of wretched disasters I am traveling with!

Long Qi did not notice anything amiss, only pursed his lips toward Adao and complained: "It's all this little fellow's fault, saying things like 'I know the Demon Palace like the back of my hand, I can find Master in a moment,' but as a result, we've been circling until now, just playing hide-and-seek with those guards."

Upon hearing this, Adao jumped up, wanting to bite Long Qi; it was only thanks to Zhanli grabbing him that a chaotic scene was avoided.

Zhanli sighed helplessly: With a formidable enemy right before us, what is all this chaotic mess...

Having finally pacified Adao, Long Qi began to stir up trouble again on his own: "Sigh, this little brat cannot be relied upon; it seems we can only count on you all."

On purpose!

This guy is definitely doing it on purpose!

Adao, who had just calmed down, could no longer hold back, lunged fiercely onto Long Qi, biting and gnawing, unwilling to stop.

Take that for slandering me! Take that for spouting nonsense! Take that for your loose mouth...

The already cramped culvert became even more crowded for a moment.

After the commotion, Long Qi finally acted serious, and with a face covered in scratches, asked the others in slurred speech what they intended to do.

He had already experienced the guards of the Demon Palace; although he had led them in circles, they were no fools, otherwise they would not have been able to discover his and Adao's tracks in such a short time.

Moreover, this place is not suitable for a long stay; sooner or later, they will be discovered by that group of guards.

Long Qi's analysis was very reasonable, and everyone understood it in their hearts.

Originally, they had intended to sneak in quietly, but now it seemed that a battle was likely unavoidable.

"Since that is the case, rather than wasting time here, it is better to appear openly; we have to fight anyway, so the sooner we fight, the sooner it is over," said a burly Daoist from an unknown sect.

Hearing these words, everyone echoed in agreement.

They had come to wipe out the Demon Race's lair, so hiding like this was not ideal after all.

After the decision was made, the group crawled out one after another, each standing tall with their backs straight, possessing a heroic spirit of "warriors setting off on a journey."

But how could they know that all of this was within Long Qi's calculations, and Xin Yi had long seen through it; the two of them had merely exchanged a glance to coordinate this performance.

This group from the Daoist Sect had likely forgotten that they were merely manifestations of the Clone Talisman Technique; even if they could not defeat the enemy, at worst the talisman would be broken, which could trigger chaos, allowing him to go save Lingxiang.

Long Qi had long ago discovered the group's tracks, which is why he had intentionally sought them out.

And the bickering between Adao and Long Qi was also something the two had agreed upon beforehand; although it carried some personal grudges, how could it not be considered "a real play performed as a fake one"?

Although the Blood Talisman was not easily obtained, for the sake of saving Lingxiang, Fuyin Zhenren would surely forgive him.