Chapter 574: 527 A New Plan

"Does that mean the matter is settled, and there's no fight to be had?" Jinwu asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Well, things over there have come to an end. While it isn't the best outcome, it's acceptable. The message Ling Baoyu sent back to me was: 'There is still hope.'"

There is still hope of finding the original companions, and Ling Baoyu will continue to do her utmost.

Jinwu sighed and said, "That's good, then. As long as it went smoothly. It's just that I've been here for so many days, and besides eating and drinking, it's all been weeping and wailing; it's not necessarily more interesting than being down in Yunzhou."

Tang Zhao guessed that it was restless from inactivity and wanted to show off its skills. After all, having spent over a hundred years under Yunzhou without ever truly drawing its sword—only intervening in things like two crabs fighting—it naturally wanted to have a hearty, satisfying fight.

However, there was truly no place here for Jinwu to act. Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? Even if it did act, it would be no different from the sword fighting at Sunset Manor; it could just impersonate Jian Chenglong and act casually, and the opponent would fall without it needing to exert any effort at all.

It would only be needed when the day of the Sacrifice arrived, for the final battle against Wangliang. That would be the ultimate showdown. It would be at least another half a month of waiting.

Tang Zhao actually hadn't intended for Jinwu to come so early; he only planned to invite it to hold the fort at the very end. But since Jinwu had already arrived and had been very cooperative these past few days—even crying—he couldn't very well chase it away.

Sure enough, Jinwu said, "Things over in Yunzhou were going smoothly enough. I helped them find quite a few anchor points for the array and discovered the enemy's tracks several times. Every time I found the thieves, I said I would act, but they always said it wasn't the right time yet, and then they wiped everyone out. When exactly is the right time?"

Tang Zhao thought to himself that Yunzhou was even less of a place to let it act; it was too powerful, and one move could easily cause collateral damage. Besides, what if it revealed information about Jinwu and got targeted by the Turtle Bandits?

Still, the fact that the cleanup of the Great Array in Yunzhou had made great progress was good news. The safety of Yunzhou was the top priority.

This time, neither side could do without the assistance of Jinwu Dianxia, and Tang Zhao thought he should at least satisfy Jinwu Dianxia's small request.

He thought for a moment and said, "There is actually a place here where you are needed, but I don't know if you can do it?"

Jinwu raised Zheng Yun's eyebrows and said, "What is it? Tell me. There isn't much I can't do."

Tang Zhao immediately said, "Right, as expected of you! There is nothing in this world that could stump you! It's like this: we want to imprison an existence similar to a Sword Image. It needs to be done quickly and ruthlessly; it must not be allowed to move, but it shouldn't be destroyed either. It would be best if it could be confined so that no one else would notice. Can you do that?"

Jinwu said, "Like that raccoon cat from just now?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Something like that. They are called Abyss Envoys. However, I don't intend to move that badger."

Just now, in order to lure the tiger away from the mountain for the white fox, Tang Zhao had specifically used Heart Incense to summon that badger, using the excuse that the New Master of Changfa Manor wanted to pay a visit to Lord Heart Shadow.

That badger was summoned out, and although it was very displeased, it didn't flare up because the sacrificial offerings were generous. It was simple-minded and didn't have Pipa there to guide it; even though it saw Jinwu, it didn't notice anything wrong at all. It even spoke to Jinwu in the tone of a boss, encouraging it to work hard at sword fighting and not to lose face for it.

At that time, Tang Zhao hadn't yet thought of the plan regarding the Abyss Envoys, so he naturally hoped it would leave quickly and sent it away with a few words. Now that it had left, the white fox's message had come through, including the exchange with the second sister and the doubts regarding the Ruyi Silk within Yinglang.

When Tang Zhao heard "Yinglang," he guessed that this must be the "system" he had analyzed before. He hadn't expected it to be related to the Ruyi Silk, or perhaps even structured using Ruyi Silk. He was very shocked, and beyond the shock, his first thought wasn't to follow the trail to find the whereabouts of the Ruyi Sword, but rather:

Perhaps he could control this system.

Ruyi Silk—it should be "as one wishes" (ruyi), shouldn't it?

If he could control the Ruyi Silk within it, he might be able to take control of Wangliang Mountain, which was currently highly dependent on the "system," or at the very least, cause it to be completely paralyzed.

To achieve this, he might need to rely on Baiyujing, rely on the various Sword Heroes who had experience controlling Baiyujing, and rely on that "Rujin Qinlin" Congjun Order. The most important point was to study this great web in depth.

He had to break into it.

Tang Zhao wanted to see the roots of that Yinglang with his own eyes; it would be best to analyze its structure from various angles. To do this, he had to obtain an "account" that could shuttle through Yinglang.

Although Pipa was quite good to Ling Baoyu and had provided her with much care even without admitting their past relationship, if Ling Baoyu asked Pipa to let Tang Zhao take a look inside Yinglang, it might allow it. But that would only be a look.

Tang Zhao was planning a big move; besides carefully examining and researching it to find flaws, he might even cause some destruction along the way. Would Pipa still be so accommodating then?

Currently, Pipa still identified itself as an Abyss Envoy. Tang Zhao felt it was better not to tell it his own purpose, or even let it know of his side's existence.

Therefore, the best method was to kidnap an Abyss Envoy and use its account.

All Abyss Envoys could enter Yinglang, but how exactly they shuttled through Yinglang was not yet certain. If it were an innate ability, that would be one thing, but if it relied on some mechanism—such as a tool like the end of a Ruyi Thread—then it could be seized.

But whether it could be seized or not, kidnapping one to take a look and study it would be good.

Pipa was someone who could be won over, so naturally, it couldn't be touched. The badger was originally a good target, but firstly, he had already summoned it once, and it might not come again if summoned in a short time; secondly, quite a few people already knew the relationship between the badger and Changfa Manor, and its unexplained disappearance would inevitably arouse suspicion, perhaps even making Pipa vigilant. So, that was out.

"My current plan is to kidnap the Shadow-Coiling Snake. For one, we know more about its data and even know a thing or two about its abilities. For another, it is an Abyss Envoy served by Changyi Manor, so I can just find an opportunity to lure it over. It's just that Abyss Envoys can easily escape back into the Wangliang Mountain system. If I cannot instantly confine it and make it lose its ability in a split second, it will surely be on guard once it escapes back, and there won't be a second chance."

He asked, "Can you do that, Your Highness?"

Jinwu said, "Are those Abyss Envoys all at about the same level as that raccoon cat?"

Tang Zhao said, "More or less? Their realms should be about the same?"

The badger's strength was roughly that of a Sword Hero; considering Wangliang Mountain was its home turf, it should be stronger than an average Sword Hero. But it could never be a Sword Immortal. No Sword Immortal's Tianwaitian could allow another Sword Immortal to exist, and they could not reach the level of Wangliang, who was sealed beneath the Altar.

Otherwise, why didn't they let the badger solve the Ghost Disaster back then?

Jinwu said, "That's no problem. It cannot escape within my Sword Momentum. However, you had better prepare a good prison; I cannot keep my Sword Momentum active forever. It might have clever means of escape. That jar of yours won't be enough."

Tang Zhao was startled and said, "The jar is a Sword Technique; it might indeed not be fully sufficient to deal with a Sword Hero... If the jar isn't enough, would a Space Fragment be enough?"

Jinwu was slightly surprised and said, "Of course—the world is the best cage."

Wangliang Mountain, above the First Tier.

The first tier of Wangliang Mountain was more abstract than the second; everything was blurry, with no distinction between day and night, nor light and dark.

In the deep, dark Prison, everything was pitch black. In the innermost cell, a person was hung on a rack; the person and the shadows were almost fused into one, with only a head of hanging white hair bearing a slightly different color.

"Click—"

With a soft sound, the prison door opened.

Although it opened, not a single ray of light shone in.

There was no light outside the prison either; the first tier of Wangliang Mountain was a giant, sunless cage. There was never any light or hope.

Tap, tap, tap.

Soft footsteps sounded, and someone walked in.

The footsteps drew closer, and the person arrived before the rack, saying in a deep voice, "Time to eat."

The white-haired person on the rack hung their head and said weakly, "I... will not eat."

The person gently opened the food box, making a soft "click" sound. The fragrance of the food wafted through the darkness, making one's mouth water.

"Why must you be like this? I give you good food and drink, and you won't eat. Later, when they shove the pig-feed tube down your throat, you won't be able to resist. You can't die, and you can't live; you might as well eat some delicious food and have some comfort in your final moments."

The white-haired person did not respond. The person mixed the rice, meat, and fish together and fed a spoonful to their mouth.

The person finally opened their mouth and bit down, and a faint chewing sound echoed in the darkness.

The person said, "I have something I want to ask you."

The white-haired person pursed their lips and let out a soft sneer.

This sneer made the newcomer also let out a cold laugh, saying: "What are you laughing at? Do you think you predicted correctly, that I am indeed after something by being good to you? I know you have been locked up here for too long, your heart has become twisted, and you are no longer as you once were; you suspect everyone. Or perhaps you never trusted anyone to begin with; most of you people from Wangliang Mountain are like this. I said it was a Disciple of your old friend coming to repay your favor, but you refuse to believe it, so just treat it as me coming to use you."

Her voice gradually rose, revealing the original tone of a young girl: "Yes, I am here to use you. I know you have a deep hatred for the two Manor Heads of the current Changyi Manor, and you are a person from the original manor, so you know quite a bit of information. I want to destroy Changyi Manor, so I have come to fish for information from you; will you tell me or not?"

The white-haired person swallowed lightly and said: "What do you want to Ask?"

The young girl asked: "Where is the incense you use to Sacrifice to the Shadow Plate? How is it usually offered to it? What procedures are needed to summon it? What offerings must be prepared? Are there any secret codes for communication?"

The white-haired person was stunned instead, saying: "Just this?"

This isn't vital secret information?

The young girl said: "You answer these first. This should be information that doesn't matter if it's spoken, right? Once you tell the truth and I verify it, only then can we consider our cooperation reached. I will have other things to ask you in the future."

The white-haired person said: "Fine." In an extremely low voice, they spoke out the answers to the young girl's questions one by one.

The young girl memorized them one by one and said: "Good, I am going. This time I should be able to destroy a major asset of Changyi Manor. This is also a significant step toward overturning the manor. You—"

Her voice was soft and slow as she said: "Try your best not to die. I promised to save you; although you take it as fake, I have always taken my own words as true. Remember, there is still someone in this world who truly wants to save you, so take care of yourself."