Chapter 109: The Scheme

Chapter 109: The Scheme Within a Scheme

Jianmie had just slain the sixth elder, who had reached the pinnacle of the Outbound Realm, and had originally planned to seize an opportunity to escape. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by five opponents and found no way to flee.

In Jianmie’s mind, survival by any means was better than death. As long as he lived, there remained a chance to turn the tide. Once dead, everything would be lost.

So, when the fifth elder launched his attack, Jianmie had already formulated a countermeasure.

He knew that a direct clash with the fifth elder would be futile; even if he escaped injury, he could not hold out for many rounds. Shifting his thoughts, he decided to employ the Phantom Step technique to outmaneuver the purple-robed fifth elder.

Feigning proximity to the purple-robed fourth elder, Jianmie caught both off guard and swiftly slew them. Without hesitation, he fled immediately after the killings.

Jianmie understood that if he did not run, he would definitely be the one to suffer losses next.

From this moment on, Jianmie found himself with a massive tail in pursuit. He initially thought to seek help from Li Hao but reconsidered. Li Hao was accompanied by many, and if they separated, the peculiar world-within-a-world might scatter them. Searching for each other later would be too troublesome. With this in mind, Jianmie abandoned the idea of seeking Li Hao’s aid.

Li Hao and his group soared through the air for a long time, encountering only unfamiliar young people. There was no information about Lin Huashu, Lu Zhengtian, or Lu Xuemei.

Zhenba turned to Li Hao and said, "Young master, why don’t we split up? That way, the chances of finding our other friends would increase greatly."

Lin Xueyou replied, "That’s not good; we might get separated again."

Li Hao agreed, "Yes, Zhenba, we shouldn’t split up. It’s better to stay together and watch out for each other."

Hearing their reasoning, Zhenba felt they made sense and said, "I overlooked that. You two are more considerate."

Li Hao then proposed, "How about this? The seven of us spread out, each maintaining a distance but still within the range of sensing each other’s spiritual awareness. We keep moving forward searching. This way, our search area expands, and if something unexpected happens, we can regroup quickly."

Everyone liked Li Hao’s suggestion.

Lu Yao looked at Li Hao with admiration, "Brother Li Hao, you’re so clever."

Li Hao humbly replied, "Not clever, just that no one had thought of it."

Lin Xueyou chimed in, "That’s a great idea, little brother Li Hao. Let’s do it!"

"Agreed!" they said.

With that, they spread out with Li Hao at the center. On his left were Lin Xueyou, Kui Hu, and Li Zhan; on his right, Lu Yao, Zhenba, and Qin Zhen. The seven flew in a formation stretching three thousand miles.

While Li Hao’s group flew in a straight line, Jianmie had already used the Phantom Step to cover three thousand miles, arriving above a mountain cliff. His strength was greatly depleted, making it difficult to continue running.

Behind him, three purple-robed youths clung like shadows, relentlessly pursuing.

Jianmie ran while pondering a new strategy.

Suddenly, a stone forest appeared ahead. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he descended into the stone forest.

About eight hundred miles behind him, the three pursuers saw Jianmie land and followed suit.

Jianmie landed on the cliff and quickly unleashed his spiritual sense to scan every movement around him. After searching, he found a spot dense with stone pillars.

He chose the tallest rock, leapt lightly, and flew to the top of a pillar thousands of feet high. In a voice neither too loud nor too soft, he muttered to himself:

"Brothers, they’re coming. Hide well. Today, we’ll trap them like fish in a barrel. They’re only three at the peak of the Outbound Realm, no cause for concern."

Jianmie spoke deliberately loud enough for the three pursuers to hear.

Hearing this, the three quickly stopped and concealed themselves behind rocks, listening intently.

Upon hearing Jianmie say there were only three at the pinnacle of the Outbound Realm, and they were not a threat, the leader of the purple-robed youths heard the second elder say:

"Boss, this guy is cunning. The sixth, fifth, and fourth elders were all killed by his tricks. This time, he probably has accomplices hidden nearby, deliberately luring us here to ambush us."

The third purple-robed youth, impatient, retorted:

"Isn’t that obvious? I heard perfectly well. He said we’re just three at the peak, no threat, and told his helpers to hide. So clear-cut. We don’t need your analysis. Do you think we’re as stupid as you?"

The leader, hearing both analyses, felt their thoughts aligned and said:

"I agree. Let’s keep a safe distance and see if he really has helpers hidden."

The second elder cautioned:

"Boss, isn’t that too risky? Maybe we should wait and observe for more signs."

The third, impatient as always, scolded the second elder:

"You just don’t get it. Boss already said clearly to keep a safe distance. Safe distance means staying somewhere safe while observing the guy’s surroundings."

The leader added:

"Second elder, stop being so suspicious. We’ll retreat eight hundred miles and see what he’s up to."

The second elder no longer argued and agreed:

"Alright, we’ll follow your lead."

After a brief discussion, the three youths quietly retreated eight hundred miles, hiding behind a stone to watch Jianmie.

Jianmie continued to scan their movements. When the three retreated, he silently kicked a rock, causing it to clang noisily.

As the stone’s impact echoed, Jianmie said in a deliberately lowered voice, just loud enough for them to hear:

"Be careful, don’t scare them away."

The three heard this and felt their leader’s decision to retreat was wise.

As the three stood eight hundred miles away, Jianmie smiled slyly, feeling he had successfully intimidated the scheming youths.

He took the Divine Demon World-End Sword from his back and set it down beside him.

Carelessly setting down the sword, he turned his back to the three, twisted left and right, bounced and jumped a bit, then stretched lazily.

The three youths, witnessing this ridiculous display, felt Jianmie was deliberately provoking them.

The second elder said:

"Boss, that guy seems to be daring us to come over."

The third sneered contemptuously at the second:

"I told you, he’s got helpers hidden nearby, trying to bait us. If we go, we’re walking right into his trap. It’s suicide. Do you need me to explain the obvious?"

He rolled his eyes at the second elder.

The leader could no longer tolerate the quarrel and said:

"Enough, you two think you’re so smart."

The two fell silent at the leader’s slight anger.

Jianmie felt he had successfully scared off the three schemers and sat cross-legged to recover his strength.

Meanwhile, the three youths patiently guarded him from afar.

Half an hour later, Jianmie’s strength was mostly restored.

He thought: “I need to find a way to slip away. If this drags on, I’m bound to expose a flaw.”

The three youths had yet to see any accomplice appear and were testing their patience against Jianmie’s. They hesitated to give up but feared rushing in would fall into another trap. So they waited, hoping to understand Jianmie’s situation.

Suddenly, a loud, rough female voice interrupted:

"Hey! You three lechers, why are you looking at me with those creepy eyes? I know I’m breathtakingly beautiful, like a flower beyond this world, a rare beauty, but I’m still unmarried! You’re making me so shy!"

The yellow-toothed maiden, twirling her fingers, chattered on and on.

The three youths were so disgusted by her grotesque appearance they almost vomited.

Her intrusion completely disrupted the plans of Jianmie and the three youths.

The third purple-robed youth, unable to bear her, snapped:

"You shameless wretch! Get away from me or I’ll be sick from your stench."

Enraged, the yellow-toothed maiden hurled insults at him:

"You, you! How dare you call me a woman? I’m only eighteen! Are your eyes just for decoration? You’re so rude and uncultured! You…"

"Help! Someone’s molesting me! Save me!"

The third youth couldn’t stand her anymore and summoned the laws of heaven and earth, slapping her firm, flat chest with a palm.

She babbled nonsense in response.

While Jianmie was thinking how to divert attention, he suddenly heard a familiar rough male voice. Curious, he looked over and recognized the speaker—it was the yellow-toothed maiden, whose leg he had recently grasped for support.

Although he feared her, Jianmie saw this as a good chance to retaliate against the three youths.

To shake off the pursuers, he braced himself and approached the yellow-toothed maiden.

She shouted in her gruff voice:

"Little brother, come save your sister! They’re molesting me; you must avenge me!"

Jianmie stood beside her and said:

"I’ll help you teach those lechers a lesson, but you haveI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.