Chapter 258: You're Already Brothers, My Son

A thousand feet deep underground, there was indeed a massive dragon skeleton. Moreover, it was a relatively intact dragon, not just a random part of the skeleton. Hidden beneath the earth, the dragon’s bones had absorbed the earth’s energy over time, leaving the land desolate for miles around.

Yan Qianli was extremely satisfied as he touched a small section of the dragon claw that was even taller than himself. He could faintly sense the astonishing aura of red flames hidden within the dragon bones, like a raging sea ready to erupt. He couldn’t help but think that if he could refine his body using this, it might truly elevate his peak strength to a higher level, and perhaps he could even defeat the Heavenly Dao for real…

Wait, no, he couldn’t casually refine this thing.

He protected Chu Ge behind him and turned to ask the Venerable Azure Serpent, “Venerable, since you knew the dragon bones were here, why didn’t you use them yourself?”

“These dragon bones are meant for the cultivation of a dragon bone puppet by the Gu God. They need to be buried for another hundred years to absorb enough earth energy. This is not necessary for you.”

“So, the Gu God gave this to me?”

“Hehe.” The Venerable Azure Serpent chuckled, “Of course, otherwise, how could I casually give away something the Gu God had designated for someone else?”

Yan Qianli nodded and placed his hand on the dragon bones. He first expelled their wild nature, making them his own. To fully refine them, he would need to take them back and study them slowly. Who knew if there might be any hidden mechanisms inside…

Seeing Yan Qianli’s actions, the Venerable Azure Serpent grinned and said, “Since you are collecting the bones, can you give me this person now?”

Yan Qianli replied, “It will take some time for me to collect the bones. Since there is no one here right now, would you mind discussing our big plans?”

By “big plans,” he meant their resistance against the Heavenly Dao. Yan Qianli felt like a clown as he said this. Wasn’t the Heavenly Dao just sitting on the sidelines, listening attentively? It was so awkward.

The Venerable Azure Serpent looked at Chu Ge with eagerness in his eyes and said, “Brother Yan, do you know what the power of the Heavenly Dao is?”

Yan Qianli found it amusing that he was now addressed as “Brother Yan” but replied calmly, “When we resist the Heavenly Dao, we are challenging the predetermined fate. My fate is in my own hands, not subject to the whims of someone’s will.”

As he spoke, he kicked Chu Ge again.

Not satisfied, he kicked him once more.

Chu Ge, “…”

I’m keeping a record of this; you just wait.

The Venerable Azure Serpent could clearly see the indignation in Yan Qianli’s heart. He smiled and said, “Brother Yan, there’s no need for such hostility.”

Yan Qianli snorted, “So, when you asked about the power of the Heavenly Dao, you meant its ability to interfere with everyone’s destinies, allowing it to control you like a puppet, just as it pleases.”

“Exactly!” The Venerable Azure Serpent clapped his hands and laughed, “Brother Yan, you truly are one of the top figures in the world today, hitting the nail on the head! That’s why we cultivate puppetry, to gain a glimpse of the Heavenly Dao.”

Yan Qianli’s heart stirred as he asked, “To gain insight into the Heavenly Dao? Isn’t that on a different level? The principles might not even be the same.”

“But you can gain some understanding, at least you can experience the feeling of manipulating puppets. If you expand this idea, billions of creatures in the world are just puppets in your hands.”

Yan Qianli contemplated this.

“Furthermore, we can set the personality of puppets, so that outsiders will perceive them as genuine. Even if you want to kill someone, your puppet will only express sincerity and affection. No matter how you probe their soul, it will always show the same. Brother Yan, do you think this is a form of Heavenly Dao power?”

Yan Qianli had to admit, “Indeed, it’s at least a partial representation of it. You could call it a minor form of Heavenly Dao power… Are you suggesting that I switch to puppetry?”

“No, not at all.” The Venerable Azure Serpent chuckled, “As you said, this is just one aspect of the Heavenly Dao, a way for us to gain a glimpse of its power, but it can’t replace it.”

Yan Qianli nodded, “So, are you planning to replace it rather than tear it apart… I see, you want to capture this person to devour him and gain a deeper understanding of the Heavenly Dao’s power?”

“Devour… I want to as well.” The Venerable Azure Serpent’s eyes lit up, but he sighed, “But this step is too radical and will inevitably alert the Heavenly Dao. So, I intend to imprison him instead, collect his hair and blood for research, or even further refine him into a puppet… As long as I thoroughly control him, will I be on an equal footing with the Heavenly Dao?”

Well… on an equal footing with the Heavenly Dao? That’s ambitious. Yan Qianli had to admit that this person had quite a vision. Compared to this person, his and Qiu Wuji’s struggle against the Heavenly Dao seemed like child’s play.

However, this person had made another fatal mistake besides mistakenly believing in Yan Qianli. He hadn’t ventured out in the real world like Yan Qianli and Qiu Wuji, so he didn’t know the true nature of this world. He had imagined the Heavenly Dao as a powerful cultivator capable of controlling everyone and this world as an evolution of his supreme creation abilities.

From this perspective, everyone was just a cultivator, naturally able to study each other’s powers of creation and manipulation. If they absorbed these abilities, they could be on an equal footing with the Heavenly Dao, free from constraints. If they were more proficient, they could control the Heavenly Dao, achieving omnipotence.

However, that was far from the truth, and he had completely misunderstood it. His fundamental analysis was wrong, which meant that this person could never overturn the status quo. Even with the help of Yan Qianli, he couldn’t escape the modifications of the Heavenly Dao, the author of this world.

So, it was clear which side to choose.

Yan Qianli asked calmly, “So, what do you want me to do in our cooperation? And what do I gain from it?”

The Venerable Azure Serpent smiled, “You gain the dragon bones, and I gain this person. Isn’t that already a fair trade?”

Yan Qianli sneered, “Enough with the act. If you don’t have something else for me to do, you wouldn’t be explaining all of this in such detail.”

“Just joking.” The Venerable Azure Serpent’s expression became more serious. “The path to seizing the heavens is of utmost importance. While I might want to take it all for myself, I’m not insane. I know very well that it’s impossible to achieve it alone. Leaving aside other factors, just think about how Qiu Wuji is frantically searching for her disciple. If you reveal my plans to the world, I won’t even be able to handle Qiu Wuji.”

Yan Qianli nodded, “You want me to help you deal with the troubles in this world, making it easier for you to secretly turn this person into a puppet… What do I get in return?”

The Venerable Azure Serpent spoke firmly, “I am willing to share anything I gain with Brother Yan. With Brother Yan holding my secrets, you don’t have to worry about me deceiving you. After all, if you reveal my secrets, I’ll be in trouble, won’t I?”

Yan Qianli chuckled, “It seems about right.”

“And since Brother Yan doesn’t practice the art of gu puppetry, it wouldn’t be useful for you to research this person on your own. So our cooperation is a perfect match. If Brother Yan doesn’t trust me, we can become sworn brothers…”

Before he could finish, Chu Ge, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly interjected, “You’re already brothers, my son.”

The Venerable Azure Serpent hadn’t reacted yet, but Yan Qianli, as if receiving a signal, suddenly acted!

Silent white flames, annihilating everything, imprinted onto the Venerable Azure Serpent’s chest. “Do you really think I’m an idiot? I don’t even know who you really are, so who would I tell? You want to deceive me into working for you? Get lost!”

With this sudden change, in his urgency, the Venerable Azure Serpent summoned a puppet as a decoy and attempted to escape.

In the dim underground space, countless sword lights appeared.

Qiu Wuji’s Myriad Swords Prison!

With a whoosh, could the puppet withstand Yan Qianli? It silently disintegrated within the white flames.

The Venerable Azure Serpent spat out blood and exclaimed, “Qiu Wuji! How could you be here?”

Qiu Wuji smiled faintly and didn’t respond.

This is the spatial invisibility technique that my mother-in-law taught my husband.

“You two are actually cooperating…” The Venerable Azure Serpent muttered in disbelief, “How is that possible?”

It was like overturning his entire worldview, too exaggerated…

Between heaven and earth, who could escape with these two people working together?

What was even worse was that there was no way out in this underground space. It wasn’t meant to imprison Chu Ge; he had trapped himself in it! Even with countless marvelous methods, he couldn’t escape now…

Madness flashed in his eyes, and he laughed manically, “Haha, hahaha… You think this is a fish in a barrel? But you’ve forgotten that this ‘Heavenly Dao incarnation’ is just a mere Foundation Building cultivator! If I die, he won’t survive either!”

As he spoke, the entire dim space flickered with a bloody light, clearly indicating a self-destructive explosion.

Chu Ge sighed, “Here comes the chicken soup… Goodbye.”

Then he disappeared.

The Venerable Azure Serpent: “???”

Qiu Wuji sighed, “You desire to seize the heavens, yet you have no idea what the Heavenly Dao truly is. He’s just a projection of the soul; naturally, he can return at will…”

The Venerable Azure Serpent’s self-detonation had been activated and couldn’t be stopped. He watched as his body exploded, leaving behind a final, vengeful message: “The Gu God will avenge me!”

Boom! The space ruptured. Without Chu Ge as a burden, Qiu Wuji and Yan Qianli easily withstood the explosion and watched the golden specks of light disappear from the air.

Qiu Wuji pursed her lips, “You suddenly signaled for us to take action. Have you already determined who the enemy is? It was rather rash.”

Yan Qianli said, “It’s not the Gu God, right?”

Chu Ge reappeared and looked at the tiny specks of golden light left behind. “Of course not, the Gu God knew nothing from beginning to end. He was designed to be the scapegoat. He would have also come after the dragon bones were stolen, leading to chaos within various sects. They would have turned against each other while someone watched silently from the shadows. Am I right? City Lord of Yunxiao City…?”

Beyond the boundless sky, within the Yunxiao City.

Someone’s expression suddenly changed as they opened their eyes.