Scheming on the Wind-Swept Seas

Within the blood-red light, the Profound Bone Saint’s scarlet, terrifying pupils rolled a few times before the glow gradually faded.

“Good. The Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng is indeed still here. Its residual Pure Spirit Qi can still be faintly traced across the surface of the stone mountain,” the Profound Bone said calmly after his eyes returned to normal.

Hearing this, Han Li’s mind stirred. He channeled spiritual power into his eyes and focused his gaze on the small mountain in the same manner.

The result disappointed him greatly. He could not see anything extraordinary about the peak.

The Profound Bone Saint naturally knew what Han Li was doing when he saw the faint blue light flickering in his eyes. With a contemptuous laugh, he spoke flatly:

“Do not waste your time trying to see the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng’s Pure Spirit Qi. Only a cultivator with a sufficiently powerful spiritual sense can do that—at the very least, after forming a Nascent Soul. And while I have turned to the ghost path, my original powerful spiritual sense is completely intact.”

There was a hint of cold mockery in the Profound Bone’s words.

Han Li’s face remained expressionless, but at the old fiend’s inadvertent reminder, he silently began circulating the Great Derivative Art within his body.

Moments later, a flicker of joy stirred in Han Li’s heart.

His eyes had finally caught traces of greenish-blue light on the stone mountain below—scattered chaotically and so faint they were nearly imperceptible.

“Fortunately, before I came here, I had already intended to capture this Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng as a side prize. So I prepared some special tools on a small island I passed on the way. Now, if I simply lay a snare and let the Spirit Ginseng walk into it by itself, I can capture it with ease.” Unaware that Han Li could also see the Pure Spirit Qi, the Profound Bone spoke calmly as he gazed at the stone mountain below.

He then reached into his storage pouch and retrieved a golden object, holding it in his palm.

“This is…?” Han Li glanced at it with some surprise.

A golden silk ball, the size of a chicken egg, emitted a faint radiance. It appeared to have been specially refined.

Seeing the confusion on Han Li’s face, the Profound Bone Saint let out a cold laugh. He suddenly clenched the ball with his five fingers, and black light flashed on his hand.

A fine golden thread shot out from the ball, growing longer and longer as it rapidly wove back and forth before the Profound Bone’s eyes. In moments, it had formed a delicate little golden silk net, no larger than a palm—exquisite, unusual, and glittering.

“The Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng can only be caught with pure gold. It can ignore and flee from any other magical treasure or artifact. Take this and use it to capture the ginseng when it tries to escape,” the Profound Bone instructed solemnly, his eyes fixed on Han Li.

Hearing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow. After a brief moment of consideration, he said nothing. He simply waved his hand at the golden net.

With a whoosh, the net flew over to Han Li on its own. Without even glancing at it, he placed it into his storage pouch.

Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on the Profound Bone’s face. He flipped his palm again, producing four small, earth-yellow banners.

These banners were covered in overlapping layers of runes, with faint spiritual light flickering across their surfaces.

“Oh!” Given his current proficiency in formations, Han Li was startled at the sight of the banners. After a moment of deep thought, a look of disbelief crossed his face.

“What, does Brother Han also recognize these banners?” The Profound Bone was somewhat surprised by Han Li’s expression.

Han Li did not answer immediately. He stared intently at the small banners for a good while before looking up and speaking gravely:

“Could these be the implements of the Four Symbols Black Tortoise Formation? Aside from that ancient formation, I cannot think of any other formation that could create an earth-element grand array with just four small banners.”

“I didn’t expect you to be knowledgeable in formations. It seems I chose the right helper after all. Indeed, these are the ‘Four Symbols Black Tortoise Formation’ banners I refined on the way here. Only this formation can bind dozens of feet of mountain stone and earth, turning them as hard as iron to trap the Spirit Ginseng. Since you understand formations, I’ll leave the setup to you. I’ll go investigate the ginseng’s exact whereabouts.” A flicker of surprise crossed the Profound Bone’s face, but it vanished as quickly as it came, and his tone returned to normal.

With that, he generously handed the four yellow banners to Han Li. He himself transformed into a mass of dark cloud and silently drifted toward the small mountain.

Han Li looked at the formation banners in his hand, then at the old fiend’s retreating figure. A hint of oddness appeared in his eyes. But after licking his lips, he let out a cold laugh and flew off in another direction below.

Meanwhile, from within the distant Profound Bone’s body, the gruff man’s voice rang out.

“Profound Bone, what did you mean by handing the formation banners to him? I didn’t realize you two were on such good terms. Unless you’re up to something else.” The man’s tone suggested he knew the Profound Bone Saint very well.

“Something else? By letting that brat surnamed Han set up the formation himself, he’ll feel confident enough to enter it to capture the ginseng. And while he’s at it, I’ll take the opportunity to destroy him.” The Profound Bone’s voice suddenly turned sinister and ice-cold.

“Destroy him now? Did I hear that right? I thought we wouldn’t make a move until after dealing with Extreme Yin.” The gruff-voiced man was taken aback.

“No. That brat surnamed Han is far too cunning. If I delay, I fear complications will arise. Besides, he definitely has his own plans, and I’m not sure I can control him. What if he suddenly betrays me to that rebellious disciple Extreme Yin? Unlikely, yes, but I, Profound Bone, will never take another risk. After suffering a great betrayal once, I decided never to trust anyone lightly. And besides…” The Profound Bone said coldly.

“And besides, you never intended to hand over the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng to him in the first place!” the man interjected lazily.

“Exactly. With all the effort I’ve put into this spiritual object, how could I willingly let it go to another? Even if it has no miraculous effect on improving our cultivation, having this item in hand allows me to trade it for whatever I need. It’s still extremely useful. Moreover, this man carries a Golden Lightning Bamboo magical treasure, which will inevitably become a great threat to our demon-ghost lineage sooner or later. Better to eliminate him early. And speaking of which, what do you think of this Han brat’s physical body?” The Profound Bone’s expression was grim and fierce, but then his tone shifted, and he suddenly asked this question.

The man was startled at first, but then became intensely excited.

“You want to help me seize this man’s body? That’s perfect! But what about Extreme Yin? Don’t you plan to deal with him anymore?” The man hesitated for a moment.

“The Extreme Yin Grand Art I personally taught him has a fatal flaw I deliberately left in the technique. Once he’s alone, with you gaining a physical body and the two of us working together, we can easily put him to death.” The Profound Bone said with great confidence.

“That’s what should have been done long ago! But did you plan to get rid of that Han brat from the very beginning? If so, you still sought an alliance with him deliberately. Truly cunning and ruthless!” The man was greatly impressed by the Profound Bone’s scheming.

“You flatter me. Before I ran into you, my true intention was to join forces with him against Extreme Yin. Even though I know the flaw in my rebellious disciple’s technique, having an extra helper would give me a better chance. But now that I’ve run into an old acquaintance like you, naturally I no longer need him. Better to eliminate him early to avoid future trouble.” The Profound Bone said indifferently.

“You’re quite the actor! Your anxious expression back at Jade Pavilion had me truly believing you urgently needed this man’s help. I never imagined you had already decided to kill him.” The man sighed, his voice complex.

“Hmph! My anxiety back then was genuine. But not because I was afraid he couldn’t help me get revenge. I was worried that his set of Golden Lightning Bamboo flying swords might fall into someone else’s hands. That would be equally detrimental to our ghost path.” The Profound Bone let out a cold snort.

“Since you know he has Golden Lightning Bamboo treasures, how dare you act so rashly? Are you that confident in your plan?” The man was silent for a moment before asking with some concern. This involved his own affairs, so he naturally had to inquire in detail.

By now, the Profound Bone Saint had begun circling slowly at low altitude over the stone mountain.

“My original plan was that after I truly caught the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, I would use the Four Symbols Black Tortoise Formation to trap him inside along with the ginseng while he went in to capture it with the golden net. But I didn’t expect him to know something about formations. So on a whim, I handed the formation banners to him. This way, my plan is actually even more flawless.” A strange smile appeared on the Profound Bone’s face, his words laden with hidden meaning.

“Oh? Did you tamper with the formation banners?” The man suddenly understood and spoke in realization.

“Hehe! You’ll find out about that in due time. For now, I need to find the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng first. Otherwise, that brat definitely won’t fall for it.” The Profound Bone said evasively.

The man gave a light snort, seeming somewhat displeased.

“Speaking of which, this demon-ghost cultivation method of mine was originally taught by you! I intended to use it to search for the Spirit Ginseng, but I never expected that, after being harmed by my rebellious disciple, it would become my lifeline in the end.” A cold gleam flashed in the Profound Bone Saint’s eyes.

“It wasn’t really teaching you; we were just taking what we needed.” The man also spoke with some emotion.