The Plan

The Ao-Jing believers were on the verge of making their move when Xuanpin raised a hand, and the hall fell silent in an instant.

“Enough. Don’t forget—The Dice has already made off with the Great Liang Dragon Vein.”

Turning to the others, the Head of the Supervisory Heavenly Office softened his tone slightly. “The Dice may have fled, but do not panic. I can find a way to locate his position.”

The next moment, Shangguan Yuting emerged from the folds of the National Preceptor’s sleeve, made a face at Li Huowang, and then dove straight into Xuanpin’s body.

The National Preceptor, still nursing his wound, twitched his beard and averted his gaze from Xuanpin.

Zheng Boqiao picked up the thread. “Finding people is not hard for Xuanpin, nor is killing The Dice. But to kill The Dice while ensuring the last emperor is rescued intact—that is a far more difficult task.”

“After all, there’s only one emperor left. If he dies, Great Liang is finished. And if the largest kingdom falls, the rest are worse off. The grass in Qingqiu has already turned yellow, you know.”

With that, Zheng Boqiao glanced at the Ao-Jing believers and Bai Lingmiao. “And from what I can see, it seems only Bashe and Wusheng Laomu have clearly agreed to help us. Ah… a great calamity approaches, and everyone is of two minds.”

Li Huowang suddenly thought of something and offered a suggestion. “Can’t we get the military cultivators to help us? There are so many of them in Great Liang—restraining The Dice would be easy.”

The National Preceptor, having recovered some strength, replied. “Easier said than done. Without the troop deployment tally, can you mobilize the military cultivators? And under what pretext?”

“The military cultivators are the emperor’s blade. Don’t forget—The Dice has already ascended the throne. He is Great Liang’s true, legitimate emperor. And he is not just the Dragon Vein; he is The Dice of the Zuowandao, a master of psychological manipulation. Would you dare to involve the military cultivators? Are you not afraid they might turn against us?”

At these words, everyone’s expressions grew heavy. Yes, as things stood, The Dice was Great Liang’s legitimate emperor, having been formally crowned before the civil and military officials.

No matter how much they saw him as a false emperor, if the imperial court found them conspiring against the Great Liang emperor, it would be rebellion.

Li Huowang looked up at him, his mind racing. After a moment, he spoke.

“Head of the Office, there’s a dice inside Gao Zhijian’s head. That is likely where The Dice is. Since you can find him, we only need to contain him and figure out a way to dig that dice out of his brain.”

Since they were all going after The Dice together, Li Huowang shared the information he had.

“Easier said than done. It’s the same problem—splitting open his skull is simple, but how do you keep him alive?”

Li Huowang hesitated, then said slowly, “That’s simple. We can find a way to put an artifact inside him that lets him come back to life after death. Something like the dharma artifacts made from a Xinsu’s skin. I saw it used when I tried to assassinate the King of Ren.”

Li Huowang had once given Gao Zhijian a piece of skin he had refined himself. But he wasn’t sure if The Dice had already discovered it.

Li Huowang’s words were met with silence from Xuanpin. As he looked towards the Head of the Office, he noticed both their bodies were shrinking at an alarming rate, until on the stool they were no bigger than ants.

Li Huowang looked up and saw Bai Lingmiao, now as huge as a mountain, listening intently to the others without noticing anything amiss.

He did not panic. This must be one of Xuanpin’s illusion techniques.

“There are some things I need to discuss with you in private,” Xuanpin said, his voice coming from the now equally tiny figure beside Li Huowang.

Hearing this, Li Huowang felt a strange sense of familiarity with the Xuanpin before him. But when he tried to pin it down, he couldn’t.

“Who are you, really?” Li Huowang couldn’t help but ask, staring into the dark void within the wide red robe.

“I am Xuanpin, the Head of the Great Liang Supervisory Heavenly Office. But I can also be anyone. Who I am is unimportant. What matters is that I need you to survive the coming crisis. This is not just about you; it is about Zhuge Yuan, who is already dead.”

Li Huowang frowned, looking up at the others, who now seemed the size of mountains. “Just me alone? Why can’t you tell anyone else?”

“Because it requires the use of your identity as a Xinsu.”

At this, the hairs on Li Huowang’s neck stood on end. It felt as if, before this man, everything about him had been laid bare.

“You are Cultivating the True, aren’t you? I can help you. I can help you use your Xinsu abilities to deal with The Dice.”

Steadying his mind, Li Huowang suppressed his unease and asked, “Why must it be my Xinsu ability? Isn’t the method I just mentioned good enough?”

“No, it won’t work. He is The Dice. Little tricks like that won’t fool him. We shouldn’t follow his lead; that would leave us passive no matter what. So let him calculate his own way, and we will do ours.”

His expression grave, Li Huowang thought it over, then slowly nodded. “Alright. Tell me your plan.”

“Once we locate The Dice again, you go in first. Whatever he says to you during that time, no matter what it is, take it as truth. Cultivate everything he says into reality! Leave the rest to me.”

“Eh?!” Li Huowang was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected the man’s plan to be this.

“My Cultivate the True skill isn’t that strong. I’m afraid I can’t do it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that. You just do as I say.”

Li Huowang fell into deep thought. Xuanpin waited patiently.

“Alright, Head of the Office. But please understand, this is about the Great Liang Dragon Vein. I don’t want the current Great Liang to end up like Great Qi.”

“I am naturally aware of that. In this matter of dealing with The Dice, we are on the same side.”

As soon as Xuanpin finished speaking, their bodies began to grow rapidly, returning to their original sizes. Yet no one around them had noticed anything.

“I have a plan now. All of you, go and prepare. I need to fetch something. In one hour, we will retrieve the Great Liang Dragon Vein.” Having said this, Xuanpin’s body slowly dissolved like scattered sand.

Now that the Head of the Office had made the decision, the others began to disperse, making their preparations for the siege.

Li Huowang pulled Bai Lingmiao aside. As soon as they left the hall, a figure slammed into him.

He quickly lifted Li Sui’s skirt, revealing the tentacles and dog skull underneath, and hastily explained to Bai Lingmiao, “It’s no one else, it’s just Li Sui.”

“Oh,” Bai Lingmiao said softly, nodding.

“Miaomiao, what is wrong with you?” His expression very serious, Li Huowang set Li Sui down, walked up to her, and grabbed her by both arms, asking.