Chapter 103: It Was Like Looking in the Mirror
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As the saying goes, the more you don’t want something to happen, the more it will happen.
Zhuang Yangbing felt like he was in a similar situation.
He initially believed that his plan was flawless.
Not only did he analyze in depth the attitude of the Qingyun Sect disciples towards the battle in Moon Mountain Pass, but he had even predicted their possible actions and prepared many countermeasures.
This was to ensure that the Xueyang Sect’s plan of stirring up war with war could proceed smoothly.
However, he did not expect that even with his thorough preparations, something unexpected still happened.
Not long after Zhuang Yangbing found out that the first group of Foundation Establishment cultivators had died, he soon received news of the death of the second group as well.
He kept receiving bad news.
Zhuang Yangbing sat in his tent, unable to figure out what went wrong with his plan.
He had clearly considered all the circumstances. It was impossible for his plan to fail so miserably!
As a steady person, Zhuang Yangbing was best at self-reflection.
Therefore, after receiving news that the Foundation Establishment cultivators had been completely wiped out, he did not give up. Instead, he began to analyze the reason for the failure of this operation.
After some analysis, Zhuang Yangbing quickly found a possible reason.
The problem lay with the disciple of the Qingyun Sect who was guarding Moon Mountain Pass!
They were the only variable in his entire plan.
If the other party’s strength was not that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but a monster with the strength to be ranked on the Mortal Rank, it was indeed possible for them to kill the Xueyang Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators single-handedly.
Zhuang Yangbing immediately ordered his subordinates.
“Go and investigate. See which disciple the Qingyun Sect has sent to Moon Mountain Pass this time.”
“Yes, sir!”
After two hours, the disciple returned.
In his hand was a brief report about the Qingyun Sect disciple guarding Moon Mountain Pass.
Lu Yuan’s information was written on this document.
Zhuang Yangbing looked at the information in his hands and began to analyze it carefully.
He mumbled, “He is at Level 3 of the Foundation Establishment stage. He was once ranked 100th on the Mortal Rank. However, due to a lack of effective battle records, he fell off the rankings.”
“The reason for his fall is that he is a famous pharmacist in the Qingyun Sect. He had a long battle record against many Foundation Establishment cultivators when he was in the Qi Refinement Stage. However, his spiritual roots are mixed, causing his cultivation to be slow and making it difficult for him to form his core. He was judged by the outside world to have insufficient potential, so he was removed from the rankings.”
So, Lu Yuan was a Level 3 Foundation Establishment cultivator and a pharmacist.
From the report alone, he was completely different from the genius on the Mortal Rank that Zhuang Yangbing had just speculated.
With this kind of strength, let alone killing more than 10 Foundation Establishment stage cultivators by himself, Lu Yuan would have a difficult time defeating even a single cultivator from the Xueyang Sect in a one-on-one battle.
After all, the cultivators of the Xueyang Sect were famous for being lunatics.
When they encountered a crisis, not only did they have the Blood Ignition divine ability to boost their cultivation, but they also had the Blood Burst Pill, a pill that could exchange the future for the present.
Killing a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Xueyang Sect was definitely not an easy task.
It was even harder for a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator who only knew how to refine pills to pull off such a feat.
No matter how Zhuang Yangbing considered the odds, Lu Yuan shouldn’t have the ability to see through his plan and ruin it.
However, after carefully reading about Lu Yuan’s background, Zhuang Yangbing felt that something was wrong.
He muttered, “This person first stayed in the Pharmacist Valley of his sect for more than 10 years without leaving. After coming to the Great Xia Kingdom, he stayed in the Devil Slayers Division for four years without taking a step outside.”
The more Zhuang Yangbing studied the report, the more suspicious he felt. “Something seems off. There is definitely something wrong with this fellow.”
Lu Yuan’s experience over the past 10 years could be summarized in one word: steady! It was incomparably steady!
That’s right. Zhuang Yangbing considered not leaving the house for fear of death as being steady.
Based on Lu Yuan’s experience over the past 10 years, Zhuang Yangbing felt as if he was looking in the mirror and seeing his own reflection. It was as though they were two peas in a pod.
If he were in Lu Yuan’s shoes, he would probably do exactly what Lu Yuan did.
If it wasn’t for the fact that they were on opposing sides, Zhuang Yangbing would really want to get to know Lu Yuan.
Ignoble cultivators were too rare.
It wasn’t easy to meet someone with similar interests.
If anyone else read the report on Lu Yuan, they would probably think that he was too afraid of dying and did not have the heroic spirit of a celestial cultivator who defied the heavens.
However, Zhuang Yangbing was different. From this report, he could infer that Lu Yuan had the discipline of a steady celestial cultivator!
He did not do things unless he was confident in succeeding, did not go to unfamiliar places, and did not casually reveal his trump cards.
This was how a steady cultivator should act!
Zhuang Yangbing put down the documents in his hands.
After he concluded that Lu Yuan was a snake like him, this information basically lost its use.
This was because a real snake would definitely develop in the dark and hide his strength.
He would never reveal his full strength!
Zhuang Yangbing felt that Lu Yuan was definitely such a person!
Zhuang Yangbing had always claimed that he was ranked 15th on the Mortal Rank.
However, in reality, his true strength far exceeded that.
With Zhuang Yangbing’s true strength, he could definitely rank among the top 10.
The reason why he wanted to hide his true strength and be ranked 15th on the Mortal Rank was mainly related to the Xueyang Sect’s ethos.
The Xueyang Sect was a sect that emphasized the survival of the fittest.
If he behaved too timidly, not only would he be challenged by many of his fellow disciples, but even the higher-ups of the sect would also look down on him and not give him too many cultivation resources.
Therefore, Zhuang Yangbing had to reveal a portion of his strength, but not too much.
This was the only way he could cultivate in peace.
However, it was different for Lu Yuan who was in the Qingyun Sect.
A righteous sect like the Qingyun Sect had one great advantage.
Everything in the sect was governed by the rules. Killing fellow disciples was strictly forbidden.
Therefore, even if Lu Yuan hid most of his strength, he would not encounter too much trouble.
Thinking of this, Zhuang Yangbing felt that he had almost figured out Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan was certainly someone as steady as he was, and someone who hid a lot of his strength.
Only a snake could sniff out another snake!
If Lu Yuan was not a snake, he definitely wouldn’t have anticipated his opponent’s backup plans.
Facing such an opponent, Zhuang Yangbing felt both excited and troubled.
It had been a long time since he had encountered such a feeling of being evenly matched.
So, his opponent’s name was Lu Yuan? Zhuang Yangbing wondered who was the more sinister between the two of them!
Lu Yuan had won this time, but Zhuang Yangbing was confident that he would never lose again!
At the same time, in the mountain range of Moon Mountain Pass, Xu Wan’er asked, “Young Master, we’ve dealt with the five cultivators from the Xueyang Sect. Do you have any other instructions? ”
Lu Yuan fiddled with the Blood Qi Pills and Soul Pills in his hands and put them all into his storage bag.
“That will be all. At this point, it’s basically over.”
He continued, “If my guess is correct, the other party should already be investigating my identity and should have gained some insight.”
Lu Yuan suddenly laughed.
“However, knowing something is one thing, doing it is another. It is not enough for a cultivator to have a steady personality. They also need to have equally strong cultivation. After all, no matter how steady an ant is, it can’t stop an elephant from trampling it.”
He said to Xu Wan’er, “Alright, let’s go back.”
“Yes..”
