Kao Dao Ji raised his eyebrows.
"Le Tu finally replied to my letter?"
As he said those words, he could not help but let out a soft sigh of relief.
He pressed his palm to his forehead as he thought.
"Thankfully…I was beginning to regret my decision, heh."
While the contents of his letter did not specifically reveal his own location, they did reveal the location of the Kao Clan.
Of course, there was still a buffer between both sides.
Ordinary Immortals stood no chance against the Kao Clan; even ordinary Rank 8 would be hard-pressed.
It was not so easy to defeat them.
Of course, extraordinary Rank 8 Gu Masters who had undergone a Myriad Tribulation or more were an issue, but.
They were in short supply.
Spectral Soul, in his era, massacred the world and left it almost devoid of Immortals. A thousand years was enough to replenish them, but not enough to recover the absurd amounts of capital and Rank 8 Gu Worms lost.
Only forces such as Longevity Heaven and Heavenly Court still had abundant Rank 8 Gu Masters, but their focus was on dousing the flames of chaos and recovering their former glory.
Chances are, they would not dare.
Especially because they would not only face the Kao Clan alone but could also force the surrounding grotto heavens to join, and while he was not sure if they were mighty enough to beat them, they could still make them bleed.
Furthermore, there was also the probability of the whole thing being a huge trap, so chances were, they would not take the risks before making thorough preparations.
Whilst his decision to reveal the location of the surrounding grotto heavens seemed whimsical.
There was actually a very thorough protection surrounding him.
That was not to say his position was devoid of risks; if Le Tu revealed the letter, while the Clan would not immediately believe it, they would no doubt investigate him.
If they ever figured out the truth, things could get very ugly, pretty damn quickly.
But that was a far more manageable risk, as long as he did not reveal enough clues, it was fairly unlikely that they would figure out anything.
Especially because there was no reasonable motive.
After all.
Why on earth's name would Kao Dao Ji send critical information to a random immortal from Treasure Yellow Heaven for no apparent reason?
Unless they knew the Fate of Le Tu, it was a downright nonsensical action.
As long as Kao Dao Ji made no moves to suggest otherwise, chances are they would merely believe that Le Tu was merely saying nonsense.
In other words, his position seemed dangerous but was actually quite safe underneath.
Kao Dao Ji smiled to himself.
"I may not be that great of a schemer yet, but I am starting to get the hang of it."
He began to read the letter that Le Tu had given him, with mild curiosity.
He nodded a few times as he read it.
"Indeed. This is pretty much what I thought he would say." He chuckled.
After a brief, polite introduction, Le Tu asked about the affairs that were troubling him, as well as the business he was planning to concoct.
But afterwards, he made a stern warning that he would not condone immoral behaviour, any business scheme that involved the trading of slaves, souls, or mass murderers would not be accepted.
Of course, even before asking this, he knew that he would say this.
But that is not what he had in mind, anyway.
Inwardly, he summoned a 'Sunny Thoughts Gu'.
And smirked.
"While grandmasters may be able to mimic Wisdom Path, I doubt whatever method they can muster is as good as my Sunny Thoughts Gu.
Even if they create the most perfect and exquisite counter, it would be a combination of hundreds of Gu's used together intricately.
In comparison, my Gu can achieve the same with a mere thought.
In a battle, it would be like the difference between doing a backflip and taking a step backwards.
The difference between the two is beyond obvious."
With this idea, he wrote up his follow-up letter, whose concepts were already written in a small draft.
In summary, he offered him an exclusivity deal.
To him and only him, he would offer Sunny Thoughts Gu.
That condition would include that the Gu cannot be sold or traded; at most, it can be lent temporarily to a partner, if they are in a battle to the death against a dangerous foe.
In no other way are they allowed to share this Gu, nor can they try to reverse the recipe.
Another condition was that Le Tu would never share or obfuscate the origins of Clouded Thoughts Gu, but instead would direct any interested party to his store.
Failing to meet this criterion would detonate all the other Gu and would automatically cancel the deal.
At the end of the letter, he also added:
"Consider this first trade as a test of our partnership.
I still have plenty more things to share with you.
Including, but not limited to, a Soul Path inheritance.
But whether you can get your hands on it is up to you."
Kao Dao Ji shamelessly added.
In truth, at this point, he had at most a few Soul Path Gu Recipes of scattered Gu with very little to no utility for combat. But showing just a single Gu Worm would be enough to bait most people.
It was basically clickbait, and whether he was not sure if Le Tu would fall for it or not, it was worth a try.
Regardless, after finishing writing his letter, he immediately sent it.
Then, he moved his gaze towards the cloud.
He squinted his eyes.
There was still a lot of work to do.
…
Crimson Soul Patriarch stood before an egg man.
His hand was pressed against his skull.
A soft, eerily pale blue light surged through his hand, and a skeletal figure appeared behind him.
As he read the memories of the man.
He frowned.
"They did not fabricate this?" He muttered to himself, slightly bemused.
As he read through the memories of that egg man, he recalled how they discovered the news of Kao Dao Ji's death.
But then.
His expression shifted.
"No. Not necessarily. The Da Clan higher-ups could have fooled their own clansmen, after all, the myriad Tribulation is not like most common open secrets, but is of vital importance for their Clan."
But then his expression changed to one of greed.
A tiny smile appeared on his face.
"Most Rank 8 who face a Myriad Tribulation die, that is a fact.
And more often than not, they do not die alone.
I wonder. Have they become weakened enough for me to subdue?" His smile turned even more wicked as he fantasised.
He could not help but lick his lips.
But then.
His expression froze.
In the memories of that immortal, there lay a devastated land.
Surrounded by corpses, fire and storm.
Lighting befell violently from all directions, and earthquakes surged violently.
A thunderous sound was heard and spread fully, whilst countless metal fragments resonated together, producing countless sparkles of light.
The scent of rusted metal filled the air.
Yet.
Amidst the myriad of catastrophes, buried beneath the myriad of corpses, there was a certain figure.
He stretched his palm, as if digging his way out of the pile of corpses.
Bloodshot eyes, deep cracks on its shell and from those cracks, pus oozed.
The shell had turned dark, turning purple.
One could see fury, grievance and resignation in its gaze.
It let out a chilling scream, and all those disasters were pushed away.
"I, Da Chou Jidan. Will never fall. Even if my body breaks. Even if my aperture dies. I will not fall here, for as long as the Clan needs me, I will keep fighting, even after I die!" As those words were spoken.
The skies were fully cleared.
Yet.
There was a chilling sensation in the wind.
While he had passed the Tribulation successfully, his aperture would never be the same.
And he knew it.
Da Chou Jidan sighed.
…
The image vanished.
Crimson Soul Patriarch stood there with a bewildered expression, his previously confident expression vanishing like a flickering candle.
"He passed the Tribulation?" He muttered in disbelief.
His expression changed completely; any thoughts of fishing under troubled waters vanished completely.
Furthermore.
He also frowned even more deeply as he considered.
"If they were the ones who captured Bai Lin Hua, should I still rescue her? Is it worth it to risk fighting against them?"
His eyelids trembled.
He bit his lips as he shook his head.
"No. Before making any reckless move, I should investigate the Kao Clan."
But before doing that.
He took a cold breath.
He needed to edit the memories of that egg man to ensure not a single clue remained.
Lest he brought a disaster upon himself unknowingly.
…
Qin Jiji stood before a mirror.
Despite her defeat, there was none of the unease one would expect.
But rather, there was a tiny smile on her face.
"I succeeded. I managed to take over." She laughed heartily.
"Now that I am no longer held back by my inferior mind and can employ a human's brain, my lifelong accumulation is finally being converted.
I can feel it. The distance between me and Great Grandmaster attainment is vanishing."
But then.
Her expression changed.
"Oh? I am going to lose control over this body so soon? Tsk. Oh well. Before she regains control, I need to erase her memories.
I cannot allow a single clue of my existence remain."
She sighed softly before turning her eyes towards the distant Heavens.
"Oh…Heavenly Court, you may believe yourself invincible.
After all, not even those three Venerables could stop you.
In that sense, I am even more pitiful.
But.
Even if I am not as strong as them, so what?
They may have might, but I have patience and time.
Sooner or later, no matter how long it takes.
No matter how many bodies I have to take over.
I will find the chance to join you.
Then, I will destroy you from within."
The mirror cracked.