Chapter Seventy-Two: The Author's Struggle with Titles, Return to Deer and Crane—End of Volume One

Illusion magic is a wondrous art. The venerable Master “Like Mist,” renowned for his achievements in this field, once uttered a famous phrase: “Illusion magic should never have been invented from the very beginning.”

Illusions can be seen through, provided one’s ability to pierce falsehood is strong enough. Yet the problem lies in the fact that such clarity can only dispel one’s own illusions, not those cast upon others.

The highest realm of deception is to deceive oneself.

After careful preparation, Xu Wenshan allowed the Mother Venom to cast an illusion spell upon him. Lost within the illusion, Xu Wenshan truly believed he was Xu Cong, an unlucky fur merchant. As Xu Cong, he lived for two days in pain and joy, until Lü Wuji swooped in, struck him with a sword, and then cast a Soul Capturing Spell.

It was because he genuinely believed himself to be Xu Cong that he appeared so cowardly. It was because he truly thought himself Xu Cong that Lü Wuji failed to notice anything amiss.

Before Xu Wenshan tricked himself with illusion magic, he set a condition for its removal: that is, it would dissolve upon being subjected to the Soul Capturing Spell.

Thus, when the priest used the Soul Capturing Spell on Xu Wenshan, he learned that Xu Wenshan was “Xu Cong,” an unfortunate fur merchant. Then, the illusion was automatically lifted. Xu Wenshan suddenly realized he was not Xu Cong, and felt as though the sky had collapsed, which is why he lashed out at Xu Jing, who had barged into his room.

He quickly regained composure, sent a message to Lu Ze from afar, and gave the signal to begin setting the trap.

There was a difficulty with this scheme: Xu Wenshan had committed a grave offense in Sha County, and the priest would inevitably come for him, but no one could predict when. Resolute, he decided that for every day the priest didn’t arrive, he would continue playing the role of Xu Cong.

Fortunately, the priest did not disappoint; he appeared after only three days.

To lure the priest into his trap, Xu Wenshan killed a man. Song San, who happened to arrive at the perfect moment, became the ideal sacrifice.

The entire plan was flawless, save for one unpredictable element: Xu Jing. Had she not intervened at the magistrate’s office to protect Xu Wenshan, he would soon have diverted everyone’s attention elsewhere. Unexpectedly, in the end, Xu Jing became entangled in the affair.

Xu Wenshan had the Mother Venom erect three stone walls to make Lü Wuji believe she was about to break through. He then used several traps to eliminate troublesome people—naturally, the venom injected by the spider demon into the constables’ necks only induced a false death. Next, he used the Mother Venom’s discarded shell as bait, filling the surrounding pits with poison and covering them with Lu Ze’s stone fragments.

The shell shed by the Mother Venom was indistinguishable from her true body, and so Lü Wuji fell for the ruse. When he stepped onto the ground, Lu Ze ceased infusing the stones with demonic power, and Lü Wuji fell into the pit.

First, his sword was removed; then, his protective banner was stripped away; finally, even his trump card was forced out. Lü Wuji was thoroughly driven into a corner.

It was a chain trap—a miracle wrought by Xu Wenshan, leveraging the asymmetry of information.

The venomous insects spat poison, and Lü Wuji gradually ceased breathing.

When several venomous insects dragged Lü Wuji from the poisonous pool, his body was riddled with wounds, and his lower half was reduced to bare bones.

Then came the time to loot the spoils.

Xu Wenshan easily erased the seal on Lü Wuji’s universe pouch, swept his divine sense through its contents, and was thoroughly satisfied.

He found the greatest prize.

Lü Wuji was not a particularly talented cultivator; his progress relied on a singular stroke of fortune.

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“Vital Soil”—that was the greatest prize from his encounter.

Vital Soil is a miraculous earth capable of nurturing immortal herbs and grasses, typically possessed only by elder monsters of the Nascent Soul stage and above. Lü Wuji had obtained only a tiny bit, scarcely the size of a pinky.

But Vital Soil increases slowly over time. After one hundred and fifty years, the amount in Lü Wuji’s possession was enough to cover a sand table.

Unfortunately, Lü Wuji did not carry spirit plants or immortal herbs with him, only some pills, which offered little help to a demon cultivator like Xu Wenshan.

Lü Wuji was poor; there was nothing else of value.

Magical treasures! Magical treasures! Xu Wenshan needed, above all, a weapon capable of inflicting harm.

He coveted “Stunning Rainbow,” the sword of the cultivator.

But this time, the kill yielded no magical treasures.

“Trying to escape?” In his rage, Xu Wenshan slapped down a grimy golden pill and crushed it.

“Xu Cong, may you die a miserable death! I curse you! I curse you with my entire life…” The golden pill cried out, obviously feigning death earlier, hoping to flee in its pill form, but Xu Wenshan was prepared.

“Enough,” Xu Wenshan said, grinding the pill to dust with his fingers. It scattered on the wind, leaving no trace.

Lü Wuji was finally dead.

…

Meanwhile, at the Ten Thousand Laws Temple—

“Sigh…”

An elderly cultivator let out a long, heavy breath.

“Master, what’s wrong?” A female cultivator beside him asked curiously.

“Lü Wuji’s life lamp has extinguished,” the old cultivator said gravely.

“Perhaps it was just blown out by the wind again?” she suggested.

She wasn’t being callous; the celestial wind often extinguished life lamps two or three times a month.

“This time it’s real,” the old cultivator replied.

“I’ll go check the life lamp chamber,” she said.

She went out, and the old cultivator followed her. Together, they entered the chamber and found that Lü Wuji’s life lamp was indeed out—completely and utterly extinguished.

“Master, don’t dwell on these antiques. If something truly happened to Senior Brother Wuji, the Immortal Alliance would notify us,” she comforted him.

In this age of widespread Shadow Luminous Orbs, only her master still clung to the old tradition of watching life lamps. Though she respected him, she couldn’t help but feel his stubbornness was misplaced.

“No, the Alliance is notoriously slow; they’d delay for three days before sending any word. Take someone now and go to the Alliance to investigate. Find out where Lü Wuji died and retrieve his body. Disciples of the Ten Thousand Laws Temple should not die unexplained deaths out in the world,” the old cultivator insisted.

“Yes, Master,” she replied.

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Retrieving a corpse was troublesome enough, but even more vexing was finding a companion willing to go.

Apart from the earnest young woman, few cultivators would volunteer for such a task.

Everyone is busy cultivating immortality; who has time to worry about others?

Everyone wears a Shadow Luminous Orb—if anything happens, the Immortal Alliance will ensure justice, and a simple review of the orb’s recordings will reveal everything.

This is no longer an era of mutual vigilance among peers.

So after searching for some time, the female cultivator found only her least favorite companion willing to go.

He was notorious among cultivators for idleness, his Dao unclear, and an excessive penchant for meddling.

Before they departed, the old cultivator hurried over to remind them: “Go to the Alliance, ask around, get to the bottom of what happened.”

“Lü Wuji was always careful; he should not die in vain.”

…

The day Xu Wenshan left Sha County was a clear, bright day.

Looking out, the Sha River flowed past the city. Xu Wenshan’s fist just obscured the sun, and with a literary air, he declared, “My goal is to open a restaurant here someday—call it Sha County Snacks.”

Lu Ze asked curiously, “Xu Wenshan, can you even cook?”

“No. You don’t get it; I was joking,” Xu Wenshan replied flippantly. “It’s about time, isn’t it?”

Before anyone could ask, “Time for what?” reality gave them the answer.

Three large tower ships anchored outside Sha County City sank one after another.

The ships were huge, so they sank slowly. Xu Wenshan had hoped to make the farewell grand, like a true man never looking back at an explosion, but found that sinking ships was a slow affair and decided not to wait.

Literature types are fragile.

Beside him, the spider demon still gnawed on a bone, puzzled as to how her master knew the ships would sink. With her intellect, it took three days to figure out that Xu Wenshan had sunk them himself.

Xu Wenshan had already decided to return in a month to collect slaves.

Where would the slaves come from?

…

On the day Xu Wenshan departed, Chen and Cai clashed; five days later, Sha County fell, and countless captives were taken. Hundreds of noble sons became slaves, thousands of farmers bankrupt and sold themselves.

(End of Volume One)

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