Chapter 457: Placing the Blame
Dong Li didn’t reply immediately.
Instead, under Nie Tian’s puzzled gaze, she picked up and put away Tao Pu’s bone sword and ring of holding.
Then, she took Ji Kuang’s ring of holding and stuffed it into a fine leather pouch on her waist.
Just like that, Nie Tian, Feng Luo, and Yu Tong watched her openly collect the loot from the men she and Nie Tian had killed, not saying a word.
Feng Luo and Yu Tong were aware that if it weren’t for Nie Tian and Dong Li, the three of them wouldn’t have survived Ji Kuang and the other two. Therefore, they naturally didn’t harbor any desire to split the loot.
Furthermore, Li Jing and Shen Xiu were still in danger. They weren’t in the mood to concern themselves with such insignificant matters.
The reason Nie Tian didn’t say anything either was because Dong Li hadn’t been obliged to help him kill those three Qi warriors from the Bone Sect, yet she had. Hence, he considered their belongings as Dong Li’s reward.
Not to mention that he was still counting on Dong Li to think of a way to save Li Jing.
After gathering Tao Pu and Ji Kuang’s valuables in a grand fashion, Dong Li stepped into the forest of sharp, pale-gray bones that had plunged deeply into the ground.
She waved at Nie Tian, and Nie Tian walked over to her side.
Confused, he looked at her and said with an urgent tone, “Sister Dong, Sectmaster Li is probably being attacked by two Profound realm experts at this very moment. I beg you to hurry and tell me about your idea, if you have one.”
A bright smile appeared on Dong Li’s face, as if she enjoyed Nie Tian’s pleading very much. “Don’t stop. Beg me some more.”
A tiresome expression filled Nie Tian’s face.
“Hahaha.” With a soft chuckle, Dong Li pulled one of the bone spears out of the ground. Handing it to Nie Tian, she said, “These bones seem to have been refined with a special method using broken bones from Bonebrutes. Have you noticed that every one of them still has a small amount of residual death power in them?”
Without reaching out to receive the bone, Nie Tian nodded and said, “I don’t have to check them to know that they carry residual death power.”
Back when he had been at the Blood Sect, he had awakened that Bone Blood Demon with his own blood.
Later, he had learned from Li Jing that the Bonebrutes, who used to be the overlords of the Realm of Unbounded Desolation, carried a bloodline that held the profound truths of death power.
Ji Kuang and his friends were from the Bone Sect. The incantations they practiced had been derived from the Bonebrutes’ profound incantations.
Perhaps that was why, when Ji Kuang had unleashed a psychic attack, it had been laced with death power.
As Dong Li collected the bone spears and put them away in her ring of holding one after another, she said, “People speculated that Zhao Shanling forged the Death Reign with a treasure that used to belong to the Bonebrutes. The Death Reign is an extremely complicated creation that is powered by death power. Even Zhao Shanling himself hasn’t gained full control of it.
“That was why we didn’t discover any sign of Zhao Shanling within or anywhere near the Death Reign when we saw the Death Reign floating towards the Tool Sect.
“This means Zhao Shanling and the Death Reign are in separate locations.”
Nie Tian nodded. “It appears so.”
However, he still didn’t understand how this was related to rescuing Li Jing.
After storing all of the bone spears in her ring of holding, she spoke a faster speed. “After all, Zhao Shanling isn’t a Bonebrute, so he can’t go into the Death Reign himself. However, he has to remain in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation in order to manipulate the Death Reign. Even as the creator of the Death Reign, he can’t control it from another realm, across an endless void.
“Also, I suppose he can’t be disturbed when he’s manipulating the Death Reign, so he has to be hiding somewhere in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation.
“Whether powerful experts from the Tool Sect can stop the Death Reign or not, they must be trying their best to find Zhao Shanling. Once they do and attack him, they’ll be able to deal a heavy blow to him directly, and the Death Reign will be disabled.”
After a brief pause, Dong Li gave a sly smile and continued, “The incantations the Bone Sect disciples practice have close relations with the Bonebrutes’, and the bone spears I just collected contain faint death power. So we might as well tell people that Ji Kuang and the others have connections with Zhao Shanling.”
Nie Tian gradually start to understand her intention. “You mean?”
“I believe powerful experts from the Tool Sect are searching the entire Realm of Unbounded Desolation for Zhao Shanling right now,” Dong Li said with great certainty in her voice. “Even Zhao Shanling himself must know that it’s crucial that he doesn’t get discovered by people from the Tool Sect.
“So you just need to try your best to sense and locate searchers from the Tool Sect.
“Those who are sent to search for Zhao Shanling should be at the Profound realm at least. Once you find a Profound realm searcher from the Tool Sect, you can just tell him that people from the Bone Sect have connections with Zhao Shanling. We can use those bone spears as proof, and tell them that we heard Ji Kuang and the others talking about Zhao Shanling.
“Plus, that profound realm expert from the Bone Sect might know where Zhao Shanling is.”
Upon hearing these words, Nie Tian finally grasped Dong Li’s plan. His eyes lit up as he exclaimed, “You sure are full of tricks! If powerful experts from the Tool Sect are indeed searching for Zhao Shanling, us claiming that the Bone Sect has connections with Zhao Shanling might actually put the Bone Sect in trouble!”
“Believe me. That should be the case, more or less.” Dong Li was quite pleased after hearing Nie Tian’s compliments. She winked at him and said with a blossoming smile, “That said, now we’ll see if you can find a searcher from the Tool Sect within a short time.”
Feng Luo was still puzzled after hearing Nie Tian and Dong Li’s conversation.
He had no idea who Zhao Shanling was or what the Death Reign was, and thus couldn’t understand the thoughts behind Dong Li’s words.
However, Nie Tian had already started communicating with his nine Heaven Eyes, instructing them to fly as far as they could in an attempt to find a searcher from the Tool Sect.
Having a thoughtful mind, Dong Li’s speculations were completely in line with the current situation of the Realm of Unbounded Desolation.
Meanwhile...
In a mountain valley that led to the Tool Sect, Qi Bailu and powerful experts from the Tool Sect all had grave expressions on their face.
The long and narrow valley was filled with slithering lightning bolts, torrential flames, walls of ice, screens of metal, and barriers of earth.
Numerous layers of defensive wards and a variety of powers filled every inch of the mountain valley, making it seem watertight.
Even still, the cluster of thick, pale-gray smoke was gradually moving deeper into the valley.
The defensive wards created by those formidable Qi warriors and their powerful spiritual tools were slowly being enveloped by the Death Reign, and rapidly running out of power.
The Death Reign exuded an aura of death that could wither all plants and extinguish all lives.
Even the advanced spiritual tools and all sorts of barriers seemed to be rapidly smothered of spirits after they were submerged in the pale-gray smoke. Many Spirit-channeling treasures detected the danger and fled in fear.
Despite Zhao Shanling not being there, not only was the Death Reign’s might not compromised, but it was even able to display its terrifying might to the fullest.
As the Death Reign floated deeper into the valley, defensive wards rapidly dissipated one after another.
Qi Bailu stood among a dozen powerful experts from the Tool Sect, his expression grim and his eyes glittering with a hard light. “Still haven’t found that traitor?”
The powerful experts around him struggled to control their respective spiritual tools. Sweat constantly rolled down their strained faces.
Meanwhile, the Death Reign continued to press forward.
“Sectmaster!” A person from the Tool Sect said with a soft voice. “We just learned that Elder Zhen is also searching for that traitor. She’s well-versed in the practice of spatial power. Perhaps she’ll be able to locate that traitor in the Realm of Unbounded Desolation.”
“My junior martial sister’s attainments in the practice of spatial power are indeed at the peak-level in the Domain of the Falling Stars, but that traitor... isn’t worse than her.” After a moment of hesitation, Qi Bailu added, “Furthermore, the Realm of Unbounded Desolation covers such a vast territory. Even though she is extremely skilled at using spatial power, it will be very difficult to conduct a thorough search of the entire Realm of Unbounded Desolation within a short period of time.
“Inform the elders to keep looking for that traitor with everything within their power. Once they find any sign of him, report to me immediately!”
“Got it.”
…
The immense soul consciousness of a powerful late Profound realm Qi warrior from the Tool Sect spread out into his surroundings like an ocean. It went deep into the earth and the surrounding extinct volcanoes to conduct an inch-by-inch scan.
All of a sudden, something intruded into his soul perception range, which had filled the sky and covered the earth.
His attention was immediately caught by it.
A curious object that was invisible to the naked eye appeared in the distant night sky.
In a flash, he arrived in that area.
A puzzled look appeared in his eyes as he began to examine the Heaven Eye that had somehow floated to this area with his soul power.
At that moment, a wisp of clear awareness came from within it, which said, “Please come with me, Senior. I heard people talking about the Death Reign and Zhao Shanling!”