My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 707 - Five-Finger Mountain, Will Shattering Fist, Mountains and River Army, Lifeline Divinination - Part 3

Chapter 707 - Five-Finger Mountain, Will Shattering Fist, Mountains and River Army, Lifeline Divinination - Part 3

Mister Mu didn’t know how long had passed when he awoke to the faint sound of dripping, water echoing in the dark.

His entire body ached as though it had been taken apart and reassembled, and worse still was the bone-deep hopelessness that clung to his heart.

He opened his eyes.

A damp, pitch-black cell.

They were deep in the mountains, where the air was cold and the walls were always wet. Condensation dripped from the stone ceiling, making the place feel clammy and miserable.

FWISH! Suddenly, a bright flash lit the room.

A fire flared up in a brazier in the corner. The dry pop of charcoal followed as the flames caught.

A man knelt by the fire, stoking it. Once it was burning steadily, he pulled up a wooden chair and placed it in front of the cell, then sat.

Mister Mu lifted his eyes and his pupils contracted.

“Lord Yu... The Primordial Emperor...”

His voice was bitter beyond words.

The man before him wore an elegant black robe embroidered with subtle silver thread. His hair was neatly combed, his presence noble yet unassuming.

It was Li Yuan.

Li Yuan regarded him calmly.

“Mister Mu,” he said, voice level, “Transcendents live for themselves. No need to throw away your second life just to prove your loyalty.”

Mister Mu’s heart trembled violently.

In that moment, something clicked in his mind.

He asked, bitterly, “Sovereign Ye...”

He hadn’t finished the sentence when Li Yuan cut him off with a quiet, “I killed him.”

Mister Mu froze. Then, slowly, he started to laugh.

A hollow, broken, bitter laugh.

“I thought I was clever,” he rasped. “Thought I was playing the game... Turns out I’ve been dancing in someone else’s palm the whole damn time. Ha...hahaha...”

His laughter cracked and wheezed, dissolving into dry sobs.

He had power. He had strategy. In his past life, he had been a man of consequence. In this one, he’d planned to go even further—rule from the shadows, command from behind the curtain.

And yet, in the end...he was just a clown.

“Nothing but a fool,” he laughed. “A pathetic little clown...”

He kept laughing, even as tears spilled from his eyes.

Li Yuan didn’t interrupt. He knew Mister Mu had misunderstood something, but he didn’t bother correcting him. He simply glanced toward the dark corridor, as if ready to leave.

Before going, though, he asked quietly, “So. Do you want to live? Or do you want to die?”

“Who doesn’t want to live?” Mister Mu muttered.

Li Yuan nodded. “Then do you know what you have to do?”

Mister Mu’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, each word deliberate.

“I pledge myself to you, my master.”

The man, once proud and cunning, finally bowed his head.

Li Yuan reached out and patted him lightly on the head.

“Good. Now, go offer your loyalty with action.”

Mister Mu replied, “I know where the wolf riders are stationed. I can strike first, myself. Kill half, let the other half escape. Word will spread through the Phantom Camp like wildfire, they’ll all know I’ve betrayed them.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

One month later.

A remote wolf rider encampment.

These riders had come from the north, lying low in the Central Plains while raiding the countryside and quietly executing secret orders from the Phantom King.

Their ability to establish themselves here, deep in enemy territory, wasn’t due to military might alone. It was because the northern Phantom Camp had a powerful support network embedded in the Central Plains, a vast information web and financial backing, all courtesy of a merchant guild once overseen by Huyan Hai’s third uncle.

At that moment, three dark figures appeared several hundred meters from the camp.

The figure in the center came to a halt, while the two flanking him pulled down their hoods, revealing their faces.

One was Mister Mu. The other was Tuoba Yin.

Of the three transcendent foes who had escaped that night, only one truly got away. Two had died. Tuoba Yin had been captured alive.

And it was Tang Nian who had handled all of them.

Now, Tuoba Yin had made the same choice as Mister Mu, surrender.

They were here to offer proof of their loyalty.

The two moved out, entering the camp and launching a brutal assault. When enough of the wolf riders had been killed, they pulled back, deliberately letting a portion escape. Then they returned to Li Yuan.

He watched them approach, blood still wet on their robes. He smiled.

“You’ve earned my trust. Come. Let’s talk.”

Mister Mu and Tuoba Yin both exhaled in relief and followed Li Yuan into the forest.

As for the wolf riders they had allowed to flee, none made it far. Tang Sect disciples had already been stationed along the escape routes. Every single rider was slaughtered, without exception.

Back at the Tang Sect, Mister Mu and Tuoba Yin, having delivered their pledges of loyalty, knew there was no turning back. They laid everything on the table for Li Yuan.

They spoke of their mission, the source of their powers, and most crucially the location of the Phantom King.

“Huyan Hai was known in the Great Yu Dynasty as Emperor Yu Lie,” Mister Mu explained.

“Yu Lie, aside from mastering the imperial breathing method, developed his own combat style, Blazing Blade Arts. He taught these to other powerful warriors, and when they trained, they were instructed to visualize him. Over time, they reached the realm of the transcendent themselves, wielding the skills you’ve seen, Blazing Dance of the Land, and Blade Demon Sever the Head.

“Yu Lie knew he had stolen something from you, a gate, and that you would come for him. He also killed the envoy you sent, so the grudge was sealed. For years now, he’s been laying out his own strategy.

“My true mission wasn’t to destroy the Tang Sect, but to uncover the lifeline of the southern lands. Once I located it, I was to sever it. That would cut off the flow of Qi to every southern cultivator. Without power, your strongest defenders would become helpless prey.

“It’s a classic maneuver. Draw the tiger from the mountain, and burn the pot from underneath.”

Li Yuan listened silently, his expression unreadable.

Then, out of nowhere, he asked, “Tell me about the gate. How is it?”

Mister Mu replied, “Yu Lie says that with that gate, the Great Wasteland can become a sanctuary for all beasts. And it seems to be true. There’s a so-called Wolf God, really just a reborn cultivator who woke up inside the body of a wolf...then reached transcendence again.”

Li Yuan nodded slowly, then asked again, “How does Yu Lie compare to me?”

Mister Mu shook his head. “His methods run deep, very deep. When you said Tuoba Yin hadn’t mastered those skills properly...you were right. But the version Tuoba Yin learned came directly from Yu Lie. It’s entirely possible that Yu Lie himself has already reached the level you described, the version that’s perfected.”

Li Yuan gave a small nod, then fell into thoughtful silence.

Originally, Li Yuan had planned to kill both Mister Mu and Tuoba Yin once he got what he needed out of them.

As for their so-called pledges of loyalty, they were just bait meant to give the two traitors a sense of security, to coax the truth out of them. People who offer up a proof of loyalty usually convince themselves they’ve been accepted, that they’re trusted.

Meanwhile, the Tang Sect had publicly declared that every single intruder had been killed. That meant the Phantom Camp would naturally assume that none of their secrets, nor the location of their encampments, had been compromised.

Li Yuan could then exploit that information gap to devastating effect.

It wasn’t some elaborate scheme. Just a casual tactic, the kind of instinctive move that came with age and experience.

But now, he saw something more in these two.

They knew how to teach. They understood how this new path of power worked, how to forge weapons with Qi, and how to divine the lifelines beneath the land.

Why not take advantage of that? Open a new school. Pass the knowledge down. Build a legacy.

And who would they teach?

Why ask?

Of course, that was him.

“From today on, the two of you will follow me.” Li Yuan said. Then he smiled and asked casually, “Mister Mu, any personal hobbies?”

Mister Mu hurried to answer, “Oh, just the usual, music, chess, calligraphy...”

Before he could finish, Li Yuan smoothly cut in, “Music, chess, poetry, wine, and women. A true gentleman appreciates them all, no?”

The atmosphere had finally eased, and Mister Mu smiled as well. “Naturally. Though time has not been kind...and in this second life, I find I’ve grown rather attached to living. One can only struggle to carve out a place in this chaotic era.”

Li Yuan clapped and called out, “Yue Ru, bring wine and a chessboard! Mister Mu and I will drink and play a few rounds.”

Mister Mu had no idea just how valuable he still was. He had been dragged back from the edge of death, and now he rushed to stand, bowing alongside Tuoba Yin.

“We are ready to serve the Sect Master unto death.” Then, with a bitter smile, he added, “But please, grant us the right to receive the blessings of the mountains and rivers.”

He knew all too well that only by conducting a formal bestowal ritual, symbolically staking their allegiance in the south, could they fully sever ties with the north.

A woman didn’t serve two husbands. A man wouldn’t serve two lords.

He’d defected. That meant real, irreversible betrayal. Not that he had much loyalty to Yu Lie anyway. He’d only gone to the Great Wasteland because of that old nursery rhyme. His ties to Yu Lie had always been shallow at best.

Li Yuan replied calmly, “In time.”

Just then, someone ran in from the distance. It was Tang Xingyi, one of his new maids.

She glanced at Mister Mu and Tuoba Yin, both standing stiffly and awkwardly at Li Yuan’s side, trying their best to look invisible.

Li Yuan said, “Speak.”

Tang Xingyi bowed and reported, “News from the north. There’s been upheaval in the Great Zhou. The Li Clan is in chaos. Li Tianshi has slain his elder brother, Li Chengxian, and under the protection of the Lamented Faith Sect has imprisoned his own father.

“He’s now rapidly consolidating power and preparing to take full control of the Great Zhou as its new regent.” Tang Xingyi paused, then added, “Li Tianshi has sent a letter. He says he dares not claim the throne. He is willing to merge the Great Zhou into the Tang Sect and swears eternal loyalty to the ancestor.”