Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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As the entire plan neared its launch, the group on Turtle Ridge Island found themselves surprisingly relaxed.
This was a testament to Old Dog Bai’s abilities. While the group was discussing emergency measures and evacuation routes, they had reserved time to scout the most suitable locations on Turtle Ridge Island for setting up auxiliary formations, runes, and evacuation artifacts. However, Old Dog Bai, the mountain god, simply provided the locations, saving them considerable effort.
As a result, their previously packed work schedule suddenly had plenty of free time. Even Xiao Yao’s Illusionary Star Compass was only used for two or three repetitions, without being used up at all. Xiao Yao thus had so much energy.
Therefore, the special operations team spent their free time exploring and familiarizing themselves with the environment, while the rest of the time was used for serious “drills.” These drills, though called drills, didn’t actually have a fixed procedure.
The methods of the mystical world were endless, and no one knew what the people arriving on the island tonight or tomorrow would do; besides the possible accidents predicted by the Illusionary Star Chart, the biggest variable was the four little demons sent by the various local demon management bureaus.
Xiao Yao and his team originally had more than three feasible versions of their plan, and those involving the little demons were backup versions. After all, when the various local demon management bureaus sent them to help, they couldn’t be sure if Bai Ju would be able to subdue them… Subduing them meant placing this power outside of conservative estimates; conversely, the interference of minor demons was also considered in the previous feasible versions.
Now, Bai Ju had steadily brought the several minor demons under his command, but due to the short timeframe, the means to deploy them in battle were still limited.
Therefore, today’s exercise became a simulated training exercise of coordinated combat between the special operations team and the minor demons. Due to the limited space on Turtle Ridge Island, and Bai Ju’s concern for the upcoming opponents, large-scale training in the bay was not feasible; so after careful consideration, everyone unanimously decided to conduct the illusion training in Xiao Yao and Bai Ju’s courtyard.
Xiao Yao’s Illusion Star Disc was a readily available illusion-inducing artifact. However, the Illusionary Star Disc alone cannot create an illusionary realm for everyone to practice in. Coincidentally, there was also a Four Symbols Exorcising Disc here that had gained intelligence and condensed spirit.
The original batch of Four Symbols Exorcising Discs, in addition to their high magical power, could also legitimately summon the totem images of the four divine beasts— Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise— to guard the four directions, detaching from the disc itself. The locked area would become a separate sealed space, with a round heaven and a square earth, forming its own unique atmosphere.
Xiao Chu Jiu, who had just condensed spirit, did not have this ability, but its ability to summon the four symbols was much more reliable than the other discs in the same batch. Combined with the abilities of Xiao Yao’s Illusionary Star Disc, it was not impossible for it to create an illusionary realm that people could use.
In the deserted courtyard, following a subtle fluctuation, they entered a space that turned out to be a simulated Turtle Ridge Island.
Bai Ju stood on the sea, gazing at the former “Turtle Ridge Island” from afar, and raised his arm. The falcon Lei Wo, circling above him, let out a long cry, folded its wings, and soared through the sky, heading straight for the black mist that suddenly appeared above Turtle Ridge Island.
“The trajectory could be a little more streamlined.”
Bai Ju frowned slightly, assessing Lei Wo’s combat condition. He felt there had been some improvement and then instructed the flying corpse Qing Lan behind him: “Blood Corpse Duck Puppet Blade Technique, first move, try it.”
Qing Lan nodded, silently drawing his sword and taking a step forward. A dark blade flashed through the air, and three black skeletons struggled to rise from the sea in front of her, their piercing screams sounding like eerie wails.
A hint of approval flashed in Bai Ju’s eyes as he watched Qing Lan sheath his sword and silently traverse the sea. Segments of decaying bone appeared and disappeared where he stepped, effectively forming a bridge for him to move across the water. It seemed quite reliable.
After all, he had only just begun training; so he could only summon three skeletons, and they weren’t yet as hideous as their fleshy forms… If he cultivated to his peak, Qing Lan would be able to stand on the sea and wield … Hundreds of counterfeit Qing Lan swords would then emerge from the sea within a ten-mile radius.
The two Weasel spirits followed Qu Lang directly.
Liu Wangshu and Liu Yingxing, as guardian spirits, didn’t possess many violent methods. Although their combat strength was considerable, they had many weaknesses, and acting alone would likely be disadvantageous; they could possess members of the special operations team at opportune moments and cooperate with them in attacks.
Xiao Yao’s Illusionary Star Disc combined with the Four Phases Suppressing Evil Disc could only simulate the situation of a sealed-off outbreak, at most adding the evacuation of tourists; it couldn’t predict all their opponents. Therefore, Bai Ju observed from the side while simultaneously controlling the sinister aura… The forces surged left and right, creating trouble.
By simulating this several times, they could roughly determine the minimum number of people needed for maintaining stability and evacuation during the battle.
Old Dog Bai carefully considered the situation, estimating that the other side was not benevolent. Since they had attempted to create a large-scale bloodshed in previous operations, they were quite likely to use the crowd to divert their forces this time as well. Turtle Ridge Island was a tourist destination, and canceling flights abruptly would only alert them. Therefore, after much discussion, their core mission this time was to extract as much information as possible while ensuring no civilian casualties.
However, Bai Ju was still uneasy.
The clues obtained from Haiyin Castle indicated that the other side had been planning this for a long time, and everyone… He didn’t know how many spies they had planted on the Chinese mainland, or whether they would seize the opportunity to stir up trouble. Therefore, Old Dog Bai’s goal was to protect all the people while inflicting heavy damage on the enemy.
He didn’t need to take half their lives, but at least he wanted to prevent them from having the strength to do anything else. With his eyelashes slightly lowered, Bai Ju wasn’t sure how strong his opponent was, nor how much tolerance the Chinese martial arts world had for his strength, but he couldn’t let Xiao Yao be in such an uncertain situation.
He’d see how things went. Bai Ju slowly exhaled, feeling that his old bones, dormant for so many years, were too good to be true.
….
The drills were repeated again and again. Bai Ju and Xiao Yao weren’t often together; their combat styles were more inclined towards individual combat, lacking the coordination of Qu Lang’s special operations team. In actual operation, they were better able to demonstrate their strength in solo combat.
In the continuous simulations, Xiao Yao was the overall commander for the first couple of rounds, but later the command was gradually transferred to Old Dog Bai.
Through repeated practice, Bai Ju gradually figured out the abilities and cooperative advantages of each person. As the most knowledgeable member of the team, he was clearly more suitable for command than Xiao Yao, and his actions were more flexible.
In this way, the special operations team and the four little monsters also got closer to Bai Ju.
Time passed slowly. Even though Xiao Yao’s Illusionary Star Compass could appropriately alter the flow of time in the illusion, by the time they had completed a dozen or twenty drills and made a summary, it was already four o’clock in the afternoon.
The earliest flight to Turtle Valley Island would arrive on the island at eight-thirty that evening, giving them about four hours of free time; but when new tourists arrived on the island, they would have to be ready to start fighting at any time.
“Hey Xiao, are you sure they won’t get advance notice?” Qu Lang asked, not even looking up as he ate a bowl of seafood noodles made by Xiao Yao. “Even though we’re working very fast, focusing our operations on just two or three days, and we’ve laid out plenty of diversionary tactics, I’m still a little worried.”
Xiao Yao, under Bai Ju’s resentful gaze, mouthed, “Three times a month.”
Bai Ju pouted, “…You’ve already done it twice.”
Qu Lang paused for a moment, not hearing a reply, then looked up to see the two lovers exchanging flirtatious glances again.
“I’m full…” Qu Lang awkwardly put down his bowl, having even downed the soup.
Xiao Yao now had time to address Qu Lang’s concerns. He sat with Bai Ju on the sofa behind the coffee table, tapping the back of the sofa twice with his finger, and said, “Actually, even if we alert them, it’s fine. We’re short on time, but they don’t necessarily have much more.”
“Let’s put it this way, based on their movements, we can assume that part of their target is what Bai Ge possesses.” Xiao Yao rested his chin on Bai Ju’s shoulder, feeling somewhat weary after manipulating the Illusionary Star Disc for so long, “However, from the time Bai Ge took over the Demon Management Bureau until now, not much time has passed, yet two or three incidents have occurred, each one raising the threat level of Bai Wang.”
“They’re trying to use the human mystical world’s suspicion of Brother Bai to trip him up.” Xiao Yao tugged at a strand of hair on Bai Ju’s cheek and smiled. “Brother Bai, don’t you think so?”
Bai Ju nodded and added, “Yao Yao is right. Judging from their deployment on Turtle Valley Island, it’s not hard to see that they’re playing the long game. Logically speaking, a force that has been biding its time for so long shouldn’t be in a hurry to cause me trouble. They must have seen that I’ve made contact with the mystical world, and that’s when they started to get anxious and immediately took action to stop me.”
“In the six months between when I regained consciousness and when I came down the mountain, nothing was directed at me; in fact, they didn’t want to alert me in the first place.”
The mountain range where Bai Ju was in seclusion was on the edge of Luocheng. Apart from the area within his barrier, the rest of the area had become tourist attractions. Although there were peak and off-peak seasons throughout the year, the number of people was always considerable. If one had to say, if they wanted to cause bloodshed, it would have been more appropriate for them to strike while he was on the mountain.
After all, at that time, he was severely out of touch with the times and had no idea about his own strength level. If he were to cause trouble, he could easily be blamed for several things.
Bai Ju said, then changed the subject and ruffled Xiao Yao’s hair again: “But judging from the Sun Daiyang incident, even if they weren’t targeting me, they would have done something similar soon. In that case, the target would be Yao Yao.” After all, it had been planned for so long, and gradually guiding Sun Daiyang’s mind to change was a slow process. They even used the red fox as a breakthrough point, which means that the other party had a purpose for targeting Xiao Yao from the beginning.
“As for me, perhaps I was their original next target,” Bai Ju said. “The most reasonable guess is that they originally wanted to target Yao Yao first, get enough, accumulate power, and then target me.”
But the old dog Bai either didn’t appear at all, or when he did, he was tied to the human bigwig Xiao Yao, a buy-one-get-one-free deal.
“I bet they don’t have the resources to deal with the clues we left behind.”
“They’re impatient and determined to obtain the inheritance of Haiyin Castle.” Bai Ju lowered his eyes. “Our job is just to make them break a tooth before they take a bite.”
The author has something to say:
The author is working overtime, started writing at midnight…fell asleep halfway through qvq
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