After all, once he escapes, he will have to change his name and hide in a foreign land. The Jiang Clan and the New Dao Alliance would never find him!
Moreover, since heâs already decided to flee, why not take this opportunity to exact a little revenge before leaving? For example, by exposing Li Yunxiaoâs ceremonial preparations on South Spirit Peak to Gao Tai, who would then inform the Evil Kingâs faction...
Once the Evil Kingâs faction realizes, they would likely end up setting a trap for Li Yunxiao, possibly achieving the effect of using anotherâs hand to kill!
This is not a bad idea.
The plan is slowly forming in his mind...
Of course, thereâs still the issue that once Li An flees, the people at Evil Spirit Lake... most of them will likely fall.
But Li An doesnât have any attachment to the so-called "Evil Spirit Lake," and he doesnât care about the survival of those people at all.
If they die, so be it.
When the time comes to flee, he will see if he can take Li Shuangshuang with him; if itâs convenient, heâll take her, if not, and she dies, Li An wonât concern himself further.
Each generation has its fortune, and if Li An can give her a hand, heâs already done his utmost. Expecting him to sacrifice himself for distant descendants? Thatâs just wishful thinking.
If it were Li An who was on the verge of death, his descendants might not risk their lives to save him, either.
...
After Gao Tai left, Li An hurriedly started crafting talismans and Rank Four arrays.
What he currently lacks most, in fact, are magical artifacts. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, itâs embarrassing not to have a single Rank Four magical treasure.
So, he could only put more effort into talismans and arrays.
Of course, he also prepared part of the arrays needed by Jiang Shangfeng and Shee Anqi, after all, he still needed to trick them into giving him more spirit stones, showing some results was necessary.
...
Three months later.
"Li Chengwang from the New Dao Alliance, here to meet Daoist Gu--"
On this day, Li Chengwang arrived, just as Gao Tai said, seeking Li Anâs help in crafting arrays.
This surprised Li An. Could it be that Li Chengwang also joined the Evil King and is Gao Taiâs inside man?
But upon closer inspection, Li Chengwang showed no signs of Evil Qi, so Li An immediately realized that Li Chengwang was certainly not the mole!
For one, someone as shrewd as Gao Tai wouldnât trust anyone who hadnât become an evil cultivator and wasnât bound to him on the same ship.
Moreover, based on Li Anâs experience, real spies usually hide very deep. Gao Tai had already informed Li An, so anyone coming to ask him to craft arrays couldnât be the spy; only then could Li An gain the New Dao Allianceâs trust with his arrays.
The real mole is someone else.
After some polite conversation, Li Chengwang stated his purpose: "Iâve come today with a request: thereâs an array Iâd like Daoist Guâs assistance in crafting--"
He stated his requirements to Li An and then said, "Please, Daoist Gu, handle this array with care. As long as you complete it within a month, the New Dao Alliance will purchase it at double the market price!"
Li Anâs heart fluttered; indeed, this was a prime opportunity to make money.
He agreed to the task.
...
Li An instructed Li Shuangshuang to closely monitor news about the evil cultivators and South Peak Continent while he calmly focused on crafting the arrays.
He started with the one needed by Li Chengwang and, as Gao Tai advised, left a "backdoor" within the array.
Of course, besides the backdoor for Gao Tai, he also left one for himself.
Although Li An had decided to escape and might not encounter these arrays again, his principle was always to have multiple contingencies!
Additionally, he sacrificed quite a few "De Fu Pills" to enlist Shangguan Xiaoxiaoâs help to ensure these arrays werenât easily detected by laymen.
A month later, Li Chengwang arrived as agreed and took the array, giving Li An a total of two thousand top-grade spirit stones.
Not long after Li Chengwang left, Gao Tai came over.
"Daoist Guâs skill in array crafting is indeed remarkable..."
Upon meeting, Gao Tai promptly congratulated with a wide smile, "Congratulations, Daoist friend. I suspect the New Dao Alliance will ask you to craft more arrays in the future..."
Li An was surprised and asked, "More?"
"Is one Rank Four array not enough?"
Gao Tai shook his head, "Limited vision, limited vision!"
"Daoist Gu, what the New Dao Alliance plans this time is significant. For substantial undertakings, merely two Rank Four arrays certainly arenât enough... Come, come, this is a map. Quickly come to study it with me. Most likely, the arrays theyâll ask you to craft next will be placed in these locations, so familiarizing yourself in advance will make crafting easier later."
Saying this, he took out a piece of jade, infused it with spiritual power, and a projection of a mountain range appeared before Li An.
Li An couldnât help but curse in his heart; Gao Tai is really as cunning as a fox. Clearly, he had this map from the start, yet didnât inform Li An.
Instead, he had Li An craft two peripheral arrays first.
Only after Li An did so did Gao Tai fully trust him, revealing the map and giving Li An access to core information.
Li An did not point this out but instead carefully studied the map.
Yet as his gaze fixed upon it, a sudden realization struck his mind!
This mountain range, he... is very familiar with!
"Supreme Profound Mountain Range!"
Li An exclaimed inwardly.
The Supreme Profound Mountain Range is a vast wilderness within the Primordial Spirit Realm, home to countless ferocious spirit beasts and chaotic death traps. Entering cultivators face nine deaths for every life.
But it also hides numerous opportunities!
In a past life, finding no success breaking through to Nascent Soul, Li An risked his life and ventured in with a few fellow cultivators. There, they stumbled upon a secret realm and obtained the Life Nourishing Immortal Skill...