Chapter 494: Stratagem Lockdown
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Invisible Talisman in Mo Wen’s hand still had a lot of strength, retaining at least more than half of its spiritual power. The three of them did not have high cultivation and they only needed to bewitch those ordinary ancient martial art practitioners. So, with just a tiny bit of spiritual power, it was enough to completely turn them invisible. It did not affect the power of the Invisible Talisman by much. Otherwise, Mo Wen would not have been so generous in using it.
The three of them walked to the foot of the city walls. No one had yet discovered them. Both Chen Zi and Zou Guangbo secretly felt surprised. Mo Wen grabbed both of them, one in each hand, and directly flew up the city wall. He brazenly flew past groups of ancient martial art practitioners into the city.
In the end, the ancient martial art practitioners were like blind men stupidly patrolling, not noticing anything out of the ordinary at all. It was as though someone was standing in front of them and they could not see them at all.
Chen Zi, whose tiny hands were clenched tightly, finally gave a sigh of relief, relaxing completely. Although it was somewhat risky, at least they had snuck into the city without being noticed.
Zou Guangbo looked diligently at the ancient martial art practitioners guarding the city. After confirming that they truly had not noticed them, only then did he relax. He felt as though he had been dreaming.
In one line, the three of them entered the city without a sound nor presence.
Intentionless City was the main city in the Qingzhen District. Its size and population were more than five times greater than that of Panli City. The city was bustling with activity. People came and went and the streets were busy. One could see ancient martial art practitioners everywhere.
The population of Intentionless City was at least forty to fifty thousand. Among them, half were ordinary citizens. Although the Sacred Flame Sect controlled the outer city of Intentionless City, they did not dare to simply commit genocide. The battle between sects usually would not affect ordinary folk.
Although people could not leave Intentionless City and no one from outside could enter, inside the city was still bustling with activity. Those who ran businesses continued as usual, those who practiced at home did the same and those playing in the streets did not stop. They were not affected much.
The only effect was that everywhere in Intentionless City, be it the small alleys or main streets, the people seemed to be discussing the battle between the Intentionless Sect and the Sacred Flame Sect. Due to the fact that they could not leave the city, this seemed to have become the most interesting topic of conversation for the citizens of Intentionless City. Many people were speculating whether Intentionless City would be changing owners soon.
Mo Wen and Chen Zi walked through the busy streets. They looked as though they were casually strolling, but in reality, whenever they came across someone talking about the Intentionless Sect, they would stop to inquire more.
They had just entered the city and were unfamiliar with the situation inside. They could only obtain hearsay news from the conversations of the people in the city.
“The members of the Sacred Flame Sect surround the inner city. However, right now, it seems that they have not managed to break through.” Mo Wen looked at Chen Zi beside him. After they had entered the city, Chen Zi had bought a bamboo hat and wore it to prevent others from recognizing her.
Intentionless City was divided into the inner and outer city. The outer city was the main city of Intentionless City. As for the inner city, it was a city within a city. It was the area controlled by the Intentionless Sect. In other words, the inner city was the Intentionless Sect.
“Both the Sacred Flame Sect sect leader Mo Zhi and deputy sect leader Tu Zhuang have come. I’m afraid the situation does not look optimistic.” Chen Zi’s expression was somewhat worried. As expected, the Sacred Flame Sect had arrived in full force. Two of their intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners had both appeared in Intentionless City. They were most probably determined to eliminate the Intentionless Sect.
Mo Wen did not say anything, but his expression was solemn. Intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners were far stronger than those of the beginning stage Golden Elixir realm. Two intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art practitioners were indeed troublesome.
“Young mistress.” Zou Guangbo, who had been gathering intel, returned. He looked around before saying in a low voice, “The intel groups that the Intentionless Sect set up in the outer city have mostly been eradicated by the Sacred Flame Sect. However, a small group of well-hidden intel groups has not been discovered.”
“Did you manage to get in contact with them?” Chen Zi asked.
“I have gotten in contact with them. Does the young mistress want to meet them?” Zou Guangbo asked in a low voice.
Chen Zi sighed deeply, somewhat indecisive. Right now, Intentionless City was all abuzz. Everywhere there were Sacred Flame Sect ancient martial art practitioners. People who were linked to the Intentionless Sect were all in grave danger. Coming into contact with these intel groups without authorization would very likely expose one’s identity.
“Mo Wen, what do you think?” Chen Zi could not make up her mind. She turned her gaze to look at Mo Wen.
“Do they have the ability to investigate the situation in the inner city?” Mo Wen asked with a faint smile.
“They most likely wouldn’t be able to,” Zou Guangbo answered. The inner city had already been completely sealed off. If they wanted to know the situation in the inner city, they could only do so by making their way into the inner city. The members of the intel groups did not have such an ability.
“Since they cannot provide us with any intel of value, then there is no purpose in meeting them. They may all be strays hiding without a master. You meeting with them will undoubtedly increase the chances of them being exposed.” Mo Wen spoke plainly.
Upon hearing this, Chen Zi nodded her head. They had better not meet up with the members of the intel groups, because they had no ability to change the current situation. After all, right now, they had no real usable power. Even if they wanted to save the Intentionless Sect, they did not have the ability.
If there was enough time, she could probably head towards another district and use her identity as the young mistress of the Intentionless Sect to ask for help from the other district factions. But the journey would take at least half a month, and it would also not necessarily succeed. The Intentionless Sect could not afford such a delay.
It wasn’t that the Intentionless Sect did not have good relations with any sect. It was just that she had no confidence that they could offer timely help which would aid the Intentionless Sect in this crucial time.
“What do we do now?” Chen Zi said indecisively.
“You both find an inn and hide. I will infiltrate the inner city and see what the situation is,” Mo Wen said after pondering for a while.
“Are you preparing to infiltrate the inner city? That’s too dangerous.” Chen Zi was shocked. The inner city right now was like a cage. The people inside could not come out. Once the line of defense fell, there would be a slaughter.
“Relax, I don’t do things that I am not confident in doing. It’s not like I am going up against the experts of the Sacred Flame Sect. I am just sneakily infiltrating the inner city, which isn’t a hard thing to do.” Mo Wen laughed. He could sneakily infiltrate the inner city and similarly could sneakily get out. When it came time to escape, most likely no one in the Green Ancient Mystery Dimension could stop him.
“Can you really infiltrate the inner city?” A light twinkled in Zou Guangbo’s eyes. His gaze was fixed on Mo Wen. When he recalled how they had got into Intentionless City and the bizarre incident where none of the Sacred Flame Sect ancient martial art practitioners noticed them, a sense of hope welled up inside of him.
If Mo Wen could infiltrate the inner city and rescue the ancient martial art practitioners from the Intentionless Sect, even if the Intentionless Sect lost the Intentionless City, as long as their people did not die and their heritage continued, they would rise again one day.
Right now, he was not considering the possibility of pushing back the Sacred Flame Sect; it was almost impossible. He only hoped that they could rescue a fraction of the members of the Intentionless Sect and that not all of them would die in battle and cause the sect to perish.
“If I don’t try, how will I know? Let’s see whether I can infiltrate the inner city first.” Mo Wen threw his hands up. He wore a look that said aside from this, he had no other choice. He was not an absolute strong practitioner that could push back the Sacred Flame Sect single-handedly. He could only attempt this sort of thing.
“You find an inn to hide in. Stay low. It’s better if you don’t come outside. If I have news, I will inform you.”
The three of them found an inn. After choosing a more hidden position, Mo Wen left, alone. A storm was brewing right now in the inner city. Strong practitioners had gathered like clouds. It was impossible for him to bring both Chen Zi and Zou Guangbo along.
“I hope he can succeed.” Chen Zi stood before the wooden window. She looked at the sunset in the distance. Her eyes were somewhat sad.
“Young mistress, Mo Wen is really not simple. From what I observed, the things he wants to do usually succeed.” Zou Guangbo stood behind Chen Zi. He did not know how to comfort her. He could only say so. In reality, what he said was not beyond reason. This brat Mo Wen was really somewhat scary. Sometimes, he even doubted whether there was anything the youth could not do. Originally he had despaired, not hoping much for the Intentionless Sect’s future prospects. But after this youth appeared, the hope in his heart grew bigger and bigger. Maybe he could once again create a miracle.
“I hope so. If he manages to save the Intentionless Sect, I believe the sect will be his most loyal power. If that is so, then grandfather will most probably not need to test him.” Chen Zi’s hands clutched the window frame tightly. If Mo Wen could save the Intentionless Sect, that would be the greatest proof of his ability.
Zou Guangbo looked somewhat incredulously at Chen Zi. He did not understand the meaning of her words. But he did not ask much, merely standing quietly behind her.
Mo Wen put his hands behind his back as he casually circled inside the city. He was like a player swaying through the streets. He did not look like someone who was about to do something other people wouldn’t even dare to imagine.
Before, in the inn, Chen Zi had already explained the rough situation to him in detail. The inner city was located at the heart of Intentionless City. It was an ancient building equivalent to a palace. All the while it had been the symbol of power for the Qingzhen District. But as long as a sect controlled the Qingzhen District, they would move into the inner city and rightfully handle the affairs of the Qingzhen District, big and small.
Mo Wen circled a few times in the city until nighttime descended. Only then did he gradually approach the inner city.
From a distance, the inner city was like a palace. Its walls stood tall and made people feel intimidating as they looked at it. The members of the Sacred Flame Sect had already surrounded the inner city. No one was allowed to approach within a thousand meters of the outside of the inner city.
Mo Wen narrowed his eyes slightly and flew up floating onto a large tree. He gazed at the inner city in the distance. He noticed that there was a nebula that blocked his view. He could not see the situation clearly at all.
“Huh! There is actually a stratagem enveloping it.” Mo Wen’s eyes flashed with a look of astonishment. Outside of the inner city, there was actually a stratagem layer set up. The stratagem enveloped the entire inner city. The scene was grand and amazing.
“As expected, the Sacred Flame Sect is really not simple.” Mo Wen felt a sense of caution well up. They had actually used stratagem techniques in a war between ancient martial art sects. The scale of the stratagem was such that if he was caught in it, even his life would be in danger.
The Inner world ancient martial art practitioner sects had such close ties with the Huatian Palace, and also had a certain level of understanding about immortal cultivators. Mo Wen was not surprised that the sects had things like stratagems. Not only was the Huatian Palace a window to becoming an immortal cultivator, but it also acted more like a businessman. As long as there was a sufficient supply of resources, selling a few treasures and stratagem equipment was a very ordinary matter.