Chapter 153 – Bait
“Brother Xuanyuan, you have to help me catch that big bad guy! He scared me!” Mochou tried to look intimidating, but instead she only looked more adorable.
“Haha, I will! Don’t worry.” Xuanyuan barked out a laugh and ran even faster with Mochou.
“Xuanyuan, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” Greed said.
“What is it?” Xuanyuan asked.
“The Fire of Red Lotus hides inside the Red Mountain and it’s very close to the sect. There are many talents in the sect, but why has no one ever found the fire? The only explanation is that the fire is extremely cunning!” Greed said, “It will be extremely dangerous to go into the palace and catch it. It might be able to kill everyone if we are not careful.”
“Just say what you want to say already!” Xuanyuan was slightly unsettled.
“There’s only one way to lure the Fire of Red Lotus out, but it requires bait.” Greed said slowly, “It means using Mochou as bait. The Fire has already sensed that she’s the Body of a Thousand Spirits, and it will certainly want to take over her body. Her body is an extremely tempting vessel for the fire.”
“No way! She’s only a child. I won’t put her in danger!” Xuanyuan rejected Greed’s idea without a thought.
“If you don’t devour the Fire of Red Lotus, do you think you will have a chance of defeating Jiang Yitian in three years? It’s extremely vital for your growth. Well, think about it. That’s the only way I can see. If I wasn’t sure that this plan would work, I wouldn’t say anything.”
“Well, there’s a set of top class earth instruments in Youyun Long’s ring. The set was named Frozen Sky. It has gloves, armour, helmet, boots and a jade pendant in the set. It’ll probably help you capture the Fire of Red Lotus. The Water of Heaven will help to enhance its power.”
“You can stay with her at first. Since you aren’t very strong, the Fire will not pay any heed to your presence, but it can’t detect me. The only problem is that the Xian of Fire might sense my existence.”
“That means there’s no guarantee of Mochou’s safety! What if her body gets possessed by the Fire?” Xuanyuan questioned.
“You can use the crystals and source energy you found a few days ago to replicate the Disposition of Nine Locked Dragons. The Disposition will only be activated when the target enters the disposition. It should have the power to control the Fire of Red Lotus. You have everything you need. You just need to make the decision. Don’t forget, you also have the Water of Heaven as support.” Greed said.
“Even so, I can’t risk Mochou’s life.” Xuanyuan was still hesitant.
“Xuanyuan, the only person holding you back, is you. Nothing will go wrong unless you panic and cause the problem. You should have confidence when protecting Mochou. She practiced the Xian class technique that I gave her, so it won’t be that easy to possess her. You’ve made so many preparations leading up to today. You only need to distract the Xian so he doesn’t sense my presence, then the only thing left is a long and gruesome psychological battle. We will see who has the stronger will, you or the Fire of Red Lotus.”
—
When they arrived at the peak of the mountain, from the entrance to the palace, they could feel the unbearable heat burning their faces while the sound of flowing lava deafened them.
“Wait.” The Xian of Fire suddenly said.
“What is it, master Fire?” Xuanyuan asked.
“The Fire of Red Lotus is much smarter than we imagined and would have prepared countermeasures. We shouldn’t try to locate it the same way as before. We should lure it out.” The Xian said sternly.
“Do you have a plan to do that?” Xuanyuan brightened up. It would be the best if they didn’t need to use Mochou as bait.
“Yes. One option would be to use a weaker fighting fire as bait. The Fire of Red Lotus wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to devour it.” The Xian glanced at Xuanyuan, “Another option would be to use a body which it could possess and use to reincarnate. Like Mochou’s Body of a Thousand Spirits, but of course, we’d have to carefully prepare before we use Mochou.”
Xuanyuan couldn’t believe what he just heard. Greed had always been a creature who lacked emotion. It would always tell Xuanyuan to value himself and not care for others. Greed’s suggestion to use Mochou didn’t surprise him, but the Xian of Fire also suggested it. Perhaps this was the only way.
“See, I told you. It all depends on you.” Greed didn’t keep nagging him. It understood how Xuanyuan felt.
Xuanyuan closed his eyes to contemplate his options. At the same time, the Xian of Fire asked Mochou softly, “Mochou, would you help Xuanyuan to catch the bad guy with big eyes? It would mean that you will be used as bait though.”
“Yes! I believe in brother Xuanyuan!” Mochou pouted, like she was embarrassed about crying when she first saw the eyes.
“Xuanyuan, this girl has faith in you. Why don’t you try believing in yourself as much as she believes in you? If you want to protect others, you need to have confidence in your own ability. It was your lack of faith that led to you leaving Guxing in the School of Yuehua. You didn’t believe that you would be able to protect it, so you left it without your protection. Don’t you understand the world by now? If you have strength, you can protect everyone around you; if you are weak, it doesn’t make a difference what actions you take.”
Xuanyuan had made up his mind. He took a deep breath and knelt in front of Mochou, while looking into her eyes.
“Mochou, no matter what, I will protect you. Don’t be afraid. I’ll catch the bad guy.”
“Great! Those eyes made me cry. It’s embarrassing.” Mochou blushed. “What should I do?”
“We’ll wait until I’ve prepared everything.” Xuanyuan chuckled. He turned to the Xian and asked, “Master, what should we do? Where should we prepare the trap?”
“There!” He pointed at a plain area outside the entrance to the palace, “There might be traps inside the palace. It’s too dangerous to go in now. If we set up near the entrance, when Mochou begins to train, she will lure the fire Qi and all the sentient beings towards her. Like that fiery dragon grass, it couldn’t resist attacking Mochou, and was killed by me.”
“Great, I’ll set up the disposition before we begin.” Xuanyuan made up his mind. He took out a block of cold crystal and used the power from the Water of Heaven to carve the markings onto it. The Disposition of Nine Locked Dragons was a Xian class disposition, Xuanyuan would struggle to bring out its full power, even with the help from the Water of Heaven.
“My god, you have a Crystal of Sky and Ice? It is as rare and powerful as some energy sources. If you create the disposition with it, it will be extremely powerful. Combining the disposition and the Water of Heaven, you will be able to control the Fire with ease. You already have everything planned well!” The Xian said appreciatingly.
“It was just luck.” Xuanyuan knew he had no time to waste, and took out nearly ten thousand jin of top class crystal, which was only a small portion of the crystal inside Youyun Long’s ring. This would help him to restore his Qi more conveniently. Without a moment of rest, he began carving the markings for the Disposition of Nine Locked Dragons.
Xuanyuan was soaked with sweat from the work. His exhaustion was starting to show on his creased brows. Mochou was slightly heart-broken to see how hard Xuanyuan was working for her.
“Brother Xuanyuan, I think you should rest, you look so tired. I don’t want you to wear yourself down. We don’t need to catch the bad guy. It’s my fault…” She began tearing up as she spoke. Xuanyuan smiled towards her. He didn’t do this for Mochou’s sake. He wanted, or needed to catch the Fire of Red Lotus. He didn’t deserve Mochou’s tears, he was using her as bait.
“Mochou, we’ve already started and I want to catch the bad guy, not just for you, but also for me. So, don’t cry. It’s not your fault.” Xuanyuan comforted her gently.
Four days later, he was surrounded by several heaps of crystal powder. Only two thousand jin of crystal remained.
“Is this the Disposition of Nine Locked Dragons? This is indeed a talented disciple I have chosen! Even in the sect, there are not many people can make this! Maybe he can really defeat Jiang Yitian in three years.” The Xian was extremely pleased when he thought about Xuanyuan. “The five of us being able to find a disciple like him was a blessing. He’s talented, kind and strong. Jiang Yitian is nothing compared with him!”
Another day quickly passed. The remaining two thousand jin of crystal had transformed into powder as well. Xuanyuan took out another two thousand jin of crystal and continued.
At last, by the end of the day, he finished the markings for the Disposition of Nine Locked Dragons. He was exhausted. However, when he looked at all the marked crystals, he was more determined than ever. He started equipping his new instruments and connected his consciousness with the marked crystals, allowing him to fully control the disposition.
“We’re done. Let’s rest for now, tomorrow I will be in a better condition. Then we’ll begin!” Xuanyuan closed his eyes and started to restore his power with anticipation.