Mo Tianji went on. “Therefore, it is very much possible for the Lan Clan to make a comeback. But the Lan Clan, after their comeback, will abandon their old customs. This lesson is sufficiently severe for them to do that. As such, the future Lan Clan will also be the most difficult to deal with. It is said that tigers are fearsome, but tigers have their lairs. As long as you avoid their lairs, everything is fine. On the other hand, the roaming pack of wolves is the most terrifying… Because you never know where they may be lurking.”

“Not to mention that there’s even a fearsome alpha among this pack of wolves!” Mo Tianji raised his head slightly, his head somewhat tilted to the side as he smiled at Lan Buhui. He went on impassively. “A ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist!”

“Therefore, Duxing, should you be able to leave here alive, if you have the opportunity to, even if you must give up a heaven-sent chance of dealing with the other clans, you must destroy completely the Lan Clan who is on the brink of rising from the ashes!”

“Because the Lan Clan has already been roused by us while the other clans are still in deep sleep. However, it’s impossible for the Lan Clan to alert them because once they do, the Lan Clan themselves would be finished…”

“Exactly.” Lan Buhui nodded with a smile. “If they were to really get wind of my plans, they definitely wouldn’t mind devouring the Lan Clan at the same time that they devour the Li Clan!”

There was a small smile on Mo Tianji’s face as he said, “But when you reach a certain point where you’re at your wits’ end, you will still tell them. Perhaps at that point, the other eight clans would be alerted because of you. If that happens, there would be no end in sight for this war of the Nine Heavens. In the foreseeable future, there would definitely be no way of quelling the chaos. We will have no choice but to use pure martial strength to, bit by bit, wear down, conquer and kill!”

“Therefore…” There was a smile on Mo Tianji’s face. “Should you survive, you must destroy the Lan’s first!”

Gu Duxing nodded slowly. “I’ve committed that to memory! If I get the chance, the first thing to do is to completely wipe out the Lan Clan!”

Lan Buhui clapped. “Great insight! Great deviousness! Great scheme! Great thinking!”

He let out four sighs of praise in succession. Every word was sincere and from the bottom of his heart.

“The Li Clan is no longer a threat. The Super Clans gathering to attack the Li Clan this time is truly suspicious. By right, the Li Clan shouldn’t have been this rash. Yet they committed such an error all of a sudden… But no matter what, the Li Clan is doomed this time!”

There was a contemplative look in Mo Tianji’s eyes.

He was wondering — Could the Li Clan’s current circumstances have been single-handedly planned and pushed into action by Chu Yang?

“Once the Li Clan is destroyed, each of the Super Clans will definitely split the Li Clan’s resources among themselves and devour them… This critical moment is a heaven-sent chance!”

There was a hint of regret in Mo Tianji’s eyes. “If I were able to plan this, I can guarantee that the eight clans will definitely break out in chaos. What a shame…”

“It’s ‘seven clans’!” Lan Buhui corrected him. “The Lan Clan will not participate in the fight for benefits.”

Mo Tianji replied impassively, “Even if the Lan Clan has already been maimed… When the time comes to split the benefits, it’s not up to you, the Elder Master, to decide whether or not the clan takes part in it.”

He smiled mockingly. “I have ten thousand ways to make you, the Elder Master who says that he is not going to be part of the fight, join the fight!”

Lan Buhui was taken aback. He mused for a moment before he slowly replied, “I believe that! You are indeed capable of it. What a pity that you no longer have the chance to.”

There was a strange look of amusement in Mo Tianji’s eyes as he stared at Lan Buhui. For quite a long while, he did not speak.

Lan Buhui asked, “What are you looking at?”

Shaking his head, Mo Tianji let out a soft laugh. The expression on his face suddenly relaxed somewhat, becoming even more composed and at ease. “Elder Lan, in the last hundred thousand years of history in the Nine Heavens, has there ever been a case of any of the Nine Tribulations Sword Masters or the Nine Tribulations perishing before they were able to unite the Nine Heavens?”

Lan Buhui’s countenance turned grim. “Never!”

Mo Tianji chuckled, his expression unbelievably composed and at ease. “Neither have I.”

Lan Buhui suddenly had a pressing urge to turn back and look behind him.

But he forcefully suppressed this urge of his.

This might be Mo Tianji’s psychological tactic!

He mustn’t be tricked!

Mo Tianji laughed softly. “The fate of the Nine Tribulations is in the hands of the heavens! What the heavens have decided cannot be altered or defied! Therefore, the Nine Tribulations will not die. Even if there are crises, they will definitely be neutralized, turning a crisis into auspice instead! Elder Lan, do you agree with me?”

Lan Buhui nodded slowly. The white hair on his crown seemed to gleam an even brighter silver. He replied in a deep voice, “Before this, that has certainly been the case… But there’s a precondition to that, which is that before the Nine Tribulations grow to their full potential, not once were their identities ever exposed. However, your identities have already been exposed, and to me at that!”

“Secondly, the Nine Tribulations are the way they are because the abilities of all nine basically progress evenly! Which is to say that since you are a first-grade Supreme Martial Artist, then the strongest among you will not exceed third-grade. The moment this gap is widened, the gap between your hearts will also widen. Therefore, your overall strength as a team is nothing more than just this.”

“Even with just a hand, I can easily handle such a level of strength!”

“Thirdly, the past Nine Tribulations have never once faced a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist under circumstances such as these!” Lan Buhui went on dispassionately. “Therefore, it’s better that you continue the original topic and finish what you want to say instead.”

Mo Tianji chuckled and replied, “I believe strongly in the fact that the Nine Tribulations will not die. Therefore, even though there isn’t any hope, I have been buying us time all this while. I will take everything that I can get.”

“At this point, it has already been three hours since you arrived here! Even the sun is up.”

Mo Tianji looked at Lan Buhui rather mockingly. “I am capable of destroying the entire Lan Clan within the span of a breath. And now, within three hours… What can happen?”

Lan Buhui’s expression changed. “What do you mean?”

Mo Tianji replied gracefully, “Nothing much. I just want to tell you that the Nine Tribulations… truly don’t die!”

Lan Buhui’s body turned rather stiff. He had already secretly gathered all his energy.

Although he didn’t believe him, nor did he detect anyone’s presence behind him, there was simply too much assurance in Mo Tianji’s words. He couldn’t afford to be inattentive against the unexpected.

Amidst the calm silence, Mo Tianji suddenly smiled at Lan Buhui. Lan Buhui could sense clearly the pity in Mo Tianji’s smile and couldn’t help but tense up.

Mo Tianji suddenly gathered his strength and shouted, “Boo!”

Lan Buhui instinctively flipped into the air and spun, using all his energy to protect himself. He turned around instantly, as though ripping the dimension, much like he was facing a formidable foe.

Then, he heard Mo Tianji burst into laughter. “Haha… So a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist is also susceptible to a jump scare… Hahaha… Being able to witness this scene before I die is truly gratifying.”

Lan Buhui’s complexion turned purple right away. As if there was anyone outside the door? The coast was completely clear!

Turning back, he saw Mo Tianji and Gu Duxing still standing where they were, both of them sporting mocking smiles on their faces.

Lan Buhui took a deep breath and said with a smile, “As expected of the brains of the Nine Tribulations. Even I was almost fooled by you.”

He secretly reminded himself in his heart —”You must not be tricked again. This kid opposite you is too cunning.”

To think he actually dared to use such a childish trick on a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist. What was the hardest to come by was that his expression had been absolutely convincing, with a kind of total assurance that reinforcements had arrived and that the situation was completely within his control…

Mo Tianji’s expression was calm, collected and at ease. His complexion was ruddy. Smiling, he said, “There’s no need for Elder to take it to heart. Anyone, so long as they are human, would react this way. After all, you and I are enemies, not allies.”

Lan Buhui could only smile wryly.

But the very next moment, he felt something amiss.

Mo Tianji’s expression had changed. From a calm and collected, composed and at ease expression, it suddenly changed, becoming extremely strange. Then, his entire countenance and self relaxed, as though turning into a puddle of mud. It seemed as if he had released every bit of pressure on himself during this most desperate moment. Letting out a long breath, he looked outside the door and said, “You’re finally here… I almost couldn’t hang in there anymore.”

Lan Buhui’s first reaction was to be frightened out of his wits!

He spun around like a hurricane!

He had gathered all his energy earlier and slowly dispersed it after realizing that nothing had happened. But he had only just dispersed it when Mo Tianji actually showed such an expression, as though a heavy load had been lifted off his shoulders…

At once, he gathered his energy again. The forcefulness of his action made tremors go through even himself.

Someone who could make Mo Tianji relax like that even when facing a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist… Who could it be?

In this moment of him turning around, Mo Tianji and Gu Duxing suddenly struck out forcefully!

All four palms of the two men struck out at the same time. However, it wasn’t to attack Lan Buhui. Instead, they were aimed at each other!

Their bodies jerked for a moment before being thrown out lightning quick in two different directions! The moment they moved, their bodies merged with their swords. Two rays of brilliant light shot out, one toward the east and the other toward the west!

As swift as the wind!

This, as expected, happened in the briefest of moments.

Lan Buhui was still in the midst of turning toward the south!

This was the one and only chance of escape that Mo Tianji had created after saying so much, bluffing, and incessant sounding out!

Earlier, even though Lan Buhui had been tricked into turning around, he was in a state where he was fully prepared. Therefore, that couldn’t be considered an opportunity at all. In fact, it could even be said to be a trap.

But right after Lan Buhui was tricked, Mo Tianji subsequently tricked him once more with just a few words!

This was what one truly called being caught off-guard!

Tricking someone once wasn’t difficult. But tricking him again right after he had just been tricked and at a point where he was on the highest alert was no simple task.

When it came to people like Lan Buhui, even tricking him once was a terribly difficult task, much less tricking him in succession!

Yet Mo Tianji had used the same method and the same trick to dupe him twice in the blink of an eye!

While Mo Tianji was certainly reminding and advising Gu Duxing to make preparations in the event something went wrong, his true motive in saying so much was in this final move!

The double deception had both come successively without warning after the groundwork for them was laid to the extreme! Causing a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist to be tricked twice in succession in the blink of an eye!

The second time was the one and only viable path of survival!

Lan Buhui was extremely miserable. From the start, he had been extremely careful to prevent himself from getting tricked. Yet he had still fallen for it in the end, and was even tricked twice in a row by the same method!

During the entire process, Mo Tianji had only changed his expression, bearing and attitude a few times…