Mysterious mirror hanging high

"As expected..." Li Huaiyou sighed, thinking to himself, "In the end, I was a step too late... no, I might be a lot too late."

"So... how should I address you, fellow Daoist?" the cultivator surnamed Qian asked again.

As if waking from a dream, Li Huaiyou quickly replied, "My name is Li Huaiyou."

"I am Qian Tong." Qian Tong smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Li is very clever. He knew to come to Daze Immortal City to find Ji Xiaoyue... If you were the only one who knew this news, you might have actually succeeded."

"Fellow Daoist Li is so eager, it seems that he has an irreconcilable grudge against some prodigy... otherwise he would not be so eager to bet on Ji Xiaoyue, which is almost the only way to break the deadlock."

"After all, the famous Blood Moon Demoness of later generations cultivated the Path of Slaughter. Cultivators who walk this path are often extremely bloodthirsty. When they are blinded by bloodlust, they might even turn on their own relatives."

"Ji Xiaoyue is a double-edged sword; if one is not careful, she may hurt herself."

Li Huaiyou thought to himself, "It's not just one prodigy, but a group of prodigies with the potential to become Golden Immortals..."

He sighed, "If we weren't desperate, who would want to get involved with a murderous maniac like the Blood Moon Demoness? It's just a matter of trying to survive a near-death experience."

"Hehe, it's alright... If the seniors really find Ji Xiaoyue and train her, you might be able to use her in the future."

Qian Tong squinted and smiled, "After all, the purpose of our existence as [Reborn Ones] is to hunt down geniuses for that [Master]!"

"It's a pity that most of the [Reborn] are of mediocre talent. Otherwise, with so much information about secret realms and so much knowledge about various opportunities... why would they need to rely on others? They wouldn't need to resort to the method of one genius against another."

Li Huaiyou remained noncommittal on this matter: "Using a prodigy against a prodigy? That's just a temporary measure. Even if Ji Xiaoyue really grows into the future [Blood Moon Demoness], she may kill prodigies, but isn't she herself a peerless prodigy?"

"Finally, if we are to absolutely carry out the Lord's will, Ji Xiaoyue must also die—but as Fellow Daoist Qian said, Ji Xiaoyue is a double-edged sword. Given her terrifying cultivation speed, if she really becomes a Golden Immortal... which of us reborn individuals could be her match?"

“That’s not necessary.” Qian Tong shook his head: “Fellow Daoist Li, you still know too little.”

"At least as far as I know, those who follow the path of slaughter are not within the scope of the Lord's hunting."

"What?" Li Huaiyou was taken aback.

"Killing intent is ultimately a delusion... In fact, any path related to inner demons and delusions will not be hunted down by us."

Qian Tong listed them in detail: "[Slaughter], [Lust], [Greed], [Fear], [Suspicion], etc..."

"Fellow Daoist Li, think about it carefully. Among the geniuses who have followed these paths related to inner demons and delusions, haven't they all been targeted by the [Reborn Ones], no matter how outstanding their talents are?"

Li Huaiyou went through Yu Chen Zhenxian's memories again and found that it was indeed true!

“That’s right… In my memory, almost all the geniuses who followed other paths were targeted by the Reborn Ones. Only those who cultivated these laws and great paths were actually on the side of the Reborn Ones.”

Li Huaiyou suddenly realized: "These paths... are on the side of [Master]?"

"good."

Qian Tong smiled slightly: "We can boldly use these prodigies on these paths... The more prodigies who walk these paths, the more beneficial it should be for [Master]."

"Of course, we [Reborn] don't have to follow these paths. Some predecessors have summarized based on their own memories that it seems that no matter what path a [Reborn] takes, it is permitted by the [Adults]."

Li Huaiyou asked curiously, "It seems that Daoist Qian has a deep understanding of [Reborn Persons]."

"That's because I joined the [Hunter Alliance]—an organization that specifically recruits [Reborn] individuals and hunts down geniuses."

Qian Tong smiled mysteriously: "Fellow Daoist Li, why do you think I'm here? It's because the higher-ups of the [Hunter Alliance] sent me here to recruit new members."

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"Is this one of the Hunter Alliance's strongholds?"

Li Huaiyou and Qian Tong strolled through a dark and secluded immortal city. The space here was not large; it was a small secret realm hidden in the crevice of the void near the First Heaven.

Unexpectedly, it was modified by the [Hunter Alliance] and turned into a temporary base.

Qian Tong led Li Huaiyou to a tavern in the Immortal City. There weren't many people in the tavern, and it was clear from their appearance that their foundations were weak. Li Huaiyou, however, was considered quite good among them.

"Are all of them [Reborn] here?" Li Huaiyou murmured.

"To be precise, everyone here is a [second-time reborn person], with two sets of rebirth memories." Qian Tong casually found a table to sit down, took out his own spirit wine from his storage bag, and poured a full glass for Li Huaiyou across from him.

"Currently, most of the cultivators in the [Hunter Alliance] are mediocre, with the highest cultivation level being only [Celestial Immortal] - we suspect that the master may have intentionally avoided those true prodigies in the process of selecting [Reborn Ones]."

"Is it intentional avoidance, or is it simply an inability to do so?" Li Huaiyou thought to himself.

He vaguely guessed that the person stirring up trouble behind the scenes might not be in a good state right now.

If His method of mass-producing "Reborn Ones" and "Mind Readers" is to manipulate inner demons and delusions, then it's perfectly normal that there are no true prodigies among them.

After all, true geniuses are often without any weaknesses, and their Dao hearts are naturally firm, making them very difficult to be affected by inner demons.

But there's one thing that doesn't make sense—if the person behind this is truly all-powerful and can even influence [Celestial Immortals], then why not target those geniuses who are still in the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stages?

Li Huaiyou guessed that perhaps the entity behind it was currently nowhere to be found, making it difficult to exert direct influence remotely, or perhaps its condition had deteriorated to an extreme degree—so much so that the impact on cultivators would depend on their cultivation level.

For example, if it were a Qi Refining cultivator, the influence of the inner demons on him would likely be limited to the Qi Refining level and wouldn't be too exaggerated.

Otherwise, it would be equivalent to violating a certain rule and triggering a certain taboo.

Of course, all of this was just Li Huaiyou's own speculation.

Perhaps the bigwigs behind this are playing a grand game... Every step they take has profound meaning, but I, a mere cultivator, cannot fathom it.

"Fellow Daoist Qian, is this the newcomer?"

"A toast to this new fellow Daoist!"

Someone looked towards Li Huaiyou, raised their glass to him, and appeared quite drunk. It was rather unusual for a cultivator to be so drunk as to be a complete mess.

Qian Tong glanced at the drunkard and chuckled, "Fellow Daoist Li, did you see that person? The genius he provoked has become a Golden Immortal in the memories he will have in the future! After finding out, he has completely given up on revenge and spends his days indulging in a drunken stupor in this little secret realm. He's basically ruined."