NOVPUB"Damn it!"
Tang Ji’s eyes flashed with urgency as he hastily gathered the power from the Formation within the Fragrance Plaque Array, attempting to mend the illusion of eight trigrams.
However, the tiger-striped Shanxiao Cultivator would not let slip such an opportunity and, in a flash, he burst through the small gap!
A wild ecstasy of having survived a great disaster appeared on the face of the tiger-striped Shanxiao Cultivator.
But in the next moment, the wild ecstasy on the tiger-striped Shanxiao Cultivator’s face suddenly froze as he sensed something was amiss.
The sky seemed to have suddenly darkened...
He had not yet reacted.
A massive tail, covered in thick scales, suddenly lashed his body with a thunderous impact!
Boom!
It was just a moment!
The tiger-striped Shanxiao Cultivator was forcibly whipped back into the midst of the Fragrance Plaque Array.
And the illusion of eight trigrams closed in an instant.
"No!"
The tiger-striped Shanxiao Cultivator looked up at the illusion of eight trigrams above him, now even more lifelike than before, with eyes full of despair!
Yet Tang Ji was both shocked and elated.
His gaze in an instant swept over Wang Ba, not far away, and the fourth-grade inferior tier Spirit Beast Lizard that had appeared out of nowhere beside Wang Ba.
His surprise was truly indescribable.
"Fourth-grade inferior tier... I remember when I sent him to the Sect, he only had a class III Spirit Monkey."
At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel secretly relieved that Wang Ba acted timely. Otherwise, if that Shanxiao Lineage Cultivator had escaped, things would have become troublesome.
While feeling relieved, Tang Ji did not stop the actions he was performing.
The tiger-striped Shanxiao Cultivator seemed to have exhausted his strength in the actions just now and could no longer form any proper resistance, quickly becoming overwhelmed by the suppression of the Fragrance Plaque Array and gasping for breath.
Just as he was about to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Wang Ba suddenly spoke up:
"Don’t kill them!"
This time, although Tang Ji did not understand why, he still stopped his hand and looked towards Wang Ba, puzzled:
"Weren’t they supposed to be killed just now? Why not kill them now?"
Wang Ba shook his head slightly:
"Just now, it was because I was worried word would spread too soon. Now, it is about trying to buy as much time for Master Song as possible. Otherwise, once we kill them, the Clerics of Ten Thousand Gods’ Country will surely sense something wrong, and they will increase their guard. It would be very difficult for Master Song and the others to return."
"Does the uncle-master have a way to suppress them, to make them lose consciousness for a while? That way, we can avoid the risk of them using some special method to send a message."
As Tang Ji was busy manipulating the Fragrance Plaque, keeping the four Shanxiao Lineage Cultivators busy, he suddenly realized:
"I see, you have indeed considered well."
"Lose consciousness? Just put their souls to sleep? There is a way... Enforcer Jiang, please come out quickly!"
Enforcer Jiang within the Fragrance Plaque Array immediately flew out.
At the same time, Tang Ji softly chanted an incantation.
In the Fragrance Plaque Array, a wispy, misty, pink fragrance immediately rose.
Although the four Shanxiao Lineage Cultivators realized the danger and tried their best to dodge, they were quickly permeated by the fragrance.
After struggling for the duration of half an incense stick.
These four Shanxiao Lineage Cultivators finally slumped down, weakened.
"Their souls are strong, making them difficult to put to sleep as I suspected," Tang Ji said, shaking his head slightly.
He then tied up the four Shanxiao Lineage Cultivators.
Glancing over the four of them, Tang Ji frowned slightly, then looked towards Wang Ba and promptly sought his opinion:
"Since we can’t kill them, nephew-apprentice, what do you suggest we do with them?"
Before, he thought Wang Ba was talented in cultivation and Beast Control, and was also competent in handling miscellaneous affairs.
But deep down, he still saw Wang Ba as a junior.
However, following the recent events, he no longer dared to underestimate him.
At least Wang Ba’s response in the recent situation was thoughtful and courageous yet meticulous.
Wang Ba, on the other hand, was inwardly grateful to have nipped the danger in the bud.
Otherwise, if these four Shanxiao Lineage Cultivators had taken the news back, it would have been very difficult for Song Dongyang to have a chance to return.
Hearing Tang Ji’s question, Wang Ba thought for a moment and said:
"I have three strategies, high, medium, and low, which you, uncle-master, can decide upon."
At these words, Tang Ji was taken aback:
"Three strategies, high, medium, and low? There are that many options?"
"Well, then tell me about the lowest strategy first."
Wang Ba nodded and quickly said, "The lowest strategy is simple: keep them in our hands until Master Song finishes the rescue and returns. Then we can decide whether to kill or release them. The Clerics of Ten Thousand Gods’ Country have just taken down Qi State and are also constrained by the Chu Dynasty to the south, so they might not dare to cause trouble over this."
"Of course, it’s not without risk, because there’s no telling whether the people of Ten Thousand Gods’ Country could detect the location of these four, and once they come knocking, it’ll be very easy to provoke a conflict."
Hearing this, Tang Ji contemplated for a while, then shook his head slightly.
"That won’t do, we currently have less than ten Nascent Souls here if you don’t count Master Song and his people. Nascent Souls are not that valuable in Ten Thousand Gods’ Country; they have plenty..."
"What about the medium strategy?"
Without pausing, Wang Ba immediately said, "The medium strategy is to send puppets, taking these few people and dumping them somewhere, as long as it is not on our hands."
"It can prevent an immediate outbreak of conflict, but if Ten Thousand Gods’ Country discovers them early, it could also be troublesome."
Tang Ji’s expression showed interest: "This method is possible; it can avoid conflict with Ten Thousand Gods’ Country... What’s the highest strategy?"
His curiosity was piqued.
Wang Ba’s expression remained calm:
"It’s also simple; send people to bring these four to a Yan vassal state like Xiang State or Yan State, then... kill them."
"Create a Falling Heavenly Phenomenon!"
"It’s said that Qi State was taken over by the primitive Demonic Sect, whose intentions are quite unclear, and it seems they don’t get along well with our Jin Dynasty. By diverting this trouble elsewhere, we can avoid conflict and also drag the primitive Demonic Sect into the water."
