Chapter Seventeen: A Solitary Infiltration

When Lu Qingzong called out to him, Liu Chen had no intention of responding—he merely shot him a glare, signaling him to keep quiet. Fortunately, Liu Chen was extremely swift, and within moments, the outline of the He Family Fort became clear before them, sparing Lu Qingzong from enduring much longer.

“What’s going on? Why has a fog suddenly appeared, and why does it only shroud that one area?”

Upon seeing the He Family Fort again, Liu Chen immediately sensed that something was amiss. He felt an inexplicable force circulating within that thin, pale mist. After noticing this, and observing the surrounding land, which was clear and fresh, he became certain that the fog was unnatural.

Setting Lu Qingzong down, Liu Chen stared at him for a while, then frowned and asked, “What is happening here?”

Noticing Liu Chen’s uncharacteristically serious tone and expression, Lu Qingzong shuddered. He quickly raised his head to look at the He Family Fort, carefully scrutinized it, then turned back to reply, “It should be my third uncle who has activated the ritual altar. This layer of mist is a spiritual fog that muddles yin and yang, allowing spirits and deities to manifest. Most likely, my third uncle activated it early to prevent you from launching a surprise attack. Otherwise, if all thirty-two altars were truly activated, it wouldn’t just cover this small earthen fort, but would spread across a hundred miles of Xin City.”

“So it’s already begun. Besides summoning spirits and deities, what else can this spiritual fog do?”

Faced with this situation, Liu Chen felt a headache coming on. He wasn’t well-versed in Daoist arts, but he knew all too well the dangers of stepping into an enemy’s well-laid domain.

Yet retreat was not an option; if he shrank back from an altar activated on its own, how could he hope to seek vengeance once the grand formation was complete?

“My talismans are useless now, and my Daoist abilities are sealed, so I can’t see the full picture. However, under normal circumstances, a single altar cannot summon the likes of the Thirty-Two Heavenly Saints—summoning even ordinary celestial soldiers is quite difficult, so you shouldn’t be in any real danger. The only threat is that my third uncle’s warriors will become much stronger within this spiritual mist—their strength will greatly increase, and the mist allows them to move swiftly and unseen.”

After thinking for a moment, Lu Qingzong gave his answer.

“If things proceed normally, when would this Master Changming activate the grand formation?”

After hearing Lu Qingzong describe the altar’s effects, Liu Chen asked another question.

“Barring any surprises, it should be tonight at midnight, when the world is tranquil and the time is right for the ritual. But my third uncle is always cautious—he might send word to Xin City and begin earlier,” Lu Qingzong replied.

“I see—then there isn’t much time left,” Liu Chen murmured, glancing at the sky. The sun was already setting; judging by experience from Earth, it was about four or five o’clock. He decided to wait a short while longer, then act once night had fully fallen.

It was late autumn, and darkness came quickly. After waiting a bit, night settled in. Rising to his feet, Liu Chen gave Lu Qingzong a glance, then struck him sharply on the back of the head with a knife-hand. He tore Lu Qingzong’s Daoist robe into strips, binding him tightly, and stuffed the rest into his mouth.

He did this to prevent Lu Qingzong from secretly sending a signal once he’d entered the fort, and also as a lesson for him. In Liu Chen’s plan, if all went smoothly, he would head straight for Xin City afterward, leaving Lu Qingzong tied up here to be discovered whenever someone happened upon him—his freedom left to luck.

Moving low and swiftly across the land outside the earthen fort, Liu Chen soon reached the base of the low wall. As he prepared to climb over, he suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu—as if he had done this just yesterday.

His subsequent actions seemed to mirror those of the previous day: infiltrating the Fu family with a Daoist, then slaughtering all those involved in the ambush through the night. In the end, the two parted ways in the valley after dawn.

“Truly, the environment can shape a person—I've only been here a few days, and already I’ve become a ruthless killer, breaking in and taking lives at will.”

This thought suddenly arose, and Liu Chen realized he had changed quite a bit in recent times. But time was short; he couldn’t afford to dwell on such musings and forced the thought aside.

Once inside the He Family Fort, Liu Chen compared his surroundings with the layout Lu Qingzong had drawn for him. Apart from minor details, it matched well enough, so he made his way toward the main courtyard. Along the way, his spirit eyes saw ghostly figures dressed as armored soldiers moving from rooftop to rooftop, while others in servant garb patrolled the crossroads. The vigilance was truly formidable.

The presence of patrolling servants was expected, but Liu Chen hadn’t anticipated celestial soldiers on patrol—nor had Lu Qingzong warned him of this. If Liu Chen had been just a martial artist, lacking these spirit eyes, he’d have been discovered long before reaching the main courtyard.

“Trusting seven parts to a person is wise—no matter how well you can sense emotions, you must always keep your guard up.”

After observing a while, Liu Chen found these ghosts behaved much like monsters in online games on Earth—rigid in their movements. He soon found a path that let him avoid the patrols. While waiting for an opportunity, he recalled pressing Lu Qingzong for details earlier and realized, in hindsight, that Lu had indeed hidden some crucial points.

When he finally reached the main courtyard, Liu Chen grew even more cautious. He surveyed the area thoroughly, and once certain there were no traps, he stealthily slipped into the rear court.

But once there, Liu Chen saw that a surprise attack would be nearly impossible. Lu Qingzong’s third uncle sat high atop the ritual altar, flanked by a warrior—completely impervious to any ambush.

“You are no ordinary man. Since you’ve come, why not step out and have a word?”

As Liu Chen hesitated, pondering his next move, a voice rang out from the altar, as if his presence had been discovered.

After looking around, Liu Chen couldn’t tell if the other was bluffing. But considering the situation, he realized there was no choice but to face them head-on. Even if it was a trick, there was no harm in stepping out. So he emerged from the shadows into the middle of the courtyard, before the altar.

“You are truly skilled! I deployed eighteen celestial soldiers, nearly encircling the He Family Courtyard, and yet you slipped in all the same. May I know your name, and what position you hold among the rebels?”

Seeing Liu Chen appear, Lu Changcheng did not attack, but instead praised his ability and inquired about his origins, as though Liu Chen were merely a guest who had come to visit.