After returning to the cave, Li Xuan recounted what had happened, sharing all the intelligence he had gathered.

After organizing the information, Yun Xiuzhi proposed a hypothesis, "Is it possible that the Village Chief genuinely wants to cooperate with us to kill the Mountain Deity? He definitely isn't doing this to protect Soul King Village—judging from how he killed the previous village chief and casually murdered villagers, we can tell he's not a good person.

Li Xuan, you said that village chiefs throughout history have known about the Ancestral Treasure Vault. Hun Mie became chief after killing the previous one. I don't think the previous chief told Hun Mie about the vault;

rather, I believe information about the Ancestral Treasure Vault is hidden in the chief's residence.

Once someone becomes village chief and moves into the courtyard house, they automatically learn about the Ancestral Treasure Vault!

Today, Hun Mie also showed his obsession with martial arts. How could he resist trying to open the Ancestral Treasure Vault? Unless there's some reason he can't open it!"

Hearing this, Li Xuan thought Yun Xiuzhi's speculation was likely true. "The Mountain Deity! It's either occupying the Ancestral Treasure Vault or guarding it, preventing Hun Mie from opening the vault."

The Mountain Deity guarding the Ancestral Treasure Vault could also explain why Li Dalong was able to easily open it at the end of the third version.

Because after the martial arts world merged with Blue Star, the Mountain Deity might have been killed!

After the worlds merged, Li Dalong came into contact with ability users!

Sixth Grade combat power might dominate Tianniu Island, but the Mountain Deity would face more than just people from Tianniu Island—it would also confront ability users who survived the second version. Among them, top-tier ability users could definitely kill a Sixth Grade Mountain Deity without much difficulty.

Alternatively, the Mountain Deity might have discovered many food sources outside and left on its own.

Village Chief Hun Mie had his eyes on the Ancestral Treasure Vault long ago and wanted to kill the Mountain Deity, specifically preparing secret medicine that would give the Mountain Deity diarrhea.

If we hadn't appeared, would Village Chief Hun Mie have directly launched a plan to besiege and kill the Mountain Deity, resulting in his death or severe injuries that prevented him from practicing martial arts?

Then, unwilling to hand the Ancestral Treasure Vault to Li Dalong, Hun Mie kept it hidden until his daughter encountered a Gui and faced a life-threatening crisis. Only then did he reveal information about the Ancestral Treasure Vault to Li Dalong, who then entered the vault and saw the Martial Seed.

Li Xuan licked his lips. The intelligence was connecting. There was a fifty percent chance the future would unfold as he imagined.

The unluckiest one was undoubtedly Li Dalong. He was truly loyal and righteous, but unfortunately, Hun Mie didn't trust him. Only when crisis was imminent did Hun Mie choose to give this opportunity to Li Dalong. In the end, Li Dalong died, and Hun Xiaoyan escaped alive.

Yun Xiuzhi jumped onto Li Xuan's shoulder. "Perhaps we can cooperate. After you swallowed the Pure Yang Martial Seed, your path to becoming a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist became smooth. You've also eaten Hell Savage Ox meat, so your physique far exceeds ordinary people. All you need is someone to teach you martial arts. Once you enter the martial path and generate qi and blood, you'll quickly become a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist.

First, agree to Hun Mie's terms. He definitely won't expect you to reach a graded level in just a few days. Once you achieve a grade, we'll immediately escape and hide in the mountains. When the time comes, we'll board the train and leave Tianniu Island. By then, no matter how strong Hun Mie is, he won't be able to do anything to us."

Huo Lingling gently clapped. "This plan is great! As expected of Sister Yun, you can come up with such a cunning scheme with just a turn of your thoughts."

Yun Xiuzhi flew onto Huo Lingling's head and pecked her a few times. "If you don't know how to speak properly, then keep quiet."

"But I can speak."

"You... forget it, I shouldn't expect too much from an idiot." Yun Xiuzhi was speechless.

Huo Lingling puffed out her chest indignantly. "I'm not stupid! I figured out that the survivor joined Soul King Village to learn martial arts secrets. In the end, the ones who will suffer will be the villagers of Soul King Village."

Li Xuan thought for a moment before speaking to Yun Xiuzhi. "Your idea is good, but do you have any better ones?"

"You want the Martial Seed in the Ancestral Treasure Vault?" Yun Xiuzhi asked.

Li Xuan nodded. "You're the future Martial Arts Empress. After swallowing the Martial Seed, your growth speed will be faster, and your potential will be higher."

"Me?"

"You've absorbed the Intangible Characteristic, so your presence is very low. If you avoid Hun Mie and the others' line of sight, they won't be able to sense you. When we besiege the Mountain Deity, you can take the opportunity to fly into the Ancestral Treasure Vault, transform back to human form, and swallow the Martial Seed. That way, we can take the seed without anyone noticing." Li Xuan said.

"What if the Ancestral Treasure Vault has mechanisms that only Hun Mie can open?" Yun Xiuzhi asked.

"I'll transform into the Giant Beast to hold them off while you absorb the Martial Seed. Then we'll escape back to the train."

Huo Lingling raised her small hand and suggested cheerfully, "When we're surrounding the Mountain Deity, you could hold back a bit and let Hun Mie get injured. Wouldn't that make things easier?"

"Right! Your Giant Beast has two Self-healing Characteristics. During battle, suppress your body's healing speed to mislead Hun Mie. When the battle is almost over, activate your Self-healing Characteristics at full power. After Hun Mie opens the Ancestral Treasure Vault, activate your Burst Characteristic to hold off Hun Mie while I take the opportunity to retrieve the Martial Arts Seed."

Yun Xiuzhi gave Huo Lingling a strange look. She felt Huo Lingling had become smarter recently. Was it because they came to this different world?

Was spiritual energy washing through her brain, making Huo Lingling smarter?

Does the martial arts world even have spiritual energy?

"If the situation becomes urgent, I'll just take the Martial Arts Seed. If the plan goes very smoothly, I'll bring Lingling in her white snake form inside too, and have Lingling pack up all the treasures. Don't forget, I can now carry objects weighing up to a hundred jin while flying."

Seventh-Grade Martial Artists can't fly and can only attack airborne enemies by throwing things.

As long as Yun Xiuzhi flies high enough, she won't have to worry about being caught by Hun Mie and the others.

Huo Lingling raised her small hand and suggested cheerfully, "When we're surrounding the Mountain Deity, you could hold back a bit and let Hun Mie get injured. Wouldn't that make things easier?"

Li Xuan returned to Soul King Village once again with the transformed Huo Lingling.

"Pleasant cooperation!" Village Chief Hun Mie said with a smile when he saw the two.

Li Xuan spoke the words he had prepared in advance. "I'll cooperate with you in besieging the Mountain Deity, but you have to teach me martial arts first."

"Deal. I know the train will stay at Tianniu Island for ten days. At the latest, on the ninth day, you must cooperate with us to besiege the Mountain Deity. Otherwise, if you escape on the tenth day, I'll suffer huge losses." Village Chief Hun Mie also set his conditions.

"Fine! On the ninth day, I'll accompany you to besiege the Mountain Deity!"