bsp; cǐ nǚ míng míng yǐ jīng yǔn luò ， rán ér yòu shǒu de shǒu xīn zhōng ， què jǐn jǐn zuàn zhe yī wù ， yuán běn zhè bù xī qí ， àn zhào cháng lǐ tuī cè ， zhè duō bàn shì shén me yào jǐn de shì wù ， gù ér cǐ nǚ lín sǐ zhī qián ， yě yào jiāng tā jǐn jǐn wò zhù ， yǐ miǎn shī luò diào le 。レレ
bsp; 此女明明已经陨落，然而右手的手心中，却紧紧攥着一物，原本这不稀奇，按照常理推测，这多半是什么要紧的事物，故而此女临死之前，也要将它紧紧握住，以免失落掉了。レレ
The woman had clearly perished, yet her right palm tightly clutched something. This wasn't unusual; typically, when someone was dying, they would hold onto what mattered most to them, to prevent it from slipping away.
zhè me xiǎng yuán běn méi cuò 。
这么想原本没错。
This thought was correct, but one should not forget that Lin Xuan had just released his spirit sense to find clues about the mystery, and he hadn’t discovered any treasure in her hand.
kě bù yào wàng le ， lín xuān gāng gāng céng jiāng shén shí fàng chū ， xī wàng néng zhǎo dào jiē kāi mí dǐ de xiàn suǒ ， què gēn běn méi yǒu fā xiàn cǐ nǚ de yí hái shǒu zhōng wò yǒu bǎo wù 。
可不要忘了，林轩刚刚曾将神识放出，希望能找到揭开谜底的线索，却根本没有发现此女的遗骸手中握有宝物。
Something capable of deceiving his spirit sense truly wasn't trivial. With this realization, a curious expression appeared on Lin Xuan's face. Without further action, a mental thread was sent out, and a flash of light revealed an item from her hand.
néng jiāng zì jǐ de shén shí piàn guò ， zhè dōng xī hái zhēn shì fēi tóng xiǎo kě 。
能将自己的神识骗过，这东西还真是非同小可。
Lin Xuan caught it with one hand.
yī niàn zhì cǐ ， lín xuān liǎn shàng lù chū gǎn xìng qù de shén sè。
一念至此，林轩脸上露出感兴趣的神sè。
Upon closer inspection, a smooth jade pendant floated before his eyes. It was crafted from玄玉 (mysterious jade), a material of great value. However, what Lin Xuan found most intriguing were the clues this pendant provided.
yě bú jiàn tā duō yú de dòng zuò ， jǐn jǐn shì yī dào shén niàn fā chū ， líng guāng yī shǎn ， yī jiàn bǎo wù jiù cóng nà yí hái de shǒu zhōng fēi le chū lái 。
也不见他多余的动作，仅仅是一道神念发出，灵光一闪，一件宝物就从那遗骸的手中飞了出来。
The front side of the jade was empty and smooth, but on the back, there were several ancient-looking characters.
lín xuān yī bǎ jiē zài le shǒu lǐ miàn 。
林轩一把接在了手里面。
Lin Xuan recognized them; they read "灵狐尊者" (Venerable Spirit Fox).
dìng jīng yī kàn ！
定睛一看！
"Venerable Spirit Fox. Could it be that this guy is behind all this?" Lin Xuan mused aloud, closing his eyes as he pondered.
yī kuài wēn rùn de yù pèi fú xiàn zài miàn qián
一块温润的玉佩浮现在面前
Clearly, the jade pendant revealed a lot of clues, but whether Venerable Spirit Fox was indeed behind everything remained uncertain. There were two possibilities: one, he might be; or, this could still be a trap to mislead him into fighting Venerable Spirit Fox, while the real mastermind reaped the benefits.
nǎi shì yòng xuán yù zhī jīng suǒ zhù ， jià zhí fēi tóng xiǎo kě ， rán ér zuì ràng lín xuān kàn zhòng de què shì ， zhè yù pèi suǒ tòu lù chū lái de xiàn suǒ 。
乃是用玄玉之jīng所铸，价值非同小可，然而最让林轩看中的却是，这玉佩所透露出来的线索。
Which scenario would it be?
cǐ yù zhèng miàn kōng wú yī wù ， guāng huá yì cháng ， rán ér bèi miàn què kè yǒu jǐ gè xiǎo zì ， qì shì gǔ piáo 。
此玉正面空无一物，光滑异常，然而背面却刻有几个小字，气势古朴。
Lin Xuan leaned more towards the former and had his reasons for doing so. After all, the white-robed woman was also manipulated by the same mastermind, who killed her. There was no need for her to set up a diversion at this point; her expression before death—full of resentment and unwillingness—indicated that.
lín xuān yě dōu rèn de ， nà sì gè zì xiě de shì “ líng hú zūn zhě ”。
林轩也都认得，那四个字写的是“灵狐尊者”。
If he hadn't guessed wrong, she only learned about being used as a pawn right before her demise, driven by anger and unwilling to be manipulated so easily. At this moment, it was too late for her to reveal the mastermind's identity, so she took out the jade pendant with the intention of exposing his true self.
“ líng hú zūn zhě ， nán dào shuō ， zhè jiā huo jiù shì mù hòu zhǔ shǐ me ？”
“灵狐尊者，难道说，这家伙就是幕后主使么？”
This could be seen as revenge; after all, he treated her like a pawn, discarded when no longer needed, and that was heart-wrenching. The complex web of grudges between them was irrelevant to Lin Xuan. He only cared about identifying the mastermind behind everything.
lín xuān zì yán zì yǔ de shēng yīn chuán rù ěr duǒ ， bì shàng yǎn móu ， kāi shǐ sī suǒ 。
林轩自言自语的声音传入耳朵，闭上眼眸，开始思索。
Based on current information, Venerable Spirit Fox had significant suspicion. While he couldn't be one hundred percent sure, there was an 80% chance that this was true.
zhè méi yù pèi ， xiǎn rán xiè lòu le bù shǎo xiàn suǒ ， bù guò líng hú zūn zhě shì bú shì mù hòu zhǔ shǐ ， qí shí hái yǒu dài zhēn zhuó 。
这枚玉佩，显然泄漏了不少线索，不过灵狐尊者是不是幕后主使，其实还有待斟酌。
"Venerable Spirit Fox," Lin Xuan murmured, recalling all the clues related to him. He could confirm that he never met this person and had no grudges or favors with them. So why did they target him?
dá àn yǒu kě néng shì kěn dìng ， dàn yě yǒu kě néng ， zhè yī jiù shì duì fāng shè xià de yí gè jú ， mù dì jiù shì nà huò shuǐ dōng yǐn zhī jì 。
答案有可能是肯定，但也有可能，这依旧是对方设下的一个局，目的就是那祸水东引之计。
Though Lin Xuan had only recently advanced to the Transcendence stage, Cloud Conceal Sect was now a top force in the Dragon Realm. Collecting information on old monsters at the Transcendence stage wasn't too difficult.
wù dǎo zì jǐ ， ràng zì jǐ qù yǔ líng hú zūn zhě huǒ pīn ， ér mù hòu zhī rén zé yú wēng dé lì 。
误导自己，让自己去与灵狐尊者火拼，而幕后之人则渔翁得利。
Lin Xuan had instructed his disciples below to pay attention.
jiū jìng shì nǎ yī zhǒng kě néng ne ？
究竟是哪一种可能呢？
Venerable Spirit Fox was undoubtedly an old monster from the Transcendence stage. His name might lead people to believe he was a妖族 (yao-zu, demon race) cultivator, but that wasn’t true.
lín xuān bǐ jiào qīng xiàng yú qián zhě ， ér tā zuò chū zhè yàng de pàn duàn ， zì rán yě shì yǒu yī jù de 。
林轩比较倾向于前者，而他做出这样的判断，自然也是有依据的。
This early-stage Transcendence monster was indeed a genuine human cultivator. Why he was called Venerable Spirit Fox had its reasons. Legend said not only did this old monster have formidable strength, but his cunning matched that of a fox, with a heart as sharp as a needle.
bì jìng zhè bái yī nǚ zǐ ， tóng yàng shì bèi mù hòu zhī rén suàn jì ， kě yǐ shuō ， shì sǐ zài tā de shǒu lǐ ， jì rán rú cǐ 。 cǐ nǚ lín sǐ zhī qián 。 méi yǒu bì yào qù tì tā shī zhǎn huò shuǐ dōng yǐn zhī jì 。
毕竟这白衣女子，同样是被幕后之人算计，可以说，是死在他的手里，既然如此。此女临死之前。没有必要去替他施展祸水东引之计。
He preferred to outwit rather than fight in battles. This was his favorite saying.
zhè yì diǎn ， cóng cǐ nǚ lín sǐ qián nà yuàn dú ， bù gān de biǎo qíng jiù kě jiàn duān ní 。
这一点，从此女临死前那怨毒，不甘的表情就可见端倪。
Moreover, he was a narrow-minded individual who would take revenge for even minor slights. Because he was so difficult to deal with, even mid-stage Transcendence cultivators were reluctant to offend him, fearing they might be tricked at any moment.
rú guǒ zì jǐ méi yǒu liào cuò ， shì cǐ nǚ lín sǐ qián ， cái zhī dào zì jǐ yě chéng le bèi rén lì yòng de qí zi ， bēi fèn zhī yú ， bù gān xīn bái bái zhè yàng bèi rén suàn jì 。
如果自己没有料错，是此女临死前，才知道自己也成了被人利用的棋子，悲愤之余，不甘心白白这样被人算计。
However, Venerable Spirit Fox had deep foresight and wouldn't easily provoke enemies. Legend said his enemies were few but his acquaintances many, as he maintained good relations with many peers.
zhè shí hòu 。 tā xiǎng yào shuō chū mù hòu zhǔ shǐ yǐ jīng lái bù jí ， suǒ yǐ ， cái jiāng zhè méi yù pèi qǔ chū ， mù dì jiù shì jiāng zhè rén de shēn fèn xiè lòu 。
这时候。她想要说出幕后主使已经来不及，所以，才将这枚玉佩取出，目的就是将这人的身份泄漏。
Thoughts of the information related to Lin Xuan flowed through his mind, leaving him more puzzled. Why would such a cautious and non-aggressive individual, who had no grudges or recent conflicts with him, expend so much effort targeting him?
zhè kě yǐ suàn zuò shì yī zhǒng bào fù ， shuí ràng nà rén yào jiāng tā dàng zuò qí zi ne ， zài bù xū yào de shí jiān 。 yī jiǎo tī kāi ， qì zhī rú cǎo jiè ， lìng rén xīn hán 。
这可以算作是一种报复，谁让那人要将她当作棋子呢，在不需要的时间。一脚踢开，弃之如草芥，令人心寒。
Lin Xuan believed that the other party wasn't acting on a whim; there must be reasons, but he couldn’t figure them out despite his sharp mind.
zhè zhōng jiān jiū jìng bāo hán zhe zěn yàng de ēn yuàn jiū gé ， lín xuān bìng wú tàn jiū zhī yì ， tóng zì jǐ méi yǒu duō dà de guān xì ， tā zhǐ yào zhī dào mù hòu zhǔ shǐ shì shuí ， jiù dá dào le mù dì 。
这中间究竟包含着怎样的恩怨纠葛，林轩并无探究之意，同自己没有多大的关系，他只要知道幕后主使是谁，就达到了目的。
"Alright."
jiù xiàn zài suǒ zhǎng wò de qíng bào fēn xī ， nà líng hú zūn zhě yǒu hěn dà de xián yí 。
就现在所掌握的情报分析，那灵狐尊者有很大的嫌疑。
Regardless of the reason, Venerable Spirit Fox's involvement was undeniable. This clear and decisive arrangement matched his usual style. If not for the white-robed woman’s unexpected action, Lin Xuan would still be in a fog, unable to discern who his enemy was.
bǎi fēn zhī bǎi de bǎ wò bù gǎn shuō 。 dàn bā chéng yǐ shàng de kě néng xìng hái shì yǒu de 。
百分之百的把握不敢说。但八成以上的可能xìng还是有的。
As an old saying goes: "Planning is within human control; success depends on heaven." Since he couldn't figure it out now, there was no need to dwell on it. He would directly confront Venerable Spirit Fox and deal with this Transcendence cultivator, who dared to trouble him. He was like a long-lived person hanging from a tree branch, hoping for more life.
“ líng hú zūn zhě 。”
“灵狐尊者。”
A fierce look flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes as he emitted a blue glow all over his body and broke through the earth, breaking through the void.
lín xuān nán nán de shēng yīn chuán rù ěr duǒ 。 zài cì huí sī qǐ le yǔ zhè ge rén yǒu guān de xiàn suǒ 。
林轩喃喃的声音传入耳朵。再次回思起了与这个人有关的线索。
...
tā kě yǐ kěn dìng ， zhè ge rén zì jǐ cóng wèi jiàn guò 。 gèng tán bù shàng yǒu ēn yuàn shén me ， nà tā wèi hé hái zhēn duì zì jǐ ne ？
他可以肯定，这个人自己从未见过。更谈不上有恩怨什么，那他为何还针对自己呢？
At an unknown distance away, another secluded paradise.
lín xuān suī rán cái jìn jiē dù jié bù jiǔ ， rán ér yún yǐn zōng jīn fēi xī bǐ ， yǐ shì nài lóng jiè pái míng dì yī de shì lì ， xiǎng yào shōu jí yī xiē yǔ dù jié qī lǎo guài yǒu guān de zī liào ， yǐ bù suàn tài dà de nán tí 。
林轩虽然才进阶渡劫不久，然而云隐宗今非昔比，已是鼐龙界排名第一的势力，想要收集一些与渡劫期老怪有关的资料，已不算太大的难题。
The Spirit Fox Mountain stretched for miles, its scenery picturesque but remote. The renowned Venerable Spirit Fox lived here. Although it was called a cave dwelling, it covered several thousand acres, with lush landscapes and abundant qi. It was truly a fairyland.
lín xuān yě céng jīng ràng xià miàn de dì zǐ xiǎo xīn liú yì 。
林轩也曾经让下面的弟子小心留意。
This was a medicinal garden where various rare herbs grew in abundance, each of high grade and age. Any item plucked from this place would be priceless treasures.
líng hú zūn zhě bú yòng shuō ， yě shì yī dù jié qī lǎo guài wù 。
灵狐尊者不用说，也是一渡劫期老怪物。
Clearly, this was Venerable Spirit Fox's personal herb garden. Two people were walking around here—on the left, an old man slightly shorter than average with ordinary features but sharp eyes that occasionally flashed cunning glints; on the right, a beautiful woman dressed in colorful attire, resembling a venomous snake.
tīng tā de míng zì ， kǒng pà bù shǎo rén dōu yào wù huì tā shì yī míng yāo zú xiū shì ， rán ér bìng fēi rú cǐ 。
听他的名字，恐怕不少人都要误会他是一名妖族修士，然而并非如此。
Lin Xuan would have been alarmed if he had been present, as he knew this woman well and had fought her multiple times. Their grudges were deep, and she wished to extract his soul and essence.
zhè wèi dù jié chū qī de lǎo guài wù ， kě shì huò zhēn jià shí de rén lèi xiū xiān zhě ， wèi shén me huì bèi chēng wéi líng hú ， zhè zhōng jiān zì rán shì yǒu yuán gù 。
这位渡劫初期的老怪物，可是货真价实的人类修仙者，为什么会被称为灵狐，这中间自然是有缘故。
Holy Serpent Ancestor! (To be continued.)
The woman had clearly perished, yet her right palm tightly clutched something. This wasn't unusual; typically, when someone was dying, they would hold onto what mattered most to them, to prevent it from slipping away.
This thought was correct, but one should not forget that Lin Xuan had just released his spirit sense to find clues about the mystery, and he hadn’t discovered any treasure in her hand.
Something capable of deceiving his spirit sense truly wasn't trivial. With this realization, a curious expression appeared on Lin Xuan's face. Without further action, a mental thread was sent out, and a flash of light revealed an item from her hand.
Lin Xuan caught it with one hand.
Upon closer inspection, a smooth jade pendant floated before his eyes. It was crafted from玄玉 (mysterious jade), a material of great value. However, what Lin Xuan found most intriguing were the clues this pendant provided.
The front side of the jade was empty and smooth, but on the back, there were several ancient-looking characters.
Lin Xuan recognized them; they read "灵狐尊者" (Venerable Spirit Fox).
"Venerable Spirit Fox. Could it be that this guy is behind all this?" Lin Xuan mused aloud, closing his eyes as he pondered.
Clearly, the jade pendant revealed a lot of clues, but whether Venerable Spirit Fox was indeed behind everything remained uncertain. There were two possibilities: one, he might be; or, this could still be a trap to mislead him into fighting Venerable Spirit Fox, while the real mastermind reaped the benefits.
Which scenario would it be?
Lin Xuan leaned more towards the former and had his reasons for doing so. After all, the white-robed woman was also manipulated by the same mastermind, who killed her. There was no need for her to set up a diversion at this point; her expression before death—full of resentment and unwillingness—indicated that.
If he hadn't guessed wrong, she only learned about being used as a pawn right before her demise, driven by anger and unwilling to be manipulated so easily. At this moment, it was too late for her to reveal the mastermind's identity, so she took out the jade pendant with the intention of exposing his true self.
This could be seen as revenge; after all, he treated her like a pawn, discarded when no longer needed, and that was heart-wrenching. The complex web of grudges between them was irrelevant to Lin Xuan. He only cared about identifying the mastermind behind everything.
Based on current information, Venerable Spirit Fox had significant suspicion. While he couldn't be one hundred percent sure, there was an 80% chance that this was true.
"Venerable Spirit Fox," Lin Xuan murmured, recalling all the clues related to him. He could confirm that he never met this person and had no grudges or favors with them. So why did they target him?
Though Lin Xuan had only recently advanced to the Transcendence stage, Cloud Conceal Sect was now a top force in the Dragon Realm. Collecting information on old monsters at the Transcendence stage wasn't too difficult.
Lin Xuan had instructed his disciples below to pay attention.
Venerable Spirit Fox was undoubtedly an old monster from the Transcendence stage. His name might lead people to believe he was a妖族 (yao-zu, demon race) cultivator, but that wasn’t true.
This early-stage Transcendence monster was indeed a genuine human cultivator. Why he was called Venerable Spirit Fox had its reasons. Legend said not only did this old monster have formidable strength, but his cunning matched that of a fox, with a heart as sharp as a needle.
He preferred to outwit rather than fight in battles. This was his favorite saying.
Moreover, he was a narrow-minded individual who would take revenge for even minor slights. Because he was so difficult to deal with, even mid-stage Transcendence cultivators were reluctant to offend him, fearing they might be tricked at any moment.
However, Venerable Spirit Fox had deep foresight and wouldn't easily provoke enemies. Legend said his enemies were few but his acquaintances many, as he maintained good relations with many peers.
Thoughts of the information related to Lin Xuan flowed through his mind, leaving him more puzzled. Why would such a cautious and non-aggressive individual, who had no grudges or recent conflicts with him, expend so much effort targeting him?
Lin Xuan believed that the other party wasn't acting on a whim; there must be reasons, but he couldn’t figure them out despite his sharp mind.
"Alright."
Regardless of the reason, Venerable Spirit Fox's involvement was undeniable. This clear and decisive arrangement matched his usual style. If not for the white-robed woman’s unexpected action, Lin Xuan would still be in a fog, unable to discern who his enemy was.
As an old saying goes: "Planning is within human control; success depends on heaven." Since he couldn't figure it out now, there was no need to dwell on it. He would directly confront Venerable Spirit Fox and deal with this Transcendence cultivator, who dared to trouble him. He was like a long-lived person hanging from a tree branch, hoping for more life.
A fierce look flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes as he emitted a blue glow all over his body and broke through the earth, breaking through the void.
...
At an unknown distance away, another secluded paradise.
The Spirit Fox Mountain stretched for miles, its scenery picturesque but remote. The renowned Venerable Spirit Fox lived here. Although it was called a cave dwelling, it covered several thousand acres, with lush landscapes and abundant qi. It was truly a fairyland.
This was a medicinal garden where various rare herbs grew in abundance, each of high grade and age. Any item plucked from this place would be priceless treasures.
Clearly, this was Venerable Spirit Fox's personal herb garden. Two people were walking around here—on the left, an old man slightly shorter than average with ordinary features but sharp eyes that occasionally flashed cunning glints; on the right, a beautiful woman dressed in colorful attire, resembling a venomous snake.
Lin Xuan would have been alarmed if he had been present, as he knew this woman well and had fought her multiple times. Their grudges were deep, and she wished to extract his soul and essence.
Holy Serpent Ancestor! (To be continued.)