I attained sainthood through alchemy on the cliff.

Chapter 34 Poisonous Schemes and Countermeasures

The secret talks among the three halls continued, and through Atu's perception, every word was clearly transmitted to Yang Jin's ears.

"...The most urgent task is to solve the Crimson Flame Centipede King's ability to summon swarms of insects." Liu Suifeng's high-pitched voice was solemn. "Our disciples' formations and numbers are insufficient to withstand the swarm of insects for long. Once it is breached, we will be put on the defensive."

"That's right," Shi Gan echoed in a deep voice. "We must find a way to lure those damned centipedes away, or... completely block them out!"

After a brief silence, Liu Zhenwei, the master of the Iron Bone Martial Arts School, spoke again, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion:

"Although the centipede swarm is large, they are ultimately low-intelligence insects, driven by self-interest and driven by a thirst for blood and flesh. Since our disciples cannot stop them, let's fill their stomachs with something else and keep them preoccupied."

Someone in the hall seemed to gasp.

Liu Suifeng's voice carried a hint of uncertainty: "Master Liu means..."

Liu Zhenwei said slowly, "Weren't we just about to search for that little thief Yang Jin and summon the villagers for questioning? Tomorrow morning, gather all the villagers of Heishan'ao, regardless of age or gender, and under the pretext of 'assisting in the search for the thief and investigating the anomalies in the mine tunnels,' drive them all into the mine tunnels and force them towards the outer area of ​​the underground cave."

His voice was calm, as if he were discussing a trivial matter: "Several hundred living people, panicked and brimming with vitality, are enough to create enormous chaos near the entrance to the cave, attracting the attention of the vast majority of the Earth Fire Centipedes. At that time, the centipede swarm will inevitably be drawn to devour us, leaving them no time to attend to us. We only need to send a small number of elite disciples to cooperate with the formation, guiding and restraining them slightly, which can buy us at least half an incense stick's time of peace. This half incense stick's time will be the best opportunity for the three of us to join forces and do our best to kill the Crimson Flame Centipede King!"

"Use...use living people as bait?" Even Shi Gan hesitated slightly. "This...if word gets out, our reputation..."

"Reputation?" Liu Zhenwei sneered, interrupting him. "Brother Shi, this place is remote and poorly informed. Once we obtain the Earth Core Fire Lotus, break through to the Refining Realm, and leave, what happens here will be entirely up to us to write about. Isn't it common for monsters in the Black Mountain Mine to rampage and devour an entire village? As for these villagers… it's their honor to die for helping us achieve our breakthrough to the Refining Realm. The path of martial arts is inherently a dog-eat-dog world; why be so sentimental?"

He paused, his tone becoming even more sinister: "Besides, this is also for the purpose of 'searching for Yang Jin.' That kid might be mixed in with the villagers, or hiding somewhere in the mine tunnels. Driving the villagers in will not only force him to show himself, but also allow the centipede swarm to 'help' us eliminate all possible witnesses. It's killing several birds with one stone."

The hesitation in Liu Suifeng's eyes was quickly replaced by greed. He laughed shrilly, "Master Liu's plan is brilliant! It solves the centipede problem, eliminates the hidden danger, and creates a great opportunity for us! What are the lives of a few lowly commoners worth? Brother Shi, do you perhaps pity these ants?"

The naivety on Shi Gan's face vanished completely, replaced by a martial artist's naked thirst for power and a hint of ferocity. He clenched his fist heavily: "Very well! Those who achieve great things don't concern themselves with trifles! Let's follow Master Liu's plan! Tomorrow morning, we'll 'gather' the villagers!"

"Alright!" Liu Zhenwei made the decision. "To prevent any unforeseen complications and to catch the centipede king off guard, the operation will be scheduled for tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM)! Tonight, seal off the entire village and monitor it closely; no one is allowed to leave! Tomorrow morning, forcibly drive them away!"

……

Inside the blacksmith's shop.

Yang Jin leaned against the cold wall, his whole body stiff, his blood seemingly frozen at that moment, and then instantly ignited by a burning, bone-deep rage!

To use the lives of the entire village to fill the sea of ​​insects? Just to buy them half an incense stick's time?

Widow Li's trembling hand offering the vegetable dumplings, Ya Ya's bright eyes as she looked up and asked, "Brother, can you chase away the bad guys?", Carpenter Zhang's silent, hunched back, and those familiar faces who, though numb, were still struggling to survive at the foot of Black Mountain...

In the eyes of these high-ranking martial arts school owners who claim to be righteous, they really are just a group of "materials" that can be sacrificed at will and used to feed insects!

How vicious! How utterly inhumane!

"Click!"

Yang Jin clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked under the strain. His palms were pierced by his fingernails, and blood seeped out, but the tough rock skin quickly healed them.

His blood and qi surged like a raging sea, and his killing intent was like a tangible ice spike, piercing his nerves.

He thought the Sun family father and son were the worst, but he never expected that the ruthlessness of these three martial arts schools was far beyond his imagination!

For the sake of power, they can trample on all bottom lines without hesitation!

No! We absolutely cannot let their evil scheme succeed!

But... what to do? A deep sense of powerlessness mixed with anger welled up in my heart.

How could he possibly fight against three major martial arts schools all by himself? Should he warn the villagers to escape? The village was already sealed off; where could they possibly run to?

Just as his emotions were surging violently and he was about to lose control and rush out, a withered but unusually steady and powerful hand pressed down on his shoulder.

It's Chen Shan.

Before he knew it, Chen Shan had arrived beside him.

Chen Shan learned about the plans of the three major martial arts schools from Yang Jin.

The old man's face did not show the shock or anger that Yang Jin had expected, but only a deep, coldness that seemed to have been anticipated, and... a trace of pain and mockery that had been suppressed for too long.

"Do you see that?" Chen Shan's voice was soft, yet like a poisoned knife. "This is Liu Zhenwei, this is what you call a prestigious sect. To achieve their goals, they will stop at nothing, they will sacrifice anything they deem 'lowly.' Back then... they were just like that too."

Yang Jin suddenly turned his head to look at Chen Shan: "Uncle Chen, you knew they would do this?"

Chen Shan slowly lowered his hand, walked to the window, and looked at the village outside, which was dimly lit by the torches of the martial arts disciples, resembling a ghostly realm. His voice was hoarse: "Liu Zhenwei appears dignified and upright, but in reality, he is narrow-minded, ruthless, and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Back then, he plotted against me using the same method of using someone else to kill me and leaving no future trouble. I just didn't expect that after so many years, he would not only not restrain himself, but would become even more ruthless, even abandoning the last shred of decency."

He turned around, and in the dim light, his cloudy eyes, now sharp as an eagle's, stared directly at Yang Jin: "Anger is useless, despair is even more useless. What we need to do now is to find a way to break their trap and save those who can be saved."

"How do we break this deadlock?" Yang Jin forced himself to calm down. Chen Shan's composure had infected him. "They're going to make their move tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), time is of the essence. We have no chance of winning if we fight them head-on. Telling the villagers the truth in advance will probably only cause chaos, alert them, and allow the martial arts school to strike first."

Chen Shan gazed towards the abandoned mine shaft, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as an abyss...

"That's right. Revealing the truth now would do more harm than good. People would be in a state of panic and easier for the martial arts school to control," Chen Shan said thoughtfully, his eyes gleaming. "But we can secretly connect and organize a group of trustworthy, courageous, and physically strong villagers. For example, Zhang the carpenter is honest and strong; Wang the hunter from the east end of the village is agile and familiar with the mountains; and there are several able-bodied men who have suffered the most from the Sun family and have no goodwill towards the martial arts school... These are the people we can win over."

Yang Jin nodded, quickly going through the list in his mind, and indeed there were several candidates.

"But to coordinate with them, we need to find the right opportunity after entering the mine. Making contact now would be too risky," Chen Shan continued his analysis. "The key to Liu Zhenwei's plan lies in 'timing.' They need villagers as bait to firmly attract the centipede swarm, creating a precious half-incense stick's time for them to kill the centipede king. Once this 'attraction' fails, or the timing is off, their entire plan will collapse!"

He walked to the table, dipped his finger in water, and marked several areas on the rudimentary mine map: "Look, this is their 'bait zone' to drive away the villagers, near the entrance to the cave but away from the main battlefield. This is their 'main battlefield' to surround and kill the centipede king, near the core of the cave. There must be a passage connecting the two, and they will send people to guide and isolate them to ensure that the centipede swarm rushes towards the bait zone."

Chen Shan's fingertip pointed at the passage connecting the two areas, a cold glint in his eyes: "What if we can manipulate this crucial connection point? Prevent the centipede swarm from smoothly attacking the villagers, and instead... force them to quickly return to their aid!"

Yang Jin's heart pounded, and he instantly understood Chen Shan's thinking: "You mean... to utilize the mine's terrain and A Tu's abilities?"

"That's right!" Chen Shan nodded emphatically. "A-Tu is familiar with the mine's structure, and your rock-controlling abilities can also affect the rocks on a small scale. We don't need to confront the centipede swarm head-on; that would be like throwing an egg against a rock. We just need to create an 'accident' at the crucial moment."

"For example," Chen Shan's finger moved across the map, "when the three martial arts schools launch a full-scale attack, and the Crimson Flame Centipede King is enraged and summons a swarm of centipedes to reinforce it... what if a key passage leading to the main battlefield is suddenly blocked by a 'natural collapse'? This would temporarily separate the villagers from the centipedes, preventing the centipede swarm from harming them. Instead, it would allow them to quickly return to reinforce the underground cave. Liu Zhenwei and his group would then have to face the enraged Centipede King and the Earth Fire Centipede swarm alone, significantly increasing their pressure."

Yang Jin's eyes lit up as he listened: "In this way, Liu Zhenwei and his group's 'bait' plan has been completely disrupted! With the timing off, not only will they be unable to kill the Centipede King successfully, but they may also find themselves in a dangerous situation of being attacked from both sides by the swarm of insects! And the villagers we've connected with will have a chance to protect themselves and even fight back amidst the chaos!"

"Exactly!" Chen Shan said in a deep voice. "We don't need to defeat the three major martial arts schools; we only need to disrupt the most crucial link in their plan—the precise coordination between the 'bait' and the 'main attacker'! The terrain is on our side; Atu is our greatest asset. In this game, we're betting on our familiarity with the terrain and our grasp of timing!"

He looked at Yang Jin with burning eyes: "We have three tasks. First, after entering the mine, we should use our familiarity with the villagers and A Tu's help to quickly and quietly connect with carpenter Zhang, hunter Wang, and other people we can win over, so that they are aware of the situation and will follow your simple signals at critical moments. They should not panic blindly and should gather in relatively advantageous positions as much as possible."

"Secondly, and this is crucial, you must use Atu to constantly monitor the main battlefield of the underground cave, especially the state of the Crimson Flame Centipede King and the attack rhythm of Liu Zhenwei and the others. Once you determine that the Centipede King is about to enrage and summon a swarm of insects, or at the critical moment when Liu Zhenwei and the others launch a fatal attack, immediately have Atu create a 'collapse' at the pre-set key point! Don't aim to kill, just aim to block and disrupt!"

"Third, protect yourself and those important to you, such as Widow Li and Ya Ya. If necessary, you can have Atu create a small landslide near them to form a temporary shelter."

Yang Jin took a deep breath and repeatedly went through Chen Shan's plan in his mind. Although it was still fraught with danger, compared to simple anger and despair, it was undoubtedly a feasible and even hopeful path to turn the tables!

"I understand, Uncle Chen! The key lies in 'timing' and 'location'! Disrupt their coordination and disrupt their rhythm!" Yang Jin's eyes rekindled with fighting spirit. "However, if Atu has to monitor multiple locations simultaneously and execute the landslide, will he have enough time? Moreover, the scale of the landslide needs to be controlled to ensure effectiveness without triggering a chain reaction that could harm innocent bystanders."

"This requires a good understanding between you and Atu, as well as a precise grasp of its abilities," Chen Shan said. "You said that Atu has evolved a lot now, with stronger rock manipulation and digging abilities, and a more acute sense of ley line vibrations. You can let it familiarize itself with the geological structure of those key locations in advance, preparing the 'weak points.' At that time, it might be able to trigger several small-scale landslides simultaneously, creating enough chaos. As for controlling the scale... I trust your judgment."

Chen Shan patted Yang Jin on the shoulder, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of desolation and resolve: "Kid, in this game, we're betting not only the villagers' lives, but also our own. But some things, even knowing they're impossible, we still have to do. This isn't just to repay a debt of gratitude, but also to... ask the heavens, this world, is it truly true that the strong can do whatever they want, and the weak are destined to become stepping stones?"

Yang Jin nodded emphatically, the belief in revenge and protection that ignited within him had never been so clear and unwavering as it was at this moment.

"Uncle Chen, don't worry. I know what to do. Liu Zhenwei wants to use the lives of people from Black Mountain to pave his way to heaven, but I'll show him that even the stones of Black Mountain can bite!"

The night was as dark as ink, and danger lurked everywhere.

But inside the blacksmith's shop, two indomitable hearts, one old and one young, had already devised a thrilling plan for a comeback.

The hunter spread his net, unaware that the trap beneath his feet had already been set by someone else.

The real hunt will be decided tomorrow.

The Black Mountain Pass under the cover of night was eerily silent.

Apart from the scattered patrol torches and suppressed coughs at the three martial arts school camps, there were no other sounds.

The villagers were so frightened by the daytime events and the nighttime lockdown that they kept their doors and windows tightly shut, and even the cries of children were being muffled.

However, deep underground, another silent operation is quietly unfolding.