Daoist Fireblade's plan really was merciless. It would definitely prevent Shen Long from asking to return, and it was, without a doubt, a flawless plan. As a cultivator who had lived for millenniums, Daoist Fireblade was no different to an old sly fox. He knew exactly how to manipulate others' emotions, and he would do anything in order to achieve his desires.
Upon figuring out what he needed to do, he called Shen Long over to his residence via spiritual messaging. Shen Long had no choice but to rush to the main hall, abruptly pausing his training. As Daoist Fireblade waited for Shen Long to arrive, he intentionally punched himself in his chest, making his face extremely pale. Then, he chose to lie flat on the floor, waiting for Shen Long to come.
Although that was extremely embarrassing, Daoist Fireblade knew that it had to be done, in order to put up a flawless act. If his meticulous plan succeeded, everything would be worth it. Daoist Fireblade just needed to make sure that no one else would see this scene: the scene of him lying on the floor like he was about to die.
If this scene happened on Earth, Daoist Fireblade's half-dead picture would definitely go viral on the internet. With the attitudes of people on Earth, they would definitely take a picture and share it with the rest of the World. Fortunately for Daoist Fireblade, cameras didn't exist here, and only Shen Long would have the honour to see this "magnificent sight".
It wasn't long until Shen Long arrived since the training ground was extremely close to the main hall. As Shen Long stepped into the room, Shen Long's attention was immediately grasped by Daoist Fireblade. Shen Long couldn't help but uttered a high-pitched scream. He turned around as he dashed out of the room immediately.
"Arghh!!! What the fu** was that!? Did Master seriously just summon me to prank me!? Fu**! Since when is Chucky in the cultivator world!? Oh, wait. That was a freaking ghost, not Chucky!! Even Chucky looked better than that lying creature on the floor..." Shen Long cursed as he was terrified by that "jumpscare" scene. If Daoist Fireblade could hear Shen Long's inward thought, Daoist Fireblade would definitely punch Shen Long in the face.
After calming down a little, Shen Long used his detective and judgement skills as he rewinded the scene of him entering the main hall. Breaking through the scenes one by one and working logically, he realised none of the stuff, that happened just now, made any sense. Ghosts, Chucky, evil zombies weren't even real, and that mysterious, terrifying "creature" had to be a human.
"There's no way that that scary fu** just now was Master. Master would never do that, and I don't think Master looked this ugly!? He must have summoned me to the hall for a reason. He couldn't be trolling me, right? Don't tell me that it was all a prank and there was actually a camera there the entire time! Bullshi*. This isn't Earth... Who the hell could that weird thingy be!?" Shen Long continued to ponder, unable to come up with an answer to convince himself.
Shen Long initially planned to head back to the main hall, to collect some more evidence. Shen Long tried to message his Master via his spiritual sense, but his Master didn't reply at all. Shen Long was worried that his Master was actually hurt by that ghost-like monster on the floor. As his Master's safety was Shen Long's number one concern, Shen Long decided to call for some help.
Also, Shen Long didn't want to enter alone either. Shen Long hated horror movies, and his courage was basically zero. Unless necessary, he would definitely not risk his life. Hence, Shen Long headed to the library, to find his "beloved" Guardian. Without hesitation, the Guardian spawned a clone as he followed Shen Long. After, Shen Long visited the treasury to get the other Guardian as well.
With two Celestial Immortals protecting him, Shen Long now had the confidence to enter and save his Master. As Shen Long had already explained everything to them, the two Guardians couldn't help but treat this seriously as well. After all, anyone, who could enter the palace without alerting the Guards, would definitely not be weak.
Using their divine sense to scout ahead, they couldn't detect any suspicious figure. They could tell that Daoist Fireblade was still alive, and he was certainly in the main hall. The two couldn't help but become even more serious. Not many cultivators could conceal themselves from others' divine sense.
To escape both of their divine sense, the mysterious figure could either be a renowned assassin which had created his own secret skill or that the man was in Emperor Realm. The trio, however, would never expect that there was actually no one, and Daoist Fireblade was the one who actually injured himself.
Daoist Fireblade continued to lie on the floor, waiting for Shen Long to arrive. To appear as weak as possible, he couldn't even use his divine sense to detect his surroundings. Daoist Fireblade had no idea that Shen Long was with the two Guardians right now. He continued to wait as he closed his eyes.
The trio drew closer, and they were about to enter the room. Upon entering, they also saw the white-clothed ghost on the floor. Even though they were both Celestial Immortals, they were still scared, and let out a small squeak. However, they didn't back out but instead walked even closer. Their divine senses were telling them that this "ghost" was actually Daoist Fireblade.
After another round of thorough examination, they had confirmed that this guy was actually Daoist Fireblade. They started laughing loudly as they couldn't believe what they just witnessed. The "omnipotent" owner of the palace actually looked like a withering ghost!? Since the two guardians were quite close to Daoist Fireblade, they didn't mind continue laughing, and embarrass him even more.
Daoist Fireblade jumped up as he heard the continuous laughter. His eyes popped out upon seeing those two faces. He felt extremely embarrassed right now, and he wanted to dig a hole right now and to stay inside forever.
"Y-y-you two! Why the fu** are you here!? Get the f**k out of my sight! Go away! Y-y-y-you two... Let me explain to you two. T-t-this was a trial for Shen Long... em... yeah! A trail for Shen Long! Why are you two here!?" Daoist Fireblade agitatedly spoke, and he sounded extremely unsure.
The two didn't respond, but only continued to laugh even more.
"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! Look at him!! He looks like he's about to die!!!! Please! We gotta let the arena guy see this as well!! AHAHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHA! Good point! Go, Shen Long, go get him. Quick!!"
Daoist Fireblade wanted to cry right now. His "flawless" plan had completely failed. Not only he failed to lie to Shen Long, but his "dying face" was also seen by his closest friends. He couldn't help but glanced coldly at Shen Long, revealing his strong killing intent. However, upon seeing Shen Long's face, Daoist Fireblade wanted to cry even more.
Even Shen Long was laughing. Shen Long tried to restrain himself due to respect, but he just couldn't resist laughing at Daoist Fireblade's face. He quickly looked away after seeing his Master's glance.
"Kill me now..."