Stranger Danger

The Taoist was the Taoist of Sleep, of course. Everything that happened tonight was machinated by him as well.

First, he used “Hidden Dragon Enters Dream” to take control of Old Farmer, the evil scholar, Lady Bones, and the other two warriors. Then, he made them infiltrate Cloud Hue Pass, seek out Ye Qing, and commit suicide.

That’s right. From the start, his plan was for them to commit suicide. They were his pawns and his baits.

He never expected the five warriors to be able to kill Ye Qing. The thought had never even crossed his mind. Although there was actually a fair chance that they might be able to kill Ye Qing in his current state, the problem was Taba Xuanwu’s presence. It was already next to impossible to kill Ye Qing under Taba Xuanwu’s watchful eyes, but to escape from Cloud Hue Pass as well? That was yet another near impossible task.

The entire point of this endeavor was to steal the Earthly Sovereign Bell. If the five warriors could not kill Ye Qing, and if they could not escape from Taba Xuanwu, then what was the point? Hell, he would be doing Taba Xuanwu’s dirty work for him!

Therefore, the five warriors were never meant to kill Ye Qing. They were simply fodders he was using to lower Ye Qing and Taba Xuanwu’s guard. It also allowed him to infest the general’s residence with the Sleep Zhis and put Ye Qing into sleep.

And once Ye Qing was asleep, he was free to do whatever he wanted.

His “Hidden Dragon Art of Sleep and Dreams” and “Hidden Dragon Enters Dream” worked best when his target was asleep.

“Hidden Dragon Art of Sleep and Dreams” could put any living being to sleep, but his true self was outside Cloud Hue Pass right now. Not even he was strong enough to put a Great Grandmaster like Ye Qing into sleep from so far away. So, he could only rely on the Sleep Zhi.

The Sleep Zhi was as small as a speck of dust, and it was practically invisible even to the eyes of a warrior at night. However, it couldn’t survive outside a living being’s body for long, and it would immediately start putting everyone around it to sleep as soon as it was outside. If someone happened to see this, then his efforts would all be for naught.

So, he made sure that wouldn’t be the case. First, he hid an incredible amount of Sleep Zhis inside the five warriors and had them infiltrate the general’s residence. Then, he transferred the Sleep Zhis to a soldier without being noticed by anyone. This allowed him to sacrifice the five warriors to Ye Qing and Taba Xuanwu without them noticing the presence of the Sleep Zhis.