Immortal after a Hundred Reincarnations

「Another day passed.」

Xu Lei returned to the mountains near the old farmer’s orchard.

After bidding the old farmer farewell that day, the man had invited Xu Lei to his home for a visit. But Xu Lei refused, saying the matter of the Demon Spirits was urgent, lest the Spirit Monsters harm anyone. He claimed he had to return at once to ask Living Buddha Hui Chi to come over. Then, Xu Lei turned and left.

But in reality, he hadn’t returned to the temple. He only pretended to leave. Midway there, after entering the city, he found an opportunity in a crowd to activate his Human Skin Mask, changing his appearance and shaking off all unwanted attention. By the time he returned, Xu Lei no longer looked like a Monk. Instead, he was disguised as a passing Jianghu Wanderer.

Xu Lei didn’t stay at the old farmer’s house, nor did he meet with him again. He certainly didn’t rashly barge into the orchard. The situation wasn’t entirely clear yet, so he couldn’t afford to be hasty. Thus, Xu Lei simply continued to observe from the shadows.

At that moment, Xu Lei had climbed another mountain peak overlooking the orchard. Hidden in the dense forest, he took out his Telescope and used it to observe the orchard on the opposite side. He wanted to find out who exactly was plotting against him. At the same time, Xu Lei would occasionally glance toward the old farmer’s house. His hiding spot allowed him to observe both locations at once.

He saw nothing of use on the first day. However, Xu Lei was extremely patient, not at all anxious, and he just silently continued to watch.

「Three days later.」

「That afternoon.」

"It’s him!"

Looking through the Telescope at the opposite orchard, Xu Lei’s brow furrowed and his eyes grew cold. ’Why is this guy targeting me? Is it because of Jingchun? But it seems like he’s only met Jingchun a few times, right? Or is it because he knew from when we were young that my aptitude wasn’t actually that great? But now that he sees I’ve succeeded in my Cultivation, and am even a bit stronger than him, he thinks I might have some extraordinary opportunity? So he wants to steal it? And how is he controlling these Demons? It seems he has secrets of his own. Perhaps he’s not just an ordinary Tier Four Bodhisattva Fruit Mirror cultivator.’

Xu Lei mused to himself.

That’s right. The person targeting Xu Lei this time was none other than Hui Si—Jingchun’s previous blind date!

At the time, he had acted relatively normal, not at all crazed or paranoid. Sensing that Jingchun didn’t like him, and feeling outmatched by Xu Lei’s Cultivation and outshone by his looks, he had simply taken his leave. He didn’t even seem to show that strong an interest in Jingchun, nor did Xu Lei sense much anger or madness from his rejection. So, back then, Xu Lei hadn’t considered him an enemy. He thought that was the end of it!

He never expected that this Hui Si was actually coveting what he had, laying a deadly trap in secret!

According to Xu Lei’s observations over the past three days, the Array in the orchard had been set by Hui Si. The not-so-strong Mouse Demon from before was also under his control. Even the old farmer was being controlled by Hui Si.

Hui Si’s original plan must have been to set up an Array in the orchard as a trap. Then, he’d have the old farmer pretend to go to the temple and ask Xu Lei to come vanquish a demon. Once Xu Lei entered the Array, Hui Si could activate it and capture him without wasting too much Magical Power!

However, Hui Si hadn’t expected the old farmer’s acting to be so poor. Furthermore, because of his past experience with Hui Cheng, Xu Lei had become wary of these kinds of "house calls" to exorcise demons. After some maneuvering, Xu Lei saw right through the conspiracy. He pretended to be a junior disciple sent to scout the area, even killing the Mouse Demon Hui Si controlled and taking its Demon Core.

Apparently, Xu Lei had fooled both the old farmer and Hui Si. That’s why for the past three days, Hui Si had truly believed that after Xu Lei, the "scouting disciple," returned and made his report, Hui Chi would actually show up. So, over these days, Hui Si had been busy reinforcing the Array.

The fruit trees in the orchard were quite lush. On the first day, Hui Si hadn’t moved around much, so Xu Lei didn’t spot him. But when the old farmer came to the orchard to meet with Hui Si, they walked into a spot that wasn’t obscured by the dense leaves and branches, and Xu Lei caught sight of him.

"Hui Si, you dare provoke me!" Xu Lei whispered coldly. "You’re courting death!"

He didn’t like to provoke enemies. But if someone came looking for trouble, Xu Lei wasn’t afraid. He lived by the principle: I won’t attack unless I’m attacked. But if someone truly came for him, he would never back down!

After all, in this final Cultivation Era, anyone who went up against Xu Lei was at a disadvantage. He could reincarnate, lifetime after lifetime. If they truly fought to the point of mutual destruction, his opponent’s entire future in Cultivation would be gone, while Xu Lei could just be reborn and start over.

Of course, how to strike was still a question. Even though he could fight until his Magical Power was exhausted in this life and simply start over in the next, Xu Lei still wanted to avoid such an outcome if at all possible.

’I’ll have to use the Trapped Dragon Heaven-Strangling Array!’ Xu Lei thought. ’Since Hui Si is still there lying in wait, it means he probably hasn’t realized that I’ve already seen through him.’

With that in mind, Xu Lei didn’t act rashly. Instead, he continued to observe.

In the blink of an eye, another three days of observation passed.

After all, when Xu Lei had left the old farmer’s house saying he was going to fetch Hui Chi, he hadn’t given a precise time.