Gao Xian didn't like to resort to brute force, but this time, he had no choice.
Qing Ping knew his residence, knew a lot about him, and could even locate him through the scent of medicinal herbs.
As long as he stayed at Feima Ji, he couldn't escape Qing Ping. The key was that behind Qing Ping was the extremely brutal and troublesome Red Snake Gang.
While resorting to force was necessary, it also required a well-thought-out plan.
Gao Xian took a piece of charcoal and meticulously drew the layout of the courtyard on a piece of white paper.
He had some knowledge of sketching and understood some basic drawing techniques.
The Grandmaster-level Electric Dragon Hand allowed him to accurately depict the patterns he desired. The Grandmaster-level Great Illusion Divine Art enabled him to remember various details such as proportions, light and shadow levels, and so on.
Combining the two, he possessed the ability of a hyper-realistic painter.
Hyper-realistic painting style is similar to high-resolution photos, but with even greater clarity, more details, and richer colors.
In simpler terms, hyper-realistic painting is like a higher resolution photograph.
Of course, Gao Xian didn't have this ability before. Now, with his control over opponents reaching a superhuman level, he had terrifying precision and stability.
With some drawing skills added, he could easily depict everything he had seen truthfully.
Even with just a rough piece of charcoal, Gao Xian still meticulously depicted the living environment of Qing Ping and the others.
Zhu Qianniang was very surprised. She had never seen such a detailed and lifelike painting before, let alone expected Gao Xian to have such a skill.
She sincerely praised, "You can even paint, and so well, truly amazing!"
Gao Xian replied casually, "Just a trivial skill, nothing worth mentioning."
While he said this, he couldn't help but feel pleased inside. This kind of casual showing off made him feel great.
"The main building has three rooms, where the Second Master and Qing Ping reside. The east wing has three rooms, occupied by seven people, all in the mid-stage of Qi cultivation.
"The west wing has seven people, including three women, all in the mid-stage of Qi cultivation. Hmm, the relationships among these people are a bit complicated. There might be some changes later."
Gao Xian pointed at the surrounding walls and said, "There are threads on the walls, indicating possible traps outside the walls. The main gate is the safest entry point.
"There are too many people inside the rooms, so using the Dream Confusion Powder won't be very effective..."
Each cultivator had different resistance levels to the Dream Confusion Powder. With so many people inside the rooms, it was unrealistic to try to incapacitate them all at once using the powder. He felt this method was not very effective.
Zhu Qianniang also agreed, "Using the Dream Confusion Powder might easily alert this group of people, so this method is not ideal.
"The key is to deal with the Second Master, that is, the Black Snake."
The leader of the Red Snake Gang was called Red Snake, the Second Master was Black Snake, the Third Master was White Snake, and the Fourth Master was Green Snake, also known as Yao Qingshuang.
These famous figures, Zhu Qianniang had never seen them, but she had heard of their names.
She felt that the most difficult one to deal with was Black Snake, a cultivator in the later stage of Qi cultivation with rich combat experience and possibly possessing powerful artifacts.
As for the other cultivators in the mid-stage of Qi cultivation, although their numbers were many, they combined were not as threatening as Black Snake.
If they could eliminate Black Snake first, the rest would be easily defeated, posing no real threat.
With Black Snake leading them, this group of people would unleash a formidable combat power.
The disparity between having him present or not was too great.
Gao Xian understood this principle but couldn't think of a good solution at the moment.
"Let's not rush. Let me gather more information about them first, then we can figure out how to deal with Black Snake."
Zhu Qianniang advised, "Don't delay. If they strike first, the situation might not be favorable."
If they took the initiative to eliminate Black Snake and his group, no one would suspect their involvement. But if Black Snake and his group attacked Gao Xian first, it would surely alert others, and the news would spread, linking Gao Xian to the Red Snake Gang.
At that point, any mishap with Black Snake and his group would inevitably be traced back to Gao Xian. The Red Snake Gang would also cause trouble for Gao Xian.
"Let's wait one more day and take action tomorrow night."
Gao Xian said, "I also need to refine the Stone-Cutting Sword. We need to make some preparations in all aspects. This is a crucial matter and we can't be too hasty."
Zhu Qianniang was convinced and agreed, "Alright, we'll take action tomorrow night."
After finalizing their plans, Gao Xian went to find Huang Ying at the Bai Bing Tang.
At such a late hour, outsiders were naturally not allowed in. But Gao Xian had an unusual relationship with Huang Ying, known by a few of her trusted aides, so he smoothly entered the backyard.
Huang Ying was delighted to see Gao Xian and pulled him to have a drink together.
There were several occasions when the timing was right, but Gao Xian didn't seize them. Today, at such a late hour, if Gao Xian didn't come, she would have come to him anyway, so it didn't matter.
The enthusiastic Huang Ying made Gao Xian feel a bit uneasy.
He declined the drinking proposal and took out the Stone-Cutting Sword, "The hilt is damaged, and I urgently need it fixed. Could you help me repair it, Sister Ying?"
Huang Ying was a bit surprised to see the melted hilt, "How did it end up like this?"
She said, "This is easy, just replace the hilt and polish it."
"I'll come to pick it up tomorrow at noon. It's too late now, I should head back."
Gao Xian didn't dare to stay any longer. Huang Ying's eyes were gleaming as if she wanted to devour him.
Normally, he would be willing to flirt with Sister Ying, but now he couldn't afford to. He didn't have the energy to engage in such matters.
Sister Ying was different from Qing Ping. It was easy to get involved, but getting out might not be so simple.
They were business partners, and getting too entangled in personal relationships would blur the lines of interest. It wouldn't be a good thing.
However, Huang Ying didn't want Gao Xian to leave. She held his hand with a concerned expression and said, "With monsters rampant, it's not safe for you to be alone at home. Stay here with me for some protection."
"No, no, I still have things to do. I'll come to see you another day when I have time."
Gao Xian hurriedly left, leaving behind a reluctant Huang Ying sighing at the door.
Gao Xian actually heard the sigh, even sensing the emptiness and loneliness within it.
At another time, he would have been willing to comfort Sister Ying. But today was not the day.
Back at home, Gao Xian and Zhu Qianniang conducted various experiments.
The main focus was on testing the effectiveness of the Shadowless Cloak, determining under what conditions Zhu Qianniang could perceive the presence of the cloak and of Gao Xian himself.
While the spell variations of the Shadowless Cloak were fixed, its performance under different environments was not.
For example, if the ground was covered in snow, the Shadowless Cloak would leave footprints. Or if there was accumulated water, or magical impacts, any material contact would reveal the cloak.
How to better conceal one's form with the Shadowless Cloak, how to make the best use of its advantages, including using spells, drawing the sword, all required continuous experimentation and research.
They were busy until late at night before finally resting.
The next morning, Gao Xian got up early and went to Qing Ping's lair, even entering the courtyard for a stroll.
With the cover of night, Gao Xian felt confident. But during the daytime, wandering around the courtyard in the Shadowless Cloak made him a bit nervous.
Daylight was truly different; leaving footprints on the ground would be noticeable to others, indicating something was amiss.
Fortunately, the Grandmaster-level Shadowless Cloak was indeed powerful. Gao Xian walked around twice, even brushing past several cultivators, and they were completely unaware of his presence.
At noon, Gao Xian went to Bai Bing Tang to retrieve the Stone-Cutting Sword. While the Frost Sword was sharper, it was too heavy and not as handy.
In a battle between experts, every detail mattered. Blindly pursuing sheer power was a mistake.
In the afternoon, Gao Xian took a few pieces of paper and redraw the structure of Qing Ping's residence, including the surrounding buildings and roads.
He took a few small stones to simulate both sides and conducted a battle simulation on this detailed map.
Zhu Qianniang had never seen such a method before and was completely impressed by Gao Xian's brilliant and innovative ideas.
Through the simulated battle, she gained a clear understanding of the upcoming fight, knowing the environment, the number of enemies, what actions to take, how to attack, how to retreat, and how to respond to unexpected situations.
In the heat of battle, it was difficult to make calm and rational decisions. With this plan in place, at least the general direction could be determined.
This would prevent making wrong choices in a panic.
After much discussion, Gao Xian slammed the table, "It's settled then."
Although Zhu Qianniang felt it was somewhat risky, she still agreed.
In such endeavors, there was always a risk involved! The chances of success with this plan were very high, making it worth the risk.
"We'll rest and adjust first, set off at the third watch, and take action at the fourth watch."
Zhu Qianniang looked at Gao Xian's calm expression and couldn't help but feel amazed at how quickly Gao Xian had grown.
Two months ago, Gao Xian always looked anxious when going out.
Now, about to go out to fight, Gao Xian was calm and even had the presence of mind to rest and adjust.
Just by looking at Gao Xian's state, Zhu Qianniang felt that tonight's mission would surely succeed!
(End of this chapter)