Chapter 465: Only Two Can Leave Alive

Yun Ji nodded approvingly. "You know your things."

Guan Fangyi rolled her eyes. "The Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl is Myriad Beasts Sect's Sect Leader token. Plenty of people should have heard of that. Does knowing it really count as being knowledgeable? Don't tell me the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl in the current Sect Leader's hands is fake."

There was obvious doubt in her words.

Yun Ji said, "You're right. It should be fake. I know Myriad Beasts Sect well. Judging from all the signs, the sect hasn't used the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl for a very long time. They probably still haven't found Zhu Chicheng's remains. The real pearl should still be buried together with him."

Niu Youdao and the others exchanged looks. The Sect Leader token held by the mighty Myriad Beasts Sect's current Sect Leader was actually fake? If this news got out, what kind of sensation would it cause?

Yun Ji continued, "So many years have passed that whether the current token is fake no longer matters. As long as Myriad Beasts Sect itself recognizes it as genuine, then even a fake becomes real. They could pick up any random stone and call it the Sect Leader token if they wished. So long as everyone inside Myriad Beasts Sect accepts it, does it really matter what object serves as the token?"

Put that way, the others had to admit she was right. The physical object itself truly was not important. What mattered was what Myriad Beasts Sect collectively recognized.

Niu Youdao asked, "You want to find the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl? Does it possess some special use?"

Yun Ji nodded. "Yes. I want that object. It has a certain influence over flying birds and running beasts. Myriad Beasts Sect originally built its foundation with the help of this pearl. If I can find it, Duyun Mountain may not be without a chance to rise."

"That is why it matters greatly to me. Of course, even setting aside its status as the Sect Leader token, the object is equally important to Myriad Beasts Sect. If they learned what I was trying to do, and learned that the Mountain Lord of Duyun Mountain is the spirit beast who once belonged to Zhu Chicheng, they would never let me go."

Niu Youdao understood.

She had revealed these secrets in answer to what he had said earlier: how could he trust her promise? She was voluntarily placing leverage over herself into his hands. So long as he helped Yun Ji, she would not dare casually turn against him afterward. This woman was determined to obtain the pearl at any cost. What Yun Ji did not tell them was that she had still concealed the most important part of the truth.

Back then, she really had entered this place with Zhu Chicheng, and Zhu Chicheng really had ordered her to escape first. Before sending her away, however, Zhu Chicheng had also given her a message to take back to Myriad Beasts Sect. If he failed to return alive, she was to tell the succeeding Sect Leader where to retrieve one item he had left behind. But what happened afterward chilled her heart. She never passed on Zhu Chicheng's final words.

In her view, those people were not worthy of receiving what Zhu Chicheng had left behind. So she quietly found the hidden legacy herself.

Only after retrieving and examining it did she learn that it contained a secret known solely to successive Sect Leaders of Myriad Beasts Sect. The most important secret concerned the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl.

The reason the pearl could exert a certain influence over flying birds and running beasts was that it contained a single drop of Phoenix Blood left from ancient times.

Among cultivators beneath Heaven, those who managed to break through into the Nascent Soul Realm could be counted on one's fingers because one particular cultivation shackle was extraordinarily difficult to overcome. The drop of Phoenix Blood was too small to have much effect on human cultivators. For demon cultivators, however, it could help them break through that shackle. Yun Ji's heart had surged with desire when she learned this. At first she had been simple-minded, without such powerful desires. That simplicity had also been one reason Zhu Chicheng trusted her.

But after weathering many storms in the years that followed, especially after her husband was killed, her longing to obtain the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl grew stronger and stronger. That was the true reason she had entered the illusory realm again and again to search.

Niu Youdao said slowly, "This is still only your side of the story. We don't have enough time for me to verify anything now. How do I know whether what you're telling me is true or false?"

Yun Ji replied, "Once we find the object, you'll know whether it's true or false! I've already put everything on the line. Do you still have any choice?"

Niu Youdao stared at her coldly for a while. Then he slowly turned away and paced back and forth. When he stopped, it was directly in front of Yuan Gang.

"That fake Zhu Jiang is probably an old acquaintance of ours."

Questioning appeared in Yuan Gang's eyes.

Niu Youdao lifted his chin toward the three unconscious men on the ground. "The person who found that fellow surnamed Chao and stirred him up to make trouble should be the same man."

Yuan Gang asked, "Who?"

Niu Youdao said, "A person's way of thinking easily forms habits. Those habits influence how he handles things, and over time they become his personal style."

"This method of finding a place to settle down, seizing one key point, and waiting there for the prey to come to him—doesn't it feel familiar?"

With that reminder, Yuan Gang paused. They had not encountered many similar methods in this world. It was easy to remember one. A certain calligraphy-and-painting shop in Canglu County flashed through his mind. Someone had once stayed at that shop and waited for his target to walk into the trap.

That style of seizing one point and waiting for prey was almost identical to what Yun Ji had described about someone occupying a residence and waiting for people to take the bait. The answer was already in Yuan Gang's mind.

He blurted, "Lu Shengzhong? He's still alive?"

Niu Youdao shook his head with faint amusement. "Hiding behind the scenes instead of contacting the target directly. Fixing his attention on the younger Chao brother just as he once fixed it on Shao Pingbo's younger sister. The methods are similar too."

"Think about the other factors. There's a very good chance the man came from Beizhou."

"Looks like Shao Pingbo knows how to cherish talent. He didn't kill Lu Shengzhong. Nine times out of ten, it's that fellow again, doing business for Shao Pingbo."

"He really is talented. His bones are just a little too soft. A pity."

Yuan Gang nodded silently, then suddenly added, "His luck is a little bad too."

Niu Youdao laughed.

Put that way, the man's luck truly was somewhat poor. In Canglu County, a poem had sent him headfirst into a wall. This time, he impersonated Zhu Jiang and somehow ran straight into Yun Ji. How bad did someone's luck have to be for that?

Still, Niu Youdao shook his head. "There isn't that much luck in the world. Good luck and bad luck both come from many factors intertwining."

"His own sense of danger has flaws. He watches his head and forgets his backside. Otherwise he wouldn't keep falling into other people's hands."

Guan Fangyi listened with growing curiosity. She turned and quietly asked the bruised and swollen Yuan Fang, "Who's Lu Shengzhong?"

Yuan Fang grinned. "A fellow I once locked in a cellar until he stank like a bug."

"Tell me about it."

"Heh. That isn't something I can explain in a sentence or two."

Yun Ji was also listening and turning over the group's exchange in her mind.

Suddenly Niu Youdao said to her, "Please excuse us for a moment."

Yun Ji fell silent briefly, then turned and left the natural tree fortress. Niu Youdao signaled Guan Fangyi to keep watch at the entrance. Then he walked over to the three unconscious men and tapped each of them several times with the sheath of his sword. The three, already thoroughly tormented, slowly regained consciousness.

When they woke, they discovered their hands and feet could move again, but they still could not gather qi or use their cultivation. One after another, they staggered to their feet. The three men stared at those before them in terror.

Chao Shenghuai asked fearfully, "What do you want? Who exactly are you people?"

"Who we are isn't important. What's important is what you tried to do to us."

Niu Youdao gestured with the sword in his hand toward Yuan Fang.

"Give him a saber."

Yuan Fang did not understand, but walked over and handed one of his monk's sabers to Chao Shenghuai. In Chao Shenghuai's present condition, the monk's saber felt extremely heavy. Even holding it took effort. Far more frightening was that he had no idea what the other side intended. Yuan Fang started to return. Niu Youdao gestured again with his sword.

"Give the other one to the two brothers."

Yuan Fang froze.

Still, he obeyed, putting his other monk's saber into He Youjian's hand. Then he quickly moved away, afraid Niu Youdao might decide to make sport of him again. At the entrance to the tree fortress, Guan Fangyi kept glancing back as well. She had no idea what Niu Youdao intended to do. Niu Youdao paced before the three martial brothers with his sword planted like a walking staff.

"I don't like exterminating people root and branch. But I also can't pretend nothing happened."

"You came after me. There has to be a price."

"So I'll give you an opportunity."

"Among the three of you, only two can leave here alive. The remaining one leaves his life behind."

"I've already given you weapons. Whose life gets taken is up to you."

The instant those words fell, panic seized all three men. They looked from one another to another.

He Youjian said mournfully, "Who exactly are you people?"

Niu Youdao stopped pacing and looked back indifferently. "Was I not clear enough?"

He Youjian said, "Whatever condition you have, name it. We can negotiate."

"Your lives are already in my hands. What is there to negotiate?"

Niu Youdao's tone remained calm.

"I'll give you one final chance."

"I'll count to three. If no one moves by the time I finish, then all three of you can leave your lives here."

"One. Two..."

He counted quickly, giving the three almost no time to think. Chao Shenghuai was the first to react. Almost immediately, he swung his saber at He Youchang.

"You—!"

He Youchang cried out and stumbled aside. He avoided the worst of the blow, but the blade still opened a bloody gash along his arm. He Youjian instantly swung his own saber to protect his younger brother and clashed with Chao Shenghuai. The two blades rang and clattered together. The wounded He Youchang flew into a rage.

Without a weapon of his own, all he could do was circle at the side, waiting for a chance to help his elder brother. He and He Youjian were blood brothers. If only two of the three could live, then naturally the brothers would join forces to eliminate Chao Shenghuai. For He Youjian and Chao Shenghuai, however, every swing of the heavy monk's sabers took enormous effort.

Both were injured already.

Before long, they were gasping for breath. As Chao Shenghuai's movements slowed, He Youchang saw his chance and immediately lunged in to coordinate with his brother. Niu Youdao, watching indifferently with both hands resting on his sword, flicked one finger. A thread of force struck He Youjian at an acupoint and tripped him to the ground. The brothers' combined attack instantly collapsed. He Youchang, charging in barehanded, was practically throwing himself onto the blade. Chao Shenghuai hacked him down on the spot.

"Ahhh!"

He Youchang screamed miserably.

Chao Shenghuai refused to stop. He seized the opportunity and chopped again and again, blood spraying everywhere. One final stroke cut through He Youchang's neck.

"Youchang!"

He Youjian, stumbling back to his feet, cried out in grief.

Chao Shenghuai turned.

His eyes were already bloodshot from killing. Then he charged again, trying to take the chance to kill He Youjian as well. As far as he was concerned, if he truly managed to leave alive, he no longer wanted He Youjian leaving with him. Niu Youdao flicked a finger. A wisp of force knocked the saber from Chao Shenghuai's hand.

At the same time, he gave Yuan Gang a look. The jolt sent Chao Shenghuai stumbling backward—straight toward Yuan Gang. Yuan Gang swung one hand like a blade into the back of Chao Shenghuai's neck.

Chao Shenghuai collapsed unconscious.

He Youjian's own brother had just died before his eyes. Red-eyed, he scrambled up and rushed over, still intending to use the opening to hack the fallen Chao Shenghuai to death. Yuan Gang crossed past him.

One arm shot out.

Crack!

Clean and decisive, Yuan Gang twisted He Youjian's neck and broke it. There were some things Yuan Gang would not do. There were other things where he showed no mercy whatsoever.

[End of Chapter 465]