Chapter 625: The More You Cover It Up, the More It Shows

Yun Ji was surprised. “What is so mysterious about this?”

Niu Youdao gave a bitter smile. For something like this, he had actually made the trip in person. Fortunately, he had already decided earlier that obtaining large flying mounts was an urgent priority. Without a flying mount, he truly would not have been able to come whenever he wished.

Instead of answering, he asked, “Are you familiar with Shunfeng Hall in Star-Plucking City?”

“Shunfeng Hall?” Yun Ji thought for a moment. “I’ve heard of it. I know what it is. Something like an escort agency—they take money to run errands for people. Is there a problem?”

Niu Youdao asked, “Does Duyun Mountain have dealings with Shunfeng Hall?”

“I only know of Shunfeng Hall by reputation. I’ve never dealt with them.” Yun Ji looked at him. “What exactly is the problem?”

“You’ve never dealt with them?” Niu Youdao said. “As far as I know, someone from Shunfeng Hall came here. Duyun Mountain has no shortage of people to run errands. Why would you need someone from Shunfeng Hall to do such work for you?”

Yun Ji frowned. “What are you implying? Is there something wrong with cultivators associating with one another?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It just happens that the person who came here is connected to something I’m investigating, so I came to verify a few things.”

“You don’t lack subordinates either. What happened that required you to come investigate personally?”

Niu Youdao shook his head. “Until I understand the matter clearly, it isn’t convenient to say. If appropriate, I’ll give you an explanation afterward.”

For Yun Ji, Niu Youdao was still a reliable man. In truth, most people who had dealt with Niu Youdao closely for any length of time tended to develop a strange sort of trust in him.

After a brief silence, she said, “I don’t know anything about what you’re asking. I handed Duyun Mountain’s affairs to Huan’er long ago and haven’t involved myself for years. If you want to know something, asking Huan’er would make more sense than asking me.”

“If I could ask him, I wouldn’t have disturbed you.”

Mockery appeared on Yun Ji’s radiant face. “You don’t trust him? Aren’t the two of you sworn brothers?”

Niu Youdao waved a hand. “Senior, don’t misunderstand. This has nothing to do with trust. Naturally I trust Brother Yun. But there are too many eyes and ears around him. If I came all the way here and immediately started asking about this, it would be too easy to alert the snake by striking the grass. Otherwise, why would I have bothered inventing that smokescreen? As Mountain Lord, it is more natural for you to ask about affairs within Duyun Mountain than it is for me.”

Yun Ji fell silent for a moment. “I haven’t involved myself in Duyun Mountain’s affairs for a long time. If I suddenly start asking questions now, that will look abrupt too, especially with you arriving at the same time.”

Niu Youdao disagreed. “I already laid the groundwork for you: borrowing troops. This is no small matter for Duyun Mountain. You can use it as the reason to come out and warn everyone not to become involved in things they shouldn’t. The message you’re expressing is the same anyway—you don’t want outsiders knowing Duyun Mountain has ties with me because you’re afraid of being implicated. Under those circumstances, wouldn’t it be perfectly natural for you to ask whether any outsiders have entered the mountain recently?”

Yun Ji arched a brow. She had now experienced the depth of the man’s calculations firsthand. The look she gave Niu Youdao became somewhat complicated.

Then she suddenly asked, “Why did you give me the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl?”

Niu Youdao met her gaze and said slowly, “The Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl definitely isn’t as simple as you made it sound. It must conceal some secret I don’t know, and that secret must be extremely well hidden. There probably aren’t many people inside Myriad Beasts Sect who know about it either. Otherwise, with so many mouths involved, it would never have stayed hidden all this time.”

“And it must be an extraordinary secret. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have risked your life again and again by entering the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm. If I asked you, you wouldn’t tell me. Asking Myriad Beasts Sect would be useless too.”

Yun Ji’s gaze flickered. “Myriad Beasts Sect is rich enough to drown in money. You could have traded the pearl for a fortune.”

“Money isn’t important. I’d rather know the secret behind it.”

“You gave the thing to me yourself. And as you just said, I won’t tell you the secret.”

“You have to give something to gain something. The moment I gave it to you, I already knew the secret.”

Yun Ji did not understand. “Oh? Then tell me what secret you know.”

“It isn’t for me to tell. It’s for you to tell.” Niu Youdao looked straight at her. “If I absolutely insisted on forcing the answer out of you, would you dare refuse? I can learn the secret whenever I want!”

Yun Ji’s delicate body trembled. She understood instantly, and killing intent entered her eyes. “You aren’t afraid I’ll kill you?”

“Leaving aside whether you could kill me, I’m not the only person at Maolu Villa who knows the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl is in your hands. If I fail to return, Myriad Beasts Sect will come looking for you very quickly.”

Yun Ji’s breathing grew slightly rapid. She stared at him without blinking.

Niu Youdao smiled. “I’m joking. Senior, don’t think too much of it. You also hold leverage over me concerning the secrets of the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm. I won’t speak recklessly.”

“I can promise Senior this: whenever you’re willing to tell me that secret, I’ll gladly listen. If you aren’t willing, I will never force you.”

Having said several things that should never have been said, calling it a joke was naturally not so simple.

He added, “The situation in Yan is bad. I shouldn’t remain here long. Senior, what do you think?”

Yun Ji said nothing more and rose.

The two left her secluded cultivation ground. When they emerged from the deep cavern, they encountered Yun Huan waiting outside.

Yun Huan was astonished. His mother, who had remained in seclusion for so long, had actually come out because of Niu Youdao?

Some things could not be discussed with too many people present. Yun Ji had Yun Huan first arrange guest quarters in a cave residence for Niu Youdao and his party.

The environment there was quite pleasant, almost like an immortal realm among clouds and mist.

Niu Youdao stood outside the cave residence with his sword planted before him, watching the clouds gather and disperse.

Guan Fangyi wandered nearby with her round fan, admiring the scenery. She suddenly asked, “Will Yun Ji agree to lend you troops?”

Niu Youdao smiled. “Wait for the answer.”

Guan Fangyi smiled as well. “Master Dao, exactly how many sworn brothers do you have? Demon cultivators, ghost cultivators, elders from Lingxiao Pavilion and Tiannü Sect above you, even some junior disciple from Myriad Beasts Sect below you—you don’t seem willing to let anyone escape...”

She went on teasing him for quite some time. Niu Youdao simply listened without answering.

About one hour later, Yun Ji came.

She followed Niu Youdao inside the cave residence, while Guan Fangyi and the others were kept outside.

“Baili Jie?”

Inside the cave residence, Niu Youdao was startled when Yun Ji gave him the answer.

The man concealing his identity whom Wu Sanliang and the others had been watching was Baili Jie himself.

What startled Niu Youdao was the realization that Yuan Gang’s vigilance had been correct. There really was something murky between Gongsun Bu and Baili Jie.

In other words, Gongsun Bu had not told the truth back then. The matter was not as simple as Baili Jie being short of money.

Seeing something wrong in Niu Youdao’s expression and tone, Yun Ji asked in confusion, “This Baili Jie is only an independent cultivator. What is the problem?”

Niu Youdao asked in return, “What did he come here for?”

Yun Ji replied calmly, “Huan’er has known him for a long time. He merely came to visit.”

Knowing perfectly well that Niu Youdao was investigating the man, yet still remaining this calm, made Niu Youdao narrow his eyes slightly.

“Senior, let me remind you of something. I already know a fair amount about Baili Jie. On the surface, he’s an independent cultivator who comes and goes alone. I’ve never heard of him joining Shunfeng Hall, yet he can freely enter its inner areas. Do you think that sounds simple?”

Yun Ji found that strange. “You already know so much about him? You even know he can freely enter the inner areas of Shunfeng Hall. Why would an independent cultivator deserve this much attention from you? What exactly is the reason?”

How could Niu Youdao not know?

The moment Baili Jie appeared, Yuan Gang had become suspicious. The first thing Yuan Gang did afterward was contact Linghu Qiu and investigate Baili Jie’s background.

Niu Youdao said, “Senior, I don’t know what hidden dealings Duyun Mountain has with Baili Jie. Since you’re deliberately concealing things on his behalf, do you know his true background? If you do, please tell me.”

Yun Ji replied, “As far as we know, he’s simply an independent cultivator. We truly don’t know that he has any special background.”

Niu Youdao’s voice grew heavy. “One of my trusted men, the person responsible for Maolu Villa’s intelligence hub, is secretly entangled with this Baili Jie. For me, that is no small matter. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come here personally over something trivial.”

“Senior, I’ve told you the truth. You’d better tell me the truth too and let me understand what is happening. If this brings down Maolu Villa, Senior’s secret won’t remain hidden either!”

This time Yun Ji truly was startled.

Baili Jie had actually extended his hand into Maolu Villa’s intelligence hub.

That was certainly not something an ordinary independent cultivator should be doing.

Who exactly was this Baili Jie?

She too faintly sensed that something was wrong and finally revealed the truth.

“I don’t know him personally, and I know little about him. But he and Huan’er truly are old acquaintances. They’ve known each other for many years, and he can be considered an old friend Huan’er trusts.”

“He didn’t come to Duyun Mountain for anything else this time. Huan’er asked him to purchase a batch of Spirit Essence Pills from Star-Plucking City and deliver them here.”

Niu Youdao did not understand. “Duyun Mountain isn’t far from Star-Plucking City. Does Duyun Mountain have no one who can buy Spirit Essence Pills? Why did Baili Jie need to run the errand personally? Is Baili Jie actually one of Shunfeng Hall’s people?”

Yun Ji hesitated for quite some time. “I don’t know whether he belongs to Shunfeng Hall. The truth is that Duyun Mountain’s consumption of Spirit Essence Pills has increased somewhat recently. If Duyun Mountain’s own people bought them too frequently, or bought too many at once, it might draw attention. I was worried someone would start watching us, so I had Huan’er arrange for trustworthy outsiders to purchase them discreetly.”

Niu Youdao still did not understand. “What does it matter if your consumption has increased?”

Yun Ji said slowly, “My consumption is what increased.”

Niu Youdao froze. Once the implication sank in, surprise appeared on his face. “Senior, are you preparing to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm?”

They were all cultivators. Everyone understood roughly what cultivation at each level looked like.

At Yun Ji’s stage, progress should have been gradual and steady. A sudden sharp increase in her consumption of Spirit Essence Pills suggested only one likely possibility.

And it was not hard to understand why she would want to keep such a thing hidden.

The nine supreme experts who looked down upon the world would hardly be willing to see a tenth person appear and demand a share of their power.

Yun Ji remained silent, which was effectively an admission.

More than anything, however, she felt alarmed over Baili Jie’s unclear origins.

Niu Youdao frowned.

Breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm meant transcending the shackles of the physical body. Certain special resources were required to assist that process, and those resources happened to be controlled extremely tightly by those nine supreme experts.

Why would Yun Ji suddenly have such an intention?

If she tried to break through without the necessary preparations, her body would be unable to withstand it. That would simply be courting death.

The word suddenly made Niu Youdao realize something.

He lowered his voice. “Senior, you repeatedly risked entering the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm to find the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl. The moment you obtained it, you began preparing for a breakthrough. Is the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl connected to breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm?”

Yun Ji did not want to answer. Instead, she asked anxiously, “Who do you think Baili Jie might be?”

“How would I know? He could be anyone. I’m investigating!” Niu Youdao said. “Senior, you handled this foolishly. You’ve practically made the very thing you wanted to conceal more conspicuous. How could you entrust something like this to an outsider?”

Yun Ji grew anxious. “Spirit Essence Pills are things cultivators everywhere purchase, something everyone needs. What is strange about asking someone else to buy them? How could I possibly know that Baili Jie, of all people, would turn out to have a problem?”

“No. We can’t leave him alive. Do you know where he is now? I have to eliminate him!”

Niu Youdao said, “You don’t even know who he is, yet you dare move against him lightly? What if he belongs to Misty Pavilion? If you kill him, wouldn’t that only make the cover-up even more obvious?”

[End of Chapter 625]