Chapter 718: Your Myriad Beasts Sect Has Crossed Me

"Establish the truth? Hahaha..." Niu Youdao could not help laughing. He shook his head as he said, "How can Elder Chao be so naive? Of course, now that I am here, whether the truth can actually be established depends entirely on a single thought from Elder Chao. If we are friends, then naturally none of this will have anything to do with you. If we are not friends, then whatever the Myriad Beasts Sect decides to do with the matter has nothing to do with me."

A vicious gleam rose in Chao Jing's eyes. He stared fixedly at Niu Youdao and slowly began walking toward him.

He had heard no shortage of rumors about this man. Today, he had finally seen the truth for himself. Niu Youdao truly was no ordinary person. He had actually dared come alone into the Myriad Beasts Sect's territory to threaten an Elder of the sect. That composed, unhurried bearing alone was beyond ordinary men.

Seeing the ill intent in Chao Jing's gaze, Niu Youdao kept one hand on his sword while the fingers of his other hand flipped out a talisman. He said without much concern, "A man is usually better off not acting on impulse. Since I dared come, naturally I did not come alone. I made preparations. I imagine Elder Chao did not truly come alone either."

A Heavenly Sword Talisman! Chao Jing's pupils contracted slightly. The hint of murderous intent that had risen in him was immediately suppressed.

Even so, he lifted one hand and brought his palm down hard on Qiu Wenxian's head.

Crack! Brain matter burst apart. Qiu Wenxian did not even have time to scream before collapsing dead on the ground.

Killing him cost Chao Jing nothing. He could simply deny that he had been the one to do it.

Niu Youdao watched without the slightest reaction, not even a change in expression. He too was a man long accustomed to life and death. He merely clicked his tongue. "What a pity. No matter. I still have several more in my hands. If Elder Chao enjoys himself, I can send them all to the Myriad Beasts Sect later and let you kill to your heart's content. As for whether you can stop the sect's senior leadership from questioning them first, that will depend on Elder Chao's ability."

Chao Jing stopped, ignoring the corpse at his feet. Instead, he looked up at the large flying mount circling overhead, then lowered his gaze back to Niu Youdao. "I hear you have a number of flying mounts capable of carrying passengers. Where did they come from?"

The old man was not stupid. He had still managed to connect the pieces. A faint amused smile appeared at the corner of Niu Youdao's mouth. "Is that important?"

Chao Jing pointed at him and shouted, "It was you! You were at the Myriad Beasts Sect when that plague occurred. You colluded with Chao Shenghuai to commit the crime, and now you want to frame this old man for it and force me to submit to you! Otherwise, with your resources, where could you possibly have obtained so many passenger-carrying flying mounts?"

Back when rumors first spread that Niu Youdao had acquired a batch of flying mounts, people at the Myriad Beasts Sect had mentioned it casually in conversation. No one knew where he had gotten them.

They had been curious, but had never intended to investigate. Once the Myriad Beasts Sect sold something and received payment, whoever the buyer later gave it to was none of their concern. There was no need to investigate so aggressively that customers became unhappy.

And anyone who could afford passenger-carrying flying mounts in the first place possessed no ordinary identity or background. Such people were not necessarily individuals the Myriad Beasts Sect could investigate simply because it wished to.

Niu Youdao said calmly, "You're thinking too much. I do have a number of flying mounts in my hands. Certainly far more than five."

"..." Chao Jing froze. The numbers did not match. That one sentence left him with nothing to say.

Niu Youdao said, "Elder Chao, there is no point going in circles. Throwing dirt on me is even more pointless. If you dare do something, you should dare own it."

Dare own it? Chao Jing was so furious he nearly exploded. "Don't imagine you can use this affair to blackmail me. I won't swallow your tricks. Go ahead and hand whatever witnesses you have to the Myriad Beasts Sect!"

"Good!" Niu Youdao nodded approvingly. "A real man. I admire that. Very well, as you wish. But I will not be the one handing them over. I will have Yan's three major sects send people to escort Chen Ping, Gao Lan, and the others to the Myriad Beasts Sect. The senior leadership can investigate them on the spot, with no one able to tamper with the matter in between. As for Chao Shenghuai, he will be sent to Yanjing. The three major sects will hold a grand gathering there, and Chao Shenghuai will expose his own grandfather before everyone beneath Heaven. That means you, Elder Chao. He will tell the world every fine thing you had him do!"

Chao Jing sneered repeatedly. "So you mean to force a false accusation onto me?"

Niu Youdao said, "There's no need to make it sound so ugly. One thing, however, is certain. Chao Shenghuai knows perfectly well that after what he has done, returning to the Myriad Beasts Sect means death. Yan will offer him protection. Even ants cling to life. If he has a chance to live, he will seize it. Everything else is empty talk. Put simply: the man is in my hands. Whatever I want him to say, he will say."

Chao Jing replied, "With the man in your hands, do you think the Myriad Beasts Sect is stupid enough to believe whatever comes out of his mouth?"

Niu Youdao said, "Not unless Elder Chao kills every disciple under him."

Chao Jing frowned, suspicion flashing in his eyes. He did not understand what Niu Youdao meant.

"Do you truly not understand, or are you pretending?" Niu Youdao reminded him with mocking amusement. "The Rakshasa Tide killed so many Myriad Beasts Sect disciples, yet Elder Chao suppressed the matter. From what I know, quite a few disciples under Elder Chao were present at the time. There are many who know the truth. They are all of Elder Chao's line and had no choice but to obey orders and help conceal it. If Elder Chao insists on fighting me, if the matter truly blows up, the Myriad Beasts Sect will have no choice but to investigate seriously. Once this one affair is proven, that alone establishes that Chao Shenghuai's accusation is credible and that you deliberately concealed the truth. Elder Chao, do you truly intend to silence every disciple who knows what happened?"

Chao Jing's expression changed drastically.

"Isn't it a little late to start silencing witnesses now?" Niu Youdao continued. "The moment trouble erupts, every person who knows anything suddenly dies. What does that look like? As you yourself said, the Myriad Beasts Sect is not stupid. Elder Chao, adding crime on top of crime is no pleasant game. Ah, Elder Chao, listen to a word of advice from me. If this affair becomes public, I fear the question will no longer be whether you can keep your seat as Elder. So many disciples died for nothing, and so many immensely valuable flying mounts were lost. If the sect does not punish you, how will it answer to everyone above and below? I truly cannot imagine that sight: the mighty Elder Chao, normally standing high above others, reduced to a sorry state, forced to his knees to receive judgment. Could you bear it? Would you really want to watch petty men kick you while you're down?"

Chao Jing ground his teeth. "You are the truly vile petty man here!"

"You flatter me." Niu Youdao gave a smile that never reached his eyes. Then his gaze abruptly sharpened. "From the Rakshasa Tide onward, ever since the Spirit Beast Gathering, you have been in my grasp. If I wanted to crush you to death, it would be effortless. Chao Jing, before me, you have no choice. If I say you get to be a man, then you get to be a man. If I say you are a dog, then you are a dog."

His tone remained calm, but an almost imperceptible flash of abnormal anger crossed his eyes.

A scene passed through his mind as well: blue sea stretching to the horizon, the prow of a ship, and a woman lying in his arms who would never wake again.

Chao Jing's hands trembled slightly. Never in his life had anyone humiliated him this way. His face twisted with fury. "Niu Youdao, there has never been grievance or enmity between us. I cannot even think how I ever offended you. Why go to such lengths to scheme against me?"

"No grievance or enmity?" Niu Youdao laughed again, but finally nodded. "That's right. There truly was none. Precisely because of that, I never bothered taking this matter seriously before. But now your Myriad Beasts Sect has crossed me. You should know that Meng Shanming is one of my people. Your sect intervened in a struggle between two states. It damaged my interests and threatened my interests in Nanzhou. I had no choice but to dust off this old matter and come looking for you."

Chao Jing wanted to speak but stopped himself. What he really wanted to say was that struggles at this level concerned the grand currents of power. What did any of that have to do with him personally? Why was Niu Youdao staring at him?

"Elder Chao, I will say it again. I came to make a friend. So long as you settle this affair for me, I can let the deaths of those hundreds of thousands of troops go. Chao Shenghuai and the others will all be returned to you untouched."

Chao Jing laughed from sheer anger. "Settle it? This is not something I can decide. The sect has already made its overall arrangements. I am only one Elder. I have no authority to overturn a decision made by the entire sect. Even if you force me all the way to death, I still have no authority to recall the people already sent out. If I truly did that, I would not need you to force me. The sect would immediately call me to account!"

The fact that he could say such a thing meant that he had already softened.

Niu Youdao was silent for a moment. Exposing the old man now would not suit his own plans either, and Chao Jing himself would never agree to that. So Niu Youdao said, "Those snakes, insects, rats, and ants went mad attacking the Yan army while leaving the Song army untouched. I imagine Elder Chao has some way to even the scales."

Chao Jing was silent for a moment too, then said, "The troops under Chen Shaotong were given a secret medicine prepared on our side."

Niu Youdao said, "Then it becomes simple. The Yan troops need that same secret medicine. Elder Chao should be able to provide it."

Chao Jing stared at him coldly. "Do you take me for a three-year-old child? If I help you do something like that, I will have stepped into a death trap of your making. I will never be able to climb back out."

Niu Youdao said, "A dead man is useless to me. Elder Chao is far more useful alive. I would love nothing more than to see you become Sect Leader of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Those flying mounts in my hands were not stolen from your sect. The fact that I can possess them, and that Maolu Villa can withstand a surprise attack from the Yan court, should tell you that the power behind me is not as simple as you imagine. I came to make a friend. Cooperation benefits us both. I have no reason to harm you."

Chao Jing fell silent. He was struggling inside. He knew perfectly well that once he took this step, there would be no turning back.

But he had no choice.

At last, his face dark, he said, "If you want secret medicine for the Yan army, the quantity required will be enormous. I cannot supply it to you. The sect would certainly notice. I can only give you the formula. You will have to prepare the medicinal ingredients yourself."

Niu Youdao said, "Then we will do as Elder Chao says. So long as it works."

Chao Jing was a ruthless man in his own right. Once he had made the decision, there was no point hesitating. He would get through the present crisis first and worry about the rest later.

On the spot, he kicked Qiu Wenxian's corpse over, dipped a finger into Qiu Wenxian's blood, and wrote the secret formula directly across the clothing on the corpse's back. When he finished, there was a ripping sound as he tore away the section of blood-written cloth, rose, and casually tossed it to Niu Youdao.

With the formula in hand, Niu Youdao nodded. "I will say it again: I came to make a friend. Rest assured. So long as the formula works, your grandson and the others will be returned to you intact for you to deal with as you please."

The two spoke for a while longer and arranged a method for future contact. Only then did Niu Youdao leap into the air and shoot out of the gorge. He touched a foot to the cliff face and rose again. A large flying mount swept over, caught him, and rapidly beat its wings away.

Once they were far from the area and high in the sky, Niu Youdao glanced at Guan Fangyi, who was controlling the flying mount, and asked with some curiosity, "This doesn't seem like you. Don't you want to ask how things went?"

Guan Fangyi snorted. "It's not as though this is some secret I don't know about. Do you imagine you're some good person? Once you've set your sights on someone and gone in person, with that mouth of yours that can talk a man into his grave, do I really need to ask how it turned out?"

[End of Chapter 718]