Chapter 752: He Can Only Accept His Fate

Even though Niu Youdao knew that if Misty Pavilion truly wanted to deal with him, it had no need to go through such a complicated detour, he still wanted the matter confirmed.

If Misty Pavilion had genuinely taken a dislike to him, then his trouble would be enormous.

With his present strength, he simply could not resist it.

Once he learned that Misty Pavilion itself had nothing to do with the matter, and that other people had merely seized the opportunity to stab him in the back, he actually relaxed somewhat.

As for who wanted to use the opportunity to kill him, they were probably among the people Gong Lince had mentioned who opposed removing his name.

Niu Youdao had no private grudges with those people.

But considering the affairs in which he had involved himself, it was hardly surprising that they would deliberately set him up.

When he heard that Zhao Xiongge had originally been on the list but Sha Rulai had crossed out his name, Niu Youdao asked curiously, "Why?"

Gong Lince said, "I knew Zhao Xiongge might have become a source of support for you inside, so I wanted to know why as well. But Sha Rulai gave no answer. My guess is that it has something to do with the Demon Sect. As for who currently has the Demon Sect by the throat, I shouldn't need to remind you."

Niu Youdao nodded slightly.

He knew perfectly well whom Gong Lince meant without naming the person.

He asked again, "How many people nominated Ghost Mother and Yun Ji?"

Now that he knew the truth of the matter, he wanted to determine whether Ghost Mother and Yun Ji had been dragged into this because of him.

The reasoning was simple.

Ghost Mother's Xianyin Mountain had always kept a low profile.

Qi supported Yan's defense and had even provided no small amount of resources, so Qi should have had little objection to Ghost Mother coming over here to lend assistance.

Yun Ji's Duyun Mountain was equally low-key.

But this time it had stood on his side and had genuinely angered Zhao.

Both women normally kept to themselves, and each had some forces capable of retaliation under her command.

No one should offend them for no reason.

From the number of nominations they received, Niu Youdao could roughly infer whether they had been implicated because they became involved in his affairs.

There was no answer to that.

Gong Lince shook his head. "I didn't pay attention. There were a thousand independent-cultivator names. I couldn't watch every single one. I have no impression of how many people nominated those two."

"But this doesn't seem entirely bad for you. They stand on your side. Once inside the Tiandu Secret Realm, at least you'll have two more helpers."

Niu Youdao sighed inwardly.

It still came back to the same issue.

Ghost Mother and Yun Ji normally kept a low profile.

Now that both had been pushed onto the list, he feared they had been dragged in because of him to some degree.

"Sect Leader Gong, now that the wars have already been frozen, you could have said at the time that I was already a disciple of Zijin Cave. So long as I hadn't entered yet, there would still have been room to find a solution." Niu Youdao gave a bitter sigh.

Gong Lince said, "Now you're entertaining this thought? Who was the one who insisted on delaying before?"

"Do you think Misty Pavilion is that easy to fool? I understand Misty Pavilion's way of doing things better than you do. I could even predict the outcome of the argument."

"When most people insist that you participate, and you cannot immediately produce solid proof to the contrary, making you participate is only a matter of one sentence from Misty Pavilion."

"They could just as easily have placed your name among Zijin Cave's entrants!"

"Once you were no longer able to escape the Tiandu Secret Realm, and my intentions had been exposed at the same time, have you considered how Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain would react?"

"It is already difficult enough for Zijin Cave to protect you inside the Tiandu Secret Realm. We must borrow the strength of Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain, and through them the full force Yan is sending inside, to provide you protection."

"If Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain learned what we were planning, then it would no longer be only the twelve forces that nominated you who wanted you dead. Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain would be the first to refuse to let you live!"

"At that point, Zijin Cave alone could never protect you. Worse, because of you, the Zijin Cave disciples entering the Secret Realm might suffer enormous losses as well."

"You're an intelligent man. You should understand the weight of what I'm saying. The reason I did not fight harder over the matter at the time was for your own good."

After Gong Lince put it that way, what else could Niu Youdao say?

Still, he asked about another person. "Ximen Qingkong. You must have paid attention to how many people nominated him."

Gong Lince looked somewhat surprised. "Do you have some relationship with Ximen Qingkong? Can he help you?"

Niu Youdao shook his head. "No relationship at all. We're complete strangers. I've never even met him."

No relationship?

Then why ask about him for no reason?

Gong Lince did not believe him.

A moment later, however, he seemed to realize something. "Right. That former wife of yours seems to have become one of Xuan Wei's people. Perhaps you can use your former wife to see whether there is some way to approach Ximen Qingkong. If you can obtain his help, you truly would gain another layer of protection."

Find Tang Yi?

Niu Youdao did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He knew Gong Lince had misunderstood him, but there was no need to reveal his own secret connection with Xuan Wei.

Still, the mention of Tang Yi inevitably made him think of the Shangqing Sect.

The grudges and obligations between him and the Shangqing Sect were impossible to untangle cleanly.

Whether he counted as a disciple of the Shangqing Sect was equally difficult to define.

Originally, if necessary, he might still have tried invoking his identity as a Shangqing Sect disciple to shield himself from this situation.

But who could have predicted today?

He had been the one who sent the Shangqing Sect off to Wei.

He had also forced Tang Yi to publicly sever the relationship between him and the Shangqing Sect.

Now everyone knew he was not a disciple of the Shangqing Sect.

The matter of joining Zijin Cave was the same.

Earlier, to be cautious and avoid the slight possibility of being dragged into the Tiandu Secret Realm, he had deliberately delayed matters.

The result had been precisely the opposite.

He had outsmarted himself.

He had lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

Gong Lince did not know what he was thinking and continued, "Of course I paid attention to Ximen Qingkong. He was one of the few people nominated by everyone present."

"Like Zhao Xiongge, he was unanimously nominated onto the independent-cultivator list for entry into the Tiandu Secret Realm."

"Unanimously?" Niu Youdao was genuinely shocked. "All thirty people nominated him? Even Wei's three major sects?"

Gong Lince said calmly, "When everyone present was asked to think of independent cultivators, I'm afraid Ximen Qingkong was the first person who came to most minds. For an independent cultivator, having strength that high is not necessarily a good thing."

"I nominated him too. He has no kinship or connection with me. If everyone doesn't nominate someone like him, then whom should they nominate?"

"Is it so strange that Wei's three major sects nominated him as well? Do you think Wei's three major sects truly want an outside expert guarding Xuan Wei forever?"

"They would rather bear the inconvenience themselves and personally dispatch experts from their own sects to protect Xuan Wei."

"So Wei's three major sects nominating him is perfectly normal."

Niu Youdao fell into thought.

He understood what Gong Lince meant.

The hidden calculations were nothing more than that. They were not difficult to understand.

Just as Gong Lince said, it was perfectly normal.

Gong Lince continued, "Only Wei's three major sects probably never imagined that Ximen Qingkong would be unanimously nominated. That makes things somewhat awkward."

"Not only do they have no fig leaf left with which to explain themselves to Xuan Wei, they've become something of a joke as well."

"The release of this nomination list exposed many interesting things."

"But you don't need to worry about Ximen Qingkong. His strength is obvious. Nominating him is one thing; there are not many people who would dare provoke him."

"Even if he enters the Tiandu Secret Realm, he still possesses considerable ability to protect himself."

That was more or less the whole matter.

By this point, there was little else to say.

Gong Lince's attitude had not changed.

On behalf of Zijin Cave, he made his position clear.

They would still do everything possible to protect Niu Youdao.

As Gong Lince had said, they would also use the strength of Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain and, through them, mobilize Yan's full force entering the Tiandu Secret Realm to protect him.

The premise remained the same.

The matter of Niu Youdao joining Zijin Cave absolutely could not be exposed.

Otherwise, Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain would never sit quietly and watch Zijin Cave's scheme succeed.

They would inevitably ensure Niu Youdao never left the Tiandu Secret Realm alive.

What needed clarification had been clarified.

What needed negotiation had been negotiated.

Niu Youdao did not linger and prepared to take his leave.

Before departing, however, he still gave a reminder. "I'll be gone for a full year. Before I return, I don't want to see anyone stretching greedy hands toward Nanzhou."

He would be away far too long.

He was worried that with him absent, someone might be unable to resist opening their mouth for another bite.

That was also one of the main reasons he had come here.

Gong Lince nodded. "You can set your mind at ease on that point. Even if you hadn't said it, Zijin Cave would not allow anyone to casually change the situation."

"You should focus on yourself now. Do you understand the situation inside the Tiandu Secret Realm?"

Niu Youdao said, "I may never have eaten pork, but I've at least seen pigs run. I've heard something about it. Once I return, I'll study the details."

Gong Lince said, "Since this cannot be avoided, make every preparation and face it properly. With your abilities, I don't believe you'll be killed so easily."

"If anything inside is unclear, you can ask the Zijin Cave disciples after entering. I'll make arrangements here. They will cooperate with you."

"Good. Farewell." Niu Youdao cupped his hands to everyone and took his leave.

No one tried to keep him.

Given the current circumstances, it was not suitable to make a spectacle of things either.

No important figure was sent to see him off.

Niu Youdao left in the same quiet manner in which he had arrived.

...

Wind and clouds rushed past his ears as he soared through the high sky.

Countless thoughts filled Niu Youdao's mind.

In the final analysis, the calamity this time came from the thousand independent-cultivator places Misty Pavilion had thrown out.

Misty Pavilion had never intended to deal with him.

It had not even regarded him as important.

It had merely tossed out some places casually, and he had been struck along with everyone else.

Worse, the blow left him unable to resist, without even a place where he could argue his case.

He could only obediently accept his fate.

Faced with an existence this overwhelmingly powerful, one casual decision from above left him much like the common people swept into the wars of the various states.

Those wars had not been launched against the common people.

Yet the common people dragged into them were the ones who suffered the worst.

His thoughts returned to the present.

He noticed Guan Fangyi was unusually quiet as well.

Niu Youdao teased her. "Hongniang, there's something I can't understand. You're quite famous among independent cultivators. Add my influence to that, and you're always at my side. How did you avoid being placed on the list?"

"You just can't stand to see me doing well, can you?" Guan Fangyi rolled her eyes at him, then laughed at herself. "So what if I'm beside you? In their eyes, I'm nothing more than the decorative beauty at your side."

"Do you think I'm still the Hongniang of the Qi capital from those years, the woman men would fight over in jealous rivalry? I'm old now, my beauty faded, yesterday's news. If this had happened back then, perhaps you really would have gotten your wish."

"Then again, the men who once fought over me weren't qualified to nominate anyone in Misty Pavilion anyway."

"What kind of people are those who hold seats in Misty Pavilion? I know perfectly well what reputation I have. No one needs to remind me."

"When they can't even be certain their nominations will remain secret, those exalted sect leaders treasure their feathers of reputation dearly. Why would they dirty themselves over someone like me?"

"Wanting to take advantage of me is one thing. Publicly involving themselves with my reputation is another."

"Even the female sect leaders have to put on the appearance that someone like me doesn't exist, don't they?"

"I'm not you. I'm just the pretty ornament tagging along at your side. No one bothers settling accounts with me."

"You certainly understand it clearly." Niu Youdao laughed aloud, then teased her again. "I don't know whether anyone else would nominate you, but Du Yunsang—I can guarantee he definitely wouldn't."

At the mention of Du Yunsang, Guan Fangyi was visibly stung.

Her face darkened. "Niu Youdao, are you bored enough that you want to pick a fight?"

Ordinarily she would already have turned hostile and started arguing with him.

This time, she did not want to quarrel.

[End of Chapter 752]