Chapter 767: Mysterious Movements

Torn though the garment was, it was still better than going around naked. A man could hardly stand in the world without even a scrap of cloth to preserve his modesty.

In his anger, the man simply strangled the little animal to death. He put on the filthy, torn inner robe, returned to the pool to put on his shoes, then began searching again.

He looked everywhere but had no idea where the little creature had dragged his clothes. In the end, with no other choice, he could only go back.

The place he returned to was precisely the entrance through which Tiangu connected to this world. A group of Misty Pavilion cultivators were each attending to their duties there. He was one of them. Once they entered this place, they too would have to wait a full year before they could leave.

When a man suddenly appeared wearing shoes with his bare legs exposed and only a single inner robe covering his body, everyone stared for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Someone pointed at him and asked, "Cui Buping, whose girl did you fool around with to end up looking like this? I'm warning you, this isn't the time to be messing around."

The man called Cui Buping smiled bitterly and tossed the little animal he had strangled to death in front of them. "I was soaking in the water when this damned thing carried off my clothes. I don't even know where it took them. All I managed to recover was this torn piece I'm wearing. Roast the beast for me. If I don't eat it, I won't be able to vent this anger."

Someone nudged the dead animal with a foot and asked suspiciously, "This thing managed to steal your clothes right from under your nose?"

Cui Buping raised a hand and slapped his forehead. "It's my own fault too. The water felt so comfortable that I let down my guard. I soaked there until I couldn't help dozing off for a while, and this little fellow seized the chance. If it hadn't bitten through the clothes, gotten its neck caught, and made a racket struggling to free itself, I never would've noticed. I might have had to come back completely naked..."

He explained what had happened.

So that was it. Only then did everyone's suspicions fade.

Cui Buping found his pack, took out another set of clothes, and changed as he said, "It's not appropriate for our clothing to fall into someone else's hands. If someone with ulterior motives makes use of it, things could become troublesome. In a while, help me look for it."

Someone said, "Clothes are dead objects. There are only a few of us, and this place is enormous. If that beast dragged your clothes into some crevice or its den, how are we supposed to find them?"

Another added, "You shouldn't have killed it. You should've let it go. Frightened, it might have run back to its nest. Follow it there and maybe you'd find your clothes."

Cui Buping slapped his forehead again. "Right. Why didn't I think of that?"

"It's only one set of clothes. Forget it. Who would dare make trouble using Misty Pavilion's name? We've already watched the various groups leave. Everyone has gone off to search for Spirit Seeds. Without enough Spirit Seeds, they can't survive a full year inside the Secret Realm. No one should be coming back."

That was true enough, but in the end the group still went with him to the place where the clothes had disappeared and searched around.

They found nothing.

It was only one set of clothes. They could not search forever. Eventually they had no choice but to give up. The clothes had probably been dragged into some obscure corner. If even they could not find them after searching like this, it was unlikely anyone else would stumble across them by accident.

...

"Wu Zhaoxing, what are you trying to do?"

Standing on a tree branch, Shan Hai, Elder of Xiaoyao Palace, had lost his temper. He pointed angrily at Wu Zhaoxing, who was blocking the entrance to the tree hollow.

Yan's contingent had rested and recovered and was ready to move out, yet Niu Youdao suddenly announced that he was entering seclusion to cultivate and had no intention of leaving for the time being.

Entering seclusion now? What kind of joke was that?

Shan Hai flashed up to see what Niu Youdao was doing, only to find Wu Zhaoxing guarding the entrance and refusing to let him inside. How could Shan Hai not be angry?

Wu Zhaoxing replied calmly, "Nothing. When I give my word, I keep it. Since I promised Brother Yan I would protect Niu Youdao, I will do so."

Shan Hai pointed at his nose and cursed, "Wu Zhaoxing, don't take that Golden Core Ranking too seriously. Those bullshit rankings are things we sect cultivators don't bother playing with. If we truly fought, who would win and who would lose remains to be seen. Don't go looking for trouble."

Wu Zhaoxing said, "It isn't as serious as you're making it sound. Niu Youdao said he wanted to enter seclusion for five days and think some matters through carefully. He doesn't want anyone disturbing him. I agreed to guard him while he cultivates. Since I agreed, I'll do my best to keep my word."

Yan's cultivators were all watching the commotion.

When he heard about Niu Youdao entering seclusion for five days to consider something, Chu Fengping, Elder of Lingjian Mountain, looked thoughtful.

Yan Li, Elder of Zijin Cave, quietly glanced at Chu Fengping's reaction.

Shan Hai suddenly shouted toward the tree hollow, "Niu Youdao, get the hell out here! If you don't come out, don't blame us for leaving you behind!"

There was no response from inside.

Someone was indeed in there, but it was not Niu Youdao, and that person did not dare make a sound.

Shan Hai sensed something suspicious and said heavily, "Wu Zhaoxing, move aside. Otherwise don't blame me for being impolite!"

Wu Zhaoxing remained firm. "Elder Shan Hai, I'll tell you the truth. Niu Youdao was secretly injured by Wan Tongfu and Ming Jing back in Tiangu. He's at a critical point in treating his wounds and cannot be disturbed. Otherwise, he could easily suffer cultivation deviation. I promised to guard him. Don't make things difficult for him, and don't make things difficult for me."

Shan Hai found this increasingly strange. He looked down from the branch. "Yan Li, where did you find this dog? Isn't he your friend? How did he become Niu Youdao's watchdog?"

Yan Li said, "Shan Hai, this isn't the time for internal conflict. We should be united."

Shan Hai said, "It's not that I don't want unity. The situation is suspicious. I suspect you're doing something behind Xiaoyao Palace's back."

Chu Fengping coughed dryly and flashed up to join them. "Brother Shan Hai, Niu Youdao shouldn't be waiting here for five days without reason. What happened in Tiangu earlier truly was abnormal. He may genuinely have been injured. If he's at a crucial point in healing, then he really shouldn't be disturbed. One careless interruption could indeed lead to cultivation deviation. If it's truly that serious, then let us wait. We have an entire year. Five days make no difference."

Shan Hai pointed toward the tree hollow. "We're speaking this loudly. There's no way the person inside can't hear us. Yet there hasn't been the slightest response. I suspect either no one's inside or something has happened. There must be a problem..."

Before he finished, someone inside the tree hollow suddenly circulated spiritual power and blasted out a gust of force, making Wu Zhaoxing's clothes snap violently where he stood at the entrance.

Chu Fengping immediately pointed. "See? There's someone inside. Can a dead man use spiritual power? He may truly be at a critical point in circulating his cultivation and unable to speak."

There really was someone inside?

Shan Hai frowned.

Chu Fengping had already grabbed his arm and forcibly pulled him back down, dragging him before Yan Li. "Wu Zhaoxing is someone you brought in. Don't you trust your own friend?"

Seeing Chu Fengping defend the matter so vigorously, Yan Li sneered inwardly and cursed the shameless old bastard.

On the surface, however, he followed Chu Fengping's lead and nodded. "Since Wu Zhaoxing says so, there shouldn't be anything false about it. Shan Hai, forget it. Chu Fengping is right. Five days make no difference. We may as well use the opportunity to discuss what we do next in greater detail."

With both sects persuading him, Shan Hai had no choice but to agree. If the other two stayed, leaving with only Xiaoyao Palace's people would be unwise.

Even so, the matter had already aroused his suspicions.

Niu Youdao was connected to enormous interests in Yan. What Zijin Cave and Lingjian Mountain wanted to do, Xiaoyao Palace had wanted to do long ago as well. The problem was that Shang Chaozong had killed Xiaoyao Palace Elder Shi Sheng, creating a conflict between the two sides and delaying the matter.

From the attitudes of the other two sects, Shan Hai had already begun to suspect their intentions.

Wu Zhaoxing looked down at the crowd below.

Before leaving, Niu Youdao had told him that so long as he repeated the agreed explanation, people from Lingjian Mountain and Zijin Cave would step forward to support him.

Wu Zhaoxing had been half doubtful at the time.

Now it appeared Niu Youdao had been right.

Yan Baoru had been watching coldly the entire time.

Wu Zhaoxing refusing to move away from the tree hollow also struck her as suspicious. Unfortunately, with him guarding the entrance, no one could easily force their way inside to investigate.

...

A figure flashed through the forest.

Niu Youdao had returned.

Yun Ji, who had been waiting at the appointed location to receive him, relaxed when they met. "You slipped out alone in secret. What exactly did you go do?"

Niu Youdao chuckled. "I went out to scout the situation around us."

Yun Ji would have had to be a fool to believe that nonsense.

The three major sects had so many people at their disposal. Why would their key protected figure need to risk himself personally just to scout the surroundings?

He had refused to say anything before leaving, and he still kept his mouth shut now that he had returned.

Knowing she would get nothing from him, Yun Ji stopped asking. "Let's get back quickly. You're holding up everyone's progress by yourself. Xiaoyao Palace has reacted badly."

Niu Youdao looked up at the sky. "Wait. I'll go back after dark. You return first and confirm with Yan Li which direction I'll come in from. Make sure no one discovers that I ever left."

He was already back. Did he really need to be this cautious?

Yun Ji's mind filled with questions.

She had no idea what Niu Youdao had gone out to do that made it necessary to keep his movements this secret.

Whatever her suspicions, she still followed his instructions.

After darkness fell, Yan Li rearranged the guards along one direction.

Only then did Yun Ji return to receive Niu Youdao again.

The two slipped back together through the deliberately created gap in the defenses.

Still disguised as a Zijin Cave disciple, Niu Youdao entered the tree hollow.

Once inside, he tore the false face from his own features and signaled the Zijin Cave disciple waiting there to change clothes with him again.

The disciple had just removed the outer robe belonging to Niu Youdao when Niu Youdao told him to put away the Moon Butterfly illuminating the hollow.

In the darkness, Niu Youdao stripped off the outer robe he was wearing and returned it to the disciple.

The disciple muttered inwardly.

He had no idea what Niu Youdao was doing and had been left completely confused.

The two finished exchanging outer robes in darkness.

Only then did Niu Youdao let the disciple leave.

Afterward, he released a Moon Butterfly again to illuminate the tree hollow.

High in the branches above, Yan Baoru hid among the foliage.

One finger parted an enormous leaf while her Dharma Eye remained fixed on the entrance to Niu Youdao's tree hollow.

She saw a Zijin Cave disciple enter and later leave again, but had no idea what was going on.

Nor was she the only person secretly spying from the trees.

There were disciples of Xiaoyao Palace as well.

Elder Shan Hai too had been watching in secret.

Beneath the night sky, who knew how many people were harboring ulterior motives?

Inside the tree hollow, Niu Youdao had been sitting cross-legged for only a short while when Yan Li arrived.

Niu Youdao had expected it.

Once the Zijin Cave disciple reported back, Yan Li would know he had returned and would naturally come find him.

Yan Li flashed inside and immediately asked, "Where did you sneak off to? What exactly did you go do?"

Niu Youdao smiled. "Nothing much. I went to contact a little manpower to help us. Better that no one else know about it."

[End of Chapter 767]