Chapter 776: That Thieving Heart Still Won't Die

Xu Fuhua's Adam's apple bobbed.

Only after the shock passed did he finally breathe again.

He looked down at the bloody wound torn open across his chest.

Only now did the pain truly register.

He did not linger.

Clutching his chest, he quickly turned and left.

Wu Zhaoxing, Yun Ji, and Yun Huan stared blankly as Niu Youdao walked back toward them.

The scene they had just witnessed made no sense.

Too many reversals had come one after another, leaving them thoroughly confused.

Still, they had understood one thing.

That Tianxing Sect disciple had suddenly turned on his own companions because of Niu Youdao.

"The two corpses should have something useful on them," Niu Youdao said to Yun Huan when he returned. "Strip whatever matters, and make sure the scene looks convincing. Otherwise he'll have trouble explaining himself when he gets back."

Yun Huan nodded without really understanding and flashed over to deal with the bodies.

Yun Ji tried asking, "What exactly was that man?"

"I told you," Niu Youdao replied. "I have people among the forces of all seven states."

Yun Ji and Wu Zhaoxing exchanged disbelieving looks.

They were certain the appearance of those three Tianxing Sect disciples had not been arranged in advance.

They had simply stumbled across them.

And yet one of the three really had been Niu Youdao's man?

Just how many people had this fellow planted among the forces of the Seven States?

They did not know that there really were very few.

This time they had simply been absurdly lucky.

Yun Ji asked again, "And what exactly were the two of you doing just now?"

Now that he had proved he genuinely possessed hidden manpower, Niu Youdao began holding things back again.

He did not explain in detail.

He merely said, "We don't need to wander around aimlessly anymore. From now on, follow Tianxing Sect."

Before doing that, however, they first withdrew from the area.

They put distance between themselves and the scene so they would not run into Tianxing Sect cultivators coming back to verify what had happened.

Once they were far enough away, the four found a place to hide and prepared to wait for one full day.

The reason was simple.

First, they did not want to bump into Tianxing Sect's people again.

Second, following too closely would be unwise.

There was no need to worry about losing them.

The same principle applied as before.

The people inside the Secret Realm were not racing to see who could travel faster. They were here to search for things.

Unlike these four, who had rather too much free time on their hands.

Everyone else was looking for things.

They were looking for the people looking for things.

...

The next day, the four returned to the scene and began following Tianxing Sect's trail.

Niu Youdao had already agreed on a tracking method with Xu Fuhua.

A circle with an arrow.

The arrow showed the direction of travel.

The circle secretly represented Xiaoyue Pavilion.

A small notch would also be carved into the circumference of the circle.

From the notch's position, Niu Youdao could judge roughly what hour Xu Fuhua had left the mark and estimate how far ahead he was.

If they were too close, Niu Youdao could deliberately widen the distance.

If too far, they could speed up.

The system had been Niu Youdao's idea.

The circle and notch borrowed the way a clock from his previous life represented time.

As for where the next mark would be left, they had to search.

Even Xu Fuhua himself could not know in advance exactly what terrain they would pass through.

He would try to leave obvious traces along the route, and whenever possible place the mark somewhere conspicuous.

If Niu Youdao encountered unusual terrain or a particularly distinctive landmark, he could search around it.

If Xu Fuhua needed to leave a special message, he would use spiritual power to scratch words onto a leaf or something similar and hide it near the trail mark.

Technically, the four were following Tianxing Sect.

In reality, they were following Xu Fuhua.

As long as they kept track of Xu Fuhua, they would naturally keep track of Tianxing Sect as well.

The logic was simple.

Communication in this place was difficult.

Tianxing Sect could not scatter its disciples into the wilderness and then simply ignore them. The groups would need to gather periodically and receive new instructions.

Otherwise, once people became separated in a world this vast, finding one another again would be extremely difficult.

It would also be unsafe.

And so the four followed Tianxing Sect from a distance.

Several days later, beneath a great tree atop a mountain, Yun Huan found a message on leaves hidden beneath one of Xu Fuhua's marks.

He jumped into the treetop with it and reported, "Left six hours ago. The target says Tianxing Sect disciples discovered traces of Yan's cultivators to the northwest."

Niu Youdao said, "We're looking for the other powers. Ignore Yan's cultivators. I've already made arrangements on Yan's side."

Yun Ji looked suspicious. "Arrangements? What did you arrange with Yan?"

"I told you I have people among the forces of all seven states."

Niu Youdao remained matter-of-fact.

"The people on the surface betrayed me, but the ones hidden underneath should still listen."

"I left a contingency beforehand. The moment I was forced to separate from Yan, it would activate automatically and carry out the plan I prepared in advance."

"So we don't need to concern ourselves with Yan. Keep searching for the other factions."

Yun Ji looked surprised. "A contingency plan? You prepared from the beginning for the possibility of Yan's three major sects casting you out?"

Niu Youdao smiled. "Preparation prevents trouble."

Wu Zhaoxing tossed out a cool remark. "Haven't you noticed yet? This fellow is rather sinister."

There was resentment behind the words.

He was still unhappy that Niu Youdao had used his Demonic Sect identity as leverage against him.

Yun Ji and Yun Huan exchanged smiles.

They seemed to agree with Wu Zhaoxing's judgment.

Niu Youdao sighed. "Senior Wu, this isn't being sinister. It's having no choice."

"Ever since I first entered the world, how many people have wanted me dead?"

"With my cultivation, if I hadn't learned to use my head along the way, some expert would have killed me long ago. How else could I have survived until today?"

"If strength isn't enough, you have to make up for it with brains."

He lifted a finger and tapped his temple.

Yun Huan raised the leaf in his hand. "There's more."

"It says that after Tianxing Sect encountered Yan's people, the two sides exchanged information."

"Yan mentioned that overseas cultivators had robbed them and killed some of their people. They asked Tianxing Sect whether it had seen any overseas cultivators."

"Sounds like Yan wants to find that overseas group and settle the score."

Niu Youdao extended a hand for the leaf.

He read it.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Yun Ji, however, gave a sound of surprise. "The overseas group has already started robbing people?"

Niu Youdao crushed the leaf in his hand. "Robbery and killing inside the Tiandu Secret Realm are normal enough, aren't they?"

Yun Ji shook her head. "Not this early."

"Everyone has only just begun. No one is carrying many Spirit Seeds yet. Robbing each other now isn't worth the cost of fighting and killing, so most people exercise restraint."

"According to the established pattern from previous expeditions, the real slaughter and robbery usually begins after half a year. The return journey is even worse."

"The overseas cultivators are starting now? I have no idea what they're playing at."

Niu Youdao smiled. "It is a little strange."

Wu Zhaoxing glanced sideways at him. "What are you smiling about?"

"You still need to borrow the overseas cultivators' strength if you want to take first place. If they cripple themselves now, that brings you no benefit."

"They insist on doing it. What can I do?" Niu Youdao said. "I can't stop them."

"People dying in this place is unavoidable. The only difference is how many."

"Hopefully the overseas group knows when to restrain itself. We can't worry about that now."

"Ignore Yan and keep following Tianxing Sect."

Yun Huan looked baffled. "Weren't you trying to find the overseas cultivators?"

"Yan has discovered them. That means they're probably in that direction too."

"You're not going? You're giving up?"

Yun Ji and Wu Zhaoxing looked equally surprised.

After all this effort, had he suddenly abandoned the idea?

Niu Youdao produced a reason immediately, and it sounded perfectly plausible.

"I'm not giving up. I'm judging the situation."

"Yes, I want to find them. But you know the situation now."

"Yan is looking for that group to settle accounts. If I run straight to the overseas cultivators at a time like this, won't I be asking for trouble?"

"I was only just expelled by Yan. Even if we're not avoiding risk, at minimum I don't want anyone later misunderstanding this as me deliberately causing trouble."

"For now, Yan has only cast me out. They haven't shown any intention of killing me. There's no need to create extra complications."

The other three fell silent for a moment.

Put that way, it seemed reasonable.

So the four continued following behind Tianxing Sect, neither too near nor too far.

They maintained enough distance to avoid discovery.

With Tianxing Sect clearing the road ahead and Xu Fuhua leaving timely warnings, their journey became considerably safer.

Still, Niu Youdao's thieving heart refused to die.

Along the way, he continued searching for some kind of mount.

On a broad plain, they encountered a herd of herbivores resembling ostriches.

These creatures were several times larger than ordinary ostriches, but seemed extremely timid. The instant they saw people approaching, they fled in a flock.

They were astonishingly fast.

Niu Youdao's eyes lit up the moment he saw them.

Without another word, he shot after the herd.

Yun Ji and the others shouted after him, but it was useless.

They could only watch as he flew into the flock and knocked several creatures tumbling one after another.

This time, he finally succeeded.

When the ostrich-like beasts staggered back to their feet and began running again, vines had already been looped around their heads.

The other ends of the vines were held by riders sitting on their backs.

Pull the vines to control direction.

If the beasts refused to obey, beat them.

In the end, the "ostriches" were subdued until they obediently ran wherever the vines directed them.

That works too?

Yun Ji and the others looked at one another.

Then they copied him.

Before long, all four were riding nestled between the fluffy wings of their own "ostriches."

The wings were mostly ornamental, but the creatures could flap them for extra force when jumping over rough ground.

They climbed and descended slopes with ease.

They were far faster than horses from the outside world.

Predators occasionally chased them along the way.

To everyone's surprise, even those hunters could not catch the ostriches.

The mounts shook them off effortlessly.

Clearly, these creatures were exceptionally good at running for their lives.

It made sense.

Gentle herbivores that could survive in an environment this dangerous naturally had to possess some exceptional survival trait.

Under the setting sun, the four riders bounced along between the fluffy wings, driving their ostriches across the plain at tremendous speed.

The wind rushed past.

It was exhilarating.

"Well? Faster than horses, excellent endurance, no problem hopping up and down over rough terrain. What fine mounts."

After riding for some time, the ostriches showed no sign of exhaustion and proved surprisingly easy to use.

Niu Youdao could not resist boasting.

After all, the others had opposed him before.

Yun Ji and the others were somewhat surprised too.

The mounts genuinely worked well.

Riding them was novel, and racing through this strange land like this was unexpectedly enjoyable.

Wu Zhaoxing replied, "If no one else uses them, naturally there's a reason. The moment we encounter steep mountains or dangerous terrain, they'll be useless."

Niu Youdao laughed. "Their jumping ability isn't bad. We'll test it when the time comes."

Then, in high spirits, he actually began to sing.

"Blue, blue sky, clear, clear lake water, green, green grassland..."

The tune sounded strange to his companions.

None of the three had heard it before.

Still, there was a certain flavor to it.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last.

Suddenly, the four mounts slowed and stopped one after another.

A vast blue lake stretched across their path.

The three companions looked at one another.

A moment earlier they had been wondering what nonsense Niu Youdao was wailing.

Blue sky and green grassland, fine.

But where had the "clear lake water" come from?

They had assumed he was simply singing whatever came into his head.

Who would have imagined he would actually sing a lake into existence?

Faced with the immense lake stretching beyond sight, Niu Youdao looked down at the mount beneath him.

His expression twitched.

They were following Tianxing Sect.

Tianxing Sect had clearly crossed directly over the water.

The lake had no visible end.

Who knew how long going around would take?

But carrying such large beasts through the air was unrealistic as well.

Who would be riding whom then?

In the end, the four watched their freed "ostriches" bolt away across the plain as fast as they could.

Niu Youdao turned back, sighed, and flew out over the lake.

[End of Chapter 776]