Chapter 778: Pleading Desperately

Don't know him?

The three were speechless.

If you don't know him, why did you make it sound so convincing?

Even they had believed him just now.

They had genuinely thought Yao Xianding had secretly helped connect the Shangqing Sect with Xuan Wei, Wei's female Chancellor.

So he had simply been talking nonsense.

Even after lying like that, Niu Youdao still insisted on meeting Yao Xianding.

Wu Zhaoxing could not help asking suspiciously, "Don't tell me Yao Xianding is one of your people too."

Yun Ji and Yun Huan both glanced at Wu Zhaoxing.

Niu Youdao had just said he did not know Yao Xianding at all, yet this man could still ask such a question.

It seemed the expert ranked sixth on the Golden Core Ranking was not particularly gifted upstairs.

In truth, the thought wronged Wu Zhaoxing badly.

Before this, Wu Zhaoxing himself had not known Niu Youdao either.

He had merely drawn the comparison from his own circumstances.

If even Yao Xianding, the Elder leading Shouzheng Pavilion here, turned out to be one of Niu Youdao's people, then that would be enormously useful.

"No," Niu Youdao answered while moving rapidly forward.

At that response, Yun Ji and her son gave Wu Zhaoxing a look that said, See? Just as expected.

Wu Zhaoxing remained puzzled. "Then why insist on seeing him?"

"Seeing him isn't the goal," Niu Youdao replied. "The goal is to use him to find my people."

"The place those Shouzheng Pavilion disciples pointed out should be the next gathering point for Wei's coalition."

"Find Yao Xianding and naturally I'll find my own people as well."

At those words, enlightenment dawned on all three.

They understood.

The various states searched for Spirit Seeds by dispersing their people over a wide area and advancing together across a broad front.

Wei's central command could not remain fixed in one place and force its searching cultivators to waste time traveling back and forth.

It had to advance with the overall direction of movement as well.

Everyone would regroup while moving, receive new assignments, then disperse and continue forward.

Since Yao Xianding himself was moving, Shouzheng Pavilion's disciples could not know his precise current position.

The location they had given Niu Youdao therefore had to be the place where Wei's forces planned to gather next.

Once they understood that, the three had to admit Niu Youdao's judgment was exceptionally clear.

He had taken a minor, seemingly unrelated detail and used it to lock onto the central key needed to solve his problem.

And using Yao Xianding as his stated objective also concealed his true intentions.

Yun Ji asked, "You lied your way into meeting Yao Xianding. Aren't you afraid of angering Wei's people?"

"There are only a few of us. Their side will be packed with experts."

"Among all the states, my Nanzhou forces are the ones holding down Zhao's ambitions," Niu Youdao replied. "Once Zhao is suppressed, those forces may even be used to restrain Han afterward."

"So before the situation in the outside war becomes clear, Wei is the least likely of all the states to move against me..."

...

Searching for Spirit Seeds could almost be described as leaving early and returning late.

Everyone set out first thing in the morning, then regrouped before darkness fell to rest together and provide mutual protection.

Searching at night was inconvenient in the first place.

And after traveling all day, cultivators also needed time to recover their spiritual power.

No one knew exactly what terrain lay ahead.

A designated gathering point therefore referred only to a general area, normally somewhere with obvious geographical features that was easy to locate.

Niu Youdao did not hurry.

He deliberately dragged out the journey and arrived only as darkness was approaching.

He wanted Wei's cultivators to have mostly gathered before he appeared.

He did not know which people on this side belonged to him.

They would have to recognize him.

Once Niu Youdao reached the relevant area, finding Yao Xianding was not difficult.

Wei's cultivators had already established perimeter guards throughout the vicinity, both for defense and to guide returning cultivators toward the gathering point.

Niu Youdao's group was discovered quickly and escorted to the center of Wei's encampment.

Inside a mountain valley, three senior figures appeared after learning Niu Youdao had arrived.

Mu Yinggao, Elder of Lingxu Mansion.

Yao Xianding, Elder of Shouzheng Pavilion.

Cao Bing, Elder of Dale Mountain.

Yao Xianding in particular had been waiting for Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao had set out earlier than the Shouzheng Pavilion disciples who had pointed the way, but because he deliberately traveled slowly, those disciples had returned ahead of him and already reported his request for a meeting.

The instant Yao Xianding saw Niu Youdao, he began laughing coldly.

"Niu Youdao, this is the first time you and I have ever met, isn't it?"

"I truly cannot remember when the two of us became friends, or when I supposedly helped the Shangqing Sect make connections."

A crowd inside the valley watched Niu Youdao with all kinds of expressions.

Some curious.

Some disdainful.

Some pitying.

Niu Youdao remained completely calm.

He cupped his hands. "I am truly ashamed. Those words were my own reckless fabrication."

"When I happened to encounter disciples of Shouzheng Pavilion and asked them to show me the way so I could pay Elder Yao a visit, your sect's disciples were rather dismissive."

"Left with no choice, I could only make up a story."

"The lie was indeed my fault."

"But my desire to meet Elder Yao was sincere."

"Sincere?" Yao Xianding asked. "Why did you want to see me?"

"I asked for Elder Yao because I happened to encounter Shouzheng Pavilion disciples and seized the opportunity to invent a reason."

"But it isn't only Elder Yao I wished to meet."

"There are Elder Mu and Elder Cao as well."

Niu Youdao looked among the three.

"To speak frankly, Yan's three major sects turned against me in their struggle for control over Nanzhou and expelled me from Yan's forces."

"At present, I truly have nowhere left to go."

"I hope to join Wei's camp and humbly ask Wei's forces to protect me."

Mu Yinggao, Yao Xianding, and Cao Bing exchanged looks.

They could understand what Niu Youdao was describing.

Nanzhou's present influence over Yan was simply too large.

Yan's three major sects competing for control over it was inevitable.

Taking advantage of the Tiandu Secret Realm to pressure Niu Youdao was entirely imaginable.

If they had stood in the other sects' place, they might well have done the same.

And there was another problem.

Niu Youdao could not easily throw himself behind any one of Yan's three major sects.

Doing so would offend the other two.

Being expelled from Yan's coalition was therefore not difficult to imagine either.

Nothing needed to be said at length.

It was a straightforward matter.

One exchange of looks among the three senior figures was enough for them to reach a decision.

Yao Xianding did not pursue the fact that Niu Youdao had lied.

"This is an internal matter among Yan's own people. It would be inappropriate for us to interfere."

"You'd better find another solution."

"If I die, the struggle among Yan's three major sects over Nanzhou may very well affect the war against Zhao," Niu Youdao said.

"Zhao was the one who started the Yan-Zhao war. Everyone knows Zhao's ambitions."

"Does Wei truly want to sit by and watch Zhao grow stronger?"

"Once Zhao rises, Wei will have Zhao to the east and the ravenous tiger of Jin to the west."

"Then Wei will face enemies front and rear."

"Can all of you truly ignore that?"

Mu Yinggao tossed out one cold sentence.

"You think you can still leave the Tiandu Secret Realm alive?"

"You ran wild in Tiangu. You brought this disaster upon yourself."

"No one can help you."

"Even so, I can't simply give up on myself," Niu Youdao said.

"Even ants cling to life."

"Otherwise, why would I stand before all of you pleading so desperately?"

Cao Bing, Elder of Dale Mountain, said, "Begging us is useless."

"There's no need to circle around the issue."

"If we don't help you, you die."

"If we do help you, you still die."

"So many people want you dead. We have no reason to invite trouble for ourselves."

Yao Xianding added, "Niu Youdao, I've already been magnanimous enough not to pursue the fact that you deceived my disciples."

"We cannot help you here."

"Go seek another road."

Yun Ji and the others stood at the side.

They still had no idea what Niu Youdao had truly come here to do.

But seeing him lower himself and beg people this way, every one of them felt complicated emotions.

They could truly understand how difficult his situation had become.

He really was struggling desperately to survive from within a dead end.

Repeated pleas changed nothing.

At last Niu Youdao looked at the sky.

"I understand everyone's position."

"In that case, I won't force the matter. I have no power to force it anyway."

"But night is already falling, and there may be people outside hunting me."

"Could you at least shelter me for tonight?"

"Once dawn comes, I'll leave and seek another way."

"How about that?"

The request was minor enough.

Wei's people agreed and had someone take the four of them away.

Watching Niu Youdao depart, Yao Xianding shook his head with a chuckle.

"Outside, he was still someone capable of stirring the winds and clouds."

"To think he's fallen to this."

Cao Bing said, "Too many enemies. In the end, he's still too young."

Mu Yinggao said coldly, "He brought it on himself."

...

Darkness fell.

Apart from the defensive personnel hidden outside the encampment, people within the valley gradually lit campfires to drive away insects, ants, and similar pests.

Niu Youdao indicated that they should light one as well.

Yun Ji immediately signaled Yun Huan to collect dry firewood from the nearby forest.

Niu Youdao stopped him.

"All of you wait here. Let me handle this kind of menial work."

Yun Huan gave a bitter smile.

What do you mean, you'll handle the menial work? I've been the one doing it all along, haven't I?

He lowered his voice. "Don't dress it up so nicely. You're trying to use the opportunity to meet someone, aren't you?"

"That isn't the only reason."

Niu Youdao had been sitting cross-legged and observing the surroundings. He rose as he answered quietly.

"In their eyes, my cultivation is weak. You three are the experts."

"If all of you remain here where they can watch you, they'll lower their guard toward me."

"That makes it easier for me to act."

The three exchanged looks.

That was true enough.

By now, they had also realized that whenever Niu Youdao behaved abnormally along the way, there was usually some hidden purpose behind it.

There was something of the flavor of opening a road through mountains and building a bridge when encountering water.

Whatever problem appeared, he always seemed able to find some way to deal with it.

Watching him walk away, Wu Zhaoxing muttered, "There's a reason this bastard has managed to stay alive until now."

Yun Ji and Yun Huan both nodded in agreement.

...

Wei's cultivators were already collecting dry firewood in the nearby forest.

Niu Youdao blended in among them and did the same.

"Your honorable name?"

"He Xinru."

"After everyone sets out tomorrow, do something for me. Kill every person traveling with you."

"This... why?"

"You don't need to know why. I don't have time to waste explaining it either. Can you do it or not?"

"It's not that I refuse the order. I simply can't accomplish it."

"When we disperse to search, five of us travel together as one group. My strength isn't enough to kill the other four."

"If I make a move, I'll inevitably expose myself."

"Fine."

"Then leave trail markers so I can find you."

"I'll help you with the rest..."

The conversation took place without attracting attention as Niu Youdao gathered firewood beside a Xiaoyue Pavilion sleeper agent who had come out to meet him.

He Xinru was not the only one who made contact.

Another person came as well.

Xiaoyue Pavilion had planted two people among Wei's forces.

Niu Youdao identified both of them.

One was an independent cultivator.

The person Niu Youdao truly wanted to make contact with, however, was not that independent cultivator.

He preferred He Xinru, who belonged to a sect.

A sect member possessed greater influence than an independent cultivator.

Unfortunately, Niu Youdao's contact signal could not specify which of them he wanted.

Once both men saw the signal, they naturally found opportunities to approach him.

Niu Youdao simply used the chance to identify them both.

The concrete task, however, was entrusted to He Xinru.

With the matter settled, Niu Youdao also returned carrying a large heap of dry wood, enough to burn through the entire night.

He dumped it beside the others.

As they lit the fire, Yun Ji asked quietly, "Made contact?"

Niu Youdao answered with only two words.

"It's done."

Afterward, he obtained a piece of game meat from Wei's people.

They roasted it over the flames and divided it among themselves.

Once they had eaten, the four sat cross-legged around the campfire and meditated.

The night passed peacefully.

[End of Chapter 778]