Chapter 790: The Four Seas Assemble

That reason was one Niu Youdao genuinely could not refute, and it stirred a measure of anxiety in him.

"In a place this large, how can you find them easily? By the time we find them, who knows how long it will..."

He paused, then caught onto something Hong Gaitian had said earlier.

"Third Master just said that when you arrived, you split up to search, but when you return, you'll travel together. In territory this vast, casually running into one another would be difficult."

"Do the Four Seas have an agreed meeting place?"

Something unusual flashed through Hong Gaitian's eyes.

He studied Niu Youdao again and found the young man anything but simple.

After a brief silence, he finally admitted, "That's right. We do have a place where we agreed to meet."

Niu Youdao immediately asked what mattered most to him. "How long until we reach it?"

Hong Gaitian gave a cold laugh. "Before I've confirmed whether anything you said is true, do you really think I'd tell you?"

He suddenly raised one large hand and slammed it toward the fire.

With a muffled boom, a powerful current of air pressed downward and crushed the bonfire out.

Then Hong Gaitian clasped one hand behind his back and turned away.

"Rest properly tonight. We continue traveling at daybreak."

"You look pitiful enough, so I'll let you tag along."

Now that he had decided to rest here, the bonfire was obviously far too conspicuous.

Once the pressure dispersed, however, the smothered charcoal met the air again and glowed red in scattered points, while the smell of smoke drifted through the night.

Watching Hong Gaitian disappear into the nearby forest, Yun Ji asked, "Will he really agree to join forces with you?"

"He should already be tempted," Niu Youdao said slowly. "Otherwise he wouldn't bring us along."

After he spoke, there was no response for quite a while.

Niu Youdao eventually turned around and found all three of his companions staring at him strangely.

He instinctively raised a hand and rubbed his face again.

Yun Huan suddenly gave a bitter smile. "Now I understand why Duyun Mountain could only shrink into one corner all these years while you managed to rise in Nanzhou."

"I have to admit defeat."

Yun Ji, despite being a woman, reached over and patted Niu Youdao on the shoulder. "I have high hopes for you. You probably aren't that easy to kill. If you really die in this place, then your luck was simply too bad."

"Uh..."

Niu Youdao was speechless.

Then another hand landed on his other shoulder.

He turned his head.

Wu Zhaoxing.

"You're really something," Wu Zhaoxing said with genuine emotion. "There aren't many people I've admired in this lifetime. You count as one."

Their sentimental treatment made Niu Youdao uncomfortable all over.

He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Are all of you blaming me for hiding things from you?"

"Many matters can change before you actually meet the people involved. You have to respond according to circumstances."

"Even I couldn't be certain the plan would work."

"Explaining everything too early would have served no purpose."

"It truly wasn't convenient to explain, and I didn't want us arguing over it."

Wu Zhaoxing said, "You're thinking too much. I genuinely admire you."

"You can lie to people at this level? Even I believed you."

Niu Youdao stared at him. "Are you praising me or insulting me?"

"No. I truly admire the skill."

Niu Youdao smiled bitterly. "What skill? Nothing but little tricks unfit for polite company."

"We still have a pile of trouble in front of us, and no one knows how it will end."

Yun Ji said, "It is troublesome. Hong Gaitian insists on meeting the other three groups. Who knows when we'll manage to find them?"

"We'll watch the situation first," Niu Youdao replied. "If there truly is no other way, I have no road of retreat left. I'll have to think of some method involving this Third Master himself."

The three fell silent.

They all knew his situation was difficult.

He truly had no spare choices left.

...

At daybreak the next morning, Hong Gaitian gathered his people and set out.

Niu Youdao and the others joined the group.

Along the way, it became obvious that Hong Gaitian had no intention of searching for Spirit Seeds anymore. He focused entirely on travel, ignoring the mountains and rivers passing around them.

Three days later, a towering mountain range appeared in the distance.

From far away, only a section of the highest peaks could be seen rising above a sea of clouds.

The rest of the range lay wrapped in mysterious mist.

Hong Gaitian led everyone straight toward those mountains.

After reaching them, he continued deep into the range, startling birds and beasts into flight along the way.

"This environment really does resemble your Duyun Mountain."

Niu Youdao had just teased Yun Ji and Yun Huan while studying the surroundings when a shout suddenly came from ahead.

"Who goes there?"

Su Gongye, at Hong Gaitian's side, immediately shouted back, "The Third King of the South Sea has arrived!"

A figure emerged from concealment.

After meeting them and confirming the group's identity, the man turned and led the way deeper inside.

When the party reached a mountain cliff, a crowd of people of every imaginable appearance had already emerged to receive them.

Niu Youdao focused his gaze.

The forces representing the Great Sage of the Eastern Sea, the Demon King of the Western Sea, the Dharma King of the South Sea, and the Nether Lord of the Northern Sea had all gathered here.

Lang Jingkong, Hall Master of the Eastern Sea's Fubo Hall.

Elder Fuhua of the Western Sea.

Elder Duan Wuchang of the Northern Sea.

Niu Youdao had already had all of them pointed out to him in Tiangu.

Every leader of the Four Seas was present.

Hong Gaitian of the South Sea had actually been the last to arrive.

That surprised Niu Youdao.

Clearly, this was the appointed meeting place for the Four Seas.

He had worried only days earlier that no one knew how long it would take to find the other three groups.

Instead, they had all assembled in only a few days.

Hong Gaitian was equally surprised to see them. "I thought I'd be the first one here. I didn't expect all of you to arrive before me."

Elder Fuhua of the Western Sea was a strikingly beautiful woman.

Her voice was crisp as she replied, "Don't even mention it. I was the first to arrive."

"Not long after entering the Secret Realm, I ran into Yan cultivators looking for trouble."

"After that, I ran into cultivators from several other states one after another."

"All told, I lost nearly two hundred people."

"I realized something was wrong, immediately broke away, and brought my people here to wait for everyone."

"Who would have thought those two groups ran into the same problem I did and came here early too?"

She looked at Hong Gaitian.

"Since you've arrived this soon as well, did something happen to you?"

The moment Hong Gaitian heard that, he quickly looked back toward Niu Youdao.

At the same time, he answered, "Same as all of you."

"Never mind the earlier trouble. Then I ran into those madmen from Jin, and they chased us without end."

"I had to leave dozens of brothers behind to cover the retreat before we finally escaped."

Niu Youdao returned his look with a faint smile.

Only then did the other leaders notice Niu Youdao among the people behind Hong Gaitian.

Fuhua looked surprised. "Niu Youdao? Hong Gaitian, why did you bring him here?"

"Bringing him here doesn't matter. If we want him dead, we can kill him anytime."

Hong Gaitian gestured toward the cave.

"Let's talk inside."

He entered the mountain cave with the other three leaders.

Whatever they intended to discuss, they plainly did not want the crowd hearing it.

The remaining people were received by others and dispersed to greet acquaintances among those who had arrived earlier.

Wu Zhaoxing watched the people moving around them and lowered his voice.

"Don't you think our situation is a little dangerous?"

"Forget the others. The strength of those leaders may not be any lower than mine."

"We've walked straight into the tiger's den."

"If they turn on us, I don't think we'll have any chance of escaping."

Niu Youdao answered just as quietly, "Don't worry."

"Since I dared come, naturally I have confidence."

"If they truly try something reckless against us, then at the critical moment, when our lives are genuinely threatened, I have a way to make them afraid to move rashly."

The three exchanged looks.

None knew where his confidence came from.

They were already in the other side's hands.

The opponent's strength clearly surpassed theirs.

If the Four Seas truly harbored murderous intent, how could Niu Youdao possibly restrain them?

Had someone else said such a thing, they would never have believed it.

Because it came from Niu Youdao, however, they found themselves half believing him despite everything.

"Will they really agree to cooperate with you?" Yun Ji asked again.

That was the question worrying them most.

Niu Youdao looked around before replying quietly.

"Before, it was hard to say."

"Now that I see all of these people gathered here, it proves our earlier arrangements worked."

"There shouldn't be much of a problem anymore."

Hearing that, the others relaxed slightly.

They waited.

A full half hour passed before Hong Gaitian's loud voice came from inside the cave.

"Niu Youdao, get in here!"

The guards at the cave mouth immediately made a gesture inviting him inside.

Niu Youdao entered at once.

Wu Zhaoxing, Yun Ji, and Yun Huan followed closely at his sides, guarding him.

The interior resembled an underground palace.

There were no lamps or torches.

Only several Moon Butterflies cast their glow through the darkness.

Seeing all three of Niu Youdao's companions enter as well, Hong Gaitian's expression sank.

"Who told the three of you to come in?"

"I called Niu Youdao, not you."

"Get out!"

Anger immediately showed on all three faces.

Niu Youdao, however, planted his sword against the ground and raised one hand to stop them from reacting.

"It's fine. Wait outside."

The three swallowed their anger.

Strength dictated the situation.

Whether they liked it or not, they had no choice but to endure.

They left in sullen silence.

Niu Youdao turned back, placed both hands over the hilt of his sword, and looked around.

The cave interior had a gourd-like shape.

It appeared partly natural and partly excavated by hand.

Judging from the old and new traces, it clearly had not been prepared for this particular expedition.

It seemed the overseas cultivators had used this place as a meeting point in previous openings as well.

The others inside were studying Niu Youdao too.

Seeing him calm and unhurried, Lang Jingkong, Hall Master of the Eastern Sea's Fubo Hall, gave a cold snort.

"Niu Youdao, you've got some nerve."

Niu Youdao stopped examining the cave and looked at him.

"There's no need to talk about courage."

"None of you is some starving beast that devours every person it sees."

Fuhua teased, "Aren't you afraid we might dislike the sight of you and simply kill you?"

"Afraid?" Niu Youdao replied. "Sha Rulai has already driven me into a dead end."

"What benefit would killing me bring you?"

Fuhua said, "The Heavenly Sword Talisman on you is worth quite a bit."

"More than your own lives?"

Fuhua laughed softly.

"Listening to you, one would think we can't do without you."

"You seem awfully certain we'll cooperate."

"How about you guess?"

"Do you think we'll agree?"

Niu Youdao had no intention of playing that sort of wagering game.

His voice remained level.

"Whether you agree or not isn't important, and there's no need to guess."

"At the very least, right now I represent one possible choice."

"Elder Fuhua, isn't that so?"

Something flickered in Fuhua's bright eyes.

She began studying him with sudden interest.

Elder Duan Wuchang of the Northern Sea spoke in a sinister tone.

"Even if we agree to cooperate, what makes you so certain we'll hand the Spirit Seeds we rob to you and let you take first place?"

Niu Youdao said, "No matter how many Spirit Seeds you rob, in the end they still have to be handed over to Misty Pavilion."

"None of you gets to keep them."

"Taken by themselves, Spirit Seeds don't actually mean much to anyone here."

"In the end, what matters is the reward Misty Pavilion gives according to ranking."

"I only want the ranking that keeps me alive."

"You take the reward."

"Each side gets what it needs."

Fuhua smiled. "If we really manage to seize enough, wouldn't it be safer for us to turn them in ourselves and collect the reward?"

"Why hand them to you at all?"

Niu Youdao remained calm and unhurried.

"Forget what happens in this Secret Realm for a moment."

"Outside it, are the combined forces of the Four Seas a match for the Seven States?"

"Any one state, once it gathers its strength, is stronger than all of you combined."

"If you truly hit the cultivators of the Seven States hard here, once everyone leaves, the Seven States will inevitably come after you."

"Even if they can't wipe you out, they can cripple you."

The expressions of the Four Seas leaders darkened.

Fuhua alone continued smiling beautifully.

"If acting against them brings us so much trouble, then why should we do it at all?"

Niu Youdao tapped the back of one hand with the other as they rested atop his sword hilt.

"That's precisely why you need to cooperate with me."

"With me involved, the situation changes completely."

"It becomes an entirely different game."

Hong Gaitian gave a strange laugh. "What a grand tone."

"Why don't you look in a mirror first?"

"If you could handle the people of the Seven States, would you need to come begging us?"

[End of Chapter 790]