Chapter 804: The Whole World as His Enemy

At Niu Youdao's call, Fuhua and the others, who had been waiting for some time, revealed themselves. All of them looked suspiciously past him. Calling them out now—wasn't he afraid the eyes following him would discover them?

Seeing that the bundle Niu Youdao had carried was gone, that he was holding a hollow section of round timber, and that blood stained the corner of his mouth, Fuhua asked, "What happened?"

The hollowed log in Niu Youdao's hands burst apart. Glittering purple Spirit Seeds spilled all over the ground. "The bait didn't work. I ran into someone trying to rob me on the way and nearly lost the Spirit Seeds. Fortunately, I managed to take them back."

Hong Gaitian said in surprise, "You've got a Heavenly Sword Talisman on you. Who would dare attack you so casually?"

Niu Youdao shook his head. "I didn't recognize the person either. It's over now. The pursuit and fighting delayed me, and I took a bit of an injury. I can't bait anyone else today. Tomorrow."

He did not tell them what had actually happened on the road. And in truth, he had brought the injury on himself and did need time to recuperate.

The next day, once he had recovered, Niu Youdao set out again.

This time everything went smoothly. The cultivators from the State of Han truly wished Niu Youdao dead. A highly cohesive Nanzhou lending its strength to the State of Yan posed too great a threat to Han.

More importantly, greed clouded their judgment. When the Tiannü Sect contingent discovered that Niu Youdao carried a large number of Spirit Seeds, they wanted the prize for themselves. Just like the Yan group before them, they told neither of the other two factions and quietly sent a team to hunt Niu Youdao down.

The result was total annihilation.

When no one returned with news, the Tiannü Sect Elder in charge personally brought another group to investigate.

This time, unlike with the State of Yan, Niu Youdao's side did not strike once and withdraw. The Four Seas group waited in ambush, and sure enough, the enemy walked straight into the trap. After a fierce encirclement and assault, the entire force led by the Tiannü Sect Elder in charge was wiped out.

Including cultivators from other Han sects and independent cultivators, the two ambushes together cost Han around three hundred people.

With only those two ambushes, not one of the Tiannü Sect cultivators who had entered the Tiandu Secret Realm remained alive. Every last one had been killed.

Even though the Four Seas side held an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Tiannü Sect used three Heavenly Sword Talismans in the fighting, and the Four Seas group still lost more than a hundred people.

Fuhua was wounded as well, but the gains were enormous. The more than one million Spirit Seeds collected by Tiannü Sect all fell into the hands of Niu Youdao and the others.

Looking at the glittering purple heap of Spirit Seeds, Hong Gaitian, who had also suffered a minor wound, was so excited he practically danced. "Wahaha! Taking what someone else has already gathered sure beats running ourselves ragged through wind and rain everywhere." He could not resist clapping Niu Youdao on the shoulder. "And it's all thanks to you, little brother. Without you, where would we find bait this effective?"

He was not wrong. If Niu Youdao had not looked so easy to bully, their targets would never have dared attack someone from another force so readily.

In short, Niu Youdao possessed far too many qualities that made him ideal bait.

Duan Wuchang said darkly, "Everyone, use the time to rest and recover. Once the people from Baichuan Valley and Wushang Palace notice that Tiannü Sect has disappeared, they may send people over to investigate."

Niu Youdao said, "We've gained enough. We should stop while we're ahead and move on to the next target."

Lang Jingkong frowned. "Han only has around a thousand people in total. We've already killed roughly three hundred. A few more strikes like this and wiping out Han's entire force wouldn't be difficult."

Niu Youdao replied, "We've already lost more than a hundred people in this battle. There's no need to keep increasing our losses against one force. Once Han realizes Tiannü Sect has been wiped out, they'll certainly become suspicious and guard against other factions. As long as we've temporarily checked the possibility of the states joining forces, we've achieved our purpose."

"There are forces from seven states. If we attack them one after another and lose a comparable number of people every time, we won't be able to bear the cost ourselves. Taking first place is our objective, but if we end up without enough strength to break away and leave the Secret Realm safely, then no matter how much we seize now, it'll all be for nothing. The most important thing is still getting out alive."

"Besides, once people from Baichuan Valley and Wushang Palace come looking, can we guarantee that not a single one escapes? If even one gets away, we could be exposed. Tiannü Sect was destroyed because, while ignorant of the truth, they gave in to selfish greed. Trying to repeat the same thing against Baichuan Valley and Wushang Palace carries risk."

"For me, this plan can only succeed. It cannot fail. I cannot afford the risk of failure, not even the slightest risk. For safety's sake, Han has already been alerted and should no longer be touched. We continue to the next target. The next group knows nothing, which means they'll still be easy to draw in. If we proceed this way and manage to take down even one faction from each state, we'll accumulate a substantial number of Spirit Seeds and have a very strong chance of taking first place."

"And once the forces of the various states have all been weakened, sooner or later they'll run into the people from Jin. That Jin lot is hard-up and aggressive. When they see groups with fewer people and badly reduced strength, they won't be able to resist attacking and robbing them. Jin will help us wear down the other states, while the other states will in turn help us wear down Jin. If we still retain enough strength by then, we'll have the best possible chance of leaving the Secret Realm safely."

"That is also why I insisted from the beginning that we leave Jin untouched. We have to guide the situation step by step in a direction favorable to us. The more opportunities that favor us, and the greater those opportunities become, the easier our final victory will be. The farther we go, the easier things should become, because the momentum will be on our side."

"We can't lose our heads now just because things are going smoothly. When it's time to stop while we're ahead, we stop. Don't be reluctant to let go, and don't sacrifice the greater objective for a small gain. Quite a few of us are wounded now, and even Big Sister's injuries aren't light. We should withdraw as quickly as possible, putting distance behind us while resting, treating injuries, recovering, and moving toward the next target."

Everyone listened in silence as he laid out the advantages and disadvantages. In the end, they all found his reasoning convincing.

Every one of them was persuaded. No one objected. They unanimously agreed to stop while they were ahead and withdraw.

Afterward, they quickly cleaned the battlefield and erased the traces, taking care not to leave evidence connecting the attack to the overseas cultivators. Once that was done, they rapidly departed.

Meanwhile, Baichuan Valley and Wushang Palace suddenly discovered that the Tiannü Sect people were gone. They waited and waited without seeing them return, still unaware of what had happened...

From then on, Niu Youdao and the band of overseas cultivators moved from place to place, confronting the forces of the various states with the same basic method: lure the enemy out, then ambush them.

Although the method remained the same, Niu Youdao constantly adjusted the plan according to changing circumstances.

For example, after dealing with Han, the group rushed toward the State of Zhao. But Zhao presented an unexpected situation.

They did indeed lure Zhao cultivators into pursuing Niu Youdao to kill him and seize his Spirit Seeds. Yet these people were too cautious to try taking the prize for themselves. Instead, all three factions jointly dispatched a force to pursue him.

Niu Youdao immediately abandoned the plan to attack Zhao's people. After having the two men tailing him killed, he quickly led the group away and relocated.

The reason was simple. All three Zhao factions knew the dispatched force had gone to hunt Niu Youdao. Unless every one of them could be eliminated, attacking only part of the force would alert Zhao that some other power was operating around Niu Youdao. Once that information leaked, his entire plan would collapse.

Killing the two men following him, on the other hand, did not matter. Wasn't it perfectly normal for Niu Youdao to kill spies once he discovered them?

Given the grudges between him and Zhao, killing two more or two fewer made no meaningful difference.

After that, the group turned toward the State of Wei. They lured out Lingxu Mansion's people, annihilated them, and seized another batch of Spirit Seeds.

Next they struck viciously at Blood God Hall of the State of Song, followed by Daqiu Sect of the State of Qi.

When it came to Qi and Wei, Niu Youdao had originally held on to a sliver of hope that the two sides might let him go. At present, his relations with both states were still reasonably good.

In particular, when he had met Mu Yinggao, an Elder of Wei's Lingxu Mansion, earlier, Mu Yinggao had not made trouble for him and had treated him with a fair degree of tolerance.

But once they saw the large quantity of Spirit Seeds in his hands and judged him easy prey, neither state let him pass. Niu Youdao therefore showed no mercy either and struck to kill.

While the battlefield was being cleaned, Situ Yao stood beside Niu Youdao and sighed. "Little brother, let's put the turmoil inside Yan aside. Song, Han, Zhao, and Jin already wish you dead. Now you've offended Qi and Wei as well. You're in serious trouble!"

Standing beneath a tree on the mountainside with his sword planted beside him, Niu Youdao watched the others search the corpses for valuables. His expression was cool. "I've only offended certain factions within the various states. It isn't as serious as you're making it sound."

Situ Yao said, "Not serious? Even if you make it out of here, how are you going to face them?"

"They attacked me first. Are they somehow in the right?" Niu Youdao replied. "At least all they can do is bear a grudge; they can't claim justice is on their side. Since things have reached this point, then let the grudges exist. As long as we get out, and as long as we still hold enough strength to influence the larger situation, these will only be private feuds. They're nothing serious. Better that than dying here, isn't it?"

Situ Yao smiled bitterly. "Private feuds? Once you've offended nearly everyone and provoked public fury, it stops being a matter of private grudges. They may very well join forces against you. Have you thought about the consequences?"

Niu Youdao raised a hand and patted the Sect Leader on the back. "Don't worry. Circumstances change. Every sect knows how to read the situation. Joining forces against me will be impossible. I won't give them the opportunity."

Seeing how certain he was, Situ Yao gave an interested sound. "How so?"

"Heaven's secrets must not be divulged!" Niu Youdao pointed toward the sky, a sly smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. In his mind, the figure that surfaced was Mr. Yucang.

As long as he made it out alive, Xiaoyue Pavilion would raise its army. Zhao would face the danger of national destruction, and the situation beneath Heaven would undergo a tremendous change. The forces in Niu Youdao's hands were no pushovers either. By then, some people might be too busy begging for his help to think about joining forces against him.

Seeing that Niu Youdao would not explain, Situ Yao had no choice, though he still offered a well-meant warning. "Little brother, if this keeps up, you'll have the whole world as your enemy!"

Niu Youdao sighed. "Sect Leader Situ, reaching this point wasn't what I wanted either. But since coming here has forced me this far, having the whole world as my enemy may not be a bad thing. There are some people you can still maneuver around when you face them. There are others you simply cannot resist."

Situ Yao did not understand. He asked doubtfully, "What do you mean by that, little brother?"

Niu Youdao shook his head and did not explain further. Nor could he. There were worries only he understood clearly.

He was not afraid of competing with others under the same set of rules. What he feared were those who held the rules in their hands and could alter them whenever they wished.

What if even all this still failed to get him killed?

He feared that surviving might make Sha Rulai lose face and leave Sha Rulai displeased. If he continued making the whole world his enemy and kept courting death down a road with no escape, perhaps he could at least win a smile from Sha Rulai.

At present, nothing was more dangerous than trying to survive the ordeal Sha Rulai represented.

No one else could truly understand how much pressure this desperate struggle for survival placed on him. He alone bore it in silence.

[End of Chapter 804]