Chapter 806: Scum Who Sells Out His Own Side

"Elder, this is a letter Li Wuhua asked me to pass to you."

During the search, a Xiaoyao Palace disciple handed a piece of cloth to Shan Hai. After reading it, Shan Hai abruptly raised his head and asked in a deep voice, "You didn't stop them?"

The disciple answered cautiously, "There was only one person. At first, this disciple didn't know what was going on. By the time I saw what the letter said, the other party had already fled."

Yan Li, the Zijin Cave Elder who was one of the central figures traveling with the three factions, asked, "A letter from Li Wuhua? What's going on?"

Shan Hai tossed the cloth to him. Yan Li read it and fell silent.

Chu Fengping then reached out and took the cloth from Yan Li's hand to read it himself. Afterward, he too had nothing to say. He bore responsibility for this situation.

The letter said nothing complicated. Li Wuhua wrote that their Sect Leader and the others had been missing for many days, and they did not know whether something had happened to them. As disciples of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion, they could not stand by and ignore the matter; they had to go search. Afraid that Yan would stop them, they had left without saying goodbye and hoped the others could understand their predicament.

The three of them could find no fault with that. Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion's people were worried about their Sect Leader's safety and had gone looking for him. There was nothing wrong with that.

Shan Hai instead turned toward Chu Fengping and said heavily, "Brother Chu, your disciple Cai Jinqi, Situ Yao's group, and Yan Baoru all disappeared at the same time. What exactly are you hiding from us?"

Chu Fengping gave only one answer. "I've already said I don't know what's going on."

Any reflection or admission of fault could wait until after he returned to his sect. Besides, given the losses this had caused, he might not even let his sect know what had happened if he could conceal it. Since the matter had already occurred, he would hide whatever he could. He certainly was not about to tell outsiders and invite ridicule.

In truth, he genuinely did not know what Cai Jinqi and the others had encountered, much less who had attacked them.

Yan Li gave him a cold sidelong glance, secretly amused. He then looked at the letter in Chu Fengping's hand and sighed inwardly. Niu Youdao's arrangements were clearly the result of careful deliberation. Every step was meticulous. Even Li Wuhua and the others breaking away had been covered with a complete and plausible excuse.

He understood something else as well. Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion had betrayed Niu Youdao earlier, but Niu Youdao had now won them back over. Even the thirty people here had withdrawn. This time, Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion had plainly committed itself to following Niu Youdao wholeheartedly. Yan Li had no idea what method Niu Youdao had used.

Yet this was precisely what made the situation worth anticipating. It meant Niu Youdao had once again reversed the momentum of this struggle and regained control over the forces of Jinzhou. Once Niu Youdao left this place and joined Zijin Cave, both Nanzhou and Jinzhou would fall within Zijin Cave's sphere of influence. What a rich harvest that would be.

He could not help admiring Niu Youdao's ability. After falling into such a miserable predicament in a place like this, the man had somehow reversed the situation and was even managing to stir up another storm.

It was because Yan Li could now see this possibility that he became even more determined to support Niu Youdao and returned to carrying out Zijin Cave's preferred strategy.

For him, if the situation turned unfavorable, he would abandon Niu Youdao; if circumstances became favorable, he would cultivate good relations with him. That was simply human nature.

Ordinary people might find such repeated reversals infuriating, but for those contending beneath the pressure of the greater situation, there was nothing strange about it. Naturally, they had to make whatever choice best served their own interests.

Shan Hai was still unwilling to let the matter go. He said heavily, "With so many people out searching everywhere, did no one see which way they went? We just let them slip away without a sound?"

Yan Li sighed. "Isn't it obvious? More people means more Spirit Seeds collected. They knew we wouldn't easily let them leave, so they must have been planning this for a long time and waiting for a chance to slip away. I imagine they finally found one. If leaving would have alerted us, or if they hadn't been confident they could get away, they wouldn't have departed rashly."

The State of Wei was currently hesitant to advance. The entire Lingxu Mansion group, from Elder Mu Yinggao down, had suddenly disappeared. After searching along the traces of their departure, the others discovered that every last one of them had been murdered. No one knew who had done it.

Realizing that some force had begun striking first, a powerful sense of crisis descended on the others. Shouzheng Pavilion and Dale Mountain lost all interest in continuing to search for Spirit Seeds. They rapidly pulled their people back into a tighter formation and raised their guard, no longer daring to scatter their personnel widely as they advanced with extreme caution.

Open plundering had already begun on such a scale. Their first suspect was that pack of mad dogs from the State of Jin.

While Shouzheng Pavilion Elder Yao Xianding and Dale Mountain Elder Cao Bing were still discussing and puzzling over the matter, someone suddenly came to report, "Elders, Li Wuhua of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion in Jinzhou, State of Zhao, requests an audience. He is pleading to be received."

Begging to be received? What was that about? The two exchanged a glance.

Yao Xianding asked, "How many people came?"

The disciple replied, "Only him and two Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion disciples. Three people in total."

Hearing that there were only three, they immediately ordered that the men be brought over.

A short while later, Li Wuhua arrived with the two Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion disciples accompanying him. The necessary greetings were exchanged.

Yao Xianding said, "We saw you following the Yan group before. Why have you come to see us now?"

"To tell you the truth, Elders, something unexpected happened. We've come to look for our Sect Leader..." Li Wuhua helplessly explained how they had secretly separated from Yan's people, lamenting the necessity of it. Finally he cupped his fists and pleaded, "We cannot simply abandon our Sect Leader. We had no choice but to scatter our people in every direction to search and ask for news. I beg Wei to tell us: have you seen our Sect Leader's group?"

"So that's what happened." Yao Xianding said, "We haven't seen any trace of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion's people. But seeing how sincere you are, if we do encounter them, we'll help pass word to you."

"Many thanks, many thanks." Li Wuhua repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

Cao Bing, who had been frowning in thought, suddenly asked, "Li Wuhua, did you just say that your Sect Leader's group disappeared together with a group from Yan?"

A glint appeared in Yao Xianding's eyes. He had caught the implication as well.

"Yes," Li Wuhua replied.

"How many people disappeared?"

"I don't know the exact number. We were only followers. Yan wouldn't tell us the details of its situation. Most of those who disappeared were from Lingjian Mountain. Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion alone lost twenty people. Altogether, the missing should number in the hundreds."

Cao Bing asked, "So many people disappeared. What happened?"

Li Wuhua smiled bitterly. "I don't know. But Elder Chu of Lingjian Mountain should know something. I saw Zijin Cave's Elder Yan and Xiaoyao Palace's Elder Shan Hai questioning him, but he refused to say. That's exactly why we came out to search on our own."

Tianhuo Sect Elder Qian Fucheng and Xuanbing Sect Elder Liu Xinggao of the State of Qi were confronting Yan Li of Zijin Cave, Shan Hai of Xiaoyao Palace, and Chu Fengping of Lingjian Mountain from the State of Yan.

All of Qi's personnel in the Tiandu Secret Realm had come with Qian Fucheng and Liu Xinggao. The forces of the two states faced one another.

Chu Fengping secretly cursed Li Wuhua and the others for bringing trouble to his doorstep. Qian Fucheng had already made it clear: they had come here only after encountering people who were asking everywhere for news of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion's Sect Leader.

"Why our people disappeared is our own business. I have no obligation to explain it to you." Chu Fengping forcefully refused to answer their questions.

Just then, a Xiaoyao Palace disciple hurried over to report, "Elder, the people from Wei are here. We couldn't stop them..."

There was no need for him to say more. Everyone could already see them. Only a blind man could have missed such a large group approaching. Shouzheng Pavilion Elder Yao Xianding and Dale Mountain Elder Cao Bing had arrived with a large contingent from Wei.

Shan Hai frowned and pondered inwardly. Why was everyone coming here? What was going on?

Yan Li merely raised his brows slightly, his gaze shifting with hidden calculation.

"Oh? Brother Qian and Brother Liu are here too." Upon seeing Qi's people, Cao Bing gave a cold laugh.

Qian Fucheng and Liu Xinggao looked over Wei's group and seemed to realize why they had come. Liu Xinggao asked, "Why don't I see Elder Mu of Lingxu Mansion?"

Cao Bing threw the answer back bluntly. "Missing. Gone. Why don't I see Brother Ning from Daqiu Sect?"

Liu Xinggao snorted. "He's missing as well."

Cao Bing said, "Then it seems we've come here for the same reason."

Their gazes all turned toward Yan's group. Qian Fucheng gave a cold laugh. "Brother Chu, it looks like you're going to have to give us an explanation today!"

Chu Fengping said heavily, "Are you threatening me? Do you think the State of Yan is made of clay?" He was clearly trying to bind Xiaoyao Palace and Zijin Cave together with him in opposition.

Yan Li shot a glance to the side. One of his disciples immediately made a hand signal behind his back. In response, a Zijin Cave disciple in the distance flashed over and urgently reported, "Elder, we've discovered traces of that overseas group of demons and monsters. Niu Youdao seems to be mixed in with them."

Chu Fengping was abruptly startled. He turned and demanded, "What did you say? Niu Youdao is with those overseas people?"

The disciple seemed hesitant to answer freely and glanced at Yan Li's expression.

Yan Li said, "Don't hem and haw. Speak plainly."

Only then did the disciple answer Chu Fengping. "Yes. Niu Youdao is among them."

Chu Fengping asked again, "How many people?"

"I don't know the exact number. By eye, at least a thousand."

Chu Fengping's face darkened, his expression twitching. He had suspected Niu Youdao before. After all, Cai Jinqi and the others had disappeared while pursuing Niu Youdao. Yet the idea had never seemed right. With so many experts acting together, how could Niu Youdao possibly have dealt with them on his own?

Now the matter he had been unable to understand finally had an answer. So Niu Youdao had colluded with that group of overseas demons and monsters.

"We fell for that little thief's treacherous scheme!" Having finally understood, Chu Fengping stamped his foot in fury. "He'd better not fall into my hands, or I'll tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

Yan Li frowned. "Brother Chu, what do you mean?"

Chu Fengping ignored him. Instead, he looked toward the groups from Wei and Qi. "I think I know what happened to Mu Yinggao and Ning Wu. They were probably murdered by Niu Youdao's group."

Everyone exchanged looks.

Yao Xianding asked, "What makes you say that? How can you be certain it has something to do with Niu Youdao?"

"Since things have reached this point, I won't hide it from you. We discovered traces of Niu Youdao earlier..." Chu Fengping then explained, detail by detail, what he had previously concealed. "I couldn't make sense of it before, but now I finally understand. Niu Youdao must have become those overseas people's lackey in order to save his own life. He's serving as bait for that group, helping them set traps for us. Bastard! To think my State of Yan produced a piece of scum who sells out his own side to outsiders!"

[End of Chapter 806]