Chapter 829: A One, Then Sixes to the End

Niu Youdao sat cross-legged at the mouth of a cave in the cliff, in the very area of Tiangu set aside for the Four Seas cultivators to rest.

When he saw the Four Seas people rush out, he smiled. He had been waiting here for them all along.

The Four Seas cultivators looked around after emerging and soon spotted him. They quickly came over, with Fuhua and the others landing at the cave entrance.

Niu Youdao had already washed and tidied himself. He had even asked Misty Pavilion for a clean set of clothes. His face was still somewhat pale, but otherwise there was little sign that he had been injured.

He neither needed nor wanted to parade a pitiful appearance before anyone. Other people's sympathy meant nothing to him and could solve none of his problems.

"What did Yan Li mean by that? Why did he go back on his word and slaughter our people? Did the two of you arrange it together?" Fuhua demanded the moment they met.

This was entirely within Niu Youdao's expectations. He replied calmly, "There was nothing to arrange. It was my idea from the beginning. Yan Li merely acted according to my instructions."

The expressions of the Four Seas leaders darkened. Fuhua ground her teeth. "Do you think that now you've come out, there's nothing we can do to you?"

"Big Sister, there's no point in saying things like that. I don't believe you can't guess why Yan Li did it. In my plan, Yan Li had to clear himself of suspicion. All of you already knew that."

Lang Jingkong said heavily, "You used so many of our people's lives just to clear him of suspicion? Even conceding that much, shouldn't you at least have warned us in advance so we could prepare?"

"Even without an explanation from me, all of you know why I couldn't."

Fuhua's anger flared. "What kind of attitude is that? Don't forget, the Spirit Seeds are in our hands now. Whether we give them to you is up to us."

Niu Youdao said, "Are you planning to take first place yourselves and become the chief culprits everyone blames? I think it's better for me to shoulder that role."

Duan Wuchang said, "You're not the only person here. We can give these Spirit Seeds to someone else!"

"Leaving every other consideration aside, if I take first place, the entire reward belongs to you. Give the Spirit Seeds to someone else, and you'd be lucky to get even half. A loss of over a hundred million gold coins could buy how many Spirit Essence Pills for the Four Seas? You've already paid such a heavy price and are standing at the threshold of the result. Is there any need to suffer that loss too?"

Niu Youdao continued, "There's no point saying things out of anger. We all have to look forward. I don't need to explain the reasoning in detail. You understand it yourselves. There were many things I had no choice about either."

He lowered his gaze toward the Four Seas cultivators beneath the cliff. "The Four Seas weren't completely wiped out. You've still preserved this much strength. I did everything I could. If you wanted every single person to come out intact without any sacrifice at all, I truly couldn't do it."

"Big Brothers, Big Sister, Misty Pavilion is still waiting to verify the number of Spirit Seeds. Give them to me."

An argument was an argument, dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction, but in the end they still had to face reality.

Just as Niu Youdao had said, giving the Spirit Seeds to him was still the most suitable choice.

The Four Seas cultivators emptied out all the Spirit Seeds hidden on their persons. They accumulated into a huge pile inside the cave. Wu Zhaoxing and the other two helped gather them and packed them into several large bundles.

Using his sword as a cane, Niu Youdao walked slowly out of the cave under the gaze of the Four Seas cultivators.

Wu Zhaoxing and the other two followed behind him, each carrying a huge bundle.

Once they reached the foot of the cliff, Wu Zhaoxing asked, "Your complexion doesn't look very good."

"I was injured a little on the way out." Niu Youdao said it as lightly as if it were nothing, making no mention of how severe his injuries had been or how close he had come to losing his life.

Since he did not appear to have any serious problem, Wu Zhaoxing did not ask further.

Yun Ji, however, reminded him, "You incited them and the people of the seven states to kill one another, then profited from it yourself. Once the two sides compare notes afterward, they'll discover the truth sooner or later. Aren't you afraid they'll turn on you?"

"A person doesn't casually turn hostile toward just anyone. As long as we have sufficient strength, worrying about that is pointless. Once this matter is past, it'll be past. They'll understand that remaining friends is more suitable than turning against me."

His gaze flicked toward Wei Duo on the opposite side, who was watching him eagerly. Niu Youdao paid him no attention and walked straight past.

Ximen Qingkong and Wei Duo had also noticed the enormous bundles on Wu Zhaoxing and the others.

After watching the group walk away, Ximen Qingkong said mildly, "Forget it. He doesn't need your good intentions. You and he aren't people walking the same road. He has the ability to solve his own problems. Your worrying is unnecessary. Under circumstances this desperate... that man truly does have ability."

His gaze remained fixed on those large bundles.

Wei Duo looked down at the small bag in his own hand. It held some Spirit Seeds, but compared with those enormous bundles, what he had suddenly seemed too meager even to offer.

Inside the Secret Realm, he had worked hard to search for Spirit Seeds because he hoped that when Niu Youdao needed help, he could at least contribute his own small share.

He had even begged Ximen Qingkong for his Spirit Seeds so he could offer those together with his own.

Now it seemed he had simply imagined too much. Niu Youdao had no need for them at all.

Wei Duo slowly lowered his head, his spirits sinking.

He felt deeply miserable.

The Shangqing Sect was truly of no use whatsoever to that man anymore. It seemed they no longer even possessed the qualification to make amends for their guilt.

Was their relationship with the Shangqing Sect truly going to be severed completely like this?

"If Wei's people can make it out safely, I suggest giving those Spirit Seeds to them instead. The Shangqing Sect is still within the borders of Wei, after all." Ximen Qingkong raised a hand and patted Wei Duo on the shoulder, then released him and turned away.

Wei Duo remained there with his head lowered, saying nothing.

At Tiangu's entrance, the people outside saw Niu Youdao appear inside the valley again.

Every gaze immediately locked onto him, then onto the huge bundles.

Suspicion and uncertainty spread among them.

Were those all Spirit Seeds?

Had Niu Youdao actually obtained that many?

Long Xiu, Gong Lince, and Meng Xuan looked at one another.

They still had no idea why Niu Youdao needed so many Spirit Seeds.

Mr. Yucang, however, did know.

A strange light flashed in his eyes. An indescribable excitement filled his chest as he stared at those bundles with intense expectation.

Behind the Spirit Seed tally point, Bai Yulou sat at the far end of a long table.

Slowly, he turned his head.

His gaze fixed on Niu Youdao and the people walking toward him, then on the enormous bundles they carried.

The bundles were set down.

Wu Zhaoxing pointed toward Niu Youdao. "His."

"They're all his." Yun Ji and Yun Huan put down their bundles as well and pointed toward Niu Youdao.

Bai Yulou could no longer remain entirely calm.

He rose from behind the table and walked over to the people receiving the Spirit Seeds.

He glanced at Niu Youdao, who smiled and nodded to him, then looked down at the opened bundles.

Inside lay heaps of glittering purple Spirit Seeds, flowing with a soft rustling sound.

"Count them carefully. Verify everything!" Bai Yulou instructed solemnly.

"Yes!" The people responsible for the tally answered.

More hands were summoned, and everyone was reminded to count carefully and allow no mistakes.

At the mouths of the caves along the cliff wall, the people from Myriad Beasts Sect, Tianxing Sect, and Ling Sect all stared at the tally point in surprise.

The Elders of the three sects—Sun Changhao, Mei Jiukai, and Wang Tiandi—came running out of the caves as well and watched closely.

At the counting point, the Spirit Seeds flowed back and forth like water.

People used spiritual power to sift and separate them, rapidly calculating the total.

They repeated the count three times.

Only after verifying there was no mistake did the person in charge cup his hands to Bai Yulou and report, "A total of sixteen million, six hundred sixty-six thousand, six hundred sixty-six Spirit Seeds!"

The number left people speechless.

The counters themselves had nearly thought they had made an error. Only after repeated verification had they dared announce it.

Niu Youdao had deliberately chosen this number because it was easy to remember.

He also needed to leave some Spirit Seeds in the Four Seas people's hands. Otherwise, it would look as though they had entered the Secret Realm and done absolutely nothing.

So he had taken this exact amount and left the remainder to the Four Seas cultivators.

The number made Bai Yulou raise his brows as well.

He seemed to want to say something, but he had personally watched the repeated verification. There was no need to ask pointless questions.

He merely asked Niu Youdao, "You confirm that all of these are to be registered under your name?"

"Yes." Niu Youdao nodded.

Bai Yulou muttered inwardly but merely gave an outward grunt. He told his subordinate, "Register them under his name. Enter the amount into the records for verification."

"Yes!" the tally official answered.

Niu Youdao stepped back.

Wu Zhaoxing, Yun Ji, and Yun Huan then came forward one after another, each submitting a small pouch.

None of them had much, only around five thousand Spirit Seeds apiece.

With the task completed, Niu Youdao and the others turned around and went back the way they had come.

After personally seeing Niu Youdao submit such an enormous quantity of Spirit Seeds, Mr. Yucang was thrilled.

Even so, he knew it was not yet time to celebrate.

Many people had still not emerged.

No matter how much Niu Youdao had submitted, it did not necessarily guarantee first place.

Long Xiu, Gong Lince, and Meng Xuan, who had now personally seen the enormous amount, all looked rather unhappy.

Taishu Feihua glanced over from nearby and said sarcastically, "Strange, isn't it? Isn't Niu Youdao from Yan? With such a large harvest, why wasn't it combined with Yan's total and counted under the state? Why was it submitted separately under his own name?"

Mr. Yucang glanced over and snorted inwardly.

If it had been counted under Yan, would Niu Youdao still have any chance of leaving alive?

Long Xiu, Gong Lince, and Meng Xuan were already irritated over precisely this point.

If those Spirit Seeds could have been registered under Yan, Yan would have had an excellent chance of taking first place.

Gong Lince sighed inwardly.

Niu Youdao, Niu Youdao. What am I supposed to say about you?

If you do this, Zijin Cave can turn a blind eye.

But how are you going to explain it to the other two factions?

Dachan Mountain Sect Leader Huang Lie stood dazed.

He had no choice but to marvel inwardly.

That man truly was something else.

Not only had he emerged alive from the Tiandu Secret Realm, his harvest was actually larger than those of Myriad Beasts Sect, Tianxing Sect, and Ling Sect.

Fei Changliu, Xia Hua, and Zheng Jiuxiao were likewise secretly dumbstruck.

Master Dao truly was Master Dao.

Even inside the Tiandu Secret Realm, he could still play the whole board.

In all of Nanzhou, there was probably no second person capable of it.

Inside Tiangu, not long after Niu Youdao returned, the whole crowd of Four Seas demons and monsters emerged again and headed straight for the Spirit Seed tally point.

Their own contribution looked rather shabby by comparison.

Altogether, they produced only a single bundle, containing a little over one hundred thousand Spirit Seeds.

That made quite a few people notice something odd.

Everyone had seen earlier that Niu Youdao himself had emerged carrying almost nothing.

Someone voiced the thought aloud. "Could all of Niu Youdao's Spirit Seeds have been gathered for him by those overseas people?"

Another person answered in confusion, "The overseas group helped Niu Youdao make up his total?"

Long Xiu, Gong Lince, and Meng Xuan looked equally baffled. None of them knew what was going on.

Mr. Yucang, however, wore a thoughtful expression.

Could Niu Youdao have joined forces with those overseas people to compete for first place?

He could roughly guess some of what had happened.

Once inside the Tiandu Secret Realm, with all the constraints Niu Youdao faced, joining forces with the overseas cultivators truly had been one possible choice.

Unfortunately, the Tiandu Secret Realm gathering had not yet officially ended.

They still could not enter and interfere, nor could they ask for details.

All they could do was remain outside and speculate.

[End of Chapter 829]