Chapter 833: Make a Quick Exit

All three men felt that something about the situation was off. They could tell from the attitudes of Fuhua and the others.

"Demon King..." Fuhua murmured a warning.

The Demon King of the Western Sea rolled his eyes at her. "What are you afraid of?"

Seeing her own Demon King so eager, Fuhua could only feel helpless.

She, Lang Jingkong, and the others had all been put in an awkward position by Niu Youdao, neither able to accept nor refuse cleanly.

If he offered them the money and they refused, all Niu Youdao had to do was say a few words in front of everyone. With so many witnesses present, there was a very real possibility that the three hundred million gold coins would no longer have anything to do with them.

The Great Sage of the Eastern Sea quietly warned the Demon King of the Western Sea, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

The Demon King of the Western Sea replied just as quietly, "What's there to fear? If it doesn't work out, we can always give it back." Then, perfectly at ease, he tucked the voucher into his sleeve.

Now that he had actually taken it—and it represented three hundred million gold coins—Long Xiu became furious. "Old demon, are you planning to rob someone by force right under Misty Pavilion's nose?"

"Hey, you can't put it that way." The Demon King of the Western Sea looked around at everyone, then toward Bai Yulou's side. "Everyone saw it and heard it. Niu Youdao offered it to us himself. How can you call that robbery?"

Meng Xuan immediately reminded Niu Youdao, "Niu Youdao, this is Misty Pavilion. There are people here to uphold justice. Whether you give it away is still your decision."

His meaning was obvious: take it back now while there was still time.

But Niu Youdao answered solemnly, "The reason I was able to return alive this time is because the brothers of the Four Seas helped me, and because my sworn elder sister and three sworn elder brothers gave me their support. Money is a small matter. Breaking one's word is a grave matter!"

With that, he cupped his hands toward the Four Seas group, making it clear that he could not comply.

Now that he had said such words publicly, Long Xiu's and Meng Xuan's faces immediately darkened.

Mr. Yucang could not help frowning.

Fei Changliu, Zheng Jiuxiao, and Xia Hua looked painfully conflicted.

Master Dao, what exactly are you doing? You're openly offending Yan's three great sects!

Dachan Mountain Sect Leader Huang Lie's eyes flickered as he watched the spectacle with obvious schadenfreude.

"Sworn brothers?" The Dharma King of the South Sea turned in surprise. "You became sworn siblings?"

Hong Gaitian gave a reluctant grunt. "Mm."

"Heh. So we're all family." The Demon King of the Western Sea looked as though he wished the world would become even more chaotic. He slapped Niu Youdao on the shoulder and grinned. "Brat, I rather like you. If you can't stay on the mainland anymore, come over to my side. If anything happens in the Western Sea from now on, just send word. This king will stand up for you!"

"Mm..." The blow tugged at Niu Youdao's wound again, and pain twisted his face.

"Oh, you're injured. I still have a Heavenly Succor Pill here." The Demon King of the Western Sea finally remembered and pulled out a wax pellet, tossing it to Niu Youdao. "Here."

Niu Youdao caught it, caught between laughter and tears. "Demon King, you truly are a man of temperament!"

"Of course!" The Demon King of the Western Sea preened, then turned to the other three sovereigns. "He's generous, so we can't be stingy either. The cost of this Heavenly Succor Pill comes out of those three hundred million gold coins. We'll split it evenly!"

The Great Sage of the Eastern Sea, Dharma King of the South Sea, and Nether Lord of the Northern Sea were rendered speechless.

What could they even say after he put it that way?

Fuhua stepped forward and lowered her voice. "You could have given us the money afterward. Why hand it over in front of everyone? Niu Youdao, you're doing this deliberately, aren't you?"

Niu Youdao answered quietly, "Big Sister, you've seen the situation yourself. What 'afterward' is there? The moment we turn around, the money will land in the hands of Yan's three great sects. Then even if you threaten me to death, I won't be able to produce it."

Fuhua said, "Sophistry!"

"If Big Sister thinks the money burns your hands, you can return it to me in front of everyone."

Whether they accepted it or refused it publicly, Niu Youdao did not care. Either way, he would not lose.

If they took this enormous fortune, he saved himself some trouble.

If they refused it, did they really think he would not dare keep the money himself? So long as they dared refuse, he dared take it back.

Fuhua ground her teeth. "You bastard, you're too treacherous!"

"You can't say that. When we became sworn siblings, we agreed to share fortune and hardship together. Big Sister can't make me carry all the trouble by myself."

The four sovereigns of the Four Seas had been listening to their exchange.

After hearing this, the Great Sage of the Eastern Sea quietly asked Lang Jingkong, "What exactly happened?"

Lang Jingkong looked helpless. "Great Sage, the matter is extremely complicated. It truly can't be explained in a few words. And now really isn't the time."

The Demon King of the Western Sea stuck his head between Niu Youdao and Fuhua, looked left, then right, and finally asked Fuhua, "Give me a straight answer. Can we take this money or not? If we can't, I'll return it to him. Don't make me waste my Heavenly Succor Pill!"

"..."

Fuhua had no idea how to answer.

The crucial problem was that the whole affair could not be explained quickly.

In the end she ground her teeth and said, "It's too late to talk about taking it or not taking it. Either way, the result is the same now."

"Then that's settled." The Demon King of the Western Sea withdrew his head and folded both hands over his belly, though a trace of suspicion had appeared on his face.

He badly wanted to know what had happened inside the Secret Realm that could make even three hundred million gold coins feel troublesome to Fuhua.

Strictly speaking, the money itself was not the problem.

Once the Four Seas leaders had agreed to what they had done, they had naturally been prepared to bear the consequences.

What Fuhua and the others disliked was drawing everyone's attention so quickly.

The best arrangement would have been for Niu Youdao to hand them the money in secret, giving them time to withdraw calmly.

Now that Niu Youdao had done this publicly, such an enormous fortune was enough to make anyone's eyes turn red.

He clearly intended to make the Four Seas shoulder the attention so that he, Niu Youdao, could get away first.

"Nether Lord, we shouldn't remain here. Delay invites change. Let's withdraw first," Duan Wuchang quietly reminded the Nether Lord of the Northern Sea.

Seeing that matters on this side had been settled, Bai Yulou resumed announcing the results and loudly called the second-place recipient forward to receive the reward.

Second place was Yan, roughly four million Spirit Seeds behind first place. The reward was one hundred million gold coins.

Of course, Yan only held the title on paper. In reality, the reward still had to be divided with Qi and Wei. Yan was merely collecting it on behalf of the alliance.

...

Niu Youdao glanced back and saw that the Four Seas people had already begun withdrawing quickly and quietly. A faint smile appeared on his face.

Certain troubles could not be allowed to erupt right now.

He needed to force the Four Seas group away before the two sides had a chance to compare stories.

The fact that he had secretly incited the Four Seas and the seven states into fighting one another absolutely could not be exposed yet.

If both sides became enraged with him at the same time, he would be in serious trouble.

Once he returned safely and stabilized the power in his hands, all sides would have to take his strength into account. At that point, it would no longer matter much if the truth came out.

But for now, with the Four Seas gone, it was like yellow mud falling into one's crotch: even if it wasn't shit, it looked like shit.

Even if the Four Seas were not the true masterminds, they would look like the masterminds.

He himself would be nothing more than a minor follower who had gone along with them.

For the moment, he needed to reduce the danger directly in front of him as much as possible.

Third place was Song, only five hundred thousand Spirit Seeds behind second place. The reward was fifty million gold coins, which Song would later have to divide with Han.

Fourth, fifth, and sixth were Myriad Beasts Sect, Ling Sect, and Tianxing Sect.

Those three factions were somewhat speechless.

Even Jin had failed to place, yet they—who had entered merely to go through the motions—had somehow ended up on the ranking list.

By the time the rewards reached their positions, however, there was not much left.

"He caused trouble in Tiangu, and Sha Rulai ordered him to take first place?"

Long Xiu and the others, who had only just asked enough questions to learn part of what had happened, were badly startled.

When they turned back to look for Niu Youdao, he was already gone.

How could Niu Youdao possibly remain here until the very end?

While the Four Seas people's departure drew everyone's attention, and while Yan was receiving its reward and Yan's people were distracted, he had already exchanged a glance with Mr. Yucang and slipped away quickly with him.

It was not that he feared Yan.

There was no point fearing them anyway. The monk could run, but the temple could not.

He simply did not want Yan's three great sects entangling him here and now.

Zhao and Jin's people had all died, so there was no one available to compare stories with immediately.

As for everyone else, the Four Seas group—the apparent "culprits"—was drawing their attention, while the enormous fortune was no longer on Niu Youdao's person.

Combined with the many conveniences offered by Misty Pavilion's territory, this was exactly the right moment for him to get away quickly.

...

Mr. Yucang did not manage to leave.

He could only watch helplessly as Niu Youdao, Wu Zhaoxing, and Yun Ji flew away on a flying mount.

Niu Youdao had never intended to take Mr. Yucang with him.

He had merely borrowed his flying mount and promised to return it later.

Niu Youdao's injuries had not yet healed, so he needed two experts beside him for protection.

As for Mr. Yucang himself, his connections were excellent. It was unlikely anyone would make things difficult for him. He should be quite safe.

Fei Changliu, Zheng Jiuxiao, and Xia Hua were another matter.

Those three Sect Leaders were in some danger.

Niu Youdao had Yun Huan secretly notify them: while no one was paying attention to them, they were to seize the opportunity and withdraw immediately.

Otherwise, once others discovered they could not find Niu Youdao, they might very well turn their attention toward those three men.

Fei Changliu and the others still had no idea what had happened.

But if Niu Youdao said there was danger and ordered them to leave quickly, then naturally they left quickly.

Yun Huan departed together with them.

Before leaving, Niu Youdao did not forget to tell Mr. Yucang to keep Ji Yude and the others alive.

He had use for them.

Mr. Yucang did not know what Niu Youdao wanted those people for.

Niu Youdao was in too much of a hurry to explain in detail.

He merely stabilized Mr. Yucang first, preventing him from killing them to silence witnesses.

Ji Yude and the others had broken out of the Secret Realm together with the people from Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion. Afterward, they hid inside Tiangu and did not show themselves.

This too had been under Niu Youdao's instructions.

The moment they left Tiangu, they slipped away with the Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion group without daring to delay even slightly.

Those two groups could only flee on foot.

There were nowhere near enough flying mounts for all of them.

...

Once the prize distribution ended and the various forces began comparing what had happened, the scene exploded into chaos.

"A pack of damned curs! They actually dared provoke the seven states on their own initiative. No wonder they ran!"

The people of Wei, Qi, Han, and Song shouted angrily, gathered their manpower, and set off in pursuit of the overseas group.

Niu Youdao could not be found anywhere.

He had only been an accomplice, and the enormous fortune was no longer on him.

After weighing the situation quickly, none of those factions could waste time chasing Niu Youdao first. Their only choice was to settle accounts with the overseas group before anything else.

If they allowed those people to reach the sea and return to the territory of those demons and monsters, the manpower they currently had would no longer give them much advantage.

So they wanted to catch up as quickly as possible and stop the Four Seas group while it was still on land.

"Hand Niu Youdao over!"

The people from Zhao blocked the group that had come from Yan.

Zhao's three great sects were filled with grief and anger.

They had asked the people of Han and Song what had happened to Zhao's contingent, but Han and Song refused to answer and naturally would not admit that they had participated in Zhao's annihilation.

They then questioned Wei and Qi.

Those two sides said Han, Song, and Jin had joined forces to do it.

Zhao returned to confront Han and Song.

This time, Han and Song spoke with one voice and dumped the entire matter onto Jin, then used the pursuit of the overseas group as an excuse to leave immediately.

The crucial point was that Han and Song were working together.

For Zhao alone to make trouble for both sides was somewhat beyond its strength.

It could only watch helplessly as they left.

Go find Jin instead?

Taishu Feihua was already raging.

Was Qiyun Sect really so easy to provoke?

In the end, the only target left for Zhao to settle accounts with was Yan.

By now the facts had become clear.

At the very beginning of the Tiandu Secret Realm expedition, Niu Youdao had killed the presiding Elders of Zhao's three great sects right inside Tiangu.

The Sect Leaders of Yan's three great sects were shocked when they learned this.

That madman Niu Youdao had actually dared attack someone in Tiangu?

Even so, the three Yan Sect Leaders glanced at the manpower behind them.

Yan had brought out more people than any other state.

Zhao had not brought out a single participant.

They truly had no idea where Zhao's present handful of people had found the courage to come demand an explanation.

[End of Chapter 833]