Chapter 834: This First Place...

Zhao's three great sects did not want to do this either.

But they could hardly shrink back without saying a word. How would the disciples below them view that afterward?

Awkward or not, they still had to demand some kind of explanation.

Long Xiu said, "Your people caused trouble in Tiangu and attacked Niu Youdao first. And you still think you're in the right?"

It was not that he wanted to defend Niu Youdao.

But when someone pointed at your nose and came demanding an accounting, how could you simply retreat?

Meng Xuan suddenly said, "We don't know where Niu Youdao went either. Go find him yourselves. If you catch him, deal with him however you like!"

Long Xiu and Gong Lince both glanced at him in some surprise.

Earlier, Niu Youdao's refusal to listen had angered them.

Now that they understood the reason, however, they realized that those three hundred million gold coins truly were somewhat too hot to handle.

Other people robbed Spirit Seeds differently.

You were supposed to seize a little here, take some there, perhaps make one large haul if the opportunity arose.

Niu Youdao had robbed all over the place to piece his total together, offending practically everyone in the process.

If Yan's three great sects had truly accepted those three hundred million gold coins, several factions might already have surrounded them.

Then what?

Would they obediently surrender the money and pay to avoid disaster, or grit their teeth and refuse?

If they swallowed it only to spit it back out obediently, they would lose too much face.

If they refused to let go, they might invite a joint beating.

The more they thought about it, the more alarmed they became.

Now they could more or less understand Niu Youdao's good intentions.

Even so, Long Xiu and Gong Lince could also understand Meng Xuan's anger toward Niu Youdao.

Through Shan Hai and Yan Li, both men had learned the hidden story.

Lingjian Mountain had offered a woman to Niu Youdao in marriage, only to be rejected.

Lingjian Mountain had lost enormous face.

They probably feared Niu Youdao spreading the story everywhere and wanted to silence him permanently.

Of course, Niu Youdao's ruthless attack on Lingjian Mountain's people was another part of the reason.

Gong Lince had never exposed the matter of the marriage proposal.

He had Niu Youdao's interests in mind and did not want to provoke Meng Xuan into acting out of humiliation.

Long Xiu had kept silent for a different reason.

He himself had secretly done something similar before.

If he exposed Lingjian Mountain's conduct, the matter might turn around and splash filth all over him too.

But Long Xiu was also deeply dissatisfied with Niu Youdao.

Earlier, he had sent Elder Guo Qingkong to negotiate secretly with Shang Chaozong.

Guo Qingkong had then been intercepted and killed on the journey back.

Who else could have arranged such a thing?

Still, Meng Xuan's words gave Zhao exactly the excuse it needed to withdraw.

Luoxia Villa Sect Leader Zuo Chengfeng shouted, "Good! Those are your own words. Let's go find him!"

He swept a hand outward.

And just like that, the entire Zhao group left, supposedly going to search for Niu Youdao.

Whether they could find or catch him was another question entirely.

Watching them go, Gong Lince gave a cold snort full of disdain.

Their manpower and strength were inferior to Yan's.

Even on the battlefield between the two states, Zhao was being beaten back step by step.

Yet they had still dared come here demanding an explanation.

Were they not afraid of putting themselves in a position from which they could not retreat with dignity?

Even so, Gong Lince turned back and asked Meng Xuan, "Brother Meng, there was no need for us to show weakness to Zhao, was there?"

Meng Xuan said mildly, "This isn't showing weakness. There's simply no need to fight Zhao to the bitter end. Niu Youdao has already run off, hasn't he?"

Gong Lince asked, "What if they catch up to him and find him?"

Meng Xuan replied with a question of his own. "Brother Gong, do you badly want Niu Youdao to stay alive?"

"..."

Gong Lince had no answer.

"Move! Let's go find that pack of demons and monsters!"

Taishu Feihua's voice made the Zhao group glance back.

Taishu Feihua's face was black with grief and anger.

What exactly had happened to Jin's people inside the Tiandu Secret Realm?

His side knew absolutely nothing.

No matter whom he asked, everyone claimed ignorance.

It was enough to make one suspect they had all seen ghosts.

Zhao's entire contingent had been annihilated and could answer nothing.

Yan, Wei, Qi, Han, and Song had all participated in surrounding and attacking Jin.

How could any of those five factions tell Taishu Feihua the truth to his face?

Every one of them insisted they knew nothing.

The people from Myriad Beasts Sect, Ling Sect, and Tianxing Sect had guarded the exit and witnessed some of what happened.

They did know something.

But too many factions had participated in the attack against Jin.

The three neutral sects did not want to offend any of them.

So they maintained their neutrality and likewise claimed not to know.

How could everyone possibly know nothing?

Taishu Feihua also suspected that Jin had been surrounded and attacked.

To compete for the enormous reward, Qiyun Sect had sent elite disciples without question.

Taishu Shanyue's strength had certainly not been weaker than the leaders of the other factions.

If they had not suffered a joint assault, then surely at least a few people should have been able to escape alive.

How could not a single one have emerged?

His other suspicion naturally fell on the Four Seas group.

Niu Youdao had obtained the greatest number of Spirit Seeds.

It was very possible that some of those had been taken from Jin.

If Jin had truly been surrounded, even Qiyun Sect was not powerful enough to withstand every faction alone.

After thinking it through again and again, Taishu Feihua could only pursue the overseas demons and monsters.

Even if they had not done it, he at least needed to force some kind of explanation out of them.

Before leaving, he still could not help turning back and staring into Tiangu several times.

Then despair surfaced in his eyes.

Even if some Jin cultivators were still alive inside the Secret Realm, they could no longer come out.

If they emerged now, Misty Pavilion would show no mercy.

Qiyun Sect would not dare intervene either.

They could only watch helplessly as those people walked to their deaths.

Unable to bear looking any longer, Taishu Feihua turned away and quickly led his people off.

The groups from Myriad Beasts Sect, Ling Sect, and Tianxing Sect came over to exchange a few words with the Zhao side, then departed as well.

In the end, only Yan's people remained outside Tiangu.

With the immediate commotion finished, the Sect Leaders of Xiaoyao Palace, Lingjian Mountain, and Zijin Cave finally had leisure to ask in detail what had happened inside the Secret Realm.

Long Xiu and Meng Xuan listened to a few reports and did not react strongly.

Gong Lince, however, stepped aside with Yan Li and began speaking with him in low voices.

The more he heard, the more shocked he became.

He had never imagined the situation inside the Secret Realm had been so complicated.

Still less had he imagined that Niu Youdao had manipulated so many events from behind the scenes.

The man had practically played every participant from the seven states in the palm of his hand.

And not only the seven states.

The Four Seas demons and monsters, together with the three neutral sects, had all been used by Niu Youdao without even realizing it.

Every faction involved had been made to spin around at his command.

Even Yan Li found the course of events complicated to explain.

For Gong Lince, merely listening to it was more so.

The entire process sounded almost unbelievable.

It was enough to leave a man staring in amazement.

The crucial point was that Niu Youdao had actually succeeded in the end.

Once Yan Li finished, Gong Lince remained silent for a long time.

He knew Niu Youdao had only competed for first place because he had been forced into a corner.

Even so, he could not help sighing in bewilderment.

"With methods capable of turning clouds and rain at will, no wonder he rose so quickly in Nanzhou. Junior Brother, do you think recruiting Niu Youdao into Zijin Cave is really appropriate?"

For the first time, he suddenly felt the whole arrangement might not be entirely reliable.

It made him uneasy.

Yan Li understood the concern.

At the beginning, he too had worried about the same thing.

A man like this was no ordinary person.

He was practically monstrous.

Bringing someone like that into Zijin Cave—who could say whether it would be fortune or disaster?

Yan Li thought for a moment before answering carefully.

"How should I put it? Whether he's suitable depends on whom you're asking. For some people, it may not be a good thing. But for Zijin Cave as a whole, it may not be bad. Once he becomes one of us, he can't treat the sect rules as a joke, can he?"

"After spending this time around him, I've found that although the fellow will use almost any method to accomplish what he wants, he still has lines he won't cross."

"Take Chu Fengping's female disciple, for example. Shan Hai and I repeatedly tried to smooth things over and told him to agree for the time being, but he absolutely refused. He would rather drive himself toward a dead end than do something like that. That alone tells you something about the man's character."

"Besides, Senior Brother, look at the situation now. Nanzhou has already become a fat piece of meat lying right in front of us. Are you really willing to give it up?"

"Ah!" Gong Lince tilted his face toward the sky and sighed.

Exactly.

Once Niu Youdao became a man of Zijin Cave, Nanzhou would effectively become Zijin Cave's.

And whoever controlled Nanzhou now possessed the strongest voice in the entire State of Yan.

How could they possibly bear to give that up?

He thought it over again and again.

At last, still sighing to himself, he muttered, "This first place..."

...

Three men and three women looked around anxiously.

They were Zhao Dengxuan, Dong Jinhuan, and the others.

To his credit, Zhao Dengxuan did possess some conscience.

But after watching Niu Youdao publicly reject his own Sect Leader's intervention, even Zhao Dengxuan felt somewhat uncertain.

So he found the other two men.

There was courage in numbers.

The three intended to approach Niu Youdao together and ask him to give them some face.

After all, Niu Youdao still had to make his living in Yan.

Surely he could not afford to offend all three of them together.

Who would have expected Niu Youdao to disappear?

No one knew where he had gone.

They could not find him at all.

The three men then decided to look for the Sect Leaders of Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain.

They could not simply leave the three women with nowhere to go.

Their idea was to stabilize the women's sects first, then plead with Niu Youdao later.

Instead, the three Sect Leaders had vanished in the blink of an eye as well.

The affair here was already over.

Naturally, Yan's three great sects were preparing to return.

The three men were left with headaches.

Zhao Dengxuan said, "Jinhuan, why don't you return to your sect first? I have to go back and undergo the usual questioning about what happened inside the Secret Realm. The moment that is finished, I'll come find you!"

Dong Jinhuan's face instantly went white with terror.

She grabbed his arm with both hands.

"Dear Zhao, if I go back like this, my sect will kill me!"

The people on his side were already urging everyone to leave.

Zhao Dengxuan became anxious too.

"You can invoke my name and Xiaoyao Palace's. Liuxian Sect won't dare act recklessly."

In his view, how could a small sect inside Yan possibly dare deny face to a Xiaoyao Palace disciple?

Dong Jinhuan shook her head in panic.

"Dear Zhao, I'm afraid. You can't abandon me now. I'm begging you!"

She began crying.

The other two women panicked as well.

How could either dare return alone?

Three weeping women suddenly appeared among the group, clinging to disciples of the major sects.

Naturally, the commotion drew attention.

Long Xiu noticed and asked heavily, "What is going on?"

The Sect Leader had spoken.

Zhao Dengxuan was immediately summoned to explain.

Uneasy, he gave a rough account of what had happened.

Long Xiu frowned slightly after hearing it.

Xiaoyao Palace disciples naturally possessed advantages that ordinary cultivators did not.

Women from smaller sects offering them tenderness was nothing unusual.

Even when Long Xiu himself visited some small sect and stayed there temporarily, there would often be women who threw themselves into his arms to curry favor.

Some things were fine to enjoy for amusement.

How could one take them seriously?

Long Xiu gave Shan Hai a glance.

He said nothing more and turned away first.

Shan Hai pointed angrily at his disciple.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you actually want to marry her and bring her back!"

Zhao Dengxuan pleaded, "Master, Jinhuan took meticulous care of this disciple's daily needs throughout the Secret Realm. She truly treated me well. Master, please grant us your approval!"

Shan Hai immediately became furious.

He had assumed his disciple was merely playing around, which was why he had turned a blind eye.

He had never imagined Zhao Dengxuan would take it seriously.

Now the fool was even asking for his blessing.

Blessing for what?

His voice exploded with the disappointment of someone who hated iron for failing to become steel.

"She treats you well? She betrayed Niu Youdao and had nowhere else to go, so she gave herself to you! Whoever she needs to rely on, that's who she'll treat well. And you actually took it seriously?"

Thump!

Zhao Dengxuan dropped to his knees.

"Master, it isn't what you think. Her feelings for this disciple are sincere. Master, she has nowhere to go now. At least allow me to take her back to the sect first. I can arrange something for her afterward..."

"You..."

For his disciple to create such a farce in public nearly made Shan Hai want to split him apart with one palm.

But this was still a disciple he had spent years painstakingly teaching.

In the end, he could not bring himself to strike that ruthlessly.

Instead, he kicked Zhao Dengxuan over and swept his sleeve as he walked away.

Xiaoyao Palace could not simply bring anyone whatsoever back into the sect.

And Dong Jinhuan now carried a particularly poor reputation besides.

The Xiaoyao Palace people departed.

They left Zhao Dengxuan and Dong Jinhuan behind, effectively telling Zhao Dengxuan to clean up his own mess before returning.

An Miao'er and Lin Feiyan were not so fortunate.

The two Lingjian Mountain disciples they had attached themselves to did not dare throw everything aside publicly the way Zhao Dengxuan had.

They pointed out a place for the two women to stay temporarily and told them to wait there.

They would come find them later.

"What does this mean?" Gong Lince asked when he happened to pass by and see the scene.

"I imagine they never expected Niu Youdao to make it out alive..." Yan Li, walking beside him, explained the situation.

He treated it purely as an amusing story.

Zijin Cave had not been dragged into this particular embarrassment.

Since Zijin Cave was secretly cooperating with Niu Youdao, it was hardly appropriate to let its own disciples fool around with women who had betrayed him.

Any disciples below who had entertained such thoughts had already been stopped by Yan Li.

"Oh." Gong Lince gave a brief response and walked on without so much as looking directly at the women.

Traitors were unwelcome in any sect.

No sect encouraged such behavior.

There was nothing about them worth pitying.

And a handful of insignificant figures were hardly worth his attention.

[End of Chapter 834]