Chapter 846: Rebuffed at Every Turn

At Zijin Cave, Long Xiu and Meng Xuan had come again.

After Xiaoyue Pavilion raised troops, the three sides had maintained urgent contact only by letter. But certain matters could not be explained fully in correspondence, and major decisions still required the Sect Leaders of the three great sects to meet face-to-face.

Previously, their concern had been Yan's lack of strength. Their intention in the war against Zhao had been to fight only until certain strategic objectives were achieved.

Now, however, the attitude of all three great sects had changed.

Earlier, they had been furious that Niu Youdao had provoked the war on his own initiative.

Now the three sects wanted to support the war with everything they had.

The reason was simple.

Profit.

They had seen enormous profit.

It was obvious that with Yan's army and Xiaoyue Pavilion acting together, Zhao was already showing signs of impending destruction. The surrounding strategic situation was also extremely favorable, with no outside force presently able to hold them back.

This was a magnificent opportunity to carve enormous benefits out of Zhao.

An opportunity like this might not appear again in a thousand years. Missing it would be a genuine tragedy.

The three sects quickly reached a common position.

After finishing the formal discussion, Long Xiu lifted his teacup and suddenly asked, "Where has Niu Youdao gone into hiding again? Have either of you heard anything?"

Gong Lince was puzzled by that as well.

He had sent Yan Li to look, yet even Yan Li had been unable to find the man.

No one knew where Niu Youdao had hidden himself.

Unless they cast a wide net and mobilized considerable manpower, finding him would probably be difficult. And with Yan and Zhao currently at war, it was not easy to spare that much strength merely to search for one person.

Earlier, they had wanted to find Niu Youdao because they needed to understand why he had started the war.

Now the purpose was already clear.

He was coordinating with Xiaoyue Pavilion.

Gong Lince shook his head. "No news for the moment."

Meng Xuan said, "We're still searching. We have to find a way to locate him."

Gong Lince felt secretly amused, though his expression remained calm.

"It's only natural that he's hiding. The deaths of Elder Guo and the others from Xiaoyao Palace had something to do with him. Inside the Tiandu Secret Realm, he also got a batch of Lingjian Mountain disciples killed. If I were in his position, I'd worry about the two of you taking revenge as well. Of course I'd hide."

"When all is said and done, the two of you frightened him away. If we keep searching this aggressively, I'm afraid we'll only scare him into hiding even more deeply."

He had chosen exactly the sore spot neither man wanted mentioned.

Long Xiu and Meng Xuan simultaneously raised their teacups and drank slowly, both feeling thoroughly irritated.

They had indeed wanted Niu Youdao dead before.

Now, however, if anyone dared make a rash move against him, the two of them might even have to protect him.

The reason was still the same.

Profit.

Enormous profit.

Earlier, they had opposed Yan taking the initiative to restart the war because Yan lacked the strength to annex Zhao.

Now annexation was no longer necessary.

They only needed to tear off a fat piece of Zhao and keep it.

Under the old situation, if Yan had tried to cut away part of Zhao, Zhao would certainly have fought to the bitter end.

But judging from the present course of events, there might no longer be any need to worry about that.

If Zhao itself ceased to exist, what was there left to fear?

What they truly worried about now was Xiaoyue Pavilion.

Once the war ended, the benefits would have to be divided. Both sides needed to establish their bottom lines in advance, or a major conflict could erupt afterward.

The moment the three great sects saw where the war was heading, they had immediately sent people to contact Xiaoyue Pavilion.

Xiaoyue Pavilion simply ignored them.

There was no point thinking of threatening the other side either.

Yan itself was weak. If they lacked the strength, they could hardly blame anyone else. Without Xiaoyue Pavilion's support, they had no way to gorge themselves on Zhao in the first place.

More importantly, there was still a certain person obstructing matters from the middle.

Who was the most suitable person to approach Xiaoyue Pavilion on their behalf?

After going around in circles, both Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain had come to realize something.

Not only could they not touch Niu Youdao now, they might not be able to touch him after the war either.

Seeing the reactions of the two men, Gong Lince secretly found it funny, but inwardly he also sighed.

There was no need to worry about that certain someone's accounts being settled after autumn.

The man had planned before acting.

He had prepared his fallback long ago.

...

"What happened inside the Secret Realm was absolutely Niu Youdao sowing discord from behind the scenes. We have a way to prove it. So long as your sect finds the cultivators who claimed at the time that we attacked first and has them confront cultivators from the other sides who made the same claims, the inconsistencies will naturally appear!"

Inside the imperial palace of Song's capital, Lang Jingkong spoke at length before Guan Jitai, Qu Fan, and Wu Chengyu, the Sect Leaders of Song's three great sects stationed in the capital.

The Four Seas people knew when to be hard, and when to bow their heads.

Anyone who controlled such vast stretches of ocean territory naturally understood when to yield and when to stand firm.

The Four Seas did not truly want to provoke joint retaliation from the various states.

After being tricked by Niu Youdao again and again, they no longer believed his claim that he would help suppress the states on their behalf.

They now wanted to clear their own name and prove they too had been victims.

If they could make the logic clear, they believed the various states would not insist on spending vast amounts of time and manpower making enemies of the Four Seas.

The expressions of the three Sect Leaders differed.

During the confrontation at sea, enough had already been said that they too had begun suspecting Niu Youdao.

After returning, they had sent people to look for the cultivators who had accused the Four Seas in the first place.

Those people were already gone.

That made their suspicions even stronger.

They were searching because they wanted to dig out the traitors in their own ranks. There was no possibility of allowing such people to remain among them indefinitely.

But they had absolutely no intention of going after Niu Youdao for revenge.

Niu Youdao had bypassed Yan's three great sects and Yan's imperial court to restart the Yan-Zhao war on his own initiative.

That alone proved how much influence he wielded over Yan's military.

Song was already in such dire straits that it was too late even to beg Niu Youdao to send troops.

Taking ten thousand steps back, even if he refused to help them, they at least did not want him stopping Yan from intervening.

And now they were supposed to go settle accounts with him?

The three Sect Leaders genuinely did not know what the Four Seas people were thinking, or whether they had some other scheme in mind.

Guan Jitai said coldly, "Finished?"

"Uh..." Lang Jingkong froze for a moment, then continued. "Every word I said is true. So long as the relevant people confront each other, the truth will inevitably come to light. I—"

Before he could finish, Guan Jitai suddenly barked, "Get out!"

"..."

Lang Jingkong's eyes widened slightly.

Wu Chengyu, Sect Leader of Heaven-Splitting Palace, said, "Didn't you hear him tell you to get out? Or do you want to refuse the offered toast only to drink a forfeit?"

...

"Sect Leaders, that is exactly what happened. We have already sent people to invite the relevant parties to confront each other face-to-face and prove that we Four Seas cultivators never intended to provoke the various states first. I ask the three Sect Leaders to come serve as witnesses!"

In Zhao's capital, Fuhua likewise spoke earnestly before the Sect Leaders of Zhao's three great sects, inviting them with cupped hands.

Zhao's contingent had been annihilated inside the Secret Realm, but that had nothing to do with the Four Seas.

The Four Seas people had never attacked Zhao either.

However, Zhao's three presiding Elders had been killed by Niu Youdao.

The Four Seas hoped to draw Zhao into the matter and borrow its anger against Niu Youdao to help them clear their name.

The three Sect Leaders all wore taut expressions.

Zuo Chengfeng, Sect Leader of Luoxia Villa, said coldly, "We have no interest in meddling in this affair. Please leave."

Fuhua refused to give up. "Niu Youdao is especially skilled at sowing discord. As far as I know, this war between Yan and Zhao was also started by Niu Youdao. Don't the three Sect Leaders want to kill that villain?"

It would have been better if she had not mentioned it.

The instant she did, anger surged in all three men's bellies.

Of course they wanted Niu Youdao dead.

But now was not the time.

Zhao's three great sects were already sending people to search for Niu Youdao.

Not to settle accounts with him.

To apologize.

Faced with the life and death of Zhao, they were also facing the survival of their own three sects.

They could not allow foundations built over so many years to collapse overnight.

They were prepared to bow their heads.

They were prepared to admit that their presiding Elders had caused trouble first and had been in the wrong.

If necessary, the three great sects were even willing to admit it publicly before the cultivation world.

So long as Niu Youdao stopped the war, everything else could be discussed.

They had also approached Xiaoyue Pavilion.

So long as Tian Zhengyang and Ma Chang'an stopped the turmoil, Zhao was willing to allow them to maintain their own armies within the territories they already occupied, and guaranteed that no consequences would be pursued afterward.

Xiaoyue Pavilion listened.

And that was all.

It did not even bother negotiating.

Its attitude toward the war was resolute, without the slightest room for retreat.

At a moment like this, go settle accounts with Niu Youdao?

Settle what damned accounts?

Were they supposed to cut off their final sliver of hope and force Niu Youdao into fighting Zhao to the death?

If they were trying to kill him, of course he would throw everything aside and try to kill them first.

What negotiations would remain then?

To preserve Zhao, even Zhao's Empress Dowager Shang Youlan had emerged from retirement. An old woman had traveled a thousand li to Yan to plead on Zhao's behalf.

Mi Man, Sect Leader of Juxian Sect, suddenly shouted with a black expression, "Get out!"

"..."

Fuhua was struck speechless.

What kind of attitude was this?

...

Within Yan's borders, deep in an old mountain forest, stood the vine-covered ruins of what had once been a temple.

Lang Jingkong, Fuhua, and Duan Wuchang had already arrived.

Inside the broken walls, some stood while others sat.

"He's here," Lang Jingkong suddenly said.

The other two looked back.

A flying bird passed overhead and a man leapt down from it.

It was Hong Gaitian.

This ruined temple was the rendezvous point they had agreed upon.

They had been the four leaders inside the Secret Realm.

All four had failed to see through Niu Youdao's deception and had allowed themselves to be manipulated.

They could not escape responsibility for what had happened.

Taking responsibility for going around now and trying to resolve the matter naturally fell to them.

Once all four were present, Duan Wuchang asked Hong Gaitian immediately, "How did things go on your side?"

Hong Gaitian waved a hand. "Tell me how it went where the rest of you went first."

Lang Jingkong first described how Song had treated him.

Then, after explaining that things had gone just as poorly in Han, he added, "We're clearly helping them identify the true culprit. Yet not only did Yin Rushu of Baichuan Valley refuse to appreciate it, he actually asked what sinister scheme I had in mind and whether the Four Seas had accepted some benefit from Song."

Duan Wuchang then described his experiences in Jin and Qi.

Fuhua spoke of Wei and Zhao.

In short, none of them had gotten anywhere.

Duan Wuchang frowned. "What's wrong with these people? Don't they want to know who really caused the deaths of so many of their men?"

Hong Gaitian gave a self-mocking chuckle. "Looks like Yan Li really did call it correctly."

Fuhua asked, "What do you mean?"

Hong Gaitian sighed. "When I arrived, I happened to run into the Sect Leaders of Yan's three great sects meeting at Zijin Cave. I thought it would save me trouble, so I met with all three and raised the matter. They threw me out."

"Afterward, Yan Li came out to 'see me off.' He said I was Niu Youdao's sworn brother yet didn't understand loyalty. He said Niu Youdao had already kept his word and pinned Yan, Zhao, Han, and Song down so thoroughly that none of them had time to make trouble for the Four Seas. Yet instead of appreciating it, we were trying to kick him while he was down..."

Hong Gaitian explained Yan Li's analysis of the situations in the four states and the chain of cause and effect linking Niu Youdao's decision to start the war with each state's current need for him.

The other three stared at one another.

Only now did they realize that living overseas year-round had indeed left them somewhat disconnected from the political currents of the mainland.

"Yan Li's real purpose in talking to me was to persuade us not to go to Jin, Wei, or Qi next. He wants the matter to end here and doesn't want us continuing to make trouble for Niu Youdao."

"From the look of him, he was still rather worried that we might persuade Jin, Wei, and Qi. But judging from what all of you are saying, those three have been pinned down too?"

Fuhua said suspiciously, "According to what you just said, Yan, Zhao, Song, and Han all have reasons to ask something of Niu Youdao. But Jin, Wei, and Qi don't. So why are those three also unwilling to settle accounts with him?"

The four looked from one face to another.

None could figure it out.

How could they know that the moment Niu Youdao returned, he had sent one letter each to Jin, Wei, and Qi?

Each letter served a different purpose, and each had its own ingenious effect.

Once Xiaoyue Pavilion raised troops, once that so-called mighty army truly appeared, all three states were stabilized immediately.

Jin wanted cooperation in order to pursue its own designs.

Wei and Qi, meanwhile, had begun worrying that Niu Youdao might truly act recklessly.

[End of Chapter 846]