Chapter 992: The Outcome Was Decided from the Very Beginning

Of course, for cultivators, eating and drinking were no longer daily necessities.

Through internal cultivation, cultivators gained powerful control over their own bodies, allowing them to regulate the consumption of what they took in to the greatest possible extent.

Even so, spirit and cultivation were still anchored in the physical body.

Unless one could transcend the flesh, the body still required food to sustain itself. If the body failed and died, spirit and cultivation would collapse with it. When the body perished, so did the person.

That was why breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm was the dream of every cultivator.

At the Nascent Soul Realm, one transcended the shackles of the physical body. This was what people called longevity without death.

An infant symbolized new life.

Nascent Soul, as the name implied, was primordial rebirth.

The Nascent Soul Realm was another state of primordial renewal.

It was a new realm in which a body already transcending ordinary flesh and blood could bear far greater cultivation.

Countless cultivators dreamed of reaching it.

Reality, however, was cruel.

Those standing at the heights and holding the right to speak had no desire to share what they possessed with others. For those coming later, climbing to the summit was exceedingly difficult.

Perhaps because Misty Pavilion's people had already swept through the route they were traveling, Niu Youdao and the others found almost nothing.

The group had already spread out as they advanced.

For the most part, each faction still moved as its own small unit. Their search and hunting zones radiated outward with Niu Youdao as the center, while the agreed rendezvous point lay farther ahead at the next location Niu Youdao had selected on the map.

An empty, deathly silent stretch of swamp lay beneath a thin haze.

Three figures moved through it.

Niu Youdao led the two Zijin Cave disciples forward at an unhurried pace.

When they passed an earthen hill rising from the swamp, Niu Youdao flew down, beckoned, and said, "Tired, aren't you? Let's rest."

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie landed behind him and exchanged looks.

Ke Dingjie gave a bitter smile. "Elder, we haven't gone far. We're not tired. We can keep searching ahead."

Niu Youdao had already sat down cross-legged.

He reached out, plucked a beautiful black flower speckled with gold, brought it beneath his nose, and lightly smelled it. "I've been inside the Tiandu Secret Realm."

The two disciples glanced at one another, unsure what that had to do with anything.

Qin Guan said, "We know. We heard Elder turned clouds and rain with a flip of the hand inside the Secret Realm, overwhelming the various factions and taking first place. We've admired that for a long time. Elder, could you tell us something about what happened inside the Tiandu Secret Realm?"

Niu Youdao gestured for the two to sit.

Both immediately sat beside him with expectant faces, clearly eager to listen.

In truth, both men were considerably older than Niu Youdao.

But after spending some time with him, they had already stopped paying attention to the difference in age.

Niu Youdao said, "The struggle in the Secret Realm was nothing but bloody killing, looting, and people murdering one another for things. What's so interesting about that? Yan Li and the others went too. If you want to hear about it, ask your fellow disciples."

Qin Guan said, "That's different. What they know is limited. And how would disciples like us ever have the chance to ask Elder Yan about that face-to-face? Elder Niu, you may not know this, but the disciples in the sect are all very curious about what you did in the Tiandu Secret Realm. Many people have been watching the Zijin Miscellany, hoping to see something written by you, but you don't seem to have contributed even a single word."

Niu Youdao said, "How could anything you actually want to know appear in something made public? Even if I dared write it, the sect might not dare include it."

Ke Dingjie said, "Then tell us yourself."

Niu Youdao said, "You're overthinking it. You said you weren't tired. The reason I mentioned having entered the Tiandu Secret Realm was simply to tell you this: when you enter an unfamiliar environment, keeping your body in the best possible condition whenever you can is the wiser choice. You came in here with me. I should do my best to bring both of you back safely, or I would fail the sect's trust."

This was nonsense.

Qin Guan sighed. "Elder, at this pace, stopping to rest before even half an hour passes, when will we ever reach the agreed rendezvous? I'm worried we won't meet the others in time."

He had a point.

The two disciples had already noticed that Elder Niu did not act like someone who had come here to hunt Demon Foxes at all.

They had spotted Demon Foxes on the way, and he had actually forbidden them from chasing.

Niu Youdao said, "Relax. They're searching everywhere. We're heading straight for the destination. We won't be late."

As he spoke, he lifted the flower in his hand and studied the shape of its stamens.

The two disciples could only sit there helplessly.

Suddenly, Ke Dingjie lowered his voice. "Elder."

Qin Guan followed his gaze and looked over.

His body tightened at once, as though ready to shoot forward like an arrow released from the string.

Niu Youdao turned his head.

Not far away, a mud-covered creature had climbed onto a small earthen mound.

It shook itself hard, flinging off the mud and water coating its body and revealing a coat of snow-white fur.

It was unmistakably a white fox.

According to what they had heard, most Demon Foxes in this region were white.

Niu Youdao looked back and saw both men preparing to spring after it. He asked, "Why are the two of you so tense?"

The reason neither had attacked immediately after spotting the creature was that Niu Youdao had repeatedly stopped them before and explicitly warned them not to act without his permission.

Qin Guan said, "Elder, we're not nervous. But if we don't act now, it'll run."

"If it runs, it runs. What does it matter? Plenty of other people are working hard at hunting them." Niu Youdao answered carelessly.

He reached into the grass, picked up a pebble, then flicked it backward with one finger.

Whoosh!

The pebble shot toward the earthen mound.

It missed and struck the muddy water beside the mound instead.

Even that could miss?

The force clearly had not been very strong either.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie were left speechless.

What left them even more speechless was that the Demon Fox did not run.

Mud splashed all over it. The creature simply shook itself again, restoring its snow-white coat, then stood proudly atop the mound and looked at them.

"Far too arrogant!" Ke Dingjie said, rising to his feet with an expression that said this could no longer be tolerated.

At least the other Demon Foxes they had encountered had fled the instant they saw people.

This one was openly looking down on them.

It was practically provoking them.

"It is a little arrogant." Niu Youdao could not help chuckling.

Then he turned and waved for Ke Dingjie to sit back down.

Ke Dingjie suddenly said, "Elder, look!"

Niu Youdao turned again.

The fur between the Demon Fox's brows, precisely between its two eyes, was parting.

Its third, vertical eye revealed itself.

The eyeball was beautiful as glazed crystal, and a ring of gold encircled the pupil, giving it an uncanny, demonic appearance.

The sight almost made it seem as though the Demon Fox were telling them: you aren't mistaken. I am exactly the Demon Fox you came here to kill.

Qin Guan said, "A Demon Fox's vertical eye can see things invisible to the naked eye, much like a cultivator's Dharma Eye. Elder, that's exactly what we need. We haven't gained a single thing on this entire journey."

In truth, he was urging Niu Youdao to act.

Niu Youdao ignored him.

He still did not allow the two to make a move. He merely turned his head and stared at the Demon Fox while the creature stared back at him.

They observed one another.

After waiting for some time, the Demon Fox seemed to lose interest.

Its third eye closed and disappeared beneath the white fur once more.

Then the creature suddenly sprang forward.

Its body traced a graceful arc through the air before plunging into the muddy marsh.

Just like that, it vanished from everyone's sight.

"Ah. It got away." Ke Dingjie sighed and finally sat back down cross-legged, clearly somewhat unwilling.

Niu Youdao remained completely unconcerned. "Hurry up and restore the spiritual power you've consumed."

His gaze shifted.

He spotted a kind of grass he had never seen before, tossed aside the flower in his hand, pulled the plant up by the roots, and began studying it carefully.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie were finding this increasingly difficult to endure.

Qin Guan frowned. "Elder, forgive me for speaking directly, but you don't seem to want to hunt Demon Foxes."

Niu Youdao turned the grass over in his hands and answered slowly, "I have no grudge against them. Why should I kill them?"

There it was.

He had finally said what he really thought!

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie's expressions twitched.

They had long sensed that this was where things were heading. They simply had not felt it appropriate to ask.

After all, directly accusing Elder Niu of refusing to respect Sacred Realm's decision did not seem wise.

But what had just happened was too much.

That Demon Fox had practically flaunted itself in front of them, yet Elder Niu still refused to act.

Only then had Qin Guan been unable to restrain the question.

Ke Dingjie reminded him, "Elder, Sacred Realm assigned this task. Our results from hunting Demon Foxes will determine the outcome of this tempering."

Niu Youdao lifted his eyelids slightly. "Are you lecturing me on principle?"

Ke Dingjie hurriedly waved his hands. "That isn't what I mean. I'm only reminding Elder that even if we don't earn a good result, we can't finish dead last, can we?"

"So you really are trying to reason with me." Niu Youdao snapped the grass in his hands into two pieces and casually tossed them to either side. "Fine. Then I'll presume on my seniority and explain a little reason to you."

"Let me ask you this. Before Shang Song opened the way into this world, or rather, before Shang Song died, who had the final say here?"

The two disciples exchanged looks.

Ke Dingjie said, "According to what we've heard, it was the Demon Foxes. Supposedly, before that, the Demon Foxes were the rulers of this world."

"Good. At least you know that much." Niu Youdao continued, "An existence even the Nine Saints have been unable to exterminate. What are you two so anxious about?"

"Ride the jianghu through wind and rain, but don't charge around blindly with your heads down. When you're out in the world, even a mighty dragon does not suppress the local snake! What is there beneath Heaven that the Nine Saints cannot deal with? The Demon Foxes in front of us, that's what!"

"They are the local snakes of this world. No one understands this place better than they do."

"Unless there's a genuine need, when there is no grievance or hatred between us, there is no reason to offend them. Leave others a little room today, and there will be room to meet again tomorrow. That's experience I've gathered from years of walking the jianghu. I'm teaching it to you today. Remember it!"

The two disciples were rendered speechless.

Qin Guan sighed. "Elder, it isn't that we're determined to make enemies of them. Sacred Realm is the one requiring us to do this. Everyone else is hunting, while we're doing nothing. How are we supposed to give an account afterward?"

Niu Youdao said, "It seems you still don't understand the situation. Or perhaps you understand the pieces but can't sort them into a logical direction and determine your own course of action. All you know how to do is let your thoughts run wild."

"There are no idiots in this world. The difference between ordinary people often lies right there."

"At the beginning, Ding Wei made everyone write those things, and no one understood what was happening. Then this competition with Misty Pavilion appeared, and suddenly everyone realized what Sacred Realm was trying to do. You should have some idea yourselves."

"The others have no road of retreat now. I'm different. The things I wrote amount to nothing. What? Do the two of you not want to return to the sect? Are you planning to join Misty Pavilion instead?"

The two fell quiet, thinking over his words.

After some silence, Ke Dingjie slowly said, "Elder, we understand the reasoning. But if we can't produce any results, I'm afraid we won't get through this round."

"Understand? You understand nothing. Shallow!" Niu Youdao tapped one finger against his own temple, clearly implying the two of them were muddleheaded.

"I'll tell you this. The rectification of Misty Pavilion cannot possibly begin with thunder and fury. If the force is too great, something will go wrong. If everyone below is provoked into collective resistance, even the Nine Saints may lose control of the situation. Once everything descends into chaos, who knows what could happen?"

"Otherwise, why do you think Sacred Realm brought only this handful of us in?"

"Once you understand that point, you should be able to make a clear judgment about what comes next."

"This is only the first step of a gradual process."

"We are destined to lose this competition!"

"Whether in hunting experience or familiarity with the terrain and environment, we cannot compare with Misty Pavilion. We aren't even allowed to rob them."

"You want to win? With what?"

"The outcome was decided from the very beginning. No matter how good our results are, it won't make any difference. Understand?"

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie looked at one another.

They seemed to understand and yet not understand.

In truth, they still did not quite understand.

[End of Chapter 992]