Chapter 997: Elder Niu Has Gone Mad

Now that he had decided to show himself, Niu Youdao had no intention of avoiding anything.

The moment the two sides came face-to-face, Niu Youdao walked straight toward the two Misty Pavilion men.

The two might not remember every other person taking part in the tempering, but Niu Youdao had left a deep impression. One of them had seen him before and blurted in astonishment, "Niu Youdao!"

"Niu Youdao? Wasn't he sent out of Sacred Realm by Luo Fangfei?" the other man asked in surprise. He had only heard the name. He had been temporarily transferred in for the Demon Fox hunt and had never actually seen Niu Youdao.

Misty Pavilion had so many people that naturally not everyone had seen Niu Youdao. In fact, most had not. Running into one who recognized him already counted as fortunate.

Niu Youdao was somewhat surprised himself. He had not expected anyone here to know him, though he could no longer remember where he had met the man.

Still, recognition made things easier. Walking over with sword in hand, he cupped his hands. "Indeed, it is Niu. I've been searching this whole way for Demon Foxes and was just about to rest here. I didn't expect to encounter two distinguished experts of Misty Pavilion."

The man who recognized Niu Youdao looked at Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie's clothes, then at Niu Youdao's. Pointing at him, he barked, "Insolent! Who allowed you to change out of the clothes you were issued?"

Now that Niu Youdao's identity was confirmed, the two men's habitual arrogance as Misty Pavilion personnel surfaced again.

Niu Youdao planted the sword in his hand into the ground.

He did not answer.

His body suddenly blurred and shot forward like an arrow released from the bowstring.

The two men were badly startled. Caught completely off guard, both struck back at once.

Amid the sudden chaos, Niu Youdao neither dodged nor evaded. He let their fists and palms strike his body, his forward momentum completely unhindered. Both palms shot out together and slammed into their chests.

Bang! Bang!

The two men flew backward at the same time, choking up blood.

Still airborne, both were dazed.

In their wildest dreams, they could never have imagined Niu Youdao would dare attack them. Before the ambush, neither had been on guard against him in the slightest.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie were struck dumb.

They thought they had to be dreaming. They thought they must have seen wrong.

Yet reality stood right before their eyes.

Elder Niu... Elder Niu had actually attacked people from Misty Pavilion!

The two who had been sent flying and the two standing stunned alike could barely believe what had happened was real.

Niu Youdao did not stop attacking. With another burst of speed, he pursued the two men he had just blasted away.

They landed staggering and split left and right.

Niu Youdao flashed after one of them.

The man counterattacked in panic. Niu Youdao had given him no breathing room after the first strike, not even enough time to draw his sword. With no other choice, he gathered all his cultivation and threw a furious punch.

Niu Youdao's face remained cold.

He met the punch with one palm.

Boom!

His robes snapped behind him.

This time the attacker clearly felt what had happened.

The full-force punch he had thrown against Niu Youdao found nowhere to land. Instead, a savage force surged back through him. Several cracks sounded from his arm as the bones broke in multiple places.

Then Niu Youdao's kick landed immediately after.

The man was sent flying.

A heavy impact struck his back as he smashed straight through a large tree and brought it down. He rolled across the ground, coughing blood and gasping for breath. He was already badly injured and could barely move.

Using the recoil from that kick, Niu Youdao flashed away. In an instant he shot above the forest canopy and chased after the other man, who had fled.

He left behind a single order.

"Take him down!"

Did anyone need to ask whom he was speaking to?

Did anyone need to ask whom he meant them to seize?

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie stared at the Misty Pavilion man struggling on the ground.

Both stood frozen in place, not daring to move a single step.

Their palms were slick with sweat. Their backs were cold. Their scalps tingled, and their throats bobbed.

He wanted them to seize someone from Misty Pavilion?

This joke had gone far too far!

Both men were screaming inwardly.

Had Elder Niu gone mad?

What the hell was he trying to do?

Even courting death was not done like this!

No matter what they imagined, neither had ever expected that Niu Youdao's reason for targeting Misty Pavilion personnel was to do something this insane.

They had assumed he had some other purpose.

Who could have known that the instant he met Misty Pavilion's men, he would ambush them without another word?

Mad!

He had gone mad!

Elder Niu had gone mad!

The two exchanged a look, seemingly asking one another: what do we do now?

Neither dared move an inch.

They did not know whether they should obey Niu Youdao.

More importantly, this was an order they did not dare obey.

"You two... take me away..." The Misty Pavilion man on the ground struggled to speak through the blood in his throat. "You were forced into this... As long as you take me away, Misty Pavilion will pardon you. Not only will you be innocent, you'll have rendered merit! Hurry... take me away..."

He had clearly seen that the two did not want any part of this. Their reactions were far too obvious.

After taking several heavy blows, he was badly injured and unable to move. He knew he could not escape on his own. Once Niu Youdao returned, he feared he would not survive.

His last hope of staying alive could only be placed on these two.

But it was too late.

Several impacts sounded outside the woods.

Niu Youdao had already come flying back.

He was carrying someone in one hand. When he landed, he tossed the man he was holding onto the ground as well, producing a muffled grunt.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie both flinched.

Their faces went pale with fright.

Then they looked at the man on the ground.

His body was covered in filthy mud. Clearly, he had failed to escape and had been knocked down into the swamp by Elder Niu.

The two slowly raised their eyes toward Niu Youdao, their expressions full of fear.

Some things could be seen at a glance.

Judging by the force the two Misty Pavilion men had displayed, both should have been Golden Core cultivators.

Misty Pavilion probably had not sent anyone below the Golden Core Realm to take part in this competition.

Yet these two Golden Core cultivators had been beaten down so completely by Elder Niu that they had hardly been able to resist.

It was enough to show just how strong Elder Niu truly was.

And with strength like that, he had still chosen to ambush them.

The two disciples stared blankly.

What they did not know was that Niu Youdao rather liked ambushes.

If something could be resolved with less trouble, he preferred the easier way.

It was still the same principle.

Fighting and killing carried risk. If something did not require him to act personally, Niu Youdao generally preferred not to do so.

After landing, Niu Youdao looked back coldly at Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie.

Seeing that the two had been frightened stupid and had ignored his order, he gave a faint cold snort but did not dwell on it.

He could understand the shock they had received.

He reached out.

An unseen force seized the sword he had planted in the ground. With a sharp hiss, the weapon pulled free and flew back into his hand.

The mud-covered man slowly pushed himself onto his knees, gasping in short breaths. "Niu Youdao, you've got a hell of a nerve. Do you know what you're doing?"

Using the sword as a cane, Niu Youdao walked slowly over.

He lifted it and jabbed the man backward onto the ground.

The sheath pressed down against the man's chest, pinning him there and preventing him from rising again.

Niu Youdao said mildly, "It's not that I didn't want to change clothes. Huang Ban dragged me back from outside Sacred Realm in such a hurry that there wasn't time."

The man clutching his broken arm hurriedly said, "Since it's a misunderstanding, there's no need to take things this far. A misunderstanding is a misunderstanding. Let it pass. Don't worry. As long as you let us go, we guarantee nothing will happen to you."

Niu Youdao gave him a cold sidelong look. "You're thinking too much. I've already attacked you. Do you really think that's possible?"

The man gritted his teeth. "Niu Youdao, there is still time to turn back. Otherwise, you can imagine the consequences."

"Imagine what?" Niu Youdao said. "I spent all last night thinking. You two happened to run into me today. Consider yourselves unlucky."

He looked around and sighed, still appearing perfectly unconcerned.

"Relax. I don't mean anything else. I only want to ask you a few things. I hope you'll answer truthfully."

The man pinned beneath the sword sheath had blood all over his mouth. "What do you want to ask?"

Looking down from above, Niu Youdao said, "Do you know everyone from Misty Pavilion who came to take part in this Demon Fox hunt?"

That was all?

The man beneath his foot panted. "I know them. I basically know all of them."

Niu Youdao nodded. "Then this is easy. Nothing else. I only want to understand these people's situations."

"I want to know the situation inside Sacred Realm. I also want to know the people who came this time: their names, what they normally do in Misty Pavilion, what posts they hold. Tell me everything exactly and omit nothing."

"As long as you explain it clearly, I'll leave you a road to survival."

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie exchanged glances.

Their hearts were truly pounding.

What exactly was Elder Niu trying to do?

The man pinned under the sheath chuckled through his bloody mouth. "Niu Youdao, prying into the secrets of Sacred Realm and Misty Pavilion. Do you know what the consequences are?"

Niu Youdao's face remained expressionless. "Whatever consequences there are will be mine to bear. If it's fortune, I'll enjoy it. If it's guilt, I'll suffer it. There's no need for the two of you to worry about me."

"Listen carefully. If you talk, you still have a way to live. If you don't, I'll kill you both and find someone else. So many people came this time. I imagine someone will eventually open his mouth."

The man with the broken arm said bitterly, "If we talk, would you really leave us alive?"

Niu Youdao replied, "I'm not an unreasonable man. I'll give you some time to think it over. When you've decided, tell me."

With that, he moved the sword away.

Then he flicked his fingers several times.

Several streams of force struck the two men in succession, leaving both unable to move on the ground.

They could not run anyway.

The extra restraint was simply to prevent the two from getting together and discussing their stories.

Niu Youdao turned away.

He passed the trembling Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie and stopped several steps behind them.

In a flat voice, he said, "Before the sect sent the two of you here, it ordered you to cooperate with me. Is this how you cooperate?"

The two looked at each other.

Slowly, both turned and walked behind him.

Qin Guan said nervously, "Elder, Misty Pavilion isn't something we can afford to provoke. This could bring enormous trouble to the sect."

"Oh?" Niu Youdao turned around, sword planted before him, and looked at the two. "Where is the trouble?"

Qin Guan said, "Elder, once Misty Pavilion discovers two people are missing, they'll definitely investigate. Everyone else knows we came looking for Misty Pavilion's people. We won't be able to escape suspicion."

"Bullshit!" Niu Youdao said. "This place isn't even under the Nine Saints' control. Who knows what happened here? With all the fighting and killing, what's strange about two Misty Pavilion men dying in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands?"

"If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who can know we did it? Why can't the Demon Foxes have killed them?"

"Trouble? I think the trouble is in your heads. Wake up. Kick the trouble out of your heads, and naturally there won't be any trouble left."

Ke Dingjie said fearfully, "Elder Niu, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Niu Youdao said, "What am I trying to do? Didn't you hear what I just told them?"

Ke Dingjie replied, "I heard. But we have no reason to pry into Sacred Realm and Misty Pavilion's secrets. Why make an enemy of Misty Pavilion for no reason?"

Niu Youdao said, "It's already done. What's the point of wasting words now? I only have one question for the two of you."

"Will you obey the sect's decree and cooperate with me with all your strength, or will you become traitors, sell me out, and drag the entire sect down with you?"

"Choose for yourselves."

Choose?

The two men's gazes unconsciously fell to his hands.

Both hands were resting upside down on the sword hilt.

His ten fingers shifted slowly against the hilt, restless and ready to move.

[End of Chapter 997]