Chapter 1011: Chao Jing Goes Missing

This time, Niu Youdao's group did not set out on its own. Instead, they went with Fuhua's group.

The reason Niu Youdao gave everyone was that he also wanted to understand why his own group had gained nothing. He wanted to see how things went for the others and compare their situation with his own, so that everyone would stop misunderstanding him.

The explanation was perfectly reasonable. No one had anything to say against it, so naturally no one objected.

Once the groups split up again and were out of one another's sight, Chao Jing immediately halted. He landed on a grassy rise jutting above the swamp.

The two Myriad Beasts Sect disciples came down behind him. Seeing him scan the surroundings, Xu Huo immediately asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

Chao Jing tipped his chin slightly toward one direction. "We'll alter our route a little."

Xu Huo was surprised. "We're not following the route we planned?"

"A slight detour won't hurt. From today onward, we'll do the same every day. Also, stay highly alert while searching. The moment you notice anyone approaching, warn me immediately."

The two Myriad Beasts Sect disciples exchanged looks. Elder Chao had clearly been on edge since the night before. He had already instructed them then that if anyone approached, no matter who it was, they were to alert him at once.

What they did not know was that after saying those things to Niu Youdao the previous day, Chao Jing had realized he was in danger. He was afraid Niu Youdao might try to kill him, especially now that Niu Youdao had joined up with Fuhua's group of four.

Still, Chao Jing held leverage over Niu Youdao. As long as he gave Niu Youdao no opportunity to launch a surprise attack, he was not afraid no matter how many people the man brought against him.

What he needed to guard against now was an accident. He absolutely could not let Niu Youdao find an opening to strike.

The Niu Youdao of today was no longer the Niu Youdao of years past. Without anyone quite noticing when it happened, he had gathered an enormous force around himself. No Elder of a major sect dared underestimate him. Chao Jing had no choice but to be cautious.

After giving his instructions, Chao Jing led the two disciples away from the planned route.

The three from Myriad Beasts Sect traveled as usual. They encountered no danger, but their gains were as meager as ever.

By mid-afternoon, Xu Huo suddenly pointed in one direction. "Master, look!"

Chao Jing turned and saw a cluster of Demon Foxes gathered on a distant grassy rise. They seemed to be crowding around and feeding on something, completely unaware of the trio's arrival.

Seeing several dozen Demon Foxes together at once was rare. Delighted, Chao Jing waved to the others and shot forward first.

The three rushed over to slaughter them. The foxes seemed startled by their approach and fled with shrill cries, racing together in a pack in a single direction.

Chao Jing, pursuing through the air, gradually sensed that something was wrong. The Demon Foxes were neither scattering in every direction nor diving into the swamp. Instead, they were all sprinting across its surface.

Just as the three descended, a broad expanse of mud and water below them began to heave. A tremendous splashing roar followed as countless tendrils shot skyward from every direction, surrounding the falling trio on all sides.

Large numbers of Demon Foxes clung to the tendrils as well. The tendrils rapidly closed in. The three attacked frantically, trying to smash their way through, only to find that these tendrils were extraordinarily tough and difficult to break.

Seeing themselves trapped, Chao Jing suddenly planted a foot on one disciple and used him as a springboard to launch himself back into the air. But the moment he looked up, he saw three people standing at the very top of the encircling tendrils.

People? How could there be people here? Chao Jing was badly startled.

The three above showed savage smiles and struck at the same time. Joining forces, they unleashed a furious attack on Chao Jing as he rushed upward and forced him back down.

He failed to break through the opening in time. The last sliver of light vanished, plunging the surroundings into darkness. The bundled tendrils could be felt twisting inward, compressing the space around the three men.

They attacked madly, trying to tear open a gap, but the rapidly contracting tendrils only wound tighter and thicker.

Countless Demon Foxes clinging to them gave off a hazy glow as they wagged their tails.

The enormous twisting mass contracted like a demon swallowing its prey and, carrying a great number of Demon Foxes with it, swiftly sank beneath the swamp.

The disturbed mire soon returned to calm. Only the occasional muffled boom still sounded from underground.

By evening, the scattered groups met again at their next rendezvous point.

When the day's gains were tallied, Niu Youdao's group of three still had nothing. This time, however, the circumstances were different. They had gone mainly to observe and learn and had not personally made a move.

Niu Youdao looked deeply impressed. "Following Fuhua's group this time, we really did see Demon Foxes from time to time. Looks like my clothes truly were the problem. Tomorrow, I finally have some confidence that our group will come back with something."

The others merely chuckled and offered a few words of encouragement. What else was there to say?

As darkness fell, one group had still not returned. Quan Taifeng found it strange. "Why haven't Chao Jing and the others come back yet?"

Niu Youdao smiled without quite smiling. "Probably the clothes again. Maybe they still haven't gotten anything and are too embarrassed to come back empty-handed, so they want to try a little harder."

Quite a few people burst out laughing. They were curious as well and planned to question Chao Jing carefully when he returned. Could a single set of clothes really make that much difference?

For the moment, all they could do was wait. Sitting cross-legged, Niu Youdao quietly reached into the grass beside him and picked up a stone. From inside it, he drew out a rolled leaf. When no one was looking, he checked the writing on it.

It was a message the Demon Foxes had hurried ahead to deliver. The message said that Chao Jing and his two companions had already fallen into their hands.

Even without seeing the message, once Chao Jing's group failed to return, Niu Youdao would have known the Demon Foxes had most likely succeeded. Here in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, he could contact the Demon Fox race at any time. Naturally, it was Niu Youdao who had passed them word to act against Chao Jing's group.

When he returned to Sacred Realm from the outside, he had not originally intended to move against Chao Jing so soon. But Chao Jing's emotions seemed to be slipping out of control, and his behavior was becoming increasingly out of line.

Niu Youdao had intended to tolerate him for a while. More hands were no bad thing at a time like this, and Chao Jing might still prove useful later. But the man insisted on courting death and just had to exchange clothes with him.

Once the clothes proved innocent, then the problem would be Niu Youdao himself, wouldn't it? Niu Youdao could not allow Chao Jing to return in front of everyone with that conclusion, much less let Chao Jing use the result to force an explanation from him.

After reading the message, Niu Youdao crushed the leaf to powder in his hand. He took the handbook map from his sleeve and studied the location the Demon Foxes had left him, working out how to reach it.

The night deepened, and Chao Jing still had not returned. Shen Yidu suddenly said, "Could something have happened to Chao Jing and the others?" As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward Niu Youdao.

Everyone looked at one another. They all shared the same suspicion.

Putting away the handbook, Niu Youdao asked, "Why don't we go look for them?"

"It's dark," Shen Yidu said. "How are we supposed to search an endless swamp at night? Let's wait a little longer. Hopefully, something merely delayed them. If something really did happen, there's no way to search in terrain like this. We wouldn't even find the bodies; the swamp would swallow them. If they still haven't returned by dawn, there won't be much point searching after that."

Everyone fell silent. He was right. It was difficult to leave any trail in this swamp, where mud and water could easily erase every trace.

The gathering grew much quieter. Only the firewood occasionally cracked and popped.

By the latter half of the night, Chao Jing and the others still had not returned. Everyone reckoned something had probably happened to them and that they were unlikely to come back.

More than a few people glanced from time to time at Niu Youdao, who sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, and quietly began to suspect that Chao Jing's disappearance had something to do with him.

It was difficult not to. Chao Jing had treated Niu Youdao rudely only the day before, and the very next day he vanished. Was that really a coincidence?

Shen Yidu in particular knew that Niu Youdao had wanted Chao Jing dead. The previous night, he had even sounded Niu Youdao out, asking whether Chao Jing had angered him.

The thought made everyone secretly uneasy. If Niu Youdao really had done it, then being able to dispose of Chao Jing whenever he wished was no small ability.

Unable to sit still any longer, Lang Jingkong got up, went over to Fuhua, and sat beside her. In a low voice he asked, "Does Chao Jing's disappearance have something to do with Niu Youdao?"

Fuhua knew exactly what he was thinking. She lowered her voice as well. "I know what all of you are thinking, but this time you're genuinely overthinking it. He was with us the entire day and never left. He couldn't possibly have had an opportunity to make a move against Chao Jing. If something really happened to Chao Jing, it must have been for some other reason. It truly wasn't him."

Lang Jingkong asked, "You didn't join hands with him, did you?"

"What are you thinking?" Fuhua rolled her eyes. There was simply no way to explain this clearly.

After that, every Elder except Niu Youdao came over one after another to sound Fuhua out. Fuhua was left speechless. She knew the whole group had wrongly accused Niu Youdao, yet she had no way to explain it. She even felt rather aggrieved on his behalf.

Dawn came, and Chao Jing's group still had not appeared. Everyone knew something had definitely happened.

When they gathered again to discuss the next rendezvous point, Niu Youdao spoke up. "I suggest we still go look for Elder Chao."

Quan Taifeng sighed. "Brother, Elder Shen is right. In this damned place, if something really happened, there's little point searching. It's very difficult to find any traces. And if they aren't dead but are so badly injured they can't make it back, how could they possibly escape the Demon Foxes?"

Niu Youdao said, "How about this? You continue hunting Demon Foxes. My group will go look for Chao Jing and the others."

Shen Yidu waved a hand. "There's really no need. Searching this damned place would be pointless."

"You may not need to look, but I do!" Niu Youdao said. "Do you think I don't know? I'm afraid all of you suspect I did it."

Shen Yidu chuckled. "Brother, you're thinking too much. Nothing of the sort. Fuhua has already proven it wasn't you."

"That sounds nice. I asked Fuhua. You're still suspicious of me. I'll do my best to search and see whether I can find Chao Jing. Otherwise, I won't be able to clear this matter up. Fine, it's settled. I may not be able to return for a while, so first let's agree on a place to meet in case I can't get back in time."

Niu Youdao had made up his mind. Since he insisted, the others could do nothing but go along with it.

Once everything was settled, Niu Youdao took Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie back the way they had come, heading in the direction Chao Jing's group had gone the previous day.

As everyone stood at the edge of the mountain forest and swamp watching them leave, Shen Yidu suddenly turned back and asked, "Fuhua, it really wasn't him?"

Fuhua sneered. "I said it wasn't, but none of you believe me. If you don't believe me, why keep asking? And you three—even if I told you he did it, what could you do about it? Do I have any reason to lie to you? You insist on forcing him to prove himself. Is that amusing?" Her last words were directed at Lang Jingkong, Duan Wuchang, and Hong Gaitian.

Not long after leaving, Niu Youdao separated from Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie, giving the reason that spreading out would improve their chances of finding something.

His real purpose was to head for the location designated by the Demon Foxes.

[End of Chapter 1011]