Chapter 1016: Niu Youdao Went Looking for Chao Jing?

At the edge of a mountain forest beside the swamp, two men faced each other—one dressed in black, the other in red.

Ao Feng looked exactly as Niu Youdao's information had described him: tall and thin, pale-faced and beardless, with large eyes.

Ao Feng was also sizing up the Niu Youdao he had encountered by chance. He did not recognize the man, but he recognized the clothes. Anyone dressed like that in this place was obviously one of the sect cultivators from the outside who had entered Sacred Realm for the tempering.

Of course, the man's identity was not important. What mattered was the bulging cloth pouch hanging at his waist. Judging from the irregular shapes pressing against the fabric, it should contain Demon Fox vertical eyes. There seemed to be quite a few—at least a dozen.

Demon Foxes were highly vigilant and difficult to hunt. More than a dozen vertical eyes was no small harvest.

Ao Feng truly had come from Wuliang Garden. Only someone stationed there understood how dangerous that seemingly peaceful place really was. The slightest abnormality could cost a person his life. Being the grand-disciple of a Sacred Venerable did not make him safe. On the contrary, those with easier access to the Wuliang Fruit were more likely to draw suspicion, which only made their position more dangerous.

This time, Misty Pavilion had transferred personnel from its various branches to take part in the contest. Ao Feng wanted to use the opportunity to leave Wuliang Garden. But Wuliang Garden was not a place one could enter or leave at will. He needed good results. With achievements in hand, it would be easier to ask for a transfer.

Of course, he was not the only one who needed good results. Every Misty Pavilion participant in this contest did.

If Misty Pavilion actually lost to the people undergoing the tempering, the humiliation would be unbearable. It would also give the Sacred Venerables ample reason to carry out a sweeping reorganization.

If Misty Pavilion proved useless and the Sacred Venerables wanted to straighten it out, what could the useless people inside possibly say in their own defense? No one would have any face to object.

To encourage everyone to work hard, Misty Pavilion had made a promise in advance: heavy rewards would be issued according to results.

There was another consideration as well. Sometimes status itself was a burden. If Ao Feng's performance proved worse than that of ordinary participants, it would only make him look incompetent.

Seeing the bulging pouch, he felt a flicker of temptation. The thought of robbing Niu Youdao crossed his mind. He instinctively checked the surroundings. He wanted to take it, yet did not quite dare, afraid someone might see. Misty Pavilion had also laid down a rule in advance: robbery was forbidden, and violators would be punished severely.

That rule existed to preserve the appearance of fairness. Otherwise, how would the tempering groups ever dare rob Misty Pavilion personnel? Only Misty Pavilion personnel would have the nerve to rob them.

The Misty Pavilion contestants operated in pairs. Earlier, Ao Feng and his partner had encountered a group of Demon Foxes. When the foxes scattered, the two had split up to pursue them and were temporarily separated. Ao Feng had not expected to run into a tempering participant here, much less one who seemed to have accumulated such a considerable haul.

Niu Youdao moved first, cupping his hands respectfully.

"You're here in Sacred Realm for the tempering?" Ao Feng asked.

"Yes!" Niu Youdao replied with perfect respect.

Ao Feng asked, "Which sect?"

"Zijin Cave. I was hunting Demon Foxes with my fellow disciples, but we were separated during the pursuit. I didn't expect to encounter a gentleman from Misty Pavilion."

"Zijin Cave?" Ao Feng looked him up and down again, judging his age. "You're Niu Youdao?"

Though the two had never met, Ao Feng had heard the name. Even if he had not known it before, he had certainly heard about the commotion caused when Luo Fangfei forcibly sent Niu Youdao out of Sacred Realm.

Niu Youdao looked surprised. "I've never met you before, sir. How did you know I was Niu Youdao?"

Ao Feng could not be bothered answering. Given his status, he naturally looked down on ordinary sect cultivators. Instead, he asked, "I've seen people from the various sects along the way. Almost all of them travel in groups of three. Why are you alone? Where are your fellow disciples?"

"I already answered that, sir. We were separated while pursuing Demon Foxes, and I'm looking for them now. May I ask your honored name?"

Ao Feng checked the surroundings again. The rules might forbid robbery, but if he could guarantee that no one saw it, naturally it would not count as breaking the rules. If no one could accuse you of violating them, then there had been no violation. That principle held anywhere.

His gaze returned to Niu Youdao, then flicked toward the pouch again. "Looks like you've done rather well."

Niu Youdao said, "Not especially."

"Take them out. Let me see."

Well now. Niu Youdao found this interesting. From the man's attitude, it appeared he actually wanted to rob him. Bold enough to violate the rules directly? In that case, much of what Niu Youdao had prepared beforehand seemed unnecessary. This would save him a great deal of trouble.

Outwardly, however, he took a wary step backward. "May I ask your honored name, sir?"

"I told you to take them out. Didn't you hear me?"

Niu Youdao immediately put on a frightened expression, hurriedly untied the pouch from his waist, and tossed it over.

Ao Feng caught it and pulled open the mouth of the bag. Sure enough, it was filled with Demon Fox vertical eyes.

If the pouch had contained something else, there would have been no reason for him to make trouble. Once he confirmed what was inside, however, another thought took hold. He closed the pouch, held it out toward Niu Youdao, and said, "Here."

Niu Youdao stepped forward and reached out with both hands.

The change came in an instant.

Ao Feng suddenly punched.

The fist came, and Niu Youdao retreated. He had been on guard from the beginning and flashed backward, avoiding the blow.

A fierce light passed through Ao Feng's eyes. He had no intention of letting Niu Youdao escape and immediately chased after him.

Niu Youdao veered sideways and sped toward the swamp. Ao Feng followed close behind.

Boom!

As Niu Youdao descended, he struck out from midair with one palm, blasting apart the mud and water below. He plunged headfirst into the opening.

Ao Feng abruptly dove after him.

Bang!

Before Niu Youdao's body had fully disappeared beneath the mire, Ao Feng unleashed a blast of palm force from the air and struck him squarely.

By the time Ao Feng landed, Niu Youdao had already vanished into the mud.

Ao Feng immediately struck again. A black radiance visible to the Dharma Eye spread over his palm. Dropping to one knee in the mire, he slammed that palm against the ground.

Boom!

Not a drop of mud or water splashed upward. Instead, the swamp itself rippled like the surface of a pond. With Ao Feng's palm as the center, ring after ring of muddy waves spread outward for dozens of zhang. The mire seemed to boil, black smoky bubbles burbling up everywhere.

Before the disturbance had settled, Ao Feng tore into the swamp again, violently churning through the mud and water.

He searched for a long time and found nothing—not even a single hair of Niu Youdao.

When the mire gradually returned to calm, Ao Feng stood in it with a grave expression. Niu Youdao had taken one of his palm strikes and still escaped? He had actually slipped away underground?

Ao Feng scanned the surroundings for quite some time, but his target never reappeared. He pulled down the pouch he had just hung at his waist and suddenly had the feeling he might have robbed the wrong person. He had no idea whether Niu Youdao would report him.

For an instant, he considered destroying the evidence. Then another thought occurred to him. He had already attacked. If Niu Youdao intended to report him, whether the evidence still existed made little difference. And who could prove that the Demon Fox eyes in his possession had been stolen?

He closed the pouch and flashed away.

...

Three enormous flying mounts circled over the Desolate Marsh Deadlands while Misty Pavilion personnel aboard them scanned the terrain below.

Spotting several people moving quickly across the ground, Xuan Yao gestured. One man immediately leapt down and blocked the travelers' path.

The people being intercepted were Hong Gaitian and his companions from the South Sea. Seeing Misty Pavilion personnel barring their way, then glancing up at the flying mounts circling overhead, none dared make a rash move. They cupped their hands in greeting.

The man who had descended asked, "Which sect are you from?"

Hong Gaitian cupped his hands. "We serve under the Dharma King of the South Sea."

Found them.

The Misty Pavilion man immediately waved toward the sky. Xuan Yao flashed down at once, followed by four other Misty Pavilion cultivators.

As soon as Xuan Yao landed, the man who had stopped Hong Gaitian reported, "Steward Xuan, we've found them. They're from the South Sea."

Xuan Yao gave a soft acknowledgment and looked at Hong Gaitian. Taking in his distinctive appearance, he asked, "You're Hong Gaitian, Third Master of the South Sea?"

The fact that he could name him directly showed how thoroughly Misty Pavilion had studied the people participating in the tempering.

The Desolate Marsh Deadlands were vast, so naturally they had not found Hong Gaitian immediately. They had already spent considerable time searching, first locating participants from other sects and learning that the various sects had divided into three larger groups, one of which was following Niu Youdao. That matched the situation Huang Ban had reported.

Now that they had found the South Sea people, they had naturally found Chao Jing's group.

Hong Gaitian privately assessed the situation. One of Misty Pavilion's stewards? He cupped his hands and replied, "I am."

Xuan Yao asked, "Is Myriad Beasts Sect Elder Chao Jing traveling with your group?"

"Yes."

"Since you're traveling together, you must have a plan for advancing through the area and searching. You should know which direction Chao Jing went, correct?"

"Uh..." Hong Gaitian froze. They had actually come looking for Chao Jing? Why would Misty Pavilion suddenly be searching for that old fellow? He had been missing for days. Had he stirred up some kind of trouble?

"Hm?" Xuan Yao made a low sound in his throat, as if asking why Hong Gaitian had failed to answer.

Coming back to himself, Hong Gaitian hurriedly said, "He was traveling with us, but Chao Jing has been missing for some time. We don't know where he went. We're looking for him too."

"Missing?" Xuan Yao narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed Ding Wei might really have guessed correctly. He slowly asked, "How does a perfectly healthy man simply go missing? Was he killed by Demon Foxes?"

"We don't know what happened. He simply disappeared a few days ago. We even specifically sent people out to search for him."

"Search?" Xuan Yao said coldly. "This is the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. Once someone disappears here, can you really expect to find them again?"

"We were working together to hunt Demon Foxes. We were traveling as one group. Whether we can find him or not, we should at least do what we can."

"Which direction is Niu Youdao in?"

Hong Gaitian froze again. He cautiously asked, "May I ask why Steward Xuan is looking for Chao Jing and Niu Youdao?"

"I'm asking the questions, not you. Answer truthfully."

"Yes!" Hong Gaitian answered carefully, though he still could not help scratching his head of red hair. "I honestly don't know where Niu Youdao is right now. At this point, I'm afraid no one does."

Xuan Yao's brows rose. "Don't tell me Niu Youdao has gone missing too."

"No, nothing like that. Niu Youdao took his Zijin Cave disciples to look for the missing man. The one searching for Chao Jing is Niu Youdao."

"Niu Youdao went looking for Chao Jing?" Xuan Yao almost laughed. It felt like watching a weasel pay New Year's respects to a chicken. "Why did Niu Youdao go instead of someone else? Explain exactly what happened."

"The situation is simple enough. Chao Jing failed to return to the rendezvous point at the agreed time..." Hong Gaitian did not dare hide anything. He recounted the circumstances in detail, explaining that everyone had suspected Niu Youdao of acting against Chao Jing, so Niu Youdao had gone looking for him in order to prove his innocence.

Xuan Yao asked, "You just said Elder Fuhua of the Western Sea can prove Niu Youdao didn't do it?"

Hong Gaitian was becoming increasingly confused about what was going on. He cautiously replied, "That's what Fuhua said."

Xuan Yao looked up at the sky and saw that evening was approaching. "You should be meeting up again soon, shouldn't you? Where is the rendezvous point? Take me there."

[End of Chapter 1016]