Chapter 1150: Niu Youdao Is Dead!

Whether they understood or not, whether they liked the arrangement or not, they had to accept it. Lü Wushuang had personally issued a decree ordering them to obey Niu Youdao's deployments.

Niu Youdao now held, in effect, a command arrow bestowed by Lü Wushuang. Whatever arrangement he made, none of them dared disobey.

After discussing their separate routes back, the group scattered. Every party remained highly alert to the surroundings along the way.

Although all of them felt they had become entangled in a serious affair, they also believed the journey had been worthwhile. Not only had they gained the chance to enter Wuliang Garden, by a fortunate coincidence they had even met Lü Wushuang, one of the Nine Saints.

Before this, apart from Niu Youdao secretly meeting Luo Qiu once, none of them had ever seen what any of the Nine Saints actually looked like.

Niu Youdao led the three men with him toward the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. Along the way, however, he ordered the Gray-Feather Eagle down once more, and the four hid in deep mountains for the night.

They were already not far from the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. At most, it was two hours away. Why stop now? Kunlin Shu and the other two had no idea what Niu Youdao was thinking. They asked, but Niu Youdao refused to explain and merely told the three of them to conserve their strength.

During the night, the three noticed Niu Youdao drawing something in the darkness.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie were filled with suspicion and worry. Elder Niu's conduct was becoming increasingly strange, to the point that they could no longer understand him at all.

They were worried because the two of them had personally participated in drawing away the guards from all nine towers. Everyone else believed the guard posts had been called away one at a time for questioning, but Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie knew better than anyone that, for one short interval, the personnel from all nine towers had been removed at the same time.

What did that mean? For a brief period, the Wuliang Fruit had been left without a single human guard!

And the two of them also knew there was an Ao Feng inside Wuliang Garden, an Ao Feng who had once helped Elder Niu give false testimony. Connecting all the causes and consequences, it was not difficult to guess what might have happened. The very thought left both men frightened after the fact.

Yet strangely, right up until the moment they left, the Wuliang Fruits they had worried about so intensely had appeared perfectly unharmed.

Had they been overthinking it?

In the darkest hour before dawn, Niu Youdao roused the three men and set out again.

As the horizon began to pale and the Desolate Marsh Deadlands appeared in the distance, Niu Youdao drew a sheet of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Qin Guan. "In a little while, go directly to this place. At the marked location, leave the flying mount and the things used to control it. Then immediately go to the next marked location and wait for me there."

Qin Guan took the paper and examined it. It was a map, and all the marked destinations lay inside the Desolate Marsh Deadlands.

Kunlin Shu remained silent as ever. He would simply follow the arrangements.

Ke Dingjie leaned over to look at the map and could not resist asking, "Elder, what are we going there for?"

"Just go. When it's time for you to know, you'll naturally know. Don't ask too much... This is for your own good as well." Niu Youdao turned and looked at Kunlin Shu. "I promised Fire Phoenix I would keep you safe inside the Sacred Realm."

Kunlin Shu stared, startled. He had no idea why Niu Youdao had suddenly said something like that.

It was not that Niu Youdao should not have said it. Rather, saying it at this particular moment somehow felt strange.

While the three were still puzzling over Niu Youdao's arrangements, the Gray-Feather Eagle reached the edge of the Desolate Marsh Deadlands.

Niu Youdao spoke again. "You go ahead. I'll come find you later."

With that, he flashed away and leaped from the Gray-Feather Eagle, diving from high in the sky.

All three leaned over and looked down. They could just make out Niu Youdao becoming a black speck before vanishing into the hazy land below.

"What is Master Dao trying to do?" Kunlin Shu suddenly asked. He was still thinking about Niu Youdao's earlier words and could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Qin Guan sighed. "Elder's way of doing things is impossible to fathom. I can't say. He must have his reasons for arranging it this way. We should just do as he told us."

"Mm." Ke Dingjie nodded as well.

Kunlin Shu remained puzzled. He had no idea what purpose there had been in bringing him along on this trip. After finally getting a rare chance to leave Wentian City, all he seemed to have done was run back and forth without accomplishing anything...

Niu Youdao dropped onto a mountaintop. The conspicuous weathered skeleton was still there. This was the place where Taishu Shancheng had died, and Niu Youdao had visited it more than once.

Beneath an upright rock was a small hole. Something moved inside. Niu Youdao focused his gaze and saw Hei Yun, Clan Chief of the Demon Foxes, in his true fox form.

The hole was so small that only someone transformed into a fox could crawl inside.

Leaning on his sword, Niu Youdao walked slowly to the rock. Seeing that Hei Yun did not dare crawl out and reveal himself, he already had a guess. "The killers are here?"

Hei Yun answered in a human voice from inside the hole. "They arrived yesterday. They've been lying hidden around the area ever since. Fifteen in total. How did you know someone would come here to kill you?"

Niu Youdao smiled faintly. He had deliberately lured them here. How could he not know? Before leaving Wentian City, he had confirmed through Sha Rulai that certain people had already begun to move.

"That can't be explained in a sentence or two. I'll tell you slowly afterward. Have you arranged everything according to my plan?"

Hei Yun said, "Don't worry. Everything is in place. The moment there's a disturbance, my clan will respond immediately. As long as you can hold on, we'll definitely help draw the people you need over here."

"Good. Have you received the goods?"

At that, excitement entered Hei Yun's voice. "We already received word. The goods were successfully collected last night and are on the way back now. Brother, I truly have to hand it to you. So many people coveted those things but could never obtain them, and you actually got them into your hands just like that. I concede completely!"

"Just like that?" Niu Youdao chuckled. He had no interest in recounting all the danger involved. "Enough. I can't stomach the Clan Chief's flattery. I've already arranged for a flying mount to be sent to the preset location. Have someone hurry over, use its speed to meet the delivery, and bring the goods back. The longer the delay, the greater the chance something unexpected happens."

Hei Yun said, "Don't worry. Everything has been arranged according to your plan. We've followed the entire arrangement exactly and haven't dared neglect a single point. Careful. They're coming."

With that, he shrank deeper into the hole and no longer dared make a sound.

Niu Youdao had also heard the rushing sound of people flying toward him. He swept a cold gaze around.

Figures shot up from the mountainsides on every side. Exactly fifteen men, all dressed in black with their faces covered, surrounded the mountaintop completely. Other than their eyes, even their hands were concealed beneath black cloth.

Niu Youdao slowly backed away from the standing rock, his gaze moving from side to side. "Skulking around with your faces hidden. Who are you?"

One man answered in a deliberately hoarse voice, "Niu Youdao, we've been waiting for you for quite some time."

The cool morning breeze washed over the mountaintop. Bathed in the first light of dawn, Niu Youdao turned his head and fixed his gaze on the speaker. "Someone dressing like this inside the Sacred Realm obviously isn't here for anything good. Looks like you've come to kill me. Who sent you? Let me guess. At a time like this, there probably isn't anyone except Ding Wei. Ding Wei is outside the Sacred Realm and shouldn't have come personally. Xuan Yao? Is Xuan Yao here?"

The moment those words left his mouth, a murderous glint flashed in the hoarse-voiced man's eyes. He waved his hand and barked, "Kill him!"

More than ten men attacked at once. Sword qi crisscrossed the mountaintop in an instant.

Clang!

A streak of cold light left its sheath. Niu Youdao became a flashing shadow and charged straight into them.

Amid blades and sword light, two masked men were successively struck and sent flying. Niu Youdao seized the opening, sword in hand, and tore his way through the surrounding attackers.

The masked leader, who had been watching from the side, was slightly startled. It seemed he had underestimated Niu Youdao's strength. Niu Youdao had actually broken through the encirclement in a single burst.

But the name Niu Youdao had just spoken had already left him no room to retreat. If Niu Youdao escaped, the consequences would be disastrous. There was no possibility of letting him go.

The leader flashed forward at full speed and personally joined the fight.

Having broken through the encirclement, Niu Youdao leaped from the cliff and flew rapidly down toward the Desolate Marsh Deadlands below, plainly unable to stand alone against so many and intending to flee.

More than ten killers sprang into the air in pursuit. While airborne, they joined forces and released dense streams of sword qi that interwove like a net and fell over Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao twisted in midair and unleashed the Taiyi Light-Splitting Sword. Sword light blossomed like a lotus, breaking through the enemy's killing move amid booming blasts and razor-sharp astral winds...

The black fox inside the small cave crawled out and transformed into human form at the cliff's edge. Watching the dangerous pursuit, Hei Yun grew anxious, yet he could not expose himself to help. He could only watch Niu Youdao face the attackers alone. He urgently swept out one hand.

Somewhere below the mountain, a Goldenwing immediately beat its wings and flew away...

Across the marshland, Niu Youdao fled at full speed. He seemed to be taking a severe beating, his movements clearly becoming ragged, while more than ten assassins pursued him relentlessly.

Just then, a group of figures appeared in the distance. They were Demon Fox Bureau personnel who had been chasing a Demon Fox.

Niu Youdao seemed to have spotted rescuers. While fleeing, he circulated his cultivation and roared, "Niu Youdao is here! Quickly, save me!"

The Demon Fox Bureau personnel had already noticed the disturbance from the fighting. Hearing the cry, they all froze briefly, then immediately abandoned their pursuit of the Demon Fox and rushed toward him.

The Demon Fox Bureau? The masked leader was alarmed. He remembered that today was the final day of the Bureau's routine sweep. Running into them was not strange. He simply had not expected them to return this early, first thing in the morning.

In desperation, the masked leader launched himself into the air at full speed. Ignoring the threat of Niu Youdao's counterattack, he flicked out a talisman in midair.

It was a Heavenly Sword Talisman!

The assassin leader drew out the talisman's vast power. Both hands struck in a blur, unleashing twelve enormous sword-shaped astral shadows that bombarded Niu Youdao below without restraint.

Fuck! Niu Youdao cursed inwardly. This damned thing again.

He no longer dared waste another instant. In the mud, he drove his cultivation to its limit, flashing and dodging in frantic succession to evade the barrage.

He had experience dealing with this weapon and knew exactly how powerful it was. Dodging was his only choice.

But the Heavenly Sword Talisman's attacks were simply too fast. Caught in such a rushed situation, Niu Youdao could not possibly evade all of them with his speed alone.

Amid towering explosions of mud, he rapidly burrowed beneath the marsh, intending to use the resistance of the earth and sludge to bleed away the force.

Some attacks simply could not be avoided.

Under the mud, Niu Youdao could only hold his sword crosswise and endure them head-on.

Booming explosions shook the sky. Mud and water blasted upward in towering columns.

The assassin leader dropped from the air and stared at the marsh surface closing over itself. Then he looked toward the Demon Fox Bureau personnel rushing over at high speed.

There was no time left to dig into the ground and continue the pursuit. The Demon Fox Bureau had superior numbers. If they tangled him up here, the situation would become troublesome.

He could feel that his Heavenly Sword Talisman had struck Niu Youdao. Whether the attack had killed him, he did not know.

But he no longer had time to care.

"Go!"

At his command, more than ten figures fled at high speed.

The Demon Fox Bureau personnel arrived. Some continued the pursuit while the rest remained behind and searched the area for Niu Youdao, even sending men beneath the mud.

They had all seen it with their own eyes. Niu Youdao had been struck here by a Heavenly Sword Talisman and blasted underground.

Not long afterward, Zhou Tianyu, the Demon Fox Bureau's newly appointed deacon, arrived. Learning that Niu Youdao had been hunted down here, he was badly startled and immediately ordered an intensified search.

After quite some time, a man emerged from the mud and shouted, "Deacon! Found him!"

Everyone turned.

The man surfaced carrying a mud-covered figure horizontally in his arms. One hand of the mud-covered man was still clenched tightly around a sword. Blood mixed with muddy water dripped steadily from his back and soon stained the ground red.

Zhou Tianyu flashed over. With both hands, he quickly wiped mud from the man's face.

The face revealed beneath it was Niu Youdao's.

"Deacon, this looks bad," the man holding him said nervously.

Zhou Tianyu immediately checked Niu Youdao's pulse.

His expression changed violently.

Dead.

He was already dead.

Niu Youdao was dead!

[End of Chapter 1150]