Chapter 1343: Ahead Lies a Mountain of Blades and a Sea of Fire

The guard had already reached the fisherman. With one foot, he stamped the man back to the ground just as he was trying to rise, pinning him firmly by the chest.

The fisherman struggled and desperately circulated his spiritual power, only to discover that the other man's cultivation was so profound he could barely move.

He stared up at the man standing over him and rasped, "Who exactly are you?"

His voice had changed again. This time, in his agitation, what emerged seemed to be his true natural voice.

The guard gave no answer and had no intention of revealing who he was. He bent down and jabbed several fingers into the fisherman's body, placing restrictions on him. Then he reached to the man's neck, caught an edge of skin, and with a ripping sound tore the disguise from his face, revealing his true appearance.

Knowing his real face had been exposed, the fisherman showed a trace of hysterical savagery. "Who exactly are you?"

The guard seized him by the neck and hauled him upright, carrying him directly before Shao Pingbo. "No mistake. It's him. Lan Daolin's son, Lan Ming, Master of Boundless Pavilion."

Shao Pingbo studied Lan Ming's face, but his attention soon shifted more heavily toward the guard.

He had already told this man that the person answering the appointment might be the son of one of the Nine Saints, Lan Daolin. Yet the guard had still acted.

Their exchange had been too fast for Shao Pingbo's eyesight to follow clearly, but he could tell that the guard had injured and subdued Lan Ming with ease.

If nothing else, Shao Pingbo knew one thing very clearly: the Master of Boundless Pavilion could not possibly be weak. His cultivation had to be formidable.

Yet he had seen it himself. The moment the two exchanged blows, Lan Ming had immediately tried to flee. Clearly, Lan Ming knew he was no match for the other man.

Shao Pingbo did not know who this guard was. But when he had communicated with Jia Wuqun's side, Jia Wuqun had said that sending a single man to deal with any unforeseen trouble would be enough.

Shao Pingbo had been somewhat uneasy about openly laying his cards on the table with the Shopkeeper. He had worried something might go wrong and had considered secretly arranging several more people nearby.

But this guard had said there was no need. Too many people would only create more eyes and ears. He alone was enough to guarantee Shao Pingbo's safety.

Now Shao Pingbo had seen it. This mysterious guard truly was immensely powerful. The moment he acted, even the Master of Boundless Pavilion had been taken down as though it were nothing.

Yet what Shao Pingbo thought about now was not the guard's strength itself, but Jia Wuqun. If Jia Wuqun could casually send out an expert this powerful, did that not perfectly demonstrate the strength of the forces behind him?

Bring down the Nine Saints?

Shao Pingbo could not help recalling Jia Wuqun's words: My operations within the cultivation world run far deeper than you imagine!

The mere fact that Jia Wuqun dared have Lan Daolin's son handled so calmly was enough to show the depth of it.

Once his thoughts settled, Shao Pingbo quietly drew a deep breath and slowly let it out. His gaze returned to Lan Ming's face, and a smile suddenly appeared. Calm and composed, he raised both hands in a formal salute and bowed. "Shao Pingbo pays his respects to the Pavilion Master."

Lan Ming, disheveled and battered, shook his body but could not escape the guard's control. He glared at Shao Pingbo through clenched teeth. "Shao Pingbo, what enormous dog-guts you have! You actually dared set a trap to harm me. I want to see how you'll regret this!"

The rage in his chest was beyond description. Beneath Heaven, there were few people who dared treat him this way. Outside the Sacred Realm in particular, who did not bow and scrape before him? When had he ever suffered humiliation like this?

Shao Pingbo remained calm and unhurried. "I have absolutely no intention of harming you. I merely wished to invite Pavilion Master here to discuss cooperation."

"Cooperation? What kind of thing are you? You think you're worthy of discussing cooperation with me?" Lan Ming was furious. He struggled again and barked, "Even if you wanted to discuss cooperation, is this how cooperation is discussed?"

Maintaining his cultured composure, Shao Pingbo said evenly, "I had no other choice. I tried contacting Pavilion Master several times, but Pavilion Master avoided meeting me, so I was forced to use this method..." He gestured between the two of them, then toward the guard. "So Pavilion Master could see whether I possess the qualifications to cooperate with you."

In the past, he would never have dared speak to Lan Ming on anything resembling equal terms. But now that he had joined hands with Jia Wuqun, and Jia Wuqun was willing to provide powerful backing within the cultivation world, Shao Pingbo had personally witnessed just how powerful that backing was.

He now genuinely possessed the confidence to discuss cooperation with Lan Ming.

Lan Ming's face filled with mockery. "Qualifications to cooperate? Heh. You? What are you?"

Shao Pingbo smiled. "Pavilion Master, if you insist on behaving this way, then I have no choice but to kill you." He lifted his chin slightly toward the guard. "Do it."

Lan Ming froze.

He felt the hand gripping the back of his neck begin to tighten and immediately shouted, "Wait!"

Shao Pingbo raised a hand, signaling the guard to delay. "Pavilion Master is willing to calm down and talk now?"

Faced with the threat of death, Lan Ming truly did calm down. Fear of death overwhelmed his anger, and naturally his mind cooled. Still gnashing his teeth, he said, "Shao Pingbo, if you kill me, you won't escape either."

Shao Pingbo said, "Pavilion Master Lan, you and I are different. You've spent too long standing high above others, so you don't believe I would dare touch you. You would never let too many people know about the dealings between us. Anyone around you who knows of our connection must already have become involved in matters they themselves cannot publicize. If I kill you, then you simply disappear quietly. At most, your people will come after me in secret. If even you came to find me and vanished, would your people dare make a public spectacle of hunting me down?"

"Of course, that's only a joke. There's no need for you and me to reach the point of life and death. Cooperation benefits both sides. As I've said before, if anything happens to me, the things you've done won't stay covered. Tianlan Sacred Land does not own all beneath Heaven. And as you've just seen, killing me to silence me would be useless."

"Whether you call this a threat or a plea makes no difference. There are some matters where once everyone has stepped in, everyone's feet are dirty. If one of us meets with disaster, it benefits neither side. In truth, neither of us has many choices. There will be times when I need your help, and there will also be times when you need mine."

"Now that we've met openly and laid everything on the table, there's no need to belabor the reasoning. We both understand it. So let's return to the matter at hand. There is indeed something I need Pavilion Master's help with right now."

"Zhuge Chi! Former Chief Steward of the Inner Palace of Zhao, Zhuge Chi. I need to find him before Misty Pavilion does."

"Zhuge Chi?" Lan Ming was shocked. He angrily said, "Are you insane? Do you know who Zhuge Chi is? He is very likely a Nascent Soul cultivator! The Nine Saints have secretly mobilized forces beneath Heaven to capture him. All nine of them are personally watching this matter. Who would dare interfere?"

Shao Pingbo's gaze flickered slightly.

So Zhuge Chi really was a Nascent Soul cultivator. Jia Wuqun's information truly was extraordinary. He had not spoken carelessly.

Shao Pingbo raised a hand, signaling for Lan Ming to hear him out. "My purpose is very simple. I only need you to pay attention to the Sacred Realm's progress in hunting Zhuge Chi. Once the Sacred Realm discovers his whereabouts, they certainly won't act rashly. With Zhuge Chi's strength, surrounding him with some ordinary group would be useless. Once he's found, they will surely wait for one of the Nine Saints to arrive in person before moving."

"During that gap, before the Nine Saints arrive, you simply give me advance warning. That's all. You only need to pass me the information. Everything else, all remaining arrangements, will be handled by my side. So there will be no danger to you."

"Pavilion Master Lan, I'm not asking you to do anything that would expose you. With that being the case, what is there left for you to fear?"

Lan Ming looked alarmed and uncertain. "Shao Pingbo, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Shao Pingbo replied, "What I want to do is also what you want to do. The only difference is that you want to do it but lack the strength. Now we're willing to cooperate with you. By joining hands with us, you gain more helpers, which means more strength with which to resist. Misty Pavilion's purge has already begun. The Hong Yunfa affair that was forced into the open was only the beginning for you. You killed Hong Yunfa to silence him, but all you did was move your neck slightly away from the blade. Hong Yunfa is dead, but do you truly dare guarantee that you're safe now and have completely escaped this calamity?"

"The Nine Saints have already lit the fire and are slowly boiling the frog in warm water. Who knows how many people inside Misty Pavilion are trembling in fear? How did Ding Wei die? And how did the son Lan Daolin had before you die? The Nine Saints stand high above everyone, solitary and alone. What master-disciple affection? What father-son affection? Are you certain you're the exception? Can you guarantee that everything you've done will remain hidden forever? Whether there is fear in your heart, you know better than anyone."

"The Nine Saints have already stirred the waters. Winds rise and clouds gather. Ahead lies a mountain of blades and a sea of fire. Neither you nor I has a choice. If we cannot cross it, we die!"

"You ask what I'm trying to do? What you should really ask is what you yourself want to do. What we need to do is actually very simple. Rather than sit and wait for death while suffering endlessly, why not strike back first? Perhaps we can fight for a thread of survival. Zhuge Chi, that Nascent Soul cultivator, is useful to us. Those are my sincere words, Pavilion Master. What do you think?"

Lan Ming frowned and fell silent.

Then he suddenly looked up. "No. Something's wrong. Before this, you were still begging me for help. That proves you didn't possess this kind of strength. Where did all this courage suddenly come from? There are others behind you!"

Shao Pingbo said, "All beneath Heaven has suffered under the Nine Saints for far too long. You, me, him, and many, many others. Once we have chosen to do what we're doing, we are destined not to stand alone."

With that, he raised a hand and signaled for the guard to release Lan Ming.

Shao Pingbo stepped out of the pavilion. As he passed Lan Ming, he paused slightly and turned his head just enough to say, "Move quickly. I'll wait for Pavilion Master's good news. Farewell."

Then he nodded to the guard and walked away at an easy, unhurried pace.

There was no need for further persuasion. Once the matter had been explained clearly, that was enough. Lan Ming had no real choice.

The guard thrust out a palm and struck Lan Ming in the back, shaking loose the restrictions on his body. Then he too turned and followed Shao Pingbo away.

Lan Ming staggered onto the pavilion steps. Feeling his spiritual power return, he suddenly turned and watched Shao Pingbo depart with such calm confidence. He raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze shifting between light and dark...

The boat for leaving the island plainly no longer mattered to the fisherman. The guard requisitioned it.

A single light skiff needed no boatman. Driven by the guard's spiritual power, it split wind and waves and sped swiftly toward the shore.

Shao Pingbo stood aboard with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the open sweep of blue water. He truly felt as though he were riding the wind and breaking the waves. His heart was extraordinarily light. It had been a very long time since he had felt this exhilarated.

After joining hands with Jia Wuqun, many of the worries behind him had vanished in an instant. The weaknesses he had always lacked the means to fill now seemed to have been made whole. To be able to openly and confidently pressure even the Master of Boundless Pavilion was something he had once found almost impossible to imagine.

The feeling was thoroughly exhilarating.

[End of Chapter 1343]