Chapter 1359: Launch the Counterattack Early

Shang Shuqing gave a soft "Hm?" and looked back at Guan Fangyi. Meeting the other woman's smiling eyes, she turned away again, lowered her head slightly, and silently walked toward the main gate.

Guan Fangyi followed. After accompanying her for a while through the narrow passage between Maolu Annex and the Prince's residence, she suddenly asked in a low voice, "You still took him for Master Dao?"

Shang Shuqing bit her lip and shook her head.

Guan Fangyi said, "He's from Duyun Mountain. Does the Commandery Princess know what the people of Duyun Mountain really are? Demon cultivators. In ordinary worldly language, monsters. If he revealed his true form, he might give you quite a fright."

Shang Shuqing glanced at her, then continued walking with her head lowered.

Guan Fangyi said, "Commandery Princess, there's actually something I've wanted to ask you for a long time. I just never knew how to bring it up."

"Hm?" Shang Shuqing looked at her again. "Sister Hong, if you have something to say, please say it directly."

Guan Fangyi hesitated for a while before finally asking, "Commandery Princess, even if Master Dao were still alive, do you think he would like you?"

Shang Shuqing forced a smile. "How could Master Dao ever take a fancy to an ordinary mortal like me? Besides, I'm so ugly."

Guan Fangyi said, "Then that's what I find strange. If the Commandery Princess knows perfectly well it's impossible, why can you still not let him go?"

Shang Shuqing covered herself by saying, "It's not what Sister Hong thinks. I was the one who dragged him into it. I only feel guilty toward him."

Guan Fangyi drew out an understanding "Oh," then shook her head with a smile. Some questions really were better left unasked.

Shang Shuqing remained silent for a while before suddenly saying, "Sister Hong, there's something I want to ask you too."

Guan Fangyi said, "Ask! What shameful thing haven't I been through? There's nothing I'm squeamish about. Say it!"

Shang Shuqing hesitated before slowly saying, "I may know little of worldly affairs, but I do know that affection between men and women is only natural. Master Dao was still young before. I imagine he couldn't have been exempt from that either. So there's something I don't understand. Why was Master Dao always alone, without a woman at his side?"

Guan Fangyi chuckled. "The Commandery Princess is refined to the bone. Even when asking something like this, you have to put it so elegantly. What you really want to ask is why Master Dao never found himself a woman, right?"

Shang Shuqing's cheeks reddened slightly. She gave a quiet "Mm," admitting it.

Guan Fangyi laughed. "He came and went like a ghost and never let anyone see how deep his waters ran. Whether he found women outside to enjoy himself with, Heaven knows! In any case, I don't believe there's a man in this world who doesn't like women. Of those men around me back at Fufang Garden, which one could resist sneaking out for a taste? But then again, finding women for pleasure is one thing. Finding a good match is another. You know what his life was like. From the day he came down from the mountain, he was constantly fighting other people to the death. Not finding anyone was the sensible choice. If he had, she would have become a burden, and he would have harmed her too. He was always rational and cold-blooded. Understand?"

Shang Shuqing nodded silently. "Then I really did harm him. If I hadn't dragged him down from the mountain, perhaps he'd already have sons and daughters by now."

Guan Fangyi said, "Commandery Princess, you're thinking too much. A thorny thing will prick people wherever you put it. Do you really think that if you hadn't taken him away from Shangqing Sect, he would have obediently stayed there forever? Do you think a man like him could have tolerated being kept under house arrest by Shangqing Sect for the rest of his life? Impossible! A hidden dragon may dwell in the depths, but it cannot swim forever in a shallow pond. He accepted being confined only because he lacked the strength to resist at the time. Once he had the strength, just see whether he would stir up trouble. Even if he hadn't left Shangqing Sect because of you, in a chaotic age like this, would events have let him live quietly? I've been with him all these years. Would I still not understand him? You're truly thinking too much. Don't pile every fault onto yourself. You only make yourself suffer, and the other person might not even appreciate it. There's no need..."

...

Niu Youdao returned to his quarters carrying the things he had bought and set them on the table. Standing beside it, he seemed somewhat subdued.

Yun Ji approached holding a decoded secret letter. She had just been about to speak when Niu Youdao asked first, "How did Hongniang suddenly have the leisure to go strolling around?"

Yun Ji said, "She came by to let me know. She's taken her own affairs back over. Her Golden Core cultivation has already reached consummation. Once she spends some time stabilizing it, she'll probably have to arrange a period for her breakthrough." She handed over the letter. "There's a reply from the Sacred Realm."

Niu Youdao pulled his attention back, accepted the letter, and strode into the secret chamber. Only then did he properly open it and read.

Yun Ji followed him inside.

After pacing as he read the entire message, Niu Youdao slowly let out a breath. "So that's how it is. It really was Heaven's doing!"

Sha Rulai had already confirmed the situation. The Wuliang Fruit tree really had blossomed, and Yin Ji had explained why. As for whether that explanation was true, Sha Rulai himself could not be certain. Yin Ji had simply told him that once he passed along her words, Niu Youdao would naturally believe them.

The rest of the letter described the current situation inside the Sacred Realm, essentially giving Niu Youdao advance warning so he could prepare.

Since Yin Ji had said it, Niu Youdao naturally believed it. A weight in his heart finally dropped.

As the person who decoded the secret letter, Yun Ji had naturally seen its contents. She tested, "Luo Qiu's wife is still alive? With the Fox Clan? You know Luo Qiu's wife?"

"We'll talk about that later!" Niu Youdao brushed the question aside with a single sentence. His eyes moved over the contents of the letter again before he suddenly snorted. "The people guarding Wuliang Garden actually ran. Now that's interesting."

Yun Ji asked, "How so?"

Niu Youdao shook the letter in his hand and scoffed. "The Nine Saints have lost the tide!"

Yun Ji said, "A bunch of guards from Wuliang Garden can decide the tide?"

Niu Youdao turned his head to look at her. "When I say they've lost the tide, I don't mean the Nine Saints are about to collapse this instant. I mean they've lost the hearts of the people. From this alone, you can see that everything beneath the Nine Saints is already riddled with holes and has long since become too fragile to withstand a real blow. The situation still holds only because the personal martial strength of those nine is terrifying and no one dares rebel. The moment someone truly dares resist them, there are openings everywhere. That enormous power structure would collapse from a single hard strike! They can't even control the people guarding Wuliang Garden anymore. That gives me even more confidence!"

Yun Ji understood and nodded. "That's probably one reason the Nine Saints are trying to rectify Misty Pavilion."

Niu Youdao said, "What use is rectification? The cycle will simply repeat itself."

Yun Ji said, "But who dares rebel? Anyone who stands up dies! You don't have the strength to confront them head-on either."

Niu Youdao nodded in agreement and tapped the letter in his hand with one finger. "Trouble is coming. The Wuliang Fruit tree flowering all of a sudden was completely outside my expectations and has thoroughly disrupted my plans. Some moves probably can't wait until I've prepared everything at my leisure anymore. Right now they're only cross-checking everyone inside the Sacred Realm to see whether anyone has broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. Next, obviously, the Nine Saints won't let the people outside escape inspection. First they'll sort out the Sacred Realm itself. After that comes Misty Pavilion outside. Then the great sects beneath Heaven will be first in line, especially their senior leadership. The reasoning is obvious. Anyone capable of stealing Wuliang Fruits would have to possess a certain position and status. Ordinary cultivators would hardly have the ability to participate. You can imagine who the first targets of investigation will be."

Yun Ji's expression grew grave. She now handled the most highly confidential correspondence on this side, and over time she had vaguely learned which sects were connected to the Wuliang Fruits.

"Then this really is trouble. We can't suddenly have everyone who broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm fake their deaths now. If we did that, wouldn't it amount to confessing without being asked? But if we truly silence them, those sect forces will be exposed and wiped out. All your arrangements would have been for nothing."

Niu Youdao gave a cold snort. "If the Nine Saints have the ability to personally inspect every cultivator beneath Heaven one by one, let them. Otherwise, things won't go however they please. I already said that anyone capable of stealing the Wuliang Fruits must possess a certain status. Do you think the Nine Saints trust one another? The first people they suspect are probably each other. These current inspections are merely verification. If they discover it has nothing to do with outsiders, the Nine Saints will immediately turn on one another. They won't wait until the other side's Nascent Soul cultivators fully mature and leave themselves in danger."

Yun Ji remained worried. "But the Nine Saints will still investigate cultivators outside. The people involved won't be able to avoid it!"

Niu Youdao said, "I already told you, the Nine Saints don't get to do whatever they want. They're in the light. I'm in the dark. They can't reach me. I'm the one who gets to stab them in the back from behind. They've already lost the initiative, and I hold this many cards in my hand. How could I let them act however they please?"

He turned and shot Yun Ji a cold glance. "I won't let them stretch their hands all the way to the sects. I'll stop them at the Misty Pavilion verification stage. I'll choke them off there! If they can't even clean up their own house, the Nine Saints still want to purge the outside world? Dream on! The less they can settle their internal problems, the more they'll suspect there is something wrong inside. So we have to disrupt their rhythm!"

The tension in Yun Ji's heart eased slightly. She herself had not eaten a Wuliang Fruit, but she had still broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. She had no desire to become an inspection target. If that happened, she would spend the rest of her life fleeing, assuming she could even escape at all. Seeing Niu Youdao confident that he could respond, she relaxed a little, but she still asked, "How?"

Niu Youdao did not answer.

He paced back and forth through the room, again and again, until at last he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Yun Ji watched silently and said nothing. She knew he was thinking through a way to deal with the crisis approaching them and did not dare disturb his train of thought.

She understood very clearly that with her own methods and abilities, she could not handle a situation like this. She could only rely on Niu Youdao.

A long time later, Niu Youdao slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. Calmly, he said, "Contact the sects behind us. Have them determine which sects' supervisory personnel are in direct contact with Du Wuxu."

Yun Ji looked puzzled. "Du Wuxu?"

Niu Youdao gave a sound of acknowledgment. "The matter behind this is too complicated to explain to you all at once. In any case, now that the situation has reached this point, we can't wait for trouble to land on our heads before reacting. We have to launch the counterattack early and throw off the other side's rhythm so we can leave ourselves room to maneuver. I'm going to play the Lan Ming card ahead of schedule! While the Nine Saints are still inspecting the Sacred Realm and won't finish anytime soon, we still have time. Have them find out as quickly as possible who is in contact with Du Wuxu."

Yun Ji found it strange. What could Lan Ming possibly have to do with Du Wuxu? Why Du Wuxu specifically, rather than someone else?

But she did not ask further. She knew the matter was urgent and quickly turned to carry out the instructions.

Several days later, Gong Lince, Xi Haitang, Yan Zhutian, and Wen Hua each sent back information in succession. After communicating with the supervisory personnel their sects had placed inside Misty Pavilion, they had determined which sects' inspectors were in contact with Du Wuxu: Baichuan Valley of Han and Lingjian Mountain of Yan.

Once Niu Youdao learned this, he immediately had Yun Ji send out arrangements. He wanted to meet Gong Lince and the others in person and personally lay out the relevant plan.

[End of Chapter 1359]