Chapter 1471: Seizing the Opportunity

Wuxin quickly glanced around.

He immediately realized his mistake. Some things simply could not be said carelessly in the open.

The Ghost Doctor still had not released him when a flying mount swept through the sky. A figure drifted down into the courtyard.

It was Sha Rulai.

“What are you master and disciple doing?” Sha Rulai asked.

Only then did the Ghost Doctor let go. “Nothing. Mr. Sha, your honored wife has already been taken away by the Sacred Venerable.”

Sha Rulai immediately asked, “How is the poison?”

“There should not be any further problem.”

Sha Rulai finally relaxed.

After all the twists and dangers, the ordeal had truly been harrowing enough. At last, it was over.

He cupped his hands. “Mr. Hei Li, thank you for your trouble. You master and disciples are free now. I still have business to handle, so I’ll take my leave.”

The Ghost Doctor hurriedly called after him. “Mr. Sha, Consort Yuan knows about this now. I’m afraid she won’t let us master and disciples go. Considering that we saved your honored wife, please give us a road to live.”

Sha Rulai smiled. “Don’t worry. Consort Yuan no longer has any chance to speak to anyone. No outsider will ever learn what happened this time.”

The Ghost Doctor was startled. “You mean Consort Yuan has already...?”

Sha Rulai nodded. “Exactly. I mean she is already dead. You are safe.”

With that, he flashed away, landed on the flying mount circling overhead, and rode the wind into the distance.

He had told them only of Consort Yuan’s death.

He had not breathed a word about Yuan Se being dead, nor would he tell anyone else.

“Another of the Nine Saints is gone...”

Flying among the clouds, Sha Rulai murmured the words and let out a long breath.

This time, to relieve the crisis around Maolu Villa, they had not hesitated to use Luo Fangfei as bait. The process had been full of twists and deadly danger. The attempt to poison Yuan Se had failed, but fortunately, the final result had still been Yuan Se’s death.

Trading this dangerous venture for Yuan Se’s life could be considered worthwhile.

Back in the courtyard, master and disciple looked at one another.

Consort Yuan’s eyeball was still in their hands.

The eye transplanted into Yuan Se had actually been taken from a corpse on the battlefield at the Qi capital. It had never been Consort Yuan’s eye.

Her actual eye was still preserved in a specially prepared medicinal solution.

To put it plainly, if they ever needed to transplant an eye back into Consort Yuan, there had never been any need to search outside at all. In the worst case, they could simply restore her original eye and repair the damage. There had never been any danger of failing to find a compatible transplant.

...

In the mountains, Niu Youdao met Sha Rulai alone.

Beneath a large tree, Niu Youdao asked the moment they met, “How is Luo Fangfei?”

“It’s been confirmed. The Ghost Doctor said she’s fine. Luo Qiu has already taken her away.”

Only then did Niu Youdao truly relax.

Otherwise, he really would not have known how to explain himself to Yin Ji.

“That’s good.”

Sha Rulai said, “The matter here is finished, so I should return to the Sacred Realm as well. Huo Kong, the current Presiding Administrator of Misty Pavilion, will soon have trouble protecting himself. Most of Misty Pavilion’s important positions are currently held by people from Dayuan Sacred Land. With Yuan Se dead, Misty Pavilion will probably descend into internal disorder for a while.”

“The investigation of the various sects should be delayed for some time. You’ve gained another chance to breathe.”

He sighed. “In any case, take care of yourself.”

The concern in his voice was genuine.

After this incident, Sha Rulai had truly begun to trust Niu Youdao in his heart.

Once he learned everything that had happened, he understood that Niu Youdao, merely to keep his promise to save Luo Fangfei, had made a reckless move and taken an enormous risk. The whole group had nearly fallen into Yuan Se’s hands and been wiped out together.

With someone this determined to keep his word, what did Sha Rulai still have to distrust?

Niu Youdao said, “Speaking of Huo Kong, I was just about to discuss him with you. You may have to delay your return. I don’t have a flying mount at present and travel is inconvenient. I’d like you to help me take two people toward Tiandu Peak.”

Sha Rulai looked uncertain. “Tiandu Peak? What are you planning?”

“Yuan Se is dead, but no outsider knows it yet. Huo Kong still holds Misty Pavilion’s authority in his hands. Don’t you think this is an excellent chance to deal Misty Pavilion a heavy blow?”

Sha Rulai fell into thought, his gaze shifting.

Niu Youdao explained, “At first, all we wanted was to borrow Luo Qiu’s hand to eliminate Yuan Se. None of us expected things to turn out this way. Yuan Se died, but not at Luo Qiu’s hands.”

“Before this, none of us imagined Yuan Se would die so quietly that no one outside would even know. Luo Qiu does not know Yuan Se is dead. No outsider knows Yuan Se is dead.”

“Once the outside world learns of Yuan Se’s death, what will Huo Kong do?”

Sha Rulai replied, “Do you even need to ask? It will be the same as before. The remaining Five Sacred Venerables will certainly purge Yuan Se’s faction. Huo Kong will naturally flee and go into hiding.”

“If he simply runs, it would be a pity not to make him use the authority still in his hands first.”

Niu Youdao’s voice remained calm. “We cannot keep passively enduring Misty Pavilion’s investigations forever. Since such an excellent opportunity has fallen into our hands, we should take advantage of it and deal Misty Pavilion a heavy blow. We should work with the momentum and make it difficult for the Five Sacred Venerables to continue their investigations.”

Sha Rulai was silent for a moment. “I need to remind you of something. Although the Six Sacred Venerables are hidden in different places overseeing matters, they must remain in contact with one another to respond to changes. Luo Qiu being able to find Yuan Se’s hidden lodging directly proves that.”

“If Yuan Se remains out of contact for too long, sooner or later they will become suspicious.”

“I’ve considered that.” Niu Youdao said, “Don’t worry. If they cannot contact Yuan Se, they will not immediately know what happened. There will be a brief window.”

“That time difference is what I need.”

“Even if I cannot overturn Misty Pavilion completely, I can still inflict a severe blow.”

“Yesterday everything happened too suddenly for me to think it through. Now I’ve already had people dig Yuan Se’s corpse back out. This time, help me deliver both the people and the body to Huo Kong.”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with anything else. I’ll arrange it.”

“Fine.” Sha Rulai nodded. “Since I’m already involved in something like this, returning one or two days late will be easy enough to explain. It won’t cause any problem.”

He had no reservations about merely delivering people.

...

Nanzhou’s provincial capital seemed to have regained a measure of calm.

Shang Chaozong stood amid a field of ruins. Shang Shuqing and Lan Ruoting were beside him, while a group of Nanzhou civil and military officials stood behind.

Before them, nearly the entire Prince’s residence had been leveled to the ground, including Maolu Annex.

Across the broad area centered on Maolu Annex, only scattered buildings remained standing.

Groups of soldiers searched through the wreckage.

From time to time, they carried out corpses.

Some belonged to cultivators.

Far more belonged to ordinary civilians.

Many people were still alive. They were pulled from beneath the ruins screaming in pain from their injuries.

No one yet knew how many had been killed or wounded throughout Nanzhou’s provincial capital in the course of a single night.

Nearly one-fifth of the city had been destroyed.

The people of the city had spent the entire night terrified.

Now cries of grief rose everywhere.

Those who had survived by chance threw themselves over the corpses of their relatives and wailed toward Heaven and Earth.

The entire city remained badly shaken.

Watching the scene before him, Shang Chaozong gripped the hilt at his waist until his cheeks tightened.

Those cultivators had unleashed unrestricted slaughter in the middle of a densely populated city, treating common lives as though they were grass.

His heart was filled with anger and suffocation.

Yet he was powerless.

There was not even anywhere he could go to demand justice.

Shang Shuqing’s expression was equally downcast as she looked over the devastation.

“Your Highness, Supreme General Meng asks to see you.”

A personal guard hurried over to report.

Not knowing why Meng Shanming wanted him, Shang Chaozong turned to Lan Ruoting. “You handle the aftermath here. If you need to mobilize the garrison, ask the generals to assist as circumstances require.”

Lan Ruoting cupped his hands. “Yes.”

The generals did the same. “As commanded.”

The Prince’s residence had been destroyed, so Meng Shanming had temporarily settled inside one of the provincial-capital government offices.

Shang Chaozong was led directly into his room.

Once inside, he discovered that Meng Shanming was not alone.

Niu Youdao and Guan Fangyi were there as well.

Shang Chaozong froze for a moment, then hurried forward. “Master Dao.”

Niu Youdao waved away the formalities and sighed. “I’ve caused Your Highness serious trouble this time. Saying ‘I’m sorry’ would not be enough to make amends. I wanted to ask how severe the casualties are.”

Shang Chaozong sighed as well. “We’ve only cleared part of the ruins so far. We probably won’t know the exact numbers until the entire area has been searched.”

“But I’m afraid the dead and wounded will exceed a thousand.”

“Many more have had their homes and shops destroyed and are now displaced with nowhere to live.”

Niu Youdao tilted his head toward Guan Fangyi.

She took a stack of gold notes from her sleeve and handed them over.

Shang Chaozong stared. “Master Dao, this is...?”

“At this point, apologies are useless. But I cannot escape responsibility for what happened.”

“Your Highness has already moved enormous amounts of wealth and supplies out of Nanzhou to administer the occupied Qin territories, so I know your finances are strained.”

“There are ten million gold coins here.”

“Please use them to compensate the families of the dead and injured. I’ll also trouble Your Highness to use what is needed to rebuild the damaged homes, shops, and the rest.”

Shang Chaozong hesitated.

Meng Shanming sighed. “Your Highness, accept it.”

Only then did Shang Chaozong take the gold notes.

But he could not stop himself from asking, “Master Dao, there were enormous numbers of Heavenly Sword Talismans bombarding the city in the middle of the night. Even armies fighting between states could not produce so many at once. May I ask what exactly happened?”

Niu Youdao nodded. “After causing an incident this large, I came partly because I owe Your Highness an explanation.”

“Yesterday, Luo Qiu and Yuan Se fought each other. The two sides that clashed were precisely the people of Daluo Sacred Land and Dayuan Sacred Land.”

“I can tell Your Highness one more thing.”

“Yuan Se is already dead.”

“He did not die at Luo Qiu’s hands.”

“We killed him.”

“...”

Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming were shocked beyond words.

Niu Youdao warned them, “Strictly speaking, I should not be telling Your Highness this.”

“But because so many innocent people were dragged into the matter and so many ordinary lives were lost, I could not feel at ease without giving you an explanation.”

“However, Your Highness and Supreme General Meng must remember this: this matter is absolutely secret.”

“The moment you walk out of this room, let it rot in your stomachs.”

“You are not permitted to mention it to anyone.”

“Continue doing whatever you should be doing and pretend you know absolutely nothing.”

“Otherwise, neither of you will escape disaster.”

...

Deep in the mountains outside the city, a group from Dayuan Sacred Land remained hidden because of Luo Qiu’s intervention.

Yuan Chun waited anxiously, but no word came from Yuan Se.

They had sent scouts back into the city as well, yet Yuan Se had never appeared again.

No one knew where he had gone.

Luo Qiu and Yuan Se had openly fought inside Nanzhou’s provincial capital and caused a disturbance so enormous that there was no longer any possibility of keeping it secret.

News soon spread throughout the cultivation world.

For two Sacred Venerables to openly create such destruction in a densely populated mortal city naturally drew questions from Wu Chang and the others.

Yuan Chun and the people around her had no idea how to answer.

Luo Qiu’s explanation was simple: Yuan Se had raided Daluo Sacred Land and abducted his daughter, so naturally Luo Qiu had struck back and rescued her.

Wu Chang and the others found the matter strange.

Why would Yuan Se suddenly abduct Luo Qiu’s daughter for no reason?

At Tiandu Peak, Huo Kong walked through the pavilions of Misty Pavilion and pushed open the door to his room.

As he approached his desk, he stopped.

A small box sat on top of it.

This was his private room.

He knew with certainty that the box did not belong to him.

Huo Kong looked around, used his art to inspect the box, then slowly opened it.

Inside lay a ring.

One glance was enough for him to recognize it as something belonging to Yuan Se.

He picked it up and examined it.

There was no mistake.

Then he hurriedly pulled out the sheet of paper pressed beneath the ring.

Only one line was written there:

Proceed secretly to North Mountain Rock Valley at once!

[End of Chapter 1471]