Chapter 1499: I'll Give You One Month

The breath of anger pent up in Niu Youdao’s chest gradually subsided. He fell silent.

Once he calmed down and thought it through, he had to admit Yuan Gang’s analysis made sense. His cheeks still taut, he said, “Ask them. And have that side send over a detailed account of exactly what happened.”

“All right.” Yuan Gang nodded, then asked, “What about the Demon Fox Clan’s request? What do we do about Luo Fangfei?”

Niu Youdao’s gaze fell on the letter lying on the table.

The report had mentioned Luo Fangfei’s transformation. That development had caught everyone here completely by surprise.

He muttered, “Luo Fangfei actually demonized.”

Lü Wushuang said, “She is Yin Ji’s daughter, after all. Part of the Demon Fox Clan’s bloodline runs through her. Most likely, the enormous shock awakened that bloodline within her. Otherwise, how could she suddenly transform into a demon?”

“What I did not expect was that after awakening, Luo Fangfei would possess such strength. She leapt directly to the point where she could exchange blows head-on with Lan Daolin.”

“With strength like that, we should help cure her. She could become an enormous source of power for us.”

Niu Youdao nodded slightly.

That was precisely what interested him as well.

Perhaps this was the one unexpected gain to emerge from the calamity. Had the tragedy never occurred, no one might ever have discovered that such astonishing potential lay dormant inside Luo Fangfei.

But the Demon Fox Clan’s message had brought another piece of bad news.

Luo Fangfei seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep. No matter what they did, they could not wake her.

The Demon Fox Clan had exhausted every method it could think of. Kunlin Shu and the others had even tried using their powerful cultivation to help her, yet Luo Fangfei still would not wake.

The situation was strange.

Luo Fangfei had suffered some injuries, but nowhere near enough to leave her unconscious like this.

No one knew whether the cause was connected to whatever had happened during her transformation.

The Demon Fox Clan therefore sent a request for help.

Given the clan’s isolated circumstances, the only people outside it whom they both trusted and could ask for help were Niu Youdao’s side.

The clan itself had reached the end of its options.

Several pairs of eyes settled on Niu Youdao.

He paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind him, plainly considering something with great care.

Those familiar with him knew that whenever he fell into this state, he was very likely preparing to make some major decision.

Everyone therefore remained quiet and did not interrupt him.

After quite some time, Niu Youdao stopped in front of Lü Wushuang and sighed. “The line Wang Zun controls at the Sacred Realm entrance may be about to break. For the time being, I may need to use one of your people.”

Lü Wushuang understood immediately.

This had nothing to do with whether Sha Rulai lived or died.

The key was that Sha Rulai had never dared tamper too extensively with the Sacred Realm entrance. The people he had controlled or bought over were all from within Daluo Sacred Land.

Now that Luo Qiu was dead, Daluo Sacred Land’s personnel stationed at the Sacred Realm entrance were certain to be purged.

That meant the contact route between this side and the inside and outside of the Sacred Realm was about to be severed.

Lü Wushuang said, “I can activate the person I planted on Wu Chang’s side, but I’m afraid the line won’t be very stable. If Wu Chang decides to reshuffle the personnel at the Sacred Realm entrance, that route will break too.”

She was merely stating the facts.

She no longer possessed her former status. There was little she could do to influence such arrangements directly.

Niu Youdao said, “That’s fine. We only need it temporarily.”

“I hold leverage over certain people inside Misty Pavilion. Once I finish screening them, I can establish a replacement route.”

“After your person is activated, have him contact Wang Zun directly.”

Lü Wushuang nodded.

Keeping direct contact with the Demon Fox Clan in Wang Zun’s hands was still the more reliable choice.

“The problem is Luo Fangfei,” she said. “If we want someone to go in and treat her, the present situation at the Sacred Realm entrance makes it almost impossible for an outsider to slip inside unless Wu Chang or one of the others personally escorts them.”

Niu Youdao said, “When it comes to treating illness and saving lives, I’m afraid no one is more suitable than the Ghost Doctor.”

Lü Wushuang frowned. “But even the Ghost Doctor can’t simply barge into the Sacred Realm for no reason.”

“I’ll resolve that.”

Niu Youdao turned slightly. “I was already planning to make a personal trip to Medicine Valley.”

“You’re going to Medicine Valley?” Lü Wushuang asked in surprise.

The others were puzzled as well.

Niu Youdao sighed. “The Holy Rakshasa is probably already a thorn in Wu Chang’s heart. Now Luo Fangfei has appeared, someone capable of fighting Lan Daolin head-on. That will only make Wu Chang even more uneasy.”

“The plan to use Maolu Villa as bait is coming under pressure. The game could break open at any moment.”

“We cannot act rashly in the final decisive battle without complete confidence. Otherwise, not only will the price be enormous, everything we have done may come to nothing.”

“So we must stabilize Wu Chang!”

The others became even more confused.

What did stabilizing Wu Chang have to do with the Ghost Doctor? And why did Niu Youdao have to go personally to Medicine Valley?

Lü Wushuang asked, “What do you mean?”

Niu Youdao waved a hand.

He did not want to say more for now.

At this stage, it was not that he distrusted everyone. It was simply that his plan would cause unnecessary alarm among them, and he had no desire to waste words explaining it.

“You’ll know later.”

“The news of Luo Qiu’s death can be released now.”

Since he had already made his decision, no one pressed him further.

They trusted he knew what he was doing.

Everyone dispersed to handle their respective affairs.

...

At Qiyun Sect, Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu made a hurried visit.

After holding a long private discussion with Wu Chang, the two departed again.

Watching them vanish through the sky, Wu Chang did something rare.

He frowned.

“Luo Fangfei...” he muttered.

Hei Shi clicked his tongue beside him. “Looks like it really was the Demon Fox Clan bloodline. Who would have thought Luo Fangfei’s strength would rise so explosively the instant that bloodline awakened?”

Wu Chang remained deep in thought. “First the Holy Rakshasa. Now Luo Fangfei has appeared as well...”

Hei Shi suddenly realized what was troubling him.

The opposing side’s strength was already approaching parity with theirs.

Wu Chang abruptly turned his head. “How are the preparations against Maolu Villa?”

Hei Shi replied, “Everything is being arranged according to Sacred Venerable’s instructions.”

“We’ve already assembled Misty Pavilion’s specialists in breaking codes. More experts in decipherment will be secretly drawn from the various states.”

“But... intercepting and copying the secret letters from that side is easy enough. If we can’t obtain a sample of the decoded text, actually breaking their code may be difficult. I’m afraid it could take a very long time.”

Time was precisely why Hei Shi was worried.

The Holy Rakshasa situation had not even been clarified yet, and now Luo Fangfei had appeared.

This side might not be able to endure the pressure much longer.

Wu Chang understood the difficulty.

Collecting a heap of encrypted letters and trying to analyze them from nothing was indeed hard.

If they could obtain even one corresponding decoded text—if they could match even part of a secret letter with its plain meaning—then experts in cryptanalysis could rapidly unravel the entire system.

But recipients of such messages would never casually leave decoded copies lying around.

In all likelihood, they destroyed them immediately after reading.

And if Wu Chang’s people wished to avoid alerting their targets, they did not dare act rashly against the relevant parties.

After a moment of thought, Wu Chang said indifferently, “Keep trying.”

“I’ll give you one month.”

“If you still have no result after one month, then we cannot afford to delay any longer.”

“We’ll have no choice but to join forces with Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu and eliminate whatever portion of them we can first.”

Wu Chang did not want to act too quickly.

He still hoped to use the hidden forces behind Maolu Villa to eliminate Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu first, then turn around and wipe out Maolu Villa’s side in one sweep.

At the very least, he wanted to learn the whereabouts of those Nascent Soul cultivators first.

Once they escaped, catching them again would be difficult.

But with the way things were developing, Luo Fangfei’s sudden emergence made further delay increasingly dangerous.

He might have to strike first and seize the initiative.

Even so, Wu Chang was still willing to give the people working on the codes some time.

At least they had to try.

If they could identify the Nascent Soul cultivators’ locations quickly, that would be ideal.

“Yes!” Hei Shi accepted the order, then reminded him, “Sacred Venerable, the other side is deliberately stirring rebellion. Luo Qiu’s death probably cannot be concealed. The hearts of the people beneath Heaven...”

Wu Chang understood what he meant.

The Nine Saints had fallen one after another, especially recently, with one dying after another in a very short span.

Now only three remained.

What would the people beneath Heaven think?

The world did not know the truth behind these events.

They did not know that, apart from Yuan Se and Lü Wushuang, several of the others had been conveniently eliminated by fellow members of the Nine Saints themselves.

Ordinary people would only see the trend and wonder whether the Nine Saints’ great momentum had already run its course.

That meant cultivators beneath Heaven would become even less willing to choose a side.

It also meant the Sacred Venerables would find it harder and harder to make the various powers sincerely obey them.

Yet they could not simply force everyone.

For the moment, the world still belonged to the remaining Sacred Venerables.

There was no sense in smashing their own rice bowl by driving all the powers beneath Heaven into the enemy camp.

Nor could they simply slaughter every cultivator in the world.

Killing a few leaders would solve nothing.

If the cultivators beneath Heaven were pushed so far that they all went into hiding and resisted from the shadows, then true chaos would descend.

And if countless cultivators began sabotaging things everywhere in secret, there would be no way to purge them in a short period.

The world would remain beyond control for a very long time, leaving endless future troubles.

Wu Chang gave a cold snort. “The hearts of the people?”

“So long as we eliminate whoever is stirring trouble behind the scenes, those fence-sitters are nothing to fear.”

“Yes.” Hei Shi bowed slightly in agreement.

After he left, Wu Chang suddenly raised his face toward the sky and closed his eyes.

Slowly, he murmured, “Elder Sister...”

...

“Luo Qiu is dead too?”

Inside his study, Shao Pingbo was left momentarily speechless.

Shao Sansheng said, “Yes. There should be no mistake. According to Qiyun Sect disciples, quite a few Daluo Sacred Land personnel within Misty Pavilion have fled again.”

“What a succession of killing moves.” Shao Pingbo sighed deeply.

He tossed the stack of intelligence reports in his hand back onto the desk and pointed at them.

“I only hope Tongueless Jia can move a little faster.”

“If this drags on, the situation may begin to shift again.”

Shao Sansheng looked puzzled. “Has Eldest Young Master noticed something?”

Shao Pingbo tapped the intelligence reports with one finger. “From all the signs, Misty Pavilion has been paying attention to Jin’s war.”

Shao Sansheng did not understand. “Is there a problem with that?”

Shao Pingbo said, “The Sacred Venerables dare not act directly against the various cultivation-world powers. They even guaranteed that the cultivation world’s normal supplies would not be cut off.”

“I kept wondering what use there was in controlling Qiyun Sect, Myriad Beasts Sect, Ling Sect, and Tianxing Sect.”

“Now I understand.”

“Controlling Myriad Beasts Sect, Ling Sect, and Tianxing Sect was all camouflage.”

“The true target was Jin, with its powerful armies and strong horses.”

Shao Sansheng could not help scratching his cheek.

He still did not understand.

Shao Pingbo shot him a sideways glance.

“When people’s hearts waver, there can be no establishment without destruction!”

“Use cultivators’ own hands to slaughter one another and consume the strength of the cultivation world on a massive scale.”

“Use Jin’s military edge to sweep beneath Heaven.”

“Redistribute the balance of interests and rebuild the order of the world.”

“Control Qiyun Sect, and you control Jin!”

Shao Sansheng finally understood.

He sucked in a cold breath. “Control the Jin that sweeps beneath Heaven, and you control beneath Heaven itself!”

Shao Pingbo nodded slowly.

Shao Sansheng hurriedly asked, “Should we notify Tongueless Jia?”

Self-mockery surfaced on Shao Pingbo’s face. “You think something like this can escape his eyes?”

“Song’s Lamp-Lighting Bureau isn’t blind. It would hardly fail to notice movements this obvious.”

“Tongueless Jia has immersed himself in this craft for years. With his mind, do you think he needs us to remind him?”

[End of Chapter 1499]