Chapter 1500: First Visit to Medicine Valley

Myriad Beasts Sect truly went through a spell of chaos before quiet finally returned.

There was no helping it.

Luo Qiu had been stationed here with a group of Misty Pavilion personnel, controlling Myriad Beasts Sect.

Now Luo Qiu was dead, and the people from Daluo Sacred Land under him had fled.

The remaining Misty Pavilion personnel were hardly decorations, but their numbers were limited. They ordered Myriad Beasts Sect to assist in pursuing the fugitives.

Several elders who had gone out with the pursuit party eventually returned.

Xi Haitang, who had been pacing inside the council hall, immediately went over and asked quietly, “How did it go?”

One elder lowered his voice. “Most of them got away. Misty Pavilion seems to have captured two.”

Put plainly, Myriad Beasts Sect had not made any serious effort at all.

They could have caught up with some of the fugitives, but had deliberately failed to do so.

Myriad Beasts Sect’s flying mounts were hardly there for show.

The problem was that before setting out, the elders had already received instructions from their Sect Leader.

Xi Haitang nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

Then he could not help sighing. “There’s no helping it. We can’t afford to offend either side.”

The elders all sighed with him.

Was that not exactly the problem?

Even a blind man could see that the forces fleeing after their Sacred Venerables were killed would certainly cluster around whoever was fighting the Sacred Venerables from the shadows.

If Myriad Beasts Sect offended those people too severely and they eventually took the world, then Myriad Beasts Sect would be in serious trouble.

Perhaps “if” was no longer even the right word.

These were the Nine Saints.

Six had already been brought down, one after another.

At this rate, how long the remaining three could hold on had become a genuine question.

With the situation already at this point, to go out of one’s way to offend the people secretly fighting the Nine Saints would be courting death.

Yet Misty Pavilion had issued its order.

Everyone still had to put on a show of obedience.

At most, they would show up for the work without putting their backs into it.

There was no helping that either.

The world still belonged to the Sacred Venerables.

No one dared openly step forward and become the bird that stuck its head out.

On the surface, everyone still had to obey.

One elder nevertheless voiced his concern. “What if Misty Pavilion settles accounts afterward?”

Xi Haitang lowered his voice. “You think we’re the only ones doing this?”

“The law does not punish the multitude.”

“Otherwise, how would they ever bring the situation under control?”

“The barefoot aren’t afraid of those wearing shoes. The people sitting over the world understand that better than we do.”

“Besides, they first have to prove they can keep this world.”

The elders all nodded slightly.

...

From a distance, the Misty Pavilion official stationed here watched coldly as the Myriad Beasts Sect elders came out of the council hall.

His teeth clenched in secret.

A whole group of men had ridden flying mounts after the fugitives and somehow failed to catch even one?

Did they truly take him for an idiot?

Any fool could see that these bastards had deliberately let the fugitives escape.

Yet he could only rage inwardly.

He did not dare expose the matter openly.

The balance of strength no longer favored him.

If they truly tore away all pretense and fighting broke out, the people on his side were genuinely no match for the far more numerous members of Myriad Beasts Sect.

Who would deal with whom then?

And if they pushed all these people into open rebellion—if so many cultivators scattered, hid themselves, and began creating trouble—Misty Pavilion in its present state truly could not handle them.

If the incident became too large and ruined the orders from above to stabilize the situation, he would have no way to explain himself either.

Once, Misty Pavilion had rampaged across the world with astonishing prestige.

A mere handful of its people could arrive at an enormous sect and leave everyone trembling, orderly, and utterly obedient.

Who could have imagined Misty Pavilion would one day fall so far that it had to swallow humiliation in silence?

There was nothing he could do.

For now, he could only endure it and swear inwardly that the account would be settled later.

Inside the council hall, Xi Haitang finally let out a long, heavy breath.

Luo Qiu was gone.

And he would never return.

At last, Xi Haitang could relax.

While Luo Qiu had been here, the pressure had been torment beyond words.

Now Xi Haitang was no longer afraid.

Even if Misty Pavilion discovered something, with his present strength there would be no problem escaping.

Had Luo Qiu still been alive, whether he could escape at all would have been another matter.

...

The news of Luo Qiu’s death truly sent no small shock through the world.

Reports that the Nine Saints were dying one after another produced an overwhelming effect on all the various powers.

A great many people had already begun to believe that this time, the Nine Saints truly were finished.

Even ordinary people in the secular world had begun discussing the matter openly.

That alone showed how completely the collapse of Misty Pavilion’s fearsome deterrence had shattered the old restraints on every side.

“You chatterbox! Is that something you should be talking about?”

A maid had been excitedly recounting the rumors she had heard outside concerning Luo Qiu’s death.

Halfway through, Feng Ruonan suddenly remembered her own status and the potentially grave consequences of speaking carelessly about such matters.

She slapped the armrest of her chair and scolded the maid.

The maid secretly stuck out her tongue and hurriedly fell silent.

Shang Shuqing, seated nearby, smiled faintly. “Sister-in-law, everyone beneath Heaven is talking about it. It should be fine.”

Feng Ruonan thought about it and realized that was true.

By now, even common people in the streets and alleys were discussing the matter.

Could the remaining Sacred Venerables kill everyone beneath Heaven?

She could not help muttering, “Looks like Misty Pavilion truly has lost its power to restrain the world.”

“Exactly. That’s what everyone is saying...” The maid immediately started chattering again.

Shang Shuqing, however, turned her gaze toward the doorway.

She looked in the direction of Maolu Annex, her expression distant and uncertain.

Is this his handiwork?

In the past, even if one enormous incident after another had happened, she would have had no basis for making such a connection.

But after learning Niu Youdao was still alive, and after she and Yin’er were quietly moved away one after another at that particular time, a major incident had followed almost immediately.

Then Yuan Se met with disaster.

Shang Shuqing was hardly foolish.

On the contrary, she was extremely intelligent.

She immediately realized Yuan Se’s fate could not possibly be unrelated to Niu Youdao.

One Sacred Venerable after another had suffered disaster.

Some died.

Others disappeared.

The truth made Shang Shuqing’s heart pound with alarm.

She could more or less understand now what Niu Youdao had been hiding himself to accomplish.

She was both worried and proud.

Other than Master Dao, who beneath Heaven would dare?

Ever since she had last seen Niu Youdao, however, the two had not met again.

She knew the matter was too important and did not dare behave willfully or seek him out on her own.

From childhood to adulthood, she had never believed she possessed the privilege of acting willfully.

She had glimpsed him a few times.

But only from a distance, seeing Niu Youdao appear under the identity of Wang Xiao and follow Yun Ji.

Afraid of causing trouble, she had not dared approach or speak to him.

After chatting idly for a while, Feng Ruonan noticed Shang Shuqing drifting off again.

This was hardly the first time she had seen her sister-in-law lost in thought like this.

It happened often.

Feng Ruonan could not help sighing.

A whole lifetime without marrying, without even knowing what a man was like—was she truly going to remain an old maiden until the end of her days?

The sigh pulled Shang Shuqing back to herself.

She looked at Feng Ruonan, not knowing why her sister-in-law had sighed.

But she did notice that Feng Ruonan was becoming more and more like a proper Princess Consort.

Her skin was fair and soft now, her figure much fuller than before.

She had acquired considerably more feminine charm and no longer resembled the female general who had once mounted a horse with a spear in hand.

Feng Ruonan, meanwhile, was looking toward Yin’er, who sat on the threshold by the doorway noisily eating snacks.

After worrying over Shang Shuqing, Feng Ruonan began worrying about Yin’er instead.

“Could something be wrong with that silly girl Yin’er?”

“She eats from morning to night without stopping. It’s frightening.”

“I’m not bothered that she always steals Min’er’s food. I’m just wondering whether such a small body can really keep eating this much without something going wrong.”

Min’er referred to her son, Shang Zhaomin.

Niu Youdao had personally helped choose the name.

At the words “silly girl,” Yin’er, still chewing her snacks, abruptly turned her head.

She looked very unhappy and directly gave Feng Ruonan two words.

“Bad person!”

“...”

Feng Ruonan was speechless.

“Yin’er, don’t be rude!” Shang Shuqing quickly reprimanded her, though she had to suppress a laugh.

Then she said to Feng Ruonan, “Sister-in-law, there’s no need to worry. Hongniang often examines her with spiritual power. She’s fine.”

Feng Ruonan shook her head in wonder. “She really can eat.”

“Speaking of Hongniang, though, I haven’t seen her for quite a while.”

Shang Shuqing said, “I don’t know either. They said she went out to handle something.”

While the sisters-in-law chatted here, inside the underground chamber where the Maolu Annex group was temporarily staying next door, Niu Youdao and Yun Ji were packing and preparing to depart.

It truly was only temporary lodging.

Ever since the Prince’s residence and Maolu Annex were destroyed last time, reconstruction had still not been completed.

There was no way rebuilding could happen that quickly.

Yuan Gang and Lü Wushuang did not know exactly what Niu Youdao planned to do at Medicine Valley, but both came to see him off.

After Niu Youdao finished giving several instructions, Yuan Gang asked, “Master Dao, do you want to meet Sha Huanli?”

“Wang Zun mentioned her again in his latest letter. He repeatedly begged us to make sure she is properly cared for.”

Zhuge Chi had already brought Sha Huanli here safely.

For now, she had been settled outside the city.

Lü Wushuang said, “For Wang Zun to care this much about Sha Rulai’s daughter, he has at least repaid Sha Rulai’s kindness to him.”

She still did not know that Wang Zun was actually Sha Huanli’s maternal uncle.

For that matter, even Sha Huanli herself had no idea she still had an uncle.

Niu Youdao fell silent for a while.

At last, he shook his head slightly. “She doesn’t know I’m still alive either. Better not to meet.”

“Arrange for someone to send her to the hidden refuge.”

“As for Sha Rulai’s death... don’t tell her yet.”

“Later, I’ll tell her personally.”

“For now, just say Sha Rulai has important business and cannot show himself.”

Yuan Gang nodded. “All right. Understood.”

Niu Youdao said nothing more.

He nodded to Yun Ji.

Yun Ji immediately took him underground, and the two disappeared.

...

The deep sea stretched beneath a vast sky, blue waves rising and falling around a lone volcanic island.

Medicine Valley enjoyed springlike weather in every season.

Ghost Doctor Hei Li wandered into his medicine hut, his broad robes and sleeves swaying around him.

The instant he entered, however, he found one of Medicine Valley’s menial workers rummaging among his many bottles and jars.

The Ghost Doctor immediately became furious.

Were the things inside his medicine hut something just anyone could casually paw through?

He barked, “What are you doing?”

The menial worker turned around and smiled. “Sir, you’re here.”

The Ghost Doctor froze.

He knew everyone inside Medicine Valley.

The person before him was plainly a stranger.

His voice sank. “Who are you?”

Seeing the Ghost Doctor become wary and show signs of calling for help, the menial worker shook the jar in his hand.

“I came to look around.”

“I wanted to see whether I could find Consort Yuan’s eye.”

“If you alarm everyone else and bring them in to search with me, that would hardly be ideal, would it?”

He lifted his chin toward the door, signaling for the Ghost Doctor to close it.

The menial worker was none other than Niu Youdao.

With Guo Man as an inside source, Niu Youdao knew Medicine Valley’s situation in intimate detail.

He knew its defenses were loose.

There had never been any reason for them to be especially tight.

With the Sacred Venerables’ people stationed here, no one had ever dared come make trouble.

Guo Man had merely provided him with a set of clothes worn by Medicine Valley’s menial workers and told him which route to take at which time.

Niu Youdao had then simply walked straight in as though he belonged there.

Of course, had the situation been more complicated, he would naturally have used a more complicated method to arrange the meeting.

When convenience was available, there was no reason not to use it.

At his words, the muscles in the Ghost Doctor’s cheeks twitched.

Yuan Se was already dead.

How had the matter of Consort Yuan still not ended?

He reached back and shut the door.

Then he strode up to Niu Youdao and demanded through clenched teeth, “Who are you?”

Niu Youdao said, “Lan Ming sent me.”

The Ghost Doctor said bitterly, “I already did what you people forced me to do.”

“Yuan Se and Luo Qiu are both dead.”

“The Three Sacred Venerables won’t care about Consort Yuan’s affair anymore.”

“Don’t think you can keep using it to threaten me!”

“This old man only wants to live out the rest of his years here in peace.”

“I don’t want to be dragged into your rights and wrongs again.”

“If you keep pressing me without end, don’t blame me for sending word to the Three Sacred Venerables!”

Niu Youdao said, “Send word?”

“And have them arrest Lan Ming?”

“If they were capable of catching him, would they need you to send word?”

The Ghost Doctor snapped, “In any case, this old man will not endure your endless coercion any longer!”

“Leave immediately.”

“I’ll pretend I saw nothing.”

“Otherwise, don’t blame me for calling in the Three Sacred Venerables’ people outside.”

“At worst, I’ll hide under the Three Sacred Venerables’ protection afterward.”

“Then I won’t have to fear retaliation from your people!”

Niu Youdao smiled calmly.

With unhurried movements, he set the jar in his hand back onto the table.

“If you want to call them, go ahead.”

“Consort Yuan’s affair is nothing.”

“If you want the Three Sacred Venerables to learn that your disciple Wuxin took part in stealing the Wuliang Fruit, then call them.”

“I have no objection.”

[End of Chapter 1500]