Chapter 1526: Silence Them!

Nearby, Hei Shi had been waiting to report something. Seeing the three men discussing business, he had stopped to the side and waited.

After hearing their conversation, he could only sigh inwardly.

Even now, the three of them remained on guard against one another. None trusted the others. Each still regarded the other two as his true mortal threats.

Hei Shi understood very well that, if not for this, no one beneath Heaven could ever have shaken the position of the Nine Saints so long as the nine stood united.

If not for this, Granny Xue would not have died. In the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, the Nine Saints might already have joined forces and dealt with Kunlin Shu.

Luo Qiu would not have died either. They might have dealt with Luo Fangfei in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands as well.

If Luo Qiu and Yuan Se had not fought among themselves and allowed others to exploit the conflict, Yuan Se would not have died.

Even Lü Wushuang—had she laid her secret bare and discussed matters with everyone before acting, perhaps nothing would have happened to her either.

If all Nine Saints had advanced and retreated together, Zhangsun Mi and Mu Lianze might not have died as well. Had all nine entered the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm with one heart, they might already have killed the Holy Rakshasa.

In short, the Nine Saints had withered to their present state because, at root, they had destroyed one another through infighting.

Wu Chang said, "Enough. Things have already reached this point. There is no meaning in talking about the past. The problem now is that the enemy is hidden while we stand in the open. Everything we're doing is for the sake of finding them. Once we lock down where the targets are, nothing else matters."

Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu needed no explanation of that principle. If Misty Pavilion's function had not been crippled, leaving them unable to comb through all beneath Heaven, there would have been no need to take this roundabout route through Jin.

Lan Daolin said, "I still recommend dealing with Shang Chaozong and those around him!"

Wu Chang said, "Was I not clear enough, or did water get into your head?"

Du Wuxu said, "Lan Daolin and I suspect Shang Chaozong has a problem. He could have integrated Yan earlier or later, yet he chose precisely this moment."

Wu Chang said, "Jin has just unified the Western Three States. Integrating Yan now to prepare for Jin's eastern campaign is perfectly normal."

Lan Daolin said, "What concerns us is that the other side may already know our intentions. Those people may very well be standing behind Shang Chaozong."

Du Wuxu added, "If we move against Shang Chaozong and his people, perhaps we can force those people to reveal themselves."

Wu Chang said blandly, "You're overthinking it."

Lan Daolin's voice sank. "Wu Chang, at this point the two of us have no choice but to think too much. Why does it feel as though you're protecting Shang Chaozong?"

Wu Chang said, "That's right. You can say I'm protecting him, because the truth behind Shang Chaozong's consolidation is not what you're imagining. I am the one behind Shang Chaozong's consolidation of Yan."

Du Wuxu and Lan Daolin both turned to stare at him.

Wu Chang continued, "You don't need to worry about Shang Chaozong. He is already under my secret control."

Hei Shi lifted his eyes slightly toward Wu Chang. For Wu Chang to say this much, he had probably been pushed into a corner.

Du Wuxu asked, "What do you mean?"

Wu Chang said, "Jin has only just unified three states. It needs time to clean up and consolidate. The occupied territories are unstable, and if Jin hastily launches another eastern campaign, internal trouble may flare up again. But we can't simply sit and wait. If we keep grinding forward slowly, how long will it take? Put simply, I've prepared things in advance. Once Jin launches its eastern campaign, the Yan commanded by Shang Chaozong is guaranteed to lose."

Du Wuxu and Lan Daolin exchanged a glance. They more or less understood his meaning.

Shang Chaozong was Wu Chang's inside man...

It took some effort, but Wu Chang finally managed to steady the two and send them away. Watching them leave, he secretly let out a breath of relief.

Hei Shi came over. "Sacred Venerable, if Jin launches its eastern campaign and runs into fierce resistance from Shang Chaozong, how will we explain it?"

Wu Chang said, "They insisted on moving against Shang Chaozong. If I didn't steady them for the moment, what else could I do? If we move now, we'll alert the snake by striking the grass. We still haven't located those people, and we don't even know exactly who they are. Drag this out for now."

Hei Shi understood perfectly well that avoiding alerting the enemy was only part of the reason. Wu Chang's refusal to tell Du Wuxu and Lan Daolin the truth probably had even more to do with wanting to use the hidden faction's hand to eliminate those two.

But this was exactly what Hei Shi had come to report. "Sacred Venerable, after intercepting and sorting through Maolu Villa's messages, we've already traced several of their principal contacts. One is Tianxing Sect. Based on the tracking and the cooperation of our people watching the sect, we can basically confirm that the person corresponding with Maolu Villa is Supreme Sect Leader Wen Hua. Another is Myriad Beasts Sect. The person exchanging messages there is Xi Haitang, Sect Leader of Myriad Beasts Sect. Another is Ling Sect. The person exchanging messages there is Yan Zhutian, Sect Leader of Ling Sect. Another is the Demonic Sect. The contact there is none other than Zhao Xiongge. There is also someone in the Song capital: the so-called Hidden Chancellor, Jia Wuqun. Maolu Villa is in frequent contact with him. Judging by the contents, Maolu Villa seems to intend to use him to make preparations for controlling the situation in Song. Comparing these messages with those we intercepted before we obtained the cipher manual, there is probably one person around him worth particular attention."

Wu Chang asked, "Who?"

Hei Shi said, "The letters regularly include the additional line, 'Pass my regards to the gentleman.' After screening the people around Jia Wuqun, we suspect it refers to his guard Yuan Cong, that Jian Shanyue."

"Jian Shanyue..." Wu Chang murmured, his expression thoughtful. "You reported before that this man once acted quite ostentatiously, then suddenly became low-key."

Hei Shi said, "Exactly. Now Jia Wuqun has established contact with Maolu Villa, and this man has emerged again. Very suspicious. We're watching him."

Wu Chang asked, "Anyone else?"

Hei Shi continued, "There's one more contact that, judging by the content, we can confirm is connected to the Demon Foxes inside the Sacred Realm. For now we've only identified the intermediary handling messages at the Sacred Realm entrance. To avoid alerting the snake by striking the grass, we haven't touched him. What's strange is that the messages he sends out do not appear to go toward the Demon Foxes. From what we've observed, he may have someone above him as well. We've already deployed people secretly. The next time correspondence passes through his hands, we may be able to trace whoever stands above him."

"Demon Foxes?" Wu Chang nodded faintly. "Things are becoming clearer. Maolu Villa really is in direct collusion with the Demon Foxes."

Hei Shi said, "There is one more contact we can identify only as being within Zijin Cave. All of Misty Pavilion's eyes inside Zijin Cave were purged, and our trackers can't easily follow messages into the sect, so we can't determine who receives them. The letters themselves reveal no identity either. For now, the contact remains unknown."

Wu Chang considered this. "Judging by the other factions, each contact is one of the highest-ranking figures in his sect. Zijin Cave is probably no exception. It is most likely either Sect Leader Gong Lince or one of those so-called Supreme Elders."

Hei Shi said, "Sacred Venerable sees clearly. I had the same suspicion."

Wu Chang said, "No wonder Zijin Cave was willing to surrender its own interests to help Shang Chaozong seize control of Yan."

Hei Shi said, "Given Zijin Cave's usual decision-making practice, the retired Supreme Elders probably would not casually intervene in something of this scale. Gong Lince is more likely."

Wu Chang turned and looked toward the horizon. "Tianxing Sect, Myriad Beasts Sect, Ling Sect... They were right beneath our noses all along! Hmph. Interesting. If the targets we're looking for are hidden inside these sects, then that entire string of strange incidents before suddenly makes sense. Someone was desperately preventing the investigation into the Wuliang Fruit from reaching those sects!"

Hei Shi thought for a moment, then nodded. "It does look that way. Once the investigation reaches the major sects, those people will have nowhere left to hide."

Wu Chang turned back toward him. "Now work backward from these facts. These factions really may be hiding the targets we want. Gong Lince, Wen Hua, Xi Haitang, Yan Zhutian, Zhao Xiongge... Zhao Xiongge. Zhao Xiongge?" He frowned.

Hei Shi looked puzzled, not understanding.

Wu Chang said slowly, "I personally examined Zhao Xiongge's cultivation some time ago. He had not broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. Could I be overthinking all this?"

Hei Shi said, "Perhaps he knew he'd always been watched and didn't dare use the Wuliang Fruit to break through. Or perhaps whoever stole the Wuliang Fruit knew his circumstances and never gave him one. Just because Ao Feng and Kunlin Shu have broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm doesn't mean there is nothing wrong with the others."

Speaking of those two left Hei Shi feeling sour inside. Even fellows like them had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Wu Chang said, "Whether these people have a problem or not, one test will tell us. Choose a suitable target and set a trap."

"All right. I'll arrange it now." Hei Shi took the order and left.

...

Within the State of Song, morning mist drifted lightly above a broad river.

Jia Wuqun, newly awake, draped a cloak over his shoulders and walked out onto the deck. He stopped at the railing and gazed toward the end of the riverbank, where the light of the rising sun was about to leap above the horizon.

The river breeze brushed his face and stirred his cloak, but could not disturb the calm upon it.

Zi Pingxiu had encountered a matter that was proving troublesome, so Jia Wuqun had traveled on his behalf to resolve it. The matter was now finished, and he was returning by boat along the river.

A fisherman came toward them in a small skiff.

Yuan Cong appeared beside Jia Wuqun at the appropriate moment, alert.

The fisherman lifted a fresh catch and shouted, asking whether they wanted to buy fish.

Yuan Cong waved him off.

But when the fishing skiff drew somewhat closer, a tremendous surge of power suddenly exploded from the fish in the man's hand. A Heavenly Sword aura-phantom came cleaving down with terrifying force.

Yuan Cong seized Jia Wuqun and yanked him aside.

Boom!

The large riverboat exploded apart.

The fisherman sprang into the air. Heavenly Sword aura-phantoms cleaved down one after another, while the boatmen and other people aboard screamed in panic.

The instant the Heavenly Sword aura-phantoms vanished, another group of men burst from the water and launched a frenzied assault.

Wei Duo protected Jia Wuqun. Yuan Cong's figure moved like a ghost, flashing rapidly among the assassins.

When the sounds of battle finally subsided, the large boat had been shattered to pieces.

Wei Duo had already carried Jia Wuqun onto the fisherman's small skiff. One hand guarded the man while the other held a sword, and he watched the surroundings vigilantly.

Three retainer cultivators from Song's Three Great Sects stood on the water around the skiff, likewise maintaining a wary guard.

Yuan Cong was nowhere to be seen on the river's surface.

Only streaks of blood kept rising from beneath the water.

A few laborers from the large boat had survived. Some bobbed in the river crying for help, some swam desperately for safety, while others clung to fragments of the shattered vessel with lingering fear.

But it was as though some man-eating monster lurked beneath the river. One after another, the people floating on the surface gave muffled grunts and slowly sank beneath the water.

A short while later, Yuan Cong surfaced.

He had the false fisherman in one hand and walked across the water toward them.

The three retainer cultivators stared at Yuan Cong in shock and suspicion.

They had known this man was powerful. They had not imagined he was powerful to this degree. He had actually withstood a Heavenly Sword Talisman head-on.

What level of cultivation did that require?

Yuan Cong threw the false fisherman into the skiff.

Then his figure suddenly flashed.

Two of the retainer cultivators were caught completely off guard. They had never imagined he would attack his own side. Explosions erupted from their chests one after another, spraying blood and flesh.

The last retainer cultivator was horrified.

A thought flashed through his mind.

Silence them!

[End of Chapter 1526]