Chapter 1534: Face-to-Face with Wu Chang

Everyone present had seen Yuan Gang's strength. A single slash from him had killed Yuan Se. At the very least, that kind of power would be enough to make Wu Chang cautious and buy Yun Ji time to take Niu Youdao away.

"Get you back out?" Lü Wushuang was furious. "Get what back out? At this point, if you fall into Wu Chang's hands again, try seeing whether anyone can save you! No one will!"

Yuan Gang glanced at her and ignored her.

That dismissive reaction enraged Lü Wushuang even further. She had offered kindness only to have it treated like donkey liver and lungs. She almost wanted to stab him to death herself.

Niu Youdao remained silent, weighing the gains and losses.

Only after quite some time did he raise his eyes and look directly into Yuan Gang's. "She's right. If something truly goes wrong, I'm afraid no one will be able to get you out."

Yuan Gang said, "Then avenge me. Better that than have everyone go down with the ship."

Niu Youdao turned toward Yun Ji and made the decision. "We'll do as he says. You go too. There should not be a problem. Treat it as insurance."

"All right." Yun Ji nodded.

She understood that, by Yuan Gang's reasoning, the most dangerous position would actually be Yuan Gang's.

She also knew Yuan Gang well enough. Since he had said this much, if anything happened, he would unquestionably fight to the death to protect their escape.

Niu Youdao looked around at everyone. "Make preparations. We'll choose a suitable time within the next few days and set out."

Lü Wushuang was angry. Truly angry. She flung her hand away and left...

That night, on a single couch, a man and woman slept on opposite halves. Yuan Gang lay on his side facing outward.

Lü Wushuang lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling for a long time. At last she suddenly asked, "Can you listen to me just this once and not go?"

Yuan Gang answered, "No."

Lü Wushuang said, "If you don't come back, what am I supposed to do?"

Yuan Gang said nothing.

Lü Wushuang turned over. Suddenly she crossed the invisible line between them, reached from behind, and wrapped her arms around Yuan Gang. Her body pressed tightly against his.

Yuan Gang seized her wrist and tried to pull her away.

Lü Wushuang immediately grabbed the clothing across his chest and refused to let go. "After all this time, ask your own conscience how I've treated you. If you didn't want this, you could have refused from the start. What is this supposed to be now? While you're alive, you force me to live like a widow. If you die, then I'll become a widow for real. You're supposed to be a man. What right do you have to treat me this harshly?"

Yuan Gang fell silent.

Suddenly Lü Wushuang, angry and aggrieved, forced him onto his back. She pressed herself over him and covered his lips with hers...

...

Hei Shi hurried to the edge of a cliff and stopped beside Wu Chang. "Sacred Venerable, Maolu Villa has sent out orders. The people assigned to contact Qing Jiu and Si Shaodong have been told to withdraw immediately. They were probably alarmed by what we did to Zhuge Chi."

Wu Chang muttered to himself, "A pity. A pity time will not wait for me. There was no choice."

Hei Shi understood what he meant.

If this side could arrange a trap for Zhuge Chi, then the other two locations very likely had two other Nascent Soul cultivators assigned to them. If they acted in time, they should be able to identify who those two people were. They were probably among the hidden Nascent Soul cultivators whose identities had not yet been uncovered.

But they did not dare alert the snake by striking the grass. They had to pretend they had discovered Zhuge Chi only through Zhao Ting's line. If they simultaneously exposed knowledge of the other two locations, Maolu Villa would immediately suspect its network had been compromised. All those Nascent Soul cultivators hiding their identities would certainly go to ground.

Naturally, Hei Shi still had to reassure him. "So long as we've identified most of them, once we deal with those people, there will be no shortage of mouths to question. Whatever small fry remain won't matter."

Wu Chang asked, "Has anyone from Maolu Villa arrived at the lake?"

Hei Shi said, "Not yet. We've already arranged someone to wait there. The moment anyone arrives, we'll be informed."

Wu Chang said, "Keep waiting. With their ambition, the bait is tempting enough. They'll come. They would love nothing more than to see me and those two old ghosts kill one another."

His prediction was accurate.

Someone did come—and it was Niu Youdao himself.

Wu Chang had treated this matter with enough importance to act personally. Niu Youdao was no less serious and had likewise come in person.

Blue sky and white clouds reflected across the lake.

Disguised, Niu Youdao and Yun Ji came skimming together over the surface and landed beside the large boulder on the shore.

Both were dressed as men.

The moment they appeared, someone immediately shot out from the forest and demanded warily, "Who are you?"

Niu Youdao said, "Wu Chang invited us. We've come for the meeting."

The man studied them for a while, then gestured back over his shoulder. A Goldenwing immediately burst from the forest and vanished into the distant sky.

Turning back, the man said, "You may need to wait a while. It will take Sacred Venerable some time to come here from Qiyun Sect."

Niu Youdao gave a small grunt and said nothing more.

They waited.

A little over two hours later, a sharp whistle tore through the air. A figure flashed into view and hovered overhead, looking down at them.

It was Wu Chang, his long hair streaming in the wind.

At last, they had come.

Wu Chang secretly relaxed. He had been afraid these people would prove excessively cautious and drag things out again as they had before. Fortunately, this time they had not delayed. Otherwise, he truly would have had no way to keep holding the situation together and would have been forced to act against Maolu Villa.

Niu Youdao and Yun Ji looked up, inwardly alert.

Wu Chang flashed down to the ground and studied the two of them. With a small wave of his hand, he signaled the man who had first met them to withdraw. The man cupped his hands and quickly retreated out of earshot.

Niu Youdao and Yun Ji were also studying Wu Chang.

This was the first time both sides had formally met face-to-face. Each was observing the other.

Suddenly Wu Chang turned his head.

A flying mount was rushing over above the lake.

The newcomer was Yuan Gang in disguise. The moment he saw from afar that Wu Chang had appeared, he immediately came closer.

He was kneeling toward the rear of the flying mount, with the Three-Roars Saber pressed flat behind him against the beast's back.

He did this because his physique was too distinctive. Sitting this way helped conceal it. Unless the situation reached the point where there was no other choice, he would not expose his identity.

He had come alone on the flying mount and now circled overhead.

If anything changed, he would attack immediately. Surely Yun Ji could seize at least that much time.

He had already spoken privately with Yun Ji, and she had agreed: no matter what happened, her first priority was to protect Niu Youdao.

Seeing Wu Chang looking up at the sky, Niu Youdao said, "No need to be nervous. That's the person here to cover our retreat."

"Nervous?" Wu Chang repeated.

Inwardly he sneered. I came alone to attend this meeting, while you even arranged someone to cover your retreat. Which side is nervous?

But he had no interest in trading verbal jabs. He asked directly, "Who is in charge here?"

Niu Youdao said, "You could say I am."

"You could say?" Wu Chang said. "I don't want 'you could say.' Can you represent your side?"

Niu Youdao replied, "Since I was entrusted to come here, naturally I carry a certain authority to represent them. At the very least, I have the authority to speak with you."

Authority? Wu Chang disdained the word inwardly, but there was no need to mock him. He went straight to the point.

"You know what I want. I know what you want. Part of our objectives is the same. We can cooperate."

Niu Youdao asked, "How?"

Wu Chang said, "Our goals concerning Lan Daolin and Du Wuxu are the same. We might as well eliminate them first, then settle victory and defeat between ourselves afterward."

"Sounds good." But Niu Youdao returned to the same question. "How do we cooperate?"

Yun Ji stood beside him, listening while remaining on the highest alert. Facing someone of the Nine Saints' level, she could not help feeling tense.

Wu Chang's gaze shifted between the two of them from time to time. He could roughly see the difference. The man speaking with him was very calm. The one beside him was not.

He answered indifferently, "It isn't as complicated as you think. In fact, it's very simple. Sometimes the simpler the method, the more effective it is, and the result becomes simple too. Our two sides join forces and kill those two old ghosts."

Niu Youdao said, "Is it really that simple? As far as I know, back when there were Nine Saints, there were times when several of you joined forces against one person. I don't recall any of you actually killing the target."

Wu Chang disliked the way this man negotiated with him, especially when it came from someone he looked down upon. Had these people not already displayed enough ability in eliminating Yuan Se and the others to earn his respect, he would never have shown this much patience.

Even so, he suppressed his irritation and explained, "Times are different now. Before, there was no opportunity. Now there is. My control over the Boundless Demon Domain has reached a new level. In the past, my Boundless Demon Domain could only trap people and could not provide much assistance in battle. Now it is different. One of your people joined forces with me in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands to eliminate that old hag Xue. He has seen what my assistance can do. If you don't believe me, ask him."

Niu Youdao believed him.

Otherwise Wu Chang would not have gone to so much trouble to arrange this meeting. If he had gone so far as to negotiate, it naturally meant this side could provide something he needed.

Still, Niu Youdao had questions. "I've heard about the cooperation in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. Perhaps what you say is true. But I don't understand. If you really possess this ability, you could simply make use of either Lan Daolin or Du Wuxu. Join forces with one and eliminate the other."

Wu Chang said, "You're thinking far too simply. If I really displayed this ability, do you think either of those two old ghosts would still join forces with me? The only outcome would be the two of them joining hands against me."

Niu Youdao still had doubts. "You have so many subordinates. Once you've trapped the two of them, why not have your own people attack? Why do you have to cooperate with us?"

Wu Chang said, "What is the Boundless Demon Domain? It is only truly boundless when there are no limits around it. When I unleash the Boundless Demon Domain, it cannot touch the ground. Otherwise, the earth beneath the range of the domain becomes a flaw, and those two old ghosts possess enough strength to escape underground."

"Do you think ordinary cultivators have the ability to remain circling in the air throughout the fight? Even if other cultivators combined forces, do you think their cultivation and strength would be enough to meaningfully strike those two old ghosts? It would be very difficult for them to injure either one."

"Nor can I maintain the Boundless Demon Domain forever. If the battle drags on long enough, those two old ghosts will inevitably escape. Worse, the attempt will alert the snake by striking the grass. After that, don't even dream of trapping them easily with this technique again."

"That is why I let Zhuge Chi go and used him to contact you. Your side should have quite a few Nascent Soul cultivators. If our two sides join forces, you handle the attacks while I control the Boundless Demon Domain and provide cover. With both sides working together, we should be able to kill those two old ghosts."

Niu Youdao considered this for a while, then asked, "How many Nascent Soul cultivators do you think our side would need to send before there is a real chance of success?"

Wu Chang said, "That naturally depends on how strong your people are. And naturally, the more the better. The more people you have, the faster and more efficient the operation will be. I assume I don't need to explain something that obvious."

Niu Youdao said, "Once our people all show themselves and a fight begins, I'm afraid none of our secrets will escape your eyes. You've planned this nicely for yourself."

[End of Chapter 1534]