Cooperation

With all pretenses utterly stripped away, the atmosphere plunged to the freezing point. Yet somewhat beyond Xu Yuan's expectations, Tang Ruofu still maintained his composure. Judging solely by the look on his face, one could not detect the slightest trace of anger in his heart. On second thought, however, it made sense. The Great Yan Dynasty at least had its imperial laws to protect low-tier cultivators and mortals; regardless of how well they were actually enforced, such things existed in principle. By contrast, this illusion world of twenty thousand years ago was essentially dog-eat-dog cultivation ruled by feuding sect warlords. The Sword Madman before him had lived in this era for decades and had surely witnessed methods far more ruthless than his own. With these thoughts running through his mind, Xu Yuan waited for Tang Ruofu's response while casually pulling the blanket back over the unconscious Xia Qing. The initial show of force had already been delivered; there was no need to provoke the man any further. Xu Yuan was always happy to spare a little face for a prospective partner. After all, that kind of gesture was the cheapest form of respect. Tang Ruofu was a smart man, and he seemed deeply in love with the mature woman before him. For that very reason, he would never choose to refuse. Of course, if Tang Ruofu were merely a cuckold enthusiast masquerading as a devoted lover, then this matter— "You are formidable." The muffled voice rang out in the silent inner hall, interrupting Xu Yuan's thoughts. He looked up and caught what seemed to be a firm resolve settling in Tang Ruofu's eyes. Well, look at that. It seemed this devoted lover was not merely putting on an act. With a soft chuckle, Xu Yuan stroked his chin and replied, "Formidable? I thought Senior would at least curse me as a despicable villain." "As I said, crying 'despicable' is merely the impotent rage of the mediocre." A hint of helplessness crept into Tang Ruofu's voice as he said quietly, "Scheming to capture a Semi-Saint alive while merely in the Origin Realm... I finally understand how you two managed to survive the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's pursuit." "You flatter me, Senior. Surviving that pursuit was really thanks to my humble wife." Xu Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor and cupped his hands toward him, smiling with narrowed eyes. "Back to business, then. Does Senior agree to what we discussed earlier?" "..." Tang Ruofu gave Xu Yuan a deep, searching look. With some effort, he tidied his half-unfastened robes and said in a low voice, "Since you have 'implored' me so earnestly, it would be truly ungrateful of me to refuse." *Clap.* Xu Yuan clapped his hands together, the coldness on his face vanishing into thin air, replaced by a smile as radiant as warm sunshine. "Many thanks, Senior! I knew Senior would not simply sit by and ignore our plight." "..." Watching the speed with which the youth's demeanor flipped, the corner of Tang Ruofu's eye twitched. "Tell me your plan directly. A Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion will not be easy to kill. From what I know, over the past two hundred years, the only Holy Son of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion to die by an outsider's hand was Tianrui, whom you killed seven years ago." Xu Yuan nodded in deep agreement. "Indeed, not easy to kill. But for Senior, it shouldn't be too difficult." Hearing this, Tang Ruofu frowned, his expression turning slightly odd. "You want me to assassinate her with the Xingwu Dao Domain?" "You could understand it that way." Tang Ruofu's bizarre Dao domain was not particularly suited for lurking assassinations from the shadows, as it lacked the ability to conceal one's qi aura. However, it was exceptionally suited for stabbing an ally in the back during battle. Once an "anchor point" was established, it was inescapable. And as for how he placed those anchor points, even now Xu Yuan had not figured it out. If such an insidious, silent technique were unleashed upon that Saintess, it could rob her of all combat ability in a fraction of an instant, allowing her to be slain. After all, not every Saintess of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion possessed a substitute-death secret technique like his Tianyan did. "..." After pondering for a moment, Tang Ruofu glanced at Xu Yuan, sounding somewhat hesitant. "Though my Dao Charm is well-concealed, I have heard rumors that the Heaven-Deducing Art contains a secret art capable of peering into every qi sign between heaven and earth..." "Rest assured, there is no way that Saintess can sense it." "Why are you so certain?" "Heh." A peculiar smile curled at the corners of Xu Yuan's lips. What a joke. Even Tianyan had been caught off guard by an underhanded bastard like him; it would be a miracle if a Saintess of this era could detect it. Still smiling, Xu Yuan retrieved a jade slip prepared by Tianyan from his Sumeru ring. Jade slips were the most valuable medium for recorded text in this era. Imbuing divine sense into them allowed one to read the text within, though there was a limit on the number of times it could be accessed. Frowning, Tang Ruofu took the jade slip, his fingertips gently stroking its smooth surface. "This is..." "This jade slip records some methods of the Heaven-Deducing Art. Review it first, and then I will explain the upcoming plan to you in detail..." *** The warm morning sun cascaded down like a golden waterfall. Beneath thousands of miles of clear skies, two men clad in lavish white robes sped at full velocity in one direction. The shockwaves kicked up by their furious flight churned the sea of mist blanketing Zhujian Valley below into ceaseless rolling waves. Before long, at the far edge of their vision against the high heavens, the slender, graceful silhouette of a black-robed figure gradually emerged. Within several breaths, the two robed men arrived before the young woman. Hovering in midair with her eyes closed in meditation, the black-gowned young woman slowly opened her dazzling golden eyes at their arrival. As her gaze swept over them, a teasing voice rang out: "What is it?" One of them immediately bowed with cupped hands, took an encrypted letter from his breast pocket, and presented it with both hands. "Lady Saintess, the Holy Venerable ordered us to deliver this letter to you." "Oh?" Tianye's lovely brows arched slightly. "After so long, has that fellow finally found something?" As she spoke, her index finger crooked gently, and the encrypted letter drifted straight into her hand. Unsealing it and skimming the contents, the flirtatious, seductive demeanor on Tianye's face gradually faded. Once she had read it thoroughly, the letter spontaneously combusted, disintegrating into ashes that drifted down into the sea of mist below. Tianye furrowed her willow brows, gazing toward the southwest with a hint of perplexity in her golden eyes. Yesterday, in Qinghu Swamp, that old fellow surnamed Luo had actually encountered and repelled a Saint Tier yin ghost... And Qinghu Swamp, she remembered, was located on the outer periphery of Zhujian Valley. Thinking this through, an odd gleam flickered in Tianye's eyes. The ghost mist was the very foundation of yin ghosts; consequently, high-tier yin ghosts generally remained in the depths of Zhujian Valley, where the mist was thickest. Yet according to the records of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, there were only two possible reasons for high-tier yin ghosts to venture out like this. First, the internal ecosystem within the ghost mist was on the brink of collapse—the yin ghosts had run out of food and needed to expand the ghost mist outward to devour more living beings and sustain the balance. Second, the high-tier yin ghost had sensed something it desired through some method... Thinking up to this point, Tianye narrowed her golden eyes slightly. From what she had seen and heard over these past few months, the ecosystem within Zhujian Valley's ghost mist was still in a digestive phase; it could easily endure for at least another twenty years before its next expansion. Which meant that the Saint Tier yin ghost had emerged for the latter reason... Without the slightest hesitation, Tianye retrieved a map from her Sumeru ring, her slender fingertip gliding softly across the fine paper. Starting from the center of Zhujian Valley, ending at the Qingze lake, a straight line connecting the two points extended outward to... "You two. Who is the Guardian responsible for the Ghost Willow Forest area?" "..." After a moment of silence, the two Overseeing Heaven Pavilion experts exchanged glances and answered with slight hesitation, "It is the people from the Yaoyue Sect and the Sword Madman." "The Sword Madman, is it..." Tianye murmured. She did have some impression of this Sword Madman. Because his physical prowess verged on sanctification, the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion had previously extended an olive branch to him, though he had refused it. Recalling this, Tianye suddenly noticed the odd looks on the two men before her. Reining in her thoughts, she narrowed her beautiful eyes and gave a soft scoff. "Your expressions seem off. It looks like something happened over there." The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion expert bowed his head and whispered, "Half a day ago, Retained Elder Xiao sent word saying that he found the Sword Madman severely wounded and near death. As for the other accompanying elders of the Yaoyue Sect... all are missing." "Wasn't the Sword Madman by Xia Qing's side?" "Yes. Elder Xia Qing is also missing." "..." Tianye's smiling pupils constricted slightly. She remembered that Xia Qing had also broken through to the Transcendent Realm several years ago. That meant that out of one Transcendent, one Semi-Saint, and several Origin Realm cultivators over there, almost none had survived? "Tsk... It seems there is more than one Saint Tier yin ghost out searching for Jinghe. "Where is Tang Ruofu? Take me to see him right now."