Chapter 493: Calculated
Chapter 493: Calculated
"I have sent out orders. Within a month, no disciples or elders from our sect are to have any dealings with the Lu family. We will decide on the next course of action depending on how the situation unfolds."
Zhao Zhangmen's expression was solemn as he spoke, and then he glanced at Elder Su, "You should also refrain from interacting too much with Lu Chengyun. He's too cunning for your own good."
With that, Zhao Zhangmen concluded the meeting and saw Elder Su out.
Elder Su left the tea room with a sigh.
He had previously held Lu Chengyun in high regard. As fellow array masters, they got along well, often drinking tea, discussing the Dao, and even indulging in worldly pleasures together.
Who would have thought that beneath Lu Chengyun's gentle and cultured exterior lay such a deep and devious mind?
It was true that one could never truly know what was in another person's heart.
Elder Su sighed inwardly, and then his thoughts turned to Mo Hua, a hint of regret creeping into his heart.
If he had known things would turn out this way, he wouldn't have shared Mo Hua's information with Lu Chengyun, only to invite his scheming.
The more Elder Su thought about it, the more regretful he felt. He looked up at the mine, his expression filled with worry, and murmured,
"I wonder if Little Mo will be alright..."
"I wonder if we'll ever be able to drink tea together again..."
Elder Su sighed.
...
"Do you think Little Junior Brother will be alright?" Bai Zisheng asked, a frown on his face as he sat under a large tree in the courtyard.
"He's been gone for so long. I've been so worried that I've lost my appetite," Bai Zixi said with a helpless glance at her companion.
"I'm worried about his safety! Cooking is just a secondary concern!" Bai Zisheng replied defensively.
Bai Zixi gave him a nonchalant look and didn't bother to respond.
After a moment's thought, Bai Zisheng asked, "What if we rush in and rescue Little Junior Brother?"
"We don't have enough people," Bai Zixi shook her head.
"How many do we have now?" Bai Zisheng asked curiously.
Bai Zixi thought for a moment, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly as she replied, "Not counting the Shi family, Daoting, there are only five Core Formation cultivators and sixty Qi Refining cultivators."
"That's all?" Bai Zisheng sounded disappointed. "Are they all from the Bai family?"
"No, they were hired by Xue Yi with spirit stones," Bai Zixi explained.
"What about our people from the Bai family?"
Bai Zixi gave him a sidelong glance, "Where are we supposed to get people from the Bai family? Lis State is so far away, and we didn't have much time to prepare."
Bai Zisheng furrowed his brow, "With so few people, we don't stand a chance against the Lu family. How are we going to rescue Mo Hua?"
A cold light flashed in Bai Zixi's eyes as she said, "We don't need to rescue him directly. Once we start making our move, Little Junior Brother will surely find a chance to escape on his own."
Bai Zisheng considered this for a moment and then nodded in agreement, "That makes sense."
His little junior brother was cunning and full of tricks, despite his lower cultivation level. He had many unusual skills up his sleeve.
He was adept at concealment techniques and the Flowing Water Steps, had strong spiritual sense, and was well-versed in array formations.
Most cultivators wouldn't be able to detect him, and ordinary arrays wouldn't be able to stop him.
Given the opportunity, he would surely find a way to slip away...
Bai Zisheng breathed a slight sigh of relief and muttered, "He'll probably be fine."
Bai Zixi nodded slightly, a slight frown still creasing her brow.
The image of Mo Hua's smiling face floated into her mind.
She felt a sudden restlessness in her heart, and her slender, pale hand unconsciously fiddled with the little tiger in her grasp.
...
Inside the bamboo room, Gu La's voice was flat as he said, "We don't have enough people."
Zhuang Xian Sheng nodded, "Not enough."
Gu La asked curiously, "Aren't you worried?"
"Worried about what?"
Gu La's voice was dry as he asked, "With insufficient manpower, how do you plan to deal with the Lu family and the tide of corpses? You don't actually expect Mo Hua to handle all of this alone, do you?"
"That's impossible," Zhuang Xian Sheng replied.
He lifted his head to gaze into the distance and said slowly, "All endeavors, no matter how grand, are not the work of a single person. Many problems cannot be solved by one person alone..."
"Behind every hero stands a multitude of unsung heroes."
Zhuang Xian Sheng's expression was filled with emotion.
Gu La frowned, "Can you say something useful?"
Zhuang Xian Sheng clicked his tongue, a bit exasperated, "Can't you let me finish my thoughts?"
"You've said these things too many times. My ears are calloused from hearing them," Gu La replied.
Zhuang Xian Sheng was disappointed, and he "criticized" again,
"Why don't you learn from Mo Hua? When I said these things to him, he listened very seriously!"
Gu La remained silent for a moment before saying, "He's your disciple. He has to give you face. I don't need to."
"Alright then." Zhuang Xian Sheng sighed in resignation.
Gu La's expression was neutral as he asked, "So, what do you plan to do?"
This time, Zhuang Xian Sheng was straightforward, "If we don't have enough people, I'll call for some help."
Gu La's eyes widened in surprise, "You're going to call for help?"
Zhuang Xian Sheng nodded.
Gu La's expression became complex as he said quietly, "You're alone. Who would come to your aid?"
"How am I alone?" Zhuang Xian Sheng was slightly annoyed. "I have disciples now, three of them!"
Gu La ignored his comment and continued to frown, "Who are you going to ask for help?"
A mysterious smile played on Zhuang Xian Sheng's lips.
He took out an ancient-looking copper coin and flipped it into the air. The coin tumbled, stirring the qi in the air, before slowly descending back into his pale, slender palm.
Old Gui started, and then his eyes gradually widened in realization...
...
At the same time, to the west of Xiaohuang State.
In a remote immortal city, three cultivators were resting at an inn.
A wizened old man, a middle-aged cultivator, and a young man in white.
Before them was a simple spread of wine and dishes.
However, none of the three had much of an appetite.
The young man in white silently ate the unappetizing food, the middle-aged cultivator drank to fill his hunger, and the wizened old man closed his eyes to rest.
After a few rounds of drinks, the wizened old man suddenly opened his eyes.
His heart trembled, and he quickly took out the "Trigram Divination" copper coin, shaking it to divine the future. After casting his lot, his eyes widened in shock.
The young man in white was puzzled by his reaction.
The middle-aged cultivator asked, "What is it?"
The wizened old man was lost in thought, murmuring, "I actually... figured out that person's location..."
The middle-aged cultivator was excited, crushing his wine cup as he stared intently and asked, "Really?"
The wizened old man still found it hard to believe, nodding slowly, "Yes! The Trigram Divination coin... the divination signs are clear, there's no mistake."
"But..." The wizened old man was still perplexed, whispering, "How did I figure it out? How could I have figured it out? How did I do it... I... I don't have that ability..."
The middle-aged cultivator said matter-of-factly, "A wise man's thousand plans can still have one flaw. We've been thieves for a thousand days, and that person has been guarding against thieves for a thousand days. No matter how meticulous they are, there will always be moments of negligence, revealing a clue. It's normal for you to have divined it once."
A gleam flashed in the middle-aged cultivator's eyes as he said, "We must seize this opportunity!"
He threw two spirit stones onto the table and immediately stood up, "We must make haste. Let's go now."
The wizened old man nodded, but he still had some self-doubt.
The young man in white, however, was invigorated, his eyes shining with anticipation as he thought of the person they might soon meet.
The three set off immediately, following the guidance of the divination signs toward the east of Xiaohuang State.
After only a few days, the trio arrived at Nanyue City.
The middle-aged cultivator asked, "Is it here?"
The wizened old man nodded, "That's what the divination signs indicate."
The middle-aged cultivator fell silent for a moment before asking, "How so?"
The wizened old man thought for a moment and replied, "Let's go into the city first and see the situation."
"Won't we alert them by doing that?" The middle-aged cultivator expressed his concern.
The wizened old man scoffed, "What are you thinking? By the time you thought of coming here, that person might have already known. Our arrival is just a gamble, to see if there are any clues or if that person wants to meet us..."
The middle-aged cultivator's expression was one of astonishment as he muttered,
"Is it that profound?"
The wizened old man shook his head, wearing an expression that suggested that the middle-aged cultivator was like a summer insect incapable of understanding ice, and then he turned to the young man in white and admonished,
"Young Master, remember what I told you. You can look around, but speak and act as little as possible. The karma here is too great, and we can't afford to provoke it."
The young man in white's expression turned solemn, and he nodded slightly.
The three entered Nanyue City and stayed at an inn, discreetly gathering information.
After their inquiries, the three gathered again, their faces filled with confusion.
"Why are there so many familiar faces?"
"The Xie family from Kunzhou, the Tu family from Lizhou, the Yuan family from Qianzhou..."
"...the Hidden Dao Sect, the Gui Jian Sect, the Wan Zhen Mountain..."
"Have they all divined it as well?" The middle-aged cultivator frowned.
The wizened old man thought for a moment, then realized, "So it's not that I divined it, but that everyone else did as well, or perhaps... that person wanted us all to divine it."
The wizened old man suddenly felt much more relieved.
When it came to divining the secrets of heaven, one need not fear being inept, but rather unexpected twists.
Being inept simply meant that one might not be able to divine anything, which wasn't a big deal.
What was truly worrying was the occurrence of the unexpected.
When something that was originally divinable suddenly became obscured, or when something that was originally obscure was suddenly revealed.
That was when trouble would likely arise...
Either someone was interfering with the secrets of heaven, or there was some astonishing change afoot.
The wizened old man was well aware of his own capabilities, and now that he saw that everyone else had also divined the same thing, he understood that his own skills hadn't changed, and he could rest easy in his mediocrity.
The anxiety in the wizened old man's heart finally dissipated.
Soon, however, he was filled with doubt again:
"That person is elusive, appearing and disappearing as they please, yet they suddenly reveal this trace, drawing everyone here. What are they planning?"
Not only was the wizened old man perplexed, but all the cultivators gathered in Nanyue City shared the same confusion.
However, despite their investigations, they found nothing.
The wizened old man, determined to get to the bottom of it, unleashed his spiritual sense, sweeping it across Nanyue City.
There was nothing out of the ordinary in Nanyue City.
He then turned his gaze to the mine outside the city.
Still, he found nothing.
"Impossible..."
The wizened old man was persistent, and he took out the Trigram Divination copper coin, casting another lot. This time, he indeed sensed something amiss.
The old man pondered for a moment, and then he unleashed a secret art, his eyes glowing with a blue light as he peeled away the superficial phenomena and looked once more at the mine outside the city.
This time, his face turned pale, and he was terrified as he exclaimed,
"A surge of corpse energy reaching the heavens!"
"How many corpses are there to create such an aura?!"
(End of Chapter)
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