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Chapter 235 – One Fact Changes Everything
🕑 Added 2025-04-06 01:36:30 +0000 UTCYe Zhengsheng slowly opened his eyes. The fact that he awakened meant one of two things. Either the formation had somehow failed, which portended dire times indeed if his sect had failed in their efforts to maintain the array of a revered elder, or the sect needed him. One of three things, really, but that last was so improbable as to not even be a consideration.
A Qi Gathering junior in a gray robe marking her as a member of the inner sect stood respectfully off to the side of his cultivation cave, her eyes downcast.
The sect needed him, then.
He let out a long breath. It wasn’t like he hadn’t expected to be awakened at some point. The sect had asked him to enter seclusion for so-called cultivation, but everyone, including him, had understood the reality. After a lifespan that had spanned more than as millennium and a half, he had been reaching the end. The formation would slow his aging, allowing his twenty or so remaining years to be stretched to as long as a century.
Just so the sect could call on him one more time.
The process, involving alchemy and Body Cultivation in addition to arrays, could only be initiated once. Now that he’d been awakened, he was on a clock. In less than twenty years, Ye Zhengsheng, who had once striven for true immortality, would be no more.
“Speak, child,” he said to the junior. “Is the matter urgent? Is the Jade Chameleon Sect under attack?”
The poor girl trembled at his words, which were probably laced with too much of his aura for her to take.
Her eyes did not raise to meet his face, as was appropriate given his status. “The main branch is not currently being attacked, Revered Elder, but the branch sect has been destroyed.”
“I see. You are to bring me to the sect leader.”
It had not been a question, and he was sure she did not take it as one.
“Yes, Revered Elder.”
He gave himself a moment to prepare for the upcoming meeting, breathing in and out and cultivating several motes of qi throughout his meridians. Having performed that process so many times, surely hundreds of thousands at least, made it calming for him.
Which he needed. After all, Ye Zhengsheng would shortly be sent to his death.
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Teng Wuying tried to hide his excitement. After a month a spying, scheming, and, mostly, waiting, his plan was very close to coming to fruition. The Jade Chameleon Sect’s two most ancient Nascent Souls had been awakened from their secluded cultivation and were en route to join him and Duan Dandan in the sect leader’s study.
He simply could not wait to get his hands on that Trials Pagoda, which was currently residing with that nothing Rising Tide Sect. If what his spies had recently found was true, the person who controlled that pagoda would not only eventually gain control of the region and the continent but of the entire planet.
Imagine if every cultivator who bottlenecked could simply pass a trial to breakthrough. The loyalty providing such a boon would engender would surely be nothing short of amazing. The man who held that loyalty would control simply everything.
Thousands of Golden Cores. Hundred of Nascent Souls. All answering to Teng Wuying and Teng Wuying only.
Gaining his brother’s share of his family’s inheritance was trivial in comparison. A bit of a tael that only beggar would deem worthy of bending over to pick up. A tiny drop in the ocean compared to the value of the controlling the Trials Pagoda.
He would have it.
The elder’s votes were already lined up. Other than the usual holdouts—Duan Dandan’s loyal supporters—all the others had been either bought or persuaded. The only step left was to actually secure the pagoda.
Which led him to the two cultivators he felt approaching—Ye Zhengsheng and Yan Mingxia.
Both had served the sect for more centuries than he’d been alive, and both were near the end of their usefulness. He just had to convince them to take on one more mission for the good of him… Uh, for the good of the sect.
Not that the persuasion would all that difficult. Since their formations had been deactivated, they were each on borrowed time. Better to go out having spent their very lives for a just and honorable cause than to waste away to nothingness for no reason. Their pride would allow nothing else.
Teng Wuying hadn’t actually met either of the Nascent Souls. Of the four living sect members in that realm, one was always off pursuing glory and riches, only stopping by the main sect grounds once a generation. Fortunately, he always carried a device that allowed the sect to reach him in an emergency.
The other functioning one stayed somewhat more involved in the sect’s operations, making an appearance when asked to let everyone see her strength. She spent so much time in cultivation, though, that such appearances were sparse, and Teng Wuying had only once seen her from afar as that had been before he’d advanced to Golden Core and risen in prominence.
Which meant he had never actually been very near a Nascent Soul cultivator. He’d heard tales, of course, about the power of their aura, about how intimidating it felt to simply stand in one’s presence. But he’d never experienced it for himself.
When Ye Zhengsheng and Yan Mingxia stepped into Duan Dandan’s study, Teng Wuying felt like the weight of the world had descended upon his shoulders. He felt as if he’d been judged and found wanting. As if he were a small field mouse and a mighty eagle high above had taken interest in him. As if his brain had been flayed open with a scalpel and all his secrets laid bare.
Intellectually, he knew that none of those things had occurred. Those two Nascent Soul cultivators were his allies. An attack on him or the sect leader would be a huge loss of face, and all those two had to live for by that point was their face. And just because they were the two most powerful people he had ever met did not mean they could read his mind. Such abilities only existed in legend. Not even cultivators in their admittedly superior realm could do it.
He forcefully exerted his will to not react to the great pressure he felt.
As soon as they were settled, he cupped his hands and bowed to each of them. Neither acknowledged his existence. They also did not bow to the sect leader or her to them.
It was a tricky situation. They were a full major realm higher than her, meaning she should defer to them. But she was the sect leader, which conveyed an obligation on their part to defer to her as members of the sect. In practice, authority went to whoever claimed it, assuming the other side went along instead of contesting it.
Teng Wuying judged that none of the three wanted to make trouble for the others, so they all mutually agreed not to observe rules of propriety. Which left him as the only one who had to bow and scrape and treat the others as superior.
That was okay with him, though. As long as they did what he wanted, he didn’t care if they wanted him to kiss their shoes. One day, probably soon, everyone would be treating him with respect.
“My junior, Teng Wuying, will explain the situation, our plan, and your role in it,” Duan Dandan said. “This one appreciates your sacrifice for the sect.”
Both nodded acceptance of her words.
After what Teng Wuying felt was an appropriate amount of time, he cleared his throat. “Revered Elders, the leader of a small, nothing sect has killed half our Golden Core cultivators and destroyed our branch sect. His cultivation realm is unknown. No Golden Core has been able to sense him, and none have observed or felt him use an aura despite watching him annihilate our cultivators one against fifteen. No Nascent Soul has gotten close to him.”
The man, Ye Zhengsheng, frowned. “You’ve presented us with an interesting conundrum. Logically, this man must be a Nascent Soul. However, cultivators can hide from senses. That he didn’t use an aura during such a battle is either a feint, a ploy, or an evasion.”
Teng Wuying was slightly taken aback. He really knew nothing about the man, but he apparently still possessed a quick mind despite his advanced age. “This lowly one believes the same, Revered Elder.”
“Sending two of us may be the equivalent of using an exploding talisman to kill a mosquito, or you might be sending both of us to pointless deaths. The first represents a loss of face and the second an unmitigated disaster for our sect.”
Teng Wuying cupped his hands. “The Jade Chameleon Sect has already suffered an egregious loss of face, Revered Elder. We cannot afford to lose any more Golden Cores to this so-called sect leader, but if we leave his transgression unanswered, the sect will begin a slow and inexorable decline. Contracts will dry up. Our sect members will be challenged every time they encounter another faction. Every resource we find will be contested more strongly. The other factions will bleed us a small cut at a time.”
“You’ve already lost half your Golden Cores and soon to be half your Nascent Souls. The decline will happen regardless of how we respond to this sect leader.”
True. Teng Wuying had realized that exact thing. That was why he’d come up with his plan.
“If you crush him and our sect takes his resources, we believe the contents of his ring plus another prominent treasure will more than compensate for our losses, Revered Elder.”
The man scowled. “But you don’t think that is what will happen, do you?”
“No, Revered Elder. Chao Su is not so simple. This lowly one believes that he will easily dispatch both you and the Revered Elder, Yan Mingxia.”
“Which benefits the Jade Chameleon Sect how exactly?” Ye Zhengsheng said.
“The other factions are all busy planning to steal from us piece by piece over the centuries, Revered Elder. As for the Rising Tide Sect, they’re mostly taking a wait and see approach. They don’t fear a single Nascent Soul who has a few resources, especially if they can exploit him to gain a few of those treasures. What if we instead show them how much of a threat Chao Su really is? A man who can singlehandedly defeat two Nascent Souls at the peak of their power with centuries of experience in battle each is a man who is a danger to both the Swift Blizzard Sect and the Emperor.”
“You stake much on them drawing that conclusion.”
“No, Revered Elder,” Teng Wuying said. “I stake much on my ability to make them draw that conclusion.”
The man laughed, and Teng Wuying wasn’t sure if that was a good sign of not.
“So be it,” Ye Zhengsheng said. “Yan Mingxia and I are dead either way. We will kill this Chao Su and destroy his sect, or we’ll die trying.”
The other revered elder nodded.
Spirit Goblin Excrement! Things had taken a turn for the absolute worst.
“No, Revered Elders,” Teng Wuying said. “You must spare the Rising Tide Sect grounds.”
“This man destroyed our branch sect. Face demands his sect be treated in the same manner. Any other course hurts the Jade Chameleon Sect’s reputation even further.”
Teng Wuying had hoped he wouldn’t have to reveal a fact that he didn’t want to get out, but he saw no recourse. “There is a Trials Pagoda at the Rising Tide Sect, Revered Elder.”
The man frowned. “You would put your personal avarice ahead of the honor of the sect?”
Teng Wuying had to tread carefully, or he’d soon be visiting his not so dearly departed brother. “Of course not, Revered Elder, but this Trials Pagoda is not like the other ones I’ve heard of, offering trinkets and advancing techniques.” Which was what he’d first believed and had filled his mind with visions of him swimming in rivers of spirit coins. “A well-known Foundation Establishment cultivator quite firmly stuck at the peak of that realm for more than a decade recently became a member of the Rising Tide Sect. He visited the city not long ago … as a Golden Core cultivator.”
For the first time in the conversation, Ye Zhengsheng looked disconcerted. “You believe this Trials Pagoda can overcome bottlenecks?”
“I do, Revered Elder.”
Ye Zhengsheng smiled. “Then that changes simply everything.”
Comments
BelligerentGnu
Or both! Both is good!
Dean Anderson
I’m gonna be really disappointed if Benton isn’t able to get at least one them to defect to his side
RedFaux
"Screw your scheming Teng! If we help Chao Su he'll help us advance! Diplomacy ho!" -Them, hopefully
