Chapter 753: First Visit to Zijin Cave |
Guan Fang Yi didn't know how to answer those questions, but reminded him, "It's not just you. I paid attention to the list; Ghost Mother and Yun Ji are also on it."
Niu You Dao was surprised. "Are those two also considered rogue cultivators?"
Guan Fang Yi asked, "Are you a rogue cultivator?"
Niu You Dao was speechless. His situation was similar to Ghost Mother's and Yun Ji's. He also had a large group of people gathered on a mountain, and while it wasn't a sect, it wasn't affiliated with any school either. It still fell within the realm of rogue cultivation.
Seeing him scrutinize and confirm, Guan Fang Yi stepped closer to help him turn the pages, pointing out the locations of the two names.
The names of Ghost Mother and Yun Ji calmed the anger that had just filled his heart, and he said, "Contact them for me to find out where Gong Ling Ze is. I want to see him. I want to know what the list recommends."
Guan Fang Yi: "Can you show yourself now?"
Niu You Dao said, "All the pavilions have ordered a freeze on wars, and with my name on the list, it's like a protective amulet. I'm afraid now is the safest time for me."
Guan Fang Yi also pondered this: "Weng Mo Er is in our hands; she is Gong Ling Ze's adopted daughter, after all. It should be safe to see Gong Ling Ze." He turned and made the contact.
"Si-men Qingtian..." Niu You Dao hummed, seeing a name that slightly surprised him.
Si-men Qingtian, the top master on the Dan List, a retainer of Wei Kingdom's Xuan Wei, and even Ximen Qingkong was also on the list. It stands to reason that Wei Kingdom should do everything possible to prevent Si-men Qingtian from being on the list, right? Didn't the power of a country stop it?
Seeing Si-men Qingtian on the list, Niu You Dao's suspicions regarding Gong Ling Ze somewhat faded...
Gong Ling Ze was contacted. He hadn't returned to the battlefield, nor had he rejoined Meng Shan Ming's side. With the battle frozen, Gong Ling Ze had left Zijin Pavilion and returned to Zijin Cave.
"The head wants you to go to Zijin Cave; he said there are important matters to explain to you." Weng Mo Er, having been contacted for assistance, delivered the notification to Niu You Dao.
Niu You Dao pondered in silence. Guan Fang Yi arrived, and after Weng Mo Er was sent away, she handed over a letter: "The Prince must know about this and requests a meeting with you."
After reading the letter, Niu You Dao admitted, "Once the war freezes, let them decide what to do on their own and how to best benefit Nan Zhou. I believe they have their own sense of balance. Let's arrange it and meet. Go back and tell them that before I enter the Secret Realm of Tian Du, I will pay them a visit."
Guan Fang Yi nodded, knowing what to reply.
At this moment, Yuan Gang arrived again and handed Niu You Dao a secret letter.
Niu You Dao looked at it in his hand; it was a letter from Yu Cang. He was once again requesting a meeting and made it clear it was about the Secret Realm of Tian Du.
Niu You Dao's lips curved into a hint of self-deprecation. "It seems this one still cares about me."
He knew that Yu Cang had quickly contacted the list before, hoping to gain more protection from Xiaoyao Palace. Seeing this letter, even if Yu Cang wouldn't enter the Secret Realm of Tian Du himself, a certain degree of confidence arose in Niu You Dao's heart.
As for why Yu Cang cared about him, he naturally knew it well, and it was not yet time to reap the benefits.
"You arrange the time and place for meeting him. Calculate the timing. When I return from Zijin Cave, I'll go straight to him." Niu You Dao explained casually.
He intended to see Gong Ling Ze first; he needed to find out what truly transpired within the council chamber. Outside rumors were not necessarily reliable; only by discerning the source of the situation and understanding the depths of his troubles could he properly deal with all kinds of people and matters. Otherwise, with asymmetric information, it would be easy to be misled.
"Alright!" Yuan Gang nodded. He knew that Dao was about to enter the Secret Realm of Tian Du and felt very grim.
Niu You Dao turned and instructed Guan Fang Yi, "Contact Chao Jing; I want to verify what's happening inside the council chamber."
"Didn't you find Gong Ling Ze to verify?" Guan Fang Yi's question was almost out before she instantly understood him. Things were not trivial, and one couldn't listen to just one side. Lord Dao needed to compare information from various sources to confirm the truth.
Guan Fang Yi could see that, unlike the anger he displayed when he first received the list, Lord Dao had calmed down, swiftly changed his approach, and reacted in an organized manner.
After things here were arranged, a large bird was summoned, and they had to rush to Zijin Cave.
Weng Mo Er wanted to go with him, but Guan Fang Yi stopped her. "You don't need to go; just stay here." Saying that, she glanced at Chen Bo and the others.
Chen Bo and the others nodded. Guan Fang Yi had already confessed this. To guard against trouble in case of an impending palace defense, Weng Mo Er should be held here as a hostage.
As for Weng Mo Er's thoughts, they weren't important. At this moment, Niu You Dao's safety was everyone's top priority. No one here cared whether Weng Mo Er was happy or unhappy, and her beauty was useless. If someone truly wanted to kill her, no one here would even bat an eye.
Today, Niu You Dao represented everyone's interests. Niu You Dao was the man at the helm. Once Niu You Dao met with an accident, no one could control the direction of this ship. Without such control, he could no longer manage Nan Zhou. In this situation, the risk from external waves was high, and if they couldn't see the direction, the boat could easily hit a reef and sink.
Still accompanied by Guan Fang Yi and Wu Erzi, the three of them leaped onto large birds, instantly soaring into the sky...
Zijin Cave—the name of this sect had nothing to do with its topography or cultivation methods. It was said to be related to the residence of the Zijin Cave ancestor.
By this point, the martial arts had developed, and after several migrations, they had long since left the place where the patriarch first established the school.
Unlike the Supreme Purity Sect, which was once the premier major faction in the Yan Kingdom. It had already occupied a feng shui treasure trove and refused to give it up.
The development process of Zijin Cave was getting better and better, and its migration locations naturally improved as well. There was no shame in abandoning old grounds.
The current location of Zijin Cave was the most beautiful place in the entire country.
The scenery was beautiful, the architectural style of the buildings nestled on the mountains was beyond description, but Niu You Dao was not in the mood to appreciate it.
He had come by controlling the birds, and instead of passing through the mountain gate according to the rules, he headed straight for the main hall of Zijin Cave. After the disciples patrolling the sky on birds intercepted and questioned them, they learned it was Niu You Dao.
When the bird landed, Wu Erzi went to guard it and was responsible for communicating with the outside world.
Niu You Dao and Guan Fang Yi headed straight for the main hall of Zijin Cave's sect gate, with disciples leading the way.
They didn't immediately enter the hall but waited outside for a while.
Later, Gong Ling Ze led a group of high-ranking figures from Zijin Cave to meet Niu You Dao outside the hall.
Many people had never seen Niu You Dao. Gong Ling Ze had seen him; during the Beast Gate incident, Niu You Dao had brought Guan Fang Yi to visit.
"It's not easy to see you, and you've finally shown yourself." Gong Ling Ze smiled faintly, a hint of mockery in his tone.
After Niu You Dao cupped a hand in salute to greet everyone, he returned the smile and said, "The Palace Master didn't summon me, so I dared not disturb him."
Gong Ling Ze raised an eyebrow slightly; Niu You Dao was right. They had indeed been looking for him, but hadn't directly summoned him.
The crux of the matter was that no one could even find him. Niu You Dao had made it clear he was in hiding. Why should Gong Ling Ze pursue a self-serving and uninteresting objective? If Niu You Dao didn't come, wouldn't it be like slapping himself in the face?
"Listening to what you've said, it seems you're no longer the same person. Your words are very sharp." Gong Ling Ze snorted. It wasn't a place for conversation outside; there might be unfavorable eyes and ears. He extended a hand, gesturing for them to speak inside.
Niu You Dao accompanied him, saying, "I will soon be one of your members, and I am certain you did not know me in the past."
The group of elders exchanged glances with one another, having been informed of Gong Ling Ze's intentions.
Some people were somewhat displeased with Gong Ling Ze's method of sacrificing Weng Mo Er to fight for Nan Zhou, and among them were many old bachelors who yearned for Weng Mo Er's presence.
However, no one dared to openly oppose or accuse Gong Ling Ze regarding the matter of a woman. The interest in attracting Nan Zhou was too great. It affected the interests of many within the sect. Any dissatisfaction had to be suppressed, otherwise, it would be against the interests of the entire sect. Not to mention Gong Ling Ze, others would not agree.
Not only did no one object, but they also agreed with Gong Ling Ze's approach.
The situation was different from Long Xiu's use of Yi Shu at the beginning. Yi Shu was Long Xiu's personal disciple. Gong Ling Ze had accepted an adopted daughter, but the situation now was different from then, times had changed. There was a difference between these two methods.
Although everything was shameless in the end, the consequences played out differently, leading to varied reactions. One would be considered merely cunning, while the other would become infamous, which was why Long Xiu concealed his involvement.
Gong Ling Ze walked to the throne and stood. "Whether you can truly be one of us depends on whether you can return alive from the Secret Realm of Tian Du." Several people secretly observed Niu You Dao. For such a young man to become an elder, many still felt uncomfortable.
Niu You Dao stood with his sword, looking at everyone with a smile. "With the might of Zijin Cave, I am confident I can ensure my safety."
Gong Ling Ze shook his head. "There's no need for that. Do you know how many people wanted to kill you when you were in the assembly hall? Your name, there are twelve heads who will send you into the Secret Realm of Tian Du. What does that mean? Don't you understand? It means at least twelve powers wish you dead. My Zijin Cave cannot contend against so many forces, as well as Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain. Now, do you understand how much trouble you're in?"
Niu You Dao wasn't surprised, but he hadn't expected so many elites in the pavilion to be watching him. He immediately asked, "Who nominated me?"
Gong Ling Ze: "I don't know. The nominations are done by secret ballot. The list proposed by everyone is collected by the Ai Pavilion for unified registration, and no one knows who nominated whom."
Niu You Dao said in a low voice, "The Palace Master had the right to speak, so why didn't he stop it then?"
"I tried to stop it, but I couldn't..." Gong Ling Ze recounted the details of the nomination at that time, and it was necessary to tell them so there wouldn't be any misunderstanding.
These were the authentic details of what happened in the council chamber. Generally speaking, participants would not spread specific matters discussed in the chamber, including high-ranking factions, who would only be informed after the event. What happened was why Niu You Dao had come.
Because of Gong Sun Bu being placed near him, he wanted to confirm whether the matter was directly related to this.