Chapter 133: When Tigers and Wolves Fight, Foxes and Badgers Are Bound to Suffer

Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji...

The Yuluo Immortal Mansion?

Even though Ai Jian was utterly depressed and his heart was as dead as ash, he was forced to pull himself together at this moment, tightening his expression and knitting his brows.

He knew that Chen Ying was the offspring of the notorious True Monarch Yushu, whose terrifying reputation echoed across the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, and the same was true for Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji.

However, the two factions were by no means standing on the same side.

If Chen Ying had already defected to Chen Yushu's camp, bowing submissively and willingly driving himself at Chen Yushu's beck and call,

Then Chen Runzi, Chen Yuanji, and their associates harbored a deep, bone-deep hatred for Chen Yushu due to the enmity of blocked paths and slain kin. Relying on their possession of the Yuluo Immortal Mansion and the patronage of the Daoist of Emptiness, they repeatedly came to ruin Chen Yushu's grand plans.

The two sides had long since reached an irreconcilable stance.

Especially eight hundred years ago, after Chen Yushu and Chen Xiangxian exchanged a single blow—

The former had his Dragon-Horned Great Slaying Sword snapped, losing his personal weapon;

While the latter had his physical body instantly destroyed on the spot, hastily rescued by Chen Runzi, the Candle Dragon Great Sage, and others. He had never appeared in the world since, and it remained unknown whether he was even still alive.

This made their relationship all the more akin to mortal enemies, an endless feud where only one could survive.

Such discussions had always been considered bizarre tales among various sects and clans. Ai Jian had previously merely listened to them in passing without paying much attention.

Yet he had never imagined that he would actually be dragged into the middle of it.

For a moment, even the grief over Wang Shu's death was forcibly suppressed, leaving only a deep sense of horror and lingering anxiety in his heart.

Chen Ying had always been a figure belonging to Chen Yushu's faction. While Chen Yushu was trapped within the grotto-heaven, drawing a boundary on the ground as a prison, Chen Ying had handled many affairs on his behalf. Consequently, he had fallen out with Chen Runzi and the others on numerous occasions, even engaging in brutal, life-or-death battles with them.

And now, hearing that Chen Ying actually intended to hand Chen Heng over to Chen Runzi in exchange for a favor from the Yuluo Immortal Mansion...

Ai Jian felt as though he were listening to a heaven-shaking secret.

A bone-chilling coldness rose from his spine and seeped into his consciousness, making him feel as though his entire body had plunged into an icy abyss.

"You, you..."

He abruptly stood up, pointing a finger at Chen Ying. His expression flickered back and forth several times, rendering him utterly speechless.

"Chen Heng is actually also the offspring of True Monarch Yushu... This is truly..."

Ai Jian finally lowered his hand despondently, flicking his sleeve, and said with an unfathomable tone: "After all this time, a great figure was actually residing right beside me? Yet I remained completely oblivious. How utterly ridiculous."

Recalling once more how his old friend from the Flower Deity Mansion, Xie Qin, had overestimated his own abilities and even thought of taking Chen Heng in as a disciple,

Ai Jian felt a myriad of tumultuous emotions crashing within his heart.

He realized that in front of genuine Immortals of the Great Dao,

Both he and Xie Qin were as insignificant as mosquitoes and flies—trivial to the extreme and utterly not worth mentioning.

Chen Ying said indifferently: "Chen Heng's aptitude has not manifested; it is entirely normal that you failed to discern his true origins. Even horses are categorized into superior, medium, and inferior mounts, let alone human beings."

"Could it be that Chen Xiangxian, who exchanged blows with True Monarch Yushu, has already fully recovered from his injuries?"

Ai Jian suddenly spoke up.

Chen Ying frowned and shook his head:

"Whether Chen Xiangxian is dead or alive at present remains an age-old unsolved mystery. I do not know either."

Ai Jian gazed at Chen Ying and said: "You have always stood on the side of True Monarch Yushu, handling many matters for him. Yet now, you intend to capture Chen Heng and present him to Chen Runzi and Chen Yuanji to curry favor with the Yuluo Immortal Mansion? Aside from Chen Xiangxian breaking out of seclusion, I truly cannot fathom why you, Chen Ying, would act in this manner."

"Always stood on my father's side? Just that sentence alone is sheer absurdity, and furthermore, your guess is entirely wrong."

Chen Ying said: "The things I previously did for my father were merely done in passing, simply to facilitate the extraction of certain benefits. My discord with Chen Runzi and the others was likewise just a superficial performance.

Neither my father nor the Yuluo Immortal Mansion is anything resembling a benevolent entity. When tigers and wolves slaughter each other, the foxes and badgers are bound to be injured!

If I were not to change my mindset and stubbornly pledge allegiance to only one side, and that side were to fall, what kind of good ending could I possibly hope to meet afterward?

Only by swaying from side to side and playing all factions to my advantage can I carve out a sliver of survival amidst these step-by-step perils and achieve my solitary, supreme Dao as Chen Ying!"

Ai Jian was left dazed by these words, his pupils contracting sharply.

And after he finished speaking,

Following a long silence, Chen Ying finally spoke again in a lingering, melancholic tone, clapping his hands softly:

"However, such a mindset of trying to please both sides can no longer be maintained. As for now, I must remain consistent all the way, stand firmly on my father's side, and make a clean break with the Yuluo Immortal Mansion."

"How is this to be interpreted?" Ai Jian asked.

"Before leaving Nanchan State, my father summoned me into the 'Water-Concealed Rongcheng Life-Sustaining Grotto-Heaven' and let me witness certain secrets. With that kind of divine power and capability, once one endures the final tier of the Pure Yang Heavenly Tribulation and passes this destined cosmic disaster, what is the Yuluo Immortal Mansion? So what if Chen Xiangxian's injuries are fully healed?!

Among the entire Eight Sects and Six Guilds, how many people can block my father's Dao path? Even founding a sect of our own and reigning supreme as a master would by no means be a difficult task!

Having witnessed it with my own eyes, why should I still entangle myself ambiguously with the Yuluo Immortal Mansion? I should have abandoned the darkness for the light long ago!"

Chen Ying smiled: "Originally, I even wanted to send Chen Heng over to Chen Runzi's side as a final sweetening addition to the favor I was selling to the Yuluo Immortal Mansion, parting ways on good terms. It is simply a pity that Chen Heng actually went to the Earth Abyss. In that case, it is truly the Dao of Heaven operating by its own fixed numbers, and I, Chen Ying, cannot be blamed!"

When he finished speaking, silence descended upon the clearing, and Ai Jian's expression shifted uncertainly between light and shadow.

***

After a long while.

A bitter smile finally bloomed at the corners of his lips, and with a sigh, he said:

"You've actually spoken of all these matters so openly? It seems that if I do not accompany you to the Innate Demonic Sect, it will likely be difficult for me to settle this day..."

Chen Ying smiled playfully:

"Brother Ai, you are an intelligent man with high aspirations. Ever since you broke out of your sect back then, you preferred death over returning to the Ai clan. Even when the clan offered words to save your life, you regarded it as a lifelong humiliation and even went to Shangyu to cause a massive uproar. But now, Wang Shu has suffered a tragic death, and you can no longer return to the Yuchen Sect either...

On the path of cultivation: Dharma, companion, land, and wealth—not a single one can be spared.

Could it be that you are truly willing to waste away your years in such a barren wasteland as the Southern Territory, ultimately ending your life in mediocrity and obscurity?

Come with me to the Innate Demonic Sect! There, you will find supreme Dao scriptures, top-tier blessed grotto-heavens, and pills and spiritual qi are in no shortage whatsoever! Furthermore, the Innate Demonic Sect is the crown of the six demonic sects, and it is by no means inferior to the Yuchen Sect.

I can take an oath: as long as you sign the karmic contract, I will request the supplementary volume of the *Langhuan Secret Tome* from my father and permit you to cultivate it together."

"...What? Truly the *Langhuan Secret Tome*?!"

Even though Ai Jian had constantly been hesitating and unable to make up his mind, he was fiercely shaken at this moment, the light in his eyes flickering intensely.

Everyone in the world knew that Chen Yushu possessed at least three rare and peerless treasures merely on the surface.

The first was the inheritance of the *Scripture of Enslaving Men* left behind by the Daoist of Emptiness.

The second was the "Banner of Ten Thousand Divine Sovereigns Arching in Reverence with Sanskrit Titles," which he stole from the Red Essence Clay-Forged Myriad Blessings God-King of the Void Imperial Heaven.

And the third was the *Langhuan Secret Tome* mentioned just now by Chen Ying.

This book was divided into primary and supplementary volumes, renowned for possessing boundless wondrous methods capable of exhausting all Dao principles between heaven and earth, deriving limitless creation, annihilation, and synthesis.

At the upper end, it could command the sun, moon, stars, wind, clouds, thunder, and rain; at the lower end, it could drive mountains, lakes, seas, flying, swimming, moving, and rooted life forms. It was truly an immortal treasure scripture that perfected both form and spirit, leading one to pierce the mysteries and attain the Dao!

Aside from Chen Yushu, the primary volume of the *Langhuan Secret Tome* had only ever been perused by Lord Shenwu Xuhua of the Doushu Sect.

That lord had even gained some insights from it, creating a great divine power of creation concerning the clear and the turbid, which he passed down to Chen Yushu, allowing him to win a resounding reputation at the Danyuan Grand Assembly.

Even though what Chen Ying promised was not the primary volume of the *Langhuan Secret Tome*, but merely the supplementary volume,

It was still enough to set Ai Jian's heart racing with yearning, making him almost unable to control himself.

Seeing his expression shift,

Chen Ying smiled again and said:

"Aside from the supplementary volume of the *Langhuan Secret Tome*, if you achieve meritorious service in handling affairs for me in the future, whether it is the Five Emperors' Great Demon Capture of the Innate Demonic Sect, the Fire Mansion's casting of the Six Ding Dharma, the Chou Elder's Flesh-Eating Technique, the Hidden Blade Dharma, and various other arts, I can also make the decision to impart them to you and let you master them.

Moreover, my father is well-versed in both heaven and humanity, proficient in the arts of the hundred schools: the Doushu Sect, the Yinjing Teaching, the Blood River Sect, the Thunder Mansion, the Fish-Dragon Dao, and the secret methods of the twenty-four tribes of demon cultivators in the Southern Sea...

Ai Jian! If you do not come to pledge your allegiance to me, who else can you turn to?!"

This stern question exploded abruptly like a thunderbolt!

It rang so loudly that it caused one's eardrums to sting sharply, and even the internal organs trembled along in unison!

Ai Jian was also taken aback, his mind drifting in a daze.

After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and spoke:

"Please, Brother Chen, tell me the inner truth and do not deceive me. Did Senior Brother Wang Shu truly die? How could he have died so easily?"

If it were at all possible,

He truly did not wish to abandon the righteous sects and cast himself into the demonic path...

Although there were internal struggles among the eight righteous sects, and the Yuchen Sect was somewhat more turbulent among them, they ultimately did not touch the fundamental roots and remained within controllable limits.

However, the six demonic sects were different.

On the surface, they maintained considerable restraint, but according to Ai Jian's usual hearings, behind closed doors they were practically bound by no taboos whatsoever.

And leaving aside even this point,

When all was said and done, he simply did not wish to get entangled in the struggle between Chen Yushu and the Yuluo Immortal Mansion.

Just as Chen Ying had said—

When tigers and wolves slaughter each other, the foxes and badgers are injured!

Every single step was fraught with mortal peril!

If some unexpected disaster were to befall him by then, let alone achieving the Dao, I'm afraid even his primordial spirit would be reduced to ashes, leaving him unable even to reincarnate.

Chen Ying evidently understood his misgivings; he merely chuckled softly and spoke with a calm expression:

"After being defeated by Zhu Ping of the Shendu Sect and losing the 'Tianyou Mud,' Wang Shu coalesced his dragon and tiger energies at Anyin Lake in Nanchan State and formed the fourth-tier golden elixir. Shortly after his elixir was formed, Gu Zhao's disciple, He Lizi, stepped forward with sword in hand. Taking advantage of a calculated strike against an unprepared opponent, he defeated Wang Shu using the Sound of Thunder via Sword Qi, struck him seven times with his sword, and finally decapitated him with a single stroke."

He Lizi...

The Sound of Thunder via Sword Qi?

Ai Jian knitted his brows in momentary bewilderment.

Due to his gloomy and brooding temperament, aside from his master's sect, he had almost no personal connections within the Yuchen Sect.

Later on, after being imprisoned in the harsh and bitter realm for three years and being expelled to a barren wasteland like the Southern Territory,

Those fellow disciples with whom he used to exchange a few words when passing by had avoided him like the plague, and completely no one came to tend to a fallen and cold hearth anymore.

As for the name He Lizi, Ai Jian was truly thoroughly unfamiliar with it.

And regarding "the Sound of Thunder via Sword Qi"—the fifth realm of sword cultivation—even though Ai Jian held himself in high regard, possessed considerable innate talent in the sword path, and had been praised by his elders in the sect in the past,

He had not cultivated to this realm himself...

To this day, he was only at the fourth realm of the sword path—Body and Sword as One—barely capable of executing sword flight.

And that was an achievement he had painstakingly attained only after enduring hardships and bitter cultivation in the Southern Territory for many years.

Thus, upon suddenly hearing that an unfamiliar person named He Lizi had actually cultivated to the realm of the Sound of Thunder via Sword Qi! And had relied on it to brutally slay Wang Shu!

Ai Jian could only fall into a heavy silence for a moment.

"He Lizi is a disciple meticulously nurtured by Gu Zhao. He was kept hidden for so many years precisely out of fear that he would be harmed by others. It is entirely natural that you do not know of him. This person is a genuine outstanding talent; while still in the Profound Insight realm, he cultivated the fifth realm of the sword path—the Sound of Thunder via Sword Qi. Compared to the disciples of the Zhongyi Sword Sect, he is not the slightest bit inferior!"

Chen Ying first praised him, and then a meaningful smile surfaced on his face:

"However, although your Yuchen Sect engages in internal strife, you truly value propriety and do not destroy your own foundational roots.

Must they wait until Wang Shu formed his elixir before He Lizi was willing to fly his sword and kill him?

What a pity. Had Wang Shu formed a superior-grade golden elixir, he might not have met this calamity; he can only blame his skills for being inferior to others."

Ai Jian's face flushed red, a mixture of shame and fury overwhelming him, leaving him with no words to respond.

A golden elixir confronting the Profound Insight realm—and yet it was a Profound Insight practitioner who had mastered the Sound of Thunder via Sword Qi who defeated and slew him.

If this matter were to spread, all the renown Wang Shu had accumulated during his lifetime would become mere stepping stones beneath He Lizi's feet.

Ai Jian calculated the situation in his mind, and after a long while, he could not help but feel a sense of despair.

Wang Shu was already dead...

And He Lizi had openly waited until Wang Shu refined his golden elixir before taking up his sword to strike and slay him, without ruining the timing of Wang Shu's elixir formation.

A Profound Insight practitioner slaying a Golden Elixir realm cultivator!

With such sword cultivation talent—

Even without any concealment or pretense, there would still be people within the sect who favored He Lizi's future prospects, placing their bets early and speaking on his behalf to intercede for him.

Even if there were punishments according to sect rules,

Under the mediation of various factions, it would by no means reach the point of death, nor would it ruin his Dao path.

This enmity, I'm afraid, will be difficult to avenge...

"Gu Zhao! He Lizi!"

Ai Jian let out a roar, his hair standing on end in fury: "First you harmed my master, and now you have killed my brother! This hatred is so vast that even exhausting the waters of the four seas could not wash it clean. I and these two thieves shall never rest!"

Seeing Ai Jian's ferocious expression with eyes practically dripping with blood, Chen Ying hurriedly offered a few words of mild comfort. In his heart, however, he also found Wang Shu's fate rather absurd.

Reputation often outshines reality.

He wondered whether Wang Shu's lifelong renown had been jointly manufactured and hyped up by others simply to protect himself within the sect;

Or whether he had taken a wrong step at every turn during his elixir formation, ultimately leading to an irretrievable end...

After all, his master, True Person Yue, had suddenly undergone corporeal disintegration without leaving behind even a single parting word.

Lacking guidance from an elders, certain hidden cruxes and Qi-circulation terminologies during elixir formation were probably understood only vaguely at best.

Furthermore, the grade of a golden elixir was seven parts human effort and three parts heavenly destiny.

It could be said to be unfathomably obscure, perilous in the extreme, and a true threshold of life and death...

A faint smile appeared on Chen Ying's face as he calmly spoke:

"Among the Eight Sects and Six Guilds, only core disciples can be considered the foundation of a sect, and they must not be harmed. It is truly a pity for Wang Shu; lacking that layer of protection, he crashed and burned.

Brother Ai, since you can no longer return to the Yuchen Sect and are unwilling to return to the Ai clan, if you wish to avenge your sect one day, you have no choice but to rely on my power."

These words were indeed the truth, while Ai Jian still harbored reservations, weighed down by heavy thoughts, and could only deflect the conversation.

After the two of them chatted idly about various secret anecdotes and trivial matters of the sects,

Chen Ying also lost his patience. Setting down his teacup, he cupped his fists in salute, preparing to take his leave.

"Brother Chen, this matter truly involves a great deal. Please allow me to ponder it for a few more days."

Ai Jian hurriedly stood up to bid him farewell, speaking with lowered head. Only after Chen Ying nodded slightly did he feel a measure of relief, though he simultaneously felt a sense of loss and anxiety.

"Since there is nothing pressing at hand, why don't I personally make a trip to the Earth Abyss and guide Chen Heng out?"

Seeing Chen Ying's indifferent expression, Ai Jian knew well that his hesitation and wavering had already displeased this demonic true person, causing him to feel that he had lost face.

Just as he was thinking of a way to make amends, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck his mind, and he spoke up:

"Since Brother Chen wishes to sell a final favor to the Yuluo Immortal Mansion, lacking this person Chen Heng would inevitably be somewhat regrettable. I wonder what your esteemed self thinks of this?"

Hearing this, Chen Ying stopped in his tracks, hands clasped behind his back, and raised an eyebrow slightly.