Chapter 164: A Robbery Within a Robbery!

"Daoist Xiaoxiang, Daoist Dousheng... the path to the Eight Trigrams Furnace shouldn't be in this direction, right? Why are you two and Senior Brother Xuanhe here?"

Having just left Dao Proving Mountain, Changyangzi was still jittery at the soughing of wind and the cry of cranes. He spoke while casting a wary glance at Wang Ping and Xiaoxiang beside him.

"Just a coincidence," Wang Ping replied.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Ping let out a hearty laugh. Looking completely at ease, he explained, "Senior Brother Xuanhe said he had some business to handle along this route, which is why we came this way."

Handle some business?

Changyangzi's eye twitched. They had gone out of their way to take this route just to coincidentally run into him? What kind of business could that be? Were they here to casually bump him off?

His expression darkened. But then he remembered his encounter on the 333rd level and that startling, dragon-like saber strike. He swallowed the words that had reached his throat, no longer daring to question Wang Ping, and shifted his gaze to Xiaoxiang instead.

A moment later, he sent a divine sense transmission. "What's going on?"

"Daoist Xiaoxiang, your situation isn't necessarily better than mine. It might even be worse. Yet you still came to wade into these muddy waters? Aren't you afraid the shockwaves from divine powers will shake you to death?"

Hearing this, Xiaoxiang pulled a bitter face.

Damn it, did Changyangzi think he wanted to come? He had no choice! If he hadn't followed Daoist Xuanhe's group, he would have dropped dead before Changyangzi even took a scratch!

Nearby, Daoist Yuhong was clearly having the exact same thoughts as Changyangzi. He sent a divine sense transmission to Daoist Xuanhe, his tone grave. "Xuanhe, what is the meaning of this? Taking this route on purpose... could it be you want to harm my junior brother? Let me warn you, absolutely do not entertain any thoughts of murdering a fellow sect member!"

Daoist Xuanhe was speechless.

Everyone here was a disciple of the Immortal Gate. They were all two-faced and double-dealing on a daily basis, and it certainly wasn't their first time acting this way. So why was Yuhong putting on a show of deep brotherly affection right now?

"Relax, Daoist. I have no interest in your junior brother," Daoist Xuanhe said with a smile.

"I'm just catching a ride on the wind... After all, you have your difficulties, and I have mine. The Xiaoxiang on my side is quite a handful too."

"...Oh?"

Daoist Yuhong instantly understood. He glanced at the tense-looking Xiaoxiang, and his expression toward Daoist Xuanhe softened considerably.

So you were also thinking about killing your junior brother.

Ha, why didn't you say so earlier!

"I see. A minor matter, truly a minor matter... However, this counts as me helping you. When the time comes to reap the rewards, you must give us a share. You can't swallow it all yourself!"

"I understand, I understand."

Daoist Xuanhe readily agreed. The two quickly reached an understanding, and the atmosphere subsequently shifted from tense hostility to friendly harmony.

They continued walking for a short while.

Everything seemed perfectly normal. But in the blink of an eye, Daoist Xuanhe's expression tightened. He looked up at the sky, sudden fury appearing on his face.

"Who goes there!?"

Before his voice could fade, a brilliant tangerine sun abruptly rose from the depths of the sea of clouds high in the firmament. Radiant light gushed forth, illuminating a resplendent golden arc.

In an instant, the heavens and earth were lit up by this golden arc. Terrifying power was contained within it, as if a genuine sun had fallen from beyond the Cosmos into the mortal realm.

Boom!

Wherever the golden arc passed, its brilliance swept over everything. Forests, vegetation, and spiritual qi were all obliterated, leaving nothing behind but a deep abyssal crater.

Such destructive might completely surpassed any ordinary spell; it was clearly a divine power, and a lethal one at that. A single strike shattered all phenomena. Following this attack, two figures stepped out from the depths of the sea of clouds. Their silhouettes were blurred, making it impossible to tell their gender or discern their qi signatures.

Within the Immortal Gate, this was the hallmark of a bandit cultivator.

Low-tier bandit cultivators lacked the cultivation to properly conceal themselves, but the higher their cultivation level, the better they hid. It was incredibly difficult for anyone to expose them.

"Hm?"

A moment later, the bandit cultivator who had unleashed the golden arc let out a soft sound of surprise. "That's not right. Not a single one died. They all survived."

Before the words had settled, three streaks of light rose in succession from the crater.

One of them naturally contained Daoist Xuanhe, Xiaoxiang, and Wang Ping. Another was Daoist Yuhong, though his face looked quite gloomy.

As for the final streak of light, it belonged to Changyangzi... along with Fairy Fengyuan, who had suddenly appeared beside him, and an elegant man wearing cloud-patterned robes. This man was precisely her inner sect dao companion. If he hadn't abruptly intervened to protect him, it would have been absolutely impossible for Changyangzi to survive that golden arc.

"Yun Xuantong... to think you are here as well."

Daoist Yuhong's gaze was frosty as he spoke coldly. "It seems you have quite a good relationship with my junior brother, even finding the spare time to make a special trip just to keep him safe."

"Not at all."

Facing this interrogation, Yun Xuantong appeared entirely nonchalant. "Junior Brother Changyang and I hit it off from the start. What's wrong, Junior Brother Yuhong? Do you not like others protecting him?"

"How could that be..."

Daoist Yuhong naturally couldn't admit it. After all, murdering a fellow sect member was a matter easily brushed under the rug if left unexamined, but once brought to light and scrutinized, the sheer weight of the crime would be crushing.

However, this meant the situation had changed.

At that thought, Daoist Yuhong couldn't help but glance at the completely unbothered Daoist Xuanhe standing nearby... In fact, it wasn't just him; Yun Xuantong glanced over as well.

Even the two bandit cultivators hovering in the sky now looked at Daoist Xuanhe with a growing headache, momentarily unsure of what they should do next.

At this moment, all four of them shared a single thought:

'Why is there an extra person!'

In a four-on-four situation, everyone could have just played along, put on a polite show in front of each other, and at worst, called it a draw. Word would just spread that it was an evenly matched battle.

It was perfectly logical and beyond reproach.

As for whether their target, Changyangzi, lived or died, there was no need to fight over it. They could have simply talked it out. After all, cultivation in the Immortal Gate wasn't just about fighting and killing.

That included Yun Xuantong; if Yuhong had been willing to offer him a larger share of the profits, he wouldn't have minded turning around and selling Changyangzi out. The man was just a filthy outer disciple, anyway... But therein lay the problem. Daoist Xuanhe's appearance had shattered the balance. As a result, the excuse of an evenly matched stalemate would no longer hold up.

'Under these circumstances, it's impossible to kill Changyangzi now.'

Daoist Yuhong's heart filled with gloom.

After all, failing to protect his junior brother in a one-on-two fight was excusable. Failing in a two-on-two was, at worst, a dereliction of duty. But failing to protect him in a three-on-two situation would be blatantly intentional.

On the other side, the two bandit cultivators were caught in an even greater dilemma.

They had come here with a mission, after all. If they didn't kill Changyangzi, they naturally wouldn't get the agreed-upon payment. But were they really supposed to fight a bloody battle to the death over this?

"Xuanhe, what exactly is the meaning of this?"

Finally, Yuhong couldn't hold back anymore and sent a divine sense transmission. "If you hadn't suddenly shouted a warning just now, Yun Xuantong might not have had time to intervene."

"With you making things like this, I can't kill Changyangzi, but doesn't that mean you can't kill Xiaoxiang either?"

Daoist Xuanhe chuckled inwardly when he heard this.

'He's anxious.'

If he weren't anxious, he wouldn't have dropped the riddles and laid his cards on the table so directly. But his anxiety was a good thing; if he weren't anxious, this trip would have been for nothing.

A moment later, Daoist Xuanhe transmitted his response, though his tone was laced with anger. "Killing Xiaoxiang is one thing, but if I hadn't spotted that divine power in time, wouldn't they have killed Dousheng as well? I should be the one asking you: were Qixia and Red Brows doing that on purpose? Were they trying to kill three birds with one stone?"

"Uh..."

Daoist Yuhong wanted to refute this, but on second thought, Fairy Qixia and Daoist Chimei—currently acting as the bandit cultivators—might actually have harbored such intentions.

After all, since they had already donned the identities of bandit cultivators, killing one person was no different from killing two. What was there to worry about? Killing an extra person just meant earning a bit more!

But the problem was, what should they do now?

Right at that moment, Daoist Xuanhe's voice rang out again. "If you ask me, plans can't keep up with changes... Why don't we join forces with Yun Xuantong?"

"What do you mean?"

Daoist Yuhong was stunned by the suggestion. However, as an inner sect disciple, he was well-tested by experience; before he could even finish his confused question, he had already caught on.

That's right! With three divine power cultivators against two, their side held a massive advantage. They could no longer use the chaos as an excuse to kill Xiaoxiang or Changyangzi, but looking at it from another angle... it was three divine power cultivators against two! With such a huge advantage, killing one of the disadvantaged opponents wouldn't be too hard, would it?

Not to mention, the ones on the other side were currently bandit cultivators.

And as disciples of the Immortal Gate, killing bandit cultivators was an act of absolute justice! No one would hold them accountable afterward, and they could even make a fortune from the windfall!

Wasn't that infinitely better than killing a few filthy outer disciples?

"..."

As this realization dawned on him, Daoist Yuhong's expression shifted. A short distance away, Yun Xuantong seemed to have received the transmission as well, as he looked up at the sky with an equally treacherous gleam in his eyes.

"Hm?"

Almost simultaneously, the two bandit cultivators in the sky realized something was wrong. They instantly summoned streaks of light to widen the distance, only to see the heavens and earth abruptly turn dark.

An eerie, gloomy radiance rippled outward like water, sinking into the world and bringing all phenomena to a standstill. Just like that, it forcefully locked the two bandit cultivators in place, preventing them from leaving.

Middle Divine Ability, Corpse-Still Dragon Manifestation!

"You... Biyang's!?"

The two bandit cultivators immediately realized what was happening and began cursing loudly on the spot.

Right after, one of the bandit cultivators spoke without the slightest hesitation. "Junior Brother Changyang, the one who wants to kill you is your senior brother! He's the one who hired us!"

"Nonsense."

Daoist Yuhong let out a cold sneer. "My junior brother and I are as close as hand and foot. Spare us your attempts to sow discord. Arrogant bandit cultivators, everyone in the Immortal Gate has the right to execute you!"

"Kill them!"

The moment his voice faded, Daoist Yuhong, Yun Xuantong, and Daoist Xuanhe simultaneously rode their streaks of light into the sky, tangling in fierce combat with the two bandit cultivators in midair.

Rumble!

Thunderous roars rolled across the heavens and earth as the radiance of various divine powers lit up the sky. They exploded in brilliant flashes, manifesting layer upon layer of mystical visions and anomalies in an endless, alternating cycle.

The shockwaves alone from such a massive battle of divine powers were absolutely devastating for the four people below: Wang Ping, Fairy Fengyuan, Changyangzi, and Xiaoxiang. Theoretically, their best move right now would be to band together and focus entirely on defense; that way, they could safely hold out until the battle ended.

Unfortunately, this was the Immortal Gate.

Band together and defend? What a joke!

The next second, the four of them exchanged a single glance. Without any hesitation, they each summoned their own streaks of light and sped away in four completely different directions.

In this moment, they trusted only themselves.

While this was an excellent trait for Immortal Gate disciples to have in most situations, there were times when it also served as their most fatal flaw.

'The opportunity has arrived!'

Looking back at the other three retreating streaks of light, a fierce, sinister grin surfaced on Wang Ping's face. Without the interference of the divine power cultivators, it was finally his turn.

This had been his master plan all along.

Daoist Xuanhe would use their three-on-two advantage to convince Daoist Yuhong and Yun Xuantong to join him in counter-killing the two bandit cultivators. At the same time, this would create the perfect window of opportunity for Wang Ping to strike.

Then, he would move in to rob and kill Xiaoxiang, Fairy Fengyuan, and Changyangzi.

A robbery within a robbery!

This way, both he and Daoist Xuanhe would reap a harvest. But as for exactly how big of a harvest they could get, each relies on their own ability!