Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme - Chapter 1070: Chapter 651: Gambler_2
Chapter 1070: Chapter 651: Gambler_2
After countless years and vast changes, many Independent Lords had risen to the middle tier. How could she, with her Divine-level Talent in the Immortal Realm bloodline, be any exception?
Even though she had suffered heavy losses years ago, and her position within her family had plummeted, she still persevered, climbing back to the top. Not only had she advanced to the Seventh Order, but she also ranked at the forefront on the Reputation List, making her promotion to the Eighth Order a certainty, and even reaching the Ninth Order Heavenly Pass highly probable.
In such circumstances, she condescended to put aside past grudges to propose a truce, yet the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion remained unyielding, resisting stubbornly—frankly speaking, it was infuriating.
But irritation aside, Fairy Tantai knew it was a risk she could not let the Kunlun Immortal Realm take.
In fact, if the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion hadn’t been overproducing in recent years, seriously disrupting the market and harming their own interests to an intolerable extent, the Kunlun Immortal Realm would never have asked her to wade into these troubled waters today.
Although the negotiation had failed, the initiative still couldn’t come from the Kunlun Immortal Realm. It still had to be…
“Fairy Tantai, please!”
On the seventh tier region, inside a certain shop, a steward greeted her with a smile and led Fairy Tantai into the guest room.
In the guest room, two young men were already waiting, both of striking appearance and extraordinary bearing.
“Zhou Shuwen!”
“Zhou Tianqi!”
Seeing the two men who had also entered the Seventh Order, Fairy Tantai’s expression remained unchanged as she approached, “Have you been waiting long, Taoist friends?”
“Ha!”
“Not at all!”
Compared to the aloof Zhou Shuwen, Zhou Tianqi was more genial, even joking with her, “With the way you look, it seems you’ve hit quite a few walls at the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion. Ah, the rustic fools simply do not understand how to treat a lady or the most basic courtesies.”
“Hmph!”
Fairy Tantai snorted, not responding to the jest but instead turning her gaze to Zhou Shuwen, “What does Heaven-connecting Immortal Palace intend to do, truly provoking enmity that draws the last straw?”
“How is it not enmity already?”
Hearing this question, Zhou Shuwen finally spoke, plunging Zhou Tianqi into silence.
Zhou Shuwen was none other than the representative of the Zhou Clan who had initially negotiated with the Ten Thousand Treasure Pavilion and was also Zhou Tianqi’s older cousin. It was Zhou Tianqi who had orchestrated the alliance between Fairy Tantai and Ning Bozhong to attack Xu Yang’s domain, facilitated by Zhou Shuwen.
Compared to the pitiful Zhou Tianqi and others, Zhou Shuwen’s losses weren’t as severe, but were still considerable, turning him into a frightened bird. The moment Xu Yang advanced, he fled, fearing retribution and revenge.
Thus, thousands of years later, although he too had reached the Seventh Order Realm, his hasty escape and rapid progression had forced him to abandon much, severely impacting both his strength and potential. Once the top of the Third Order, he now couldn’t even rank within the top thousand of the Seventh Order, even falling behind his younger cousin Zhou Tianqi.
Still, today’s matter primarily rested on him—not because he had significant backing, but because this matter required him to take charge.
After all, it started and ended with him. Whether the matter succeeded needed no elaboration, and should it fail, someone had to take responsibility. As the disposable piece concluding this affair, he was to emerge and ease relations between the parties, turning swords into plowshares.
Zhou Shuwen was well aware of this; if they couldn’t suppress Xu Yang and destroy his foundations this time, given his demonstrated potential, Xu Yang would undoubtedly reach the Ninth Order in the future. The Heaven-connecting Immortal Palace couldn’t afford an all-out feud with him; they would inevitably have to throw someone under the bus to resolve this matter.
He was that scapegoat, the disposable piece already poised at their fingertips.
This was his only chance; he must utilize everything at his disposal to take Xu Yang down to ensure he wouldn’t be forsaken.
Thus, to him, this was a grudge that could not be resolved, a deadly grudge!
Compared to him, Zhou Tianqi, while having some leeway, wasn’t much better off. Otherwise, why would he be there?
Seeing the two men like this, Fairy Tantai spoke plainly, without excessive words, “Then let’s get ready to take action. We’ll provide support.”
“Support?”
Hearing this, Zhou Shuwen immediately scoffed, “It seems you still have hope, deceived by his façade. That man is ambitious and vengeful, having abstained from warfare all these years not because of his generosity or for the greater good, but because he hasn’t amassed enough power and dares not overly radicalize the situation!”
“If we can’t suppress him this time and he triumphs over the Demon Abyss, advancing to the Seventh Order as an unbeatable force, his rise will be unstoppable. Once he reaches the Ninth Order, do you think he’ll hesitate to sever ties with you and settle today’s affairs?”
“…”
Fairy Tantai frowned, observing a slight madness in Zhou Shuwen, “What are you trying to say?”
“Some things, if not done, must be done thoroughly!”
Zhou Shuwen sneered coldly, “Those who covet great deeds yet cherish their own safety, and see minor gains but forget their peril, are bound to fail miserably and bring disaster upon themselves!”
Fairy Tantai coolly responded, “You might as well speak more plainly!”
“Ha!”
Zhou Shuwen’s scoff remained unchanged, “I hope you hold nothing back. Any leeway given to him now will become our dead end later.”
With that, he ignored whatever Fairy Tantai’s reaction might be and turned his gaze to Zhou Tianqi, “Let’s begin. Throw out all the Ten Thousand Dao Points we hold. I want to collapse his situation as quickly as possible.”
“Hmm!”
Zhou Tianqi nodded and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Fairy Tantai didn’t say anything more and also left.
At this point, though they had laid bare their enmity, their available maneuvers were limited.
A direct attack would be like feeding him, unintentionally boosting his strength.
Their only option was to strike through these Ten Thousand Dao Points, throwing all they held into the market to induce a collective panic and cause a crash.
