Chapter 137: Chapter 133: Fishing with a Straight Hook, The Willing Take the Bait
Du Youqian was somewhat dissatisfied with Luo Jinyu.
However, although Luo Jinyu was a bit cold-hearted toward others, he was still completely loyal to him.
Moreover, his multiple Divination attempts had shown that Luo Jinyu would be a powerful ally in the future.
So, Du Youqian did not rebuke him.
A person in a high position must be tolerant of others.
Besides, he himself was now a member of a Demon Sect.
Although his hands weren’t exactly drenched in blood, he had taken quite a few lives.
’Why pretend to be some kind of Holy Mother?’
Gu Xiaofang, however, interjected, "What about the Cultivators mining the ore? Are we going to poison them all to death? We should notify them to get out first."
Luo Jinyu frowned and said, "Wouldn’t that just alert the enemy?"
Gu Xiaofang shook his head. "If that’s not a good idea, then let’s think of another way."
"A woman’s compassion," Luo Jinyu muttered, then said no more, simply looking at Du Youqian.
Du Youqian said calmly, "Feng Bin has always been cunning and adept at adapting. A setup like the one you described won’t necessarily catch him."
Luo Jinyu’s attitude toward Du Youqian was naturally different. He bowed his head obediently. "Please instruct me, Brother Yu."
Du Youqian smiled. "We’ll do this, then this, and finally, this..."
After listening, Gu Xiaofang’s face was full of admiration. "Brilliant, truly brilliant! Brother Fei, you really are smarter than me!"
Er, that was some awkward flattery.
Luo Jinyu, however, asked doubtfully, "But what if he doesn’t take the bait and just runs away?"
Du Youqian said calmly, "I don’t have any deep-seated hatred for this Feng Bin, and I couldn’t care less about the bounty on his head. If he wants to run, let him run. Am I supposed to go to the trouble of chasing him down?"
"That’s letting him off easy," said Luo Jinyu.
Du Youqian looked at him and smiled. "If it really is Feng Bin in the mine... he’s a formidable character who has killed a Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivator, and he has a few accomplices with him. I’m only at Foundation Establishment Early Stage. Aren’t you afraid I’ll be the one he kills?"
Luo Jinyu hit the nail on the head. "If he were truly strong enough to match you, Brother Yu, he would have joined our Holy Blood Sect long ago to fight for a True Inheritor position. After all, our Sect’s gates are wide open. We teach all without discrimination and never look at a disciple’s background. Why would he suffer as a Tribulation Cultivator, living hand to mouth? A True Inheritor in our Sect, even if they did nothing but cultivate in seclusion, would receive more resources in a year than he could get from robbing people dozens of times. He’d have to be a complete idiot to stay here as a Tribulation Cultivator."
Du Youqian roared with laughter.
Yes.
The outside world had hyped Feng Bin up to be something miraculous.
A one-in-ten-thousand genius.
But in the eyes of a true Great Sect’s Pride... he was nothing special.
Feng Bin had run rampant in the Wu Kingdom for so long, but had he ever attacked a Garrison under the Holy Blood Sect?
Not once.
That was because Feng Bin knew his own limits.
If he dared to make a move against the Holy Blood Sect, he definitely wouldn’t live to see the next full moon.
This time, if Li Tai hadn’t been involved, Feng Bin probably wouldn’t have dared to proactively offend him, a Guardian Envoy.
With the plan decided, Du Youqian performed another Divination, confirming that the trip would be smooth.
Only then did he have Luo Jinyu and Gu Xiaofang collect Li Tai’s body, retrieve any reusable materials from the Array Formation, and then pilot the Flying Boat, speeding toward the Guiyan Mountain Spirit Stone Vein Garrison Office.
Upon arrival, he landed the Flying Boat. Du Youqian casually set up a Grand Array riddled with flaws to surround the Spirit Stone Vein, then summoned all the workers doing Miscellaneous Tasks at the Garrison Office.
"The dog-thief Li Tai colluded with Tribulation Cultivators and attempted to murder the Guardian Envoy, Lord Yu. He has already been annihilated by Lord Yu! You treacherous disciples, whether you knew about it or not, you are guilty just for following Li Tai! If you ask me, all of you should be chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs!"
Du Youqian, of course, did not speak.
He sat comfortably slouched in his chair, holding a cup of tea, leisurely savoring it.
The one giving the speech was a spirited Gu Xiaofang.
Gu Xiaofang swept his gaze over the group. Seeing the Miscellaneous Tasks workers kneeling and trembling, with one even collapsing to the ground in fear, he continued, "The Guardian Envoy, Lord Yu, is too merciful. He has decided to give you a chance. His Lordship has already laid an inescapable net over the Ore Vein, preparing to wipe out the Tribulation Cultivators in one fell swoop. All of you, depart at once! Take His Lordship’s writ and go to the various Sects. Tell them to send men to assist His Lordship. It’s not that he needs their pitiful combat strength; he just wants them to bear witness."
With that, he handed them several Jade Scrolls and urged them to take their own Flying Spiritual Artifacts to deliver the messages.
As for the fact that these workers doing Miscellaneous Tasks had low Cultivation, might not even have Flying Spiritual Artifacts, and even if they did, couldn’t fly continuously, meaning their travel speed would be incredibly slow...
Du Youqian wasn’t actually counting on them to summon reinforcements anyway.
Less than an hour later, the main hall was filled with music and dance. The Dancing Girls Li Tai had left behind, wrapped in light gauze, danced until they dripped with fragrant sweat, their beautiful figures on full display as they vied for a smile from the Guardian Envoy.
The Musicians, too, gave it their all, each one using every trick they knew.
They all knew very well that their old master was dead.
Whether they would live to see tomorrow’s sun depended on the new master’s mood.
Gu Xiaofang returned to the hall, his face full of admiration. "Brother Fei, just as you said, two of them secretly doubled back and snuck into the mine pit."
"They deserve to die!" Luo Jinyu said coldly.
Gu Xiaofang glanced at him, held his tongue, and after a moment’s thought, asked, "Brother Fei, what’s next?"
Du Youqian’s gaze never once left the pink arms and jade-like legs, as if he were a lecherous fiend. "Wait," he said faintly.
However, as people who knew him well, both Gu Xiaofang and Luo Jinyu knew that Du Youqian’s gaze wasn’t focused at all. He was accumulating Sword Intent, preparing to unleash a thunderous strike at any moment.
Seeing that Du Youqian was ready, and not knowing if Feng Bin would arrive as they hoped, Gu Xiaofang decided to stop worrying and stood aside to enjoy the music and dance.
After a while, Du Youqian’s eyes moved. "All of you, withdraw."
The Dancing Girls and Musicians were well-trained. They stopped at once, bowed to Du Youqian, and left in an orderly fashion.
"You two as well," Du Youqian said, looking at Gu Xiaofang and Luo Jinyu.
"I’ll take my leave then." Gu Xiaofang knew that with his level of strength, he would only be a burden if he stayed.
Luo Jinyu, however, was unwilling to leave. "Brother Yu, I have the Soul-Extinguishing Lamp now. I can help you."
Du Youqian didn’t waste his breath arguing. He directly formed a large hand of Magical Power, grabbed Luo Jinyu, tossed him into the crowd of leaving servants, and spat out a single cold word: "Go."
Luo Jinyu was reluctant, but he could see Brother Yu’s determination, so he could only withdraw dejectedly with Gu Xiaofang.
’It’s still because I haven’t worked hard enough,’ he thought. ’If I had been a little more diligent, I would have reached Foundation Establishment by now. Maybe then I could have stayed to help Brother Yu.’
Meanwhile, Du Youqian slowly rose from his chair. Seeing several figures appear one after another, he revealed a smile.
One at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, three at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and three at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage... a force that was truly not weak.
Seven Foundation Establishment Cultivators. They were just short of being able to form a Fourth-class Sect.
After sensing their auras, his gaze fell on a Cultivator with a feminine appearance, a pair of phoenix eyes set in a small, melon-seed-shaped face.
The man’s expression was extremely confident. He was clearly accustomed to giving orders, and the other Cultivators all looked to him for leadership.
"You must be Feng Bin? I’m surprised you actually dared to come. I thought that after escaping the Grand Array, you would have run as far away as you could."
"I was just thinking that rather than wait for you to bring people to surround and annihilate me later, I should take advantage of your weakness and isolation today and kill you first." The Cultivator’s voice was rough, a stark contrast to his feminine appearance. "Yu Guardian Envoy, you’ve been overconfident. You are alone right now. Even if you have mighty powers and were able to kill that Li Tai, it’s a pity you’ll inevitably be buried here."
A smile played on Du Youqian’s lips. "Was killing Li Tai difficult? Perhaps it would be for you."
The other men spread out, forming an encirclement around Du Youqian.
Feng Bin, however, didn’t care that Du Youqian was stalling for time. He sneered, "What big talk, Yu Guardian Envoy... I’ve never killed a Great Sect’s Pride before. I’ve long wanted to try, but unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance, which I greatly regret. Although you, Guardian Envoy, are no Great Sect’s Pride, you can at least partially fulfill my wish. I just have one question. Are you naive enough to think I wouldn’t dare to kill you? Or are you foolish enough to think you can fight one against seven?"
Du Youqian was in no hurry to act. He asked with a smile, "How did you and Li Tai know each other? What kind of shady business did you do for him before?"
Feng Bin glanced at the Memory Stone Du Youqian was holding openly in his hand and laughed manically. "HAHAHAHA! I’ll tell you the truth. When Li Tai first took office, he accepted a gift from me, and we’ve been exchanging information ever since. Half the people I’ve killed, I killed for him. The treasures I plundered, he helped me sell them. Satisfied?"
At this point, he seemed to lose interest in talking. A Flying Sword flew out from behind him as he shook his head. "You’re surrounded by us. Don’t tell me you think you can get that Memory Stone’s message out? I scouted the area carefully before I came in. You haven’t set up any ambushes."
Du Youqian looked at the Flying Sword, feeling that it looked a little familiar.
"You’re wrong... you haven’t surrounded me. I’ve surrounded you. Worried I can’t fight one against seven? Of course I can’t fight one against seven. But beating seven drowning dogs to death is another matter entirely."
Anger instantly appeared on Feng Bin’s feminine face. "Are all Major Cultivators like you, only good for running their mouths? Fine. That fool Li Tai and I still worked together quite a few times, after all. I’ll kill you today and avenge him!"
As he spoke, the seven Tribulation Cultivators moved as one.
Some controlled Flying Swords, some cast Magic, one prepared to activate a Talisman, one vanished to prepare a sneak attack, and another charged forward for close-quarters combat...
Du Youqian took it all in.
And in the process, he finally got a clear look at Feng Bin’s Flying Sword.
He couldn’t help but sigh internally: ’Well, well. Are you here to return lost property?’
"I was just fishing with a straight hook, letting the willing bite. I never expected to reel in such a big surprise!"
