Seeing the odd expression on Ye Yu’s face, Zhu Xincheng immediately offered an explanation.
“Some time ago, a divine stone mine was discovered in the northern reaches of the Divine Realm!” she began.
“Once I learned of it, I dispatched forces to seize it at once and forbade any word to leak out. I planned to quietly reap tremendous profits.”
“That’s why I brought so many of our Divine Clan members out and only returned yesterday.”
“But in the Divine Realm, there is no wall that doesn’t leak! Just now I received a report from the Extreme Moon Pavilion.”
“The gist of it was: ‘We know about the divine stone mine. That location belongs to our lord’s cultivation grounds, so it’s effectively territory claimed by Extreme Moon Pavilion! You must immediately order your Lieyang Sect to withdraw. Tomorrow we’ll send people to take over. If you refuse, then you’d better be ready for a fight. This isn’t a negotiation—it’s outright seizure!’”
Zhu Xincheng’s tone bore unmistakable arrogance. It was the typical domineering style of Extreme Moon Pavilion: swallow everything whole, never leave a scrap for anyone else. With the backing of the Divine Alliance, they indeed had the power to act this way.
But Zhu Xincheng’s spine was strong—she couldn’t swallow such an insult. To capture that divine stone mine, Lieyang Sect had lost many Divine Clan members. They had only just secured it; now it was being snatched away? That was out of the question.
“True, Lieyang Sect is no match for Extreme Moon Pavilion, but trying to bully us? Don’t dream it!” Zhu Xincheng declared.
Her plan for tonight was to ride through the night to Drunken Heart Valley and call for aid. The Divine Alliance there was also top-tier and had past grudges with Extreme Moon Pavilion. Moreover, Zhu Xincheng enjoyed a measure of friendship with them. She was confident they’d back her, at worst splitting the mine’s profits. That would still be better than letting Extreme Moon Pavilion take everything.
As for Ye Yu’s role, it was simple: he would lead the Lieyang Sect’s Divines to bluff the enemy. According to Zhu Xincheng, most of Extreme Moon Pavilion’s elders were in seclusion; the only one managing affairs now was Seventh Elder Chen Guangju, who had sent the seizure order himself.
Zhu Xincheng believed that the notion of taking the mine solo was entirely his idea, so tomorrow he must lead the team to receive its surrender. Ye Yu’s task was to intimidate him—once Chen Guangju saw Ye Yu’s formidable presence, he would hesitate to act rashly and immediately return to Extreme Moon Pavilion to summon reinforcements. That would buy them time.
After all, Zhu Xincheng planned to bring the Drunken Heart Valley forces to the mine ahead of time. Having Ye Yu wait there was merely an insurance policy. When all was done, ten percent of the mine’s output would be credited to Ye Yu. What did he think?
Ye Yu pondered. Honestly, divine stones weren’t especially interesting to him; they were useless for cultivation, and divine techniques and relics were never in short supply. Yet this mission sounded dangerous—and the rewards were equally great. If he could unleash a spectacular display before the eyes of Extreme Moon Pavilion’s members, he’d earn a wave of submission points. That would be far quicker than struggling to join another Divine Alliance. And tomorrow he could put it all on display, harvesting even more loyalty from the Lieyang Sect members who followed him.
True, it wouldn’t be much, but even mosquito meat is meat. If things went sour, he could always find a way to escape.
After a moment’s thought, Ye Yu agreed. Zhu Xincheng smiled, turned, and prepared to depart for Drunken Heart Valley. Before leaving, however, she paused and spoke earnestly, “Ye Dao You, take some time to care more for your Dao partner. She has it hard.”
Ye Yu was left baffled. Why bring that up out of nowhere? But before he could ask, Zhu Xincheng’s figure had vanished.
Ye Yu turned toward the inner chamber. Something was wrong—way too wrong. Why did everyone else think Xie Buyu was fine, yet only he felt something amiss?
The next day, at the gates of Lieyang Sect Divine Alliance...
Fifty Divine Clan members had already assembled. Each looked at Ye Yu with reverent eyes. The terrifying scene in the main hall just yesterday was still vivid in their minds. Learning that this strong figure would lead them on the expedition filled them with excitement.
But one person’s gaze stood out—it bore sorrow rather than worship. That was Xie Buyu. Though she said nothing, her eyes spoke volumes.
Last night, Ye Yu hadn’t returned to his quarters. That meant he stayed in the main hall—where the sect leader, Zhu Xincheng, resided. She had clearly moved faster than Xie Buyu had expected. Xie Buyu was resentful.
What she didn’t know was that Ye Yu had been alone in the main hall—no one else. His body remained pure. He simply hadn’t known how to face Xie Buyu: to have a deep talk? He couldn’t bring himself to. Guardedness wasn’t so easily shed.
Ignoring Xie Buyu’s resentful gaze, Ye Yu led the fifty Divine Clan members toward the divine stone mine. Two hours of flight later, they reached its outskirts.
A dozen Lieyang Sect operatives lay in ambush there. Once they joined forces, everyone took up positions, awaiting the arrival of Extreme Moon Pavilion’s Divines.
Xie Buyu stood behind Ye Yu and whispered, “Husband, don’t worry. Extreme Moon Pavilion is very far away. Even if they come, it won’t be until the afternoon.”
On the way, Ye Yu had already explained the situation with the divine stone mine to Xie Buyu, so she was fully aware. Ye Yu merely smiled. But he wasn’t afraid of Extreme Moon Pavilion coming—he was worried they wouldn’t come at all.
