Chapter 254: Chapter 253: An Effortless Gain
"I’ve heard of you as well, Sect Leader Lan. You’ve always kept to yourself in Shide Prefecture, so what brings you to my Green Water Pool in Bai Shi Prefecture today?" Bi Jingjing said with a smile.
Lan Ming replied with a grin of her own, "That Old Fire Corpse from the Nether Fire Sect is truly formidable. I couldn’t beat him, so I had no choice but to come to Changping and Bai Shi Prefectures to see which way the wind is blowing."
Bi Jingjing raised an eyebrow, surprised that Lan Ming was so forthcoming.
After a subtle glance at Gu Zhao, Bi Jingjing gestured for Lan Ming to take a seat. "Go on."
Lan Ming glanced at Gu Zhao, Zhuo Qingyan, and the others. Seeing that Bi Jingjing didn’t introduce them, she didn’t ask, simply saying, "I hear a Daluo Palace has risen recently in Changping and Bai Shi Prefectures. They’re bad news."
Bi Jingjing let out a seductive laugh. "You must be joking, my dear sister. How could Daluo Palace be bad news?"
"You know perfectly well, sister, so why play dumb?" Lan Ming lifted her cup and took a sip. Her expression was one of utmost innocence, yet her movements held a subtle, seductive charm.
"The Golden Wind Sect in Changping Prefecture, the Yellow Heaven Altar in Bai Shi Prefecture—Daluo Palace annihilated them all."
Lan Ming set down her cup and smacked her lips with a cute pout. "Those Mages from Daluo Palace talk about enforcing justice, upholding righteousness, and aiding the downtrodden, but their methods are vicious. From what I’ve heard, they’ve basically slaughtered every other power that had a foothold in the two prefectures."
At this, Lan Ming looked at Bi Jingjing, her gaze pointed. "Now that it’s come to this, Daluo Palace has a near-total monopoly on both prefectures. Aren’t you worried at all, sister?"
Bi Jingjing said in a low, detached voice, "That’s because their evil was too great. What has it to do with me?"
"’Too great?’" Lan Ming scoffed. "The Golden Wind Sect Leader just had a penchant for beautiful women, and the Yellow Heaven God only abducted a few children. How is that ’too great’? Don’t you also appreciate a pretty face, sister?"
Bi Jingjing set down her cup, her smile vanishing. "Are you trying to intimidate me, little sister?"
"Daluo Palace hasn’t moved against you, sister, only because they’ve just taken Bai Shi Prefecture and haven’t solidified their position. And with you at the bottom of the Green Water Pool, they’re not confident they can take you," Lan Ming said, looking at Bi Jingjing. "Once they’re firmly established, how could they possibly tolerate your existence?"
A faint, unreadable smile played on Bi Jingjing’s lips. "You want to rope me into fighting Daluo Palace with you?"
Lan Ming tilted her head with a smile. "Are you interested, sister?"
"You said it yourself, little sister. Daluo Palace is bad news. Even the White Bone God Monarch died at their hands. I was no match for the Divine Monarch, so how could I dare to provoke Daluo Palace?" Bi Jingjing said, testing her.
"Don’t let Daluo Palace fool you, sister. From what I’ve heard, they threw everything they had into that battle with the White Bone God Monarch. And though they managed to kill the Divine Monarch and his family of three, they suffered devastating losses themselves."
"Oh?"
"Several of the Mages who appeared at Daluo Temple that day have not been seen since. I suspect they were either taken down with the White Bone God Monarch in his final moments, or they were too grievously injured to move."
"And how are you so certain?" Bi Jingjing asked.
"Because they haven’t come to trouble you, have they?" Lan Ming smiled. "That’s why you can host this banquet and sleep soundly at night."
Bi Jingjing raised her cup, a radiant smile gracing her lips. "So you really are just trying to scare me, little sister."
Lan Ming smiled in return. "With the White Bone Cave gone, you can just follow the Chang River upstream. Won’t all the handsome men in both prefectures be yours for the taking, sister?"
Bi Jingjing’s eyes narrowed. "And you’re that confident, are you?"
"The old ghouls from Soulless Hall and the Nianxiang Sect are here too. Daluo Palace has no chance of survival. That’s why I’m bringing you in, sister. What do you say we join forces and take Bai Shi Prefecture for ourselves?"
Lan Ming smiled. "Changping Prefecture borders the Wanling River to the north—it’s not a great spot. We can just give it to those old ghouls."
Bi Jingjing finally understood. ’So, Lan Ming is trying to pull me into an alliance.’
’But...’
Bi Jingjing glanced at Gu Zhao.
Gu Zhao placed a shrimp on Zhuo Qingyan’s plate with his chopsticks, then popped a piece of lamb into his own mouth. He found it incredibly tender and savory.
"The palace chefs are quite skilled," Gu Zhao nodded, then turned to Lan Ming. "Sect Leader Lan, do you happen to know where those old ghouls from Soulless Hall and the Nianxiang Sect are hiding?"
"I don’t. They’re probably just hiding out in some mountain, biding their time." Lan Ming glanced from Gu Zhao to Zhuo Qingyan, and a look of understanding dawned on her. She asked with a brilliant smile, "Are you thinking of making a move as well, sir?"
"That’s a real shame." Gu Zhao shook his head and set down his chopsticks, the corner of his mouth curving into a smile.
The moment Bi Jingjing saw his expression, she knew what was about to happen.
"Allow me to make an introduction, little sister." Bi Jingjing finally set down her cup and gestured toward Gu Zhao. "This is the leader of Daluo Palace on Cuiluo Mountain in Changping Prefecture, Sect Leader Gu Zhao."
"A pleasure, Sect Leader Lan," Gu Zhao said, looking at Lan Ming. "To think I could search high and low for you to no avail, only for you to walk right in."
Lan Ming giggled, hitting him with a killer head-tilt. "A pleasure, Sect Leader Gu. To meet you today is a fortune spanning Three Lives!"
The next instant, Gu Zhao felt a tremor in his Divine Soul. A hazy veil seemed to fall over his Sea of Consciousness, and a gentle wisp of awareness seeped inside, forming a faint vortex that threatened to suck his Divine Soul into its depths.
The process was disarmingly gentle and incredibly swift, feeling so natural and logical that it was almost unnoticeable.
At the center of the vortex, Gu Zhao thought he could faintly perceive his past life, and even his future one. An insidious urge tempted him to cast his Divine Soul into the swirl, to break through the veil of mortal memory and truly see his complete self.
’No wonder it’s called the Three Lives Divine Sect. So that’s how it works.’ Gu Zhao’s eyes snapped open. He met Lan Ming’s gaze and praised, "A fine technique!"
But Lan Ming could barely maintain her pure and innocent facade. With a flash of movement, she tried to flee.
Before she could reach the door, however, a wave of water surged up, its violent power blocking her path and forcing her back.
"You bitch! So you’ve already become Daluo Palace’s dog! No wonder they let you live, leaving you to rot in your kennel!" Lan Ming shrieked.
Bi Jingjing’s expression turned grim. She bared her teeth slightly, and two long, sharp fangs emerged. "I’m going to skin you alive, rip out your tendons, and render your fat to light a heavenly lantern!"
The words had barely left her mouth when Gu Zhao formed the Water Thunder Seal and channeled the Northern Qi Technique. The waves of water under Bi Jingjing’s control suddenly shuddered, then converged into a massive Thunderbolt that struck Lan Ming.
"AHH!" Lan Ming shrieked in pain. She braced herself against the Thunder Technique and reached out, intending to rip through the wall of water.
With a flick of his wrist, Gu Zhao cast out twelve Shangqing Great Forbidden Dragon Binding Talismans. They instantly turned to ash, transforming into twelve Dragon-Binding Iron Chains that coiled tightly around Lan Ming.
He immediately waved his hand again, tossing out another twelve Yellow Talismans. "Xuanwu Talisman Envoy, display your awesome might! Seize this malevolent evil and destroy its true form!"
The Xuanwu Black Fiend Talisman!
’This is a powerful offensive Talisman from the Shangqing Heavenly Heart Righteous Method, perfect for combat in water. I’ve never had a chance to use it before. Now that I’m finally in a water battle, if not now, when?’
