Chapter 253: Chapter 242: A Scheme Within a Scheme
At almost the same time, at the Cyan Sect, Fengduo, and the Yellow Springs Netherworld.
The Foundation Establishment Masters who had been part of the southern investigative mission and struggled back to their sects all brought with them similarly terrifying news.
Some of this news was complete, some was fragmentary.
But when pieced together, it all pointed to a single, horrifying truth.
The so-called "Four Imperial Heavens" disaster.
The supposed threat of the Southern Border’s unrest moving north.
It was all a complete and utter sham!
A grand conspiracy, meticulously planned by the unified Southern Dynasty, the Great Yin, in league with the top sects of the Righteous Dao, targeting the entire Northwest Cultivation Realm.
Its purpose was to use this opportunity to completely purge this Demon Cave of a region, the Northwest, and bring it under their control!
The Northwest Four Sects, and the countless small and medium-sized sects and loose cultivator influences affiliated with them, were all prey targeted by this conspiracy!
For a time, dark currents surged across the Northwest Land, and a sense of panic and paranoia filled the air.
...
On Ten Thousand Caves Mountain, the Dome Cave where the peace talks were once held was in use again.
Only this time, the atmosphere was a hundred times more grave and somber than during the talks.
The four Great Masters had gathered once more to discuss how to deal with this calamity, which was enough to overturn the entire Northwest Cultivation Realm!
"The news... I presume you have all verified it." Nan Dou Master was the first to speak, his deep voice breaking the suffocating silence.
"The Nanyin Dynasty, in league with the Sword Pavilion, the Vast Sacred Land, and others, has laid this trap with the intention of wiping out our entire Northwest.
This southern mission was merely a pawn they used to test our reaction."
San Si Master coldly uttered four words: "Their intentions are vile."
Lady Jiu Li’s vermilion lips parted, her voice laced with icy killing intent:
"What a ’Righteous Dao,’ and what a ’Dynasty’!
Using such despicable methods... Do they think the Northwest has no one to answer to them?!"
Reincarnation Master’s voice was hoarse. "It’s useless to talk about this now.
The urgent matter is how we should respond.
My disciples of the Yellow Springs Netherworld cannot have died in vain."
Nan Dou Master’s gaze swept across the other three as he said slowly:
"Nanyin and the Righteous Alliance are powerful and have been plotting for a long time. In a direct confrontation, I fear the Northwest would be at a disadvantage."
He paused, then his tone shifted, becoming resolute:
"However, we Northwest Cultivators are not lambs to be led to the slaughter.
Since they’ve torn away all pretense, there is no room for negotiation.
We can only fight to the death!"
"How do we fight?" San Si Master asked concisely.
"Consolidate our forces, and defend our foundation."
Nan Dou Master said in a low voice, "The construction of the Northern Defense Array must be accelerated, but its purpose must change. It can no longer be just for the illusory Four Imperial Heavens.
Instead, it must become the first line of defense against Nanyin’s push northward!
At the same time, every sect must immediately recall its elites from abroad."
Lady Jiu Li raised a brow. "Passive defense? That’s far too frustrating!"
Reincarnation Master also snorted coldly. "Are we just going to let them do as they please in the south?"
Nan Dou Master shook his head slightly.
"Of course not.
Defense is to buy time and stabilize our rear.
Meanwhile, we will dispatch forces to disperse and move south, to harass them.
We’ll give them a taste of their own medicine.
We must let Nanyin know that the Northwest is a bone that isn’t so easy to chew."
His gaze burned as he looked at the other three.
"This is a battle for our very survival, not a matter for a single sect or faction.
Our Four Sects must set aside our past grievances and cooperate sincerely, sharing intelligence and resources. Only then will we have a sliver of hope for survival.
Everyone, what are your thoughts?"
The Dome Cave fell silent once more, but this time, the silence was thick with a murderous aura.
Faced with an external threat of annihilation, all internal strife and scheming had to be temporarily set aside.
After a long moment, San Si Master slowly nodded. "Agreed."
Lady Jiu Li took a deep breath. "Fengduo has no objections."
Reincarnation Master’s expression twisted for a moment before he finally gave a heavy nod.
"The Yellow Springs Netherworld is willing to resist the external enemy together!"
At this moment, the wills of the four Great Masters reached a difficult consensus.
And the Northern Defense Array, which had just gotten on track, saw its significance and the urgency of its construction elevated to an unprecedented strategic level.
...
"Complete the Northern Defense Array within half a year?"
Hearing this near-absurd order from Nan Dou Master, even the calm and steady Qi Yun couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
He didn’t rush to refute it, but instead calmly stated the reality:
"Martial Uncle, this isn’t a question of whether it’s possible or not.
Right now, only two-thirds of the Grand Array’s foundation has been laid.
The most complex and time-consuming core steps, like ’Array Formation Patterns’ and ’Daoist Intent Connection,’ have not even begun.
Even if we pour in the full power of the Four Sects, with Array Cultivators working day and night and an unlimited supply of resources, following the standard procedure would take at least two years.
Half a year... is absolutely impossible."
His answer was firm and clear, pointing out that this was a request that completely violated the objective laws of array construction.
However, upon hearing this well-reasoned analysis, Nan Dou Master’s expression didn’t change much. He simply watched Qi Yun calmly and said slowly:
"Regardless of whether it can truly be completed in half a year, you are to proceed according to this deadline. Begin your arrangements and planning, and do everything in your power to create the impression that it will be finished in six months.
But this news is for your ears only. It must not be spread."
Hearing Nan Dou Master’s profound words, Qi Yun’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
After so many years of cultivation, he was no longer the novice he once was.
He instantly sensed something strange in this illogical command.
Thoughts raced through his mind. Connecting it to the current turbulent situation in the Northwest, a guess surfaced.
He lowered his voice and asked tentatively:
"Martial Uncle, this move... I’m afraid it’s not really about completing the Grand Array as soon as possible.
It’s for some other purpose..."
"Silence!"
Nan Dou Master immediately cut him off.
"Right now, you just need to do your part.
As for the reasons, when the time is right, I will explain them to you myself.
For now, do not ask more questions, do not speculate, and most importantly, do not leak a single word."
Looking into Nan Dou Master’s eyes, Qi Yun understood.
He stopped asking questions and replied in a low voice:
"Yes, Martial Uncle. I understand."
...
「Several months later.」
Under Qi Yun’s full-scale efforts, all kinds of resources were mobilized at an unprecedented speed. Tens of thousands of Array Cultivators and Warriors were organized into rotating shifts, working tirelessly day and night.
The speed of the Array Foundation’s construction increased significantly, and many steps that originally required meticulous polishing were now ordered to be simplified and accelerated.
Within the entire area of the Northern Defense Array, Spiritual Light flared day and night, and the roaring sounds were deafening.
It was a scene of madness, as if they were trying to create a miracle in a short period of time.
This abnormal acceleration naturally attracted the attention and discussion of all parties.
However, just as this tense atmosphere had persisted for about three months...
At the Northwest Border, on the outskirts of a city not too far away, a large army suddenly appeared without warning. They were clad in Heavy Armor, strictly disciplined, with banners waving and Evil Qi soaring to the heavens.
Above the army, numerous Righteous Cultivators in uniform Daoist Robes hovered on their swords, their auras pure and sharp, their sword-lights merging into one.
The Southern Dynasty, the Great Yin, and its Righteous Alliance seemed to have sensed the "unusual movements" in the Northwest Land.
No longer waiting for the "Four Imperial Heavens" deception to fully play out, they had already begun to station troops at the border, posturing for an attack northward at any moment.
When the news arrived, the entire Northwest Cultivation Realm was in an uproar.
’Is the great war about to erupt ahead of schedule?’
Just at this tense and fearful moment—
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Four boundless, terrifying pressures, like the wrath of Heaven and Earth itself, erupted without warning from the depths of Ten Thousand Caves Mountain, instantly blanketing the entire Northwest Celestial Vault!
The winds and clouds changed color; the sun and moon lost their light!
The figures of Nan Dou Master, San Si Master, Lady Jiu Li, and Reincarnation Master appeared simultaneously at the highest point of the Celestial Vault. Dao Rhyme flowed around their bodies, causing the void to resonate and transforming into vast phenomena that stretched for ten thousand miles.
But this was not the most shocking part.
The Magical Power of the four Great Masters intertwined, forming an invisible cage. Within it, five figures were imprisoned!
These five people had disheveled hair and ragged clothes. The Magical Power in their bodies was sealed, and their faces were filled with despair and ashen resignation.
These five people were all Foundation Establishment Masters.
Furthermore, one was from the Yellow Springs Netherworld, two were from Fengduo, and the other two were patriarchs of middle-level sects affiliated with the Holy Sect and the Cyan Sect!
"HISS—!"
Seeing this scene, all the powerful Cultivators paying attention to this place couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
The next moment, Nan Dou Master’s calm yet supremely majestic voice, like a Celestial Constitution, echoed in the Heart and Spirit of every Cultivator watching:
"You Nanyin spies! You have lurked in our Northwest for many years, spreading rumors, inciting conflict, and even attempting to destroy the foundation of our Northern Defense Array! Did you truly take us for fools?"
"Completing the Northern Defense Array in half a year? That was a trap that I and my three fellow Daoists set specifically to lure rats like you out of your holes!"
"And just as we expected, you couldn’t wait. You passed the false intelligence that ’the Northwest intends to complete the Grand Array’s defenses within half a year’ back to Nanyin, leading to the stationing of troops at the border, but in doing so, you completely exposed yourselves!"
"Today, we will use your blood to honor the heroic souls who fell in the south! We will also let Nanyin know that the Northwest is not a plaything for you to manipulate at will!"
’So that’s how it is!’
All the Northwest Cultivators who heard this were enlightened.
The so-called "half-year deadline" was nothing more than an elaborate counter-espionage plot.
An impossible task, its purpose was to create panic and a sense of urgency, forcing the high-ranking Nanyin spies hidden within the Northwest to contact the outside world, pass on "important intelligence," and thus reveal themselves.
Apart from Qi Yun, who was in charge of the Grand Array and needed to play along, only a very small number of Masters who were listed as highly suspicious and were under strict surveillance "accidentally" learned of this news.
And the Southern Dynasty’s sudden stationing of troops at the border was irrefutable proof that these spies had successfully transmitted the false intelligence!
Taking this opportunity, the four Great Masters joined forces to deduce the chain of causality, following the trail to precisely locate these deeply hidden moles.
And today, with the force of a thunderbolt, they captured them all in one fell swoop and exposed them to the public.
At this moment, the spies’ faces were ashen, while the people of the Northwest were filled with righteous fury.
The Nanyin camp, on the other hand, fell into an embarrassed silence.
From his Palace on Ten Thousand Caves Mountain, Qi Yun remotely sensed all of this, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.
’Sure enough, experience is the ultimate trump card.’
...
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