Chapter 841: Conspiracy

Chapter 841: Conspiracy

The night was pitch-black, and the wind howled fiercely.

The vast and prosperous lands of Bei Zhen Cangyuan felt unusually quiet, with an eerie atmosphere hanging in the air.

In Bei Zhen Cangyuan, three major powers stood in a tripod balance: the Yuan family, the Haotian Shijia, and the Yin Yang Jia. These three had deep ancestral ties, and while there had always been friction among them since ancient times, no major wars had broken out.

That night, an elder clad in a blood-red robe entered the grand hall of the Yin Yang Jia. His eyes glowed with an eerie light that made it impossible to meet his gaze directly.

"Xue Ji Daoyou, what brings you here in the middle of the night?" Yin Zhong reclined lazily in his seat, eyeing the elder in the blood-red robe with indifference.

"It's nothing much—just a deal I want to make with the Yin Yang Jia." The one called Xue Ji flashed a grin, revealing two rows of stark white teeth.

"Oh?" Yin Zhong raised an eyebrow, looking at Xue Ji with interest. "Go on, let's hear it."

"Destroy the Haotian Shijia."

"Destroy the Haotian Shijia?" Yin Zhong furrowed his brow, but his expression quickly returned to normal as he narrowed his eyes at the figure below. "Xue Ji, do you realize what you're saying?"

"Of course I do." Xue Ji let out a faint smile.

"Then you're treating me like a fool." Yin Zhong scoffed. "You want Bei Zhen Cangyuan to tear itself apart, so the Shi Xue Dian can reap the benefits like a fisherman watching from the shore?"

"No, no, no." Xue Ji waved his hand with a sinister laugh. "We at the Shi Xue Dian will handle it ourselves. There's no need for the Yin Yang Jia or the Yuan family to lift a finger."

"Handle it yourselves?" Yin Zhong's eyes narrowed once more.

"I'm sure you've heard, Yin Daoyou, that yesterday Ye Chen killed our Shi Xue Dian's Cang Ming. We may not have caught Ye Chen, but we can't just swallow this loss." Xue Ji's smile turned mocking. "Everyone in Da Chu knows the deep connection between Ye Chen and the Haotian Shijia. Since we can't get him, we'll have to settle the score with the Haotian Shijia."

"Bei Zhen Cangyuan has always united against external threats—surely the Shi Xue Dian knows that!" Yin Zhong glanced at Xue Ji.

"That's exactly why I'm here." Xue Ji's smile grew sinister. "The Shi Xue Dian's forces are already on their way. In two hours, they'll enter Bei Zhen Cangyuan, and at that point, you, the Jiazhu, just need to give us half an hour."

"The forces of one hall." This time, even Yin Zhong's expression changed. As the head of the Yin Yang Jia, he knew all too well what the might of the Shi Xue Dian's one hall implied.

"Our target is only the Haotian Shijia." Xue Ji smiled faintly again. "Once the Haotian Shijia is destroyed, our forces will withdraw from Bei Zhen Cangyuan immediately. As for how the power in Bei Zhen Cangyuan is divided afterward, that's for the Yin Yang Jia and the Yuan family to discuss. The Shi Xue Dian won't get involved."

"What a clever move from the Shi Xue Dian!" Yin Zhong sneered. "In the end, this war will still drain Bei Zhen Cangyuan's strength. If the Haotian Shijia falls, it won't be long before the Yuan family and the Yin Yang Jia follow in their footsteps—it's the classic case of losing your lips and exposing your teeth!"

"Since you've put it so bluntly, Yin Daoyou, let's lay our cards on the table." Xue Ji casually twirled the ring on his thumb. "The situation in Da Chu boils down to a contest between the Shi Xue Dian of Bei Chu and the Tian Ting of Nan Chu. The future of Da Chu will belong to either the Nan Chu Tian Ting or the Bei Chu Shi Xue Dian. If you back the wrong side, I don't need to spell out the consequences."

"Compared to the Shi Xue Dian, the Nan Chu Tian Ting is stronger, isn't it?" Yin Zhong looked at Xue Ji with a playful expression.

"I won't deny that." Xue Ji shrugged casually. "But you must understand, the Nan Chu Tian Ting is a coalition of various forces, while the Shi Xue Dian is just one entity. If we raise our banner, the forces we can rally would be enough to crush the entire Tian Ting. After all, the power in Bei Chu surpasses that of Nan Chu by far more than just a little."

"You fight your fights—why should it involve us?" Yin Zhong examined a spirit pearl in his hand with leisure.

"Once the Shi Xue Dian and the Nan Chu Tian Ting go to war, can Bei Zhen Cangyuan stay out of it? You're a smart man, Daoyou. You know that if the Shi Xue Dian truly wanted to flatten Bei Zhen Cangyuan, it could do so in a single day."

"So that's your real purpose for coming here!" Yin Zhong shot Xue Ji a cold glance.

"Why put it so harshly, Daoyou?" Xue Ji's lips curved into a smile. "War between the Shi Xue Dian and Nan Chu could break out at any moment. In that case, our lord naturally doesn't want the forces of Bei Chu to side with the Tian Ting—especially not Bei Zhen Cangyuan. We can't afford to fight on two fronts, so before clashing with Nan Chu, we need to deal with you in Bei Zhen Cangyuan first."

"What about the Yuan family's stance?" Yin Zhong asked casually.

"We had a very pleasant discussion." Xue Ji revealed his stark white teeth again.

"In that case, I hope you'll put in a good word for us when you return, Elder." Yin Zhong laughed, his smile turning sinister.

"Rest assured, the Shi Xue Dian won't shortchange the Yin Yang Jia." Xue Ji's voice grew ethereal, and before his words had even faded, his body dissolved into a wisp of blood mist, vanishing without a trace.

After he left, the people in the hall turned to Yin Zhong. "Jiazhu, are we really going to cooperate with the Shi Xue Dian?"

"Why not?" Yin Zhong reclined lazily in his chair, idly stroking the spirit pearl in his hand. "It's time for a change in Bei Zhen Cangyuan."

"What about the Nan Chu Tian Ting?"

"Once we've sided with the Shi Xue Dian, what do we have to fear from the Nan Chu Tian Ting? Even if they come, do you think they'd dare?"

Whoosh!

Under the dark night sky, Ye Chen stepped out of a teleportation array.

Boom! Rumble!

Soon, thunderous roars echoed from the distance, drawing his gaze.

So soon!

Ye Chen furrowed his brow and stared in that direction.

There, divine light blazed in all directions, and killing intent pierced the heavens. The rumbling sounded like a massive army on the march—it was the forces of the Shi Xue Dian's one hall, heading straight for Bei Zhen Cangyuan.

"What's going on here?" The commotion from the Shi Xue Dian was so great that many cultivators who had been asleep jumped up, staring in astonishment at the horizon.

"It's the Shi Xue Dian's forces."

"It looks like they're heading for Bei Zhen Cangyuan." An elder cultivator stroked his beard. "They're probably going to settle scores with the Haotian Shijia."

"It seems Bei Zhen Cangyuan is about to change hands."

Amid the discussions, Ye Chen had already stepped into another teleportation array and vanished in an instant.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the Haotian Shijia hall was equally oppressive.

It was mainly because of the huge stir Ye Chen had caused the day before. As someone connected to the Haotian Shijia, his actions had provoked the Shi Xue Dian, and they might take it out on the family—who could sleep soundly?

"It's all because of that son of yours." The silence in the hall was finally broken by Haotian Jing Shan.

"Third Uncle, what do you mean by that?" Haotian Xuan Zhen met Haotian Jing Shan's gaze without flinching, his demeanor unyielding.

"He killed Cang Ming—do you think the Shi Xue Dian will let it slide?" Haotian Jing Shan snorted coldly. "If they can't catch Ye Chen, they'll surely turn their wrath on the Haotian Shijia. Can you bear that consequence?"

"What's done is done, Third Uncle—are you here to hold me accountable?" Haotian Xuan Zhen remained composed and firm, especially when it came to Ye Chen; he would defend his child even if he was in the wrong.

"Third Uncle Gong, even without Younger Brother Chen Ye killing Cang Ming, the Shi Xue Dian would eventually target the Haotian Shijia." Haotian Shi Yue spoke up, her expression cold and her tone as steady as Haotian Xuan Zhen's. "You know their style better than anyone."

"At least that way, we could still negotiate." Haotian Jing Shan replied coldly.

"Negotiate?" Haotian Xuan Zhen sneered. "Is that what you want, Third Uncle—for the Haotian Shijia to be enslaved by the Shi Xue Dian for generations?"

"You..." Haotian Jing Shan was so angered that his face turned bright red on the spot.

Whoosh!

As they argued, a sharp divine light shot into the hall and transformed into a white-haired youth clad in golden light, standing before everyone.

"You." Upon seeing Ye Chen's true form, Haotian Jing Shan instinctively stepped back.

"Chen Ye." Haotian Xuan Zhen's body trembled slightly.

"Qin Chen Ye." Haotian Shi Yue, on the other hand, stepped forward instinctively, about to call him Qin Yu, but the words changed at the last moment. Her beautiful eyes grew misty in an instant.