Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 177 - 177 176 Strong Start but Weak Finish

177: Chapter 176: Strong Start but Weak Finish 177: Chapter 176: Strong Start but Weak Finish Hou Niao guessed wrong; support from Jin City had never arrived from the beginning to the end.

This had overturned his understanding of the Quanzhen Sect, making him realize that at his current stage, he couldn’t see the true face of the sect; in fact, what he saw and thought were all merely superficialities, illusions.

The message was transmitted very promptly, and it was impossible for the reaction of the Quanzhen Sect to be so dull.

Thus, the only explanation was that Jin City simply did not want to come, remaining indifferent!

They believed the chaos at Yinling was trivial, thought that the casualties were normal, and believed that with Yu Zhengxing present, everything would eventually be under control…

And it indeed had been controlled!

Yu Zhengxing, who was always showing impatience and snapping at everyone, first saved the ordinary mortals, then the low-rank disciples, and finally, when there was no one left to save, he encountered the detained soul ghost…

No one knew what exactly happened at the scene; whether it was a battle or a negotiation was also unknown, but the soul ghosts indeed began to recede, and in a very organized manner.

“So, did both sides finally reach a consensus then?” Qu Xiaoman felt rather sad.

If it was the lives of her three sisters in exchange for thousands, or tens of thousands of soul ghosts, was this a loss or a gain?

Lan Re, unusually not objecting, said, “We withdrew most of the cultivators and preserved the human fortresses at Yinling; whereas the soul ghosts, through this display of power, secured at least a hundred years of peace for West Mang Mountain.

For the next hundred years, no human will come to West Mang Mountain for trials.

For loose cultivators, this place will become a forbidden area.

That was the soul ghost’s aim, wasn’t it?”

Hou Niao did not speak; he was somewhat tired.

His own view of the incident was not important; it was merely provocation and compromise between two races as part of their mutual probing, just like all cultivation forces secretly or openly do.

The humans of Jin City said: “You are an inferior race, our slaves, objects over which we hold the power of life and death.

So, just behave and make regular contributions to humanity.”

The West Mang soul ghosts said: “Souls are equal to people; where does this master-servant distinction come from?

You treat me as a trial object, so I will kill your trial takers.

Push us too far, and we will also destroy tens of thousands of your ordinary mortals in Yinling!”

The dispute was not about the outcome of this instance, but about a struggle for the next hundred years; when circumstances change, the struggle will resume, thus forming a cycle that constitutes the history of Yinling, and in the same vein, the history of Shan Country and the entire continent continues to be written until a force completely breaks this balance.

So, did the soul ghosts really try their hardest?

Had Hou Niao, Lan Re, and Qu Xiaoman truly escaped by their own abilities?

Could Xiang Zhiwen, Wang Mian, and Fang Yazi genuinely protect the mortals against thousands, or tens of thousands, of sieging soul ghosts?

History has no answer; there are too many variables, and they are just insignificant pieces in it.

Standing at their position, with their vision, they could only see what was beneath their feet.

As for whether Yu Zhengxing had fought the soul ghost, Hou Niao personally believed he definitely had, but just couldn’t overpower his opponent; as for the so-called negotiation, it’s possible only after both sides have fought and gained mutual caution, and this is a truth.

This also demonstrated the vast difference between Zheng Shishu and the other two masters on one side, and Yu Zhengxing on the other.

This might not have been just a matter of differences in realm, but also of other factors, such as that fierce, intermittently flashing sword light.

The disciples saw their three masters again, Zheng Shishu obviously heavily injured, Lu Fairy listless, and Yan Daoist gloomy…

Perhaps their pride was hurt?

Were they unable to help the disciples throughout the incident?

In Hou Niao’s view, there was nothing to fret over; facing a soul ghost equivalent to a human at the Golden Core Realm, what was there to be ashamed of?

On the contrary, if it were him, he might feel complacent for having survived a brush with death.

As night turned into dawn, everyone, due to the unsuccessful trial, was in low spirits, and no one spoke.

They were now preparing to take a flying artifact back to Jin City to recuperate and await the aftermath of this incident.

These low-rank disciples should receive some form of compensation, but surely some would need to stand up and take responsibility for this failure.

In the farewells, Hou Niao had become the most sought-after one; whether they were from Anhe Daoist or Huncheng Sect, disciples from both sects without exception came forward to express their gratitude.

On that night, it was unclear just how many people he had saved or how many dangerous Soul Ghosts he had slain.

Regardless of their differences, at least at that moment, everyone was sincere.

For they had all lifted their veils when saying goodbye.

Lan Re had a melon-seed face, tender and enchanting, bright eyes, and white teeth, “If older brother ever returns to Anhe, and passes through Liuyang, remember to come and see your little sister.

I promised to host you with wine and dance…”

Lan Ting had a baby face, her features picturesque, a beauty to behold, “In a couple of years, Lan Re and I plan to visit Three Rivers Prefecture to see our family, would older brother join us?”

Qu Xiaoman had an oval face, charming and alluring in every gesture, “Older brother might not want to share a grave with me and others in death, but achieving such terms isn’t too difficult.

If older brother ever visits the Huncheng Sect, your little sister will sweep…”

And many more…

Yet, there were still two who remained veiled and unmoved.

The Fairy Daoist, “Those words I told you, would you please think about them again?

Someone like you would definitely have splendid prospects in the Anhe Daoist Sect, I assure you!”

Fairy Lu, “Demons are all one family, the more we interact, the deeper the affection!

Young man, have you considered the joys of Dual Cultivation?

Journey westward to Huncheng.”

…Three Flying Artifacts soared into the sky and vanished in an instant.

West Mang Mountain instantly became deserted; no people left, no ghosts remained.

Hou Niao shivered, turned, and left; couldn’t any of those people have offered him a lift with them?

He needed to hurry back, still unsure how his patrolling brothers were doing; none of them had fallen to the Soul Ghosts, had they?

Just as he dashed over a mountain ridge, a sense of alarm in his heart, his hand hadn’t yet reached his sword when his body was already aloft, a voice ringing beside his ear,

“Not a bad reaction, but you really need to change your habit of only watching the ground when you walk.

In the future, most of your threats will come from the sky.”

Hou Niao gave up struggling, “Uncle Master, isn’t this a bit much?

Playing ‘eagle catches chicks’ with me like this, I don’t like speaking without being able to see the person’s face.”

Yu Zhengxing snorted, “If you want to talk face-to-face, wait until you can fly!”

This flight was completely different from the last time Uncle Zheng took him.

Last time was slow and steady, with places to stand and hold onto; this time it was like being snagged by the collar,

Still flying at a low altitude, the landscape below seemed to charge past at lightning speed, and several times he thought he was about to crash into a tree or a mountain peak, only to narrowly avoid it each time.

Even as bold as he was, this kind of extremely low-altitude flight terrified him.

Was this a punishment?

Truly, Yu Zhengxing’s voice came from above, “Hou Niao, you’ve been exposed.”