Daoist Competition

Though he spoke like this, Chu Muran still felt somewhat worried in his heart.

As they were speaking, a child walked in from the door, holding a flying book, and said, "Sect Leader, a Daoist has delivered a letter, saying it should be opened personally by the Sect Leader."

Zhang Yan raised his eyebrows, released a spiritual mechanism to investigate, and seeing that the letter had no tampering, he used mana to bring it over, opened it, and saw that there was no signature on the envelope, so he asked, "What does that Daoist look like?"

The child said, "He was in a hurry, and the disciples guarding the door did not see clearly. After delivering the letter, he headed toward Extreme Sky, appearing to be a True Master."

Zhang Yan’s eyes moved slightly. He opened the letter, shook it open, glanced at it, and couldn’t help but smile gently, handing it to Chu Muran, saying, "Junior Brother, have a look for yourself."

Chu Muran took it with surprise, but upon looking, his eyes widened.

The letter was from Xuanyue’s former Elder Envoy Chunyu Ji, stating that as long as Zhang Yan no longer meddled in affairs of the two sects, he was willing to annually pay tribute. After reading it, he stood up, gave a bow, and sighed deeply, "Today, I realized the might of Senior Brother. My previous worries were indeed just self-inflicted troubles."

East Victory Southern Land, Yucui Mountain.

Under a pine tree embraced by five people, Ancestor Hui Xuan was playing chess with a green-faced, long-bearded Daoist. In less than a moment, the Daoist exclaimed, conceded defeat, cursed a few times, and began to tidy up the chessboard, intending to play again.

Ancestor Hui Xuan tapped his Ruyi, stopping his actions, and said, "Fellow Daoist, you have lost seven games in a row, along with three Dharma Treasures and four bottles of Elixirs. Let’s end here today."

But the green-faced Daoist was unwilling, glaring at him, saying, "No, I must win at least one game today."

Ancestor Hui Xuan shook his head; in past games, the green-faced Daoist had never won. Today, for some reason, he was stubbornly determined to win a game, as if his own Dharma Treasures and Elixirs were too burdensome. He sighed, "Knowing it’s impossible yet acting, why trouble yourself, fellow Daoist?"

The green-faced Daoist looked at him, staring intently, and said, "Yes, knowing it’s impossible yet acting, why trouble myself?"

Ancestor Hui Xuan acknowledged with a sound, raised his head to look at him, and after a long while, he sighed, "Fellow Daoist, you have thought deeply."

The green-faced Daoist snorted coldly, "If it weren’t for you saving my disciple’s life, life or death would mean nothing to me."

He reached out and swept the Ruyi aside, scattering the chess pieces on the ground, then got up and walked towards a Cave Mansion on the mountain cliff.

Ancestor Hui Xuan’s face remained expressionless, tapping the Ruyi on the chessboard, the pieces returned to their positions, and he muttered to himself, "Just one more game."

At this moment, a flash of tunneling light appeared in Heaven, Qu Changzhi landed in front of him and said, "Master, disciple has returned."

Ancestor Hui Xuan acknowledged with a sound and asked, "How did it go?"

Qu Changzhi angrily said, "Old Bai wasn’t like those before, offering good tea and wine to entertain me, but whenever the main topic was mentioned, he always sidestepped it. When I was leaving, he said, it’s not that he is unwilling to assist, but with a person like the Han Yuan Sect Master about, it’s difficult to persuade his sect’s brothers, feeling powerless."

Ancestor Hui Xuan was not surprised and replied indifferently, "He did say a truthful statement."

He originally intended to incite the Southern Three Sects to pressure Zhongtai, and then lure the Python Clan in, but the battle at Dragon Pillar, where Zhang Yan displayed his Divine Skills and Mana, greatly intimidated the three sects practitioners. Before understanding his stance, no one dared to act lightly.

Ancestor Hui Xuan’s eyes revealed a compelling radiant gleam, saying, "It seems that to accomplish this matter, Zhang Daoist must be eliminated."

Qu Changzhi said, "Master, are you waiting for the Python Clan to invite reinforcements?"

Ancestor Hui Xuan shook his head, "Too late, they can afford to wait, but I can’t."

Having cultivated for nine hundred years, his lifespan was nearing its end. If he did not find the opportunity for breakthrough soon, he would inevitably have to reincarnate.

He was not from a Great Sect, lacking ancestral techniques, and could only pin his hopes on the True Artifact left by Da Mi Ancestor.

He obtained Luo Jiangyu’s personal promise; as long as he helped the Python Clan settle in East Victory, assisting him to retrieve the True Treasure won’t be considered, and the clan’s Ancestor Luo Mengze will appear to subdue it,

This was nevertheless a slim chance; once successful, it would mean a leap to greatness.

Originally valuing life, he was unwilling to risk it in deadly battles with others, but the situation had forced him to make decisions.

Qu Changzhi could also sense Ancestor Hui Xuan’s determination, yet he felt some anxiety. Zhang Yan had consecutively killed more than twenty Nascent Soul cultivators and outright defeated Rong Junzhong. Even the thought was chilling, and unless Cave Heaven True Masters appeared, there was no imagining who could hold him in check.

Ancestor Hui Xuan declared, "As long as Zhang Daoist hasn’t achieved Cave Heaven, there are weak spots to be found. I’ve already devised a plan to eliminate him."

Qu Changzhi asked, "How does Master intend to act?"

Ancestor Hui Xuan responded, "I plan to set up a trap, luring this person in, and then invite two fellow Daoists of similar Daoist Cultivation to mine, to together annihilate this person."

This idea seemed plain, yet any strategy too clever is not easy to execute and cannot have any mistakes, so success depends on grasping the key points.

Qu Changzhi considered and said, "Master, there are two difficult aspects here: one is how to bait Zhang Daoist, and the other is where to find allies?"

Ancestor Hui Xuan said solemnly, "Yesterday, Zhongtai Sect sent a letter saying Qiao Huanjuan and Zhao Ru are searching everywhere for the Three-flavor Spirit Medicine to please Zhang Daoist. I suppose this medicine must hold great importance to him; thus, something can be done regarding it. As for allies, I’ve already thought of two people, but inviting them won’t be easy; I’ll need to visit personally."

...

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